Rising Fawn, GA

Cloudland Canyon State Park

3.025(based on 32 reviews)
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9 0
SimonCarr
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.9 years 115 played 57 reviews
3.50 star(s)

A blast after and epic hike 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 8, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

I'm going to start by saying that I love short courses with tricky fairways. This course was incredibly fun to me.

Going to say -- my review is biased. I played this course on my birthday and it was my girlfriend's first ever time playing disc golf and now she loves it.

I felt that this course had a solid risk versus reward aspect. Depending on the route you take a shot can be rewarded with a drop-in birdie or you could get an errant tree kick.

The elevation was used very well in my opinion. There were uphill, downhill and side-hill shots. Opportunities to throw tree lines or down narrow fairways.

Cons:

Course Design:
It was a bit confusing finding hole #1, but after getting your bearings its not that difficult to follow.

Not Super Challenging:
Hey, not every course has to be a huge challenge. I enjoyed the opportunity to get lots of birdies and a few ace runs.

No Benches:
Would be nice to have some opportunities to sit down.

Other Thoughts:

If you are a disc golfer it is 100% worth a trip to play this course and hike cloudland canyon park.
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13 0
Shadrach3
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 5.5 years 318 played 306 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Vanilla 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 22, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

A nice little rec-level course with a touch of elevations and appropriate smatterings of trees.

-Amenities: Concrete tees. DISCatchers. Signage with slightly helpful maps.

-Navigation: Pretty straightforward to play. Most tees are visible from the previous basket, with minimal meandering transitions.

-Rec-Friendly: Generally open spaces with sparse trees and woods lines to create some interest without making it difficult at all. The shorter distance makes this new-player friendly, which I guess is what the designer was going for in a state park.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: An acceptable mid-level course. As noted above, mostly open, but there are quite a few low ceilings, pocket greens, and shrubbery clusters blocking baskets. (15)-(17) also provide a wooded trio needing slightly more precise fairway hits. Some mild elevation change comes into play on a few holes. Other than a couple of left-turning holes, I don't think the course favors BH or FH, being pretty flexible. All in all, it's a basic course with a little bit of interest, but nothing particularly good.

Cons:

Some issues of design that has gotten out of control, but otherwise it's just very underachieving.

-Course Growth: A couple of holes would originally have been good, but have since become weird due to the continued growth of trees. Hole (4)'s basket is too defended and requires a silly spike hyzer. Hole (6) has grown in and made it a very difficult low-ceiling bullet of a shot. Hole (8) is also much more challenging than it once was. The major culprit is hole (9). Once this might have been a nice hole, but now leftward motion forced by grown-up trees is far too great for its length, and it's truly ridiculous. These aren't "design" issues as in bad ideas from the designer, but I'm sure he would never in a million years plan out these holes the same way given the current foliage situation.

-Bleh Factor: Not much exciting going on here. No stunning beauty or fun lines that will make an experienced golfer have an aha moment. Maybe a couple of the last ones will be fun putter runs with rock formations, but that's about it.

-Cloudland Canyon: When I first saw that this park had a disc golf course, I was thrilled. Crazy elevation perhaps? Great views? Nope. None. Perhaps the air feels slightly crisper being on top of a ridge, but otherwise there is zero appeal to being in this state park for disc golf.

-Pay to Play: In fact, being in a state park is a con, as you'll have to pay to park. Perhaps there's also a fee for disc golf? I can't remember. Shows you how memorable a course this is.

Other Thoughts:

This is a squarely typical course with a touch of foliage and variety. No, it's not a bad course, but it's thoroughly unspectacular. Not worth getting behind the paywall for me, but GA state park aficionados could get some use out of it.
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6 0
Moose33
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.2 years 203 played 201 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun little mountaintop course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 22, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

This mountaintop course is a bit on the older side, but well maintained and for the space pretty well laid out.

The pay works out to about $5 per person, so pretty typical for a parks department course. The baskets are Innova ones that while not new have decent balance and no breakage.

Good large concrete pads in good repair.

The mix of wooded and open and elevation along with some of the holes that can go off the side of mountain add to a beautiful and moderate course.

Cons:

It's pretty short and only intermediate and lower players will shoot over par.

