PARK DESCRIPTION - Mathews Park is a fairly small, mostly wooded 28-acre park with a small lake as its centerpiece. There is a fun looking playground in front by the pavilion.

VARIETY - A nice combo of wooded versus short carries. # 10 at either 400 or 500'is a longer downhill

ELEVATION - Mostly, some gentle downhills heading to the lake along with # 10. #8 and 11 play uphill.

CHALLENGE - All over the spectrum, from recreational to almost intermediate, depending on which tee you're throwing from.

EQUIPMENT - Kiosk with course map, practice basket. A semi-weird bench by the kiosk with round circles for your bottom to rest in. It reminds me of an outhouse. Discatchers with the yellow band and numbers. Large colored tee signs complete with hole map, all usual information and with a sponsor and brooms. Nice concrete tee pads which also have the sponsors name imbedded in the concrete. Benches in places and a protective wall built to protect players on # 12. There are some garbage cans throughout the course.

AESTHETICS - Lots of very pretty holes which play down toward the lake like # 3 at 240' and # 5 237'. # 13 is another pretty hole playing between 273' and 411'. # 1, 15 and 18 with their water carries are fun but non-threatening to the average rec player.

FUN FACTOR - Everyone loves throwing over water especially when there is little chance of losing your disc. # 18 is a classic throwing from the peninsula but only needed about a 50' over water carry to reach the far shore. # 15, if throwing straight to the basket is about 230' to dry land. Wimpy players like me can easily hyser off the water after about 100'. And # 1 needs about 190' to reach it's far shore.

ROUTING/NAVIGATION - It's mostly intuitive. I experienced no problems getting around.

WTF MOMENT - The catcher on basket 13 is about 6" off the ground. It doesn't look broken or vandalized but I sure hope this isn't planned like a raised basket because it's not fun at all.

SIGNS - Missing signs on 11, 12 and 16.

TREACHEROUS DESCENT - The steep walk down on # 6 would be downright scary when wet. Some steps would be appreciated.

MANDO SIGN - The mando right on # 6 would be more challenging if this were a mando left.

Some areas seem to be known for a certain type of courses. The Chicago area is well known for its preponderance of flat, nine-hole rec courses. The Charlotte area is known for its tough advanced level courses like Nevin, Hornet's Nest, Renny Gold and more.

After playing about 20 courses around Atlanta, I'm thinking Atlanta has a large grouping of fun, 18's that are tweeners, that is, they're more challenging than a recreational level but fall short of being called intermediate level. Courses I would include in this tweener 18 category would include; Frog Rock, Oregon Park, East Roswell, Wills Park, Suwanee Creek, Little Mulberry, Fort Yarbo, Mathews, Rosewood- DeKalb which is at the lower rec level, Deer Lick and many others I haven't had the pleasure of playing.

I think Mathews Park is a perfect example of this. It fits right in the center of the Atlanta tweener 18's. It's a wonderful, very pretty, recreational course with maybe, a couple of tee placements that could be considering intermediate level. Whatever you want to label Mathews Park DGC, it's one heck of a fun throw.

Multiple pin placements & good concrete pads for most holes gives you the basics for a decent course. Using the water, including overwater shots & keeping the wooded holes interesting was a definite plus. We enjoyed the over water shots on 1, 15, & 18 and none of us managed to lose a disc, although a few had to be retrieved from the water. Knowing the risk of potentially losing a disc but going for it anyway spikes the adrenaline just a bit & keeps things fun.

The variety was good to see on a small course with most of the holes in areas of the park less likely to see other traffic. We all enjoyed the course & it was a good overall experience.

Maintenance & vandalism were the two biggest cons for us. Knee-high grass on the sunny fairways & poisonous plants on the wooded fairways kept us from enjoying things more.

Many of the tee signs had been broken & removed by vandals, so some scouting ahead to see the pin was necessary with a guess as to the distance.

A couple of the holes play near parking lots or over the road, so you definitely need to be aware of your surroundings.

I did enjoy the course & struggled with the rating but the lack of maintenance overall dropped it a half a point. The course hadn't been mowed in weeks when we played & the peninsula for 18 & the tee box was covered in goose crap with no broom in sight, which somewhat marred what would've been a cool placement.

With a little TLC this could be a more enjoyable experience & I'm sure we'll be back to try it again.

