This is neither a pro or a con but I got the idea from the review of "craigd" to give the reader of this a review some perspective of the reviewer. My wife and I played together on this course. We are both senior citizens and have been playing for about 4 years. She is about a 550 rated player and I'm about a 750 rated player. Neither of us had ever been to this course before. We have played about 30 different courses in 8 different states. There are many informative reviews of this course and I will try not to be too repetitive.

Be sure to read the reviews of mullethead326 on 5/15/2014 and craigd on 5/4/2014 for detailed descriptions.


Now for the Pros:

Nice Park

Concrete T-Pads

Good use up hilly terrain with downhill, cross hill, and uphill shots.

Where do I begin? I drove into the park about 50 ft. and there was a fork in the road. The sign that told visitors what was in each direction mentioned nothing about disc golf. We took a guess and ended up in a parking lot that looked like the right place. It turns out the sign we thought was about the disc golf course had nothing to do with disc golf. We did find T-Pad #4 and started there. Thats not all bad, just weird. We still got to play all 18 and returned to the car after hole #3.

Many other reviewers mentioned the good signage. I disagree. It was at best fair. Sure there was a nice sign at each T-Box, but nice does not equate to informative. Let's start with the signs often being behind the T-Box so that when you are looking at the sign your back is to the basket. The fact that the T-Pads were rounded at the front did help us figure out which way to throw. The fact that MOST Baskets could not be seen from the T-Box did not help. I like an occasional blind shot, but this course had WAY TOO MANY. It wastes time and holds up other players when you have to walk the fairway to find the Basket and then walk back to the T-Box to throw. Additionally the signs OFTEN showed a slight turn between the T-Box and the Basket when it turned out to be a much more radical turn; a turn that a disc will not do unless you throw a big hyser or anhyser. However, those throws can't be done because of the canopy of trees overhead. OFTEN times the only way to know which way to get to the next T-Box after holing out is to look for a worn path. There may be more than one, so you are guessing. Some of the walks are rather long with no signage to tell you that you are heading in the correct direction. On the good side there was signage painted on the roads when you had to use them to get to the next T-Box. Sometimes the signs guiding the player to the next T-Box was too far from the Basket to be seen or facing in such a direction that it could not be seen from the basket. After holing out at a Basket there should be a sign easily seen from the Basket guiding players to the next T-Box.

The course definitely favors lefties. That did not bother me because I'm a righty with a fairly good forehand flick and it didn't bother my wife who throws both right and left handed.

This course is described as a "Good for beginner to moderate level players". I'm not sure where they came up with that evaluation. Of course, there is no definition of a beginner or moderate level player. So let's imagine a beginner that throws 100 ft. or less. What are their chances of getting a birdie? Almost none. It takes 2 great throws to get within putting range. I say "great throws" because the fairways are OFTEN so narrow that great throws are infrequent. Now lets look at the person who throws about 200 ft. They should be able to get within putting range off the T-box on 16 of the 18 holes. But they can't because their disc doesn't make the turn soon enough and flies straight into the jungle instead of turning toward the basket. Once in the jungle, as many other reviewers have said, there is way too many impediments to getting out. These include trees, vines, branches, etc. A few trees being removed would help but getting rid of vines and branches that are only 4 feet off the ground, or less, would make impossible shots become difficult. It a thrower ends up off the fairway, the next shot should be difficult ... but not impossible.

Narrow openings between the T-Box and the Basket make a hole challenging. When there is a 10 ft. gap 20 ft. in front of the T-Box that is a challenge. When there is a 10 ft. gap 80 ft. in front of the T-Box that takes a prayer for all but the exceptional players. These gaps 80 ft. from the T-Box where way too frequent.

Very few holes had a clearly defined path to the basket that a "beginner to moderate level players" had much more that luck to make.

This course is the strangest course I have ever played. It is more like a putt-putt golf course than a place where a beginner can get interested in the game or a moderate level player can hone their skills. It's frustrating to have an awesome drive with birdie written all over it, be 2 degrees off course and turn into a 4 or 5.

I may play this course again just to see if I can figure our what throws might work. If I play this course again I might just use a putter of the T-Box and try to place the shot in the middle of the fairway at the turn point, then use a mid range to lay up at the basket.

