GW just keeps getting better with age
5 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Hey, I will admit bias up front as this is the course I learned on. It will always be 'Home' in my mind.
Recent improvements, from benches, signage, course map, etc have served to make this course a constant 'must play' for both locals and visitors.
Cons: -occasional panhandlers and begging, be prepared
-walking paths throughout course (some delays in play)
-park gets INCREDIBLY heavy use by community
Other Thoughts: Great place to hang out, very diverse crowd and usually Tom Monroe (PDGA #33, World Champ) is selling new & used plastic from his white van in case you need a disc.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Fun at George Ward
5 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This is a very enjoyable course for starters as well as experienced players
- Course is well maintained and clean
- Three pin sets (giving variety)
- 6 more extra holes between hole 14 and 15
- Good use of the terrain
- New tee signs and benches at each hole
- Bulletin board with announcements, scorecards, and map of the course
- A variety of play
- A separate pin for practicing putting before playing the course
Cons: - For newcomers it can be confusing to find the next hole, so clear directions would be nice
- It looks like it is in a bad neighborhood (but don't let looks be deceiving)
- not for little children as some of the courses are near roads (though if you do bring children there are two playgrounds nearby)
Other Thoughts: I have played this course over 20 times and I have never gotten tired of playing this course. I know the local pro and he takes pride into maintaining the course. There are always tournaments happening.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Classic Course
1 Helpful / 4 Not
Pros: Solid and well seasoned course. With plenty of challanging shots but not too difficult for beginers. This course really makes you play harder. The bonus letter holes in the woods make for an interesting game. Benches, signs, trash cans, score cards and all that provided.
Cons: Can be a B***h to find if youre not familiar with the neighborhood. The park is shared by alot of non disc-golf activity: dog walkers, picknickers, so always be mindful of where youre throwing here.
Other Thoughts: If you live in Alabama you must play here at least once. Historic disc golf course!!
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.
3 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Being from Florida, I loved the elevation changes. It isn't often that I get to throw up and down hills. I loved the layout. It was very friendly to get you back to your car half way through the round. The pads were generous. Pin placements were excellent and I like that there were multiple pin options on many of the holes. A couple of exceptions where it was hard to tell which pin you were throwing at. I love how this course tests your accuracy but also gives you a few chances to air it out a bit. I also like the fact that it didn't really have any water. I just hate losing discs. Beautiful piece of land and convenient to I-65. Friendly locals who were very helpful is always a plus as was the big map by the parking lot.
Cons: Needs new signs. It got confusing where the next pad was and it was confusing at times as to which pin you were throwing at. One time through is enough to figure it out but it was confusing the first time around. Other than that, I can't really think of anything that could be improved. Great course.
Other Thoughts: I hope to play this course again!
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Needs a Little TLC, but a Great Course
2 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Great Course in the Heart of Birmingham. It's really well designed, and has 6 extra holes for a total of 24 holes of disc golf. Offers a variety of challenges and makes really good use of the terrain. Seemed to have a local following of golfers, there was even a local pro there hanging out in the park offering advice, and selling discs out of his van. Good tees and good baskets.
Cons: Was a little run down. Needs new tee signage on certain holes, and better signage in the park, so that you know where to start (we wandered a bit before figuring it out). It's kind of in the ghetto (not that I care, but some might). It needed mowing when we were there.
Other Thoughts: Really enjoyable course with a great design. It's rather open, but makes good use of terrain and trees. This course will continue to challenge players of all levels, but it's not outlandishly hard. I'll definitely visit it again if I'm in Birmingham.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Kept up like a ball course
1 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Private Location located in the city.
VERY CLEAN-when i drove up, the course pro was blowing leaves out of the parking lot. he noticed that i was new and was going to ask a few guys to show me around. he then told me the layout.
Elevation changes-there were various holes that shot up hill and down and it caused me to really think about the proper disc and lines to hit.
Beautiful park, mature trees, layout nicely.
Locals were very friendly.
Baskets were in good shape
Cons: Signage was VERY worn out (course pro told me they were being replaced.)
other than that, it was a great course for the land provided.
Other Thoughts: if you're close, stop by throw a few
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Great Course!
1 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: the course is extremely well kept. The Disc Golfers that call this course home, take great pride in keeping it trash free and in good shape. Tee boxes at every hole with multiple goal locations (which are changed about every three weeks from what I can tell). Nice mixture of long throw opportunities with tight shots mixed in.
Cons: Not a lot to say negative about this course except that it is right in the middle of what looks like a pretty rough section of town. I have never had any trouble and play it often, so don't worry but don't plan to play past dark either.
Other Thoughts: My favorite course to play! I get to sample quite a few courses around the southeast and this is one of the best I've played. If you live in B'ham, you should be here all the time and if you don't live there, then it's worth a few hour drive to play a few rounds.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Always enjoyable
20 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros:
Design
*Multiple basket layouts- 3 basket layouts add variety so it's different every time I play here. Each layout has a mixture of short, medium, and long holes. This adds variety to each layout so that one isn't all short and one all long. I applaud them for keeping all the baskets in the same layout, i.e.- all A, all B, or all C. This produces consistency and allows you to meaningfully compare rounds over time.
*Terrain- I love the rolling hills with nicely manicured grass and scattered trees. There are plenty of obstacles, without too much rough.
