Pros:
- breathtaking natural beauty
- disc golf only natural area removed from typical park dangers/distractions
- 3 different 18 hole courses in the same park area
- benches and garbage cans at almost every hole
- large concrete tees (appear to be expansions of older, tiny concrete tees)
- baskets in excellent shape
- well thought out tight, technical fairways that weave through the woods
- no major safety issues
- straightforward navigation, and baskets are spray painted with next tee direction
- will challenge even experienced players to use every shot in their bag
- well maintained fairways with undergrowth under control
Cons:
- tee signs are more or less temporary with no information except for hole number and sponsor
- some players might find the course too difficult
- almost too long in some areas
- some low areas tend to collect water and get muddy
- virtually no elevation change
- next tee indicators are not obvious at first
Other Thoughts:
Wow. I was not expecting this course to be as cool as it was. It's probably about a 3.75 for me, with 2 major cons: the tee signs are extremely mediocre, and there is no elevation change. Everything else about the natural beauty of the course, the technical challenge, and the general maintenance is fantastic. I enjoyed it so much I decided it deserved the 4. It's peaceful with only disc golf in the area, and all you're likely to hear are the birds. Because some of the holes on this course are so long, measurements on the tee signs would really help since you usually can't see the basket from the tee. As a first time player at this course, I relied heavily on the online course map to determine my approach for each hole.
I played Pecan Hollow and The Preserve back to back, and I think Pecan Hollow is by far the better course (though both were very fun) and is probably a bit underrated. I hope to come back and play the Prairie course. I love the red clay and the mature trees in this wooded area. The challenge might frustrate some players, and I was definitely over par, but it was still a lot of fun. I don't agree with the review saying this course wasn't realistically playable. It is one of the most challenging courses I've played, but it's so much fun.
I noticed about halfway through that the baskets were spray painted red on the side indicating the next tee direction. It would have been nice to know this at the beginning, as I thought there were almost no next tee signs. Even without this, navigation is pretty obvious overall.
My only other warning is on my way out a bulldozer was spreading new clay on the road into the park. I was afraid my minivan wasn't going to make it through, but it ended up being fine. Just a heads up if your car has especially poor traction...
This course is VERY long at over a mile and a half. A few holes could be shorter, but I don't really hold this against the course. If you are in the Alabama gulf area, I highly recommend you check the Graham Creek courses out. They are some of the best I've played.