Indian Creek

Bring your upshot skills to this gem to keep your score low. A big accurate arm will help, but accuracy rules-the-day at Indian Creek where the woods or creek will grab your disc in the blink of an ey ... show more ›

Bring your upshot skills to this gem to keep your score low. A big accurate arm will help, but accuracy rules-the-day at Indian Creek where the woods or creek will grab your disc in the blink of an eye. This course was designed for the pro, but still fun for the amateur. If you are an amateur golfer, then play smart with tactical drives. Avoid the wet season if you don't like a few soggy holes. Bring long socks just in case the grass is long. You will need to watch the walkers and bikers because this park is getting popular. The pro needs to always go for the 500+ hole 18 for the challenge. The amateur can get the par 4 on the 600+ mid-course hole, but it will take two good drives. My favorite hole is all of them just because each one is rewarding if you make that par or birdie. If you can't throw 250 feet accurately then expect to throw ten over if each hole is a par 3. This golf course is my first choice when I want to refine those key skills and need a measurement on how well I am improving or not. Give yourself two hours, focus hard, and laugh at yourself if you lose a disc or drop one in the drink.

Generally regarded as Huntsville's best, offering a good challenge, unique holes and coddling amenities. PROS: + CHARACTER + Indian Creek has the most extras compared to all the other Huntsville c ... show more ›

Generally regarded as Huntsville's best, offering a good challenge, unique holes and coddling amenities.

PROS:
+ CHARACTER + Indian Creek has the most extras compared to all the other Huntsville courses. Great course map and community board on the way to (1). Seating at every hole and there is also nice signage as well. The tees are concrete and in good condition. They are 5 feet wide by 12 feet long. The Baskets are in great shape. Three holes have multiple tees and 13 holes have alternate basket placements. Also, shelters with picnic tables and restrooms. Please note, several reviews noted extra baskets on some holes. There are no longer any extra baskets other than on hole (18) if throwing towards the practice basket.
+ CHALLENGING + IMO the second most difficult layout in Huntsville after Monte Sano. To me the course reads as intermediate level. It's an even mix of power holes and precision holes. I was able to shoot one under on my first two attempts here and I'm a 900 rated player. My guess is that the typical 950 rated advanced player will average 5 to 6 down here. Intermediate players will likely throw around even.
+ UNIQUENESS + Indian Creek has among the best hole type variety in the Huntsville area. Completely open through heavily wooded holes. Water comes into play a couple times on holes (15) and (18) depending on basket placement. There are some deep twisting pockets to hit and a few full funnel fairways. Several par 4s and one of them has an over the top play with a row of trees completely guarding the basket from normal elevated shots, (10). Elevation is here, but it's a mild factor. The one drawback on this layout though is the over abundance of wider than normal fairways compared to the top rated courses.
+ NAVIGATION + Not too bad. There's a great course map that I took a picture of before I started my fist round here and I had to refer to it several times (see cons, Discontinuity.) Hole signage has next tee direction arrows on them and there are a few directional cues scattered along the layout. Unfortunately, the hole signage is starting to deteriorate a bit on a few holes. Please note that if you ever make hole signage, putting wood behind Plexiglas traps moisture and it will rot the sign from within. It's a shame, as it appears they spent some coin on these signs.
+ SIGNATURE HOLE + Hole (14) is awesome. A 400 foot par 4 tunnel shot that plays down around 30 feet.
+ SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY + Although not a recreation level course or a pro level course, the course somehow manages to provide a prefect middle ground with just the one set of tees on most of the holes. The odds of losing a disc is low, great for recreation players. Several fairways are long enough and tight enough to provide a challenge to lower end advanced players.
+ NATURAL BEAUTY + The natural beauty of this course is top notch. Among the better ones I've seen in North Alabama. A few holes have of cool terrain, lots of mild sloping fairways and a few fully wooded areas. A nice looking large creek runs through the layout. I really wish more baskets used this element but it's current is pretty swift, so I suppose it was mostly omitted for safety reasons.

CONS:
No issues of substance with Indian Creek. It's a solid course through and though.
- DISCONTINUITY - This course a has a bunch of long transitions between holes that exceed 200 feet. Be sure and take a picture of the course map or have a printed one. It's needed here.
- ELEVATION - Probably the second best course in town the elevation usage, but a far cry from elevation awesomeness. The max change on any one holes is around 30 feet. There's a couple good down shots on (7) and (14). Hole (9) is a lengthy par 4 that runs up probably 30 feet in grade to the far basket.
- TIME PLAY - This course takes the longest to play in Huntsville and it wears me out. Well over an hour solo and 2 1/2 to 3 hours for group of four. Players looking for a quick 18 in town should check out Brahan Springs.
- WIND - Several holes have very wide fairways on top of a rolling hillside. Wind will be more of a pronounced issue here than at other surrounding courses.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
Having played all the area courses, IMO this is the top course in the Huntsville area, with Redstone being a close second. I have been asking area players their favorite course and I have definitely gotten the most votes for Indian Creek. Even when it isn't a players top choice, it's generally their second favorite. Regardless of skill level, players visiting the area should definitely place Indian Creek high on their list for courses to check out. The course just about offers everything most seasoned and well traveled players want in a destination course, Fun, challenge, beauty and shot diversity.