I have heard about Mountain Cove for several years, and after reading Wellsbranch talk about how overgrown it can be in the the summer I decided to make the trek before the blooms began and the grass started to grow.

Far off the beaten path the approach reminded me of some of my favorite mountainous private courses like Hornings Hideout or even Flip City and while Mountain Cove isn't as prestigious as those by far, it certainly has its moments and high potential.

As you pull on the property there is a small general store where you pay for your round $5 per player and they also have drinks and some other snacks available.

Then you pull up the hill and go past the RV park and there is a small pavilion with a box where you can pay if the store is closed as well as the course map, which is a good idea to take care a picture of.

Terrain is a mix of open cow pasture type land as well as some more wooded holes and a good bit of elevation and some water as well. Really good mixture of elements that make for a great course on paper.

You start out with a long par 4 to get the blood flowing that is mainly open and then diving into a few more wooded holes like 3 that is a wooded tunnel shot fading into field.

Overall the front 9 is pretty long hilly and has some substantial elevation that can make holes that are not terribly long seem just a bit harder.

The back 9 is just a bit less punishing with some shorter holes and a couple of multi shot holes like 17 that are a little bit more challenging.

Pads are rubber mats and aren't my favorite but other than a couple that weren't even are fine.

Baskets are DGA mark V which is actually one of my favorites. They catch very fairly and don't seem to favor a putting style.

There are also large wooden benches on almost every hole.

The land itself is beautiful and epic, your in a beautiful valley with tons of old growth hardwood trees and some quick moving creeks and a couple of small ponds.

The main con is the maintenance is just not quite up to the epic nature of the land itself. Per the lady at the store, it's cut by the county so if you play in a time other than winter it's best to call ahead and get a condition update.

The grass could get high very easily, and there are abundant thorns off many of the fairways even in the colder months.

There are also some issues typical of farm land like only items dumped and left in odd locations and weather wearing on the man made pieces like the signs which are mostly gone at this point.

Navigation is mostly intuitive, but going 2-3 is a hike and kind of hard to follow.

The touches that make a course great just aren't there, and it probably knocks down this course from what could possibly be a 4.5 down to about a 3.5.

It's still pretty darn good, but not as good as it could be.

Amazing property, nicely designed holes in a scenic location away from the bustle of the world. I liked a lot of things about this course, but the lack of signs substandard pads and the unpredictable upkeep hold it back.

Worth the trip to play in this beautiful place, and some of the holes are really epic.

(3.404 Rating) A sprawling private course with a lot of long openish plays and a few chip shot ace runs.
- RAW BEAUTY - The land here is just so flipp'n awesome. First off, driving into the cove was thrilling in its own right. There are several hairpin turns down a 800-foot slope to just get into the property. It was definitely a precursor of things to come. Once at the course and standing at tee (1) the mountain peaks and ridges very observably occupied the backdrop, and it just made for such a surreal 3D experience. There are several beautiful down shots on this course too. The punctuation is delivered on tee shot (7), with the long ridge of Look-out Mountain in the backdrop. I do however wish a few more holes played thru the heavy woods as there are only a couple that partially do so.
- CHALLENGING - A solid Intermediate level challenge imo, with length off the tee being the biggest factor to score well. Honestly, coming in I was expecting a championship level caliber course, as it's billed as a Gold level course. Seeing that Cerealman recently shot even par here should have been a clue to me that this is not the case. . Anyways, several holes here are in fact Gold level, requiring 450-foot power with a touch of accuracy to card a birdie. On the flipside there are Novice level holes on this course, like hole (12) for example, which is an obstacle free 250-footer. I personally shot 2 over as an Intermediate level player.
- UNIQUENESS - There are some holes on this layout that players will just not see everyday. Hole (15) is a perfect example of this, which is a monster blind dog leg par 4 with 70 feet of elevation change and it requires the second shot to sweep back to the right with trees protecting a frontal attack. (15) was my favorite hole on the layout. Lots of elevation change on this course. A great mix of distances from plus 700-foot par 4s to sub 200-foot par 3s. There's also a somewhat hidden pond in play on (7) and some dry mountain creeks. The biggest omission here is the heavily wooded technical hole.
- CHAINS AND EXTRAS - The MachV baskets are in excellent shape. There are benches on most of the tees. There's a neat little shelter near tee (1) with two picnic tables and a posted course map. Also a practice basket between the shelter and tee (1). There are restrooms nearby as well, but it was locked for my play. Drinks are available for purchase at the general store.
- BOMBERS - Players that enjoy bombing shots will likely rate this course higher than I have. Several opportunities to throw drives over 500 feet if you have the arm. I paced off a couple of my backhand drives beyond the 350 feet due to the downward elevation, which felt awesome considering I struggle to hit 325 backhand. I passed a two-sum where one fellow jubilantly noted that he could chuck it over 500 feet in our short conversation. I politely flipped him off in my mind.

