As far as disc golf with a very intentional wooded design this is an excellent example. From the long tees it's somewhat intimidating but fantastic course. It begins with a true multi shot par 4 and it doesn't really let off the gas from there.

Teepads on this one are straight enormous, huge slightly tapered that I think even James Conrad could throw from comfortably, and with two on every hole it must have been quite the labor.

There are two sets of baskets, older looking But nice Innova baskets and new blue Prodigy T2s. I think the older ones are mainly the "longs" but they aren't always longer. So it's a little complicated for a first time player.

Elevation a huge feature here with having some up and down on nearly every hole, and some having multiple ridges involved.

Signs were nice and made it fairly easy to navigate and understand what to do off the tee.

Overall, this is a complete course that has something for most players, but in its longer configurations can test anyone.

There are a few spots that navigation is tricky. 5-6 comes to mind. I also would have like a clearer distinction between the long baskets.

A few times the rough is a huge drop off, where if you aren't very careful you could have a rough time with falling or climbing back up.

The premier course in the Birmingham area is what I've been told and I think that holds up.

Variety: Each hole feels like a new and exciting challenge. From narrow, tight, short lines you have to hit to long shots where you need to hit your target, every hole demands what feels like a unique throw from you.

Challenge: Inverness is a very difficult course, but the perfect kind of challenge. The long tees and short tees offer two unique experiences and neither are easy by any stretch. Thankfully, the short tees make most holes reachable even by weaker arms like myself. But you must hit your gaps at Inverness. There are very few unfairly punishing lines (except the greens, occasionally). Unless you are an absolute beginner or have no control, you will be fairly challenged at Inverness.

Landscape: The course designers use the terrain brilliantly. It is beautiful, challenging, and a wonderful oasis in the middle of the suburban jungle of Hoover.

Pin Locations: Two pin location on each hole, often offering a unique challenge. Some pins are a little frustrating (looking at you, far left pin on hole 1), but for the most part, I like the change every once in a while.

Tee Pads: You can always rely on a nice sized tee pad on each hole. There are also benches on every hole! You'll need them - it's a hike.

Accessibility: Right of 280 in the Birmingham area. Amazing that it is such an oasis in the middle of the city. Great to have a course like this in the area.

Punishing Greens: At the end of the day, I think its nice to have somewhere that forces you to make smart decisions while putting. But a few of the holes have greens that are so sloped and so root-y that even a 30-foot layup shot could bounce a hundred feet down the hill, out of bounds. Be ready to hit your putts, or face consequences. Minor docking point here, but can be quite frustrating when you are playing, and can feel a bit more luck-based than I prefer.

Park Amenities : There are none. No bathrooms, no water, no pavilions, etc. Also, the parking situation can be a little weird, and it's not a highly trafficked park, so I wouldn't leave any valuables in my car while I play. I suggest parking near the front of the park near the road, and not near the first tee in the back.

Accessibility: It's a pro and a con. Being on 280, it can be a nightmare to get there during rush hour, especially if you are coming from the city. Makes playing rounds after work a pretty rare treat.

Terrain: Like others have said, it is an absolute hike to play here. You can take it slow, but you can't really take it too easy. I personally love this, but it can make that unbearable Alabama heat even more miserable. Bring towels for you hand, and for yourself before you get back in your car.

Inverness Disc Golf Course is an absolute gem in Birmingham. George Ward and Inverness complement each other very well and we are lucky to have these in the area. Inverness is a top notch course that offers the perfect challenge to any disc golfer intermediate and up. Even relatively new players will enjoy many of the short tees here.

Very fun and challenging course. Had heard it's reputation as a tough course from the back tees so we played the front. It was advised by the guy with the trunk "pro shop" who was very helpful to not start on #1 but start on #5 (I think). Good advice as the first 4-5 holes are crazy hilly and tough.
Well maintained and exists "on purpose". Not just another set of baskets thrown out on the hills.
The course will challenge your shot making skills.
A LOT of fun!
Very pet friendly. Dogs were ahead of us, behind us, and with us.

