-Sandy Creek is a very fun course. You get to play 27 holes now instead of 23 with different appearances and different shot shaping requirements while having a view of the lake during your round.

-It seems that Sandy Creek encourages you to warm up. The first seven holes all play on the side beside the main parking lot. I played those holes and didn't play well so I started over, and was able to have some better shots. On top of them being closer to the parking lot, they are in the more open area. The first two holes are the longest. #1 was over 600' in the short pin from the long pad through some trees along the road. I threw a big anhyzer that seemed to work out well. You could try to go up the middle and be closer to the OB fence in the woods to the right side. #2 was very enjoyable! A long downhill bomb of a par four that begs big arms to try and reach. Just over 500', but the left side is the OB dog park and the right side is DENSE. An attempt for eagle can leave you fighting just to save par here.

-You'll see some early warnings, as this course is not easy. The wooded part of the course is a real adventure and a very difficult test of accuracy and vision upon release. You'll see the OB danger on the first two holes, which I previously mentioned. #3 and #4 are tricky short holes with very particular lines that only a few of your discs could suitably hit. #10 was the last hole before entering the most wooded part of the course. Was my favorite hole at Sandy Creek. A nice downhill par three that gives a view of the lake on the left side. The green is nestled into the woods, making it a goal to hit the gap off of the pad to avoid any difficulties of saving par.

-Multiple layouts. There's a 27 hole layout you can play. That layout has nine additional wooded holes. The 18 hole layout simply has you playing the original eighteen. The extra nine holes are labeled as 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A, and 9A. If you are in a hurry, you could play nine and just do holes one through eight and then play hole eighteen.

-There is some consistent elevation movement. The best of it is on #16 being over a huge dip in the woods holding some water from the lake. Has you throwing under a canopy! #2 is a very fun downhill bomb. #11 was a good way uphill and was an all around enjoyable par four in the woods. #12 was a very fun valley hole. There are many more!

-There were eight par fours when I played. My favorite of them all was 2A. A very cool and technical hole that teaches you to stay in the moment. This is a dogleg left and nearly 500' long from the blue pad. You are instantly faced with a rolling hill (or hump hole). Throw up and over the crest of the hill and hyzer out in order for an easier second shot. #11 was very neat too being tight off the pad, eventually opening up only to get tighter at the upshot. The hole curves only a bit to left from the tee pad. The upshot goes slightly to the right side so you don't need anything very over stable. Just something that will turn a little. #27 was a nice ending. Wide open and all but a nice relaxing finish after a difficult challenge in the woods.

-Course has multiple pin positions on most holes here as well as three sets of pads on most holes.

-There are maps and scorecards available at the toll booth where you pay. Make sure you grab one because navigation is tricky (see cons below).

-I will say that the 27 hole layout is well marked in regards to signage. But the order in which you play the extra nine is downright weird. You start off playing the original thirteen and hole fourteen on the 27 hole layout is not fourteen or 1A. It's 9A. Hmmm??? Then you play 8A as fifteen. Okay, so we play them backwards from 9A to 1A maybe? No, that's not it. After 8A, you play the original hole #14 as hole #16 on the 27 hole layout and then 7A as #17. The next hole you'll see is 6A. I was thinking that would be #18 on the 27 hole layout but it's hole 24 or something. After that hole, I see two pads beside each other and one of them is #15 and the other is #16. Um, alright then. #15 has you teeing off up the hill and you have to walk back down it to get to #16 if you play the 18 hole layout. Odd.

I'm pretty sure 1A was labeled as #18 and 2A was labeled as #19 on the signs but the U disc layout was in a different order. Ah well, least I was still able to play every hole. If you play the 27 hole layout, you may improvise a little bit.

-Few hazards here and there. The optimal line for backhand throwers on holes #8 and #9 is throwing a hyzer over the road where people walk. There may be people fishing on holes #10 and #16.

-Some repetition. Multiple shorter holes that are tight and straight. Some of those holes were fun (like 1A being a nice "thread the needle" downhill gauntlet). Others like 9A, 7A, 6A, and #13 had a filler feel to them. They weren't very distinctive, just okay at best.

-I really like Sandy Creek and the big shift in its look. It felt kind of similar to George Ward in Birmingham, Alabama or Victor Ashe in Tennessee on the first nine holes and the remainder kinda of had a Chester State Park in Chester, SC feel to it. Some holes really had some originality like #16 being under the canopy over a large valley. That hole stood out a lot! 2A was an awesome dogleg left as well. Accuracy is a must. Whether you are playing in the open or the woods. The only must get birdie was the finisher since it's not very long par four from any of the pads for anyone in their respective divisions (pro, advanced, int, rec).

-If navigation is very important to you, I would be hesitant to tell you to play here. It is tricky to navigate the full 27. The original 18 still pretty difficult to track since it's hard to get to #14 from #13 without passing 9A and 8A. It almost encourages you to play the full course.

