With three new courses now open, DeKalb County, Alabama, is suddenly a disc-golf destination

Since 2022, Fyffe, Rainsville and Henagar — all growing municipalities located along Alabama Hwy. 75 on Sand Mountain — have each constructed new disc golf courses. Disc golfers from across the region are finding the variety to be alluring.

Veteran disc golfers from northeast Alabama no longer have to travel to northwest Georgia, Huntsville or Chattanooga to enjoy high quality disc golf courses. They can hone their skills close to home.

The first to be built in DeKalb County, a nine-hole course on the north side of the Fyffe Town Park opened in summer 2022. In March 2023, a short 18-hole course opened at the Henagar City Park. Third, Rainsville’s pro-length18-hole course, which is not yet officially open, works its way around a spacious city-owned property.

The Fyffe UFO Park Disc Golf Course

The nine-hole Fyffe course sits on a lovely green space with an engaging mix of short and medium-length holes. The par-28 course has eight par-3s plus a par-4 with a pond. Only one hole is under 200-ft. in length. All that is found on a five-acre triangle-shaped tract of land that has been owned by the Town of Fyffe since 2015.

Adjacent to the high-school baseball field, it’s the perfect place to try the fast-growing sport for the first time and for newer players to have a ton of fun. Experienced players like the way it requires them to work their shots around, or between, tall trees, while sometimes avoiding water and out-of-bounds areas. Making par is quite easy on seven holes. Better players will make a few birdies on those.

Birdies are rare on the other two holes: the 400-plus ft. no. 2 with it’s tree-lined pond and the uphill no. 5. Those are more challenging. 

Trees come into play on all but hole no. 8. There are a large number of mature loblolly and longleaf pines, and a few big hardwoods on the property. 

At 2,374 total feet from tees to baskets, the Fyffe UFO Park Disc Golf Course has seven brick tee pads. The no. 3 and no. 4 tees have never been installed, so you will throw from the dirt on those. In addition, the sign for the no. 8 tee shows an island that must be reached to avoid a penalty shot, but there is no such island.

Holes no. 1, 4, 5, and 6 have red mando arrow signs. Mando — short for mandatory — means you are required to throw your disc to the left or right of the marked obstacle to avoid a one-stroke penalty and then having to throw from the drop zone.

A summertime tournament is held there on the Saturday of the Fyffe UFO Day Festival. The course layout was designed by Fyffe’s own Jake Harris.

Fyffe UFO Park Disc Golf Course page on udisc.com

Professional Disc Golf Association page

The Henagar Log Cabin Disc Golf Course

This city park is almost 15 acres in size with a mix of dense trees and grassy areas. There are tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, two ball fields, an event venue, a stage, a swimming pool and parking lots. Almost eight acres could be considered part of the disc golf course. 

It features all par-3s, with five holes under 200 ft. making it a very short course. But, due to the large number of trees on 13 of the holes, lots of out-of-bounds areas and other obstacles, it’s considered to be technical. On five holes, there are alternate ”pro” tees for some added distance. Everyone — pros, intermediate players and beginners — will hit some trees. Hole no. 2 could have been completely free of trees and other obstacles, but they added a triple mando box that your tee shot must pass through:

The shortest hole, no. 6, has mando signs marking a narrow gap between two trees. No. 4, 8, 12 and 16 also have mando signs on trees. Located next to Hwy. 75, no. 9 has a mando sign on a utility pole on the right and a stream on the left. On no. 1 and 18, wild shots can cross a pasture fence. The ball park fence is close and out of bounds on 7. The stream is out of bounds on 11 and 12. Gravel paths and parking lots are also OB. Holes no. 13 and 17 have strips of grass that are considered mandatory islands.

All these mandatory throws, islands and OBs make birdies and pars more challenging on this 4,332-ft. par-54 course which would otherwise be quite easy for a lot of players.

On no. 14, the tee is on the log cabin porch and the basket is on a three-tiered wooden deck:

Before throwing from the porch, you must make sure the coast is clear, as you don’t want to hit people who may be using the walking trail. It’s a short shot, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Also, a wild shot here could end up on the ball field, tennis court or basketball court.

The annual Sand Mountain Potato Festival is held at the park each 4th of July. For much of that day, there will be too many people around some of the holes — especially no. 13 and 14 — so do not plan to play all 18 holes that day. There may be other days when you probably shouldn’t try to play all the holes, including when Christmas decorations are placed in the center of the park.

Tournaments have been held here in the spring and fall. Spring and fall leagues also provide another form of competition for the growing northeast Alabama disc golfing community. The course was designed by Jake Harris of Fyffe.

Henagar Log Cabin Disc Golf Course page on udisc.com

Professional Disc Golf Association page

The Rainsville Disc Golf Course

NOTE: The Rainsville Disc Golf Course should officially open sometime in mid or late May 2024.

This new par-60 course is one of the longest disc golf courses in the region. It features the monstrous 1,024-ft. par-5 no. 3 hole, two par-4s that are each over 600-ft. and five par-3s that are each over 340 ft. (Remember, the longest hole at Henagar from the regular tees is 330 ft.). The city owns nearly 93 acres where you’ll find the Northeast Alabama Agri-Business Center, the Rainsville Field of Dreams Sports Complex, and now, the Rainsville Disc Golf Course. You will meander through about 19 of those acres while playing disc golf here.

The course is 1.4 total miles in length from tees to baskets. By the time you walk between holes and locate your discs, you will walk well over two miles. And, it’s not flat.

You start and finish at a large gravel parking lot. A farmers market pavilion with two batting cages and bathrooms, and a football field, are in that area. Ledbetter Lane — shown as Rodeo Lane on some maps — is one of two streets that people use to get to the busy youth ball parks, Agri-Business Center, playground  and other facilities. Holes no. 1 to 6 are on the south side of that street, and 7 to 18 are on the north side.

There are many challenges other than the length. Eleven of the holes require you to throw into densely wooded areas. On no. 11, a wide pond is on the right, requiring a tee shot that travels over 300 ft. in order to clear the water. It will need to land on the dam if shorter than 300 ft. On holes no. 1, 3 and 4, wild shots could end up in the small creek. You’re throwing across the creek on no. 4, 6, 7 and 8. The pond’s concrete spillway is OB on no. 10 and 11. On no. 18, your tee shot goes towards a large grassy area in front of the stage where the annual Rainsville Freedom Fest is held each summer on the last Saturday of June. Don’t plan to play that hole on the day of that festival.

The course was designed by Stacey Sanford along with Certified Master Designer and 1994 World Disc Golf Hall of Fame inductee Lavone Wolfe.

Rainsville Disc Golf Course page on udisc.com

DeKalb County’s three new disc golf courses are all found within a 15-mile radius. A large number of people in the Fort Payne, Rainsville, Fyffe and Henagar areas have taken up the sport as a new hobby since these courses starting popping up in the county. Many others will likely give it a try. In addition, a good number of disc golfers from Georgia, Tennessee and other parts of Alabama are now traveling to Sand Mountain to play, especially for the league and tournaments that have been held in Henagar. 

Guntersville and Albertville in neighboring Marshall County also have disc golf courses. Now, with over half a dozen courses between Lake Guntersville and the Sand Mountain city of Henagar, more and more people will be playing in northeast Alabama. 

Did you know that the Huntsville area, north Alabama’s largest metropolitan area, has over a dozen disc golf courses including one that was built way back in 1976?