Not as well marked as I'd like. I had to walk ahead most times to find where we were throwing next.
Very woodsy no "grip it and throw your arm out" shots like in many places.

One of our favorite courses to play. Will play as often as we are in B'ham.

Inverness is a great 18 holer tucked into a suburb of Birmingham. There's two unique tees (the shorter aren't just a truncated version of the long tees), full concrete pads on both, detailed signs on both, and two pin positions (but only one of them has a basket at a time).

The elevation on this course will knock you down sometimes, but overall it's not the most punishing I've ever seen. I enjoyed throwing along the slopes, or just over a hill. It was a great last course to play on what was an epic road trip.

Fairways are for the most part nice and wide, and make great lines for you to hit. The forest is not too rough off the fairway, but stay on the path and you'll love it.

Inverness is going to really test you, and push you. Even from the short tees, you have to hit your line with extreme precision to get your birdie. There are left, right straight, valley's, a little of everything on this course.

This course can be a little aggressive sometimes. A good design really features holes that follow the path of disc flights, and a few holes here really ask some crazy sharp hyzers out of your discs. Forehand or backhand.Hole 5 was the worst: a ~200ft downhill sharp right. I understand not wanting to go over the street, but just lightly tossing a super overstable distance driver still overshot the basket.

Navigation is pretty straightforward with a few exceptions, but using the map should fix that. That's what I did.

The terrain can be pretty rough, and there are some blind steep embankments off the fairways on a few holes.

This was my last stop on a week long trip visiting friends and family and playing some of the best courses in the Georgia/East Tennessee area. Inverness did not disappoint. I loved breaking the drive from Johnson City to Birmingham with this course. It was quick and fun! I loved its feature of the local terrain and good design.

Well setup, beautiful area plenty of good tech shots Preety well marked only had trouble finding one pad and I think it was 12

If you are a flatlander and not used to hills get ready for this. I play quicker than most and it took me 3 hours to do this course and I was not looking for many discs. Not used to the hills I guess

Restrooms would of been nice

As you see from the title, this is my home course, so I'm biased. It's great. I played from the tips only once. That was the first time I played it, and I hooked up with the two guys who designed and built it. Ever since, I've played from the Am tees, because I'm an amateur. I would love walking this course, even if I weren't chunking discs. It's beautiful in all seasons. Pretty easy from the Am tees, but challenging enough for my skills. It's teaching me to throw straight. No. Correction. It SHOULD be teaching me to throw straight.

If you've never played it before, you could get lost a couple of times. Just look for the pads and signage. You'll find your way.

Inverness Disc Golf Park is a beautiful championship level wooded course located in a pristine nature preserve. Upon arrival, my initial reaction was that I certainly didn't feel like I was in Birmingham (which technically I wasn't, but close enough).
When I walked up to the first hole, I knew I was in for a challenge. I read the tee sign (which was very descriptive and informative) and realized I was looking at a 573 or 518 feet to the pin. The initial shot was going to be 250' to get to the top of a hill and then I had the rest of the hole to play.

Well, after playing two holes from the blue tees, I realized that I didn't have the time, patience or skill to have an enjoyable round from the blue pads. So, I switched to the reds. Even from the reds, I found a nice variety of sweet ace run holes and holes that required distance and placement. Also, the greens were definitely treacherous from either pad. I had many hot shots that stood up and rolled on me.

The Hardware:
+Descriptive tee signs showing distances for two tee pads and two pin locations. Also, every pad had its own tee sign.
+Very large, flat, grippy, trapezoidal tee pads. I didn't bust out my tape measure, but I would estimate they were 12' long by 5' in the front and 7' in the back. I'm a big fan of trapezoidal pads because they a)look neat and b)give players ample room/angles to run up.
+Discatcher baskets. Can't say enough about Discatchers. They are visible and they catch. What else can you ask for?
+There were signs that lead me to my next hole as well as marks on the trees that kept me on the path.

