Shorter University is a private institution in Rome, Ga., that offers a variety of extracurricular activities, including about 20 varsity sports programs.

Disc golf isn't one of them.

The Shorter course starts out with some promise, with a couple of pleasant on-campus holes, including a cool elevated basket on the first hole. And the round ends on-campus as well, finishing with a lengthy, sloping dogleg-right that might be the prettiest hole on the course. Plus, Hole #17 is a fantastic risk/reward design, as the 210-foot grassy hole includes a tightly positioned basket near a steep decline (and university building) on the left side, making missed drives and putts susceptible to a 100-foot rollaway into OB.

The signage is good and includes distance, a map and well-identified out-of-bounds areas. Thankfully, the signs provide a necessary clue of where to tee off on several holes as well as navigation to the next hole. Accessing the course map will be helpful too.

The "natural" teepads are in horrible condition. Carpet was used to mark some of the teepad areas, but in many instances, the carpet is muddy, missing or in shreds. On Hole #1, the teepad area is outlined by small rocks but runs uphill and is covered with leaves. On other holes, a dirt (or mud) spot is the only indication of a teepad.

The Prodigy baskets appear worn and the Hole #7 basket is damaged.

After the second hole, the course departs from the university setting and disappears into the woods. The following 13 holes are a mishmash of bizarre designs, troubling terrain and unkempt areas along a path on the outskirts of campus.

The challenges start with Hole #3, which is one of the worst holes I've ever played. Wooded utility poles serve as annoying obstacles in the middle of the 500-foot fairway. Briars and unmowed weeds are plentiful. And there's garbage everywhere, including bottles, cans and broken furniture. Hole #4 features an extremely narrow fairway with tons of trees dotting the 187 feet to the basket. Hole #5 descends steeply and while the view from the teepad is to be appreciated, the trek down the hill is treacherous, especially with heavy leaf cover. Traversing this hole is dangerous, and Hole #6 continues the challenging downward journey.

Holes #7 through #11 return to level ground with Horseleg Creek serving as an imposing right-hand boundary. These holes are slightly redundant and poorly maintained. There's more garbage around, plus designing holes within 20 feet of the creek is not ideal. The teepad for Hole #11 was difficult to find, while tons of weeds and unmowed areas mark its fairway and surround the basket.

Hole #12 is an awful filler hole; the nearly 400-foot hole goes up a steep hill with heavy brush on both sides. The heavily wooded Hole #13 features the most egregious design on the course; at only 167 feet, the intended play seems to be a 100-foot toss through a narrow gap, then a nearly 90-degree turn up the hill with a drainage pool and open manhole area seeking to punish inaccurate drives.

While the Shorter University property appears limited in its disc golf potential, the current layout missed the mark with too many poor designs, including a couple of hazardous holes. In addition, the signs of neglect are obvious, from disintegrated teepads to an abundance of litter on the course.

A rating of 1.5 might seem punitive, but I believe it's deserved. The design flaws and trashy conditions at Shorter are disappointing and perhaps correlated. If the neglect continues, this course might follow nearby Ridge Ferry Park DGC into extinction.

A few nice holes specifically 1, 5, and 18 were available. I would say there is a "mix" of open and wooded play, but that's true and not true at the same time.

Honestly, had it not been for me sinking my longest putt ever, a 56 footer, my time on Shorter's DGC would have been borderline miserable. I immediately went and played another 18 holes at the Log Cabin Course at Berry to cheer up my unmet expectations.

I don't look for much when it comes to a DGC as long as it offers 18 holes and signage. But even though it technically meets those two things, well...it was bad.

First, let me put it this way. This isn't a DGC. This is a hiking trail with DG baskets. 1, 2, 17, 18, and sort of 16 were on the campus. All of the rest were on a hiking trail around the campus. A literal trail, there were a few signs that said Shorter walking trail along the way. At one point I forgot my putter in the basket of 5 as I stopped to drink water and had walked all the way (emphasis on all the way) to the basket of 6 before I realized it. I had to stop to catch my breath on the way back the terrain was so bad. This is a good place to say, I wouldn't recommend this course for some of the clumsy, frail, or elderly players. I hike often and ironically was wearing my hiking boots and still almost fell down a very steep hill twice.

If you aren't extremely accurate, prepare to get into thick rough of trees, bushes, and poison ivy. If you come regardless, definitely wear pants and take advantage of my mistake of finding the thorns and poison ivy. There is also a small stream on the right of a few holes, but it doesn't come into play very much unless you completely go off course (but if you want to be fully prepared maybe bring an extra pair of socks as the water is shallow enough to retrieve your disc).

There was some signage on the occasional tree, but it was missing in some crucial points. These points especially include going from hole 2 to tee 3 which you have to walk through a dirt path between a building and woods & from hole 15 to 16 where the path seemed to simply end in the middle of the woods forcing you to walk back to where you came and up behind the tennis courts.

I had such high expectations for this course. I had read a review or so saying that this was the best DGC in Rome. Having played all 3 18-hole courses in Rome, let me steer you to Berry. It's right up the road and offers 2 18 hole courses on its campus (Log Cabin Course and Winshape DGC). These courses are pristine in comparison Shorters course. I appreciate what Shorter tried to do for the city and its students. However, it's clear that there was an existent walking trail before the DGC and that they simply put up baskets and signs. That's how it seems and that's definitely how it plays.