Dothan, AL

Eastgate Park

2.575(based on 7 reviews)
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5 0
Chopper1
Experience: 38.2 years 106 played 9 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Air it out 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 27, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Wide open course so if you want to practice distance, this is your course. Easy navigation and good signage. Baskets are great, catch well and visible.

Cons:

Being wide open the art of making it interesting is difficult. Sorry to say that they didn't find it here. You play the exact same shot at least 6 times with distance variations of 30ft. There was an opportunity to use the elevation on the course but it wasn't used.

Other Thoughts:

My rating is more based on design factors than fun factor. I recommend you play this course because its fun to watch a disc fly! If you're looking for a challenge to your disc skills other than distance, this course doesn't have it. Holes #9-12 are a good run of holes that uses the land well. I've seen some trees were planted since the last time I played, so I'm hoping for more. Its a great stopping point on a spring break road trip.
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6 0
Skyith
Experience: 8.7 years 46 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

A local's take 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 31, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great distance practice (several holes over 400')
Great Baskets (Mach X's are a personal favorite)
Not crowded
Reasonably good teepads

Cons:

Smell of dairy farm nearby
A majority of the holes lack obstacles (60%+)
No major elevation changes (it's tough in lower Alabama, but could have been done better here, hence why it's a con)
No benches near teepads
No trashcans near teepads
Limit access to bathrooms and water
Super hot during the summer

Other Thoughts:

Eastgate is a course that I have played many times over the last few years due to it's close proximity to my home as well as the windy days that it can bring. It's a challenging course if there is a decent wind, but can also bring the fumes of a nearby dairy farm that smells less than pleasant.

Overall, a good course to play during the spring/fall when the heat is reasonable, would avoid during summer months unless well prepared.
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4 0
enragedmullet
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 12.5 years 115 played 79 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Something in the air 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 22, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

-it's a course, of course, and about time for Dothan to get one

-great beginner course

-free to play

-variety in distances

-great Mach X baskets

-good signage, decent navigation, only needed the map once and all it'd take is a next tee sign to eliminate that

-port-o-johns on-site near the course's start

-plays a loop

-concrete tees

Cons:

-mostly one-dimensional, you're basically throwing in an open field for most of the holes

-no benches or trash cans

-dearth of shots required

Other Thoughts:

-Mr. Butlertron's review is pretty accurate, just wanted to throw in my two cents

-Dothan's first course, still young and going through growing pains. The first thing you may notice when you get here is the aroma of the nearby dairy.

I can see the wind being an issue here some days as you're playing in/around a field, and many holes will get pretty hot w/ no shade in the summer.

It's a great place to bring beginners due to the lack of obstacles/mandos on most holes. Having said that, there are a few holes here that are pretty fun, especially if you disregard the flight path illustrated on the signs:

10 shows you shooting a RHFH around the canopy of a HUGE oak tree. I chose to shoot into/under the canopy - made it more of a challenge, requiring a steady, low shot, and enabling you to get some shade under a beautiful tree.

11 shows another RHFH around two trees, however, you can see the basket barely 200' away in between the trees. If you play those trees as a thread-the-needle mando it REALLY adds to the fun factor.

12 is a fun blind RHBH hyzer

17 is also an interesting hole, bringing a small frog pond into play a bit and if you aren't careful, a lot.

Eastgate is a nice stroll around a multi-use park but it can get a little monotonous. That said, I've seen a lot worse, and I think it's still a work-in-progress so things should only get better from here. When you pull up you may see some cars parked near a pond and port-o-john. There is a proper parking lot just beyond there, but it seems either is acceptable.
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7 0
Mr. Butlertron
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.2 years 673 played 131 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Farmold Schwarzenacres 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 21, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

- free to play, plenty of parking
- concrete tees, level with ground for easy run-ups
- Mach X baskets
- high quality tee signs
- beginner friendly course design
- mowed grass leading to the basket, mowed circles around the pin
- intuitive layout, some directional signs were added when needed
- slight variations in elevation on the early half of the course
- a couple ob hazards
- outhouse on location

Cons:

- not much shade
- not much distance variation
- the area is prone to windy weather
- straight forward hole design, sort of boring
- wide open fairways, not much fairway definition
- no benches

Other Thoughts:

The theme of the course is long and open. Most holes average 300+ ft of unobstructed cleanly cut fairways. The tees, signs, and baskets are all top notch. Disc retrieval is not an issue here, either. Beginners will appreciate the freedom to blast drives without worrying anything interfering with their throws, besides wind. The biggest factor during a visit to Eastgate will likely be the wind. Keep your approaches and drives low or the wind will carry them away from the pin with ease, even if it doesn't appear to be the least bit windy.

As nice as the course looked and whatnot, the overall repetitiveness made my experience fairly bland. The course lacked multiple pins and tees, but it didn't matter. There was nothing to shoot around. Hole # 11 gave me hope that the course would transition into some sort of technical fairways, but instead I was spit out back into more open fields. Incorporating a counter clockwise design on the park property from the practice pin would have been a better use of the land, me thinks. That way would allow for more possibilities for technical play, while still making open holes availible. Ending on a massive downhill drive to basket 1 from the dog park would have been a much more memorable end to this plain course.

