(3.214 Rating) An intermediate level course with lots of shop shaping opportunities.
- RAW BEAUTY - Definitely one of the better looking courses in Alabama. Being located right off the banks of the Tennessee River, some of the views from this layout are stunning. In addition, the natural fauna will blow away just about and city park course. I saw a big buck hopping along (16) as I approached the basket. Of the 227 courses I've played as of this review, Joe Wheeler State Park is in my top 25 in terms of beauty.
- CHALLENGING - There are lots of bending tight lines to hit on this layout. I appreciated the amount of thought I had to put into my throws. A few shots seemingly feel unreachable, namely (4), but who knows, maybe I'm not good enough. Although tighter, the length is very approachable to intermediate level players and probably some veterans rec players as well. I think 900 rated players will finish around even or so, but their scores will vary drastically. I'm an intermediate level player and I could easily see myself throwing a round 5 over and 5 down. This course will probably get more difficult during summer peak overgrowth.
- ELEVATION - Joe Wheeler has some of the best elevation in Alabama north of Birmingham, I've played them all. Lots of holes change in the 20 to 30 foot range and a couple are in the 40 foot range. I do wish however that there was a better downhill play. From checking topoquest.com, it seems like a 50 to 60 footer would have been possible within the course's footprint.
- VARIETY - A bit above average. Lots of crafty technical plays bending in all sorts of directions. There are three par 4s and two of these have a bit of a dog leg left in them. Not too many opportunities to let one rip for the bigger arms but those that max out at 350, they will have several driver plays. The biggest omission I found was not introducing the water on any of the holes. Standing on (16) tee looking north there is a mini water inlet with some rock features. It could have been the signature shot. Maybe the park's design directive was to avoid water. Other missing items include a Par 5, dogleg right and an open shot.
- SHOT SHAPING - Hitting some of these lines is exhilarating. I was shocked to run it clean to the basket on (6) where the line is a subtle double move with a width under six feet in spots. Veteran players who crave technical courses will love these lines.
- NAVIGATION - Pretty good for a heavily wooded course. Course map, tee signs, some directional cues and intuitive pathways between holes. There were scorecards with course maps print on them available at the course map as well. I do hope that when the tee signs are redone that they include next tee directions.

No major flaws of substance with Joe Wheeler but there are several reasons why this course falls just short of a 3.5 in my rating style.
- TEES - As of this review the pads are flat, but they are carpet and only four feet wide and ten feet long. Upgrading these to concrete alone would probably incline me to up the courses rating to a 3.5.
- NO MULTI TEES - Since the course has only installed carpet tees to this point, I'm baffled as to why a second set of tees weren't installed. Cost in minimal and room is available. An extra set of tees will make this course appealing to more skill levels.
- CHARACTER - The course has a nice start but lacks the pleasantries that are present at the established courses. In addition to sub-par tees the baskets look cheap, IMO they most closely resemble mach 2s. These baskets don't have the same heavy chains like the baskets that populate top courses. There is however a nice course map and ok flimsy plastic hole signage. The hole signage's is sometimes lacking artistic accuracy, but in fairness it's rare to see perfection on heavily wooded courses. I shot down the wrong lane on (6) due to the inaccurate signage, so I re-thru . As for items that I hope will appear in the future, they include adding alternate basket locations, duel tees, a practice area and some more seating at the tees.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Players that don't have 50 to 100 rounds in the bag should avoid playing this course unless they are a gluten for punishment. Errant shots with a bad ricochet could mean a lost disc or a perilous retrieval effort.
- OVERGROWTH - I played in winter when it wasn't so bad but I can image this place gets quite overgrown during the summer. There's extensive thicket out here. I wouldn't be surprised if there's lots of poison ivy as well, although I didn't see any.
- PAY TO PLAY - Park fee is $4, worth it IMO for this course.
- TERRAIN - I would not call this course cart friendly. way to many nooks and tree stubs to make rolling around a cart an enjoyable experience. Not the best course for those will knee joint pain or walking difficulties

