It IS a nice location, and there are lots of other activities nearby, along with plenty of food options.

Criss-crossing holes, baskets that are literally in the river sometimes when it gets high, and very dangerous throws in regard to pedestrians and others enjoying the river.

There are several holes that I honestly didn't play (or just walked close enough to for an approach shot or putt). There is simply too much danger of losing a disc in the river or hitting someone, even if you have nearly pinpoint accuracy. (Along with the pedestrian path that you have to throw over a couple of times, there are very nearly always fishermen along the river. Saw one using a basket as a pole holder in fact.)

Apparently you are supposed to sign in at Whitewater, but it is not clear (and they are not always open).

They could shorten a few holes to make them playable, and perhaps set up a small net for discs that miss basket 12, but honestly, many of these holes are in bad locations and should simply be taken out. However, my one experience with giving (gentle) criticism was poo-pooed.

So bad I'm going to start with the cons and come back with the few pros later on.

(1.237 Rating) A challenging urban park course that plays along high traffic walkways and the 500 foot wide Chattahoochee river.
- DESIGN - After playing this course, I had to re-evaluate in my head on what I thought a poorly designed course looked like. If the worst designed course I had played was a zero out of ten, then surely this course was a negative six. The issues are colossal and constant. The problems start right away on hole (1) too, which crosses fairway's (2) and (18) and has a high traffic sidewalk inside the circle. Then hole (2). This one throws directly over the top of basket (18). Hole (3), which was a cool shot that was ruined on my play as a fisherman left their baby stroller next to the basket! The basket on (3) is also next to the river. Hole (4) I played timid as the river was at its banks and there was a fisherman near the basket. Hole (5) was swept away in a recent river flood because it was placed too close to the water's edge. Hole (6) is between a busy walking path and the river. It also plays up (15's) fairway. I could go on with my play by play, but I didn't want to write a 100 page report. Just know that non disc golfers and property will come into play on every hole. Hole spacing is terrible with baskets and tees often within 30 feet of each other and there are numerous shared fairways. Disc loss potential will be extraordinarily high when the river level is up. Whomever designed this should never be allowed to design another course. I would advise the city to pull the basket and place them in storage until a new suitable site is found.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - For those that skipped reading my long design con, yes there are safety concerns to both players and non players.
- LOOSE DISC OPPS - Extremely high when the Chattahoochee is at its banks.
- NAVIGATION AND SIGNAGE - It's not possible follow this one without a navigational app. I did not see a course map on site. There are no navigational arrows. The tee signs only provide a hole number and distance, with the distances well off in many cases. Four tee signs were missing on my play.
- TEES - The tees are mostly natural and without a defined throwing line.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - This course is not beginner friendly or even friendly to those with thirty to forty rounds under their belt. Way too many chances to lose a disc or grip lock one into a pedestrian.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - The course is actually really beautiful in a couple of spots with views of downtown Columbus on the other side of the river. This stated, the amount of trash, lack of maintenance and immense river damage far canceled out all of the positive aspects.
- PARKING - Pretty much no parking next to the course


Pros: Stating the below pros is about worthwhile as making the following statement while the ship is going down. "Well... at least it's a nice sunny day."
- CHAINS - 16 of the baskets were in good shape and could be donated to another park to put in a disc golf course.
- CHALLENGING - The water and pedestrian obstacles make for some heart thumping lines. I put the disc back into the bag a few times because I had the common sense not to throw.
- WEATHER - It was a nice sunny day.

What a disaster. It's courses like this that make me question my review methodology. Clearly I don't take off enough points for poor design and safety cause the course felt like a solid 0.5 when leaving. This is the second course I've played in the area (Dinglewood, which I scored a 1.766) and I'd pick off and eat the berries on that small niner again before I'd play this one again. I could not recommend this course to anyone other than to hardcore course baggers. Perhaps a course reviewer will enjoy The River Course too, but only for the fun write-up afterwards.

18 fantastic discatcher baskets. Great scenery on the river. Tons of food and drink options nearby.

#1 It is poorly designed and potentially dangerous. What a waste of great baskets. This beautiful park could have probably made a good 9 hole course. I don't think the designers have ever played disc golf. The pars don't make sense. The holes are poorly designed. Parts of the course can be unplayable depending on water levels. The poor design makes too many potential safety issues.

Beautiful location. Awful course design. I've heard it is well lit at night which is probably the only safe time to play.

-brand new discatchers
-tee signs on most holes but distances are a little off
-some really fun shots with elevation and the Chattahoochee River in play
-uses the water well to create danger for RH hyzers
-beautiful park with walking paths, a zip line, aerial obstacle course, and great views of the river

-there are a number of really unsafe holes
-holes 1 and 2 criss-cross each other
-holes 1 and 18 criss-cross each other
-holes 1, 6-8, and 10-16 have a well-used pedestrian path in play
-obstacle course and zip line in play on hole 8
-park users along the waters edge can be in play on half the holes
-a few holes, especially 8, don't have reasonable lines through the fairway
-tees for 4, 5, and 18 are not obvious at first; the tees are marked by paint on the rock
-many tees are on slanted ground where footing is an issue and downright dangerous in wet conditions
-disc retrieval is possible but difficult in most areas; clear water but steep shorelines with deep mud
-almost no parking nearby except private lots
-checking in a Whitewater Express is a pain, i didn't and wouldn't ever if i lived nearby and played often

This course has some really fun holes with the water in play and takes advantage of some great elevation changes. The river is scenic and the park is mostly pretty clean and pleasant. It's really close to the downtowns of Columbus and Phenix City.

While the land has some great features, I'm not actually sure this is the best place for a disc golf course. The park is very narrow, being bounded by the river and the edge of the park, and is full of pedestrian on the walking path and along the water's edge. The walking path extends through the length of the park and is in play on at least half the holes. I feel like it is only a matter of time before someone gets hit with a disc out here.

This design is a classic example of the "must have 18 holes" mentality. Not only is it obvious in the design but one of the co-designers literally said it to me. I prefer a course to have a number of holes that is a multiple of 3 but this park should only have about 12-15 holes. Otherwise you are going to have some very short pitch and putt holes or the safety nightmare that the course is currently. Personally, I think they should scrap holes 1, 8, and 11 and either scrap or redesign holes 14 and 15 so that they don't play straight down the pedestrian path.

I also thought some of the holes had tees in places that were not the best location, both for safety and for framing a good, reasonable tee shot. Hole 8 is a great example of a poor tee for both those reasons and is really just an all around poorly designed and dangerous hole. The rock tees on 4, 5, and 18 offer some pretty scary footing and tee 17 was also pretty intimidating in wet conditions.

All that said, there are some really fun holes like 5 and 18 in particular but I also liked 10 and 12. I think it's possible to have a really solid and fun 12 holes that don't pose a threat to other park users. Unfortunately, that advice is probably not likely to be heeded. Coming up with a number for the rating was tough but I felt the cons outweighed the pros here. Worth playing if you're in town but Flat Rock Park is an immensely better course if you have the time to make it over there.


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Absolutely beautiful location - along the Chattahoochee River. Most of the tees are clearly marked with distances and par. Several over water shots.

Holes 4, 5 and 18 do not have tee markers (yet)
Hole 8 is comically long.
Hole 17 is absolutely bonkers - just a mess of rocks and swamp and brush and river.

Holes 4, 5 and 18 - look for yellow spray paint on the rocks - i was told they are getting permits to put tee markers in on the rock.