*Pretty cool tee signs
*3 tee boxes for each hole
*Many pin positions
*Potential

*Did not stick to one pin position for all holes
*3 holes in open to 15 in woods
*ill conceived long tee box shots
*throw and hope for the best for many holes
*Needs next tee direction signs
*POISON IVY

This is a good to very good course (at best). If rated higher, then that person hasn't been to quality courses. I live in Birmingham and there are at least 3 better courses merely in the Birmingham area to choose from. If you want a good wooded course then just go to Inverness (indigo) or trussville instead

This course was extremely well put together.with clearly marked holes and signs pointing towards the next tee. Compared to some of the other parks where it is entirely likely to miss a hole, this hike through the woods lacks any path confusion

A beautiful hiking trip through the woods of Bowers Park with truly picturesque surroundings. The creeks were presenting a water hazard on a few holes but they were not disc guzzlers.

Fantastic replay value! The baskets are cycling through a three position rotation and this time through I was shooting on C position. Combine this with the fact that there are three tee offs and you find yourself with a course that can present 9 possible routes!


One of my favorite holes that I played on and to date my most favorite hole yet is Hole 18. An amazing shot downhill and then uphill, (or just straight across the ravine if your a professional I'd wager), to extend this 250+ ft. beauty.

A lot of the holes required some maximum arch with precise shots, bending through a dense copse of trees. This requires some real finesse and I find it as a novice to be one of the more challenging and rewarding experiences thus far.

Wear long pants. If you like taking the long route to save a favorite disc or just OCD like me and try to salvage all your discs, you will need pants traversing the woods. Stickers and poison ivy are abundant through the trail!

Basket color. The baskets for the most part were grey and silver or very dark blue that made it difficult to see when against a backdrop of green foliage. I would suggest yellow to the groundskeepers if there is ever an opportunity to upgrade baskets.

The only real other fault that I could find with this place would be that it is so far from New Orleans! Man I wish I could play this course every weekend! A great time!

This will be the third park that I have played since I started about a month ago. The other two mainly being Lafreniere and City Park in Louisiana. There is little room for imagination and as a novice I found myself appreciating both the mid range disc and sacrificing on power for more control.

Truly a great course! If your ever driving through Tuscaloosa you should stop on by!

This is one of the best courses I've ever played; only DeLaveaga Park in Santa Cruz, CA has been better.

Excellent use of Multiple Tee pads
Excellent use of Multiple Basket placements
These combine to make the course extremely challenging or good for beginners
A variety of throws are needed
A variety of distances and use of elevation
Isolated and only used for disc golf
Nice restrooms
Excellent signage, always a "next tee" sign
Nice course flow that is easy to follow, albeit a lot of walking is required

37th street did not have sign (its the first light)

I don't mind, but the woods frame every basket so that you really have no "choice" of throw, you either make the one window/alley or you don't.

One hole was pure luck because of all the trees, and the first 3 baskets are nothing to brag about.

The first 3 baskets are really a warm-up. I liked the fact that few trash cans were out there, it gave the course more of a natural-hike sort of feel. The carpet tee pads are not that bad... The creek crossing are not that bad, you may have to backtrack a little to use the nice, fresh-wood bridges.

If you are passing through on I-59/20, you should play this underrated and amazing course.

This is a quality course done right with a lot of thought - excellent job!

Fun course for most levels of players.

Course:
Multiple tees offer differing lengths and/or challenges for different levels of players. There is a true difference between the pro tees, the regular tees, and the am tees on most holes.
Multiple Pin locations change play severely. I went out and played on Oct 31 when pins were at location "A" and finished at +8. The next day, I arrived to see that pins had changed to "C" and proceeded to stop keeping score because I was doing so poorly.
Signs helpful.
Friendly locals (mostly college students)
Fun to hike around.

Shots:
Varied shots, open shot on 1, lightly wooded on 2 and 3, then heavily wooded for the remainder. Water comes into play.
Good variation between FH and BH throws.
Good distance variety.
Good use of elevation.
New bridges for creek crossing in most wanted locations.

