Dalton, GA

Edwards Park

3.935(based on 7 reviews)
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19 0
Cerealman
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16.4 years 665 played 192 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Devoted Dalton delivers elegant Edwards

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Dec 15, 2023 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

As part of the mini-Prodigy empire designed by former professional disc golfer Will Schusterick, the Edwards Park course delivers 18 fantastic holes that include a majority of heavily wooded holes bookended by a couple of the more memorable open holes.

The amenities at Edwards Park are in tip-top shape. The teepads are all overlaid with turf that is great for footing. Each teepad includes a detailed sign with a colorful map, hole number, par and distance. There's a solid bench at each hole. Also, there are two practice baskets near the parking lot.

The design at Edwards is excellent. Even with 13 of the holes meeting the heavily wooded descriptor, there's a good amount of variety with shot shaping, and elevation is included on a few holes.

The first hole is one of the most enjoyable. It's a gorgeous wide-open toss over a significant valley with woods on the left and out of bounds rough on the right.

Accuracy is paramount at Edwards. Numerous holes require hitting a gap off the teepad with very difficult scrambles for par awaiting those drives that hit trees early. Holes #9 and #11 are the two shortest holes but both require hitting a specific gap. The Hole #11 gap is extremely narrow; I've tried throwing forehands, backhands and rollers, and I still don't know which is the best option.

Edwards Park is one of the prettier courses around. The wooded section features plenty of mature trees and nice paths between holes. The traversability is really good and while there are some tough wooded areas off the fairway, there's little rough present.

I rarely encounter other disc golfers at Edwards Park. The traffic is usually low and even if there are a few users present, the woods does a good job of creating a barrier between groups.

Cons:

Previous Trusted Reviewers struggled to find much wrong with the Edwards Park design and I would agree. The consensus seems to be that it's a good course with solid design and strong amenities but lacks a little pop and/or diversity.

The course can get muddy and retain water at times on several of the lower-lying wooded holes. The maintenance team has added wood chips to several spots to help with footing and limit the effect of standing water. Holes #12 and #13, especially, are susceptible to muddy and marshy land, especially on the far side of the fairway.

There are a couple spots where the next hole isn't immediately apparent, but the detailed maps offer a good indication of the "NEXT" hole. There's also a walking path that weaves through the area but doesn't interfere with the course.

There's a barbed-wire fence and a No Trespassing area to the right of Hole #16.

In fact, the con regarding Edwards Park that I have spent the most time discussing (and complaining about) is the course par. My not-so-humble opinion is that while par doesn't matter, the par is wrong on three of the holes. The course par is set at 57 and it should be 60. Holes #3 and #5 are over 400 feet and heavily wooded and should be listed as par 4s. (According to PDGA guidelines, holes of this distance and heavy foliage should be a par 4 for intermediate players.) And Hole #10 is 500 feet long and slightly uphill for the first half of the hole. For some bizarre reason, the designer decided to set the par at 3 for these holes; consequently, only the very best disc golfers have even a chance of achieving a "birdie." When I play Edwards Park, I play the course as par 60.

Other Thoughts:

The difficulty of Edwards is up there. I've played over 30 rounds there and shooting par is a good round for me. I've learned to recognize which holes are the "gotta have it" birdies (there aren't many) and which holes are "have to save par somehow" holes, with potential for bogey or worse. To me, a stretch of holes near the middle (Holes #7 to #13) is the best opportunity to erase a few early bogeys or provide some insurance in preparation for battling the last few holes. I appreciate the challenge of hitting fair but tough lines and trying to sink a few C2 putts to boost my score.

The course is at the very back of Edwards Park. Keep driving until the park road ends, then walk along the gravel path for a couple hundred feet to find the first hole.
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25 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.9 years 707 played 686 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Edward IV

