Etowah DGC is a very scenic one-of-a-kind course. It is set in the beautiful Riverside Day Use Area situated at the base of the Allatoona Dam on the Etowah River. The views from many of the holes enhance your experience and blend the feeling of a foothill hike with a round of disc golf. The rolling hills around the park are thickly forested with a variety of hardwoods, ornamental trees, shrubs, and ferns. Look out for some stunning rock features and other scenic landmarks as you work your way through the course. Beyond a couple of the later holes where you play as the Etowah River hurries along beside you, you will also play near and over a tributary creek on three of the holes. This course truly offers some scenery not found at any of the other metro Atlanta courses.
Etowah cut its teeth as a modest 18 hole, 5233-foot, par 56 course. Since then, the course has matured well and has "broken in" nicely. Meanwhile, the designer, Sam, has never been one to be content with idle hands. He seems to always be up to something out on the course. Beyond the ever-important maintenance and upkeep, there has been some meaningful additions as well. Today you will find what is considered the "regular 20-hole layout" ringing up at roughly 5580 feet and playing as par 62. So far, just holes 8 and 20 have alternate pin placements. Hole 8 just adds some marginal distance up the hill but offers different options on the split uphill fairway. Meanwhile, hole 20 takes a relatively easy birdie shot and will have you fighting for par with a mando and flirting with out of bounds with some tricky out of bounds. It will add about 140 feet to the much more manageable 220-foot original position. In addition, a few longer pads have been added (dubbed the "super tees"). You will find them on holes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 (16 and 17 shares long pad). Overall, they add roughly 975' to the course and although par is not officially established by the designer, many would argue that 12, 15, and 17 become par 4's.
You will find a parking lot dedicated to disc golf with ample space. While there, be sure to check out the informational kiosk that relays course info and an overhead map. The kiosk is also home to the lost disc drop box where folks who find discs can drop them in hopes that they will be reunited with the rightful owners (look for lost discs posted on the Etowah Facebook page periodically). Trash receptacles including aluminum and plastic recycling bins are at the edge of the lot for everyone's convenience. Note that there are no trash receptacles on the course and that is by design (pack it in and pack it out). There are clean restrooms with a water fountain across the road near hole one. There is also water spigot during the warm season at the pavilion between 11 and 12.
This parking area has a perfect place to warm up. On the left side of the parking lot in the grassy field, you will find the practice baskets/driving range (look for the red banded baskets). Take note of the distances marks in the parking lot in increments of 50' to the deepest red basket up to about 350'. The second red practice basket is nearer to the parking lot and situated in such a way that it is ideal for brushing up on your pre-round putting. Some folks take advantage of throwing from the longer basket back to the shorter while sighting in their upshots before finally working on that putting routine.
Moving back to the course, you find it outfitted with turf tee pads, another feature not found on many courses. Now that they have a few years of use, they have proven themselves to be durable. They feel great and do the job nicely. Unassuming tee signs with only hole distances and par will also welcome you at each pad. Sturdy composite benches on each tee come in handy especially after some hikes in the heart of the course. DisCatcher baskets of course catch well, but the yellow bands also make finding the basket easy in even the thickest part of the course. After you finish each hole, look out for directional arrows and other on the bottom of the baskets or other cues pointing the way to the next tee.
As far as the holes are concerned, you will find a diverse layout with holes ranging from 185' to 585'. The land provided plenty of elevation and the designer took advantage of that with uphill, downhill, and valley shots. Of course, you will find sweeping left and right shots as well. There are several memorable holes, but hole four, the cave shot, looks to be the crowd favorite and you will be fighting the urge to unload your bag on this one! Not to be outdone by hole four, the other holes have a lot to offer as well. Ace shots present themselves to just about everyone who plays at one point or another along the way. Being that the course is on the shorter side, there are birdie opportunities galore. Ringing up as many as you can early in the round will help cover a multitude of sins in the long run. Advanced/open players will likely have a chance on every hole. With that said, it has some challenging shots that can test even the sharpest of shooters. On the par fours, look for clearly defined fairways that demand good placement shots. Some of the shorter shots tighten up in the woods and if you are off your line, just saving par can be challenging. And for those who find the tighter woods shots to be grueling, you will find some relief on the finishing holes as things start to open and add some variety to the course.
Note that you will find some OB from time to time along the course. The designer intends that the course play under a relatively new OB option. During a PDGA event this OB rule is available at the discretion of the TD: you play from the closest in-bounds point (similar to a lateral hazard in golf). Sam and those who run leagues use this option. As such, most locals follow suit and play "lateral in" when playing casual as well. For clarity, when out of bounds using this provision, your next lie would be based on the following from the official rules of the PDGA. "A lie designated by a marker disc placed on the playing surface at any point on a one-meter line that is perpendicular to the out-of-bounds line at the point that is nearest to the position of the disc".
As far as the difficulty is concerned, the designer mentioned the layout is geared with the recreational, intermediate, and low advanced players in mind. He went on to say that his goal was that advanced to open players should still enjoy the course. Although I do not fall into the latter category, I happen to agree. Based on feedback I have heard from a wide range of skill leveled players, everyone seems to really love all the course offers. Having said that, do not be misled into thinking that this is just another pitch and putt course. It is much more than that. There may be courses with a bigger "wow factor" and championship caliber but with the intended design, amenities, and overall ambiance of the course, I'll still give it a 4 out of 5.
At tournament time, there is a possibility to use one extra hole for a 21-hole layout using 12' s long pad (referred to as 11-b) to a temporary basket placement in grassy area to the left of the parking lot. Nice pavilions are available and serve well as tournament central as needed. Given the park infrastructure, this is an ideal park and course for tournaments.
Oh yeah, for those that find it important, alcohol is allowed in the park and is another feature you won't find at many public metro Atlanta courses.