I was driving through Chattanooga on my way elsewhere and noticed when I stopped for lunch there was a course nearby.

Never one to shy away from a mid day diversion when not in a hurry I decided to give Portland Park a shot.

You pull up into a gravel lot with a port a John and a disc return box people seemed to use as a trash can and the 9th pin is immediately to your left.

First pin is only about 150 ft away near the main road and the course plays general 200-300ft shaping shots around large beautiful trees that create most of the challenge.

A couple of wooded holes up on the hill, a couple with elevation and one mildly elevated basket are the main notes to this folk song of a course. Baskets are oldish chainstars but were all fine with no broken bits that I noticed.

Pads were concrete and only one had damage. Signs were on every hole and mainly accurate, and they did have simple wooded benches.

You can play this one fast. 30 mins if you limp slow like me.

It's a shortish 9 hole course on a fairly tiny plot of land. The issues with designing that style of course are the main cons.

I only had an issue with 2 things; twice you can see only one basket off the tee, and it's not the one you should be aiming for and the signs are oddly done. They don't really help you navigate the holes much despite having a basic map.

Maybe my issue was the baskets were denoted by brown squares which look more like a tee pad.

If you're close, yeah play it. It was perfectly fine and fun. They appear to run a league here and that seems ill advised as the parking lot is tiny and many fairways are close but I guess they make it work.

For like a 5 acre park they did a pretty great job.

A nine-hole layout mimicking the variety of a very good park-style course.

-Amenities: Fine tees (concrete I think?), the Chattanooga staple Chainstars, tee signs with minimally functional map and distances.

-Variety: Several holes in the open with hardwoods, a couple in the thick woods, and a couple throwing from woods to the open. One slight left hole and a couple right-turning holes. Both gentle uphill and substantial downhill holes.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: A basic recreational challenge. This is like taking a solid but non-descript city park with basic variety of shapes and terrains and then shrinking both the number of holes and the length of holes. You need to thread the line in the woods, but if you miss it's short enough to scramble; you need to give the downhill (4) some power, but even a newer player would have a chance of reaching the circle. The holes are all par-3, ranging from just under 200' to just over 300'. Scattered mature hardwoods and thicker woods scrub are the main challenge, with an OB road as an additional factor on (9).

-"Friendly": My label for the combination of easy-to-play, navigable without a map, hard to lose discs, and well kept up.

Limits of scope.

-Difficulty: Anybody above rec-level will probably be bored with every hole as a gettable birdie opportunity. No chance for a long driver to use their skill, and only minimal technical skill to employ.

-Shot Interest: There's not anything particularly interesting at Portland. Hole (8), a sharp, blind, downhill left, is the most exciting things get. It's perfectly pleasant to throw out here, but it won't teach you much about disc golf if you have several rounds under your belt. Just how highly can you rate a course that's predominantly straight ahead holes with only several trees in play?

-Parking: Very small gravel lot. If for some reason the course were busy you might not be able to park.

There's really not much to say about Portland. This is about as basic a nine-holer as you can dream up--a couple technical holes, a couple mild elevation plays, minimal challenge, easy to play, and nothing startling. It's a Reasonable course, but it doesn't rise to the level of a Typical 18-holer.

Portland Park is that simple but fun course that offers a little bit of everything.

Located at the foot of the mountain, just outside the Signal Mountain city limits, the nine-hole course utilizes the available space well without any glaring errors or claustrophobic feelings.

There's some casual elevation on about half the holes. However, most of the course is covered in grass, so traverseability is high, unless you end up off the fairway on the tight and wooded Hole #7.

Distance isn't too big a challenge, and intermediate players will rack up birdies here. The two longest holes are just over 300 feet and they're both downhill.

Navigation is fairly straight forward, as the next teepad can usually be spotted from the previous basket. You do have to duck into a wooded inlet for the third hole.

The course is fairly cart friendly. As a father of two-year-old twins, I now note if a course is stroller friendly. The first six holes aren't bad for a heavy-duty stroller, but playing Holes #7 and #8 will be nearly impossible with a stroller due to the rocks, roots and uneven elevation.

There is a double mando on this course; on Hole #4, your drive should go in between the trees, and while I'm not a fan of unnecessary mandos, going left of the mando could be a safety issue if there are players on Hole #5.

There are a couple out-of-bounds areas on the course too. To the right of the Hole #8 basket is a tall chain-link fence separating the course from a residential yard. Also, the paved driveway to the house creates a border on Hole #9, and everything to its right is considered OB.