The Terrain:
+Rolling wooded hills with a creek running through the course. To be honest, this is may be the most naturally beautiful, serene course I've played (Holler in the Hills is battling for the top spot as well). I think it really helps that I played the course at 7:00 AM on a Sunday morning after approximately 38 feet of rain. I don't know how active the creek usually is, but that morning it was rushing. It really added to the serene ambiance.

The Layout:
+The layout really utilized the land. There was a lot of variety of uphills, downhills, left-turns, right turns, dog legs, ace runs, placement shots.
+I loved the risk/reward scenarios as well as the runaway greens. Again, I played the shorts after hole 2, but my favorite throw by far was hole 5. It is a 310' downhill shot with creek behind the basket. Perfect placement for an ace run. I threw an Elite-X Comet which sailed just right of the basket directly into the creek. (I was able to retrieve it). That's the perfect kind of hole that tempts you to go for it while your head is telling you not to.
+Often times when I play a wooded course (or an open course), midway through a round I start to get that repetitive feeling where holes kind of blend together. This was not the case at Inverness.

The Hardware:
-I didn't see a main information sign near hole 1. After reading some other reviews, I get the feeling that it's coming, just hasn't been installed yet.
-There was nothing on the signs that showed which pin location the baskets were in. Mostly this wasn't a big issue, but a few holes it would have been nice on.

The Terrain:
-I guess this could be a con for some people, but the terrain is treacherous. It will wear you out going up and down the hills. Also, on the Sunday morning I was there, it was more humid than a swamp tater stir fry. Personally, these are not true cons that impact how I rate the course, but some people will want to know it.
-Definitely not a stroller friendly course. So Moms and Dads, leave the Graco in the car.

The Layout:
-There isn't really an opportunity to just air it out without consequence of hitting a tree. My arm is weak though, so I don't really care about that.
-Definitely not a beginner friendly course.

I really thought Inverness was a great course. I had such a blast playing it. It really is a brutal course, but it also affords plenty of opportunities to reward.
And to say I was going to play George Ward that morning. Luckily, a friend texted me saying me to be wary of bums and hypodermic needles there, so I made the longer drive.

If you are passing through Birmingham, you must play this course.

Excellent technical layout. Dual tees and multiple basket placements change the complexion of every hole and shot required. Tough, long, and risk/reward in abundance. Errant shots are definitely punishable. Lots of strategic elevation changes. Good signage and marking of basket locations. Benches located throughout course. Good design.

Still a bit rough and will need some TLC in the years to come. It was fairly dry the day I played but it looked like it could get messy if played in the rain.

A great stop and a fun, challenging layout. Highly recommend. This should evolve into a championship course if the locals contnue to take care of it and tweak it.

Very challenging! Hole placements are almost always next to a cliff or a water hazard. Overthrow and your doomed! trees and elevation play a major part in the challenge. Great course. Pro tees are VERY tough. This course is humbling when played from the pro tees, but rewarding.

Played with some locals luckily, or would have been wandering a little to find next tee pad, even though the tee signs are mostly done. Still a little rough around the edges as its pretty new, but will mature into a 4.5 rated course IMO. Example:river/creek crossings can be better. Bright pin flags would be helpful. Some picturesque holes, but mostly this course is to test your skills. I would cut down some trees on the hole (16?) where the lake is to your right, so you can see it from the tee. I didn't know how bad a hazard it was till I walked up to the pin. It would be a great hole for a mind game to see what you can get into if you go right. (sorry forgot the hole, I think its 16)

First course where most of the tee pads are really AM to PRO. Not just located 15' away and called a PRO tee. Very challenging, even when I played at the easy AM tees you had to place the shot and the elevation changes are used very well. GREAT new course!

This course is so much fun. Signs, baskets, and hole to hole signage are good and continually getting better. Every tee pad is large and luxurious!!! The course begins with a tough (especially from the long tee) but very iconic first hole. The next few holes play through up and down hills/valleys that are picturesque. Then you play downhill on a S curve hole and then from an elevated tee coming out of the woodline and into open field to a basket guarded by a stream right behind the basket. Soon after you return to the woods for more enjoyment with continued short and long fun and challenging holes with many different shots styles to take. There are more signature holes, including a downhill, elevated shot over a small stream with a small bridge. The last few holes are mostly shorter and technical shots. Finally, you finish on a signature hole downhill from an elevated tee to an elevated basket that is just past a great stream (very ace-able and fun to watch). The last hole ends back to the parking lot (as every course should). Overall, the course is a lot of fun in a beautifully wooded area that usually isn't crowded.