A beautiful park making excellent use of woods and a lake.

-Beauty: This isn't the "get away from all civilization" kind of course, but it plays around a lovely little lake with relatively open woods. Really good park-style feel. Also, I like waterfowl, which are abundant here.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: A clinic in designing interesting and birdie-able par 3's. Uphill and downhill, gaps and mandos, more open and more wooded holes, straights and doglegs and flexes, and a couple of 400+ ft holes marked as par 4's. Most shots require some level of interesting shaping and/or speed control with OB long. My notable shots are (1) throwing over and along the lakeshore, (5) running 250 ft gently downhill straight towards the lakeshore, (6) going 40 ft. downhill through a double mando, (10) throwing freely downhill 300 ft and then either to a left or right pocket, (13) traveling 400 ft through sparse woods, (15) driving 290 ft. over the lake (with a short lay-up option to the left), and (18) starting from a peninsula in the middle of the lake.

-Amenities: Decent concrete tees, tee signs with maps and distance, DISCatchers, good course map, benches peppered throughout, and a couple of good tee decks to level throwing surfaces.

-Terrain: Hills are used well to add interest to many, many of these holes.

-Multi-Pins: Several holes have multiple pin placements to freshen up the challenge for repeat players.

The course limits itself to par 3's at rec to intermediate level.

-Distance: With pro pars this is a par-54 course. Lots of holes about 250 ft with some trees--which is a good challenge for rec players and birdie bait for intermediate players. It's hard to create a really stellar course without fairway length to open the door for advanced shot-shaping challenges. Sometimes Mathews is forced to resort to a shape which involves just clearing two or three initial trees and throwing the rest of an empty fairway to the pin if you don't get there in one throw.

-Disc Loss: The odds of sinking a disc aren't low, especially on (1) and (15). Marginal risk if you overthrow on (5) or (17). Additionally, some basket placements for (2) and (10) are close enough to fenced-off property lines that a particularly high and long shot could be lost.

-Safety: The park includes picnic tables next to some fairways, and a display of Georgia minerals practically in the fairway of (9). I also suspect a lot of walkers would be wandering through the park on a fair day.

I really like Mathews Park as an upper-rec player. The woods lines and water holes provide some challenge while staying very pleasant, and the course truly is nice terrain for a smallish city park. However, without more length to give it gameplay interest, Mathews remains a solid "Good." I would be here all the time if I lived in Monroe.

Concrete tee-pads and elevated wood tee-pads on a couple of holes.

Course is very well maintained. It is summer right now and the brush is quite manageable.

Variety of shots, with some subtle elevation on many of the holes.

Many holes throw towards the lake/pond and distance control is required.

Baskets are well placed, many seem straight forward until you realize that you really have to maneuver around some late trees to have a legit birdie look.

Couple of holes are quite short and seem squeezed in.

Can get busy on the weekends with people fishing and just strolling around the lake/pond.

Not all that punishing if you are not precise of the tee.

Not much distance or wide-open shots.

Quite a nice course that I think plays well to both new players and more advanced players.

There is water that you throw over on a couple of holes but really is not much of an issue if you choose to play a conservative shot.

Very fun course, will become my homebase.

Has practice basket

Has 16 concrete tee pads and 2 elevated wooden tee pads for holes #8&14

Has nice tee signs with most indicating basket placements

Has next tee signs

Multiple basket placements on almost half of the course

Good mix of wooded and open fairways with some elevations

Most of the holes are under shade where this can be really appreciated in the hot and humid summers

Well-maintained

Restrooms

Free parking

Course design and flow could use improvement as there are long walks between holes 5&6 and 15&16

Has water where you have to drive over - hole #15 is the riskiest to lose a disc

Course can get crowded at times as it's popular with parkgoers and players

This is a nice multi-use course in Walton County that I enjoyed playing. Since my first visit in December 2015, this course has really improved since the addition of concrete tee pads, new tee signs, and I suppose more alternate basket placements in 2016. I think the course makes the best of its limited land with all the uphills and downhills and the use of the lake. The lake does seem to be a popular attraction here as there were people fishing around holes #5 and #15 when I played. The pavilion near hole #1 was crowded with some cars parked in the hole #18 fairway...so one might consider playing during off-peak hours to avoid this. Hole #16 can present challenges if cars are parked in the lot on the left of the fairway. There are some short holes here but you'll need the control to get that birdie. I want to thank the local disc golf club for their hard work and TLC to make this course more enjoyable to play now.

