One of the best courses I've ever played, and no doubt one of the top courses in Alabama, if not the best. I've also played highly rated Clay and George Ward in the Birmingham area, and IMO, Invernes ...
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One of the best courses I've ever played, and no doubt one of the top courses in Alabama, if not the best. I've also played highly rated Clay and George Ward in the Birmingham area, and IMO, Inverness is clearly the top course of the three.
PROS:
+ TECHNICAL ACE RUNS + Several downhill shots that are just filled with thrilling suspense. The front tees have several technical sub 250 foot ace runs. Watching your disc glide through these well defined downhill lines is heart thumping. Most of these runs need a well thought out line with proper execution to run it to the basket clean.
+ CHALLENGING + The blue tees here look insanely difficult. Several +350 foot par 3s that weave through a 15 foot lane. Missing the lane early is almost certain bogey or worse. In addition, there are several tight 90 degree placement dogleg par 4s. The doglegs cut both ways and sometimes even introduce a finishing pocket shot with a fast green. My guess would be that only players with a rating over a 975 rating will crack par from the backs on a routine basis.
+ SHOT SHAPING + A requirement on just about every hole. You'll probably look in your bag sometimes and wonder if you can throw a disc that will move the way you need it too. I really appreciated the amount of thought I had to put into my throws. Some courses you'll play, any disc or angle will do on many holes. Not the case here at Inverness.
+ EPIC HOLES + Several holes on this layout could be the signature hole for 90% of the courses out there. I keep a running list of my top 50 favorite holes and I had to drop 5 holes off the list. My favorite 5 holes in order were (18), (9), (10), (2) and (1). Hole (18) is an amazing 80 foot (source topoquest.com) downhill tunnel shot that finishes over an eight foot wide creek. What an incredible way to punctuate a layout.
+ RAW BEAUTY + Stunning, and in my top 5 as of this review (225 courses played). There are well-designed beautifully carved wooden fairways, loads of elevation changes and a plethora of downhill views. A few views of ponds and creeks as well. There are just about no manmade structures in view through the entire layout. Hole (6) was pretty much the only average looking hole. The other 17 holes are all gems.
+ CHARACTER + Full of amenities and extras. To start, a great community board with course map and a disc return box. Two sets of great concrete tees at each hole and they are both long and wide. The tees are also fully shaded along the layout and there is very nice seating at every hole. Hole signage is appealing and informative. Alternate basket placements at every hole and the tee signs incorporate basket placement indicators. As for things I didn't see, no practice basket or restrooms, but I may have missed them in my haste.
+ NAVIGATION + Not to bad for a course this wooded. I took a picture of the course map and I got turned around only once, which was after hole (1). Be on the lookout for colored rectangles on the trees. They are everywhere and they will direct you to the appropriate tee. The red rectangle is for the red tee and the blue rectangle is for the blue tee. I'm not sure what the white rectangles are for. Perhaps from a time when there was only one set of tees. Tee signs also indicate path to next tee.
+ UNIQUENESS + Well above average. As stated, lots of elevation changes, although a vast majority are downhill shots. Water will come into play on (16) and (18) and possibly (5) depending on the basket placement. There are three 90 degree dogleg par 4s from the blue tees. Two are to the left and one is to the right. There are lots of tunnel fairways, basket windows, tee gaps and pockets to hit. There are also several fast greens where an aggressive putt from the high side could lead to two more throws. Missing items include an open bomb-it play and a par 5. Hole (12) is however labeled a par 5 at 593 feet, but I don’t count it. (1) and (2) are the same length and are par 4s and are more challenging.
CONS:
Inverness's issues are limited to just the side effects that make a top caliber courses. All my other listed cons are just nit picking and have minimal to no effect on my ratings.
- FORGIVENESS - All the fairways widths and lines to the basket appeared fair to me on my first play. However, missing you line can have disastrous consequences. On my first drive (short tee), I ever so slightly pushed it right and caught a branch 200 feet down fairway and it kicked further right. Not a good place to be as the right side slides down 60 to 80 feet at a 45 degree angle. Getting to my disc was an adventure in its self. This is just one example of numerous places not to throw a disc. The overgrowth can be heavy in spots and losing a disc, or just deciding to leave one in an irretrievable location, is a real possibility. Playing the shorts with alleviate some of this issue, but not it all.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Way too difficult for beginners and perhaps some recreational players as well. If you haven't played over a hundred rounds of disc golf, this course will eat you alive. There are 2 sets of tees, Blues (advanced) and Reds (recreational). But they play more like Gold (pros) and Whites (intermediate). As a player with about a 900 rating, I think the red tees gave me all the challenge I needed. The one downside of throwing the Reds is that only two holes during my round were at placements over 300 feet (2 and 8). Thus player the reds may mean that your driver could spend the entire time in the bag. I personally only brought out a driver 3 times. (1, 2 and 8)
- TERRAIN - If you have bad knees or ankles I'd stay clear of this course. There are lots of rocks and roots to stub a toe or twist an ankle on. Probably not the best course for the disc golf cart, you'd need some big wheels.
- PARKING - Sand and gravel, but I've seen much worse. Don't bring your newly washed Bentley out here, It will get dirty.
- TIME PLAY - Inverness is going to take a chunk out of your day. This one took me over an hour solo playing the front tees. I could see a group of four seasoned players playing the back teed at around 3 hours.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
An absolutely astonishing course. Inverness is a technical player’s dream layout and it had me reliving my shots for nights after. This course was briefly the highest rated course I had ever scored but I played Rollin Ridge (Rated 9th in the world on Discgolfscene as of this review) 4 days later. Inverness does do a couple things better or on par with Rollin Ridge. For one, the most fun downhill technical ace runs I've ever played. Two, the fast greens at Inverness are thrillingly gut checking. Lastly, I think the back tees at Inverness are just as challenging as Rollin Ridge's black to black configuration.