Bowers Park really sneaks up on you! It starts off letting you think this is an open course, a few trees, and you're wondering, why is this park rated so highly? Then you move into the woods, and you get it.

Bowers park is tucked into a park off the highway. You'll find some great holes carved through the woods with a few challenging holes, a few nice and easy birdies. The forest is very hilly, and wide open fairways abound. But the hills were never so daunting that you hate having to walk up before you even throw. The widest fairways are still bounded by pretty thick forests.

The tee pads are concrete or carpet, depending on which tee you throw from. Each hole has two tees, and three potential basket placements. I usually don't, but I do love the variety. The basket position wasn't all short, or all long, which created a good balance. It looks likes the other layouts were similarly designed. A great idea for people who don't want to play all short or all long tees. I wish a local course to me would do that.

The tee signs were very simple, but wow I don't think I've ever seen more helpful hand-drawn signs on any course ever. I have to commend them. They were as good as most designed signs in terms of helpfulness.

The carpet tees can be a little wonky. Or hard to find. But can be a little hidden or overgrown.

Navigation is pretty straightforward, but there a couple parts where the two tees are farther apart and have a different trail from the last basket. After several holes of easy navigation, it's just slightly more jolting than normally. Really not that bad.

This course seems like that older style, mainly par 3, but done with enough creativity and diversity of holes that it's really a pleasant round.

I stopped to play this course on my way from the family in Johnson City to home in Louisiana. It was a great stop to play a quick round from the short tees. I was so surprised by how great this course is I may stop and play it each time I drive through!

Baskets are Chainstars in decent condition - age is showing a little, but not much. They feature yellow flags for visibility. Three pin positions per hole (plus one extra on 13). Red tees (which are actually the middle set) are good-sized concrete; these are the tees which a majority of disc golfers will want, being around intermediate level in difficulty; the white (short) and black (long) tees are carpet tees playing at roughly novice and advanced levels, such that the course has an appropriate set of tees for the overwhelming majority of players. Although they look like death on a pale pony, none of the carpet tees were slick or otherwise difficult to tee from - maybe the heat bakes them dry. Tee signs are painted wood with tee color, distances, and hole maps (better drawn than the ones DGCR has pictured). No signs of chipping/fading; all were in good shape. Present pin position (typically all A, all B, or all C, save for some tourneys) is indicated at the course board, and they rotate, I believe monthly.

15 fully wooded (and I mean heavily, but beautifully wooded) holes, testing pretty much every line you could name, with plenty of elevation change as well - from long uphill shots to downhill ace runs, valley shots, etc. You'll need to be able to throw both FH/BH to play well (the whites are a bit more forgiving to players with only one). The rough is rough enough that "putting it down there" won't do you any good if you can't stay in the fairway. Conversely, if you hit your line, you will be putting - there's no poke and pray unless you decide you want to play it off the fairway on purpose. Good luck with that idea - it won't work. The distances are also enough to really add to the challenge - it isn't just a putter chucking contest. Several of the woods holes play in the 300+ foot range from red, and only about a third play under 300 from the blacks, with some out past 400. Being able to hit some lines with a driver is a must. Water comes into play on 3 holes - a clear, flowing stream which makes for some challenging greens.

The first three holes are far more open long boomrippers, but still with some tree guarding, starting one-sided on 1 and developing into a city park-style corridor shot on 3 before the real woods begin on 4. The first three thus add some further variety - and ease you into what you've undertaken.

Signature hole for the course would be number 18 for sure - long (293-398 feet from red, depending on pin) valley shot, but with the uphill side slightly dominant. Runs through a fairly tight corridor, with huge shule banks waiting to either side, especially if you leave the line early. The shot from the black tee actually runs over the top of the shule on the left-hand side for about half the length of the hole. Absolutely gorgeous - pictures don't capture the valley effect well, but they're still worth checking out. I sat down recently to make a course out of my favorite holes anywhere for each number 1-18; this was my choice for 18.

There were some maintenance issues with the black tees - 13 and 16 were badly grown up, such that overhands or pitching out were the only viable tee shots. Seeing old footage of what they once were was saddening. 12 had a large tree down on the bridge in front of the black tee (only added a small detour to another bridge) and on the tee sign. They must be pretty sturdy, though; I think the sign did more damage to the tree than vice versa. I went looking for my loppers and saw in my car's trunk after my round, but unfortunately had taken them inside recently in order to effect a joke about my toenails.

Although next tee signage was pretty good overall, it was only unambiguously great for the red tees; a few signs could be added in a few places to point to the others (there are some already), but it's fine enough as it is. There's no map onsite, but the one linked here on DGCR is excellent.

Holes 1 and 3 gave me some slight concerns about interaction with other park activities and safety, but nothing too bad. The operative word is slight, and that's hard to avoid in a multi-use park. Holes 4-18, however, are problem-free in this regard, being buried in the woods.

Tee colors (white short, red mid, black long) are obviously nonstandard - they're UATuscaloosa colors, though. There are also a number of Alabama football references as hole names etc., to which I say WDE. I won't hold that against anybody, though.

