A school course (or is it really a course?) epitomizing most of the worst things you think of when "school" mixes with disc golf.

This is one of those places where the biggest pro you can think of is that it exists. There are nine baskets strewn throughout the schoolyard which could be used by students, or other youngsters on the weekends.

The baskets are solid. Numbered DISCatchers make it easy to follow the flow of the course as designed.

Barring a throw over a fence or into a window, there aren't any patches of rough that could make it hard to find a disc, take a footing, or avoid nature. The grass was well-trimmed on my appearance.

There are also a few obstacles throughout - about three trees, and some man-made structures like poles and playgrounds to induce some level of shaping.

A classical Schrodinger's course that is simultaneously a course and not a course.

The quintessential feature of a Schrodinger's course is the lack of tees. Catawba Trail is no exception. There were tee signs pasted on the border fence for holes (7) and (8) that didn't reflect the tee locations according to UDisc. Other than that, no indication whatsoever of designated teeing areas. And forget comfort items. It's just you, a disc, and a basket that may well yield an easy and practically worthless ace.

Supposing you do try to follow the GPS layout, it's not exactly fun. Wide open jump-putt or short approach shots are mixed in with some turning shots working around man-made obstacles, like a school building, security camera, or playground. Hole (7) adds the tantalizing possibility of busting a window on the building. This is the height of safety issues, especially when considering that during recess this place is probably crawling with hapless youngsters just waiting to take a frisbee to the head.

Furthermore, the entire course is bordered by chain link fence that would be easy to fly over. This seems like a potential source of major frustration to first-time throwers trying out discs.

Is a collection of baskets with a UDisc map but no tees a course? My answer is both yes and no: it's a Schrodinger's course. Like the cat in the box that is simultaneously dead and alive, so this place is simultaneously a course and not a course (at least until the PDGA "opens the box" by making an official definition, I guess).

Is it a good addition? I honestly have no clue, but I suspect no. Certainly it serves no purpose other than catering to the smallest of arms, and even that it does poorly. This is a Bad course…or not.

~Similar Courses: The open sections of Dupree Park (Woodstock, GA); H.E. Corley Elementary (Irmo, SC).

Catawba Trails Elementary is a simple, pitch-and-putt course. With nine holes playing along the school building, this one is clearly for the kids or anyone practicing the short game.
- Short, easy course. One hole (#7) is 204 feet. Every other hole - with a listed distance or not - are all much shorter than that, with none probably playing much longer than 125 feet.
- Great course for kids. Most holes are wide open without any obstacles. #4 has a couple trees near the basket; #8 plays around/near a canopied area. Other than that, this is an overly uncomplicated layout and a solid way to introduce kids to the game.
- Good place to practice your short game. There's enough room here to practice approach shots and putting. If you live nearby, that might be the most (and only) appealing part of this course.
- Good for a quick round. I spent more time trying to find the tees for each hole than I did actually playing the holes themselves. One could easily play through twice in less than 30 minutes, and possibly three times in that amount of time.

The actual layout/flow of the course is a bit awkward. From the parking lot, you walk past the basket for #5 to get to the first tee. -- On an aside, the tees are all on portions of the sidewalk/concreted areas. Look for the spray-painted yellow boxes. -- From there, you play away from the building for holes #2 - 6. I couldn't find a 'tee area' for #6 even after searching for 10 minutes. Hole #7 plays behind the building, with some long walks involved. The baskets for #8 & 9 are almost right next to each other - you play #8, then essentially backtrack down #9's 'fairway' to turn around and throw. Then you walk back around the building to the parking lot. I guess kids need exercise, so the walking is good for them.
- My biggest concern with the course is how the fence comes into play on almost every hole, and how this could be a detriment to kids. It's only a three or four foot high fence, so it's easy to jump. If kids are playing disc golf during recess, A. their accuracy probably isn't as good as more experienced players, and B. I don't know if teachers let them jump the fence to get to their disc. Seems like this could be a frustrating issue for all involved.
- Lack of signage. Only four of nine holes had a tee sign, and of those, they weren't even that close to the tee area. It'd be easier to have smaller signs, so they could be placed closer to the tee areas, which would benefit all players. Also, not being able to find the tee area for #6 was annoying, as was the trying to remind myself this course didn't follow a natural disc golf course design flow.

Catawba Trails' course is clearly for the kids. There wasn't one average hole on the course, with only a couple even being semi-interesting. That's mainly due to the lack of space, obstacles and terrain the designer(s) had to work with.
- I took it as a bad sign when a course is three years old, and only four people on this site had marked it as played. Clearly none, other than me, is making an effort to head out of the way to play this. At least it only added 15 minutes to my drive.
- Unless you live in the immediate area and will take advantage of using the baskets for practice, there's nothing this course has to add to your disc golf scene. Enjoy kids. This one's for you!