Like most nine hole school courses, Cuthbertson Middle School is a short course built for primarily younger players. This makes it a beginner friendly course, with its shorter fairways. More experienced players would likely have a chance at birdie on every hole. The course has tee signs next to natural tees, and DISCatcher baskets on every hole. The only time a map on the tee sign would be useful is Hole 7, because it is tucked to the left, out of sight. Every other hole, the basket is visible from the tee. Navigation is fairly simple, though from where I parked it made more sense to play Hole 9 first, and finish on Hole 8.

Cuthbertson Middle School stands out compared to other, similarly designed courses due to its variety in terms of elevation used, and the amount of wooded holes. Holes 3, 4, 5, & 6 are all wooded, and Holes 2 & 7 start into the woods from an open tee shot. Holes 5 & 7 play uphill, Holes 1, 3, & 6 play downhill.

The course forced you to throw at various angles too, it's not just one straight tee shot after another. Holes 3 & 7 really highlight this with their curved fairways, though it looks like there might be a "local route" that has been used on Hole 3.

Hole 8 is in a rough spot at the moment. At 314' long, it is far and away the longest hole on the course. The natural tee here is in fairly rough shape, the tee shot throws over a service road, and the basket looks like it's been run into by one of said service vehicles. Plus, if a player here turned their drive over, their disc could sail across the fence and into the retention pond. I decided to purposefully hold back on my drive, because it was a particularly windy day when I played here, and I could easily imagine my disc turning too much and heading straight into the drink.

Holes 4 & 5 play pretty close to the backyards of neighboring houses. An errant drive or unfortunate kick could send a disc onto private property.

I personally liked the concept of Hole 6, it is a nice ace run hole with a fence behind the basket to stop your disc from heading into the pond. (Unless you throw it too high and sail over the fence.) However, I think the hole could have been a bit more exciting if the tee was moved back a bit. As it stands, it didn't make much sense to go for the ace, because a jump putt was all that was needed to get into putting range. Sailing past the basket would have turned an almost guaranteed birdie into a probable par.

The course is obviously limited to play when the school is closed, and as such this course lacks the amenities of other public courses. No restrooms, no water fountains, etc.

I am going to give Cuthbertson Middle School a 1.5 rating. It offers a lot of variety, and likely does a great job creating a fun round for newer players. However, it would struggle to provide much more than fun approach practice for more experienced players. Which is fine, because these are not the players this course was designed for. Though I will say that if two or three of the holes were maybe 30 to 50 feet longer, I would probably feel inclined to give a slightly higher score.

Either way, Cuthbertson Middle is an excellent option for beginners in the Waxhaw area who are looking for decent variety, and a quick round. It could also be combined with Waxhaw DGC for a fun day of golf, completely suitable for beginners.

Favorite Holes: 5 & 7

Cuthbertson Middle School is a very short, beginner-level course. It's a great course for kids and a solid practice location for more experienced players.
- Very beginner friendly course. The nine holes average only 162 feet. Take away the one long hole - #8 at 314 feet - and the other eight holes only average 143 feet. So, big arms are not needed at all here.
- Course puts a big emphasis on accuracy. For an average-skilled player or above, every hole should be birdie-able. You hit a tree or two in the woods, and it's actually frustrating to not even have a birdie putt.
- Course is very easy to navigate. The hardest part was finding where to park. From there, paths from one basket to next tee, and easy to spot tee signs.
- Tee signs are great. This is a place where you wouldn't need signs and you could still navigate the course no problem. Signs are descriptive, have next hole arrows on them, pretty much everything you need. I wish more course would have signs this good.
- Decent variety of hole layouts, about as good as you can do with such a short course. You've got several open holes, several wooded holes, three doglegs (two left, one right) and three holes with elevation (two up, one down).
- If you live close by, this is a really good spot to practice. There are fields/open to practice throwing longer shots, plus several open field baskets (#1, 8 & 9) for you to practice putting or approach shots.
- This is a very quick course to squeeze in nine or 18, or more, holes. I played through twice in just under 35 minutes. If I hadn't been carrying my bag, it would have been quicker. This is a course you can easily play with only one or two discs.

It was really hard to find any problems with this course. The designers did about as well as one could with such a small space and holes being so short. So, to nitpick, here's what I'll point out:
- #6 is a bad hole, even by beginner level courses. 100 foot downhill shot along the walking path. Basically, I let my shot slide downhill to the basket for a tap-in 2. Even pushing the hole 30 - 50 feet further back would eliminate that type shot, forcing a player to throw something a little more challenging. Any average player who gets more than a 2 on this hole is going to feel like they've lost a stroke.
- Natural tee pads. It's only a semi-issue on the one long hole - #8 - where you actually need a run-up. The other holes you can pretty much throw without moving your feet, or just having a one-step run-up.
- This seems like a perfect place for poison ivy and snakes. I wasn't surprised when I saw a black snake on the edge of the tall grass on #7. As for the poison ivy, if you get off the fairways on the wooded holes, there's enough small growth that you have to pay attention to where you're stepping.
- No trash cans or benches. Only stating this just to point it out. Honestly though, if you need a bench while playing these nine holes, it's time to hit the gym.
- And as is always the case with school courses, it's closed during school hours.

In terms of challenge, Cuthbertson is about what I expected. A lot of easy holes, a couple of decent ones, with some fun thrown in. For local comparison, it's on the same level as Fewell Park in Rock Hill and Pinewood Elementary in Charlotte.
- The two best holes on the course, and the only two I could see on a more challenging course, are the two uphill holes - #5 & 7. #5 is a 191 foot straight shot, with trees in the middle of the fairway. #7 is a dogleg left, starting in the open, with the basket in the woods. Both, obviously, play longer because they're uphill shots, so you actually need to put a little effort into your tee shots here.
- As mentioned, this one is clearly for the kids and beginners. More advanced players will have to find other ways to make a challenge here - ace race, practice, safari golf, etc.
- A nice added challenge to the three true open holes (#1, 8 & 9) was that there seemed to be a nice-cross breeze coming from the open field. It's similar to the cross breeze that always seems to be taking place at Mint Hill DGC on holes #1 & 9.
- I understand the reasons why others have inflated their ratings for this course, but I disagree with those. Does this course achieve its intended goal? Absolutely. If that's what this site was for, then I'd completely agree with all the 3 and higher ratings. I'm rating this course overall, so I hope people understand and appreciate that my 1.5 rating isn't a knock on the design, designers or all the work that went into this place. It's simply a reflection of how this course compares to every other course I've played, all factors concerned.
- If you live close by, you should be taking advantage of this course, regardless of skill level. If you live further away, the only reason to play this course is to add it to your 'played list.'