Reviewed: Played on:May 21, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

(3.845 Rating) A medium length wooded gem that ends with a big finish.
- GAMEPLAY - Walking up to tee (1) was a "hell yeah" kind of moment. An eye pleasing valley shot that dips 40 feet or so, and with a second basket option that rises another 50 feet and adds another 200 feet in distance or so. After the openish first shot, the course dives into the woods for the next 8 holes. This portion of the course is just sublime. Rolling elevation changes and shaped lines to try and thread. Several multi-play holes through-out the course, a small creek to game plan around a couple times and a couple ultra tight ace runs. The course was a pleasure to walk and throw.
- CHALLENGING - The course felt perfect for MA2s and MA1s level players, with blend over appeal to MA3s and Pros that enjoy woods courses. The course is listed as a par 57, but it felt more like a par 60 to me as a few of the long 3s need a lot of luck and big length to record a deuce. Most veteran players are going to enjoy the demands this course dishes out.
- RAW BEAUTY - It's tranquil in several spots. I scored this aspect roughly the same as nearby and similar looking Westside, which is also at around the 90 percentile mark on my ledger. I did throw during mid-spring when everything was blossomed out. Courses in this region look way better this time period compared to December through February.
- AMENITIS & EXTRAS - One big turf tee on every hole and above average Prodigy baskets. Big benches were behind most, if not all the tees. Garbage cans spaced throughout and 2 practice baskets. The biggest drawback here is the one tee one basket location per hole. Locally, I like it when courses change it up. There is plenty of room to add this aspect in the future.
- SIGNAGE & NAVIGATION - I had a guide, so I wasn't super paying attention here. Seems to be good enough. The tee signs are good. They had all the needed info including next tee direction. Some of the signs were fading. A couple of the longer transitions could use a navigational arrow I suppose.

Cons:

Only one tee and one basket location, and that's really it to me.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - I don't take off points for this, but just know that this course will not be fun for first timers. 13 holes are heavily wooded. There is some heavy shule in spots. Conducting recon at some point will occur for most players. The odds of losing one here is higher than the average course.
- TIME PLAY - This one will take quite a bit of time to throw. My quick 2 sum was here 90 minutes. Groups of 4 will take well over 2 hours to play.

Other Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this one. It has everything I like when visiting courses. Great beauty, intriguing cerebral gameplay and high quality amenities. The course somewhat reminded me of nearby Westside, but with twice as much wooded gameplay here at Edwards. Other similar courses that I've played include Cane Ridge in Nashville and Tommy Schumpert in Knoxville. Players that find themselves traveling along this portion of I75, need to come check this course out. Destination level in my opinion for those living within a 2hrs drive. Please note that sub 850 players may not enjoy this one as much, as there is no way to dial down the experience.
- THANK YOU - Thank you to Cerealman for being my guide on this one. The 5th different course we've thrown together. Always a pleasure throwing with him.
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24 0
BogeyNoMore
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.5 years 517 played 185 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Dalton is for Disc Golf

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 4, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Well executed course in a large, multi-purpose, municipal park.

• Variety: Good – Plenty of well-wooded holes that really make you select a line and hit it, with a few holes open enough to provide some degree of relief from playing lumberjack. Good range of distances, with a nice mix of fairway shapes that gives players able to throw FH and BH an advantage.

•Challenge: Excellent – Tight but fair lines test your decision making and execution. The combination of woods and distance make shooting par a pretty decent score. Any birdies are well earned. Most holes favor placement over distance, so those with a strong technical game should do well, but there are a few holes where big arms have chance to gain some strokes.

• Elevation: Good - Nothing intense, but enough to hit the mark. Features uphills, downhills, valley shots, as well as some rollaway possibilities.

• Aesthetics: Very good – Wonderful hike through a mature growth southern forest. Personally, I like the way the hiking trail winds throughout the course, but course is responsibly designed such that the trail itself and hikers really shouldn't come into play. Does a great job of showing our game to walkers, without putting them in the line of fire.

• Equipment: Very good - Turf tees pads were a complete non-issue. Blue Prodigy baskets are easy to spot in the woods and catch well. Good signage and plenty of benches complete the scene.

• Routing/Nav: Very good – Well done on the whole, with most tee markers visible as you walk from the previous basket, with pretty short walks between most holes. Hardly had to use the map (although exiting #9 was a bit tricky).

• Memorable holes: #1 starts off with a picturesque valley shot. #9 brings a winding creek into play, and I really enjoyed #2's woodsy elevation. #16 has an interesting transition from woods, into an open field, and finishing off uphill into the woods. #18's elevated tee gives you a great view of the park and lets you grip'n'rip for all you're worth.

• Fun factor: Depends on your preference of woods golf, or "let her rip" golf. Players who like challenging woods golf will enjoy it here. While there are a few holes where big arms can let loose, Edwards simply won't rate as high with players who aren't fans of woods golf.

Cons:

Relatively few and far between.

• I don't recall the #, but one hole really had a plinko-like vibe to it.

• Drainage: Not too bad during my round, but definitely an issue here. If it's rained recently, expect muddy, slippery conditions (but at least there aren't any really steep slopes you need to walk in those conditions).

