Decatur, AL

The Outback

1.675(based on 3 reviews)
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6 0
Mr. Butlertron
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.7 years 684 played 131 reviews
1.00 star(s)

A penitent man shall par 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 2, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

- free to play, plenty of parking
- wide open forgiving layout
- quality baskets, numbered
- well landscaped
- given terrain, the layout has a reasonable amount of challenges/fun factor
- multiple tees per basket
- safari savy course

Cons:

- layout flirts with various hazards: a playground, parking lots, neighborhood fence lines, and streets
- holes marked with flat, numbered concrete tiles, some missing or impossible to find
- the lack of directional aids makes the layout difficult to follow in some areas
- not many trees, has an overly open layout
- prone to wind
- not much shade
- lacks many other course amenities: bathrooms, benches, kiosk, ect
- no multiple pins
- natural tees

Other Thoughts:

This course has a fairly bare bones type setup. 9 baskets are spread around a mostly open park style church property. The layout features a few mando and culvert themed holes that make the round more interesting. Beginners will appreciate the relative openness, paired with the semi long fairway distances. Advance players will likely be bored.


First time arriving players, or course baggers will probably dislike the amount of time they'll spend searching for faded parking lot tees, or the flat tiles marking the natural tees that are flush with the grass. The grounds are mostly flat, which adds difficulty. This also makes deciphering this layout problematic. Let's not kid ourselves, 9 baskets with multiple tees is not the same as 18 holes. Marking them (a)/(b) or hole # am/pro would be easier to follow.

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7 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.8 years 694 played 680 reviews
2.00 star(s)

A Bloomin Onion

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 21, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

(1.816 Rating) (REVISED - replayed March 2023) A quirky dual tee 9-hole course.
- MA3 FRIENDLY - When you peel back the surface on this weird course, it's the easy, but not too easy nature, that makes this track a reasonable play. The Outback is listed at 4,562-feet long when throwing both 9s. The layout has just enough obstacles with this length to entertain those up to MA3 level. There is one longer field shot that will encourage the development of a bigger arm. There are also a couple technical plays that will test and encourage the development of greater accuracy. The hazards are minimal and there's just about no overgrowth.
- UPGRADED TEES - This was a big con in my original review in 2017 as they were pitted gravel. As of July 2020, concrete is poured for all the prior non-asphalt tees. Unfortunately, the concrete is on the smallish side and I find myself feeling crowded on these surfaces. They are only 4 feet wide by 8 feet long.
- NIGHT GOLF - The Outback for me, will forever be known as the first course I ever bagged at night on first play. Relatively open, few hazards and some street and parking lot lighting brightening up the fringes of the layout. I haven't seen anything posted or heard anything about it not being open at night. I'm pretty sure there's a glow league here during the winter. I think one could literally bag this at 2AM without much issue.
- NAVIGATION - Average. There's a great course map near tee (1) and it will clear up most questions with a peek of the photo. The tee markers are flush with the ground and one was missing during my last round, thus having a photo of the map to glance at is key.
- MAINTENANCE - The course has been well taken care on all 3 of my stops spaced out over 6 years.
- QUICK PLAY - Easy peasy. This one should take no more than 30 minutes solo and the second loop should be the same. A group of four should have the double loop wrapped up in around 100 minutes.
- ACEABILITY - A bunch of shorties to run at and a few of these don't even have any obstacles. Hole (1) right out of the gates is an obstacle free 200-footer where I unloaded 6 shots on my first appearance. Skilled players that regularly play here should smash chains every 35 rounds or so.
- CHAINS - The DISCatchers are 5 years old and are showing a couple dings now, but overall this is still a big pro.