No trash cans after that parking lot, and only two benches the whole time, so not ideal in that case.

Some of the holes are not represented will on the mainly good signs.

Other Thoughts:

I wouldn't drive the two hours just to play it. But as an amenity by the campground and hiking trails it's a great addiction.

You can buy Cloudland stamped discs in the ranger station as well.
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14 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.2 years 652 played 631 reviews
2.50 star(s)

The Ultimate Recreational Course. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 11, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

(2.587 Rating) A Flat Mountain Top Course
- RECREATIONAL FRIENDLY - At 4,685 feet, and with simple obstacles, newer thru recreation players will love this course. There are a couple longer holes, to test and encourage the development of a bigger arm. There are a few short technical plays to test and encourage the development of greater accuracy. The hazards are minimal with just a few areas with moderate overgrowth.
- TEES - 18 large concrete tees that are 6 feet wide by 12 feet long. It was great not having to stand from off the tee for a change.
- CHARACTER - In addition to nice tees the overall amenities were about average or a touch above. A great shelter with picnic table next to tee (1). Seating is at a few holes spaced along the layout. The baskets were in great condition. Nice hole signage and a community board. As for things to add? An additional set of back tees are most warranted.
- QUICK PLAY - Plays really quick for an 18 hole course. I completed my round solo in 50 minutes. Figure a group of 4 should be in and out in an hour and a half.
- NAVIGATION - Adequate. I forgot to download and print a map before arriving. Normally not an issue for most courses but I lost cell phone service. Even with this conundrum, figuring out the layout isn't terribly difficult and I spent no more than 5 minutes doing recon. The course is mostly open and the next tees are often in view from the prior basket. Regardless, I would still advise printing or download the map before arriving.
- MAINTENANCE - The course grounds were in marvelous shape during my round.
- RAW BEAUTY - I gave Cloudland an above average score (3.0/5.0). Unfortunately however, the course is located in one of the blandest portions of this stunningly beautiful park. The State Park is 3,500 square acres (4.5 sq miles), and it's 98% wooded. Yet on this course layout, there's only one fully wooded tunnel shot, hole (16). The vista views are very much subdued or non-existent in this portion of the park as well. No water features in play or to look at. There are a few minor rock elements that the course plays through but I came in here expecting to see a whole lot more it.
- THE REST OF THE PARK - If you enjoy hiking in addition to disc golf, this is the place to go. There are two highly photogenic 50 foot water fall hikes in the park. There are amazing vistas of the canyon. There are hiking trails all over the place. There are cabins and camping locations as well. Cloudland Canyon State Park is one of the few places I've been where my enjoyment of the rest of the park exceeded my disc golf experience.

Cons:

No major flaws with Cloudland, but it could have been so much more.
- UNIQUENESS - Cloudland has way too many open shots and it very much impacted my experience of the course. The course is an all par 3 layout with holes ranging from roughly 350 to 200 feet in length. 16 of the 18 holes are straight or veer by less than 10 degrees. The only exceptions are holes (7) and (8) which are back to back 90 degree left benders. In addition, no water is in play and as for elevation... see below.
- SURPRISING LACK OF ELEVATION - For being on top of a mountain, I had assumed there would have been some 50 plus down shots or perhaps even a "top of the world" shot. Nope, not one hole on this layout varies by more than 30 feet. A few holes in the beginning (2) (3) and (4), shoot over a shallow valley but they all pretty much start and end at the same elevation which lessons the elevation's impact . Hole (7) and (8) were the only decent down shots but they are both 90 degree benders where you can't admire your glorious run at the basket. My favorite elevation shot was on (17) where the 25 to 30 foot up shot starts in a framed tunnel and opens up at the very end.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - The difficulty here is underwhelming to say the least. I'm an intermediate level player and I threw 6 down on first attempt. Advanced players should be able to flirt with 10 down or more from time to time. The challenge from the one set of tees is aligned closest to the recreation level. Very few shot shaping opportunities and only three holes that exceed 300 feet in length. The course could really benefit from a second set of longer tees.
- MISSED OPPORTUNITY - I'm going to assume that the location of the disc golf course was not chosen by the course designer. That said, it still seemed like the design could have gone a lot farther to engage the surrounding fringe elements. Perhaps the direction was to deliver a family friendly layout, if so, design success. However, if there was ever a desire to bring in tournament level play, lots of changes would need to occur. I think the site has the potential to deliver, but I have no clue whether the park leadership even wants that aspect for this course.
- POISON IVY - I spotted a few small poison ivy plants. From reading a few of the other reviews, it appears that it gets really bad during the summer.
- PAY TO PLAY - As of November 2017, it was $5 for the parking pass and an additional $4.28 per person to play. IMO, $9.28 for the course itself is not a good bargain. However, players coming here for the other park amenities as well, the cost may very well be worth the price of admission.
- WIND - Very few trees on most holes and the course is on top of a mountain. I was very fortunate to get a day were the gusts were under 10 MPH.