-As far as hole quality is considered, and what I heavily weight my ratings toward, it's a fun course with some very brilliantly thought out holes. Most of them are fun to play. Make sure you use your resources available because you'll need a map if you don't have U disc.

27 hole course with an abundance of natural beauty.

Horrible directional flow. The map you receive at check in is far from even remotely accurate! The transition from 7 to 8 is NOT easy to figure out. No navigational signs either...

A wonderful course that would be so much better with a map and directional signs. Expect to play a few times before you figure it out. After playing about 60 rounds here 8/2020-11/2020 I have it almost figured out haha.

Beautiful park, plenty of good land for DG, open (front 8/9) and wooded (back 9+) with some elevation changes, 3 tee pads on most holes. Park office had nice restrooms.

Navigation issues galore. I printed a map from here ahead of time, the park ranger gave me a revised map when paying my $2 to enter. The tee signs don't face the proper way on every hole, the cement tees are rather short. #1 wasn't easy to find without a map and you back track to #2, #4 was hard to find, long walk after #7 past the park office to #9 with no signage indicating which way to go. Basket 8 was MISSING evidently.

On the front 8 the flow of the course wasn't intuitive, I've played over 370 courses and usually can tell which direction to go next, not here!


Mid way thru the back 9 the basket #''s included 7a, 8a, 20, 24 and in no order. Obviously a reconfiguration has been done but it's confusing as hell to figure out. After 16, I gave up trying to find 17 and 18 knowing there were other added holes in between.

A few next tees were found, but so many more are needed.

#11 was beautiful but the basket position in the woods would of been so much better in front of the lake. #12 was a great wooded hole.

How can this be rated 3.9??? As a whole, this course is UNDER average, I was very disappointed

(3.669 Rating) A sprawling city park course with a stretch of heavily wooded holes.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - There are parts of this course that are just plain gorgeous. Clearly the best part of this layout begins on hole (11) with Lake Chapman in the backdrop of the basket placement. Hole (12) thru (22), is a nice stretch of wooded fairway lines. I think the consensus favorite would be (21), which is stellar looking down shot over a bog. Despite this really good stretch, sections of the course are relatively bland. Several of the beginning holes and the last hole bring my beauty score back quite a bit. I got the course roughly a 3 out of 5 in these terms.
- MULTIPLE TEES - I bumped the score up for Sandy Creek a lot for the tees. First off, big surfaces for the middle and back tees at 5 feet by 11 feet. The short tees are 5 feet by 8 feet. All of the surfaces are concrete. All of these tees and thus layout difficulty options, makes Sandy Creek playable to a larger than normal audience. I could see beginners loving the front half of the course from the short tees and Advanced players being appeased by the longer and more technical back tees.
- CHARACTER - In addition to the tees, The course has a nice array of extras. First off, be sure and ask for a scorecard at the gate. You'll need it. There's a course map and practice basket near tee (1). There is seating on a handful of holes. There are lots of multiple basket placements and there are big shelters with picnic tables and restrooms.
- CHALLENGING - I played a mixture of front, middle and back tees on my round. The back tees read as a tweener between Advanced and Intermediate. Hole (23) is not a par 4 to Advanced played regardless of basket placement. An open and 480 foot listed par 4 isn't going to make a 950 rated player shudder. I did like how the course balanced power and finesse so that one particular skill set wouldn't have an advantage.
- UNIQUENESS - A near even split of openish holes to wooded holes. Several multi-shot holes as hole (1) out the gates can play up over 800 feet from the back tees depending on basket placement. Holes play up, down, left, right, long and short. Water is in play on a few shots and elevation hits the 40 foot mark.

A couple minor things but otherwise a solid course.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - The path between Basket (21) and tee (22) is through (13s) fairway. During the summer, I highly doubt those on (13) will see the walkers until after release. I don't recall seeing a warning sign on the path, perhaps I missed it. Also, some of the basket placements and tees on the front were not very well spaced, although I've seen much worse examples at other courses.
- LOOSE DISC OPPS - There are some places not to throw a disc into on this course. I spent a good 15 minutes looking for a disc on (13) in a dead leaf pile. The thicket on the wooded holes looks fairly dense, It could get dicey during peak overgrowth. Obviously the lake on (11) is bad place to end up, and the bog on (21) likely isn't a wise landing spot either.
- ONE TEE SIGN PER HOLE - The tee signs are only at the back tees. Thus those that play the other tees will have to recall the distances and locations of the 3 basket placements when they arrive at their tee. It would have been nice to have basket placement indicators on this course as many of the placements are blind.
- POISON IVY - I didn't see any in late November. Yea! This course looks like a prime offender though. Probably lots of briar and thorns off fairway as well.
- PAY TO PLAY - I want to say I paid $3 for both the park entry and the disc golf usage fee. Some may be swayed away by this, but at this price, it's not a bad deal.
- TIME PLAY - I showed up at Sandy Creek with exactly one hour of park open time left. There are 22 holes (hole 8 is still missing per all the previous reviews.) I figured, I'm quick, I'll play the front tees to start and then move to the middle and back tees as time permits. I switched to the middle tees on (9), but after spending 15 minutes searching in the dead leaf piles on (13), I took a lot of liberties to get this round in. I think a solo playing the middle tees will take an hour and 15 minutes. A foursome on the back tees may take close to 3 hours.

