This is a challenging course that forces you to think out your tee and approach throws. It's the only course in town with concrete tee boxes, which are awesome. It's also nice to be in the shade when it starts to get hot.

Every hole is infested with trees. Technical is the right word, I suppose, but there's not one hole on this course where you throw for distance. Tee boxes don't have numbers and it's easy to get lost the first time out.

Live creeks run through the course, even in a period of low moisture. This course may not be playable a few weeks a year.

This course brings something new to the Bryan/College Station area public courses: difficulty! Located in the midst of a clean suburb, this course takes advantage of the thick woods native to the area. Nearly every shot takes place under a canopy of trees.

Players will stay hard at work with their mids (bring durable plastic). Those lacking accuracy will find themselves discovering the art of the escape shot. The drivers will stay in the bag except on hole 9, maybe (Hole Highlights in Other Thoughts).

Concrete tee pads are another first for the College Station courses. There are no tee signs yet, but a solid metal pole stands waiting at each pad.

Play proceeds in an orderly fashion from each basket to the next tee, with little walking in between along clear trails. The course is short and plays in half an hour or so, though no length measurements have been taken at the time of writing. The last basket is near the first tee.

Overall, this course makes for a fun challenge like nothing else in the BCS area, barring Alcorn Creek DGC, which is private.

A few of the tee shots rely heavily on luck, with gaps under seven feet located far from the tee. While there is something to be said for a good challenge, the course designer must be reasonable in his expectation of player skill. As such, the beginner might be very frustrated by the end of a round at Southern Oaks Park.

There are a few dangerous situations on the course. One fairway points straight at the next teepad, with the basket off to the side in the woods. A long drive might land on the next pad. On another hole, a pedestrian sidewalk runs straight across the fairway, but that part of the hole is not visible from the tee!

The layout can be tricky at first, so tee signs and Next Tee indicators would be helpful to the first time player. This doesn't detract from the course, but it would make a nice addition.

Some of the pads point in a different direction than the basket. I'm not sure how the course was planned, but there was a disconnect on some of the holes.

As with any deep woods situation, there are plenty of small, biting insects. Bring bug spray from March to November.

The course is very new. As such, there are plenty of freshly cut stumps sticking out in the middle of fairways. Piles of underbrush haven't been fully cleared from some areas, and many places are still raw soil where grass hasn't had a chance to grow. Given a few months and lots of foot traffic, this course has lots of potential.

Hole Highlights:
Hole 1 - A shot from the playground field area into a cut in the edge of the woods. The well-placed shot might make for a birdie, but any deviation will throw the disc into the woods.

Hole 4 - The tee shot is across a small meadow in the midst of the woods. The basket is located to the left inside a gap in the trees across the clearing. There is already an Ace penned to the basket number sign (shame on you MD 3-25-09!). There is a danger situation with the tee shot on four aimed directly at the five tee.

Hole 7 - The first shot is basically a putt into a clearing to set up for a challenging second. Another danger situation exists where a walking path cuts directly across the fairway. Beware of drainage water to the right across the raised sidewalk.

Hole 8 - This is a very large U-Turn shot. The basket is 75 feet through solid forest off to the right of the tee, but the fairway plays forward about a hundred feet before turning. The suggested par on this hole will probably be four because of the multi-leg nature of the fairway. Again, the first shot will depend on luck (or great accuracy) to establish placement for the rest of the hole.

Hole 9 - The last hole is a longer shot (for the course) through the trees and out into a field. This is the only hole where a fairway driver might be necessary, but accuracy is essential to the very end of this technical course.


Future Developments:
This review will be updated as new developments occur and as the course is worn in.

Technical! Tight alleys and lots of trees. The concrete tee pads are nice. Signs appear to be coming soon.

Very short. It's only a 9-hole course and it plays very quickly.

This course is still VERY green and it shows. It doesn't need to be cut, really. It just needs to be played more. Foot traffic will cure most of it's problems. Only other thought is that the teeboxes are a little close to the previous hole's basket on a couple holes. It could be dangerous if/when it's really crowded.