Other Thoughts:

Upon arrival and driving through the park, my hopes were really high that this was going to be an exotic thrilling gem. After playing a few holes I realized that my initial hopes was really just some wishful thinking. Don't get me wrong, Cloudland is a really nice course and if I lived within ten miles I would play it all the time. But make no mistake, this course is not a destination like the actual state park itself. If the course wants to make a grander appeal, it's going to have to offer more to skilled players. A second set of longer tees would probably be the easiest solution or perhaps adding alternate longer basket locations. An even better, but more costly solution would be to redesign the layout to incorporate the existing terrain features more thoroughly.
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7 0
jaredbrumbelow
Experience: 7.9 years 16 played 12 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Simple, Laid Back Round 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 10, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course was freshly mowed and seems well kept. All of the baskets were in good condition. All holes had concrete tee pads and signage with distances on them. The woods line gives a good idea of OB with it rarely being too thick or thorny to find your disc if it goes in. Short walk in between holes. Overall, a pretty decent course especially for the beginner or amateur.

Cons:

The holes were pretty simple and some of the back 9 seemed pretty repetitive; 10-14 seemed like filler holes. Only one teepad/basket layout. For advanced players or pros, this course would likely not offer enough challenge or distance to be entertaining. Lots of woods in the area, but very few holes seemed to actually take advantage of this. Overall, not too many complaints, but advanced players may not enjoy themselves.

Other Thoughts:

Being in a state park, there is a 5 dollar parking fee and a 4 or 5 dollar course fee. I camped at the park so parking was included and found out about the course fee when I logged on at home to review the course. I had no issues with not paying and there are no signs on the course that mention a fee. So do with that as your morals allow.
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6 0
lazrman778
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.1 years 264 played 100 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Cloudland Canyon State Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 2, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Has concrete tee pads

Has tee signs

More open than wooded fairways with most holes having changes in elevations and some having doglegs - which will be fun to the casual player

Course navigation without a map is fairly straightforward

Nice scenery

Well-maintained

Restrooms

Cons:

No variety in pars - par 54

Other Thoughts:

This is a nice course in Dade County that I enjoyed playing. I played here on a Wednesday and only paid $5 to park for a whole day with no signs of having to pay extra for disc golf. I just place the money in an envelope, tore off the validation receipt and place it in my rearview mirror, and then deposit envelope into payment box - no ranger required! The scenery and area of the course are potentials to rate it higher but the par 54 makes it really less challenging overall. With the distances being short, having multiple pins could add replay value in playing the course and increase the rating. Seclusion can also be a con depending on where you're coming from. This course alone is not a destination course in my opinion but playing this and another 18 holes on a course nearby can make the trip worthwhile.
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6 0
agouge
Experience: 7.8 years 37 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Average course but still fun 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 13, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course has some interesting holes with elevation changes. A good mix of dog leg left, right, and straight holes. The course was well kept and had a flow that made sense. I play as an intermediate player in the PDGA and shot -2 my first time so decent challenge for an average player.