One creek crossing point needs to be improved (though it'd be really hard to build a bridge there).
Signage could be better (tee signs and course navigation).
Mud is an issue after it rains.
LOTS of underbrush/fallen leaves. Not hard to lose a disc if you throw out of the fairway.
Might be too much of a hike for some people, but I thoroughly enjoy it.

Located in a park with multiple Gazebos, playgrounds, baseball fields, and a pool. Plenty of entertainment for any non-golfers you may travel with.
Really fun course with great holes, though none are signature, I thoroughly enjoy 9 (uphill shot over a very large fallen tree), 10 (big downhill shot), and 13 (downhill shot over the creek). 13 in pin position "C" is a ~400ft anhyzer shot (for RHBH throwers).

If you're driving down 59/20, you should DEFINITELY stop by for a round.

1. Variety of shots required (or recommended)
2. Variety of distances (from the 200's to 300+)
3. Excellent use of elevation
4. Situated in a nice park, but doesn't interfere with other park activities
5. Restroom facilities are good
6. Multiple pads
7. Multiple basket placement
8. Good signage (including "Next Tee" signs)

1. Carpet tee pads ( I prefer concrete )
2. Limited garbage cans on course
3. Creek crossings are less than ideal

Overall I thought this course was excellent! In fact, I played 4 courses in the Birmingham / Tuscaloosa area, and Bower's Park was definitely the best. The overall flow of the course is great; it's fairly easy to find your way along the well worn paths in the woods. The rolling hills are nice, and there was (for me) just the right mix of open throws with wooded obstacles. There's a nice variety of throwing uphill, downhill, and over valleys. Water does come in play, but it's only a shallow creek (at least it was when I was there, could get high water in the spring or rainy season, I suppose). I played the long tees except for 1 hole, where I got "lost" and threw from one of the alternates (I later backtracked and found the long tee box without difficulty). There happened to be nobody else out there when I was playing - Saturday morning on an Alabama football game day, so I found the park to be very peaceful. My only suggestions would be to improve the creek crossings, add some trash receptacles at a few of the tee boxes, and chip away at putting in concrete tee pads. Overall, I had a great experience and wouldn't hesitate to play this park again!

This course feels cared for. The extra-large carpet tees are flat and solid. The baskets are all in good shape. Each hole has multiple tees and pins. Major elevation changes, OB water in gullies that criss-cross the course, and shots that let your discs soar over valleys make for a series of just great shots. The first few fairways are mostly open. The rest cut through tall pines with minimal underbrush.

Quality signs, benches, bridges, and landscaping steps are everywhere you need them. Each tee has a broom to clear it off. Course navigation is easy, and it has good flow. Fairways use the landscape and trees to great effect, it's a pretty course with beautifully framed shots. Restrooms are near the first tee, and water is not far off. The course is easy to locate, and other park facilities do not interfere with it. It's just a great course.

I'm guessing this is a bitch to play in the rain. It was a little crowded. Some of the alternate tees are not immediately obvious. The tees aren't concrete.

Even though the course is mostly wooded, the fairways are long and wide enough to let you air out some discs.

The course is minutes off of the interstate. The course has good baskets that catch well. It is located in a very pretty park that seems to be well maintained. I did not notice very much trash. Ran into a local fellow on the first tee and he asked me to join up with him and was very friendly. Easy to get to the next tee pad.

The biggest problems I had with the course were poor tee pads, too much luck involved for my tastes, bad bridges or a lack there of and not knowing where the baskets were.

The tee pads are carpeted and very slick. I fell hard on the 3rd hole and completely shanked my drive. After hole 3 too many of the holes seemed like a poke and hope for me. Some of the holes were hard to play because of the bridge issue. Many of the baskets were not identifiable from the tee pad which is ok but it would be nice to have something letting you know what position it is in.