Great mix of long and short holes. New concrete pads and tee signs installed this year. including a drop pad for 15 a shot over the water. The local club has put in a lot of work clearing out brush and trees opening up a lot of different lines.
Even mix of lefty to righty holes. Which for me is big plus being that Im left handed.

The center piece of this course is the lake. makes for beautiful sights and interesting shots. This does lead to holes around the lake being wet and muddy. Mostly after a good rain. the park is not very big which means locals coming to the park to enjoy the weather are often hanging out in the middle of the course during a round.

In the past Mathews wasn't much of a disc golf course. Few even knew this course was even here. The WCDG is the local club and calls Mathews their home. They have done a great job in cleaning up the course, adding concrete pads and new Tee signs and building up buzz around the community with lots of support from the county. Mathews is where its at right now. Lots of event have already been had with many more to come. DUBs every WED at 5:30 during daylight savings. keep a look out for glow rounds during the summer.
Come out and see the new Mathews

-Elevation changes
- use of water on a few holes
- good course to work on basics
- challenging, but fair
- a lot of ace runs

- no tee pads ( would be a 4 if they had tee pads). number 4 I went back 10 ft because the dirt pad had roots on it.
- no legit par 4
- anyone over 900 rated should avg at least 6 or 7 down.

Good Course, nothing special but well worth the visit. I thought about not going at all, but it was well worth it.

* There is nothing spectacular about this course but it has the potential to be a fun course to play. Actually it is fun, but it could be more fun with signage. I rate the signage as 2.
* Enough trees to make you pay attention but not so many that you get lost in the jungle.
* Some elevation change but nothing extreme.
* A tournament is upcoming to raise funds for course improvement.

* Water. I hate water. Since that is a personal preference I didn't downgrade the course because of it. I just hate it when something unforeseen such as wind or a rollaway cause a disc to be lost forever.
* Very little signage as to where to go after finishing a hole.
* Some T-Boxes had nice signs, some were missing, some were broken and half missing, all were faded. Some of the T-Box signs didn't distinguish which of the 2 visible baskets was the one to throw at.
* Some T-Boxes were only painted marking on the ground.
* No alternate T-Boxes for those who don't want to throw across water or, more importantly, those who can't throw far enough to get across the water.
* Lots of trash and cigarette butts on the grounds. I hope it is not the disc golfers who are leaving it there.

* It appears that the city financed the course installation and then, as the economy turned down, has done little or nothing in the way of maintenance except an occasional mowing.
* I feel that someone playing a course for the first time should be able to find there way around without having to wander around to find T-Boxes or walk down fairways to find a basket or which basket. For clarification on signage scoring: 0 - Signage is so bad that a player will quit a go somewhere else because they can't find anything or know what they have found when they find something; 1 - T-Boxes have signs telling you where you are but there is not much else; 2 - Some signs but not enough to make things perfectly clear, missing signs, inadequate information; 3 - All T-Boxes have signs, and there is at least one sign pointing to the next T-Box after finishing a hole, but there is still room for doubt in some cases; 4 - Lots of signs so a person probably will have no trouble navigation the course; 5 - Idiot proof. Several signs along the path from basket to T-Box. Signs pointing to baskets where there is a blind shot. Clearly marked T-Boxes showing which T-box a person is standing and which direction to throw. Some visual or narrative describing every hole.
* Fix the signage and I'd play it again.
* I'd call this an intermediate course since there are no really long bombs.

The course has good Discatcher baskets.
The course does make use of the pond at the park, but not in a way that is overly challenging. I have seen better golfers than me lose discs in the pond, though. The Walton County Disc Golf Club has done a really good job taking over ownership of the course. Concrete tee pads have been placed on 16 of the 18 tee pads (One alt pad) and 2 wooden tee pads, due to site conditions. A lot of the brush and shule has been cleared from the course.
The course has several ace runs that give the intermediate golfer the hope that they finally garner that long awaited ace.
The course is rarely crowded.
Nice practice basket that you can also use as a 19th hole. Just throw from the park entrance road.
The new alternate pins give a different look on 7, 9, 10, 12, and 14, and the new pad on 13 takes the overgrown creek out of play, for the most part..
The course has a pretty good flow, and isn't too hard to follow,even without a course map.
Bathroom next to 16, for what it's worth.
New tee signs on all 18 holes, with accurate lengths.