A really nice course that will appeal to a wide swath of players. All the key aspects that deliver highly rated courses are here. Solid amenities and basics, challenge and variety. It can a boat-load of fun and the course is beautiful in spots. All stated, what keeping this course down a few pegs compared to the courses I've rated higher is that none the aspects I noted above are knocked out of the park here. Whereas a course like Little Mulberry Park, 45 minutes away, has killer beauty and excellent extras and amenities, thus the higher ranking I've given. In all, I would not put this course at the Georgia destination level, like that of IDGC courses, Hobbs, Perkerson or Mulberry. It is a great regional course though, and players in the Atlanta area should make the trip over at some point to play it.
- NAVIGATION - Ok. If it weren't for the course map at the gate, I would have gotten lost several times. There are a few longer than normal transitions and navigational cues between holes are spotty. Tee sign descriptions are satisfactory. What Sandy Creek really needs is tee signs at all the tees and pin placement indicators.

Only played the Front 7. Very open and forgiving for all players.
Big layout-
Pads very nice
3 TEE OPTIONS- VERY VERY NICE for All Levels.
I Played on Monday- could have been open because of the Holiday?
Very nice person taking money to play and answering questions.

Need to redo the numbers on the holes. No number 8.
Can't tell where hole location is based upon the tee box gives 3 possible options.
FIRE ANTS EVERYWHERE. YES I GOT INTO A PILE and PAID THE PRICE.

Overall on the front seven not bad. I would play again if in the area. I'm not an expert. Novice player at best but I did enjoy this course. My wife and I played red tees first then went to play same seven on White tees and definitely a difference.

Some nice long holes and tight lines to hit through the woods. I had to use a nice mix of forehand, thumber, and backhand drives to get my disc down the fairway. Good mix of open and wooded.

So where do I start... It's missing a hole, which is inexcusable for the amount of land they have to work with, they should have been able to rework a couple holes and add a new one in. The flow of the course, especially in the open, was terrible. Whose idea was it to have 3 different pads and 3 different pins with no way to mark which pin you are actually throwing at? So on most tees you either just guess what disc you should throw or walk out every fairway to see where to aim? It's already a long course, the last thing I wanted to do was walk each hole twice, how boring and what a flow killer. I won't be back until they have a way to mark on their tee signs which pin position the basket is currently at. The signs don't face the way you play like 99% of all other courses. It's just weird and was unnecessary to set it up that way. It makes it easier to envision in my head how the fairway is set up if I can stand on the teepad and face the direction in which to throw and glance over at the tee sign. Maybe that's just me. We had to cross other fairways several times throughout the course to get to the next tee. Very few next tee signs on the front nine where you really needed them. And the ones in the woods are tiny, the arrow and sign is about 2 inches long, easy to miss them.

I like to walk from one hole to the next without having to constantly figure out where to go. I like to stand on the teepad, look down the fairway and look a the teesign, and using that information, choose the proper disc and throw. Can't do that at this course. You get from hole 7 to hole 9 by walking to the parking lot and across the entrance road. You'll see 23 basket, keep walking along tree line/road and you'll eventually see teepads for hole 9.

Has practice basket

Has concrete tee pads for all tees

Has nice tee signs

Has next tee signs posted after some baskets

Has benches on a few holes

Good mix of open and wooded fairways with elevations

Multiple basket placements on most holes

Well-maintained

Almost had the whole course to myself on a Saturday afternoon

Water fountain and soda machine

Restrooms

No hole #8 - course needs renumbering

Some holes such as #9 and #10 have safety concerns - playing near the street or near other park amenities

Needs more next tee signs - consult the course map from this site if playing for the first time

Course design and flow could use improvement as there are long walks between holes #7 & #9 and #21 & #22 - latter transition cuts through hole #13 fairway

Fairway for hole #21 has the potential to get flooded and very muddy after it rains

$3 pay to play but worth it in my opinion

This is a nice scenic multi-use park in Clarke County that I enjoyed playing. The park is very spacious and has a variety of terrain that makes the course challenging. I even saw a doe grazing inside the old cemetery at hole #1. There's a nice lake but doesn't really come into play here. I will definitely play here again and just wish it was a little closer to where I live. It's probably the best course in the Athens area and I would recommend it to you if you're in the area.

The course is 22 holes. The more, the better right?

Three nice sets of concrete pads on nearly every hole,which really affects the difficulty level. I played the reds and blues in 2 separate rounds today, and there is a marked change in difficulty between the pads.

