Short course that wraps around a small college's sporting facilities. Course is not too challenging or exciting, but possesses just enough to keep it interesting. The course is fairly open with about 2/3 of the holes in a field and the rest being in the woods. Distances for holes are pretty short

On the front 9 there are quite a few unobstructed, open field shots which make the course seem rather boring. Play picks up on the back 9 though with a few interesting wooded shots through tree lines. Overall this felt like a Jr. course which really lacks the difficulty, length, and character of some of the other nearby courses. However, it does just enough for an enjoyable, quick round.

(1.889 Rating) A recreational course with a mixture of open and wooded holes.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - I think the difficulty here is set perfectly for a University setting. Veteran Rec players should be able crack par here often. Beginning and novice level players will be able to get a challenge that isn't overly oppressive and intermediate level players will have enough to keep them entertained.
- GROW THE SPORT - No doubt this course will aid in introducing the sport by offering students easy access to learn the game at a course on school grounds
- NATURAL BEAUTY - I scored the course about average, but since I was grasping for nice things to say, I decided to list its beauty under the pros. Several nice woodsy plays. Hole (11) was my favorite being a 15 foot wide s'n lane that plays about 25 feet downhill. About half of the course is open, but considering that the open portion of the landscape is well maintained and groomed, it isn't a total loss.

No major issues with Montevallo, it just lacks full development.
- TEES - Not in great shape. They are generally gravel beds but a few are being inundated with dirt and mud. There is some substantial pitting at a few of them and I teed outside the implied box a couple times to get footing.
- CHARACTER - In addition to poor tees, no multi tees, alternate basket locations or a practice basket. Several tees are out in the elements and there are no benches. There is a rules of game posting at tee (1) but no course map or community board. I'm sure there are restrooms are inside the campus buildings, but as a guest, they are probably unavailable.
- UNIQUENESS - A touch below average. There's a good mix of open and woodsy holes. However several of the open plays don't have one tree in play. Elevation is a minor factor on 4 or 5 holes and maxes out at around 30 feet on any one hole. Water is in fringe play on three holes but it did not affect how I played those three holes. There are six tunnel shots. two finish straight, three finish left and one is an S play. All of the holes are par 3s and the entire layout is generally short.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - Advanced players are going to consistently shoot 10 down or better here. The longest holes are almost all completely open and the most heavily wooded holes are all sub 230 feet. Myself as an intermediate level player, I shot 8 down on first attempt.
- HOLE 17 - This hole has no discernible angle to the basket. The natural low arcing line is cut off by overgrowth and even the best throws probably don't get to within 50 feet of the basket. I walked up and down the line twice and eventually decided to throw a prayer of a sky hyzer. I hit a few light braches and parked it. Success.
- NAVIGATION - Pretty bad but doable. As stated under character, no course map on site. Hole signage is just white numbered posts with distance. There are no directional cues of any kind, but at least the posts are viewable from a far distance. I probably tacked on an additional 10 minutes of recon to complete my round. There's a sizable gap after hole (1) and the transition from (10) to (11), (12) to 13) and (14) to (15) are all tricky without onsite arrows. I made a map of my findings and posted it to DGCR for the next adventurer.
- WIND - A half open layout, so expect wind on most days. I was personally got lucky and got a day without any gusts to speak of.

A nice start for a course but it feels unfinished. How can a course that's been in the ground this long (10 years) not have more amenities? I know the course is getting some substantial play as the garbage cans were full and there was tee pitting. I would have guessed that some university student or a group, would taken this course under their wing and given it some more upgrades. Oh well, maybe next year's class.
- TIME PLAY - About average. Figure two hours for a foursome.
- RE-DESIGN - From reading the past reviews it appears that this course got a substantial tweaking about 3 or 4 years ago. From what I gathered, the layout is now much shorter (over 1,000 feet) and has more woodsy holes.

This course is a really fun beginner/intermediate course. You play through woods, elevation changes, and drop offs behind the basket, making this course have a bit of everything. It flows very well, 1 hole is hard to find (can't quite remember the hole number, maybe 14) but this course offers a fun challenge to beginner/intermediate players.

Only con I can think of is that hole 4 is not well trimmed, so the greenery gets rather wild in all areas. Can be hard to find a disc, or a good spot to attack the basket. My friends didn't like it, but I didn't mind.

The course's small gravel tee pads are not any good. I throw from the grass beside them.

Its convenient, sparsely used, and a nice beginner course.

Its very short. The course has been redone with 7 new basket locations since the last time its been reviewed. 6 of the new holes are densely wooded and extremely short (2-4 and 15-17). Some might say the new holes are technically challenging; others would suggest they add a lot of luck. You are going to hit a tree, its just a matter of how far down the path you go first. There are still problems with respect to signage. Finding the 15th basket would be near impossible without some sort of heads up. ... Its across the road, up a small embankment.

With just a little commitment this could be a really good course. Adding some benches, signage, and trash cans would be great. The loose red rock from which you throw is not as bad as I had originally anticipated. There a couple of holes (4 and 15) where some leveling of the ground around the tee would be helpful.

Good baskets, beginner friendly, not crowded either day I was there. well maintained.

