Flying Dragon

A heavily wooded technical course. PROS: + COURSE UPDATE + From reading a bunch of reviews, there appears to have been a sizable update towards the end of 2016. There are several reviews that had rightfully mentioned the con for the re-use of fairways. However, the re-use of the fairways is no longer present, and the Flying Dragon is now a full 18 hole course with 18 stand-alone fairways. + RAW BEAUTY + Wow is this course is charming. I pulled out my camera several times to snap pictures ...
continue reading ›

A heavily wooded technical course.

PROS:
+ COURSE UPDATE + From reading a bunch of reviews, there appears to have been a sizable update towards the end of 2016. There are several reviews that had rightfully mentioned the con for the re-use of fairways. However, the re-use of the fairways is no longer present, and the Flying Dragon is now a full 18 hole course with 18 stand-alone fairways.
+ RAW BEAUTY + Wow is this course is charming. I pulled out my camera several times to snap pictures. The larger field stones on many holes have bright green moss on them and its appearance really added a euphoric touch that I wasn’t expecting. Of the 43 courses I’ve played in Alabama as of this review, I have Flying Dragon slotted as the fifth most beautiful behind Inverness, Clay, Joe Wheeler and The Eagle.
+ EXTRA BASKETS + 5 holes have extra baskets (3), (5), (11), (12) and (17). Definitely a bonus to see a feature like this as it adds an extra element skill level friendliness. The course map indicated an extra basket on hole (14) as well, but it was not there on my October 2017 round.
+ CHARACTER + Above average. In addition to the extra baskets, it was great to see two practice baskets spaced 200 feet apart. Great updated course map and community board on the approach to tee (1). Tees weren’t the greatest (see cons) but they were almost all shaded and there were a few seating areas and garbage cans spaced along the layout.
+ NAVIGATION + I had only a couple backtracking issues but it was partially my fault by starting on hole (3) and not being there to snap a photo of the course map. A lot of the walks between holes have an intuitive path to take and there are next tee directional arrows on the hole signage.
+ CHALLENGING + I loved the intensity of the needle lines on this course. There were several times I stood on the tee only to walk off and grab another disc. Being able to perform magic tricks may seem like the only way to run it to the basket clean. I played the short baskets out here and just cracked par as an intermediate level player. Advanced players playing to the back baskets will probably average two or three down. So with this in mind, the back baskets read as advanced and the front baskets read as intermediate. Rec players who can throw straight but lack distance will probably enjoy the engaging challenges as well.
+ UNIQUENESS + About average, but for courses without elevation or water features, really good. To start, lots of crafty tunnel shots. There are several twisting fairways in both directions. Some are abrupt pockets while others are gradual bends. There is one par 4 on (12) which I would consider a moderate dogleg. There is one shot which starts in the woods and ends in an open field, hole (14). (14s) basket also kind of lies in a sinkhole surrounded by bedrock. It was a very fun and unique basket condition to putt at. Finally, I’ll mention (18), which is definitely the oddball in the layout as it’s the only open shot. There is lots of beautiful landscaping along this hole but the ending looks like a built-up dirt pile.

CONS:
Only a couple issues with flying dragon, but the first three noted below are correctable.
- TEES - They are artificial turf over gravel. From the old pictures I looked at, they appeared to look great at one time, but that is no longer the case. Several holes are uneven now and are beginning to show pitting. A few of the holes have completely lost the artificial canvas and are now straight up gravel tees. Hole (14s) tee which incorporates a slab of natural stone looks great on appearance, but is a bit sketchy to throw from. All stated, these tees are still much better than natural tees. It would be nice to update these tees to concrete in the next year as their condition will increasingly become more of an issue.
- OPEN HOURS - What horrible park hours. The park gates close at 4PM on weekdays and do not open on weekends unless there’s a special event. The disc golf course itself is open from sunrise to sundown.
- PARKING - Players that choose to play here when the park gates are closed, say a Saturday afternoon, they will have to park their car 1500 feet away from tee (1). There is also a sign warning of towing for vehicles left after sunset.
- TERRAIN - Players that have bad knees or ankles should probably avoid of playing here. There are lots of rocks on many fairways and I personally smacked a couple smaller stumps and tree roots. Despite being mostly flat, this course does not appear to be cart friendly.
- NO ELEVATION - As stated above, this course is on a really flat site. I don’t think any of the holes change more than ten feet, up or down.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Players with under 50 rounds in the bag should stay clear of this course. Way too may tight lines for players not adjusted to releasing at a consistent point. The Flying Dragon should be a good course for recreation players, especially those players that enjoy a tough challenge and those who won’t easily get frustrated when they hit a tree on 4 or 5 consecutive tee shots.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
Players that prefer technical courses will love this place. It won’t coddle players throwing errant shots every which way direction like at many other sports complex courses I’ve played. Players that do however prefer the more open and forgiving layouts should consider nearby Sparkman Park. There is still room for improvement at the Flying Dragon, especially with the tees. I could definitely see myself uping the rating to B at a future date if the course continues to improve. I definitely look forward to playing here again.
- QUICK PLAY - Expect a typical four sum to play a round in about two hours, give or take.
‹ less text