Pros:
(3.067 Rating) A solid Recreational course worthy of the Alabama top 25.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - This course should satisfy a wide swath of the player population. A par 54 layout with a 255 foot hole length average, but with a couple 330 footers. Very few gimmies for a layout this short and a couple shots that are going to be hard to birdie for vast majority of the players. I could see Novices through lower Advanced players enjoying the layout.
- CHARACTER - The equipment basics and extras at Aggieland are a touch above the average course. To start, concrete tees measuring 5 feet by 12 Feet. Passable tee signage, although several in the sun are completely faded, plus they don't show the natural back tee or alternate basket placements. There are lots of benches and a few garbage cans spaced throughout. The baskets are DISCatchers and there are several bag hangers.
- NAVIGATION - Adequate. Most of the transitions are moderately intuitive or in some cases the next tee can be seen from the prior basket. As briefly noted above, there are 2 or 3 useless tee signs that need to be replaced due to fading. The readable signs unfortunately don't have next tee direction. I could see some travelers getting turned around once or twice, especially after (14), but nothing epic bad.
- UNIQUENESS - Despite being an all par 3 layout, the variety is decent. A nice mix of lightly wooded through heavily wooded holes. A nice mix of distances from the upper 100s to mid 300s. Holes break in both directions, although the breaks favor the typical right to left angle. There is also some nice elevation movement in the 30 to 40 foot range and a creek comes into play on three holes.
- RAW BEAUTY - The heavily wooded stretch between holes (3) and (6), bumps this to an above average looking course. My favorite looking lines were (3), (6) and (13).
Cons:
A solid course, just a few very minor things.
- HOLE 10 - No logical line to basket. It's a poke and hope shot.
- DISCONTINUITY - Mostly good. The transition between (14) and (15) requires backtrack down the entire length of hole (14s) fairway. I want to believe that forced course edits made this a weird transition.
- BACK TEES - This course should not be marked as having multiple tees. I didn't even realize their existence until hole (13). They are inconspicuously marked with a single unmarked paver. The tee surfaces are natural and appear to have just about no usage.
- MULTI USE HAZARDS - Walking paths come into play on a handful of holes. Overall not that bad, as walkers can be seen well enough.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Bringing a newer player here is doable but not ideal. Holes like (3), (6) and (8) just seem too intense for an inaccurate new thrower.
- FADING SIGNAGE - A note to others planning to install tee signs. Use a UV coating and avoid mounting the face of the sign in direct sunlight. Doing this will aid in the sign's lifespan.
- MAINTENANCE - The course seemed slightly run-down as all the disc golf equipment is well aged. The signage and back tees should be upgraded first.
- TIME PLAY - Average time play. Figure 80 minutes for a solo and 2 1/2 hours for a foursome.
Other Thoughts:
This was my anchor course on a mini daytrip to finish off bagging all of North Alabama. I liked it. It has a small dose of everything I enjoy about the game. Currently Aggieland finds itself on the edge of the DGCR Alabama top twenty, which IMO is right where it should be as I've played the entire Alabama top 25 now. I think the course has the potential move a few spots up if the back tees were to get concreted and a few other tweaks were to be made. As is, not designation level for those beyond a 90 minute drive, but it is definitely worth a spin if traveling on I22 between Memphis and Birmingham.
- CHALLENGING - A touch above average. I'll guess that even par would draw about an 890 rated round. The course slightly favors technical players, but a few holes will require a driver for those that max out at 350 foot power.