Some really good wooded holes on 12-22. While it really challenges me, I think hole 21 is a really good example of what a par 3 hole should. Play it safe to the edge of the wetland bowl, throw a simple shot with late fade for a tap in par, or take a chance and maybe get a 2, get wet, and/or get a 5. Hole 17 is another really nice example of what wooded golf should be, with a wooded creek on the right of the long, narrow fairway before the turn uphill to the basket on the left.

Course is in a well maintained park, and course maintenance is pretty good.

Decent signage with next tee signs.

The course loops back to the parking lot after hole 7, so you can use the rest room, refill your water bottle before hitting the back 15.

Some alternate pin positions. The tee pads don't seem to be changed all too often, but I have noticed differing pin positions for 3 and 12 fairly often, with 5,6,10, and 23 (and maybe others) changed less often.

No hole 8. I know the reasons for its removal, but it is still pretty annoying for the purposes of entering scores into DGCR,

There are a few open holes that are less than exciting. Hole 7 is pretty much a wide open shot. Hole 23 is a wide open bomb shot, After 11 holes in the woods, I guess I shouldn't complain about a wide open rip and grip shot.

The course is play to pay. $3.00 per person, with $2.00 for park entry and $1.00 for disc golf.

The transition from 21 to 22 is rather long. At the second tee sign, take the right fork to cross the bridge over the ravine and get to 22's pad. Also, watch out for anyone throwing on 13.

Course (and park) is closed on Monday.

UPDATED 10/15/2015 - Trying to redeem myself for a lazy first attempt at a review.

- Fun balance of open and wooded technical shots with a few grip it and rip it holes. Plus there are 22 holes!! The more the better IMHO.

- Recovery potential if your tee shot goes off the fairway. Some courses feel like the penalty is too high for going off the fairway, and others don't hurt you enough. Sandy Creek feels right. I've been of the fairway a ton, but rarely do I have to just pitch out...maybe 1/5 time is there no chance of still advancing. mostly I have to decide between a risky but possible shot up towards the pin, or a safe pitch-out. Rarely is a pitch-out the only option.

- Well maintained public park with clean bathrooms, and there are even some new benches on a few holes.

- The best course in the Athens area. Herman C Micheal is the only other course within 30 minutes, and it's good for a quick round, but Sandy Creek is the best in the area.

- No real water hazard to lose a disc into. I personally hate losing a disc. Throwing over water is fun, but as I play this course a bunch I enjoy not having to get wet looking for my errant shots.

- Lots of variety on the course. There is a good mix of open and wooded. Multiple tee pads/pin locations. I almost always play from the white tees, occasionally the blue when I'm feeling frisky. My wife comes along occasionally and has fun playing from the red tees.

Here is my hole by hole break down, some of the cons are in here, but the diversity of this course to me is the biggest Pro so I'm listing this here:
1) Mostly open. Longest hole requires a placement tee shot to have a good look at landing your second near the pin. OB road left and wooded area to the right. Also, a row of tall trees line the fairway along the road that seem to come into play often. (Side note: Should probably be a par 4 not a 5 in the normal long position. I played a round with Doug Porter (designer) and he explained the intended long position isn't used because of a potential safety issue with a blind approach shot over a walking path so they had to shorten the hole approx. 150')

2) Mostly open with trouble on both sides. Really fun downhill shot. Not really a long par 4 from the white tees. With a good drive you could have a look a an eagle 2. (I never have, but someone with a bigger arm than me definitely could). Be careful not to hyzer (RHBH) out too bad left...the tall grass is a disc thief.

3) Wide tunnel shot. Solid hole in either pin position. Good birdie potential from the white tee. The blue tee is tucked back making the initial gap between two trees much more intimidating.

4) Open with trouble around pin. Ace run!! but be careful not to sail past for a long comeback putt. Probably the shortest hole. Pretty easy 2 if you don't get greedy with your tee shot.

5) Uphill with OB along left side. There is a smallish gap between two thickets that your tee shot has to make it through for a birdie look. I don't hit it often, but it is really satisfying when I do!

6) I hate this hole, not because it's bad...I just take a lot of bogeys. The normal pin location (past the cedar tree) requires a big shot to have a birdie look. The BH line feels like there is a luck factor for a look at 2. the FH route feels safer to me, but you would have to have a cannon to get inside the circle.

7) Open hole with basket on a ridge. I like the FH option since there a some trees right off the tee that can get a BH in trouble.

8) HOLE REMOVED - Discs used to land on the roof, and the story I've heard is some moron took the furniture out of the center to climb up and retrieve a disc and left it outside to get rained on...thanks pal!

9) Another FH/BH choice. There is an initial tree to clear for the FH, but it's clear from there. Hit the tree, and bogey is possible. The BH route is safer and more open at first, but there is a row of trees which can knock the shot down early.

10) Open with a few trees to dodge. There so many routes from the white tee. RHBH hyzer skip shot off the road, putter or mid straight up the gut, or FH over the tennis courts. Pretty get-able birdie. The blue tee is super fun on this hole too.