Cons:

The field holes 6 through 14 lack creativity and any unique feel. The land is there for a better mix of wooded and open holes, the other side of the field had some woods that could have been used for better course variety. I like the wooded holes at the end but they need one or two 300 ft tunnel shots thatpunish drives that are inaccurate

Other Thoughts:

Average course that could have been good or even great if they utilized more of the surrounding woods. Still worth playing
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15 0
sisyphus
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.6 years 397 played 383 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Mountaintop Wildlife 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 26, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This state park, 18-hole course rolls up and down hills and along the edge of several woods lines, providing a decent challenge for a Rec to Intermediate arm, with holes ranging from 190 to 347 feet. Extra large, grippy concrete tee pads are joined by good signage and a reasonable course flow. Mostly open fairways and DiscCatcher baskets that started with 16 chains that have had 6 added in an inner ring. The course is clean and pretty, with abundant wildlife (especially deer on the sunny winter day when we visited).
Though you will be hiking some hills, it's not too strenuous and none of the holes are brutally long for a weaker arm like mine. There are ace runs on the course, beginning with the bowl-crossing #2, with its hillside backstop for over throws, and finishing with the short but blind #18, where an overthrow could put you scrambling out of the woods. Although there are no "next tee" signs, the course flow is logical, the paths usually obvious (I took along the aerial map, just in case).
In all, I felt that Cloudland Canyon poses a fun challenge for players moving up to the Intermediate level.

Cons:

Advanced and Open players won't find enough distance or difficulty here, and critical players will find some of the shots repetitive and not demanding of a varied sillset. Holes #3 and #4 both play over a line of trees, forcing a high style of shot (Tomahawks, Sky hysers, etc.) that an old fogie like me thinks a less than pure "frisbee" shot (because there is no low line through those trees).
Hole #8 is a huge hook shot further left than out, which felt a little unnatural and introduced me to some of the thorns on the course when my shot fell short near a large boulder on the left side of the fairway. I noticed the thorns again along the functional hedgerow between fairways #11 and #12. The next two fairways (#12 and #13), unfortunately, share a hyser line. The only holes that truly play in the woods all finish to the right.

Other Thoughts:

The park does require $5 per car and $3 per round (honor box). Hole #1 is on the far side of the Girl Guides building, while #18 finishes by the parking lot.
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6 0
bpartrid
Experience: 12.7 years 81 played 27 reviews
3.50 star(s)

UnderRated Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 25, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

*Course is very easy to follow
*Good, fun, enjoyable flow to the course
*Has variety of obstacles and distances
*Can play it quickly (in fact we played it twice)
*Some wooded holes
*Great park

Cons:

*Not really any multiple pin locations or tees I can remember
*Mostly a beginner/starter course (but a good one)
*Location is kinda out of the way

Other Thoughts:

This is simple yet very enjoyable course. There is some poison ivy on a couple holes, but for the most part is not a true factor at all. If you want to let rip your drivers, then this is the place. For what was given to the creators (in terms of the land), they delivered up to all the potential this area had to offer. Some aceable holes, long drive holes, and a few accuracy holes. The 18th ends it with a sweet drive from openness tee into the woodline for the basket, a nice ending. In conclusion, take beginners here and anyone wanting a relaxing round of DG.
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10 0
Coryan
Experience: 41.6 years 3 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great Location, Lots of Potential 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 1, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

* Location, location, location. Top of Lookout Mountain in Cloudland Canyon State Park. It's amazingly beautiful.
* Wonderful elevation changes on many of the holes.
* Variety. Three wooded holes, some open field and most with trees in play. (No water)
* Excellent teepads (wide and textured concrete) and good tee signs on all holes.
* Layout provides several defined fairways well placed to avoid interference with neighboring holes.
* Course is regularly mowed (as of 2011).
* Wind can add an extra dimension.
* Plenty of parking and never crowded.
* Nice Innova disc selection at park gift shop near entrance.
* Other things to do in park after your round.

Cons:

* Innova baskets do not have inner chains (a volunteer group at the park is working to fix this).
* No trash cans and very few benches on course.
* Seven of eighteen holes are relatively open and straight.
* Course is short by today's standard. Good players can easily shoot 10 under or better.
* Thorns and poison ivy/oak will punish errant throws on several holes.
* Cost $5 per vehicle to enter park and $3 per round of golf.

