The first few holes at Southside Park are a joy. Short, grassy and with decently technical lines, these holes will be appreciated by wooded enthusiasts, especially novice and intermediate players. And after a detour into the open expanse of the park, the course returns to the woods two more times for similar designs.

About 10 of the holes at Southside qualify as "mostly wooded," but they offer lines that are typically open and fair. Most of these holes fall in the 200- to 250-foot range. Hole #8 is the longest of the wooded holes, at 318 feet, but it might be the best hole on the course, as it requires an accurate throw down a slightly dogleg left and narrower fairway to reach the circle.

On the wooded holes, the areas off the fairway are slightly challenging but reasonable.

Navigation is fairly straight forward, and the tee signs have arrows indicating the next tee. However, there were a couple times when in the open fields that I had to check to make sure I was throwing to the correct basket. Hole #9 ends right next to the Hole #1 teepad, so a "quick nine" round is convenient. In fact, as my friend and I were preparing to start our round, another disc golfer hit his drive off the cage of the Hole #9 basket. So close!

The disc golf at Southside Park isn't terribly difficult, but I can see it being a popular course in the Huntsville area for those seeking a relaxing, fun round.

The flat terrain can be overlooked when in the picturesque sections of the woods. But when the course heads out into the open, there's nothing to distract you from the lethargy of its design.

Hole #6 offers views of a small electrical power station and it runs side-by-side with Hole #7 across a field that's empty except for a couple utility poles that serve as mandos. There are several of these wide-open holes that include no obstacles except avoiding utility poles and a chain-link fence. Unfortunately, the course ends with two such holes, where distance is the only challenge.

A number of the holes are missing tee signs. However, the new sample tee sign design on Hole #14 was excellent and should be used for the remaining holes.

If Southside was a nine-hole course that utilized just the best wooded sections, I could see the course securing some higher ratings. However, most of the open holes are uninteresting, ugly and definite fillers.

I played the course in August, and it was drier than a bone. I felt fortunate to have played in what was pristine conditions, considering the DGCR photos show the mud and flooding that typically occur during other seasons of the year. My rating is influenced by the condition I played in.

(2.461 Rating) (REVISED - Last replayed November 2022) A regular player's type of course with a mix of completely open thru heavily wooded holes.
- DGC SPACE ONLY - One of my favorite things about this city park course is not having to deal with other park patrons. There are no walking paths or roads that wind through this layout. Also, there are no adjacent ball fields either. This course is a disc golf dedicated space.
- ACEABILITY - IMO, this is the easiest 18 hole course to ace in the Huntsville area. The first five holes are all sub 250-foot mild technical plays. I could see a local MA3 player having multiple aces a year here. I personally have one ace on #5 and I have thrown about 40 rounds here as of this revision.
- MA3 FRIENDLY - This course is going to work really well for the local beginner through MA2 level player whom make up a majority of the disc golf community. There are some short technical plays and a few wide-open bomber holes for those that max out at 375. No water hazards and the odds of actually losing a disc is really low.
- SIGNAGE AND NAVIGATION - Brand new tee signs installed in May 2021 which were desperately needed. The course map was also refurbished and replaced in Dec 2021. I have raised my score by just over an eighth of a point for the signage upgrades. The prior situation was really bad.
- QUICK TO PLAY - One of the quicker 18s to play. The course is definitely on the short side and the hole to hole walks are generally less than one hundred feet. I've done solo rounds out here in less than 40 minutes and have also done a four-person glow round in under two hours. Figure a group of four with daylight should be in and out in 90 minutes.
- NIGHT GOLF - This is an ideal night golf course. Spacious fairways, only moderate overgrowth, no water hazards in play and lots of locals with glow tape and blacklight flashlights. I personally participate in a winter glow league here.
- TEES - 5 foot by 10-foot concrete tees. Most are in great condition, but a few have major breaks from equipment running over them.
- CHAINS - DISCatchers that are in good condition.

Substantial drainage issues with Southside and it also won't challenge higher skilled players like several other area courses.
- DRAINAGE - This course does not drain well. More than half of my rounds out here I've had to deal with flooded fairways. Normally I like to point out which holes are the worst offenders, but there are just so many locations that puddle up. I recommend bringing high quality waterproof boots during the Winter as that seems to be when the conditions are worst here. Southside is just one of three courses that I have ever deducted rating points for drainage. I shaved off a quarter point. The ponding is just so bad that it's an unusable course for half the year for all but the crazies. Yes, I consider myself a crazy.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - MA1 level players are going to be very underwhelmed by this course. Other than perhaps hole (7 and 8), an MA1 player should have them all birdied after 4 or 5 rounds. MA2 players should be 6 to 8 down routinely. There are several woodsy holes, but only hole (8) is over 250 feet.
- ELEVATION - The flattest course in Huntsville. Hole (5) has a basket on a 3-foot high mound and it's the most notable elevation change here.
- HOLE VARIETY - A touch below average. In addition to being flat, it's an all par 3 layout that has hole lengths varying from around 150-feet to 450-feet. Just prior to my original review post, the hole data on DGCR listed hole (7) as a par 4 at 550 feet, but the hole was altered from the initial design along with (6) to help prevent discs from going over the power station fence. Another missing element is water, except for standing casual water as noted under the drainage con. The course does however have a split mix of open to wooded holes.
- RAW BEAUTY - A periodically maintained course that lacks the natural grace compared to other local courses such as Monte Sano, V-Rock and Indian Creek. A few too many open holes and there are massive power lines running through the layout. I scored the course a 2 out of 5 for beauty.

There's nothing too special about Southside Park as it grades out as a solid 2.5 for me. Seasonally however, I'd give it a 1.75 from roughly January to April, and a 2.75 from May to December. This is due to the drainage issues. Regardless, this is a nice little course for residents on the southern end of Huntsville. Worth a look see at least once if you live in the Huntsville metro area or perhaps more often for those still hunting for their first ace. For those outside of the area, the first go to course should be Indian Creek for the engaging challenges, Brahan Springs for the history and social aspect or Monte Sano for a challenging woods course. Redstone Arsenal is another good first choice for those with military access.
- AMENITIES - As stated in the pros, the pure basics of tees, signage and baskets are done well. After these core items there really isn't much else here that helps set it apart from every other smaller city park course. No extra tees and just four extra basket placements on (2, 3, 9 and 10) and no community board. There are a few sporadic seating areas, garbage cans and a practice basket. Overall I graded this aspect a touch above average.

Nice playing in and out of trees. It is about 1/2 open and 1/2 in trees. 15 is fun with basket surrounded by trees. It has rough concrete pads, and signage at every pad. It is the only course in SE Huntsville, so nice to have something close to home for me.

A lot of the low spots, on the holes in the woods, have fresh dirt filling in them. Also, there is gravel being placed around the tee pads. (Thank you to whoever is doing that!)

In the winter, the standing water is horrible. High top boots, or rubbers would be the footwear of choice. Water can get several inches deep. Hole 9 is the worst with a large "pond'' in the middle of it. There is no easy way around it. 16 is similar, but if you go through the brush and brier on the left, you can keep your feet dry.

At least a 1/4 of the tee signs have fallen off their poles, and the course is almost new.

No bridge to hole one.

I think the course has good potential, just the standing water makes it not so fun, if you don't have water proof shoes.

Great baskets, but the yellow paint is already flaking off. Weird for new baskets.