As a course designed for "beginner to moderate level players" this course has the potential to get a 4, or better, rating if the fairways were wider and less obstructed, the signs were properly placed and more accurate, and the "rough" was a little less than like being in jail.

Meh.

Meh.

I have now played Suwanee Creek Park several times, and would like to express both support and concern for the park and course. I am always excited to see new courses going in, particularly with the full support of public entities, because it means better access to playing and exposure to the community. However, the design of Suwanee Creek is strange, and I foresee some significant user conflicts with pedestrians on the busy network of paths throughout the park. Those paths are an equally legitimate form of recreation; their existence precedes (and volume of usership may mean that they preclude) that of the disc golf course.

There are absolutely some interesting shots on this course, and some challenging and legitimate holes. There are also some terrible holes. I observed a recurrent theme throughout the course (holes 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18) where the intended fairway is either impossible to reach the basket, or much longer after the turn than before. I do not believe that a hole with few birdies (and requiring luck or a long putt to achieve same) necessarily constitutes a challenging hole; nor does lack of a landing zone suitable for its intended user group. In throwing these holes, I have often been frustrated by hole shapes-despite my efforts to manipulate my discs, some holes at this course truly are unreachable without an absurd amount of luck, but for most users, even beginners, they are not long enough to truly be multi-shot holes. There are also some unnecessarily small gaps that make several holes play unfairly--hole 10 is a huge culprit in this regard. Beginners, as well as advanced players, want to feel like they can have success in the game; holes that are poorly designed and don't have a repeatable and viable way of playing them (without being skill-level dependent) make the experience far less enjoyable for all users. In addition, being able to see the basket from the tee without walking for nearly half the hole is an underrated part of a positive experience--some blind holes are fine, 9 is far too many. Holes 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 16, 17, and 18 (long) are particular offenders of this suggestion.

Numerous holes are too close to other parts of the park, and bad shots or even good shots with unfortunate kicks will find their way onto paths, picnic areas, and paved areas. In the time I have spent in the park, I've seen on the order of 50-100 pedestrians per hour making use of the walking paths; that's already fairly busy; if it gets busier on weekends or other high-traffic disc golf times, then someone will be inconvenienced. I, too, want to believe the best of disc golfers, but I know that some are impatient, erratic, and occasionally you just don't see somebody until it's too late. I am not aware of the specific liability or legal ramifications to designers, constructors, or park owners for the possible accidents that may occur, but I do know that I make throwing mistakes as well as anyone, and that being hit by a disc hurts. Even in large parks, with disc golf set apart from other activities, there are bound to be some errant shots that find their way to strange places, but this park is something else. With a precedent already set for lawsuits as a result of disc golf accidents, it is in our best interest to collectively minimize this possiblity. Most of us reading (or writing) this review probably have some control over where our discs are going, we also have seen or played with players who can throw one high-speed driver in a general direction at a high velocity. The shots we need to prepare and design for aren't always the perfect ones, they're the ones 3 standard deviations beyond terrible.

This next point is more incriminating of the mind of a disc golfer than anything. I walk up to a hole, and I want to find the easiest way to get to the basket. Always. I'm not alone in this; most golfers want to find a way to "cheat" the design of a hole. So even though I want to believe that I can get to the basket, a frequent occurrence is a disc skipping, kicking, or flying through an area I might not have intended. For example, I played with a golfer who threw a "hyzer line" on hole 17, that avoids the intended (absurd) fairway by throwing onto the path and attempting to skip down to the basket. The path above the teepad is largely a blind shot, but it's preferable enough that I could understand his logic in attempting to reach the basket that way. I think this is an instance where mandos won't really solve the problem, because the "fairway" is just plain dumb and golfers will try it anyway. On hole 13, I have often tried to skip a Firebird around the right side, and come within a foot of the path by punching through a thin wall of brush (likely to be trampled eventually). That's a pretty reasonable shot, one I could see many players trying--if that's what happens on a pretty straightforward hole, where else will we see golfers "cheating" the course and introducing unforeseen problems?

