Decent layout and a very pretty course. (#1 especially pretty from tee!) Multiple basket locations on each hole from same tee. Good variation of shots required. Good use of elevation. Good marking makes navigation easy for visitors. A beginner friendly course and very fun to play. Would recommend stopping in if traveling I-65. Worth the side trip.

Most alternate basket locations simply added length with no real change to the hole or throw required. Baskets are getting old and course needs a general "sprucing up." Baskets, tees, signs, and benches could all use some repair/replacement. Fairly crowded the day I played and slow. Lots of novice players and other park users. No bathrooms. Course appeared to be a rough area to a one time visitor.

Some friendly, welcoming locals at the first tee. When I mentioned that I had played Inverness, they were very negtive about that course. Surprised at their comments since I felt Inverness to be the better course for my taste. Would expect local players to be positive and supportive of all local courses and simply point out the positives of all area courses.

The Birmingham area has several great courses each with their own unique flavor. George Ward park is no exception and I enjoyed playing here. There is a great variety of holes and although it is not the most difficult course out there you still need to throw well to get a decent score. The course is set in a city park not far from downtown Birmingham and is easily accessible from all parts of the city. The majority of the course crosses the park itself and does not restrict itself to the perimeter like other courses tend to do. This allows the course to be more open and not be solely restricted to tunnel shots down a narrow fairway. The course meanders through the park and does a great job of using the space well and is able to use the topography of the park to its advantage but does not impede on the use of the park for other patrons. The majority of the course is lightly wooded so it is a great place to introduce the game to your family and friends as it is very beginner friendly and the chance of losing a disc here is minimal. Most of the course is fairly open but there are still plenty of trees that will penalize you for errant shots. Even though the holes are open many of them have well protected greens so its not too easy. A few of the holes are in more densely wooded areas so its not all out in the open (in particular holes 10-12 and the bonus holes A-F) There is some elevation on the course and the designers made great use of it. Overall the course is well designed and should be enjoyed by all disc golfers. Below are some of main positive points about the course.
1: Course is well marked. I had no trouble finding the tees or the baskets on any of the holes and this was without a map. Very first timer friendly.
2: The course is free and has a dedicated parking lot next to the practice basket for disc golfers. There is a guy who sells discs and bags out of a van in the parking lot so if you need something he is right there.
3: Good use of the parkland and elevation. Has plenty of hole types to suit just about every type of player.
4: Beginner friendly - This course would be great to bring friends and family and introduce them to the game but still challenging enough to test the skills of seasoned players.
5: Signature Holes. Every great course should have at least one memorable hole and George Ward has at least a few for me. Hole 1 is a great hole to start off with as you head down the hill and try and hit the green that is defending by the granite boulders. Hole 13 with the creek running down the right side which will cause instant pain for an errant throw and hole 15 just because I enjoy throwing a disc off a high teepad.
6: Bonus holes: I beleive the course was designed with 18 holes but there is now an additional 6 holes set in the South West corner of the park between holes 14 and 15. These holes are more technical than most of the others and is a great addition to the course.

The course is well designed and I can't really think of any complaints. I did find a couple of things that players should be aware of:
1: Its a popular park including a lot of non disc golfers. Several of the holes are in areas where other people may be using the park so keep an eye out for pedestrians before throwing. Most of the time it was people walking their dogs or just strolling around the park so its not a big inconvience.
2: The bonus holes A-F are not quite as finished as the other 18 holes. I don't recall them having concrete tees which is not something that bothers me but it is a concern for some. I am sure that with time these holes will be brought up to the same standard as the original 18.

George Ward Park is an excellent course and should be on the map for any disc golfer who is in the Birmingham area. If I am in the Birmingham area again I will definetely have to stop by to play a round or two. This is an excellent example of how a city park course should be and is a good showcase for disc golf. If you have limited time in Birmingham and can only play one course you can't go wrong here. Nearby courses are more technical and challenging and well suited for expierienced players but George Ward is great for playing a good round of disc golf without having to spend loads of time looking for your disc after a bad throw.

