Just over 15 years ago, I disc golfed for the first time.

My initial experience with throwing discs was at my alma mater, Southern Adventist University, which installed nine baskets on their campus in the Summer of '08. Since then, the course has seen a few additions and a couple subtractions, culminating in what is currently a 15-hole design, with dreams of a complete 18-hole layout still unrealized but not forgotten.

(I wrote a review many years ago for the original layout, which has been RIP'ed on this site, but I held off reviewing the current product in hopes of adding three more holes eventually. Oh well. We're still waiting. Also, for a detailed sharing of my home course memories, please see Other Thoughts.)

The Southern course has the basics, including a practice basket right next to the parking lot and a large sign that includes a map and the rules of the game. The teepads are adequate-sized, made of concrete, and feature a sign at every tee. In most instances, the teepads are nearly flush to the ground.

The course is mostly flat, but the couple holes including elevation incorporate it well. The course squeaks out a "moderately wooded" description, though on most of the holes, the mix of trees and bushes and rough is only on one side of the fairway.

The course opens with a hole that requires a particular and challenging shape. The hole is downhill to a blind basket on the right that's positioned on a lovely plateau and begs for a well-placed forehand. Without that forehand in one's arsenal, the challenge is increased, as a RHBH throw risks fading out and landing a hundred feet from the basket, yet overturned drives will land in a menacing glut of trees, briars and thick rough that is normally a trip to Bogeyville.

The course does a nice job of mixing in a half dozen shorter holes (all less than 265 feet) with a handful of longer, difficult holes. Hole #4 is the shortest hole on the course at 195 feet and is an obvious ace run, presenting a downhill toss over a dilapidated storage trailer to an attractive green. Holes #6 and #14 are birdie opportunities that feature a defined fairway with trees on both sides.

Hole #9 is probably the signature hole on the course. It's about 245 feet with the basket placed a few feet past the far side of a creek. There are a few guardian trees near the basket and one large tree on the near side of the bank to contend with. There are also some bushes growing on both sides of the creek to the left of the basket, which can sometimes save or punish your drive. The creek can be low at times, so low that you can use the rocks to walk across. However, after recent rains, the creek can transform into a mini raging river that will send discs downstream in a hurry.

The grounds for the course are quite good and absolutely picturesque in the spring. Except for a few dirt patches and short gravel paths on a couple holes, the course is on grass the whole way through.

The breakdown of difficulty varies throughout the course. I've played a few hundred rounds here, and I would categorize the current layout as having six holes that I birdie "some" of the time; five holes that I usually par but "occasionally" birdie; and four holes that I am "extremely unlikely" to birdie. I obtain par on a majority of holes at Southern. An "average" score on a 15-hole round for me is nine pars, four birdies and two bogeys for a two-under total, but other common influences to my overall score include how aggressive I am at chasing birdies that day and wind speed/direction.

Navigation isn't perfect, as there are several spots with the next hole isn't immediately apparent. There's a path behind the Hole #1 basket leading to the next hole, and then after Hole #2, the course crosses the appropriately named College Drive for three holes before retracing the trek across the road. After Hole #9, there's a short walk between softball fields to locate the teepad behind the right field fence. Two holes later, there's another short walk down a gravel road and over a bridge before popping out of a wooded area to a more open part of campus near athletic fields.

The numbering for the 15-hole layout is a bit weird. According to the baskets, the course goes from Hole #1 to Hole #9 and then from Hole #13 to Hole #18. This is because three holes were axed due to construction a few years ago. Fortunately, this disruption spawned the creation of five new holes (and converting the old Hole #1 basket into a practice area). The presumption is that the general area of those extinct holes would still be a suitable birthplace for three new designs (Holes #10 to #12) as the construction is nearly complete.

A complaint I've heard from several users is that the tee signs are posted IN the concrete at the back of the teepad. For those with a longer run-up, that's a nuisance. My understanding is that the signs were positioned that way in order to allow the university's landscape services to mow with greater convenience.

While most of the holes offer a safer side of the fairway, scoring opportunities require challenging the edge of the rough on numerous holes. The rough is bad on most holes – it's thick and full of briars (and poison ivy during the summer), but it's mostly avoidable. However, I have been amused aplenty when I see what appears to be a college student introducing his family or girlfriend to disc golf on this course. Unfortunately, this likely means an introduction to briars and rough too, so this is not the ideal course to take a beginner.