I believe that on every single hole, I could be within the circle and not have a putt at at least one spot. Whatever the design notes were for contracted clearing of the holes, they evidently did not include creating actual greens. This is one of the most frustrating things I find on a course; I wish to be rewarded for a shot that puts me close to the basket with a minimally obstructed putt--I do not mind mature trees, but vines, privet, new growth, and scrubby brush really doesn't serve much of an ecological niche, nor does it provide for an enjoyable experience to a disc golfer. In addition, many holes on the course were not adequately cleared in the throwing lanes. Branches, vines, and trees are still very much in play on holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, and 18. I also think that a good design concept is to create an off-fairway density gradient that reduces the penalty for being just a few feet off the fairway; Suwanee Creek pretty much has fairway and ridiculous shule, but no early rough. All of these remaining obstacles combine to make a strongly invalid course. I hope that this is can be chalked up to the course not being a finished product, rather than its eventual state. Real greens benefit all disc golfers.

I was very pleased to see the addition of 6x6 steps; these are well-made and so long as they're anchored to a packed undersoil will be excellent erosion control on the most popular paths. I hope that the currently scraped paths on holes 2, 4->5, 5->6, and 6 will be either graveled or mulched to avoid compaction. The teepads, baskets, and signage are professional and more than adequate. The signs are well-made and sufficiently detailed, but the diagrams are often dramatically understated, and the posts are frequently oriented at insensible angles.

I am a little curious who has been involved throughout the conception, design, and construction of this course. My present understanding is that the designer and contractors responsible for clearing had some input from disc golfers, but evidently have not taken their ideas seriously. The shapes of these holes, size and placement of gaps, remaining obstacles in fairways, and proximity to other park features suggest to me that the involved parties are unaware of the mechanics of disc golf and what constitutes a quality hole. I hope that, for those of us who already play disc golf and want to see more courses in the area, this serves as a notice to the importance of having designers and constructors who are well-attuned to the needs and minds of disc golfers, and already have some experience with course design and maintenance.
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Hole-by-hole notes.

Hole 1: This is a fine hole. I would like to see more clearing near the basket, but it's a fine, skill-level appropriate, and minimally intrusive hole. Some disc golfers I met today said they had been asked to move their bags from the walking path, which is where social dynamics suggest they're most likely to leave their bags--inviting a user conflict with the round hardly begun.

Hole 2: This is a pretty dumb hole. Its shape, as I indicated above, is longer after the turn than before. It wouldn't be terrible with more clearing on the left side after the turn, and a little more right and short of the basket. There are about four strands of barbed wire 100 feet short of the basket on the left side. I could easily see a hard, straight shot or a tree kick putting a disc into the street, which is a significant safety concern. The checkdam in the drainage hopefully won't be an ankle-breaker or result in more distributed flow around the area. Teepad for 3 is waaaaay too close to the basket.

Hole 3: This is also a good hole. Clearing low shule within 25-30 feet of the basket would improve it greatly.

Hole 4: The birdhouse needs to go. I'm a little worried about the proximity of the amphitheater, but I haven't seen anyone using it yet. This is absolutely a hole where an off-fairway density gradient would be a dramatic improvement.

Hole 5: This is a very similar hole shape to 2. I haven't seen the wetlands really in play, and the green area is a good one. Still, the sharpness and length of this turn results in Not-A-Golf-Shot for many, many players. There is potential for conflict with the path, which is only about 20-25 feet past the basket.

Hole 6: A very solid hole from both teepads. Personally, think the short pad is a little unnecessary because the "water hazard" isn't much to speak of, even for a recreational player. I saw multiple shots get kicked to finish onto the walking path to the left. There is minimal clearing in this green right now, so a 15-footer might be impossible. 7's teepad is way too close, particularly since it's on the line that both drives reaching the pin, and upshots from the fairway are likely to come in on.

Hole 7: I don't have strong enough words for how bad this hole is. How on earth did this get approved? Did no one, in any of the walkthroughs, think to question the inevitable safety concerns associated with throwing directly at a walking path, for which oncoming users are blind from the teepad? I'd put even money on this being the hole that shuts down the course. I'm not even going to comment on the gap, the shule, the green, nothing, because this hole should not exist in its current form.

Hole 8: For a beginner course, one of the better holes. Short, straightforward, flat. No problems here.