*Elevation changes on almost every hole. The configuration I played had only 1 Flat hole with 9 Up/ 8 Down. A few are as much as 45 ft up or down.
*Nice length variety. Layout A has 2<199/ 6<of 200-299/ 8<of 300-399/ 1 of 401/ 1 of 605
*Water- there's a little bit with a stream on 13 and 15. (The stream on 4 is in view, but no longer in play.)
*6 optional extra holes (A-F) add even more variety and more playing options. These are all in the woods with nice elevation changes.
*Figure 8 layout: the front and back nine both start and finish at the parking lot, so you can start on either or just get in a quick 9 if you're pressed for time.
*The course is extremely clean and trash free.
Basics
*Tees- concrete; some are long trapezoids
*Little touches- the tee on hole 1 is very nicely landscaped. This starts you off with a very positive mood.
Amenities
*Map- online
*Warm up basket- it's a little old, but various putting distances are marked off. Nice touch.
*A good message board
*Restrooms
*Benches on every hole and some trash cans
Cons:
-Tee signs: need to be updated with the new layouts labeled correctly. A few signs have been vandalized.
-Navigation: it's a little tricky to find a few of the tees. 14's tee is a bit a walk from 13's basket
-Nothing can be done about the area the course is in, but it feels kind of sketchy to me, so I don't feel totally safe. I've never had a problem, but I always lock my car and I don't leave any valuables in it.
Other Thoughts:
Course Level = White (most suited for Intermediate players rated 875-925)
Course Difficulty: 5 (out of 10)
My favorite hole is 13. Very scenic, slightly downhill with a creek. My favorite layout is when the basket is near the creek on the other side so that you have lots of risk to get it close.
~A natural consequence of having 3 basket positions on each hole is that first timers and out of town players will have a little trouble finding some of the baskets. When they update the tee signs this will help. In the layout I played I couldn't see baskets 5, 6, 11, 12, 14, 18 from the tee.
~Since each layout has a mixture of short, medium, and long holes the only drawback to this is that each layout is very similar in total length. The lengths are 5615/ 5481/ 5779, so with only a 300 ft. difference between the shortest and longest layouts that makes the scoring average for each layout very similar.
George Ward is a really solid course with a great local player base. You might even run into Hall of Famer and former World Champion Tom Monroe; he's one of the legends of disc golf. I've played this course numerous times since 2000, and I always enjoy the course. I'd recommend it to everyone to play!
A note about my rating: My rating is a subjective measure of my
enjoyment of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the
quality of the course. My Enjoyment Ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.
Look in the "Links/Files" section for my files with Hole-by-hole ratings and a more detailed Overall review. You can also read more of my review philosophy and rating notes at
Disc Golf Course Reviews
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.
Not much more to add
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: - Excellent combination of throwing challenges.
- Beautiful course with lots of large ancient oaks, mulberries, dogwoods and willows. Spring fed creeks come into play on both the front and back. The spring coming from the large stone culvert near #4's basket has a very good flavor and is always cold.
- Great elevation change. Plenty of hills.
- Bow-tie design is convenient.
- Local golfer community is strong. Always players around and the locals are extremely friendly and kind.
- Clean, no garbage at all, not even butts. Seemed like every smoker making the turn would empty their pockets of spent butts into the trash. Thanks y'all!
- 3 pin placements for every hole keeps the course fresh
- Benches on every hole
- 3 sets of bathrooms and water fountains. Concessions available at the tennis center and the softball fields. 2 gas stations across the street from C's pad in case you run out of provisions.
- Very well maintained, lots of work has gone into George Ward and it shows
Cons: - Tee pad signs need replacing (in the works from what I've been told)
- Extra 6 holes off of #14 are dirt or carpet pads (once again in the works)
Other Thoughts: The locals care a great deal for this old course and for obvious reasons. It's an extremely well maintained course with beautiful scenery, challenging holes, good company and Tom Monroe selling discs and telling tales of disc golf lore in the lot... what more could you ask for?
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Fun course with great variety!
3 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros:
1. Good variety of distance (~200' - 400')
2. Good shot variety required to score low (FH, BH, Hammer / Thumber, etc...)
3. Restroom facilities available in park
4. Good use of existing elevation, with uphill, downhill, and pretty flat holes all in play.
5. Good mix of open / tight fairways.
6. Decent signage
7. Multiple basket placement
8. Good course flow (fairly easy to follow for first timer)
9. Concrete tee boxes
Cons:
1. Only 1 set of tee boxes
2. Some of the tee signs are unreadable
3. No tee boxes for bonus holes A-F
Other Thoughts: Overall, I rated the course "Very Good." I found the course pretty easy to navigate and thought it had a good variety of hole types. Most players will find the course challenging, but not overly frustrating. There's some water in play (creeks) on a few holes, which could make things more interesting during the rainy season. The use of the existing elevation is very good and allows for some fun downhill grip-and-rip style throws.
Overall the course is fun and has a nice variety for all skill levels. If you're in the area and can't make it down to Bowers Park in Tuscaloosa, this is the next best thing in the area!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Hole #15 (Taken 2/2023) 
3 / 375ft.
Par / Distance:
5+ 
2/4/2012 
2/6/2012
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