The course only includes one par 4, which is about 625 feet long. However, a couple of the holes (Holes #15 and #17) are extremely difficult to birdie and make a mockery of the par-3 designation. Hole #15 forces a low drive under a considerable tree branch that must then make a near 90-degree turn and navigate a dry creek bed, chain-link outfield fence, utility pole and storage shed to a basket positioned just a few feet from dense rough. A well-placed, low skipping forehand might have a chance to get within 50 feet, but a backhand drive has nearly no chance of getting close barring some unbelievable luck. Hole #17 is nearly 450 feet in length down a line of nearly impenetrable rough before fading to a basket that's blind from the teepad and is placed just a few feet in front of a creek. I've played both of these holes hundreds of times and never made a "birdie 2" yet.

The design is friendlier to the RHFH player, as at least half the holes finish on the right side of the fairway and usually near the rough.

Since the course plays near athletic fields, there are numerous opportunities for rounds to be interrupted by students walking past, laying out in hammocks, or participating in intramural flag football or soccer that might make a couple holes (usually the last two holes) unplayable. Other obstacles that might come into play on a couple holes include storage sheds, walking paths and chain-link fences around facilities for pickleball, basketball, tennis and softball.

A few of the holes (Holes #5 and #7, especially) are susceptible to marshiness and light flooding after significant rain. The rushing creek can be a concern; while only Hole #9 plays over the creek, at least four other holes have the basket positioned before the creek, though there's some brush serving as a barrier.

Southern Adventist University offers a reasonable disc golf experience by including a little bit of everything, including some elevation, open and decently wooded holes, a few air-it-out drives, baskets positioned in risky places as well as several wide-open, flat areas ideal for putting practice. Combined with pretty good design, above-average scenery and strong course maintenance, it deserves some consideration on the second-tier of Greater Chattanooga courses.

+++

In this epilogue, I'm included some non-review type thoughts plus several of my fondest memories during hundreds of rounds at my home course of Southern Adventist University. If you have played this course or enjoy a few stories from the "good ol' days," this section is for you.

By the way, I wish I had kept score starting with my very first round at the nine-hole version in 2008. But sadly, eight years of data went untracked. I played that first round with a local PDGA member who liked grinding the tournament scene. He lent me a few discs. I remember shooting 10-over and him telling me that I was actually doing "pretty good" for a first-time player.

My name is listed as one of the designers. I had no input or knowledge of the original nine holes, of which seven of those holes still exist. But I've been involved in several of the changes made to the course since. I influenced the design of the eight non-original holes and have been involved in the conversations regarding an 18-hole layout. If you play the course and appreciate the ace run on Hole #4, that was my idea. We needed a hole like that, plus the green was such a nice spot that I proposed its addition. Also, if you played and hated either of the original Hole #1 designs – either the first version between the tennis courts that resulted in too many discs going over the fence or the second version that included a walk downhill from the parking lot in order to throw back uphill while crossing fairways with Hole #2 – you can thank me for arguing to ax that hole.

My first witnessed ace came at Southern in 2009 on the current Hole #1. My buddy Jeremy and I had been playing less than a year and he was a forehand-dominant player. We both teed off – it was Hole #2 back in the day – and nonchalantly starting walking down the hill toward the blind basket. As we turned the corner, I spotted his bright blue Boss first and yelled, "YOUR DISC IS IN THE BASKET!" What followed was a ridiculous display of two grown men engaged in a full-body hug while jumping up and down, likely prompting those nearby to question our sanity and maybe more. Seconds later, a couple other guys came running up to us – they had been standing in the fairway of Hole #1 and had seen the whole thing. They told us that the disc had skipped and just cleared the rim, hence the reason we hadn't heard the chains.

Another memory from the early days is when I lost a yellow DX Kite. I grip-locked the disc over the bushes on the current Hole #7 and while I looked for several minutes, my search was fruitless. I concluded that the disc cleared all the rough and ended up in the creek and may have been washed away. Imagine my surprise when several days later, I was playing another round, and I found that disc in the creek on Hole #9! It had actually traveled downstream a couple hundred yards and then gotten lodged in a spot where I would easily see it.

The current Hole #8 is the site of the greatest shot I've ever witnessed – yes, greater than any ace I've seen. I was throwing in a group with my buddy Darin, who is listed as the co-designer and was one of the catalysts for bringing a disc golf course to Southern. Surprisingly, I've only played a few rounds with him over the years. Anyway, Darin goes way long on Hole #8. It's a hole that's open for the first 225 feet and then veers right into a small entrance in what looks like a wall of brush. His drive missed the entrance, overshooting the opening by at least 50 feet. In fact, his disc scooted into the rough. Afterward, I took a photo of him leaning out of the rough and reenacting just trying to find a way to throw his disc in any manner toward the basket. He ends up settling on a very awkward-looking sky forehand. He chucks his disc high … and well, you know the rest of the story. His disc might have brushed some leaves as it headed heavenward, and upon reaching its apex, it drops straight out of the sky and somehow crashes into the basket. We started yelling and Darin emerges from the rough's edge having not seen what just happened. He didn't believe us at first despite all the raucous cheers.