Course maintenance has been a a problem in the past. Weeds on 6 through 8, and 12 through 14 can be a real problem in the spring/summer growing season. However, a lot of work has been done on these holes recently, thanks to WCDG club and Walton county..
For some reason, lazy people like to park on the fairways of 15 and 16. Sure, I occasionally throw in the parking lot on 16, but that doesn't need to mean they should park in the fairway.
There has been problems with people fishing around the pond. Most people are pretty cool if you let them know what you are doing.
I have seen people use the basket for 15 as a trash receptacle and a dog tie out.
Eighteen throws over an old play area that doesn't get much use anymore. It hasn't posed a problem.
No course map.

Watch out for geese and people fishing while on the course.
During previous spring/summer seasons when doubles were being run, we played 1-5 and 15-18 twice to avoid the overgrown sections of the course. With the extra work being done, this may not be necessary.
As a 845 rated disc golf without a lot of distance, I liked playing the course for doubles, as I felt I had a chance to contribute, even playing with a 1000+ rated partner for the round.
I have read reviews about the sketchy area, but have never had a problem with being on the course.

I am an intermediate RHBH player but use my forehand equally well. For me this course was fun to play at least to those pins that were close to the water because I like more of a technical and accurate game than distance because I can't throw more than 350 feet. Well, Only two pins were above 350 I think. Pin #10 and Pin # 18 were 400 and 396 feet respectively. You can get easy EAGLE in pin #10 if you throw forehand or good anhyzer because you have very small room for big hyzer shots. All the wooded pins are poorly maintained and needs good accuracy otherwise you are most probably going to loose your disc because of the bushes along the fairway. The wooded holes are short for me at least. Maximum distance I found was 270 feet or so, not sure right now. Pins near to the water aren't that lengthy, so you can basically use your mid-range discs or even putter. I shot 4 under par in my first attempt with 4 spits out. Definitely within range of any intermediate player.

Poor management of the course. I think the reason is, it is free. However, my home course, the Herman C. Michael in Bishop (near Athens) is free yet well maintained. You will find people fishing and kids playing around some holes like#15, #17, and #18. Some tee had missing information about the distance and par.

All in all, I like this course for fun play. If the park administration puts some money to update the course information every once two year and if they mow the bushes and grasses along the fairway, it would be a good DGC.

Mathews Park is a full 18 hole disc golf course with some other interesting installations right in the middle of it all. The course encircles a small body of water with diverse woods and small elevation changes in spots. Opening and closing holes are more open, and where the water comes into play on a couple of holes (#1 and #15 mainly). The middle of the course requires more precise lines through thicker trees, and a couple of power and distance holes nearing 400 feet. Some good holes, but nothing about the course stands out more than the various learning centers, observational experiments, and an extensive collection of carefully labeled trees mixed into the general tree population in one corner of the park. There are signs identifying different species of trees, signs telling the purpose of conservation studies, signs urging people not to litter. Other weird objects have also been built or arranged around hole 5 to hole 12 or so. Many of these items are near or part of the disc golf course.

All baskets are in place, and most holes have a sign. Hole #5 ends very close to the tee for #15 so 9 holes is a short option as well. .

The course is a functional 18 holes, but nothing that is especially memorable or terrific. The assortment of educational items on the course or other park goers could inhibit play on a nice day, I suppose. I hit two of these metal signs on the same hole (#8). The 18th hole goes right through a playground! I know thats no good. The sign for #6 had fallen off the post, and I couldn't find the tee marker for #13.

Kind of interesting place if you have the time, but not an exceptional disc golf course. I did think the exotic trees exhibited were cool. It is a cost free park, unlike other better courses nearby. Some good challenging shots out there, and some nice holes. This course reminds me of Herman C. Michael Park in nearby Bishop, without quite as dense trees in the wooded portion.

It is free.

Everything. And you get what you pay for(see pros). Apparently the county has zero money for it's parks. Couldn't see the basket on hole #1. Lots of trees cut down & left where they fell.

