Redstone Arsenal

Awesome course! An intermediate course with nice long holes and a few par 4s and one par 5. Really nice layout, nice baskets, and a good variety of different shots you can take! Really fun course, but ... show more ›

Awesome course! An intermediate course with nice long holes and a few par 4s and one par 5. Really nice layout, nice baskets, and a good variety of different shots you can take! Really fun course, but you do need a military ID to get in, or I've heard that you can also get a recreational pass and that works too.

A moderately wooded and moderately challenging layout. PROS: + RAW BEAUTY + One of the better looking courses in the area, I have it right up there with Indian creek. There's a cool 10 foot deep ... show more ›

A moderately wooded and moderately challenging layout.

PROS:
+ RAW BEAUTY + One of the better looking courses in the area, I have it right up there with Indian creek. There's a cool 10 foot deep creek gorge running along holes (3) and (4). There are lots of older trees and a nice amount of species diversity. Very few manmade structures in view along the layout, as there is a low use road in view and play along (9), (10) (11) (15) and (17). Parts of the course have backdrop views of Monte Sano on the eastern horizon.
+ CHARACTER + A touch above average. Nine holes have extra pin placements and Hole (8) has an additional front tee due to the length. There is a course map and community board at tee one but two holes have been added since its posting (oddly see pros, navigation). Tees weren't the greatest (see cons, tees) but they were almost all shaded and there were a few seating areas and garbage cans spaced along the layout. At the entry there is a porta potty and shelter with picnic tables.
+ SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY + This course manages to find the perfect middle ground between too easy and too hard. On my first play here, my group of 3 had one rec, one intermediate and one advanced level player, and I think we all enjoyed the layout.
+ CHALLENGING + Redstone reads as intermediate level difficulty. The pars 3s out here average less than 300 feet in length, but vary from under 200 feet to over 350 feet. Several holes require some well thought out lines. Hole (11) in particular has several lines to the basket but all the lines require the throw to be precisely thrown as intended. Hole (8) is a monster, a par 5 that will exceed 1100 feet in length if in the far basket position. The fairway on (8) is plenty wide, around 50 feet, but considering how far a player will want to bomb it down there, being offline could definitely occur. I made the mistake of over rotating on a flick shot and ended up in the so apply named "Valley of Death". It cost me 2 throws.
+ UNIQUENESS + Above average. As stated above, a monster par 5. There is also a short par 4 on (15), several 350 foot par 3s and also a few technical short ace runs. Several holes break to the left, but unfortunately only one or two break to the right. There is the possibility of water in play of the creek variety, but if it hasn't rained in two weeks, like on my first visit, the creek will likely be dry. Elevation is present, but it's mostly subdued (see cons, elevation). Players looking for some good elevation in Huntsville should check out Mastin Lake.
+ NAVIGATION + Overall not too bad, but there are some issues. First off, the course map on site is not up to date for the 21 hole format. Second, holes labeled (A), (B) and (C) are not sequentially placed after hole (18) or in a loop. Hole (A) is after (13), (B) is after (17) and (C) is after (18). In addition, the basket numbers for (A,B and C) are labeled (19, 20 and 21). I did however like the black spoke on the basket pointing in the direction of the next tee as it kept us from walking around aimlessly on the course. There are also several numbered short posts indicating the direction to the next tee.

CONS:
An older course needing a few renovations to shine once again.
- TEES - Some of oldest concrete tees I've ever played on. Several tees are being eaten away and have moss and algae growing in the pours. Tee (9) was very uneven. Holes (B) and (C) have no concrete pad at all and are just dirt. There are however newer pads poured on several holes and this needs to be repeated for the remainder of the holes.
- NOT A QUICK PLAY - This one is going to take a chunk of the day. My three sum spent two hours on just the course itself. In addition if you're not properly badged it can take some time to get through the secure access gates.
- ACCESS - Not having military clearance can make accessing this course difficult. I was fortunate to have a sponsor on my first play here and didn't have any issues to get on base. Supposedly, members of the Rocket City Chain Gang (local disc golf club) can get access to the course on Thursday through Sunday but I'm not entirely sure how the process works.
- LACK OF ELEVATION - Despite being located at the base Weeden Mountain which rises nearly 600 feet above and along the west side of the course, little was done to encroach the course further up the slope. The max any hole changes out here is less than 20 feet. I was expecting a lot more considering its location.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
Several people I have met in Huntsville consider Redstone to be the city's top course. Although I personally have it rated as the city's second top course, it's still right up there with Indian Creek IMO. In addition, I would also consider Redstone to be a top ten course in the state of Alabama having now played half of the listed Alabama courses.