I was all set to give Browns Mill four stars, but there was just way too much geese poop on the course to justify that. Aside from that, the course is a great value and has been in good condition the times I've played it. Some holes are so beautiful that you'd never think you are playing golf on a muni in the south side of Atlanta. This is one of about a half dozen courses owned by the city. I've always liked it a lot better than Bobby Jones, which I believe as of recently is no longer city-owned.
At the time of writing this review, regular weekend/holiday rates before twilight are $42.50 per golfer and $37.50 per golfer if you are a City of Atlanta resident. These prices don't include a $1.50 reservation fee if you book up to seven days in advance nor city tax. The last time I played here, I booked through GolfNow for $37.04 per golfer ($31.99 per golfer + taxes and fees). Not bad for a Saturday morning round. Inside the clubhouse, I purchased a small basket of range balls for $5.40 and a Gatorade for $3.23.
This is a basic course. The clubhouse is small and no frills. There are no locker rooms, no separate grill/restaurant, and no beverage cart. The pro shop has a limited selection of shoes and apparel and some food and drink including hot dogs on rollers. Attached to the pro shop is a lounge area with a projection TV.
There are two practice putting greens, one on either side of the clubhouse. They were in decent shape. You don't actually putt into holes, but instead target above-ground pins. That's one way to cut down on maintenance costs. The practice green on the back nine was covered in geese poop.
We saw a lot of geese on the course during our round and unfortunately, that means a lot of droppings. Some tee boxes, swaths of fairway, and greens had a lot of geese poop on them. I remember the 18th tee in particular looked like a war zone of geese poop. It was hard to find a suitable place to tee off just because of all the droppings everywhere. They need to do a better job cleaning that up.
The carts (electric) were fine. Plenty of power and clean enough.
The driving range wasn't very nice. There were weeds galore, but at least the hitting areas were grass and the grass was cut to fairway length.
During our last round, the course was in good condition. Most of the greens were in great shape. I only remember one problem green that had lots of dirt/sand patches towards the end of the back nine. The fairways and tee boxes were in decent shape too.
For a Georgia course, the holes are pretty level with minor elevation changes. There are several flat, wide open landing areas and not a whole lot of trees except for a stretch on the front nine. There are three ponds which come into play on almost half the holes. I'd say the course has a fairly straightforward, but enjoyable layout that is not too challenging and is great for all skill levels. It's not terribly long either. From the tips, it measures 6,539 yards with a 70.9/123 rating/slope.
I do recall seeing one set of restrooms on the course and there are ball washers at every hole.
Most of the staff I've encountered (pro shop, starter) have been polite and friendly.
Browns Mill isn't located in the nicest part of town, but I've never felt unsafe playing here. However, it should be noted the parking lot does have signs that say, "Park at your own risk." read more