Other Thoughts:

This is a tournament ready course that I really enjoyed playing. Very well executed on the whole, and I particularly appreciate how the designers avoided the hiking trail.

The disc play is wonderful, but I'm getting jaded and Edwards just doesn't have enough "Wow" factor to elicit an 4.0 rating of excellence from me. While I gave it a 3.5, I think it's better than most courses I've rated at 3.5. I can tell you it's a 3.75 ... but I can't rate it that way.
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23 0
Shadrach3
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.2 years 339 played 325 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Difficult, but Polished, Woods Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 19, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

A wooded, advanced-level course with strong appeal to a skillful segment.

-Amenities: Quite good. Prodigy baskets, two practice baskets, turf tee pads, good signs with map, copious benches.. Could use some next tee cues.

-Beauty: This one scores pretty highly. The course is predominantly wooded, and after a light rain in August, it was gorgeous.

-Challenge: A high level of difficulty here. A lot of 300'+ par-3 holes in tight woods that require a really solid commitment or bust. I think upper intermediate and advanced players will be most suited to the course.

-Elevation: Well and copiously used. It starts off with the valley shot on (1) and ends with a cresting then descending par-4 on (18), with many variations in between. The hills complement other course design features and make the course much more fun.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Predominantly technical par-3s. Distance will be crucial, but just as much the ability to hit fairways and scramble. The fairways are fair for sure, and pretty varied from straighter holes to s-curves and hyzers. Perhaps it favors a RHBH flex line. The course will reward smart gameplay, and knowing your limits. As a player that didn't have the distance to score many of these holes, I was still able to post a lot of pars by playing the fairways to my strengths. Mixed in are three par-4s, which are all fun, multi-shot holes that require planning.

-Flow: The course flows nicely. As noted, a couple of next tee signs would make it perfect.

-Maintenance: Underbrush was extremely well under control for a wooded course. The obvious exception is the briar patch on (1)…don't turn your drive over like me.

Cons:

-Drainage: After a light rain, there were some puddles and some muddy patches. Nothing too severe.

-Variety: Possibly this course leans heavier on wooded holes than is ideal. There are less than a handful of open holes, and virtually nothing in between heavy trees and almost no trees.

-Reward Factor: For a lower-intermediate player like myself, this wasn't a rewarding course. The birdies were mostly very difficult or impossible with my distance. On the flip side, I imagine this is much more fun for an advanced player that can easily trample many basic city park courses.

Other Thoughts:

Edwards is a high-end Very Good, no doubt. It's well put together with credible design and good terrain. To me, it lacks that special sparkle to rate it Excellent - I think probably due to the lack of variety with all heavily wooded, longish par-3s. However, it's well worth a try for any serious players, especially those with a comfortably long wooded golf distance.
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23 0
Moose33
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.9 years 245 played 242 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great addition to a growing DG scene 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 30, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Edwards is about 10-15 minutiae north of Dalton proper and a bit harder to get to for out of town players, but I will say it's worth it.

Driving though the large, and either new or recently renovated multi use park with its many baseball and soccer fields, tennis courts and sprawling walking party I had a slight pause. It felt like other mid level park courses and I was afraid it might be boring.

My fears it turned out were unfounded.

From the large gravel car park, orient yourself with the pavilion on your left and take the walking path right. As you descend the path towards the woods, holes 1 and 10 greet you. As with all of the holes the tee pads are on the larger size, turf and on a hit dry day gripped excellently.

There are discrete wood and metal benches and you will also find on every hole.

The first shot is a fairly open 300ft rip across a valley with woods to the left and an incredibly interesting long pin position at the top of the large hill.

You then turn into the woods and begin a series of winding shots meandering up and down though the hilly forest and finding some OB creeks and paths to add some challenge.

Many of these holes are 220-350ft and can be attacked with your preferred mid or fairway, but with a few like hole 5 is over 400 and a tight par three in the woods, you can easily make costly errors in shot selection to hurt your score.

Hole 10 emerges back into the open and you get to throw a long 500ft par three to shake things up and back into the woods for a few more holes. The creek plays on many of these as well. On hole 16(my personal favorite) you throw a shot from the woods of this 500+ft par 4 into an open field and then again up the hill on the other side of this field into some more woods. It was overall very cool.

17 is trying to force a righty backhand Hyzer shot though a tree tunnel, and you finish on 18 which is a largely open hole but at near 800 ft and OB longs and right of the basket it's no easy hole.