Hole 9: A beefier complement to hole 8, and one of the better lines on the course. However, I feel that the 6-7 foot gap 160 feet off the pad, leading to the left basket position, is unfair and capricious. That gap is unnecessarily demanding; at that distance and width it's skill that gets you to the gap and luck that gets you through it--making it a dumb gap for my level, and a dumb gap for a first or second shot for most, if not all, players. This hole also needs to be cleaned out around the green. DGers are already creating a desire path from the walking trail, directly to the back of the teepad, which makes the sign's orientation and location inconvenient. That's something an experienced designer would/should have picked up on quickly.

Hole 10: This is a dumb gap. Discs do not fly this way. This is also a dumb gap for people trying to lay up, because the lane to the basket isn't very forgiving, and the "landing zone" is tiny. Basically, it doesn't suit any user groups.

Hole 11: Sort of an East Roswell #8 light. This is a fine hole for beginners, but not great for many others. Eventually, someone's vehicle, parked in a reasonable location in a parking lot, is going to get hit, or someone will throw over the fence into the retention pond.

Hole 12: This used to be a nice place to have a picnic, now it's a great place to get brained while you're trying to grill. Less than 30 feet from the grill to the short basket position. The walking path is also very much in play on this hole. I'll set the over/under on number of first-time users who actually play this hole at 20%.

Hole 13: A pretty good hole, and one of the more conspicuous to the walking path--it's good in the sense that it will be a good introduction, like #1, to non-disc golfers. I see some creative shots (skips, over-the-top, etc) interfering with the existing walking path.

Hole 14: Straightforward, solid hole. Going about 40 long could put you on the walking path.

Hole 15: We've got another good hole here. Off-fairway density gradient (most especially on the high side, as trimming the low side would increase the frequency of discs kicking/trickling down to the walking path below) would be a great inclusion. Hole 16's teepad is more or less on the line to the basket from the tee and fairway, and inside the circle.

Hole 16: This is a terrible and impossible hole. I can only imagine that the designer wanted to balance the course with an absurd right turn to balance the absurd left turns from before. There are plenty of branches, vines, and trees that need to go before this hole could even begin to be legitimate. It's only about 45 feet from the basket to 17's tee... not terrible, but not great either.

Hole 17: This is also a terrible and impossible hole. The fairway has numerous branches interfering with the flight lines. Any conventional shot using the fairway will not reach the hole, or even be within birdie range. The most successful shot I have seen, as I alluded to above, has been by throwing a skip shot off the path to the right. A better hole could have been achieved with a teepad downhill of where 16's basket is (assuming, of course, that 16 remained in its foolish state), and throwing uphill using the second half of the existing fairway on 17. There are also a ridiculous number of intrusive branches directly in what I must assume is the intended flight path for this hole. 18's long pad is pretty close to 17's basket.

Hole 18: Putting a basket 20 feet (+/- 5) from a pavilion is not a good idea in any possible way. I see that and say " great, a backstop, let's really rip on it". Any rational park user sees that and says "this picnic table is a good place to be". From the long/left pad, this is an awful hole. There is not a true route to the right basket without getting absurdly lucky, and the straight shot out of the existing gap results in being behind the pavilion. Numerous limbs remain in the throwing lanes. From the short tee, this isn't a bad hole, with the exception of where the basket is located.

In summary, I applaud the city of Suwanee and those who have worked to get the course installed. I am worried that because of the small area of the park, and the close proximity of the course to other park features (including paths, pavilions, picnic areas, parking lots, and roads), there will be significant safety concerns that I fear may prove detrimental to future public support of this course in particular, and disc golf in general. I hope that as this course develops and changes, we will see maintenance of the throwing lines and greens to improve the playability of the course, but in its current and early iteration, I foresee issues arising. Please feel free to provide additional insight, tell me how and why I'm wrong, and anything else you care to do. I'm pretty invested in the growth of this sport, and I'm more concerned than excited about what Suwanee Creek can offer.

-Clean, quiet park.
-Bathrooms available.
-Good signage (except 11->12 next tee sign).
-Nice tee pads.

-Terrible design that will either leave you hating the sport, if you're new, or leave you wondering just what they were thinking when they put this course in.
-Many possibilities for pedestrians to get injured (related to bad design).
-Holes that do not allow for any real flight patterns.
-Lack of trash cans.
-When holes are not impossible, they are too short and not challenging.
-All the baskets are too short.