11) Good challenge. Tight tee shot and tucked pin. the first 100' off the tee has a number of pine trees to work around, but it's wide open from there until the pin. I've had good success with a flex FH that finishes into the pocket where the basket is tucked. Really satisfying birdie if you can get it.

12) Wooded par 4. Requires a straight tee shot to have a good approach. Going right or left off the fairway makes getting to the circle in two very tough. A smarter player than me would probably throw a putter or mid off the tee to make sure they had a clean look on their second shot. I'm not a smart man, so I find myself off the fairway more often than not.

13) Wooded tight with ravine to contend with. The normal pin location seems to be long near the walkway, which seems to require a tight RHBH flex shot or dead straight 300' shot (which I don't have) to get a birdie look. I don't think I've ever birdied this hole location, but it sure is a fun challenge. A putter or mid of the tee is a good way to avoid trouble, but will probably not get a birdie look.

14) Short wooded tunnel shot. The designer said this was not the original hole 14, but a temporary location that wound up being permanent. Kind of a throw away hole.

15) Very tight wooded. IMHO the worst hole on the course. This is the only hole that I don't see how to get a look at birdie without some luck involved. There is a cluster of trees 80' off the tee with no real line to the pin. It feels like luck every time a tee shot gets through clean, and even then it's rare to be within 60' of the pin.

16) Wooded slightly to right with pin on slope. Another hole with a really cool blue tee that is fun to try. The BH line requires a straight or slight turn-over. I normally throw a FH off the white tee and hope for a good skip off the hill leading to the basket.

17) Wooded par 4 with trouble left and right on tee shot. Really fun tunnel shot down an old logging road. There are two gaps to land in. The shorter gap is a nice RHFH line, and if you can hit the long gap and get up the hill much then birdie should be easy. Anything off the fairway, and you will be scrambling to save par.

18) Slightly uphill wooded with tree right in the middle. Not much to say about this hole. Miss the tree and you should be in good shape.

19) Fun downhill wooded shot. Throw a slight turn over with a putter and watch it glide! Or in my case turn it over too much and watch it kick into the woods! Throwing a flick FH works, but stopping in time can be a challenge I think the original blue tee is no longer used. There seems to be both blue and white marks on the middle tee box.

20) Kind of like hole 18. Not much to say on this one...wooded..uphill. No tree in the center like 18, but similar shot to execute for a birdie look.

21) YES!!! Wooded with a wetland bowl to clear. Elevation change and a low canopy that forces you to hit a tight line. I've always really liked this hole. Clearing the swamp is always a fist pump moment. This to me is the signature hole at Sandy Creek.

22) Another good wooded hole. Par 4 with both a right and left fairway. There is a thicket of trees and light brush in the middle...somehow I'm here more often than in one of the fairways. There are so many routes/combinations of throws to take on this hole, it's really a good one. It was intimidating until I could throw a FH, now it's one of my favorites.

23) Wide open par 4. Big arms, or good rollers might even get a look at an eagle! Great way to finish, very fun to grip it and rip it after all the tight lines through the woods of hole 12-22 .

Mostly just gripes...Other than the few "Meh" holes I have no issue with the course and would highly recommend it to anyone. Might not be the best beginner course I know I struggled to break 100 when I first started playing, but still a beautiful park and a good walk through the woods.

- Pin location rarely changes. The potential for more variety is there...just not utilized

- No league play and few tournaments. This doesn't take away from how great the course is. I just personally would like to see a few more events at this course. I'm glad there is a random draw doubles at nearby Herman C. Michael, and hats off to the people that make that happen. Sandy Creek seems like a good place for more tournaments. If you build it they will come right?

- Fire ants and poison ivy...watch where you stand.

- No more hole 8.

- Park hours limit playing time. Closed on Mondays and not open at first light.

- People littering on course. Not a con against the course. Just a reminder...if you can carry it in full you can carry it out empty! This said Sandy Creek is a really clean park overall. I just shake my head every time I have to clean up someone's trash on the course.

Hopefully more people discover this gem. It is rarely crowded (I should list that in the Pros hehe). I live 15 minutes from this course, and probably play here 5-10 times per month and never get bored of it.

It is $3 ($2 park, $1 disc golf) If you are a regular look into buying a park pass and punch card. The pass is $40/year and the card is $10 for 12 rounds. I got a pass this year, and would guess I've played 60 times so far. That's probably $80-$100 I've saved...who am I kidding...I spent it on plastic

Layout - It starts with multiple pads (2 or 3) on top of rotating pin positions. There's also 23 (actually 22 because there is no #8) holes here so there's a ton of different ways to play this course and you could play it multiple times in different configurations; that's a huge plus. (Also for the purpose of this review I played most of the long pads.)

The two biggest strengths of Sandy Creek is that it gives a solid balance in hole type and forces you to throw a variety of shots in different circumstances.

The front eleven starts you off in the more open area of the park. There's some gaps to hit and some trees to avoid but for the most part it's about being able to place your shot over length. If you have the arm you can take more obstacles out of the way by hyzering/anhyzering around them. There's some fun holes on this front part and I especially like the stretch from 9-11 which matches that fun with challenge and more interesting lines.