There were multiple basket locations on every hole. The local I played with told me most were in the C position other that the ones that the locks were stuck on. Of all the positions C seemed like the worst, almost like they just put them there to put them there to say there were multiples. I might have liked it a little better if it was laid out in the other positions which seemed like they were the originals and had better defined fairways. I also expected more based on the previous reviews. I have played some courses that really were 4 star courses and this course is no where near the same caliber as those. Had it not been for the extremely nice local I probably would have been even more frustrated.

1) Best Playing course i've played (out of around 20 courses)

2) extremely good use of elevation, creeks, and woods.

3) first couple of holes are EXTREMELY deceptive. they look nice and relatively simple, but the farther you go on this course, the better it gets

4) A Very good challenge for anyone

5) Holes 8/ 9/10/11- Just...wow. you know you're in trouble when a hole is aptly named "the pinball wizard"

6) fairly good navigation on this course

1) couple of bad signs

2) Slick carpet tees- had to throw from a standstill on some

3) Creek crossings- NEED SERIOUS WORK... a bridge that is falling apart, and cement filled tires which we're covered in water when i was there.

4) Posion Ivy, I missed all of it, but did see it, keep your eyes open.

5)Course has High Potential to eat disc due to underbrush and the long holes over valleys.

Course itself gets a 4.5 or possibly a 5 in my opinion, but the tees and creek crossings are a big negative.

If those two things could be improved upon, this would easily be one of...if not the best course in the state

also, a few more benches would be nice...but not really a big deal in my opinion

Some long and short shots. Well marked and it's very easy to find the next tee. Each tee pad was in ok shape and some even had brooms that could be used to sweep off any extra dirt.

There needs to be some bridges put in over the creek. It was difficult to cross and we had to get a little wet when crossing them.

Over all the course was good. It's was not easy after the first three holes, but it didn't seem impossible. If I'm ever back in that area I will for sure stop by and play it again.

Excellent wooded course. I'm used to wooded courses, and this one ranks up there with some of the best.
The throwing lines are fair on every hole, and 3's are possible on every hole, so long as you hit the fairways.
Three pin positions make for a unique challenge. Different distances, doglegs, and elevations. Real thought here.
Tee signs are great, showing the 3 pin positions and lines, and the hole names.
Hole names -- how sweet is that? Sleepy Hollow, Camelot, Why Why, etc. A nice touch!
Great use of the landscape. Not much elevation change in Tuscaloosa, but the course makes use of what there is. The creek adds some risk/ reward.
The park itself is awesome. Lots of running room, baseball fields, basketball, etc. And right off the highway and close to Alabama's campus. The course doesn't get in the way at all, except maybe the first two holes, really just the second hole, but not even that bad.
Park management was cleaning up, on a Sunday morning. Looks like they do a great job with it.
Benches on lots of holes, very high up(I'm 6'3" and couldn't touch the ground while sitting!).
Brooms on most tees to sweep tee clean. Another great touch.

Poison ivy, just keep your eyes peeled.
Crossing the creek(s) aren't much fun. I don't mind getting wet on a disc golf course, I'm used to it, but if you're gonna try get people across, use better than tires and concrete blocks(or at least use more of them).
There is a bridge over some stagnant water that you would NOT want to fall in, and the bridge is very bouncy and warped -- I weigh under 200lbs and was not comfortable crossing it.
Kinda straight. There are some slight doglegs, but mostly it's fairly straight. May have been the B pin placement, but I looked at the other pin spots too.
Tee pads. It's been said, but for all the positives and work done on this course, good tees would be the biggest improvement. I didn't have any trouble with what's there though.
No fours or fives. If I hadn't had such fun at the U of A A-Day game, I would have been hitting threes on every hole.

With better tee pads and a few easier ways to cross the creeks, this course would be right up there.
I just posted a bunch of pics, these should help. I enlarged the tee signs on some pics.
Wish I'd been into disc golf when I was at the U of A!