While the course is fairly open, two of the holes (#3 and #8) require throwing out of the woods to a blind basket.

All the holes are fairly straight in design. Hole #1 does require choosing a line around a couple of enormous trees right off the tee, while Hole #8 does turn a little right.

There's a several hundred-foot walk to the first basket from the parking lot. The Hole #9 basket is right next to the parking lot. In fact, it's a little too close, and while there's a tree between the final basket and the parking lot, your car might not be safe from errant throws.

The course can get a bit crowded if multiple parties are present, since a couple of the fairways run near each other. Also, the grass occasionally runs wild and is in a need of mowing.

Portland Park is a decent course. While it doesn't do anything spectacular, the design is good, the teepads and tee signs are adequate, and it's an enjoyable play without major flaws. Of the nine-hole courses in the Greater Chattanooga area, I believe Portland Park challenges Shepherd Rec Center for the top spot.

If you're visiting the area, you should drive another 1.3 miles up US-127 and pass by the Flying Saucer House. This UFO-shaped dwelling is suspended on six concrete pillars, and holy aliens, it's weird to look at!

(1.903 Rating) A mix of open and wooded shots at the foot of Walden Ridge.
- FUN FACTOR - Portland Park DGC has all the elements to make for a fun laid back round. Several lightly wooded ace runs at around the 250 foot range. No water to contend with and the odds of losing a disc is very minimal. Other than (6) and (7), the fairways are plenty wide and forgiving.
- TEES - Concrete trees roughly 5 feet by 10 feet. About average but very much adequate for a course this short.
- NAVIGATION - Although Portland Park is missing many of the basic navigational features, it's not too difficult traverse this course as the grounds are mostly lightly wooded. There is no course map posted at the community board and the online map is very diagrammatic. Hole signage doesn't indicate the tee direction. The baskets are numbered and the tees have simple hole signage. All this stated, I only spent a couple extra minutes scouting the course.
- MAINTENANCE - The park grounds appear to be well maintained. I observed little trash and the grass was mowed.
- QUICK PLAY - A single can easily complete a full 9 in under 30 minutes. Groups of four should finish in under an hour in normal conditions.

Portland Park doesn't scream excellence in any area.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - Intermediate players and above will be unchallenged by Portland Park. Advanced players should be able to throw six or seven down often. Rec players should however love this one and they will have numerous opportunities for birdies. Rec players do appear to be pushed a bit on their technical ability as there are a couple holes that do require a little shot shaping.
- ELEVATION - I was hoping for more. Seems like the site could offer at least one 30 foot drop and perhaps a bit more. Currently, the most any one holes dives or rises is about 20 feet, hole (8).
- UNIQUENESS - In addition to absent elevation, the holes themselves in terms variety are below average. Most shots are lightly wooded with a marginal amount of technique and precision required. No water in play and no doglegs. There are a couple tunnel plays, and there's one out of the shoot play that bends a bit to the right.
- PARKING - The parking area is really small and gravel. It seems like there's only enough parking for 5 or 6 cars. A park sign states that parking on the grass is prohibited. This could really limit the ability to host even a small mini here.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - The course in my opinion, is a touch below average when compared to all the other courses I've played. Of the five Chattanooga courses I hit on Thanksgiving, I rated Portland Park the lowest on the beauty scale, but it's still around the same level as Camp Jordan or Shepherd. No water features and also not that much in the way elevation features all well. Definitely not a eyesore, but not the most exotic piece of property either.
- CHARACTER - A touch below average as a whole. Like many 9 hole courses, there isn't a practice basket, multiple pin placement sleeves or benches that you'll see many times at the older established courses. There also isn't duel tees, which is featured at The Sinks. There is however a fair amount of tee shading, trash cans, porta-potty and adequate tee signage.

With Portland Park being on the shorter side and only 9 holes, it will never garner the attention like that of The Sinks. I played two other Chattanooga nine hole courses over Thanksgiving (Shepherd and 9 on Top) and I have this one rated in the middle of the three. I would recommend Portland Park for players who prefer courses with 200-300 foot holes that are void of hazards. If I lived in the area, I'm sure I would make it to this course several times a year.

Tee pads are concrete and level. Park seemed to be well maintained. Trash bins are located at some of the holes. No benches, but the course is so small - they're not really necessary. Two thirds of the course is out in the open with a few obstacles at each hole and the rest of the holes are in wooded areas (nice mix). There's also a good variety of pin placement which require left and right curved lines.