The second eleven to me is the real strength of the course. It gets you down in the woods in the undulating terrain by the lake. Here you have quick elevation changes and some really interesting lines.

Most of the holes back here can be reached with a mid but a few are longer and require a fairway driver. I only played one set of pin positions but I could tell that they did a good job of changing the shot. I also really liked the selection of basket positions, they were usually tucked in to a nice spot or on some slope to add challenge. This all leads to a really balanced course.

The back eleven does a really good job of making you work the disc through gaps while moving it. Even the straighter overall holes aren't simple. It's not overly challenging but enough to make it interesting.

At the end you pop back out in the open for one more bomber hole that ends the round nicely.

There's one par 5 (though I'd call it a par 4) and five par 4's (though I'd call some of those a par 3) thrown in. A few were really solid holes that forced good placement shots to set you up for the second. It's one more area the course gives you variety in.

Equipment - Concrete pads for each tee and good signs that show you the length and hole layout. There's scorecards with a map available at the parking lot. The baskets seemed to be in good shape.

Atmosphere - Overall the park is pretty scenic. You have the lake in view on a few holes and the terrain is interesting. Once you get in the back you're in a more secluded place and I enjoyed that part more than the front but it's definitely a fun place to play disc golf.

Layout - The bigger weaknesses for this course really come in to play on that front 8 (well 7). I liked a few of these holes and it's not that they were all bad but it's just overall not that impressive. There's a few really boring open shots over there.

There's also some weird distances on a few of those holes from the long tee that create some tweeners.

The back part of the course is much better but there's not many holes that really make you go wow. It's just really solid golf and nothing amazing.

There's also a few holes on the back that seem like tweeners and some holes that from the long tee just have really awkward angles to the lines.

It would of also been nice if they could of brought the lake more in to play.

Equipment - There's no basket #8. From what I understand it had to be removed for safety reasons but to me it makes more sense to just renumber the rest of the course.

Some of the tees were really sandy...

Atmosphere - The front part of the course isn't all that great atmosphere wise, there's a few nice looking holes but I just didn't like the feel of it.

Sandy Creek is a solid and fun course to play and I'd recommend it to anyone in the area. Though if i lived in the area I'd probably mostly just start at 9 and play through 23 or work out some other 18 hole layout.

Concrete tee-pads
3 tees per hole
Mix of open grass and tight trees
Several interesting shots
Good basic infrastructure
Lovely park
Mostly Disc-only area for the course

No maps...not even on the Kiosk?
'Back 15' very hard to play.
Not much elevation
Some repetitive holes on the back

NOTE ON EDITED REVIEW: WHEN A REVIEW OF MINE ISN'T 'HELPFUL', I STOP AND ASK WHY. I EDITED THIS ONE A LOT. But the basic concerns stay the same. I really think a player who does not know this course needs honest information.


This is a pretty good course, but I have to say it wore out my patience. It took 20 minutes for the staff to admit that they could not find me a map. But what was really lame was that a pay to play course did not even have a map posted in the kiosk. Wandering lost with no idea how to get going on the back really dampened the day. (There were good signs once I finally got to the denser woods).

This was a beautiful, sunny saturday but I only saw about 10 players, all but 2 on the "Front 7". The back seemed to have scared most players off and I could see why. Does it make sense to put nearly every pin in the 'Throw long and blind' position when leaves have buried the course? I'm sorry to complain but the fact that the back was nearly unplayed seems to indicate something here. Throw in a few redundantly dense tree holes and it just wasn't much fun.

Sandy Creek could be a 4 star course with more love and fewer leaves. But on the day I was there, 3.5 is giving the benefit of the doubt.

Got to finally play this course for the first time this weekend and i do have to say wow what a use of land and trees

The frount nine uses mostly open field shots that allow you to open your arm up and get you throw dialed in before hitting the wooded holes. You really have to take a step back and really enjoy the way that some of the trees in the fairways were placed in spots to shape the holes and define the fairways.

Back nine turns into a great change of pace and a place to beat the summer heat. If the frount nine did not beat your score up too bade dont think your going to just cruse on to a great score with the shorter holes. Deifined wooded holes with multiple lines to the holes. As a left handed bh and flick i enjoyed not having to think right handed on all the holes.

Really my complantes are not much of anything. Talking to a few locals and seeing it first hand the pin locations can be a little tuff to fiquire out. Each hole has three tee pads and three pin locations. (love this by the way.) Can get a little tuff to fiqure out.

I will be back. It was a demanding course that offers everything that I love to see in a course and then some. If your one of the few that don't enjoy paying a few bucks to play the course then your missing out.