- Well designed park course.
- Balanced mix of different elevation, right/left, distance, wooded/open.
- Friendly, helpful locals and course pro on sight.
- Often discs for sale on sight.
- Good baskets, benches, signs, practice basket and bulletin board.

- Tough to find the parking area by hole 1 the first time.
- Bathrooms are not always easily available.
- Walkers can come into play on some holes.

I think GW is just a classic course. It's a beautiful park. It uses the hilly terrain of the area really well in the course design. I love holes 14 and 15 (I think) that play around the creek. The locals are great and plastic has been available each time I've been out there so far. I've played it about 5 times and it's one of my all-time favorite courses.

I just moved here from an area that had more courses, but we didn't have many that approached GW in terms of quality and character. You'll use all of your shots on this one and enjoy a really nice city park. There are new plantings around the course and it's well maintained. The 6 wooded holes (A-F) didn't all have concrete tee pads, but I thought they were more than sufficient.

I think one great improvement to the course would be some kind of sign on the Green Springs Hwy parking lot indicating where to park for disc golf. It's not obvious, and the first two times I played GW (separated by about 7 years time), I ended up there. This would be great for out-of-towners as GW is a "destination course" in my opinion. I even ran into someone else who was in the same boat: he had played there back in the day but couldn't remember where hole 1 was located from that side.

This one added feature would greatly improve the sketchy vibe that comes from ending up in the park's often-abandoned Green Springs' side parking lot. There's not as much activity over there. The real disc golf parking area (linked on the "Map Location" button here) is off of 4th Street South, just past the tennis complex.

Once you get there, you'll probably see other disc golfers, dog walkers and people using the sports facilities. I've personally never felt unsafe at George Ward, and the last time I played, I took my three kids. We played until dark and had a good time. It's a well used park, and this parking area is between the front and back 9 (with six bonus holes in the woods on the back side).

There's apparently a bathroom at the tennis center which is only open a couple of days per week or possibly at the baseball area nearby, but even the locals weren't really clear on this. Restroom options either on-site or nearby would be a helpful addition to the bulletin board. Apparently, girls like real bathrooms.

You're going to run into people walking dogs and such, but this only comes into play in a big way on maybe 2 holes. There are some other holes where it may be a very occasional issue.

Of course, one of the best things about this course is the presence of course pro Tom Monroe most afternoons. If you see his white van you'll have a great selection of plastic and some good conversation with a local legend. Tom teaches disc golf classes for two colleges nearby and is a super nice guy. The last time I was out, I had left my putters in the basket at home. He insisted that my kids borrow a couple of discs for their round.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Monroe

I'm still kind of amazed after reading the Wikipedia article on Tom. I'll have to soak up some disc golf wisdom next time I'm out there.

- Nice tee signs at every hole that show each pin position and where the next tee is located
- Multiple pin placements
- New baskets were added this past spring, so most holes have 2 basket options
- Huge variety of shots including easy to difficult, short to long, left to right, etc.
- Good use of elevation changes
- Course pro at park almost every day
- Parking lot is between front 9 and back 15
- Most of the tee pads are in great condition
- Benches on every hole, sometimes multiple benches on a single hole
- Weekly league rounds on Wednesday evenings
- Great local club (Disc Golf Birmingham) that takes care of the course and runs events
- Big course map on back of bulletin board at hole 1
- Dog friendly

- Needs concrete tee pads on back 6 (supposedly in the works to happen soon)
- Occasional wait for joggers on walking paths

It's hard to find a course that is more fun to play than g-dub. The course is mostly open with big, mature trees to shoot around. Back 6 holes are slightly wooded, but not too tight.

The course offers several challenges and requires you to have several shots in your bag. Accuracy in space is important as you play through trees and try to place a few surgical strikes in open space.

The "newer" side is still a little rough, but it's nothing too serious.

It's worth stopping to play this course. I found it to be one of the best stops on my journey. The club here is also very helpful and friendly.