This is a very fun and challenging course set in a nice park mere minutes off the interstate. A variety of throws are required to navigate thick woods, some excellent elevation, a bit of water, left and right turns, with some good risk/reward pin placements. Good signs, flat tees and well defined fairways (excepting a few) make for easy flow, starting with open holes but quickly becoming technical. As with most heavily wooded courses, errant drives and seconds can be severely punished.

Carpet tees; all in all not bad, being flat and solid, but concrete is always an improvement. Bridges too, would be an improvement the few times you cross a creek. And while alternate pin placements are a definite plus, they need be clearly and correctly marked. Although a few holes still needed fairways they certainly make you utilize a variety of shots!
No one hole stands out as "signature."

Unfortunately I played this course only once but it left me wanting more. Fortunately, it was quite fun (so much so I felt it deserves a review) and I'd look forward to flying there again, no doubt. An excellent technical challenge for any level player this course has great potential.

Bowers Park has a great flow through a park perfectly suited for disc golf. I like how it starts with a few long, open holes to get the arm warmed up and then it gets technical by hole 4 all the way to 18. The wooded holes were well-defined and not as frustratingly difficult as they could have been. The designer put in a lot of thought into the shot shape of each hole and there weren't many oddly placed obstacles/trees to get in the way of a well-placed shot. This layout provided more downhill holes than uphill too. When I first stepped into the woods, i expected to occasionally have trouble finding discs (especially with the fallen leaves). This wasn't a problem as there was very little rough to worry about! These factors helped make this a FUN play as opposed to a highly technical frustratingly challenging play. Bowers park is definitely one of the more fun wooded courses I've played. I appreciated the multiple pin positions on each hole although it wasn't always clear where each pin was hiding. Signs were basic but useful

With concrete pads and a few bridges (instead of concrete-filled tires throughout the creek), I'd rate this course as a very strong 4 star. The carpet wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I did slip a few times on my run-up. I would imagine that these and the rubber pads would be trecherous when a little wet. As a positive, they were at least pretty uniformly flat. rubber teepads can get lumpy without proper maintenance

Driving from Louisville to New Orleans, this was a perfect pit-stop off the 59/20 hwy and exit 73. It is seriously a 1 minute drive from the highway! I played it with a friend in about an hour and we each had a thoroughly enjoyable disc golf experience.

This is a nice wooded course that starts you off with a 3 long holes that are mostly open with some big mature trees. From there you go into heavy woods for the rest of the round. The woods for the most part are tight and pretty thick. The majority of the holes have well defined fairways. There are mutliple pin location of every hole. 3 of the holes incorporate a nice little creek that can make for some really nice holes with baskets right before or just over the creek. There is a good mix of left and right throws.

Concrete pads would be nice but the carpet actaully felt fine.

A couple of the holes were kind of a crap shoot. Hit your first gap and hope.

There bidges over the creek need to be replaced, one of them was even missing.

The first hole buy the creek the pin was not in the marked location. I threw over the creek to were it was supposed to be only to get down there and find no bridge over the creek and the basket on the short side over to the left.

This is a pretty tough course but was a fun play. There are some really nice holes and several duece oppurtunies. If you are close it is well worth checking out.

Fantastic wooded course that will keep you coming for more. Very possible to score birdies on every single hole if you can keep your disc in the fairway and gain some accuracy. Lots of diverse terrain that makes for different challenges in strategy and approach. Great multiple

Tee pads aren't all in place and sometimes the pin location changes without notice. Also, nothing but par 3s on this course. Lots of potential for a couple of par 4s, or even a par 5. The greens and fairways are also not as clean as other courses can be.

I live 4 miles away from the course and learned to play here. I have played several other courses since learning here and can honestly say we have a very challenging course that has made the group I play with better and competitive even on courses that we have never played on before.

great course. Has everything a challenging woods course should have. tight fairways, good pin positions and baskets guarded by trees and the creek on three holes

rained both rounds I played so tee pads were very slick. carpet pads were O.K.

