Greenbrier Woods of Madison

A beginner's layout using the basin of a storm water retention area. PROS: + FORGIVENESS + There are no substantial hazards on this layout. There is a very small creek that runs along the right s ... show more ›

A beginner's layout using the basin of a storm water retention area.

PROS:
+ FORGIVENESS + There are no substantial hazards on this layout. There is a very small creek that runs along the right side of holes (5) thru (9), but it is so small and shallow that 6 foot long stick could probably fish out every disc that finds its way in. There is also a little bit of overgrowth along the fringes as well
- FAMILY FRIENDLY + A nice playground area right in the center of the park, so younger kids will have multiple things to do here in addition to this beginner friendly layout.
+ ONLINE COURSE MAP + I've uploaded a course layout with distances to DGCR. Players will need it as there are no longer any tee signs. The only reason I know that they were there at one point was by looking at 2013 Google Street View images.
+ QUICK PLAY + Do you have 15 minutes?
+ MAINTENANCE + The grounds appear to be constantly mowed, trimmed and manicured. There was no trash despite not seeing a garbage can during my first visit.

CONS:
Greenbrier Woods has only the most basic elements of the game.
- UNDEFINED CHALLENGE - Without a well-defined layout to follow, rating the challenge of this course is limited. For this review I rated the challenge by going basket to basket and starting per the course map. In this type of layout, even a recreational player should be able to throw a few down if played as all 3s. Advanced players would be unsatisfied throwing anything other than all birds. There are obviously numerous ways to throw a round here, but every course could say the same thing. Safari possibilities don't affect how I rate a course.
- CHARACTER - No amenities or course comfort items. Even the basics are missing. It's just numbered Mach 2s. The baskets are still in great shape but the chains are light.
- UNIQUENESS - I've played worse. Unlike Logan Park, the worst course I've scored in town, there are actually some natural elements that will dictate throw choices. There's a creek and some woods along the right side on many holes that could impact players that throw in the 200 to 225 foot range. Hole (9) has a grouping of trees guarding a direct line to the basket. However, these few items won't please any seasoned players.
- DRAINAGE - Believe it or not, the basin of the storm water retention area was spongy wet and muddy on my visit. The course is probably unplayable after heavy rain.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Nothing remotely exotic or substantially beautiful about this site. Again, the course is located in storm water retention basin. This is probably why this course exists and they couldn't build any structures on it.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
I played on a cold day during my lunch break and had the whole little park to myself. I would surmise that not many in Huntsville even know of its existence as it took me a whole lot of searching to find it. I initially thought upon arriving that there'd be signs posted indicating a private course, but did not find any such indication. Nonetheless, if you're from outside the area, you should only consider checking this course out if you're an extreme bagger like me.