My Son & I drove (10 miles)down to Matthew's for a nice saturday of disc golf. They cut down a bunch of trees & left them piled where they fell. Some of the branch cuttings were in big piles. On hole #1 we couldn't see the basket. Not sure if a tree was laying on it. We both decided to go to Ft Yargo(much better course). Lots of better parks in nearby counties. The pictures on this website are very out of date. Hole #1 picture shows the basket just over the water. It wasn't there when we visited, either dug up or a tree crushed it. Tree was laying where basket should have been.

Matthews is a very enjoyable 18 hole course set in a park that features a nice 3 acre lake. While on the short side, coming in at only 4776 feet, it can be challenging. Besides the three holes that top out at just less than 400 feet, you'll find holes that average around the 240 feet range. Many of these holes are heavily wooded and will not only require skill and finesse, but at times a little luck. But you'll also find some holes that open up a bit and they add to the variety. Additionally, there is a good mix of elevation too, nothing dramatic but certainly enough to keep it interesting. Although water comes into play on a hand full of holes, only three will require you to throw across. Most are quite easy to clear but an occasional bad shot could make it possible to go home with a lighter bag. On a couple of holes overshooting the baskets could get you wet too. It's also worth noting that even if you're not a short wooded course kind of person the consolation is that this is a very fun course to play and there's ample ace and birdie opportunities.

Each tee pad has good signs with distances and there's some next tee signs where it counts. Together they get you through the course pretty well. The natural tee pads are in decent shape and they do the trick nicely. The newer DISCatchers are in perfect shape. There's also a practice basket for putting available near hole one. There's even enough room throw some longer warm up approach shots/short drives as well. An information sign with a mailbox for scorecards and other info is here too, although it was empty on my visit.

The hole six transition is less than seamless. It requires a little backtracking that is more of an annoyance than anything. You'll wish there was a way to get down the hill directly to the basket from the pad. You'll have to walk back towards five's basket and then finally back down to six's basket.

The park itself seemed a little depressing to me. Having the whole park to yourself is usually a good thing but for whatever reason it felt a little creepy when I visited. The rundown bathrooms and structures add to the atmosphere, as does the miscellaneous trash scattered around. Even the lake had lots of submerged trash around its banks. It'd be nice if some trash cans were added around the course, although I suspect it's not the disc golfer's littering as much as other park users.

There are just a few more areas towards the middle of the course that need to be cleaned up and broken in. Mainly just some scraggly stuff, vines, etc. More often than not the fairways are fairly clean and well defined but there's plenty of brush to deal with outside the lines.

Being that I like shorter, wooded courses I really had a great time here. There were a few memorable holes for me. Number eight was my favorite on the course. It is a really nice uphill shot with a low ceiling and was lots of fun. Number ten's open downhill shot topping off near 400 feet was a fun hole too. My second favorite was probably number thirteen. Another shot near 400 feet plays along a valley floor with a dry creek bed running along its right side. If the underbrush gets cleaned out on this hole it will be beautiful.

As mentioned in a previous review there are dozens of trees with orange ribbon tied around them near and in seventeen and eighteen's fairways. I hope they are not going to be cut for the course's sake. They make the course so much more fun than if they disappeared. I'm afraid they might have come under pine beetle attack or something similar. Although I didn't see any sap leaking I did see lots of little holes drilled in the bark of these trees. Let's hope they survive.

This is a course that is worth a little travel to check out and play. I drove over an hour and a half and left very pleased. I will definitely go and play again. It's also worth noting that nearby Criswell Park's nine hole course is a nice way to justify the trip as well. Make sure you try to hit both while you are in the area.

Based on my fun factor and the courses potential I'd rate it a 3.5 but based on what I perceive as the average disc golfer's expectations, I'll ring it up as an official 3 for now. Enjoy!

A great variety of hole types, some old growth pine, some open, some short water carries, uphills, downhills and through a wooded nature area that has probably every type of tree you can grow in GA.

Holes are mostly short and technical with a couple longer open holes.

Great use of what seems to be a pretty un-used park.

Kind of trashy. We only saw one trashcan and it was on the back side of the course. Over by the lake there are no trash cans but there is plenty of trash and even a sign telling you to use them.

Basket 15 has become a trashcan because of this and a tub of butter on the top of the basket distracted me and caused a bogey...I would have thrown it away if there was anywhere to do it.

Spooky bathrooms that would make excellent sets for a horror movie chainsaw rapist/killer scene.

Lots of goose poop around the lake...not a big deal, just watch your step!!

