Pros:
The first few holes at Southside Park are a joy. Short, grassy and with decently technical lines, these holes will be appreciated by wooded enthusiasts, especially novice and intermediate players. And after a detour into the open expanse of the park, the course returns to the woods two more times for similar designs.
About 10 of the holes at Southside qualify as "mostly wooded," but they offer lines that are typically open and fair. Most of these holes fall in the 200- to 250-foot range. Hole #8 is the longest of the wooded holes, at 318 feet, but it might be the best hole on the course, as it requires an accurate throw down a slightly dogleg left and narrower fairway to reach the circle.
On the wooded holes, the areas off the fairway are slightly challenging but reasonable.
Navigation is fairly straight forward, and the tee signs have arrows indicating the next tee. However, there were a couple times when in the open fields that I had to check to make sure I was throwing to the correct basket. Hole #9 ends right next to the Hole #1 teepad, so a "quick nine" round is convenient. In fact, as my friend and I were preparing to start our round, another disc golfer hit his drive off the cage of the Hole #9 basket. So close!
The disc golf at Southside Park isn't terribly difficult, but I can see it being a popular course in the Huntsville area for those seeking a relaxing, fun round.
Cons:
The flat terrain can be overlooked when in the picturesque sections of the woods. But when the course heads out into the open, there's nothing to distract you from the lethargy of its design.
Hole #6 offers views of a small electrical power station and it runs side-by-side with Hole #7 across a field that's empty except for a couple utility poles that serve as mandos. There are several of these wide-open holes that include no obstacles except avoiding utility poles and a chain-link fence. Unfortunately, the course ends with two such holes, where distance is the only challenge.
A number of the holes are missing tee signs. However, the new sample tee sign design on Hole #14 was excellent and should be used for the remaining holes.
Other Thoughts:
If Southside was a nine-hole course that utilized just the best wooded sections, I could see the course securing some higher ratings. However, most of the open holes are uninteresting, ugly and definite fillers.
I played the course in August, and it was drier than a bone. I felt fortunate to have played in what was pristine conditions, considering the DGCR photos show the mud and flooding that typically occur during other seasons of the year. My rating is influenced by the condition I played in.