I just got back from a quick trip to Alabama to see family and play golf. My uncle moved down to Decatur a few years ago and insisted we play a round at his home course, Point Mallard. It's a muni, part of a huge park, and walking distance from his house. I Googled it and saw a $22 weekday greens fee. I did a GCA search, and found no mentions of it. I figured I'd enjoy a round with good company on a forgettable golf course.
Instead, I came away totally charmed after a beautiful and easy 3 hour stroll along the Tennessee River. I found a varied set of holes, where my 30 handicap cousin could almost always find his ball but with plenty of challenge for the stronger player. In particular, the greens stood out as having bold contours that created some really interesting shots.
The view from the practice green, looking down 18 and across the course, gives an idea of what you'll find. A low-lying, riverside setting, punctuated with trees but not so thick as to cause ball searches and squelch recovery chances:
Almost every hole allows for a runup option, but greenside bunkering varies throughout and the ideal angle for a running shot changes with it. Few will reach the green in regulation on the long par 4 10th, but the player who comes in from the right side will have a much better chance of running an approach through the opening. From there, the green's contours can work the ball closer to many hole locations, but fallaway edges will shunt away a misplayed ball.
I was smitten with the approach to 17. A shortish par 4, a small mound pokes up in front of the green's left-center. With the day's pin cut just behind it, a strong player must strike his wedge shot crisply to avoid the possibility of a bad ricochet. For the weaker player's running approach, a slope just right of the mound will funnel a shot toward left side hole locations, and positioning a tee shot to the right further opens up the angle. The bunkers in the photo below are behind the green.
For me, the standout green is the 5th. Coming at the end of a 450ish yard par 4, many will play a running shot to this semi-biarritz, offset maybe 20 degrees to the line of play and with fallaway edges all around. With not a bunker in sight, a fabulous array of recovery options exist. Each player in a fourball might choose a different club to attempt an up and down, but all will need to execute an excellent shot to pull it off.
On a course full of surprisingly cool greens and holes, the 5th green took the cake for me. When I saw it, I stopped in my tracks and took the photo above. Is there a cooler green in current state on a course that never costs more than $26 to play? And how many $26 peak-rate courses can hang with Point Mallard? Has anyone else played it? I strongly recommend it for an affordable, enjoyable round in the Decatur area. It's a classic example of a "golf doesn't need to be any better than this" course. I'd love to live walking distance from it myself.