Dirt tee pads which are quite "worn" on most holes. Course holds water in several places which could potentially make some holes unplayable after rain. signage is fairly non-existent. Too many wide open holes.

It's not a bad course and it has potential but it needs work. The navigation is ok but after #11 you have to go through some bushes to the next hole with no sign and #14 is in plain site so the natural assumption is that it is the next hole. Some signs would definitely be a plus. The layout flows ok but a lot of the holes are just completely out in the open. There are some woods there that are used for a couple of holes but I certainly feel like they could have put a few more holes either in the woods entirely or at least tucked some baskets into the edge of the woods. Nice little course to play if you are nearby but I wouldn't go out of my way to play there.

Nice, easy, and mostly short.
Nice college campus setting.
Good mix of wooded/open and elevation variety.
Perfect for taking kids or a reluctant disc golf spouse.
A few garbage cans at strategic points.
Large 4-ft-ish posts for tee markers, most with footage.
Birdie fest.
Easy hikes, with mostly short walks on and between holes.

Not any benches that I remember.
No hole layout signs, course map, score cards.
Pretty simple.

Congrats to whoever did the redesign on this. This is a great playing recreational course. I don't really know how to grade things like this on a curve. This is a great course for what it is, as long as you understand going in that this isn't a challenging course for serious players. Old-school shorter holes, like you don't seemuch anymore. I think every areaneeds a good recreational course, and this is probably one of the best I've played.

Montevallo was on my "never play again" list, until recently, when I saw an online map of the redesigned course. It's still not a destination course for serious competitive play, but this is well worth our 25-minute drive. It's a very easy walk, compared to almost anything else in the area. The new wooded holes on the front side and the back fix the old problems of the course being very unbalanced in play. It's really pretty good variety now.

Grab some friends who've never played, a stack of 150 class discs, hit discourse. Your resulting score will also be good on your self-esteem while you grow the sport.

*Not crowded
*Enjoyable
*GREAT CHANCE FOR AN ACE

*Not well thought out
*Not really any actual tee pads
*Not technical at all

Get ready to unleash your driver! Unless you live in the Birmingham area or close by, I wouldn't plan to make a stop here for disc golf when there is much better out there.

18 holes, beginner friendly, decent practice course, well mowed grass, easy walking

only two or three holes had any kind of obstacles, wide open, dirt tees get muddy, no concrete tees, not much challenge, almost every hole gives an advanced player a good chance for birdie.

This is a well maintained beginner friendly disc golf course set in a beautiful college campus backdrop. While advanced and open level golfers will find it lacking in challenge it can still provide an enjoyable round and get you some solid mid-range practice. The course designer did a nice job of providing an introductory level disc golf course that has some potential to be lengthened in the future.

Most players don't mind natural tees, but some tees at this course are unlevel for no apparent reason. Hole #14, the longest hole on the course has a downhill teeing surface. By backing this tee up 50' this problem could have been eliminated. Other minor cons include some course flow issues and lack of benches.

Unfortunatly this course has limited potential to rise to a higher level due to the lack of trees and technical terrain. It's still an enjoyable course in a beautiful college setting. It's definitely worth a play, just for the mid-range and putting practice!

Great starter course, Good course to see if you can go the distance to the basket, and a lot of chances for an ace!

Not much of a challenge to play, confusing to find hole 12 and 13. course has a lot of walking in between holes. Tons of cars to hit on the first hole because it plays down the side of the gym parking lot.

Good course to build a little confidence and introduce a new player to the game. When you finish hole 11 turn to the woods on the left of the basket ( if you are facing the basket from the tee box ) and walk into the woods to tee box 12

great technical couse with lots of elevation change and many chances to ACE. not alot of trees but the use of the elvation makes up for it, and the times that there are trees the holes are pretty technical.

not alot, tee pads would be nice, and got lost like every one else on between 11 and 12.

fun course worth the trip from birmingham or montgomery

This is a well-used but uncrowded course. I can point out a lot of negatives (see below), but they are mostly ways to improve an enjoyable course rather than things that detract. The course is very well mowed and litter free with a relaxed atmosphere.

Even though there are no signs, the course has decent flow; the white tee-marker poles are numbered and easy to follow (with the exception of #3 & #12). Most of the pins are cleverly placed on or near inclines or in trees to add some challenge. There are two or three long, open holes where you can empty your bag of drivers, which is always fun. And the course wraps neatly around the student activities center so that you are never too far from restrooms or water. The open fairways mean easy recovery shots, but the use of inclines and OBs around the pin do lend the course some risk/reward intrigue. Both make the course a little more enjoyable if not difficult.

Despite the quality pin placements, the fairways themselves are wide, straight, and obstacle-free with the exception of the very cool (if very short) #11. Even the two fairways in the woods (#8 & #9) feel like open fairway shots on most courses. Where the fairways do bend slightly, they bend in the favor of RHBH throws. There are no signs, benches, or garbage cans (though, as noted litter was not much of a problem). The tees are just dirt patches next to the tee marker poles which can quickly become slippery mud, and cars were parked in the middle of #6's fairway. While there are a few holes that allow you heave your diver, holes #1 and #2 (plus a few others) are so short, straight, and flat, they aren't really fun. The quality picks up with #3, but the first two could benefit from a redesign.