Gets very hot and very humid. There is probably about 75%+ shade once you get into the woods, but you will still want to bring plenty of water. I've seen a borderline heat stroke out here before, and that in a man who worked roofing for a living. Take care of yourself. There's a reason people joke about "when Tuscaloosa freezes over..."

I'm told there's poison ivy bad in the summer. I don't react, and frankly I barely remember what it looks like because of that, so I can neither confirm nor deny.

Overall, I have this course rated third out AL courses I've played (fourth out of all courses played), behind Inverness and Indian Creek (that one only barely). I haven't visited Heflin or the Mobile+ area, which I'm told house some serious contenders, but regardless, Bowers is AL top ten for sure.

Very nice course with multiple pin positions.
Red Tees in nice shape and easy to find and see.
Challenging enough with tight fairways in the woods but not in horrible trouble if go into the ivy and woods.
Drains very well, played in rain with not much trouble.

baskets can be hard to see, steel color and no yellow or bright colors to call out. On non-sunny days is tough for a non local to see pin locations. Several times had to walk 2/3 up fairways to find pin location.

fun course and challenging enough for everyone.

- Big parking lot; I'd find it hard to not find a spot ever.
- Practice basket is set away from normal golf traffic; I like that because then you don't have to worry about being thrown on.
- Course flows very easily from hole to hole; the tee pad for the next hole is usually in sight from the previous basket.
- Some really wonderful use of elevation.
- Course really demands a bag full of diverse shots; every shot is required to complete this course.
- Course is very difficult. Very Risk and Reward based, must have perfect control of drives to pipe it right down the extremely tight fairways this course has.
- No real chance to lose a disc, water does not come into play too much, and when it does it is a very shallow stream.

- You have a relatively good chance of twisting an ankle on the Teriann; a complaint from somebody who is from Flat Florida.
- The black (Carpet) tee pads are VERY slick. Good chance of slipping on them.
- No real signature hole. During my time here I didn't have one hole that really stood out as the "Postcard" kind of hole for the course.
- Hole 18 is nothing special; I like courses that leave you with a strong, signature hole right at the end. Hole 18 blends right in to hole 16 and 17.

- Played this course for the Alabama Slammer, this was my first time playing disc golf outside of the state of Florida. Very different type of golf with heavy woods and a good amount of elevation. This course instantly became one of my favorite courses I have ever played and one of the more difficult i have ever played.
- I would road trip for this course again; the course is wonderful, the people of Tuscaloosa are wonderful, just a great all around experience.

With three tees and three pin positions on each whole, the course has a ton of versatility. The addition of cement pads on the middle tees was terrific. The course makes great use of its varied terrain as well.

The course is so heavily wooded that course maintenance is a constant issue. This issue is made more challenging by all the additional acreage added by the various tee and pin positions. It would be nice to see the other tees be replaced with concrete.

Alabama summers are too damn hot.

-3 Tees & 3 Pin Locations per hole
-Easy navigation
-Benches & trashcans at numerous holes
-Nice Variety of shots
-Good use of elevation
-Park drains well; very little standing water on the course
-Pretty, clean & well maintained park
-Restrooms are very clean and located near #5 & #18

-It appears the basket locations aren't changed very often
-The holes are a little close together, making the course feel a little cramped at times
-Black (long) & White (short) tees do not have concrete tee pad like the Red ones do

This is an excellent course for all skill levels. There are big differences between the throws required at the Black, Red & White tees, not just more or less distance.
One of two great DGC's in Tuscaloosa... worth the trip!

What a great design. I think this course had an excellent use of the natural elevation. Signage was very good. Although mostly wooded, the 3 or so open holes give you the opportunity to air it out. Fairways were "fair" for the most part. Holes 10 and 18 were my favorite and could be very scenic. Bowers will test your entire bag. One of the later holes has a pin placement right along the creek. Thats a great location to encourage stroke management. I played right after a rain and the course appeared to drain well. Tee pads were very nice. I loved the river polished stones everywhere. There were benches on all the holes. This is a great place to play.

I had a number of issues with the course. I thikn the design and layout was a 4* but the maintenance was at 2*. The course was like your kids hair after a 3 month summer camp. The fairways were overgrown with 3' tall grass and sapplings. It wasn't "thick" but it really took away from my experience. A number of the holes were really closing in and I think somewhere between 14-16 one of the holes will soon be lost to kudzu.
There is a tee on 12 to no where, it is so over grown off the pad that I couldn't see the fairway. I ended up playing the short.
For most holes I couldnt determine what pin placement the basket was in from the sign. A simple peg or screw system would work. Edit* apparently if they are in "A" they are all in A and I missed this notification at the start of the course. So keep this in mind.
A number of the baskets appeared to be in new locations. Many of these were way too close to trees and bushes, leaving little to no putting surface/green.
The benches are made from 2 4x4's planted in the ground with a 2x10 across them. There was no supporting cross beam, so the bench top wiggles and more and more nails and screws are needed. A number of these have popped up so watch when you sit down. A simple 2x4 brace across the bottom of the bench top that spans the legs would eliminate this issue. There was a lot of trash on this course, I noticed a couple trashcans, but 2 of these were dumped out right at the tee pad.

