Near the labyrinth of mountain biking trails, the new Garrard Park course boasts a challenging layout featuring towering timbers, picturesque lines and a fantastic reason to visit this section of Northwest Georgia.

If all roads lead to Rome, then all serious disc golfers should be directed to Garrard Park, which immediately bolts to the top when listing the best courses in the area.

The course is new and needs some beating in, but when I played it last month, all the turf teepads were installed and in excellent condition.

Several of the best holes at Garrard are the par-4s that require hitting a landing zone in order to optimally set up the second throw. A lot of the holes offer multiple potential lines to the basket and sometimes, it seemed like the drive required throwing in a general direction versus aiming for a particular spot.

The course seemed fairly straight forward and intuitive to navigate, though there were a couple times when the paths converge and a check of the map is required.

The course was in good condition when I played, though signs of some forest growth were apparent. One wonders how well the course will handle sprouting plants and weeds, especially in the summertime.

Garrard Park is simply beautiful. Once you pull off the main road into the gravel parking lot, you've entered nature and will be immersed in physical beauty and seclusion for the entire round.

Several of the holes at Garrard run along an already established path in the woods and lack a bit of the pure feel.

Hole #9 is the only reprieve from the heavily wooded layout, but at over 800 feet in the open, it's no cakewalk. The course could have benefited from a couple more-open holes, but that isn't what the land offers.

Several holes clock in at 400- to 450-feet in distance but with the heavily wooded terrain, they seem like "tweeners" when it comes to establishing par.

The course is quite flat as the elevation never changes by more than a few feet. This results in the course feeling a tad redundant as several holes run together in design shape. Many of the holes require hitting specific lines (or getting lucky) with some small deviances in direction.

Garrard Park is big-boy-in-the-woods disc golf. It's definitely not designed for beginners and it will prove challenging for many, especially if you miss your lines.

However, it's the best course in the area, and with courses being installed at Georgia Highlands College and downtown (Kingfisher DGC) recently, Rome is earning attention as a day-trip-worthy disc golf destination.