Other Thoughts:

There is some interest on behalf of the park and volunteers to make this a destination course. The location is the ideal canvas for an awesome course redesign. Discussions have included ideas of adding inner chains, adding an alternate teepad and basket per hole, and creating a championship length course of 7200+ feet while retaining a beginner friendly layout of less than 4500 feet.
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1 3
daxkturner
Experience: 26.8 years 19 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 17, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fun little course that has mowed fairways. There are some fun short shots mixed some decent long shots on the back 9.

Cons:

They could have maximized the views a little better when they designed it.

Other Thoughts:

Watch out for the rough it eat your disc and it has a lot of thorns.
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2 4
dnbailey
Experience: 13.7 years 4 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Worth the Trip 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 8, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Really easy to follow the course layout. There are some really great holes, but it's really set up to just rip some drives. Some shots require a big hizer, so it's kind of fun to bomb on in there.

Cons:

Most of the holes are fairly straight forward and open. Just step up and rip it. Toward the end you head into a wooded area.

Other Thoughts:

The area is gorgeous! It's worth the trip to just be there. The holes are fun, and you get a chance to let some discs fly. Can't wait to get back down that way to play again.
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6 0
JSurmann
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 76 played 28 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Average course with great views! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 29, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a beautiful course that is in the middle of a state park, on top of a mountain that has some tremendous views. The land that was utilized for this course was well planned with the exception of a few holes. It makes for a pleasant walk between the pin and the next tee. You would be pretty had pressed to lose a disc here with all of the open fields. Holes 15-17 are wooded (ah sweet shade). It has Innova baskets that are in good shape as well as slightly larger concrete tee pads than I am used to. Has plenty of obstacles, trees, big rocks, and wind that you have to account for as well. Also has soda machine by tee 1.

Cons:

Can get a little hot in the summer and can get a little too windy sometimes. Hole 18 left me itching for more. It was just around 200' and thought that a nice course would have a final hole that begs you to throw a long one. Can get repetitive in the middle, going back and forth.
Pin 10 is pretty close to tee pad 8, I would say 20-30'. Not many holes (if any) that require an anyhyzer shot. This might not be a bad thing for some but I would have liked at least 2 of these. Hyzer shots were plentiful.

Other Thoughts:

Cost $5 to get into the park and then $2 per person that wanted to play DG. After the gate, no one asked if we paid to play and I have a feeling that not many people do (not that I would ever condone such a thing). This being a state park, there are a lot of other things to do, tennis courts, hiking, camping, grilling and supposedly they have a pool there as well. If you are planning a road trip along with camping, you can't go wrong staying here.
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1 4
pastorfrf
Experience: 14.4 years 8 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

This one got me hooked. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 24, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

The views and scenery were nice. As a Florida boy...loved it. Great hole layout.

Cons:

none.

Other Thoughts:

My brother-in-laws convinced me to try this sport and course for the first time. I have been playing ever since. I look forward to playing it again...now that I know what I am doing. :)
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6 1
TreeBurner
Experience: 14.8 years 7 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Cloudland 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 14, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course, unlike others in the area, lets you slang some discs. Most of the holes have wide open fairways with the basket at the edge of the woods or just into the woods. All of the teepads are concrete. The course is in a very nice state park. Some holes are very unique. One hole is an extreme dogleg left that will make you want to throw over the trees seeing that there is no mando.

Cons:

Grass is tall in the fairway and will make your legs itch all day. Most of the course is in the open and gets really hot during the summer. Have to pay to park and pay to play. Park rangers will creep by at 2mph to scope out your girlfriend and to make sure your not toting some brews.

Other Thoughts:

Beware of going left on hole #5 because there is a severe drop off that will swallow your discs whole.

Trees!
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2 0
thewishman
Experience: 75 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 28, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Recently mowed, the rough areas were only about 6" high. Well marked holes and logical layout. A bit of exercise walking the course.

Park admission is $5, on Wednesdays it is free!

Cons:

Not a very challenging course.

Other Thoughts:

When you play this course, take a minute to look at the view from the trail area into the canyon - very beautiful.
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4 0
SirRaph
Experience: 74 played 17 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Can you actually plant poison ivy? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 25, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Elevation changes make this relatively open and short-medium length course fun. Most of the shots begin in open shots off the tee, with pins placed in and around trees.
Pins placed near hills require some strategy.