Finding the course wasn't incredibly difficult, but following the GPS with the address brought me to a tractor retailer and not the park, so be sure to put the name of the park in your GPS and not the address. The first tee pad is very close to where you park but there are at least 4 pins visible, which made it difficult to determine which one to throw at. Had to walk the course to be certain. Signage is at every tee pad, but it's very sub-par in comparison to signage at other courses I've played. More detailed diagrams would make it easier to navigate the course. The road next to the park can be pretty busy and one throw requires a direct line into the street, so be careful not to put too much power behind your drive.

This is a decent little course if you want to play a quick 9 holes and is only 10-15 minutes from 9 On Top, which can make for a nice 18 hole round. I would consider playing this course more often if I lived closer to it, but I wouldn't make a special trip just to play it again, unless I was already in the area.

Redesigned and improved! There is a good variety of hole style here- 6 of the holes are the city-park style with grassy fairways, isolated mature trees to avoid, and no rough; 3 holes play through a densely wooded area with narrow fairways having but cut and cleared through it. A little bit of elevation is utilized on several of the holes as well.

Baskets are in great shape. Course now has concrete tees and excellent tee signs. Navigation is pretty easy.

This course is excellent for beginners, families, and casual players, although more experienced players can still enjoy a quick, fun round here. It is a good representation of disc golf, and on most holes there is plenty of fairway making it easy to find your disc and still have a decent next shot.

The "park" is a small piece of land wedged between 3 roads and a water treatment facility. There is barely enough room here for 9 holes, although it is well-designed considering the limitations. The holes are close together, which can be confusing and also a hazard as it is easy to land a disc in another fairway. Two of the roads bordering the park have a small chance of coming into play.

It is a pretty simple course, that can soon be mastered, and as players become better they will want to take their games elsewhere.

The Chattanooga club is very active with all the courses in the area and constant improvements are likely.

The course is not all that interesting, as there are better choices for sure in Chattanooga (Shepherd and the Sinks and now Camp Jordan), so if you are traveling here and looking to play the best then skip this one. But it is great that this area has so many courses to accommodate players of all levels. (It was nice to see what appeared to be a mom and three 10-16 year-old girls playing disc golf proving that this course can be enjoyed by guys and girls, adults and kids alike!)

This course is very close to the "9 on Top" course- more of a wooded technical course, so pair it with this parks-style course and you get a nice set of 18 holes. These two are on the same road, one on top the mountain, the other at the bottom.

From my original review "I rated this course based on its current condition of how I played it. With the addition of signs, concrete tees, and some maturing, I might change it to a 2.0 if I were to come back and play it again." Well, I did come back, there were improvements, and I am upping my rating to a 2.0!

This course is located in a small park at the base of Signal Mountain, right outside of the city of Chattanooga. The course and parking lot is extremely easy to find if you're driving up the mountain. Once you're at the park, the course is fairly easy to navigate because a map of the course is presented on a board in the parking lot.
As for the course itself, the baskets are brand new and they catch wonderfully. Each basket also has an arrow on it directing you to the next tee. All of the tees are dirt, but they are equipped with wooden stakes indicating distance. Most holes are fairly open with a few trees influencing the shape of your shot. However, the last three holes play through the woods and are extremely tight. Despite short distances, the course does offer a good deal of variation in elevation. Overall you shouldn't need more than a midrange to play this course to its full effect.

This park is pretty small, and one is left to question whether or not there is really enough room for nine holes. I played in the evening and over the course of the first six holes I had to wait on another group to play through my fairway on each one. Also, the tees are located very close to the following baskets so your drive off the tee is heavily influenced by the group in front of you. It's also important to note that this tiny park is a multi-use facility so it makes the course even tighter sometimes. I would also recommend examining the course map before you play. This course is so small that you can see 4 or 5 baskets at any time during the first few holes so it can make it confusing if you've never played before.

Overall I really did enjoy playing this course. It's located in a great area, offering a practice or beginner-friendly course at the base of Signal Mountain. Before this was built, residents here would have to drive much further to play. All of the locals I met here were pretty friendly and were willing to point me in the right direction at times. Hole 9 is also a fun shot from the top of the hill that definitely serves as the signature hole.
I did see a sign that indicated that the park used to be a cemetery though. That was a first for me.