I read the reviews before I went here. I knew it was going to bad, but I thought there's no way it could be THAT bad. It was. I've changed the names of some holes to better suit the reality.

To save yourself some time, I'll tell you how to set up your bag for this course. Take your bag and grab a putter and possibly a mid-range. Put the bag in your closet and leave it at home. Alternate bag setup - Empty out bag except a putter and mid-range and use the empty space for extra water and snacks.

Hole one - The Green Yard - Is just a simple putter drive down into the woods. You could get into trouble, but you'd have to be trying.

Hole two - Bye, Bye Enjoyment - This gives you a preview of the unrealistic layout. The fairway doglegs to the left about 100ft off the pad. It isn't impossible to deuce, but don't hold your breath.

Hole three - Earnhardt is rolling over in his grave - This was actually one of the least bad ones. Bit of a bend to the left and uphill. Parked my drive second time around for a two. Tons of small trees, so don't go wide.

Hole four - Bye, Bye Birdie - No, I did not mix up the names. There is a birdhouse right in the fairway that, will be annihilated in no time. If any birds take roost in there, they won't last long either. Another note - there is some gathering area on the left of the fairway. There's no way that people using that area won't get nailed by new disc golfers. Once you get past those flaws, it does have some decent risk. Run too long and you're going to be in trouble. Throw a soft anny putter shot if you're a righty and call it a day.

Hole five - Wet Feet - Pretty basic righty-friendly hole. It must have been boring because I barely even recall playing it.

Hole six - A Thing - This was mildly enjoyable. Not sure why they wasted concrete on a short pad here because the hole isn't even long. Just shoot a putter right up the middle. Hit the hole just right and you may have a look at a 2. Don't and you still shouldn't have much trouble to par out.

Hole seven - Son of a Beech - This wasn't a terrible hole. I found that I preferred hitting this one with a flippy mid on a smooth anny line. Make sure you stay tight to the left edge of the fairway or you will hit the big Beech tree.

Hole eight - Made in the Shade - Major snoozer. Throw a putter straight down the pipe for an easy two. If you are feeling courageous, put it on a floaty flex line and maybe you'll get it in 1.

Hole nine - The Sentinals - Basically a short hole with a crap-ton of trees around the basket. No real imagination was used for this hole. It is mildly irritating at best. Chuck a putter down there and hope for the best.

Hole ten - Impossibru Pass - Does not conform to disc flight patterns. Just wing it.

Hole eleven - Exit via Buford Hwy - It is easy to end up at hole fourteen's tee pad instead of twelve's, not that you'll be missing much. This is another boring hyzer shot with a bit of rough on the back side.

Hole twelve - Take A Little Off The Top - Throw a putter up the pipe. I managed to park my drive on this one without much trouble. Keep the power down, because a long shot could hit a pedestrian.

Hole thirteen - To Leave Or Not To Leave - This was kinda okay. If you like throwing skip shots, this is for you. I threw a low-power skip shot and I still almost went OB. It wouldn't be hard for a pedestrian to get hit on the back end of this hole, so be careful.

Hole fourteen - Subway to Hell - Whoever gave this the same name as a hole 15 at Redan, which is an actual great hole, needs a good slap upside their head. This wasn't fun. Just another short, straight putter shot and you're at the basket.

Hole fifteen - Whoever Came Up With This Hole Has No Vision - Throw a putter straight down the fairway. Be mindful that the fairway does slope to the left the whole way, so you'll be putting from the woods over there.

Hole sixteen - Lumberhack - This is a warm-up hole for the suckfest on seventeen. Tons of disc-gobbling small trees. No real line here, so just wing an anny shot and hope for the best.

Hole seventeen - S***hill massacre - This may be one of the worst holes I've ever seen. It goes sharp dog-leg right, the whole fairway slopes severely to the left, so even if you do manage to get a shot to bend that corner, it is just going into the woods downhill anyway. Play it. Skip it. How much do you want to hate this course?

Hole eighteen - Oh God Why?! - I'd have to say I had the most fun on this hole out of the whole course. I guess they thought they were being creative with this one, because they put in two pads, two fairways, and two pin positions. I had fun with this because I just threw from both pads to the basket. I figured I had endured enough annoyance to have some slight enjoyment with the last hole.

There you have it, folks. I don't plan on playing it except to show friends just how bad this course really is.