Some challenging tunnel and tunnel upshots required on the final 3-4 holes. Even though there aren't any "long bomb" holes, the elevation changes require some torque.

It's not bad exercise walking up and down the hills either.

Cons:

If you are, or think you possibly could be, allergic to poison ivy, don't even attempt to play this course. The plants grow freely in huge patches all over. Instead of upping the penalty for wayward shots, you can stick a drive 10 feet from the pin, and be smack in the middle of a patch of ivy. Unless you're Ken Climo, you and/or your disc will find its way into the stuff at least once.
Seriously, it looks like they're growing it intentionally.

While the location makes for some nice scenery, it also musters up some pretty formidable wind. I've never seen a TeeRex get so close to flipping over. If wind is forecast, it may be worth avoiding this course.

Other Thoughts:

One of the only pay-to-play courses in the area, yet it's one of the most poorly kept as well.

For $9, for my wife and I to play one round, you'd think they'd buy a bit of weed killer, or maybe a bullwhip and a chair, and try to tackle at least SOME of the ivy. Just around the pins, maybe?
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8 0
Fender088
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.8 years 25 played 25 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Old School Course with some Altitude 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 6, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This eighteen hole course is located in beautiful Cloudland Canyon State Park. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this is the oldest course in the greater Chattanooga area. The actual land that the course rests on is gorgeous with very few signs of vandalism or littering. Expect to see wildlife everywhere. The park employees and other visitors were extremely friendly (every person I saw waved to me). Signs up Lookout Mountain and in the park made finding the course very easy. There's a "pro shop" on the right after you pay to enter the park if you don't have any discs. This is a nice addition, but there is very little selection, so bring your own to be on the safe side. The course has excellent signage on every hole and concrete tees that have held up wonderfully. There are also a few trash cans throughout the course, but not on every hole.
The actual course reminds me of a lot of old school courses. What I mean by this is that most of the holes are short and are only accented by a few trees. The old Innova baskets also add to this. Other than a few trees most of the fairways are completely clear. On average the holes were about 200 feet throughout the course, with a few right around 300. Although the majority of the holes are open, the last three holes are back through the woods changing things up a bit. What this course lacks in distance it makes up for with some elevation. Pretty much every hole has you playing downhill, uphill, or over a valley. I also thought the course had excellent flow, in that I could always find the next tee without needing a marker.

Cons:

The park fees are getting a little pricey here. The rate is now $5 per car and then an additional $2 per person per round. You can pay for the whole day, but they don't monitor you at all after paying, so there's nothing stopping you from playing another round. When I went the grass was still dormant, but I talked to a local that bought a yearly pass and he said that they don't mow often in the spring or summer. The high costs and high grass would probably keep me from driving out of my way to play this course in the Summer, and that's a shame because the setting is absolutely beautiful.
The holes aren't very long here. This can be a pro or a con, but seasoned players might not find enough challenge here. Although the baskets aren't rusty and look like they've held up well, their catching ability begs to differ. My group had putts spitting out left and right, but it kind of intensified the round and made us really focus. Just be aware of this.
Only other con sto speak of is that the course is kind of out of the way. Although this adds to the atmosphere of the course, it also means driving 30 minutes from the city. I would recommend making this an afternoon outing instead of trying to play it while driving through.

Other Thoughts:

I kind of found myself in a love/hate relationship with this course. The setting and character of this course made it something to remember. I could literally picture tournaments being played here a decade or more ago when courses were generally shorter and more open. The downside of this course is that it's far away and (according to rumor) not well maintained in the summer.
I would recommend playing "The Sinks" and Jack Mattox Rec Complex before making the drive to Cloudland.
If you do drive up to play this course enjoy hole 11. It's a straight, downhill 300+ ft drive. I felt it was kind of the signature hole if the course had one.
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5 0
ShopTom.com
Experience: 15.8 years 33 played 14 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Money talks 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 16, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Variety of shots, Wednesday free parking, concrete tees, map signs with distance, shade, very little traffic.

Cons:

$2/round + $5 parking, thorny bushes in play, front of tee pad drop off, not enough benches and garbage cans along course, most of grass not mowed so what am I paying for?