Cons:

Some spacing issues on the site and an overall unorthodox layout.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - Roads and parking lots come into play on several holes. Holes (5) and (9) could have parked cars in play. Holes (4) thru (7) all play around a multi-purpose field. If let's say a soccer game were being played, these four holes would not be playable. In addition, the whole course is squeezed into 7 acres of usable space.
- 9 BASKETS - Although listed on the course map as 18 holes, there are only 9 baskets in play. Two tees go to each basket. For example, holes (1) and (10) share the same basket and fairway, but they tee from slightly different angles. Thankfully only three of these holes are straight up just distance modifiers.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - To skilled players, this course is going to be a birdie fest. Counting both 9s, there are eight tee shots under 220 feet. Only two shots exceed 300 feet. There is water in play in the form of a concrete swale on several shots, but it has been dry or almost dry for my 3 plays and it seems as though it should only fill up briefly after a big rain. Perhaps the biggest x factors in the challenge here is the implied OB roads and the wind.
- AMENITIES - No benches or end-of-round gathering point. No alternate basket locations, practice basket or descriptive hole signage.
- VARIETY - The tee shots at the Outback are generally simple with a spattering of trees. Elevation change is limited to an 8-foot deep swale that has a mild impact on four holes. No tunnel shots or pockets to hit. No par 4s, 5s or dogleg holes. Other than hole (2), the hole lengths range from 178 to 315-feet. Hole (6/15) is a neat mando using a tree to force shots right on (6) and left on (15). The unreasonable double mando on Hole (8/17) thankfully no longer exists as one of the two trees fell.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Not the most beautiful piece of property. Roads and buildings are in view the entire time. Very few trees, little elevation and the water feature is a concrete clad ditch.

Other Thoughts:

I had the Outback as a 1.75 tweener course on my first play nearly 6 years ago. The best thing that this course had over the hoards of other niners in this rating range was, and still is, the two-tee aspect. Now with the new upgrade in concrete tee surfaces, I decided up the rating to just above the 1.75 threshold for a 2.0. The Outback will work great for locals that are new to the sport and those up to MA3 level. For everyone else, this will likely be a one and done bagger hit. Regionally, it sort-of reminds me of North Alabama courses such as Lifepoint and Vinemont.
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3 0
MiketheGoalie
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.7 years 94 played 44 reviews
2.00 star(s)

By the Numbers 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 25, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course has pretty good distance variety for a land-locked 9-hole course. It's also fairly easy to navigate with the online map and available signage. There's even some forced shot variety especially with alternate/18 hole tees. The OB's (pavement and drainage ditches) will also add some difficulty for newer players. The mando's make sense and for the most part should minimize flightlines from spilling over into parking lots, streets, or playgrounds. The baskets are in great shape and the hole markers are usually pretty easy to locate due to them and the gravel tees standing out from the surrounding grass. The grass was well mowed when I played and the course was deserted save for me.

Cons:

Very few trees in play to force lines on the course and most of the line-shaping (when there is any) comes in the form of OB's that force a left-to-right shot in lieu of the more common right-to-left. The OB areas on 18 are pretty tight for even advanced players and the likelihood of hitting a parked car on 9/18 is somewhat high. I feel like 9/18 (well 18 especially) really needs to be an island hole because of this. There's also a chance that a griplock on 2/11 and 3/12 would come perilously close to the playground area or street, respectively. A good flick with the wrong wind will see a drive on 5/14 end up in the O'Charley's parking lot, even with the fence there.

No real elevation to speak of on this course. Other amenities such as benches, tee signage, and garbage cans are also not present. The tees for 5/14 are not constructed. You just have to look for the box marker (painted paver) on the ground, but their proximity to the treeline means they could easily be covered by limbs, leaves, pine needles, etc. Not sure how permanent the navigation signage is. Seems like maybe a year or two at most before they're deteriorated or gone. Little bit of a walk between 7/8 but not onerous by any stretch. The drainage ditch presents the only real 'hazard' on the course and that's mostly due to slippery concrete after a recent rain, not rushing water.

Other Thoughts:

This course wraps around the adjacent church and weaves its way through their property. It is a quick, fun play and doesn't have many challenges to throw at a seasoned player. Many birdie opportunities for average throwers. It definitely lends itself more to a beginner course and I'm sure it is a good use of the land for the adjacent church's youth group. Not a destination course by any stretch, but if it's local to you, it never hurts to get out and play.
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