Athens, AL

Sportsplex

3.035(based on 18 reviews)
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5 0
bjreagh
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.7 years 350 played 321 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 11, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

The Athens Sportsplex course is a solid course in a city park setting. It features concrete tees, baskets that are in good shape, and excellent color tee signs with distances for the 2-4 possible basket locations on each hole. I appreciate the good variety of possible basket locations that would keep this course fresh and challenging for locals if moved regularly.

The course is mostly flat playing over lush grassy fairways and around a few trees. The biggest challenge here is avoiding the o.b. (water/creeks, roads, fences, walking trails, etc.) There is quite a bit of water in the form of creeks that come into play on several holes.

Cons:

Disc golfers should be aware of the popular walking trail on the first few holes- lots of walkers the day I played and I was the only one playing. Lots of roads and parking lots come in to play as hole borders (not my favorite obstacle as you have to watch for cars, and landing on asphalt is hard on discs.)

Tees for 3 and 7 are somewhat close to each other and somewhat at each other, be careful if crowded.

There is a good deal of room for error or to play it safe on the drives for most holes, but then there is hole 18.... which is just a super narrow strip of land between the road and creek with the fairway sloping downward towards the creek- nearly impossible to land safely in bounds even playing it safe with putters- very tough hole and I question the design of it a bit (especially since there is a 19th hole that plays over the same creek- maybe these two could have been combined?)

Hole 14 is long just for the sake of being long, absolutely no obstacles whatsoever (unless you count the road and swimming pool that really do not come into play.) I always find wide open boring no matter what the length.

There were supposed to be 19 holes, but, when I played, hole 11 had no basket, and hole 12 had no tee and no basket. This was disappointing as I was really liking the course up to that point.

The back 9 is much different from the front (much longer and more open) and gives the impression that these holes were created at a different time than the front (rather than a unified 18 hole design).

I also thought the course could have used some bridges to get over the creeks. Not sure how one would get to some of the alt. tees and longer baskets without them other than wading through the water.

Other Thoughts:

FYI- many of the tee signs were posted on objects other than tee signs, like large wooden benches, the wooden bridge (#4), and the protective wooden wall (#9).

Overall, there are some really nice, fun, and challenging holes here. Despite its many cons, it is worth playing if you are in the area, and if I was a local I would definitely play here regularly.

The course is really easy to get to from I-65, and, in fact, you can see baskets from the Interstate.

Be advised that playing on a hot sunny day in Alabama that it will be hot, and this course has almost no shade.
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1 0
Nashvillian
Experience: 17.1 years 32 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Jeckl and Hyde 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 6, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Course well maintained and easy to navigate.

The front 9 has nice long shots that you must shape drives for dueces. Away from most park activity and not busy.

Great use of available trees and creek

Cons:

The back nine is a series of long shots that end up in long putts. OB is really only challenge on last 10 holes. Still good use of space and seems like built the front 9 and afterwards addes more holes and didn't have a designer do those holes.

What's with hole 19?

Other Thoughts:

All in all a good place to stop on a road trip . I suggest playing the front twice.
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0 0
Justin L
Experience: 21.3 years 50 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 1, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

A long open course great for working on your drives/approaches. OB streets/water come in to play, especially with the constant wind. Tournament play here can be outstanding with we placed rope OB. If you want to work on your wind game pick a breezy day and head to this course!

Cons:

Only suitable for players who love wide open courses. Lack of trees/shade can make for grueling rounds during the summer time.

Other Thoughts:

There are two elevated pin placements on this course.
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8 0
bazkitcase5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20 years 136 played 58 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 24, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This is a great course if you like to go out and rip drives. There are good DISCatcher baskets, tee signs, and good long concrete tee pads on every hole. A lot of holes do have benches and the course does loop back to the start near the half way point. Most of the holes have multiple pin placements. The design is good considering what they have to work with, with a lot of OB and wind being the main culprits. The park is well maintained, with a small, but hard working local club. Improvements are constantly being made to the course.

Cons:

The course can play long and tough for newer players, with a lot of walking and not a lot of shade. Bring plenty of water during the summer months. Last I remember, a couple of holes along the back side could use some benches. There are a lot of tweener holes for pro level players with no chances for a 2 and little chance for a 4, but the wind and the OB can still require smart and accurate shots. Newer players may consider it a con to throw their drive as far as they can just to walk up to it and throw it as hard as they can again, but this course is not designed for them. Those players should not go to this course expecting everything to be a par 3, when some of the holes were meant to be played as par 4 or 5.

Other Thoughts:

The basic premise of the course is that there are not a lot of trees, but there are 2 large ditches and a creek filled with water, as well as the park road and a side walk playing as OB. Most holes do not have enough obstacles to force you to shape a certain shot off the tee, but the OB does force an accurate, and usually long shot in order to score well at this course. Although the course does play tough for the newer players, the lack of obstacles does allow them to come to this course and hone their driving skills and placement shots. If this sounds like a course you are interested in, then it is definitely worth a stop.
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1 0
domihop20
Experience: 5 played 5 reviews
3.00 star(s)

LOOONNNGG course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 7, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

I like this course when no one is there because I can let my dog run free with NO chance of her getting lost. Large open fields, few obstructions.

Course is well maintained.

Cons:

If your looking for interesting angled shots and tight turns, scenery, or shade. This is not the one for you.

Other Thoughts:

If your a beginner like me, your going to hate this. throwing 10 times just to get the distance to the basket is very aggravating.. Especially in hot Alabama with no shade trees.
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6 0
The Drake
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20.9 years 126 played 61 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 26, 2007 Played the course:never

Pros:

If you enjoy ripping drives you'll enjoy this course. Its wide open ( There's maybe 4 holes where trees come into play) with roads and pathways to mark OB. Its a good use of the land, occupying almost every possible aspect. During tournament play they come up with some nice OB adjustments and a great last hole (combining their 18th and 19th holes) turning it into a tough par 5.

Cons:

The course is long but its not difficult. Holes are just long enough to where there aren't more than 4 or 5 holes where a deuce is possible but those that are long aren't quite par 4 worthy. It has a lot of "tweener" holes where tournament scores generally don't have much seperation because its hard to get 2s but just as hard to get 4s.

Other Thoughts:

I've played this course a couple of times in tournament play and this course is all about consistency. Distance helps but isn't necessary. if you throw 300 or 400 you can shoot about the same score. If you throw over 500 you may have a few more birdie opportunities but winds and OB will become big factors. Its a fun course to go play if you just wanna bomb some drives. If you play it in the summer bring lots of water, cause our Alabama summers plus no shade = HOT.
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