The course begins on a tough first hole, so it can be a rough start for first-timers. The tee signs are still in the beginnings (but still provide all information needed for every hole and will be upgraded). Summers in birmingham are hot and this place can have quite a few chiggers and other insects (however, the shade on this course helpful).

I live in birmingham and this course is quickly becoming my favorite in this area. If you are moderately good or a first timer you should probably play the short tees unless you are very advanced or professional as the short tees provide more than enough fun and challenge on its own. This course pretty much has all you can ask for from a wooded course!!!! Bring all your discs, your gonna use them!!! After the Tee Signs are upgraded I may upgrade my rating to 4.5

This course has excellent design from both the short and long tees. I played all 18 of the red tees (short) with my 13-year-old a couple of days ago, and they're well designed in themselves, often having their own fairways or at least partial dedicated portions of fairways for those tees. You're not simply playing a few feet up from the advanced tee, nor are the advanced tees simply "pulled back a bit". The course design obviously has both in mind from the start. I played the first 9 last week with all three of my younger kids aged 12-15 and they made for a good beginner round.

I went back and played the blue tees (much longer) today, by myself, and really enjoyed the course. The course really flows well from the longer tees with little walking in between. The blue tees are an awesome challenge. There's plenty of yardage on many of these holes, and several will require multiple shots regardless of your level of skill.

This is a wooded course with some serious elevation, but it's definitely not "tightly wooded". These are decent, wooded fairways, especially in relation to their lengths, that will force you to make the difficult risk/reward decisions that a real course demands. Not staying on the fairway can cost you with rolls down the hills or into woods costing you strokes. There's also not a lot of really tight brush if you do get off the fairway.

The course is apparently much updated since earlier reviews. The laminated tee signs are still temporary, but have yardages and a mini-map for all pin placements and tee pads on each hole. Most of the first 5 or 6 holes have very nice benches. With bench placement, they must be starting with the front holes and working forward. I didn't really notice plants growing in fairways, and all of the baskets were marked with large hole numbers on the top rim of the basket and had large, yellow flags above with numbers on them as well. The course was pretty well marked, and we didn't have too much trouble finding our way as newbies to it all by ourselves.

All 36 tee pads have excellent, level, huge, concrete tee pads. As this is probably the most important and labor intensive part of laying out the course, (especially with these slopes!), I think it's safe to say that this course is well underway to being a serious draw to real players.

I played this course in October and it was beautiful with a mountainous feel. Much of the course plays by streams with running water. If you're a hiker, you'll love this one.

The back 12 or so holes have no benches. This can really be an issue if you're not in pretty good shape and is much more pronounced when hiking from the previous basket to the next short tee. Some of the short tees are a good 200-300 feet up steep hills from the previous basket. If you're playing with kids or beginners these hikes can take away some of the appeal of playing from these very reasonable amateur tees.

The temporary signs are small and low to the ground for nearly 40-year-olds such as myself. Most were well laid out and clearly marked, but I felt that a few suffered from too much detail, especially regarding surrounding fairways and such (maybe mark the adjacent tees, pins, etc. in a lighter color?).

Also, a couple could stand to show more directional perspective from the actual tee being played. (They probably used the same image for both tees.) I found myself having to turn my head to the side and orient myself with other markers to figure out what I was looking at. Honestly, I think these will improve with permanent signs as will play to "blind" pin placements.

I was surprised at how much more easily the course played in terms of "hiking" from the *long* tees. My son and I lamented the lack of benches on later holes when playing the shorter tees. Honestly, I was expecting it to be worse playing the long tees, but it didn't bother me much at all, today. I think playing uphill is experienced much differently than just hiking up with long distances from basket to tee. The course flows really well from most of the long tees. The next time I play with my kids, I'll definitely play long and allow them to play short. It'll break up the hikes for everyone.