This course is located in a HUGE park that was very well maintained.
The baskets are Discatchers and in good shape.
The sign were very accurate and gave all the distances and pin positions.
Most holes had 3 different tees that changed the lengths of the holes quite a bit.
The tee pads on this course were grippy and in great shape.
The first 7-8 holes are fairly open and use a few trees, distance and elevation to challenge the players.
Holes 10-22 are in the woods and are very technical.
You will have to play all the shots to get around this course.
Good shots will yield lots of birdies on this course, but poor shots could result in some BIG numbers
The paths on the holes and from basket to the next tee were really nice and easy to follow.

Even though the course tells you that hole 8 is missing, we had a difficult time finding hole 9 from 7's basket.

This course is a great place to play disc golf. Beginners can have a good time from the red tees, while intermediate players will be tested from the white tee and advanced players can get all they want from the blue tees. I come to this area at least a couple of times a year and will definitely return to this course.

Great course in a nice park offering several other activities (check their website for details).
•Variety: Welcomes you with several semi-open to lightly wooded, fairly flat holes employing well-placed stands of trees. The initial holes don't necessarily call for oodles of control, but still force you to shape a reasonable line if you hope to putt for par or better. The course then heads into the woods where trees and rolling terrain make things more interesting. A great mix of fairway shapes encourages BH/FH, hyzers/annies, and S-shots. Most tees present a few possible lines to challenge your decision making, but a few pretty much give you only one, defying you to pull it off. Does a decent job of offering a nice variety of lengths within each tee color (rather than forcing you to mix tees up to get a reasonably full range of distances). Throw in some nice elevation changes and a few rollaway greens along the way, and you have a fairly complete course that pretty much gives you a chance to use every shot in your arsenal and challenges all aspects of your game. Rotating A, B, C pin positions provide additional variety for locals.
• Equipment: Red, white and blue concrete tees were in good shape with ample footing. While the blues typically didn't change the line from the red and white tees appreciably, what they do exceptionally well is provide a much smaller window off the tee, requiring both power and finesse - playing in the woods from the blues is where you'll want those oodles of control. Innova baskets were easy to spot and in good shape. Tee signs were simple, informative, assisted in navigation. Scorecard/maps are available.
• Aesthetics: Visually appealing course that takes you through green fields, woods, moderately hilly terrain and offers a couple of lake views, making for a pleasant experience with nature... if you can stay off of the trees.
• Memorable holes: Starts off with the longest hole on the course where you can really let loose right off the bat. Sig Hole 21 plays over/around a large wetland bowl that will make you think twice. There were some other interesting holes, and although I can't recall their numbers, Sandy Creek keeps you engaged the entire round. Fun to play and challenging at the same time.
• Routing/navigation, I had a guide and was enjoying their company more so than paying attention to where the next tee was. The course takes you to several different sections of the park, and you'll have to cross the park road a few times to get from one section to another. While I don't recall any walks that seemed counter intuitive or unusually long, I can see how the uninitiated might not know where to proceed at these crossings. Follow the map, look for the signs... you should be OK.

Hole 10 plays near the tennis court and close to a park road. While I wouldn't say it's a glaring design flaw or major concern, unlike pedestrian traffic (likely to pass safely out of the way in 30 seconds or so), tennis players are right where they're supposed to be, aren't going anywhere, and probably aren't listening for people yelling "FORE!" Caution and common sense should avoid any issues, but I have to question routing a hole that can bring such an obstacle into play. Other than that, most holes play well away from non-DG traffic.
•Tee signs don't indicate the current pin position - be prepared to walk a few fairways.
• I spotted quite a few hairy Poison Ivy vines - beware.
• Hole 8 has been removed and the subsequent holes haven't been renumbered.
• Tons of leaves in the woods during fall/winter can make finding even good shots time-consuming: stock your bag accordingly if possible. Listed more as a warning than a con.

Sandy Creek is a great course, a fun round and offers something for everyone - worthy of consideration if you're visiting the area.

The wooded holes all come one after another toward the end of the round (in a somewhat unrelenting fashion), before finally concluding with an open hole, rather than being interspersed with more open holes. If that seems a bit overwhelming (or monotonous), you can easily park near holes 14, 19, or 21 and start with a few holes in the woods, saving the more open holes (1-9) for the middle of your round, then finishing up back in the woods... the order you read the chapters in can make big difference. I like courses that make it easy to start at several different points - also nice for leagues, tournies or heavy casual traffic.

I can't complain about the $3 fee ($2 to enter + $1 for DG) as the course seems well maintained.

Some claim the course is too tight/too difficult. I'm an 850'ish rated player. I played the blues and got shredded; but the blues are supposed to be challenging for Advanced players - I was in over my head. The red, white and blue tees were quite well suited to Rec, Int, and Adv skill levels. If you choose to spar with heavyweights, don't complain if you get KO'd... jump over to white or red on holes that look more intimidating to you if that's what makes the round more enjoyable.

Sandy Creek may be more difficult than some courses, but all the tees give you a fair target and I saw nothing that seemed to draw upon luck more than skill. That said, I'm sure recovering from bad shots is a lot tougher in spring and summer - to be expected on any well wooded course.

I hemmed and hawed between 3.5 and 4, but liked the variety and elevation enough to say it's closer to excellent than very good.