I had a very good time here and it feels like the love child of Etowah and Westside. The hills and woods blend to make an interesting course that is just diverse enough to be excellent in my opinion.

Tee signs are accurate and full color, and the prodigy baskets are a nice blue and catch pretty darn good.

Cons:

The cons are few but they do exist. Navigation is mainly intuitive, but not without its foibles. No next tee signs or event course start sign, took me a minute to find hole one, the way to 2, and got entirely lost after 10 and got to 17 before I realized I had nearly missed half the course.

This course feels very professional, especially for its setting and I don't see them putting next tee direction tape on baskets, but we need something.

Only one hole that I had a problem with and that is hole 11. This entire course has interesting and defined fairways, and then this downhill poke and hope throw away hole was plopped into the course. I'm sure it is mainly there to help flow, but it's the only hole that didn't feel in place here. The biggest gap is less than 6ft.

I mentioned it feels very professional, and I mean that in the best way but it lacks the whimsical touch my favorite courses have. The touches that are a designers signature, those are largely absent here. I'm not docking points for it, but for people who love courses to have a bit of DIY funk like I do, this doesn't have that Flip City, Hornings Hideout, Etowah type vibe I dig.

Other Thoughts:

Overall and amazing addition to an area that thanks to Prodigy is becoming a DG Mecca. The mix of holes and playability make this a course that you could easily, and maybe will see, on Tournament coverage.

Between Edwards and Westside you could easily have an A tier in Dalton now.
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20 0
Bennybennybenny
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 322 played 303 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Dalton's More Robust Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 22, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Edwards reminded me a lot of Clay in Alabama. Starts out in the open and ends in the open. It's a more wooded course since fourteen holes are at least mostly wooded and only four are open. It's a little different than most of the courses that I've played in Georgia since it's a tighter course with a creek in play. Not to mention, #5 is beside a cattle farm. But it's only a couple of hours away from the Fontana Dam and Andrews, NC region. That explains the scenery here at Edwards! It's a gorgeous course both in the open and in the woods!

-Starts off hot with a sweet starting hole! #1 is a 300' valley shot in the open to the short pin. OB stakes are to the right side. My verdict hyzered out too far right and I landed OB while most players in the open division were able to get a birdie or a par because of a missed putt. It's a gorgeous hole staring out into the valley over the hill. The long pin is even more epic! It utilizes extreme elevation being 600+ and on top of the huge hill! #18 is an excellent ending hole being 800' and over a crest going back downhill through some spaced out trees and the basket being in a difficult placement near some rocks marked off as OB and the road being maybe 20' past it. The hole is completely open but offers a wide gap between two treelines. The gap is about 400' from the pad where the hill instantly drops a good amount in elevation. Just a really sweet ending!

-Scenery is a factor with there being a creek in play on some of the wooded holes. #7 was my favorite hole because of it. You tee off beside a gravel road to the left side where the fairway runs immediately over a creek bed and slightly uphill. Plays as a sidearm or backhand anhyzer perched on a small hill. Tough but very fair fairway. The atmosphere of this hole really enhances the value of it. The area of the park at this point of the course is darker. #12 was a gorgeous hyzer too. The creek was actually straight ahead, so if you throw hard without much fade, chances are that you'll be in the creek. Between there being a creek in a tightly wooded area with hardwood trees, and throwing over an open valley makes Edwards a very pretty course.

-Right now, there's only one layout and only the first hole has two pin positions. I heard there are more pin positions coming. I don't know about another set of tee pads, but there's no telling. You don't get to tee off on top of the hill that's near #17's basket for #18 and I'm not sure if that'd be the best idea considering the fact you'd be throwing over #17's green. I'm looking forward to seeing the additions whenever they come!

-I like the green turf pads. They are not slick. They are easy to run up on, and they aren't small either. The prodigy baskets caught very well when I played.

-Multi purpose park. Multisport facility. There was a baseball event occurring at the same time of the disc golf tournament. Very family friendly. There's a walking trail that runs adjacent to the course and there's camping nearby. Park is open for 24 hours, so there could be camping available.