** I have updated my review from a 3 to a 4 after being informed that a number of the issues have been addressed.** I left the comments but have change the review.

I enjoyed this course but left dissappointed, holes 4-18 had some extreme potential.

3 sets of tees for each hole. There are also 3 pin placements for each hole. Course has plenty of natural beauty. mostly shady for those hot summer days. easy to navigate with excellent signage. restroom close to the beginning of the course. Nice use of terrain with elevation changes throughout.

not much bad to say. The long and short tees are not concrete but I did not see a problem with footing. Almost all the holes are in the woods so if you like open holes not much there for you.

very nice course. One of the best I have played. The pins were in the short position when I played but I could see most of the other placements. I love the 3 sets of tees so that different skill levels can play together and/or you can pick the sort of challenge you want. There are lots of trees but there seemed to always be a path to the basket although quite narrow at times

1. Conveniently located right off the interstate
2. Multiple tee pads/baskets
3. Ideal amount of elevation change
4. Requires a full variety of throws
5. Concrete tee pads (though still in the making as of 12/26/12)
6. Well maintained
7. Beautiful piece of property with some water holes

1. Has but one restroom which can only be accessed on holes 4 and 18
2. Back/short tees poorly thought out, all with carpet tee pads and some having trees blocking the hole
3. Not enough trash cans, plenty of soda cans and beer bottles to be found throughout the course
4. Too many trees on some holes, including 5, 8, and 11, where you just throw randomly and hope for the best

This course is an absolute beauty, and I feel that holes 10-13 are some of the best holes you will ever see. All four are downhill, with water in play on each except 10; nevertheless, 10 is my all-time favorite hole, where you throw about 50 feet downhill over a ravine--absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, the next 5 holes are a painful trudge uphill to get back where you started, so be in shape before you play (at least there are plenty benches on the course!).

The baskets can be difficult to see for a first timer, which is why I wished they would have flags on top, but no biggie; they have decent signs for each basket location.

And if you decide to visit bowers, I suggest you play the middle tees. It seems as though the course were designed specifically for them. The front and back tees are off the beaten path and are still hard to find even when I've played here dozens of times. They will often have trees directly in front of the tee pad and look as though they were essentially thrown in random places throughout the course. I bet these tees will remain carpet for the rest of their lives. As I stated earlier, the concrete tee pads for the middle tees are a work in progress, with the first 9 holes being completed (perfectly so far), and I hope the tees will be finished by summer.

Speaking of summer, if you play here during the hot months of June, July, and August, be sure to bring plenty of water and bug spray, and wear long pants, because there are plenty of thorns and poison ivy. Also, watch out for snakes! I've seen too many water moccasins in the creek already.

Anyway, I think this course deserves a solid 4 stars because it offers an excellent combination of beauty and variety, while still challenging players of all skill levels. To make this course 5 stars would require concrete tee pads for all three tees on every hole, more cleared fairways, more trash cans, and possibly basket-holders for the more "indulgent". Other than that, Bowers park is an excellent course, and is a must-play for any disc golfer in Alabama.

Great wooded holes! Loved throwing over the ravines, and nice hike. Found the next holes easy with the markers supplied.

First couple of holes not much to talk about but gave a good warm up for the woods.

1. Great, memorable holes with loads of character.
2. Beautiful wooded hike.
3. 3 pin placements and 3 tees per hole.
4. Obvious signs of improvement in progress.

1. Restroom was out of order when I played.
2. Difficult to see baskets in some places.

Other Thoughts:
I loved this wooded course. I played it in November with my 3 kids (15, 13 & 12) to almost no complaining for a pretty long-hiking course. I think that's because it was just beautiful to hike. It had a great variety of terrain and each hole gave you a new "look". I thought that the design was very well thought out. There are several memorable holes that are among the best I've ever played. . I've played some courses that were better maintained but very few with as much character.

There's good use of elevation, variety of shot types and differing distances. There are legitimate risk/reward decisions to be made on many holes. There are a couple of ravine holes with undergrowth to be avoided beneath. The creek also comes into play on several holes and is used to full effect. On one hole, you play across and then alongside the creek to a basket tucked into a cluster of trees.

I didn't find many poke-and-hope holes at this course, and I've played too much disc golf at wooded courses where that was the main feature throughout. The tightest one was the pinball wizard (and that's kind of the point). You've got to have some shots to play from the long tees for sure, but my kids had a great time playing from the shorts.

I think the course would be much improved by putting some large neon flags on top of each basket like I've seen at other courses. We probably spent too much time looking for them throughout, but it's obvious that there's still a lot of work being done out there. There were pallets of concrete under tarps and other signs of construction throughout.

We played on a wet day after a good rain and didn't have much problem with mud. There are now a lot of concrete tee pads (mostly for the middle tees I think) and there are solid bridges for the creek crossings. I played the longs for the most part and the kids played the shorts. We didn't have too much trouble finding our way to any of them.

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.

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

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!

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 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.