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Graham Creek - Preserve reviews
10
0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
10.4 years
665 played
647 reviews
Preserve Deserves A Look
Reviewed:
Played on:Apr 11, 2024
Played the course:once
Pros:
(3.448 Rating) A course with solid variety and charm.
- GAMEPLAY - I found the Preserve to be a very entertaining and varied mix of holes. There are five par 4s mixed throughout. Some long open shots, some pockets, raised placements, sweeps, short threads and some technical moving lines. None of the holes were bombshell looking gauntlets to me, but I found it to be great golf overall. Since Pecan has been decimated by a colossal tree loss, I think the gameplay feel here at Preserve is currently superior.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Although there are a couple plain parts, the overall beauty of the parcel is well up there. I slotted it at around 75 percentile among the 668 courses I've thrown as of this review. The first ten holes sparkle noticeably more than the remaining holes. My favorites looks wise were (3), (9) and (10) which are all heavily wooded threads. I did like the pyramid on (12) which spiced up in what could have been an extra bland hole.
- AMENITIES - Like Prairie and Pecan, Preserve has a two tee layout. The White shorts will appeal to MA3s and MA2s, while the Blues should appeal to MA1s. Both sets of tees are concrete and are of good size. Baskets are MachVs and signage was adequate. Benches are present at a vast majority of the tees.
- NAVIGATION - I had a guide, so I wasn't paying super close attention. There are colored coded posts at every pad. I recall a few navigational cues after tapping out. The other two courses I played here I did solo and did fine, thus I sort of assume that the tools are here enough to be able to figure out. The course plays in a clockwise loop starting at 9 o'clock.
- 4 COURSES - With the recent addition of Pitcher Plant, Graham Creek now has 4 courses. I was able to hit 3 of them, excluding the noted new addition. If we rated places instead of courses, Graham creek is an easy 4.0 rating on my ledger.
- GAMEPLAY - I found the Preserve to be a very entertaining and varied mix of holes. There are five par 4s mixed throughout. Some long open shots, some pockets, raised placements, sweeps, short threads and some technical moving lines. None of the holes were bombshell looking gauntlets to me, but I found it to be great golf overall. Since Pecan has been decimated by a colossal tree loss, I think the gameplay feel here at Preserve is currently superior.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Although there are a couple plain parts, the overall beauty of the parcel is well up there. I slotted it at around 75 percentile among the 668 courses I've thrown as of this review. The first ten holes sparkle noticeably more than the remaining holes. My favorites looks wise were (3), (9) and (10) which are all heavily wooded threads. I did like the pyramid on (12) which spiced up in what could have been an extra bland hole.
- AMENITIES - Like Prairie and Pecan, Preserve has a two tee layout. The White shorts will appeal to MA3s and MA2s, while the Blues should appeal to MA1s. Both sets of tees are concrete and are of good size. Baskets are MachVs and signage was adequate. Benches are present at a vast majority of the tees.
- NAVIGATION - I had a guide, so I wasn't paying super close attention. There are colored coded posts at every pad. I recall a few navigational cues after tapping out. The other two courses I played here I did solo and did fine, thus I sort of assume that the tools are here enough to be able to figure out. The course plays in a clockwise loop starting at 9 o'clock.
- 4 COURSES - With the recent addition of Pitcher Plant, Graham Creek now has 4 courses. I was able to hit 3 of them, excluding the noted new addition. If we rated places instead of courses, Graham creek is an easy 4.0 rating on my ledger.
Cons:
A solid course all away around.
- TEE SIGNAGE - The tee signage from the Whites do not show an artistic description of the hole which is too basic for course this good and this complex. I didn't pay attention to the blues signage, but I think it was similar. Also no course map posted.
- TIME PLAY - Not a quickie, My threesome was here almost 2 hours. Time play has zero effect on my ratings.
- TEE SIGNAGE - The tee signage from the Whites do not show an artistic description of the hole which is too basic for course this good and this complex. I didn't pay attention to the blues signage, but I think it was similar. Also no course map posted.
- TIME PLAY - Not a quickie, My threesome was here almost 2 hours. Time play has zero effect on my ratings.
Other Thoughts:
To me, the Preserve is currently the Crown Jewel of Graham Creek. Had I visited here prior to the vast tree removal at Pecan, I may have had that one a quarter point ahead of this one. Preserve scores with positive marks in all the key areas. Great variety, robust challenges, good looks and proper amenities. Solid 3.5 level course to me. Normally I wouldn't say 3.5s are destination worthy outside 90 minutes, but the 4 course aspect makes this place much more worthy of a long drive. Reminds me of courses like Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Oregon Park in Atlanta, Jacobson in Kentucky and Kiekhaefer Park in Wisconsin. I highly recommend checking it out to the I10 disc golf adventurers.
- THANK YOU - I joined an awesome twosome right away on tee (1). Thank you Eli and Chad for being my guide and for the delightful round.
- THANK YOU - I joined an awesome twosome right away on tee (1). Thank you Eli and Chad for being my guide and for the delightful round.
11
0
J614
Experience:
4.6 years
14 played
5 reviews
A fun round if you like spiders 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 15, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
Really well upkeep-both baskets and tee pads were in good condition.
Good mix of open and wooded holes. The front nine requires players to hit their gaps if they want to have any shot at birdie. The back nine opens up dramatically with more "grip it and rip it" type holes.
Players don't have to throw 500' to make a good score on this course. There are very few bomber holes and most of the time, if players hit their lines, they will be very happy with their score.
There are a couple of touches on this course that make it unique. There is a hanging basket on one hole and a very unique elevated basket on hole 12.
Tee signage was mediocre. I had Udisc to help and was able to find my way from hole to hole with very little difficulty.
Benches provided on most holes.
Two sets of tee pads on most holes.
Good mix of open and wooded holes. The front nine requires players to hit their gaps if they want to have any shot at birdie. The back nine opens up dramatically with more "grip it and rip it" type holes.
Players don't have to throw 500' to make a good score on this course. There are very few bomber holes and most of the time, if players hit their lines, they will be very happy with their score.
There are a couple of touches on this course that make it unique. There is a hanging basket on one hole and a very unique elevated basket on hole 12.
Tee signage was mediocre. I had Udisc to help and was able to find my way from hole to hole with very little difficulty.
Benches provided on most holes.
Two sets of tee pads on most holes.
Cons:
Spiders. Everywhere. If your tee shot misses the fairway, not only will you take a high score, but you will also find many types of spiders and other assorted bugs. However, this was only a problem on the front nine due to how wooded it was.
Even though the days leading up to my round here had been sunny, there were still some low lying areas in the fairway where there was some mud and a little bit of water.
Some of the holes on the back nine got pretty monotonous due to the lack of challenging lines and because of how open they were.
Even though the days leading up to my round here had been sunny, there were still some low lying areas in the fairway where there was some mud and a little bit of water.
Some of the holes on the back nine got pretty monotonous due to the lack of challenging lines and because of how open they were.
Other Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this course. If you are near the Gulf Shores area this course is a must play because it will give even intermediate players a challenging round.