Still needs some breaking in, lots of brush and undergrowth but its a new course.

Several of the signs point in the wrong direction and with a few blind baskets this could be frustrating, but after we saw this on an open hole we started checking before throwing...I think they adjusted the tees after the signs were made.

A great and fun little course. The water carries are short enough that all but the smallest of kids could clear them. A pair of new players, father and son asked us why all the trees were marked on 16-18 and we didn't know but I really hope they are not thinking about removing them...they are beautiful and make the last holes fun and interesting...it would be a waste to do so and if the newbies want them, why would you do it?

If they installed about a dozen trash cans and cleaned up some brush this course would easily be a 3.5 in my book.

We look forward to playing again...and again.

1. Fun, an arm saver. Though this area is "run down", according to a previous reviewer, the course itself is not.

2. Although short, plenty of trees offer a good challenge. People who feel they need an ace route on every hole will be bitchy about there not being a route, but they probably ought to work on their upshot game. That and the putt is what you really stand to develop if you play here often.

3. It's fun to play.

1. Occasional fishermen, but they have been nice enough.
2. Goose crap. Watch your step.
3. Some low areas around baskets 1 and 3 can be soppy in wet weather.
4. Not a great tournament course due to fairway locations and the possibilities of discs flying into other fairways. This isn't a con if you come play during the week.

The holes are almost all short. Almost every hole offers plenty of trees, which is good because almost every hole is short. Bring your upshot game; if you don't make the drive, that's what this course is about. NO MORE TREES SHOULD BE REMOVED: IT WOULD BE TOO EASY!

Also, the distances on signs are a bit long in most cases. Most golfers will notice this immediately. The shortest hole isn't as long as it says, as the longest hole isn't long as it says. Not that big of a deal, though, since most parks seem to just get it close.

-New baskets and signs
-Compact, easy-to-navigate layout
-Plenty of risk/reward opportunities
-Mixture of open and technical holes

-Monroe
-Old, run-down park with nothing else to offer (except fishing)
-No benches or trash cans
-No course maps

Mathews Park DGC is located in Monroe. Monroe, in general, is a pretty run-down area, and this park is no exception. There wasn't a huge amount of space to put an 18 hole course on, but the designers used the space wisely. Most hold are pretty short, but there are plenty of trees to make it challenging.

There's plenty of room for improvement on this course, but it is new and I'm sure it will get better with age.

An 18-hole course set around a large pond (not quite a lake) in an older park. There is a practice basket to the left of the front parking lot and playground. Tee #1 is a putt's distance in front of it. Holes 1, 15, and 18 all throw over corners of the pond, so a heavy crunch to avoid water is not necessary. Short of a major griplock or foolishly throwing a very understable disc, you shouldn't hit the water, since all drives would be RH hyzer shots.

All the signs were in place and blue wood tee marks were easy to find. The tee I probably had the hardest time finding was #17, which I drove past on way to parking in the back.

There are a majority of holes which require not a great amount of distance, but very good accuracy. The shortest hole is 165 ft (hole #14) and the longest is 396' (#10 and #18), so there are none that are at or past 400'. The lack of distance on holes is more than made up by the creativity used for many short-to-intermediate finesse shots. Several holes have low ceilings or trees packed all around the fairway that only a couple paths (sometimes even one) will get you through to the pin. On one hole (#4), the best way to get through to pin is a FH roller, where I used a beat Eagle and put it within 20' and canned my birdie.

Speaking of 'birdies', remember the 'mother geese' that were mentioned about a month ago as having eggs (little gooselings?) ready to hatch? Well, fortunately I did not run into any bitching or honking from those 'mothers'. The babies must have hatched a few weeks ago since not a nest or egg shell were found. They're probably being home schooled and taking their Swimming and Flying 101 classes right now lol.

I really like how the woodsy holes beyond the south end of the pond are cleared out. Lots of open space for downhill approach drives (#6), low ceiling shots (#8 and 9), and a nice long fairway along the creek on #13, which is to me the neatest hole on the course. However, the trees are not bush-hogged out too much as to create major windows on the short, tight holes like #11, 12, and 14. There is even green grass growing right along a couple of the fairways out of the woods, which adds for a nice contrast. A lot of thought and care was placed into how the back area was cleared out to compliment the holes and fairways. There are still bunches of trees that are untouched, so I'd say it's sort of an 'addition by subtraction' scenario.