Other Thoughts:

Optional yearly passes for parking $50 and golf $15 individual or $25 family. I wouldn't mind paying to play if it was reflected in course upkeep. Someone needs to record the distances to update this site. My group of players with under two years experience will be back to work on our games.
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craigd
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.7 years 179 played 118 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Cloud Cayon state park 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 14, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Cloudland Canyon DGC is pretty nice. It is one of those courses where it appears that they have tried to make a recreational course while at the same time appeal to advanced players as well. While we all know this is an impossible task they somehow pulled it off, at least to a certain extent. Most of the holes are comparatively short with a few longer holes sprinkled in. I didn't mentally note the lengths but it is safe to say you'll not find anything over 350'. What you will find however are some pretty fun holes. The overwhelming majority of holes are open with a few obstacles here and there. Most of them are trees on the backside of the baskets. Overthrows will punish you by first making you to search for your disc and then finding a clear line to a lay up. Then it's a quick putt and most of the time you'll finish with an easy three. The fairways also hug the woods on several holes as well. From time to time you may find yourself deep in the woods if you don't play safely and you'll end up deep in some pretty thick foliage if you get a bad ricochet off a tree. That is where most of your extra strokes will come into play. Birdies are also easily picked up out here as well. There are three wooded holes on the course and I think they should be highlighted as the best out there. Fortunately, they are 15, 16, and 17. I think that is for the best too. After all, it's nice to finish on the better holes and leave with a good taste in your mouth. I never like playing course where the worst holes are at the end.

I guess I should mention the variety of shots too. Seven and eight both have some serious dog legs. Seven's is a 90 degree left and eight almost spells and upside down "J". I only wish they would have figured out how to split it up with one going right and one going left for variety's sake. Additionally, there are some elevation changes as well. Nothing major but there are a few up's and down's mixed in.

The amenities aren't bad. Signs are always a good thing and these are pretty nice. They're old but they're in good enough shape and serve their purpose pretty well. The concrete tee pads are really nice and have an extra rough surface to help with traction. Even when they're wet you won't slip.

There is a "pro shop" in the visitor's center with an impressive selection of discs. I should say this though, if you don't like Innova, you won't be impressed at all. That's all they carry. Buy they do have upwards of 100 discs. They have all of the different plastics too (dx -star). You will also find maps, score cards, and what I have found to be pretty friendly people to give you directions to the course from the visitor's center. The baskets are in good shape even though they are the older, single chain Innova models.

Cons:

There is one big question. And it is the most obvious Con. Why, with all the absolutely beautiful land that's available did they stuff it in the blandest area of the park? There is no doubt that they could have masked a lesser course with some incredible scenery and no one would have noticed. It is a shame. It really is nice up there and it could have been in a better area of the park.

The poison ivy is absolutely horrendous. If you get off the beaten path you can expect to be laying in it, you really have to be careful. If you get in the woods at all be prepared to see/walk through it. I think number six is the worst. Ten feet behind the basket you will find a sea of it the size of a small pond. It is nasty. Don't over throw this one for your own sake!
The grass is also very unkempt. The fairways have been cut to highlight their path but even the shorter grass there is shin high. The area that would be described as the "rough" is literally waist high. I saw a note at the visitor's center that read, "Due to cutting back on resources we will only be cutting the fields periodically". I guess that explains the tall grass. As I mentioned, the fairways are cut but are still unsatisfactory. I played out here last fall and found deep grass clippings that absolutely ate discs. I assume they wait until growing season is over and then cut it all at once and it leaves some bad consequences. It looks like you are either playing in really tall grass or really deep clippings.

The holes can get a little repetitive, especially on eight through fourteen.



The walk from eighteen to the parking lot is a little farther than you would like but certainly is not deal breaker.

Other Thoughts:

This course is good enough to get a three but with the tall grass I have to knock it down a half point, to two and a half. What a nice park though! The camping, hiking and the scenery are enough to make it worth while to drive here even if it takes you a few hours. The disc golf course is just a bonus on what could be made into a great day just relaxing and spending a day out at Cloudland Canyon State Park. Take it for what it's worth but most importantly... Enjoy!
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