The major con is, however, that we encountered standing water and/or mud (sometimes ankle deep) on 12 of 18 holes. Judging from the footprints, it looks like most of those sloggy areas are standard components of the course. Take away the muddy fairways and slippery tees, and I would rate this course a point higher; it was a significant problem.

When you finish #11, follow the little path that appears to enter the woods. We didn't and ended up playing #14 out of order.

This is a recreational course. There are too many short, open holes for advanced players. However, if you're out on a sunny, dry day with friends, take an hour and play Montevallo, it'll be enjoyable.

This course is perfect for a good round of casual golf. It comes into it's own by hole #8, and the back nine is very enjoyable. The course is well manicured being on a college campus, and it was virtually empty when we played. Playing here had a relaxing and peaceful silence about it that you just can't get in the big city. Baskets are in decent shape and there is plenty of parking along the rec center side.

BEST HOLE/S: #8

The course has a few technical flow problems and some unnecessary walks between tees. The tees themselves are natural and marked with a large white post with distances even though many felt off by a number of feet. I really didn't know which side to tee from, but since this isn't really a tournament caliber course it isn't a big issue.

Make sure you go left into the trees after hole #11, since hole #14 looks like the natural progression. #12 and #13 get a little boggy in the low grass. A big complaint that many veteran players might have is that the holes feel very short with few trees and only a minor water obstacle on hole #17. There are also trailers parked along #3 making this hole look like a construction site.

WORST HOLE/S: #1; #2

If you are in the mood for an isolated serenity filled round of disc golf then the University of Montevallo is your place. While George Ward Park and Civitan Park (John LeMaster DGC) offer a much greater challenge and tournament caliber experience, I found this course to be very satisfying. I loved the isolated feel of holes #8 and #9 playing into a treed depression in the land making feel like I was the only person for miles. This course doesn't make you be perfect, it simply helps you relax and enjoy the game.

Birmingham has proved to have a diverse array of golf with the three courses in the surrounding areas. While the University of Montevallo ranks last among the three in overall course quality, it certainly ranks first if you like courses without a lot of players or high degree of difficulty. This isn't a destination course, but certainly one to consider if you're in for a casual round in the greater Birmingham area.

This 18 hole course sits on nice land that is primarily used for disc golf. The course is mostly open with isolated trees as obstacles, nice lush grassy fairways, some length, and some use of elevation. Water (small creek) in play on 17 and 18. There are several really nice holes here that are fun and challenging to play.

Even though it was on a campus, no parking permits/permission were required. There is a large lot between the student center and hole 1 that appeared to open parking for all.

There are no teepads of any kind. Just a white post in the ground, so you pretty much just end up just making your own tee on every hole. Navigation was a little tricky with no tee signs or maps available or numbered baskets.

Some of the holes were not that great- some were just a basket in an open field- not really a course in my opinion. One hole had a couple of old semi-trailers in the middle of it which was kind of ugly. Another hole had soccer nets surrounding the basket, which made for a challenge, but is probably not normally part of the course!

The course is located on an outer corner of campus surrounding the student rec. center. Everyone here kept to themselves and barely seemed to notice we were from out of state playing disc golf. We had the course to ourselves.

It is quite possible that this course used to only have 9 holes and 9 more came later, as there is a stretch in the middle that seem forced, but the last few holes were really good.

This is a nice course if you happened to go to college here, but definitely not a championship caliber course. I would not recommend going out of your way to play here, especially since Birmingham has a couple of really nice courses.

Montevallo is a quiet little town with a quiet little campus. The course is very solid for a small college and they use as much land as they had available. There is not a lot of elevation, but what there is is used nicely. Some baskets are perched at the edge of steep drop-offs. The course was well manicured.

The first few holes were fairly easy with few (if any) obstacles. Natural tees were extremely slippery due to rainy conditions. The town is a little bit of a drive from Birmingham and not very convenient from anywhere. One hole had unused soccer goals in the middle of the fairway which were not appealing to the eyes. There were also some navigational issues as there are no signs and few directional instructions.

This course started as a very typical open course. It didn't really jump out at me until about hole 6. Then there were some really solid design elements that came into play. The key element that added difficulty was basket placement. There were multiple holes where putts had to be carefully planned out to reduce the adverse effects of a "blow-by". If I went to this school I would be ecstatic to have a course like this on campus.

Last thing that I will mention is very odd but I distinctly remember. While we were driving around campus looking for the course, we noticed that no one at this school was smiling. They didn't even look melancholy. Everyone had a scowl on their face...and it was Friday! We thought that perhaps Fridays meant something disgusting in the school cafeteria or something else terrible. I am not sure, but in any case I would not be frowning with access to a disc golf course like this.

This is a slightly above average course to me. It is probably not worth driving 500 miles to play, but if you live in Birmingham or happen to be passing through, it is worth the stop.

short holes have challenging pin positions,nice layout, quick play

too many wide open holes

overall I like this course and will return though I prefer more wooded layouts.