Joe Wheeler is among my favorites in North Alabama. Very similar to Alabama state courses Monte Sano, The Eagle and Flying Dragon, but with more elevation. For those in the Nashville area, it's very similar to Cane Ridge, although that course is a slightly better example of the same style. It wouldn't take much for me to up the rating to a 3.5 as it's a very strong 3 in its young state. I hope to come back in a year or so and see concrete tees or a second set of tees. Alternate basket would be great too.
- TIME PLAY - I finished my winter round in just over an hour and I spent some significant time searching for discs. I think Joe Wheeler will fall right around average in time length to play. Figure a group of four will be in at around 120 to 150 minutes.

Good wooded technical course in a very nice state park on the shores of beautiful Wheeler Lake/Tennessee River. Holes 1,10,11,18 more park style and are really fun, and the rest are heavily wooded and will test your accuracy and discipline on every shot, yet there are plenty of rewarding chances for birdies. There is a some variety of elevation mixed in utilized effectively. Good job in hole design to have variety from hole to hole in regards to fairway shape (some straight, left, and right).

Newer course, still looks it, but actually looked more broken in than I anticipated. All fairways are completely fair (no poke & pray). In mid-June there was hardly any thick growth off the fairways, making finding discs easy even leaving the challenge in the recovery shot- the way I think disc golf should be.

Excellent course map at kiosk, good tee signs. Navigation easy with the course map, and in fact there were paper scorecards and course maps available at the kiosk (a rarity these days). There is even a marker in the basket indicating the direction of the next tee- very helpful especially when crossing the road to know where to go. I always like when a course has 2 loops of 9, which this one does.

Monkey Trap baskets. This was my first exposure to this brand/style. They are very similar to Machs and caught putts very nicely. Coated in red [or is it crimson, because everything in Alabama has to be red, right?], which is not the color I would have chosen to be the most visible on a wooded course, but really I had no trouble finding the basket on each hole.

The restrooms at the parking area were a nice bonus.

Lacked the wow factor and no real signature holes or holes that are unique from other technical woods courses.

Carpet tees- which were acceptable, but concrete is always preferred to me for levelness, aesthetics, and permanence.

Hole length- I got about 3/4 through and thought how almost all the holes so far had seemed to be about the same length. That is when the onslaught of the few longer holes all hit you back to back to back with 15-17, plus much of it is uphill. Tough finish. Nit picky, but I wish that there was more of a mix throughout instead of having similar holes in bunches.

Park fee- $4 per person per day to use the park. Not a bad price considering how nice the park is, and it will likely result in the course not being crowded. My issue was nobody was there to take money as I entered, or even as I left (a weekday morning in the June). Seemed strange considering that area of the park also has a swimming beach- which not a person was at either!? There is an honor box to put your money in, so bringing exact cash is recommended.

No water in play, despite bordering the lake.

This was a fun and enjoyable round. It is very shady throughout, especially nice in Alabama on a hot summer day. I rate it a strong 3.0 [good] presently, but with some maturing over time to improve the aesthetics, and maybe the addition of better tees, I could see it as a 3.5. Nothing here really stood out as being spectacular or a national destination, but this course could be enjoyed by most every level of disc golfer and I would recommend it to others if in the area. I hope to play here again sometime in the future.

Parking for disc golf is the same as for the tennis courts.

Northern Alabama is developing in a decent area for disc golf with McFarland and Veterans in Florence to Flying Dragon in Decatur and Sparkman in Hartselle, and now Wheeler State Park in the middle. And all this does not even include all the established Huntsville courses.

New baskets, long and short holes, all wooded, requires mostly straight and skilled shots

Heavily wooded, if you want a nice easy course this isn't it

The upkeep seems to be great, with it being in a State Park, probably will stay in great shape