Pros:
(2.284 Rating) (REVISED - replayed May 2022) A typical small park style 18.
- UPGRADES - I originally played here way too early in the development process. It was just 9 holes, cheap baskets, gravel tees, no signs and hole (9) finished in a weird spot. I gave it a 1.0. The course is basically finished now. Its 18 holes, with concrete tees, tee signs and better baskets.
- AMENITIES - Much improved. Community board with course map posted. Nice looking tee signs with some useful info, but not 100 percent accurate as it appears a couple tweaks have been made, such as hole (15) getting shorter. The alternate basket placements are also not listed on them. The artistic hole descriptions are generic and not that good. Moving on to tees, nice solid concrete surface. Not super big, but the holes are that long. Baskets have been upgraded to Prodigy, and there's a practice basket and a few benches. I assume there is a bathroom in the park somewhere considering all the baseball and soccer fields in the park.
- RECREATIONAL FRIENDLY - Don Davidson feels like a low-end Recreational level course to me. IMO, the perfect difficulty for the first course in town. I think there is room to tweak it a bit harder with a few extra long pads where space is available. Novices won't be overwhelmed, while Intermediates will still be entertained.
- QUICK PLAY - For an 18 holer it goes quick. The transitions are generally short. The course loops and only a handful of holes have terrible overgrowth in play. A first-time solo should be done in 45 minutes.
- FIRST COURSE IN TOWN - Before these baskets were installed, the nearest course to Fayetteville was a 1/2 hour away. This course fills up a big hole on the course bagger map.
Cons:
The course is nice, not a gem.
- NO ELEVATION - Almost no elevation change on this course. The following is a listing of notable elevation changes. There's a 3-foot high bluff that is teed off from on hole (3). Left of the fairway on (16) and (17) is a modest upslope to the road, but it's really not in play except on grip-locks to the right. This is one of those courses that you wish you could list the terrain as "Glass" cause "Mostly Flat" seems too generous.
- HOLE VARIETY - Nothing at Don Davidson is going to blow the mind of any player that's played 4 to 5 other courses. Mostly lightly wooded to open shots. A few baskets are lightly guarded in different ways using trees, but most courses do that. Water comes into play one time. I like that there are a few long alternate basket placements now to change the dynamics on a few holes.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - I didn't score Don Davidson on the high side. Too much of a lightly wooded park style course and too flat a landscape. Chain link fences and ball fields in view and play on a few holes. I did enjoy the scenery around tee (3) and the tee shot on (10).
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - The technical requirements on this course are on the lighter side and it's also not a long course. More than a handful of holes fell like a "I gotta deuce this," type of hole. I think Advanced players will murder this course and average over 10 down. For those that know the HV course up the road in Shelbyville, this one is only a touch more challenging. I do like the fact that they have installed some alt placements to add distance on a few holes. I hope they add some more, like a twisting pocket shot or something more wooded in general.
Other Thoughts:
Good to see that Don Davidson has evolved into a respectable course. It was a slow start, but those involved got it done and did a good job considering all the constraints they had to deal with. I think the course is nearing max-out potential. The land size and lack of interesting terrain really hold back on what was achievable. I would encourage those involved to add a couple more technical placements, perhaps add a second set of tees (mix of harder and shorter) and add some more benches. They do this, and I think the vibe and play continues to amp up, then I perhaps could see myself up it to a 2.75 in my books.