Just recently, my ace-less streak at Southern was snapped. Despite hundreds of rounds over 15 years and several metal hits, I had yet to score an ace. I was thrilled my first ace here was on the signature Hole #9. My drive was a slight turnover backhand with an Avenger SS. As the disc crossed the creek and neared the basket, it flattened out and appeared to be heading slightly left of the basket. However, the disc hit the tree closest to the basket and deflected loudly into the chains! I was shocked! A couple of guys who had just finished throwing on Hole #9 witnessed the miraculous throw!

+++

If you're passing through the Greater Chattanooga area and want to throw at Southern, feel free to reach out to me. I live less than three minutes from the course and will be glad to be a guide for your round.

- Practice Basket: One of my favorite areas to start when writing course reviews is with asking myself, "What does the course have to offer BEFORE hole 1?". Southern Adventist doesn't have much as far as warm-up area, but there is one practice basket beside the first tee box and plenty of space surrounding it to get in get in both putts and throws.

- Shot Selections: Although many of us consider ourselves to be backhand-dominant or forehand-dominant on the golf course, Southern Adventist will force you to use shots that you may not necessarily feel comfortable with. In many cases there is only one or two specific lines to the basket off the tee that requires players to really test out their arsenal.

- Baskets: With the recent renovations, all baskets available for use are newer DISCatcher and are in great condition!

- Hole Length: Since the Hole Info. page needs to be updated, I'll review the 15-hole layout that can be found on UDisc. In short, most holes are between 200-350 ft. which is pretty standard. There is one 630 ft. par 4, and one par 3 at 194 ft., but for the most part golfers will be using everything from their straightest flying midranges and their fastest drivers to get to Circle 1 in regulation.

- Aesthetic: Southern Adventist University has a beautiful campus in its own right, so naturally the disc golf course is a pretty one. The grounds seem to always be pretty well maintained, and although you may be throwing towards an unsightly shed once or twice, the general aesthetic for this course is above average.

- Difficulty: If you happen to have read any of my other reviews, you know that difficulty is a big factor for me. I want something that challenges me, something that isn't a 250 ft. hyzer birdie-fest. Fortunately, Southern Adventist forces me to use my forehand and backhand equally, plus I go through every disc in my bag. Even on holes where the lines are obvious, plenty of skill and touch are required to navigate the hole.

- Terrain: As with a lot of courses in the area, some parts of Southern Adventist DGC hold water pretty well, so there will be a couple holes where you'll wish you had worn an older pair of shoes. The grass seems to be mowed fairly well, but as always be on the lookout for heavy brush and briars.

- Tee Boxes & Signage: If there was one aspect of this course I would recommend fixing first, it would be the signs on the tee boxes. If you can't tell from pictures, the signs are more-or-less fixated into the concrete tee boxes. Yes, "into," not "beside of," but "into." I'm no James Conrad, but I do like a good run-up, and removing the tee signs and placing them beside of the tee boxes would be a great place to start with improvements.

- Crowd & Students: To no true fault of the course itself, please just be on the lookout for students playing and walking around the university grounds as well as individuals walking and running on the nearby track. Ultimately you shouldn't get too close to others, but there may be the occasional hole where you need to wait for individuals walking by on the sidewalk or near the baseball fields.

- One Tee & One Basket: Lastly, as of this writing, there is one tee box and one basket for every hole. Since the course has a nice new layout to it this isn't a major issue, but my problem with one tee box and basket is that the course will be rather quickly figured out. After a while, some golfers enjoy moving back to another tee or playing to a more difficult basket, but in time I'm confident that Southern Adventist will continue to renovate and improve upon their DGC in this way.

A review more recent than 2019 is certainly needed, considering the 14-hole layout is a thing of the past. Despite the construction on campus, 15 of the newly developed 18 holes are open for play. This review reflects the 15-hole layout, and I hope to return soon after construction has ended to play the full course.
All in all, I've had an above-average experience every time I've played at Southern Adventist DGC, whether I was keeping score or not. Regardless of your skill level, I highly recommend this course to all players because it is outright fun. There are holes that will certainly challenge Beginner and Intermediate players alike, but that won't detract from the enjoyment of trying new shot-shapes and long putts. Needless to say, I look forward to returning to Southern Adventist later this year in hopes to play 18 holes over and over again.