There is good use of space on holes near the pond and tall fence along east side of park. The pins are placed far enough away from pond or fence, so as to not serve as a hazard on approach shots or putts.

The course is still fairly new, so there is no worry about any foot traffic on the holes. In the two days I've played, I only saw (or heard) two other people playing the course. So it's pretty nice to have the course all to yourself for an hour or two

Here are a few 'Cons' that I want to point out:

First of all, the park is somewhat in the projects (or 'PJs' as they would call it). It is a fairly old park, probably been around since at least the 70's, I'm not sure. Several locals were out fishing all around #18, but fortunately by the time I got there during Tuesday's round, they had left. I saw minimal amounts of trash on ground (which I duly picked up and discarded). Despite the 'antiquity' of the park and its location, it's still safe to play even towards dusk.

Secondly, there are a few inconveniences along the fairways of a few holes. For example, just short and to the left of #1 fairway is a big mire of mud where a couple of my practice shots landed. That area may be very saturated from rain, so I'm not sure if replanting grass seed in that area would entirely work. Also, there are still bits of poison ivy on the woodsy holes (#6, 7, 12). I know the P.I. comes with the territory, but several clumps of it can surely be dug out from the roots.

There is not a quick way to walk down to pin #6. When I played there the other day (Tue 5/11), I walked down hill on right side, past tee #14, pin #13, until I could find a sturdy enough log to walk across to other side. Today, I walked back to left side and then around, which took about the same time. You can't walk straight ahead and down because there is a bog right at bottom. In due time, I think a bridge across creek along #13 fairway would be nice to adjoin to hole #6. Still lots of tree debris and hanging vines along #13 fairway which, in due time, should be removed.

And another thing... all the holes are creatively thought out, but I feel that several of them could be made longer. Holes like 6, 8, 11, and 14 would be even more challenging if the pins were 40-50' further back. Eventually, I think there is room for many (if not all) of the holes to have alternate pin placements, which can add a whole new dimension to this neat course layout.

I first played the course two days earlier (Tuesday 5/11), but only played from hole #6 on. I parked along the back next to the #16 fairway. It was already 7:30pm at that time, so I knew sunlight would be very limited and I would not complete a full round in time.

So I walked backwards from #16 until I got to the #15 tee at south corner of pond. To my left and along the path 50' up, I saw tee #6 and so I started from there. I was way past Hole 1 (and the front parking lot) at this point, so there was no turning back.

On my very first throw at Mathews, I threw my beat yellow Beast and placed it neatly 7 feet from pin. Holes like #1, 6, and 14 are definite major ace runs. From there on out, I found all the rest of the tees and pins with no fuss. Only when it was getting darker just as I was getting back into the woods on #11 did I have to adjust my nocturnal vision for some night golf lol.

There are several areas in the park that are marked as Soil Conservation and Wildlife Areas, which are marked 'Do Not Mow'. None of these areas, however, interfere with any of the holes. It is pretty neat though to read a couple of the signs out there regarding the soil projects and different types of plants. Get some knowledge of botany and wildlife while playing some disc golf - that's an outdoor bonus!

When I played on Thursday (5/13), I played the full 18 and shot a respectable 2 under, considering I had 4 birdies and 2 bogeys (while missing 3 other birdie putts - d'ohhh!!!!!) So I didn't want to review this course until - as stated in the posting guidelines - I played a full round. Starting from #6 on Tuesday, I shot a 1 under (total 38).

The peninsula hole (#18) is a nice finishing hole. But when I arrived at course on Tuesday, I was slightly disappointed that the distance from the peninsula to the front side of pond was not far at all. From Google maps, the distances can be deceiving, since I used an aerial view printout to mark the holes as I went along. So since I did finally play holes 1-5 and one full round, I was able to charter a complete map of course. I will post it on this site soon.

Again, the 'fishermen' were out on #18 on Thursday, but only on the peninsula and not in the way of the fairway on front of pond. They say that crappie, catfish, and a few bass are what occupy the waters.

The shots along the pond are not long, but also not intimidating for beginner or novice players. What I think would make it more fun and challenging is if another set of tee markers were placed on the peninsula, shooting out to pin #1. It could be a CTP hole, just like at Flyboy Aviation between holes 10 and 11 there (I think). Have yet to play it, but plan to really soon.

