Athens Sportsplex

An open bomb-it style course. PROS: + CHALLENGING + There are two sets of tees out here for many of the holes. Blues for the back tees and whites for the front tees. Due to the length from the back tees plus all the OB, breaking par here on a routine basis will take a highly skilled player. My guess is that players rated around 930 can accomplish that feat. Players that can throw 400 plus will have a leg up on players whose skills lean toward the technical side of the spectrum. + CHARAC ...
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An open bomb-it style course.

PROS:
+ CHALLENGING + There are two sets of tees out here for many of the holes. Blues for the back tees and whites for the front tees. Due to the length from the back tees plus all the OB, breaking par here on a routine basis will take a highly skilled player. My guess is that players rated around 930 can accomplish that feat. Players that can throw 400 plus will have a leg up on players whose skills lean toward the technical side of the spectrum.
+ CHARACTER + In addition to the extra tees, there are a bunch of other nice extras and comfort items out here. Lots of extra basket placements. Most holes have 2 or 3 placements, but one hole has 4 and another has 5 placements. Lots of benches along the layout and with somewhat great hole signage with one caveat (see cons, Signage). The hole signage has blue or white boarders to go with the corresponding tee designation. There are restrooms and shelters in the park, but they are a bit far from the beaten path of play.
+ TEES + Typically sized concrete tees, four feet by ten feet.
+ UNIQUENESS + For being a very open course, a surprisingly good hole type diversity. The range of hole distances is massive, from low 200s to mid 700s. There are several par 4s, several creek water plays, two raised basket placements and a few well guarded deep pocketing shots in play as well. All stated, the course has an over abundance of open plays. It would be great to see about a dozen trees planted out here every year.

CONS:
Lots of minor issues with Sportsplex.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - Wow do roads play a major factor here. I counted at least ten occurrences. Some of the holes it felt like the road were driving design element as a few basket placements were within fifteen feet of the road. One of placements on (19) has parking within twenty-five feet, and of course I parked by it thinking it was the practice basket driving up.
- FAIRWAYWAY CROSSING - The blue tee for hole (16) is tucked into a pocket left of the far basket on (15). These placements introduce crossing fairways directly in front of the basket on (15). I personally would just eliminate the far basket placement on (15) to correct the problem. It's an unnecessary hazard.
- MISSING BRIDGE - The blue tee on (17) does not appear to reachable without ninja training. A ten foot wide ditch/creek crosses the fairway line. I was able to cross using a larger 6 to 8 inch wide tree. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most higher skilled regulars players decide to play the white tees on this hole.
- MISSING HOLES - Although I couldn't see basket (11) from the tee being 500 feet away, I decided to throw anyways. A couple hundred feet later I realized there was no basket. This goes for (12) as well, which also has no tee. From reading the past reviews, these holes have been missing since Spring 2015. There was construction going on in this area during my Nov 2017 visit.
- SIGNAGE - Several tee signs were mounted horizontally on benches. All of the signs that are mounted this way are fading away from sun and moisture exposure.
- NAVIGATION - With all the issues listed above, I was scratching my head out here on where to go numerous times. Not the worst course out there as the layout is open. Figure a first timer solo out here needs to plan for about an additional 15 minutes of recon.
- TIME PLAY - This one takes well over an hour solo. Expect a four sum to play in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Groups will likely have to wait several times for passing cars.
- ELEVATION - I've played flatter course in Alabama but for a course with this big of a footprint the change in elevation was definitely a letdown. Maybe hole (4) or (5) approaches the 10 foot elevation change threshold. There can be two baskets in raised conditions depending on the basket location. The rest of the elevation on this layout is not worth noting.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Definitely not the most scenic course in North Alabama. There are some really nice parts to this course, but there are also some duds as well. I think the course falls just below average. The Course is too flat, mostly void of trees and doesn't really have much in natural features to provide an eye-catching feel. There are two creeks along the layout but the more prominently used creek seems more like a ditch than a natural winding tributary.
- WIND - Several reviews mention how terrible windy it gets out here, and it's no joke. I played Athens just down the road about an hour before this one and it seemed like the wind effect was double at Sportsplex. I was personally greeted with winds gusting 20 to 25 mph.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
Sportsplex starts off really good. I was definitely feeling a solid B/B- rating after the first nine or ten holes but it turned south really quick with all the completely open shots and roads in play. The layout is challenging from the blues tee no doubt, but the difficulty is one dimensional driven completely from the length off of the tee. Shaping a shot threw a gauntlet of obstacles is not a test to be found on this layout. Still however, Sportsplex is unquestionable a better course than Athens State. I think it could cross the into the B- rating threshold following the completion of the construction and the return of the two missing holes. If I lived in the area, I would play here all the time.
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