For my first round and first new course of 2023 I decided to give the newest of the three excellent courses at Boundary Waters a shot. Just far enough away from me that I had not yet made the trip, I have to say it was well worth it.

It actually begins on the old Buzzard #1 teepad throwing to the long basket that was previously Falcon #1 across the lake, but after that it becomes a completely unique course.

There are a few booming long holes like the intimidating near 1000ft par 5. For the most part the course winds through wooded holes filled with interesting lines, stranger things esque vines and deep creeks and valleys punctuating the terrain.

The variety of shot shapes, hole lengths and the few open holes make this a really enjoyable paly and it has a pretty unique feel compared to the other two.

It doesn't have the park style old school holes of buzzard, or the unorthodox wooded lines of falcon but it has this Sinks style funky line golf that I really enjoyed. Nothing unreasonable, but it makes you use control and really think about your placement.

Signs are the same as the other courses and fairly nice.

The biggest one right now is most holes don't have teepads. They have framing for them that frequent use has turned into rectangular mud pits and there isn't room for a tee off area to either side for most holes.

The initial tee off area where all three courses start within 60ft of each other is a bit chaotic as well.

Overall the design doesn't leave much to be desired, I just wish the starting and ending were a bit smoother.

Only one bench so far, I'm sure more will come but that would be nice and I do like a sign with a map and none of the courses here have them.

Overall this is a great addition to one of the most robust disc golf areas and properties in the state. I'll have to play it a bit more to be sure but it may be my favorite of the three.

The rich get richer as the Boundary Waters complex has added another 18 holes to the well-designed 36 holes at this lovely public park that's about half an hour drive west of downtown Atlanta (if the traffic is decent).

The variety at Hawk is good. While trees are always near, the course combines some open holes with some tough, narrow lines.

The scenery at Boundary Waters is enjoyable. The course is in an isolated, quiet area. Just like the other two courses, Hole #1 includes the backdrop of a large pond. However, the Hawk's opener is a par 4 that wraps around the pond, offering up the second longest hole on the course at 740 feet.

The Hawk starts with a few open holes, allowing proper warm-up before requiring some technical shots. Hole #3 is about 1,000 feet long and this par 5 ventures down a grassy fairway that is reasonable, but entering the woods on either side will force some challenging scrambles.

The next three holes fit into the heavily wooded description with errant drives probably punished by a trip to Bogeytown. Hole #4 might be the toughest hole to birdie on the course; it's 410 feet long and narrow and features a dogleg right. Be careful; the woods on the right are punitive. Hole #6 is a funky par-4 with another narrow fairway that requires specific placement to make the turn. Attempts to circumvent the fairway may result in regret. These holes are among several on this course that will get easier to play once you see and learn the lines.

The last three holes on the front nine all fall into the 275- to 300-foot range. Hole #7 is the coolest of the three by utilizing some twisty branches and a fallen tree to demand accuracy on the drive.

Holes #10 and #11 are long, fairly-open par 4s that use already established paths. The next five holes pop back into the woods and while they are narrow, they are also most of the shortest holes on Hawk, prompting some birdie opportunities. Finally, Hole #17 is open but features a tree jutting out from the right side to threaten your drive, and then Hole #18 is a fantastic par 4 that ends up back near the fairway of Hole #1.

Navigation seems straight forward and the paths and a couple handmade signs made finding the next hole a breeze.

The narrow holes are really tough and at times unforgiving if you stray off the intended fairway. However, the difficulty is usually due to the plethora of trees as areas of terrible brush and undergrowth are few.

When I played the course in late November, only the first teepad had been poured. And the teepad signs only feature the hole number and distance, so you might have to search for the basket a few times on a first go-around.

There isn't much elevation on the course. Most of the walking is on flat ground, though a few holes feature a drop-off after the teepad.

Because several of the holes were recently cut through the woods, there are downed trees and piles of branches off the fairway in spots. Nearly every hole in the woods features a few trees in the fairway to account for with your drive.

Hole #4 is a tweener. Ideally, instead of being labeled as a "par 3," the basket should have been pushed back another 50 to 75 feet to create a more realistic par 4.

Hole #9 ends near the Chattahoochee River and is at the farthest point from the parking lot.

The baskets are Prodigy (yuck) with a blue bogey banner, which nicely distinguishes the Hawk from the Falcon (orange Prodigy) and Buzzard (yellow Discatchers) baskets.

The course does intersect with a few trails, so keep an eye out for walkers.

There are a few other disc golf courses around Douglasville, but if you're passing through Douglas County, you can confidentially skip those; the best three public courses in the area are all here.

While the Hawk edition of Boundary Waters is not quite complete, which is why I'm giving it a 3.5 rating for now, the course is playable. By offering a little more distance and higher par, the Hawk has a few more teeth than its Buzzard and Falcon contemporaries. Folks can debate which of the first two courses is better, but when it's done, the newly designed Hawk will be the best of the three.