1. This is my home course and I love almost all holes, except some.
2. Good concrete tee pads on all holes with sign. First 10 holes are decent.
3. Multiple tee pads and pin position.
4. Now they have started to mow grasses frequently than they used to be.
5. Good mix of open fairways and woody holes

1. Cost to play even after taking $2 for entrance. The cost should go to the improvement of disc golf course but it doesn't seems it is going for disc golf. If my $1 per visit goes just for mowing than where does my $2 goes. At least benches could be placed in each tee pad area that would make me think that my money is well utilized.
2. There are some trees unnecessarily kept in the middle of the fairway. At least one or two trees needs to be cut down in hole number 13, 15, and 16. The skinny tree in hole number 15 from white tee is just so much annoying even though the hole still needs a great technical shot with a danger of death roll at the end.
3. Hole number 8 is missing and it needs to replaced.
4. Multiple placement of pins is annoying sometimes; for example, hole 1, is it par 3 or 4 or 5? I know it is a legit par 3 for pin A and B, but I am confused with pin C, it doesn't seems like 830 ft from the blue tee. Everybody seems to be taking pin c as par 4 but according to sign, it is par 5.

It is a good but very challenging course, especially the last 11 holes. Multiple tee pad is definitely a plus which gives opportunity to every level of players. There are a lot of other activities you can do in your visit.

Diverse course with a good range of open and wooded holes, elevation, and obstacles. Decent course considering not many in the Athens area.

Poison oak, and poison ivy very bad! This course has potential to be a great course but I think needs a little maintenance work. Some holes are heavily wooded in which one has to cross their fingers not to slam a disc into a tree.

Don't think you should have to pay for this course. Still worth checking out if you're in the area but I recommend watching out for the spider webs and poison oak!

Great layout of course from super challenging to interesting and technical! Great concrete tee pads on (almost) all holes. Clean and beautiful/ well kept fairways and woods, except for poison ivy. Well thought out course with different pin positions and on almost all holes three different tee pads.

Some of the signage is ambiguous and wrong. Hole 8 has been missing for at least three years! Some holes are longer pars in certain tee positions but doesn't say if that is the same for each tee pad. In my experience pay to play courses have benches throughout course and are on top of poison ivy.

I don't understand why it costs the disc golf players extra when the lake users, trail users, and all other park services cost less. That extra money should go back into the course and in disc golf programs at Sandy Creek, in my opinion.

Sandy Creek DGC is a well rounded course with 22 holes that have many interesting looks. The equipment is all proper, concrete tees (often multiple) and signs with maps and distances for all pin positions, and good Innova baskets. A practice basket is near the first parking lot, and score cards are available at the entrance, I think. The course provides challenging holes through out, as well as some shorter looks. The setting transitions from open and grassy to wooded as you move from hole eleven onto twelve. Lengths and directions are constantly changing as the course snakes through the wooded slopes. It stays like that except for the last hole, which is long and wide open. Elements of elevation are incorporated, but usually subtle. Some water is present, but not too menacing.

The front half is typically open and fairly flat, with length mostly medium longish. I really like the second half better, as the trees shape fairways that are tighter, and more challenging. The contours of the terrain are also more noticeable and become a factor more consistantly.

There is little downside to this course, but being picky, I would say the layout is a little choppy in places, so a map is helpful. Hole 8 has been removed since my last visit, making the course 22 holes instead of 23. This is a multi-use park, so other people may be around the course, so be careful. Admission is $2 per person, a good value in my opinion. However smoking and alcohol are prohibited.

Sandy Creek is a very fun course too me, and worth checking out. The quality is good overall, but the wooded portion on the second half contains a number of great holes, if you go for that. Park also has swimming area, tennis courts, dog parks, playgrounds, and more. Gates lock at closing, so allow plenty of time to finish all 22 holes.

Concrete pads through the whole course.
A great balance between open-spaced holes and closed-in wooded holes.
I barely used my course map during the wooded section (plenty of signs there). I had a guide for the first 7.

One hole was missing its sign.
Ants were abundant, but not a huge obstacle.

Loved this course. The park is amazing, too, which only added to the experience. I played in the late afternoon of a weekday, so I would imagine that this place is packed on a weekend; especially during nice weather.

Very nice course. Wide open for the first 10 holes. With good challenging woody holes. 3 tees & 3 basket options per hole. Concrete tees.

Hole #8 closed. Long course for a beginner, like me. Need better signage for directions to the next hole.

Played it Saturday with my son. We enjoyed the course. Well worth the $6(sign said $2 to park, $1 per person to play, but was charged $6, not sure if weekends are more, no big deal) Still cheaper than Ft. Yargo & much nicer. We played to #17 & were worn out & decided to call it a day. Next time we will start on #9.

Had a difficult time finding the next tee boxes on many holes. The signs they had were about 20 yards or more from the last hole on a post with a 1" square sign saying next tee. Either move the signs closer to the hole or get bigger signs.