The course conditions are key
- SEASONAL CONDITIONS - Word is, is that this course is generally not maintained during summer, which is why I decided to come out here during the winter. I would imagine that if they don't mow during a stretch during the summer that first time players will quit before the end of the round and they will likely have lost a couple or had spent significant time searching for discs. A regular player I met out at the course told me he only plays here between November and April.
- MISSED OPPORTUNITIES - Considering the epic wooded land available to use, I was a bit disappointed. Not one shot here is a heavily wooded technical play. There are about a half dozen simple shots here that should get axed and should be replaced with moving wooded lines cut in along the slopes of the mountainside. The course is listed as moderately wooded on DGCR, but I wouldn't disagree if it was listed as lightly wooded.
- PAY TO PLAY - I personally didn't have a problem with putting down $5 to play the course, but I could see others saying it's not worth it. I question whether my green fees fully go back into the course.
- NAVIGATION AND TEE SIGNAGE - A navigational app will be required to get around here. There are no navigational cues on the layout itself. Hole (2) has been moved to a new dinker location and doesn't match the posted course map. The tee signage is in disrepair and needs to be completely replaced. Only a half dozen tee signs are intact and these are fading.
- TEES - The pads are rubber mats, which I don't have a problem with, but several are uneven or extremely short.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Too long and grueling for newer players. I don't advise bringing them here. I don't take off points for this.
- TIME PLAY - Almost 90 minutes for me solo.

Overall, Mountain Cove Farms was an entertaining and enjoyable play for my winter appearance. This course is probably a 4.0 rated course during the winter for those that possess 400-foot plus power. However, during the summer this could possibly be a sub 1.5 play if it's not mowed. Definitely worth checking out for those that enjoy long bomber courses in Chattanooga, Rome and perhaps the north side of the Atlanta Metro area. They just need to show up in the winter for a better chance at playable conditions. For those with weak arms, I don't see this being a great destination play. It really needs some short tees on about 9 holes and some plays in the woods to appease these players. I could see Trusted Reviewers rating Mountain Cove all over the board as it's a crapshoot. For me, I'm giving it a low 3.5. Mostly for the sheer beauty of the place and for holes like (3, 7, 9 and 15), which were all stellar plays. It appears my rating will take it out of the top ten for Georgia on DGCR for a way more deserving course, Perkerson.
- EDIT NOTE - I originally noted (14) as my favorite hole. I corrected to (15). (14) is meh.

Has practice basket

Has a bench at every tee pad

Has tee signs

More open than wooded fairways with doglegs and elevations

Challenging, long course with variety of pars

Nice scenery

Water comes into play on holes #2 and #7 but the current drought has reduced water levels enough where only #7 has murky puddles deep enough to lose a wayward disc

Had the whole course to myself on a Wednesday afternoon

Restrooms

Many rubber tee pads are not level and some are too short for a run-up

Grass is high in certain areas - watch where your drives land

Needs more next tee signs - recommend a course map for the first-timer

Only one tee pad per hole - a course this long enough should have an extra tee pad for the amateurs, ladies, or juniors

Doesn't have alternate basket placements

Pay to play but worth it

This is a nice, challenging scenic course in Walker County that I enjoyed playing. The course is very secluded and traveling here is quite adventurous when going down the mountain's hairpin turns if you're coming from GA 157. This course has so much potential in that I wish I could score it higher but the rubber tee pads and high grass are the biggest cons. The pay to play and long course can dissuade some from playing. I think adding concrete tee pads, extra tee pads for the amateurs, alternate basket placements, and regular course maintenance would make this a 4.5 in my opinion. The scorecard that I received here had the phone number 706-539-2683. You may want to give them a call before heading here on a weekday as I think the general store is closed on a Tuesday and Wednesday if I recalled. Someone was at the store by chance when I showed up on a Wednesday afternoon. Playing at this course and at nearby Cloudland Canyon DGC makes a nice day trip.

- Amazing landscape
- Good signage and flow
- General store on site for snacks/beverages/bathrooms
- Great use of HUGE property with well designed holes
- Great elevation change
- Good mix of open bombers and some tighter technical lines
- Brand new Mach V baskets - not my favorite, but still a 'Pro'

- TEE PADS, TEE PADS, TEE PADS. They have black, grippy rubber type pads which is of course better than nothing. But some are only 4-6 feet long, some are going up hill, some are going down hill. The ground beneath them needs to be tamped level, as many have rolling bumps and dips on the tee pad. Put some well poured concrete pads out here and it will be one of the best in the state!

Other than the tee pads, theres really nothing to not like on this beast of a course. It reminds me of The Crucible in Athens, GA for those that have played there. Gorgeous farm setting with rolling hills and beautiful landscape.