A Graceful Introduction
13 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: (1.851 Rating) An MA4 level church niner with nice variety.
- HOLE VARIETY FOR A NINER - This is one of those courses one plays and they come away with after round thoughts like “Well that was interesting.” Not interesting in like a grandeur way, but more of a perplexed kind of way. This was the first time I’ve played a hole through a paint ball field. Or at least it seemed like a paint ball field, as there are lots of tire stacks, a car, a fort and pallet walls. Hole (6) is a fun chip-shot ace run through tight woods and slanted terrain. (7) offers a right skipping hook shot, (1) throws over trees and (9) had a water feature on the left and right. I played nearby Dawnville on the same day as here and they share many attributes, like amenities and challenge level. It was the variety of why I’ve scored this course a touch higher over that one.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - This track is a bit nicer looking than the typical niner and the typical church course in my opinion. There’s a fountain in view on tee (9). Hole (6) in the woods looked serene. Many of the remainder, were pleasant as well. Although I only scored the beauty aspect average, the atmosphere was far from being a detractor.
- NAVIGATION - Good enough except for around hole (6). Most next tees can be easily seen from the prior basket. The only tricky spot I thought was after (5) as I didn’t see the next tee sign right away and ended up having to check the map on my phone. After finishing (6), tee (7) can’t be seen either, although the path leading away seemed intuitive. Watch out for the mini tree stumps on this path.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Yes, sort-of, except for hole (9).
- QUICK PLAY - I logged 20 minutes here and was back on the course bagging trail.
Cons: Not complex or developed enough to garner a better rating.
- MILD GAMEPLAY - Hole (1) offers an interesting shot angle, but (2) and especially (3), had the bland dynamics of flat open and short. (4) was ok, but it would be no better than an average hole on an average course. (6) and (9) were cool, but very short. The remainder felt like run-of-the-mill shots. The challenges presented seemed best for MA4s with some blend over appeal to MA3s.
- LOST DISC POTENTIAL - Hole (9) is going to eat plastic. The water on the right is a creek with high fish-out potential. The water on the left however, is a pond. I somewhat enjoyed the hole, but it felt out of place on this course considering the target audience. Beginners should skip hole (9). Outside of (9), there are a few spots of heavy overgrowth. Throwing one well into a patch could lead to an extended search effort.
- AMENITIES AND EXTRAS - The basics are reasonable. Above average baskets from prodigy. The tees are turf and in good shape, but they were very short. The tee signage was good and indestructible. All the needed info was on them. No other extras beyond the noted basics. It would be cool if they had alternate placements. Seems like there is room on most holes.
- MULTI USE HAZARDS - A few holes have a path or property road in play. Most weren’t egregious, although tee (7) seemed to be a bit blind to the oncoming pathway.
Other Thoughts: Grace Presbyterian felt like a 1.75 course to me. If 1.5 is considered “Passable” and 2.0 is considered “Reasonable”, is a 1.75 then considered Mediocre? Anyways, a fine course to play for locals within a 15 minutes-drive looking for a simple quick course to throw. I don’t think the course is complex enough to warrant a league or any organized play beyond a church function. Like most 9-hole courses, it’s a good bagger hit as it's quick and mostly easy to follow. The course doesn’t closely remind me of any nearby regional course that I’ve played. Perhaps a bit like a shorter version of Portland Park, if I had to pick one. Further out, Lifepoint in Northeast Alabama shares a bunch of qualities to here.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.
Gracing the area with a beginner course
18 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: The Grace Presbyterian course is an adequate addition to the south side of Dalton and just another indication of Prodigy's influence to the profile of disc golf in this region. Dalton can already boast about the acquisition of two headline-grabbing courses in Westside and Edwards Park in the last three years, and now it's nice to see a nine-hole course designed for novices join the mix.
The holes are on the shorter side at Grace Presbyterian, averaging about 200 feet a hole. There are definitely ace opportunities, and about half the holes are wide open with very few obstacles to punish errant throws.
The course is fairly easy to navigate once you identify the first teepad, which are turf. If you pull into the parking lot and park on the right side, you'll likely notice two teepads; Hole #4 is on the left and the opener is to the right. After that, the next teepad can usually be spotted (with one exception).
With a pond and stream in front of the church, and some nice mature trees and well-manicured grassy fairways about the grounds, this course rates as above average for beauty.
The pond and stream are utilized well on the last two holes. Hole #8 is downhill and about 175 feet, but with the creek about 25 feet behind, ace runs might find the water and turn into par-saving putts. Hole #9 is the shortest hole at 130 feet, but with the pond to the left and stream to the right, it's a touchy toss on a narrow peninsula.
Cons: The teepads are really short. While tons of distance aren't required, these pads don't allow for more than a couple steps. There are little metal signs next to each teepad, but the signs are currently blank.
Hole #1 plays slightly uphill to a blind basket; between the teepad and basket are some really bad briars that you'll want to throw over or avoid by staying to the left.
Hole #2 plays along what appears to be makeshift paintball obstacles, so the beauty does drop a bit here when considering all the tire shrines to the god of rubber.
The navigation takes a hit after Hole #6, which is the only purely woods hole. There's a steep path to traverse down the hill, followed by a walk of several hundred feet across the parking lot. And Hole #7 is quirky and shoehorned, as it appears designed for a severe RHFH throw over the entrance road and around some trees to a basket tucked near the wood line.
Other Thoughts: If you're a beginner or if short nine-holers are your cup of tea, there's a couple other courses in the region, Dawnville Park and Coker Elementary, that fit this description too.
This course is probably closed on Sunday mornings during services. A couple of the holes could be unplayable with cars in the parking lots, anyway.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.
Join Disc Golf Course Review for free to add your review. Have an account already?
Sign In to add a review.
1 
11/22/2022 
12/16/2022
Review By: Cerealman 
This review was updated on 12/20/2022
Hole #9 (Taken 11/2022) 
Report this Review