A piecemeal course with several different personalities that offers a reasonably enjoyable round.

-Amenities: Everything you need. Middle-of-the-line tees, baskets, and signage.

-Variety: Kind of impressive for a church course. Some long open holes, some shorter woods holes, in-between density, and a couple of weird little holes by the ball fields. This feels like a real rec-level course, not a pitch 'n' putt just tossed in a back yard.

-Multi-Shot Holes: Five for nine on par-4 or higher is an impressive feat. It's fun, too.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Generally pretty decent. The first three are longer open holes for routine driving. The next two are quirky holes that have you throwing your approach to the basket very awkwardly to avoid baseball fields. A par-2 then leads to the more wooded close of the course, which once again requires pretty solid play to score well on. I would peg the difficulty at higher rec-level. Without a decent drive it's hard to do well, and the woods holes are trouble if you aren't smart, but if you can throw controlled in the upper 200s then you have nothing to worry about. The basic idea of most of these holes is good--see cons for why it doesn't rate higher.

-Hole Design: Almost every hole out here seems to have at least one major flaw, excepting (9). The opening holes are just too open--not a big deal. The baseball field holes are really strange. (4) is tight off the tee, but doesn't make clear where you should land for the really tough approach to a basket sandwiched deep between two ball fields. (5) has a bad mando. (6) is a par-2, so boring. On (7), it's very difficult to tell where you should throw off the tee for a blind basket. (8) has a ridiculously pinched angle off the tee, which was very poorly placed. There is no characteristic flaw out here, but with so many little things it really detracts from the experience.

-End Point: Course ends at least a quarter of a mile from the parking, if not more.

-Safety: The ball field holes could obviously be problematic during games. Also, (7) and (8) play with walking paths, so that could be an issue at times.

There are relatively few things to say about Salem Baptist. It's a basic kind of course. The environment and length out here gives it the potential to be a really good 9-holer with a 3.0 rating, but a series of unfortunate choices limit the actual enjoyment of the holes so much so that I consider it only "Reasonable." I hope someone can make a few tweaks to this course and let it see its best possible version.

South of Atlanta and several miles off of Interstate 75, the Salem Baptist Church offers a 100-acre-plus campus, complete with a park, walking paths and recreation fields.

Oh yes, and a nine-hole disc golf course.

But at nearly 3,200 feet, the Salem Baptist Church DGC is no dinky disc golf course.

The first two holes are wide open and bridge the walk from the parking lot to the rest of the course. However, these holes are ideal for warming up. Hole #1 is 587 feet and involves throwing down a hill and across a large grassy field.

The course beauty is good and improves along the way, as the last two holes are the prettiest on the course.

Navigation is easy, as the next teepad is easily spotted from the previous basket.

The walk from Hole #9 back to the parking lot is about one-third of a mile. There is a small path through the woods so you don't have to retrace your steps, but it's still a short hike.

Hole #6 is listed as a par-2. Granted, at only 140 feet, it isn't too difficult, but there are several trees in the fairway that can interfere with the path to the basket. According to the PDGA guidelines, "Designing Par 2 holes is not recommended." There is room for the basket to be moved; extending this hole even 40 or 50 feet would merit a par-3 rating.

And while we're nitpicking about par, a few other holes might be questioned. Hole #2 is 415 feet but wide open and finishes slightly downhill. Hole #4 is 473 feet but listed as a par 5. Hole #8 is 350 feet and downhill; even with the tight line, a par-4 rating seems slightly generous. And Hole #9 is 390 feet but fairly open. All three of the par-4 holes feel like "tweeners." The overall par for the course is 32, but a par of 29 or 30 seems more appropriate.

Holes #4 and #5 play near the fenced baseball fields and use the tall, yellow foul poles as mandos. While the course designers wanted to discourage throwing over the corner of the fenced outfield, the design is poor and gimmicky. This design flaw is easily fixable by moving the basket for Hole #4 and the teepad for Hole #5. And if there are individuals using the fields, playing these holes might not be safe.

There are signs at every teepad, but they've been susceptible to wear and bird droppings.

The teepad for Hole #8 is pointlessly placed behind a couple large trees and limits one's options. This teepad should have been moved 10 to 25 feet to the left. Or get out the chainsaw.

I was skeptical of the 3.38 rating for a nine-hole course, and my suspicions were confirmed. While the distance might boost the appeal and provide more disc golf than the typical pitch-and-putt church course, the course does not merit such a lofty rating. Especially considering that a majority of the holes are dull or daft in design. The first three holes are wide open. The fourth and fifth holes are weirdly designed around mando foul poles. The sixth hole is a filler par-2. Only the last three holes can meet the standard of good disc golf holes.

Until a few holes are redesigned, Salem Baptist Church falls into the "reasonable" category.