As an alternative to simply hiking up to the am tee, a player of a little experience could probably "lay up" the first shot to a point even with the amateur tee on most holes within 1 or 2 shots. So, just call it a par 4 or 5, throw from the longer tee, and have fun with it, especially if the long tee's fairway plays right past the am tee anyway. (On some holes, the two tees are located in different directions.)

How many disc golf courses do you play where you have to lay up on a blind dog leg with a remaining *drive* for your next shot? That's fun stuff and more like what you might find in *ball* golf.

For me, this course answers the main question that a course should: Will playing it regularly improve my game? That's a definite "yes" on this one. I've spent several years playing local courses in another area that *hurt* my game.

With other Birmingham area courses temporarily closed, this course is much needed and appreciated.

First off, as all other reviewers have noted, this is a new course that's still in development so it can only get better as kinks are worked out. The course has two sets of awesomely large and level concrete teepads that are some of the best I've seen -- which is saying a lot given the extreme elevation some of the pads were poured on.

The course is set in a beautiful, disc golf only forest with extreme elevation changes ... it really feels like you are in the mountains in spots (especially the first few holes). It's a very challenging course, has multi-shot holes, plenty of character, requires many different shots and the ability to throw accurately, not just far. Bad shots will be punished with OB or potentially dramatic loss of elevation resulting in plenty of extra strokes.

Some very good holes which coincidentally, are the ones on which you can see the basket from the teepad, or at least tell where you need to throw. #4-#6 are fun/solid holes, and 18 is a great finishing hole.

It's a new course and is still very ROUGH around the edges -- think plants growing in fairways that haven't been cut yet or need to be trimmed, lack of stairs in steep areas, minimal signage, etc -- all temporary things.

A couple of things I didn't like about this course, and let me preface that I played from the long pads both times so I can't comment from the shorts.
1 - WAY too many of the holes are very blind, like walk halfway up the fairway to see the basket that is stuck in the blindest possible spot on a downhill slope (i'm thinking of you #2) or tucked way off to the side in the woods (#1 and #8 in the left positions = why?). There are multiple pins on most holes, and on literally more than half you can't tell from the teepad which position it's in without walking as much as 300' up the fairway, often up or down extreme elevation ... not sure why the designer didn't make them easier to see from the tee.
2 - some of the fairways force awkward shots or lack interesting lines that make for bland holes, which may be a function in spots of lack of current clearing. In my opinion, even if the course becomes pristinely maintained over time, the design (in spots) and the blind holes limit its overall potential ... although it seems highly likely that the people building it are still in the process of tweaking the design.

Overall flow seems like it could be improved by changing #6 to #1 instead of starting the course on the 3 most brutal holes

Can't help this one but location sucks -- it's off Hwy 280 making it difficult to access Mon-Fri without sitting in a traffic jam

As noted, I've only played the long tees so my comments are aimed at those. Most people I've seen playing here are using the short tees, which are MUCH shorter.

I really enjoyed this course and will play here as much as possible to better my game (and my physical strength!). It's got AWESOME land and tons of potential, definitely check this one out if you are in town. This is a great advanced/pro level course that will challenge you.

If you are a beginner or are out of shape, you will probably not enjoy this course. If you enjoy hiking and spending time in a beautiful mountain-like setting and enjoy challenging courses, you will probably enjoy this course. Wear sturdy shoes (don't play this one in sandals).

Big props to the guys who have put in the work to make this course happen.

This course will definitely improve with time and becomes solid 4.0 with permanent signage and continued cleanup. Maybe a 4.5 but needs tweaking in a lot of spots.

Note -- I originally rated this as 3.5 in 2012; updated to 4.0 based on newer reviews that addressed the roughness ... i haven't had a chance to replay it in a while, so look forward to updating it again.

Wow, the back tees are tough on this course! I tend to always gravitate towards the longest tees on most courses, but here I stick with the shorts. It is a great thing that there is a big difference between the two sets.

