Pros:
(3.154 Rating) A good compliment to Alpha with its own unique style.
- SHOT SHAPING - I very much preferred the shooting lines on Barwick over Alpha. I was up fairway, although for other reasons, (see cons - hole location pegs) only to pause for a moment and brainstorm on how I was going to attack it. Discs will need to be on a precise line to make the basket in many instances. A bunch of tight fairways, but I think every hole had a discernible angle to the basket. My favorite was hole (6), which in addition to the 10 foot wide fairway, it paralleled a dry creek bed, adding a bit of an elevated putt depending on the lie.
- ART WORK - Huh? Whomever the artist is that painted a 10 x15 mystical wood signs to direct traffic for each hole did an amazing job. Definitely added to the course's character.
- CHARACTER - Not as much coddling as Alpha, but still some niceties of note. At the parking area there's a community board and two practice baskets. There is seating at just less than half the tees and most are shaded as well. Many of the holes have multiple basket placements indicated but I'm unsure if they are used. (see other notes) Nice tee signs at every pad, and more accurate than the ones on the Alpha course. However, I do have a grievance with the tee pads (see cons)
- CHALLENGING - If you like courses that test your accuracy, you'll probably love this course. However, IMO it's not quite as difficult as the DGCR rating indicates as the course falls right in the middle between heavily and moderately wooded. Thus its current listing under the heavily wooded moniker will inflate its difficulty rating a little. Intermediate players should finish around par.
- CHILL AREAS - Lots of secluded areas along the layout. Not as much seating as Alpha, but still a few nice pit stops along the way.
- UNIQUENESS - A touch above average in general but below average for courses I've scored this high. Tree coverage on a hole to hole basis varies quite a bit, open thru heavily wooded. Lots of tunnel shots thru palm lines, a few pockets to hit and a bunch of blind baskets. Some holes are super tough, but there are an equal amount or gimme shots as well. The hole distance variety is nice for the par 3's (190-450) and there are a couple pars 4s depending on basket placement. A nice improv island hole on (15) as well. Unfortunately no dog legs, no par 5s, no water shots and no elevation (see cons).
- RAW BEAUTY - I scored Alpha a touch more beautiful over Barwick but this course is also a natural wonder, but in a different style. The best way to describe the course is Jurassic Park. The southern part of this layout is littered with sabal palms, palmetto bushes and other miscellaneous tropical plants. The holes (15-17) however, looks more like the Alpha course.
Cons:
Solid with just a couple minor issues and a few ticky tack comments of note.
- TEE SURFACE - Very subpar for courses I've rated 3.0 or higher. A couple are concrete, but the rest are a mixture of carpet, rubber mats and natural surfaces.
- NAVIGATION - Be sure and download the course map online as the course jogs around a bit. There is a community board on site but no course map was observed. There are some directional arrows along the course, but it's not enough for this type of course.
- DISCONTINUITY - Lots of walking between a few holes. The walk between (17) to (18) is the longest at over 600 feet, but there are also a 3 or 4 other walks over 200 feet. In addition, basket (18) and tee (1) are both about 400 feet from the parking. So again, please download the course map.
- HOLE LOCATION PEGS - This course has drill holes on the sign to locate pin placements. However, more than half had the tee marker removed and another 3 or 4 were slotted wrong. After a couple holes with bad tee info, I decided to run up the fairway on EVERY basket (most holes are blind) to determine the location. It was that bad.
- FORGIVENESS - Like most wooded courses, Barwick will generally not be to kind to misguided shots. I think I hit a tree on more than half of the holes. Being a good mid range thrower, to scramble for par, will be key to shoot low.
- TIME PLAY - Considering that you're going to hit trees on this course and be on the hunt to find a disc on a few holes, you can an expect a longer round than normal when looking solely at the course length. It took me about 80 minutes solo. I think a group of 4 will spend at least 2 1/2 hours here maybe 3 here.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - This is really not a beginners course despite low odds to lose a disc. The course requires the skills of an accurate shot possessed by seasoned players.
- TERRAIN - Not beat in enough. If you have bad knees or ankles stay clear of this course. Lots of roots to stub a toe or twist an ankle on. Probably also not the best course for the disc golf bag stroller. You'd need some big wheels to not stop at every little root.
- POISON IVY - I spotted a few small patches of poison ivy, so be aware when looking for your disc.
- ELEVATION - Zippo, which is typical for this part of Florida. No more than 10 feet of change on any hole.
Other Thoughts:
I hit seven courses over memorial weekend. This was my 3rd highest rated of the seven. No question a 3.5 rating with fixed tees and a few more duel tees. I preferred Alpha, but I liked this one enough that I'd play both on a return visit.
- MULTI BASKETS LOCATIONS - The signs indicate multiple baskets locations, the old pictures versus what I played indicate they've moved. However, I spoke with a local and he told me there are not multiple locations yet, but there's a plan to add sleeves in the future with funding. In addition, I never saw another sleeve or plate in the ground signaling extra locations. I'm dumfounded whether they exist or not.