Ward has a lot to offer players of all levels. It's a very pretty park and the course is challenging, but not brutal. The course has lots of hills and big, old trees.

There are short holes and long holes and lefts, rights, and straights. I like to throw rollers there, too. The baskets and tee pads are good.

It does get a little crowded at times and some of the shots are tight on the pedestrian walkways.

If you're traveling to B-ham, hit me up and we'll play a round.

*Well taken care of
*Pin positions changed daily
*Course is fair but challenging
*Can use all your shots in a round
*Tom to buy discs from in the parking lot
*Front 9 and back 9 holes separated perfectly

*Some holes can play extremely long
*Can get crowded

This is my Home course, and a great one to learn on

Will force you to take different shots off the tee, including multiple high to low tee shots. Tom sells discs in the parking lot and is willing to give advice.

Park is not in the best area of town, but I never had any safety problems.

-Beautiful Park
-Nice layout of course
-Nice descriptive tee pad signs
-Tee pads at almost every hole

-Some baskets either need to be replaced or need some attention
-Need tee pads in some areas
-Take along maps would be great

Been playing for about a year and this was my first time to play this park. I really enjoyed the park and the layout of the tees. Beautiful park with a mixture of shots. Really nice signs at each hole along with good tee pads for holes in the park. The day we played the course was set up with the baskets located in the 'A' position. There are three different pin positioins that each hole can choose to place a basket. Park course does include a walking park as you can see by the pictures, but we had no real delays with walkers. Benches at almost every tee pad. Very well maintained park, when we went hardly anyone even there, it is was Memorial Day. Layout was fairly easy with hole 13 taking a moment to find. The extra holes after 14 are pretty much all in the woods which makes the game more interesting. Beware of losing your disc in the leaves that cover that area. Once you 'get out of the woods' you are brought back to the tee pad for hole 15 which brings you right back into the park area. If you are in the area I highly recommend playing. Started at around 9 a.m. I believe it took us about two hours to play all 24 holes.

1. With one notable exception (see below) it's a pretty easy course to navigate.
2. It's a well balanced course. Beginners won't be so frustrated that it's too hard and Experienced players won't be frustrated that there is no challenge.
3. It's almost always very well maintained. There is a grass cutting crew whose full time job is to keep this park cut.
4. As has been mentioned, being able to go buy your car half way through really pays off sometimes. Also the ease of playing either 9 first helps when the course is busy.
5. Course pro to buy disc and to give info. He's almost always there.
6. Terrain is varied but it's not so hilly that it's all you can think about.

1. I understand that signage is being worked on but it needs it badly WITH directions to the next tee box.
2. Course is fairly easy to navigate except for a few transitions (notably holes 11-13 get very confusing)
3. Really enjoy the length now but as a beginner it was just a little long. I wish they would bump a couple holes to par 4 status. There are a few holes (like 5, 7 and 14) that really don't belong as a par 3 unless your playing in a pro tournament. You can make up some ground on those with some of the wooded holes but only if your on line for the day.

I really enjoy GW park. I have to admit I have a personal affinity and prefer Civitan (when the grass is cut) but that's not to take away from George Ward. I play here fairly regularly and really enjoy it. I still consider myself a beginner. I've been playing roughly 3 years and probably have played an average of twice a month. (sometimes more and sometimes less)

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.

-occasional panhandlers and begging, be prepared
-walking paths throughout course (some delays in play)
-park gets INCREDIBLY heavy use by community

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.

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

- 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)

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.

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.

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.

If you live in Alabama you must play here at least once. Historic disc golf course!!

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.

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.

I hope to play this course again!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

if you're close, stop by throw a few

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.

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.

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.

<span class="italic">Design</span>
*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.

<span class="italic">Basics</span>
*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.

<span class="italic">Amenities</span>
*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

-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.

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!

<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my <span class="bold"><span class="italic">enjoyment</span></span> of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the <span class="italic">quality</span> 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

- 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

- 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)

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?

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

1. Only 1 set of tee boxes
2. Some of the tee signs are unreadable
3. No tee boxes for bonus holes A-F

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!