-The three par fours offer some "extended" versions of the par threes. One of them is around the same length as a few of the longer ones. #13 is only 425' and plays as the easiest of the par threes. It's the shortest. Even shorter than one of the par threes here (#10), but it plays as a dogleg left and is tight the entire way. #16 was probably the hardest. Despite it being only around 500-520', #16's landing zone is hard to get to. You throw out of the woods into the open and want your disc to flex a good way to the right in order to have a straight look up the steep hill back in the woods. My drive didn't go to the right enough, so I was looking at the base of the hill with no line to the basket and I ended up making a bogey. #18 is much longer with some OB around the basket, but it is open and allows more room to rip two drivers.

Cons:

-Not very forgiving. This is probably just a temporary issue. I like the fact that it's a tighter course. A few gaps are 10' or less. However, the consequences are quite harsh. The rough isn't dense because there isn't any overgrowth. The rough consists of low and long branches close in proximity, making it very tough to pitch out. I didn't play well in the tournament because of some errant throws, but you could lose a stroke or two if you land even less than 20' into the rough.

-#10. I get that it's open and straight. But it's over 500' and more uphill than down and it's a par three. Incredibly hard to reach and probably the least interesting hole on the course. Can't say for sure, but I think this hole could be better. #5 was quite difficult being 425' and tight the whole way. Could use a few less trees if it's going to be a par three. Since #5 is very close to a cattle farm, you could go OB without noticing. The fence is EXTREMELY hard to spot.

-The tee signs look nice and they give good hole info. Some of the fairway diagrams are a bit off. You'll see a big sweeping hyzer, and the diagram will make the hole look like a slightly left fade. You'll want to walk a few of the fairways in order to understand what you should do.

Other Thoughts:

-The drive from Asheville, NC was a gorgeous ride over. Especially through Andrews along the river. I had the privilege to play Westside before my tee off time and enjoyed that course a lot too. I don't know for sure, but I think those two courses were the first courses that I played designed by Will Schusterick. Was great to see Will again after the Magic City Mega Bowl and this time I saw him as well as his wife and his infant son! After playing two of his courses, I will say that Will knows how to put together an awesome course! I thought Edwards was a little harder with more uniqueness while Westside had more variety and a little more elevation. Since Edwards is newer, I think I liked Westside slightly better but that opinion is subject to change next time I come back down to Dalton, GA since I heard that they are coming up with more ideas for this one.

-The scenery was something I really loved here. It's the kind of scenery I love. The open holes would be especially beautiful during sundown. Looks to be a place were a fourth of July party could be hosted. The wooded holes seemed more NC golf ish. They were well polished! None of them were easy, but a few offer good opportunities for birdie, such as #9 being the shortest hole and straight over a creek. #15 was birdied a lot too in the tournament. I thought it was a little tricky of a line, but it's one of those holes that gets easier the more you know it. #17 was in the open but the tee pad directly faces a path aligned with young trees that'll probably make this hole tougher in the next decade or so.

-This course is appealing. Most people at the tournament seem to enjoy it. I heard a few say that it's too tight, but it's already come a long way. I heard from locals that plenty of trees were cut down and a few fairways were widened. I know for sure this course will be epic. I love it already and plan to be back as soon as possible! If more second pins come in and if there's room for maybe a few second pads, Edwards will undoubtedly be one of Georgia's top destination courses. I'm glad I drove the three and a half hours to get here!
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20 0
landon77
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.2 years 78 played 43 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Excellent design. High fun and playability ratings. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 13, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful course. Plays next to power lines and poles, goes through some woods and hills, comes back out into some openings. Great variety. Scenic.

I found myself saying: cool, wow, and nice at almost every tee pad when looking at the shot for the first time.

Intermediate to advanced difficulty. Some long holes and some very technical holes.

Fair lines for both lefty's and righty's. The design doesn't favor one over the other.

Not terribly grueling I've seen carts and backpack players. I took a backpack and was told that was the way to go as he was struggling with his cart.

Dog friendly! Mine slept soundly the entire day after a round.

Cons:

-not finished.
-no tee signs.
-Parking needs to be sorted better and I'm sure the courses starting point will better remedy that when tee signs go up.
-Benches, and garbage cans non existent. Take out what you take in!
-course is Going to be much more difficult with full foliage.

Other Thoughts:

Nothing major epic about the proportions or the scenery of the course. All of it was very nice. The design of the course seem to mesh perfectly with the area.

The major strength of this course is its design. There are clear and well defined lines on every hole. Some less fair than others. A conservative round and some tree love will carry you well here.

This course could and should easily be a 5 but I will wait to change until it's finished. Kudos to the designer(s) who did an excellent job on this course! Can't wait to play it again!
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