So after my Thursday round, I walked back to the peninsula and threw my old KC Pro Eagle to pin #1, neatly placing it 5 feet away. This could be a fun way of settling a first or second place tie in singles or doubles action. Or heck, just like Flyboy, make this shot its own CTP money hole. I estimate from my proposed tee to #1 shore was about 220 feet, and then another 35-40 feet to pin. Heck, make it more interesting and shoot towards pin #3. Just a suggestion...

Give this course another several months to a year, and the woodsy holes will look really nice. I say this course has an 'old school' feel because there are several short, finesse holes which reminds me alot of playing Chastain Park in the early 90's, before courses become longer and more tough.

Overall, a fun course to play and the geese were actually kind to me, only honking a few times just as I threw on #15 on Tuesday (startled the hell out of me lol) Once all the debris has been cleared out along #13 (and the poison ivy on other holes), that back area will look immaculate!

Oh, one more thing... when coming from 78 and heading south on Hwy 11 to get to Marable, you will notice a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called 'Sussie's Wings To Go'. It's a big yellow sign on right. I stopped there after my Thursday round on my way back to Stone Mountain. You can't go inside, it's just like a Checker's - either order at window or drive up. But maaaan, they have some really good wings and cajun fries. I snacked on those on way home (btw, be careful eating and driving, especially wings or ribs - can get very messy lol). Really good sweet tea too!

Brand new 18-hole course in an older yet well maintained county park. Walton County, GA, is opening four (yes, four!) new disc golf courses during Spring 2010 and this is one of them. The course covers almost the entire park grounds as it winds its way through scattered trees, dense woods, and even some open areas. There is a pond in the center of the park that the course plays completely around; three of the holes include tee shots over water. There are various botanical displays and nature learning centers throughout the park grounds, and the course meanders through these settings nicely. I really liked the way the course started in the relatively open common grounds of the park, wound through the quiet wooded area, then finished back in the front where it started, making a complete lap around the pond.

Because this is a brand new course, there is little more than the basic tee areas and the baskets themselves. The tees are only marked by 4x4 wood posts with numbers written on them using permanent marker, although we were told signs are on order and should be installed soon. No other amenities to speak of for now. There is also a lot of congestion with other park activities, although this should improve as the disc golf course becomes more established. For example, there are three holes that feature tee shots over the pond, but we were unable to play any of the three. There was a pickup truck parked across the tee box at hole #1 and many fishermen along the banks on hole #15. The signature hole #18 features a tee shot off of a peninsula in the middle of the pond, but this was also not playable because there was a crowded playground immediately to the right of the fairway easily reachable by a disc thrown not very far off course. We also had a run in with some nesting geese on the #8 fairway, so we had to skip holes #8, #11 and #12. The angry geese story could take up an entire post on its own!

As mentioned a few times, this course is brand new (only open a few weeks when my group played). In fact, you could still see the fresh mounds of red Georgia clay around the basket support poles. My three disc rating is really a provisionary score: it can go up or down depending on how the course matures. This course faces a real challenge with regards to congestion with other park activities, especially the fishing which could render the three water holes useless. One thing for sure, I am really looking forward to going back just as soon as those geese eggs hatch and get off the #8 fairway!

Please remember this course is not yet completed so you must take that into account. I spoke to the course designer and he said that people are welcome to play. So feel free to play, just don't expect all the finishing touches yet.
This is a very challenging course with some long holes and some very tight holes. Very good mix of
shots required. While many of the shots are very tight there is a line to every basket. All shots in your bag will be required and distance will be rewarded on many holes. I love how the lake/pond was used in this design. There is as much or little risk as you are willing to take. You can go at the baskets and take lots of risk with great reward or you can take the safe shot. The choice will be yours. Hole 18 will be the signature hole I think. On 18 you will be teeing from a peninsula over the water to basket about 400 feet ( a guess ) away. The over water portion is relatively short but you will be throwing back into the trees. Hole 13 parallels a small stream and is another long hole. There is an alternate tee for hole 6 that tees from the middle of the dam down to the basket below. Very visually pleasing but you have to walk back to go around the dam. The main tee will be at the corner of the dam. I found this a fun and challenging course, thank Tim for showing me your layout!

I will save my con comments until the course is completed.

This course will be worth the drive out to Monroe to play.