Pros:
(3.586 Rating) A course with a mix of both "Thrilla and Manilla" holes.
- RAW BEAUTY - Wow.............. holes (1) and (2) are sensational. I had to grab my jaw off the ground after standing on tee (1) and looking down fairway. On tee (2) I nearly sh*t my pants. (1) and (2) are along the earthen dam and overlook Lake Cahulga. Being able to use a dam over overlooking a Lake, is a feature that just about every course wishes it had. Holes (3) through (8) are played entirely in the heavily wooded portion of the park with over a 100 feet of total elevation change. (9) is another dam shot, and then (10) crosses the Cahulga river. Really the only average holes are (11), (12) and (15) thru (17). Considering all the courses I've played, I'd personally put Lake Point in my top 50 (83 percentile), most beautiful courses.
- UNIQUENESS - Awesome hole variety. Several terrifying water plays and loads of elevation changes going up, down and side to side. Holes twist both ways, and the turns are both long gradual sweeps and abrupt pockets. A couple par 4s, but no par 5s. Distances vary from sub 200 to over 500 feet. There is also a great mix of heavily wooded through open holes.
- ELEVATION - One the more extreme courses I've played. Please note I have not played a ski resort course yet. Think Panther Creek or Inverness dialed back 25% or on par with the IDGC courses. Any player who's a fan a some wicked elevation plays will enjoy this course.
- CHALLENGING - I found the course overall to be Intermediate level, however, there are some heavyweight championship shots out here. Hole (2) especially is a par 3, 455 foot widow maker. Had a priest been next to me on the tee, I would had its last rites read. The play on (2) to RHBH players, is a gutty throw over the abyss and then praying the disc works back to the left. It pains me to say that I lost the disc.... a few weeks later by forgetting to pick up, D'oh! Hole (8) is a difficult 80 foot downhill left turning par 4 that's a 475 foot long with a 20 foot wide tunnel almost the entire way. Some of wooded holes on (3-7) are short enough for an easy deuce, however a bad ricochet could mean a bogie.
- BONUS HOLES - Two bonus holes are located between (15) and (16). I would surmise that they are skipped or played seamlessly during the round. Both shots are around 200 feet and I obviously failed miserably to ace either of them.
- SIGNAGE - Brand new hole and course map signage. All the appropriate info is on them. Large #, par info, distance, obstacles, ob and next tee arrow. The designer even went a bit further and included major slopes.
- TEES - All together about average. Holes (3) through (9) were subpar being uneven rubber pads. In fairness though, getting materials to these locations to construct tees would likely have to have been carried by hand. So just the fact that they weren't natural was a bonus.
- CHARACTER - In addition to nice signage and tees, the course has lots of tee seating and a practice area. There's also a community board with a shelter and picnic tables. Things I would have liked to have seen were multiple basket placements.
- NAVIGATION - With a download or picture of the course map, most players should not have any issues. There are no directional cues between baskets and tees so players will have to remember the direction on the tee. Also note, many of the baskets were mis-numbered on my play.
Cons:
Mostly just preferential issues and couple minor things.
- TERRAIN - This course is a prime example of term "Not cart friendly." Lots of extreme elevation changes. Slopes are equivalent to stairs in a few areas. Also lots of rocks and tree stubs. This is not the course to go to if you have knee problems.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - For anyone who's played less than 50 rounds, please consider going somewhere else. Not as extreme as courses like Inverness, but close. In addition, Lake Point has more unforgivable water hazards in play over Inverness.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - Throwing (17) and possibly also (18), can bring vehicle property into play. (17) has a boat ramp parking area into play. I very much considered putting my disc back into the bag and I wish I would have. Watching my disc sail twenty feet over an F150 truck was heart thumping.
- WATER HAZARDS - Bringing a floating out here probably still isn't good enough to keep peace of mind. Putting one out into the dam water is an unforgivable error. Even if it floats, when the wind blows away from shore, there will be no way to retrieve it.
- POISON IVY - Not surprisingly, I spotted a bunch of Ivy in the wooded portion. Not the worst I've seen, but contact is possible.
- PARKING - Gravel parking and a gravel access road.
- TIME PLAY - Lake Point took me almost 90 minutes solo first time. Probably 2 1/2 hours or more for a foursome.
Other Thoughts:
I was pleasantly surprised by this course. It was personally recommended to me by DGCR member Jrodkelly1 and it didn't disappoint. Several eye candy shots and an all-around solid course. Definitely worth a look see from anyone traveling along I20 between Birmingham and Atlanta. Not quite the designation level of an Inverness or Hobbs, but a nice compliment to either course being less than 80 miles away from each course.