I have only played twenty or so courses but this may be my new favorite.

Outstanding elevation, an eclectic selection of holes, and a the potential to be a par 60+ course. This is quickly becoming my favorite course in Alabama. I've played this course probably 7 or 8 times and every time I've left exhausted, frustrated, and awesomely impressed.

Carpet/Flypad teepads can get slick, leaves can cause you to spend some time looking for discs.

I _really_ like the new C positions, but I think that to many of them are similar. If the positions were shuffled a bit to add variety to the rounds it would help tremendously. Figure out a way to pour concrete in the woods and this course turns into the best in the state hands down! The local players are some of the nicest I've ever met. If you have the chance stop in for a tournament or doubles!

This course is awesome. The baskets are in good condition. There are 3 pin placements for every hole with 3 tees for every hole. Every regular tee has a nice wooden tee sign, showing the flight path, distance, the other tees, and the pin placements. The message board at the start of hole 1 tells what places the pin positions are in. The regular tees have a mix of carpet pads and mats.

Design wise, this course is excellent. The first 3 holes are mostly open, with enough trees on holes 2 & 3 to force an accurate shot. Then you start into the woods to take on 15 holes with lots of trees, great elevation change, great shot variety, distance variety, and lots of shule that will test your physical skills as well as your mental skills. The regular tees will challenge pro caliber players and the shorter tees allow newer players to also enjoy the course.

Even from the short tees, this course can be a disc eater if you do not stay in the fairway, so be sure to keep an eye on any errant shots. The short and long tees are natural only, which can get slick/muddy when it rains, but I know the club is working to add carpet pads as they can afford it.

The carpet pads with more fluff worked fine, but the mats and the other carpet pads would collect massive amounts of dirt, which made it very slick to throw on even in good weater conditions, at least for me. A couple of these pads had brooms, but unless you carried one around with you (like I did my 2nd round), it is not enough. This is only a minor complaint, but it is difficult to enjoy playing an awesome hole when you slip on tee and shank your drive.

Before playing this course, I had heard good things, but it is truly a gem of a course. The only thing holding this course back from getting 5 stars from me are the lack of good tee pads and the fact that it is an all par 3 course. It is a personal opinion of mine that a course has to have pro level par 4s and 5s in order for me to give it 5 stars, because those kind of holes bring in the strategy element of disc golf that is completely untapped by the majority of courses. However, this will not stop me from bragging about this course any time soon. I look forward to playing this course again, as well as playing it during the warmer months when the shule gets even thicker and to see how much tighter the fairways will become.

As it plays now, the regular tees seem to be set up for gold level players. Shooting par from those tees (at least in C positions, which is all I have played, but possibly others) is very close to a 1000 rated round. Close enough that I think it is safe to say SSA = 54.

The local club seems to be growing and putting in a lot of work on this course. Hopefully as they can afford it, they will improve the tee pads, as well as adding tee pads to the long and short tees. I highly recommend playing this course if you are ever in the area.

This is one of the most beautiful wooded courses I've played. Aside from the first three holes which are fairly open (2 and 3 do have many trees lining their fairways) thick shule lines both sides of the fairways. The routes are clearly defined and really test your accuracy. Some interesting pin placements (hole 11's pin lies about 3 ft from the edge of a creek) force you to make tough decisions off the tee. There's a great use of elevation with some scenic views from the tee (10 and 18 come to mind as my favorites).

Hole 8 is the only bad hole on the course. Its basically a filler hole with about 50 questionable routes to it. You're probably best off just closing your eyes and chucking the disc in the general vacinity of the basket, hoping you don't hit a tree. The walk from hole 12 to 13 will test your endurance. Both those are just knit picky things.

This is probably one of the most underrated courses in the state. Before I played it I heard nothing good about it but it definately ranks as one of my top courses. Definately worth the trip to play a casual round or tournament round.