Eastgate Park is probably not a course I would come back to throw. There just wasn't enough excitement for me, playing the course was sort of a grind. I can't imagine what it would be like if the weather was truly windy. Likewise, a cloudless, hot, sunny summer's day sounds equally as dreadful with the lack of fairway cover.
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5 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.2 years 658 played 636 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Bombs Away 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 15, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

(2.641 Rating) A bombers delight.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Due to only a few overgrowth areas and also just a few water hazards, this would be an ideal course to bring beginners to. The course is probably also great for recreational thru intermediate players and beyond depending on personal tastes.
- QUICK PLAY - For its length, it plays fairly quick. I did my round here solo in just over an hour. I think this will translate to 2 hours for a group of 4 seasoned players.
- FUN FACTOR - I think the best aspect of Eastgate Park is the easy going feel. As mentioned, few hazards and little overgrowth. There are also birdie opportunities for rec players and eagle opportunities for skilled players. A few ace runs. and lots of opportunity to air one out if that's your thing.
- CHARACTER - Slightly above average. First ill mention the tees which are concrete, adequately sized and built well. There is well done hole signage each hole, but unfortunately no next tee indicator on them. The baskets are MachX, so you'll save 1 or more shots a round on these generous baskets. There is a practice area near tee (1), along with porta-potty and rules of the game sign. No course map on site as of my visit, but thats ok considering the pro comment a line below.
- NAVIGATION - I downloaded the course map before coming here and just about had no issues navigating this course. Download it, you'll be glad you had it first go around.
- RAW BEAUTY - Not 5 star beauty but I'd give it a 2.75 to 3. The upkeep on the place appear to be solid. The gentle slope of the open fields and a few large oak trees along the layout adds to some of the appeal. Hope (17), probably the signature hole, has a play along a pond and then raises 10 feet or so with the basket guarded straight ahead and to the left with a large grouping of trees.
- ROOM TO GROW - This park has lots of available land left. I would not be surprised to hear rumors in a few years about a proposal to add 2nd more technical wooded course.

Cons:

No major playability issues with Eastgate, but definitely lacking shot imagination and challenge.
- ELEVATION - The site has way more available than is currently used. Perhaps there are a couple of "tee to basket" grade differences at around 20 feet. The site has the potential to perhaps work in a 40 - 50 elevation tee shot if there was a 400 to 500 foot shot from the north part of the park property down to the lake.
- UNIQUENESS - Way too many open plays. There are six holes without a tree in play. Eleven of the remaining twelve holes I'd classify as lightly wooded, and only one hole, number (11), I'd label as a moderately wooded hole. There is water in play on a couple shots, but it would take a major error to drop one in.
- SHOP SHAPING - With the extent of the openness you can expect a round with very little thought process on the tee. Most holes I just looked at the hole distance, and then quickly grabbed a disk and threw. Way too many holes can be attacked from every angle.
- DIFFICULTY - Intermediate players who are able to throw 300 feet should have no problem breaking par on this course. Advanced players should probable play them all 3's. There's a 655 foot par 5 (hole 6). As open as this course is, most advanced players will get an easy look at eagle from time to time. I'll also note that hole (14) which is an open hole at just over 400 feet, is too short to be a par 4.
- PARK HOURS - This park closes at 7pm or 6pm depending on the season. I feel this could have been an ideal night golf course but it's not possible with the park hours.
- WIND - I lucked out, hardly any wind the day I came out here. But considering the openness , I'd bet that it's not an uncommon occurrence.

Other Thoughts:

If you're the type of player that likes to grip-it and rip it, you'll probably really like this course. If you prefer technical courses, you'll have to go elsewhere. As of this review, the only course that I'm aware of in Dothan area. You'll have to travel quite a distance to find another solid course.
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2 0
johnmatkinson1
Experience: 10.3 years 20 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

WIDE OPEN 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 22, 2017 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

1) great for working on long shots or new style throws!!!
2) This course is set up for people looking to work on new techniques, discs, etc.
3) You can't loose a disc on this course. Again it's great for working on your game and having the ability to really grip and rip em.
3) Park really spent the time to lay nice concrete tee's with well kept baskets.
4) holes 10, 12 have neat challenges

Cons:

1) No challenging shape shots.
2) Very straight and open.
3) Archery range near some of the hole locations would make for a challenging game, luckily the folks around here are all marksmen. I assume you can't play if teams or people are on the range.

Other Thoughts:

If your looking for a place to work on your game this is it. Course is wide open by design, but you can make the holes more challenging if you know course and make your own tee box locations. Elevation changes on the open fields are great for working on long shots. Even better you can really grip it and rip it without worrying about loosing disc.
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3 1
L3bright
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 31, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Flow of the course is easy to follow. It is wide open and good to practice on. Look forward to playing here more often

Cons:

Most holes are straight. There are not many challenging holes on the course. For a city with only one course, we will take it.
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