I love the physical workout of the ups and downs, plus it makes for many interesting shots. This is truly one of the courses that will test "every shot in your bag".

The tee pads are HUGE!

This course is already very nice and will get better with time. It has the potential to become a 5.

I was lucky to play with a couple guys that had already played the course. It would be tough to find all the tees without a guide.

It can be pretty tricky to find your discs at certain places. Be sure to keep a close eye on your plastic!

The big ups and downs might be tough for little kids and/or older people to walk. It could make for a tough walk, if rainy.

I'll definitely be back! Playing this course will only make me a better player (I hope).

This course is much needed in the Birmginham area. Complete set of 36 tees (blue and white/red) provide for a great mix of holes suitable for different skill levels. The tees themselves are HUGE so for those of you who require 15 steps for your drives have no fear, you will have excellent footing, at least off the tee. Great use of the terrain of the area with outstanding elevation change adding to the difficulty. There are even a few water holes to give you that extra challange. Nearly every shot in the game is required to actually score well. You can't hide behind big booming hyzers.

Still a very very young course at this point. Lots of design alteration still pending more rounds and feedback. Tee signs are extremely rudimentary at this point basically only providing distance with a general gist of the direction of the fairway. I would highly recommend until the permenant signs are installed that you play with someone who's been there before. 1 or 2 very long walks between holes with no benches currently making for some winded shots. Obviously the fairways themselves still need some good foot traffic to beat in walking paths.

As a Birmingham native I remember being there when this course first became a possibility. This is the course the dgb has been waiting for and they've provided the lattice work for an amazing championship level course. A great comparison would be the IDGC courses. You're going to get worked from the first tee shot to your last putt. This is not a sunday stroll kind of course. This one will force you to make good decisions off the tee lest your score can easily be in the 80s. Course par is, as on all courses, the topic of discussion at this point. General consensus is somewhere around the 60-62 mark with several true par 4s and potential par 5s. This course alone has helped Birmingham, in my opinion, rise to the level of Huntsville and Mobile in terms of disc golf quality in the state of Alabama. LIke the previous poster this course has so much potential. It could easily get a 5 rating with the adjustments listed and they are all in the process. This course has only been open for play a couple of months if that.

First haha! Finally got back to this course again after two years and a day, and it has only gotten better. Located tucked away from almost all roads and other activities this course provides for some great secluded golf. Starting off the round you better bring your A-game otherwise you're gonna get spanked. Hole 1 sets the tone for the rest of the round with a testing uphill dogleg legit par 4. Elevation changes are on every hole with some hidden slopes throughout the course whether behind the basket or the middle of the fairway. The fairways are nice and wide for as wooded a course this is. Getting off the fairway is not recommended and will cost at least a stroke per errant shot. Each hole has dual tees (Blues for Pros/Advanced & Red for Intermediate/And below) with each tee providing a vastly different look down the fairway and shot shape. The tees are distinguished by a red or blue painted circle on the pad as well as highlighted on the signs. In several instances, it is a full drive from the long pads to the shorts. Most holes out there had dual sleeve placements marked on the tee signs but only one basket in the ground as of now. The different sleeves could affect the scoring, shot selection to reach the greens, and the flow of the course greatly. There are wooden markers on the tee signs showing which sleeve that basket is in. After each green were some directional signs to the next tees. In most cases the trees were painted with either red or blue markings depending on which tee you wanted to head to. Its important to pay attention to these because in several cases the long pad is in a very different spot than the short. Also most holes had benches which come in handy after several of the more elevated walks.

Not many that I can think of. There were not many trash cans out there but over all there was not much trash on the ground. Think I picked up only two cans the entire round while playing the blue tees. I may note that the elevation here can be extreme, and if you're not in shape then you're in for a long round. This personally is not a con for me but for others I know it would be.

Overall I thought this course was a lot of fun. I enjoy these types of courses a lot and it reminded me of several others I had played before (thinking North Carolina golf). It has great potential to be one of the top courses in the South but only after it ages more and becomes more polished. This is a course I would constantly feel challenged at and want to come play it different ways to get something different out of every time.