Elon Park is home to two separate CDGC courses, Angry Beaver being the longer, more challenging one. From what I was able to collect before my round, I was expecting a course slightly worse than Charlotte's big 3, but easily better than Scrapyard or Eastway. However during/after my round, I noticed that the course has been changed slightly, maybe over the past couple year(s)?
-From what I could tell, the course used to start at the Eager Beaver parking lot, and old holes #2 & 3 were across the road. I would like to know the story behind all of this.
-Although the course was different in some ways, its current layout is absolutely phenomenal. I played the short tees to long pins (when available) and it was incredible.
-There is a great mix of par 3's and 4's. There are no par 5's from the shorts, which is a bummer, but the split between par 3's and 4's worked great. After a couple of par 3's, boom, here's a par 4 or two for you.
-The course is mostly played in the woods, however, it's not all just tight fairways. There are multiple wide fairways and a couple open holes toward the end. Therefore, multiple shots are needed.
-Elevation isn't crazy here, however there are some holes that stand out to me due to their elevation factor. #3, par 3 that plays straight uphill over a small creek, #4, par 3 that plays back downhill over the same creek, and #12, par 4 that starts off going straight downhill, the short basket (par 3) off to the side.
-The little details that are present on this course are nice. Multiple raised baskets (#3, 7, 10, 16, & 18), and smart use of OB (more on this later) forces you to play placement shots on a lot of holes. It really takes a good round to post a decent score.
-There are four real stand out/signature holes on this course, all of which have the same quality as some of the signature Renny/Nevin holes, arguably better. I think this is mainly because of the OB usage. The first of the four is #12. I mentioned earlier about its downhill start, but what makes this hole special is the island green to the long pin. You have to cross two OB creeks to get to the pin, with another OB creek a couple feet long.
-The finishing three holes are the other three signature holes. Not only are these holes great, it makes such an amazing finish to your round. This is why I think the current layout might be better than the old one (but no certainty so don't take my word for it). #16 is a par 3 with a fairly open tee shot, down to a raised basket with OB only a couple feet to the left and long. It takes some balls to throw a putt that's not within gimme range. #17 (old #4, I think) is a par 4 (to the long pin) that has an easy tee shot, but the last 200ft to the pin is incredibly tight and funnel down to the left, which is another creek marked OB. It's going to take some luck to get a par on this hole. #18 (old #5) is a par 4 from the short tee, and has a completely open landing area but has OB marked on either side. The second shot requires a good RHBH shot past some trees to a blind basket. These three holes are just absolutely amazing and ultimately earn the 4.5 ranking for the course.
-There are multiple arrows directing you to the next tee, and they decipher between long and short tees. This is helpful because there are many holes in close distance, and navigation could've been difficult.
-The park is very nice and the woods are very clean. White banded DISCatchers are nice and tee pads were great. Benches on most, if not all tee pads. There is a nice practice area near the first tee with two baskets.

EDIT 6/29/2024: Having played this course again recently, there have been a few changes to the layout from holes #14-16.
-#14 (the short dogleg right hole) has been completely removed and replaced with a straighter, tighter hole that goes into the open area. This is a good change because it removes a filler hole for a much better, challenging hole.
-#15 has a new layout as well, basically playing parallel with the new #14 and finished in the area where old #14 was. This hole is fine, nothing special, not very birdie able but should be an easy par.
-#16 now uses the old #15 tee and plays to the same #16 basket, with island rules in effect (par 4). Essentially bringing back the OG #18 from the very first layout of this course. This is a great change and makes this hole even more epic.
-Personally, I believe these changes are very good and make the course better. #14 now is a hole to look forward to, and #16 is just another amazing hole laced with OB. It seems as though there has been updates on Eager beaver as well.

-There is only one major con, and it's the hole maps. How can a course of this caliber have no map of the hole? The signs have good information on them, but no direction of where the hole goes. This was a major problem only once or twice, but it would be nice to have. Also, I noticed that Eager Beaver had the standard CDGC maps, so why not Angry Beaver?
-It might be confusing where to park and find the first hole. Thankfully I did not run into this issue, however, I could see it easily happening. The parking lot near the Rec Center is where Eager Beaver starts. If you do happen to park there, you could start on #16 since it is literally right next to that parking lot (this should not be an issue anymore). However, I don't recommend it because you could screw up the pace of play, and you should save those holes for the end. The parking lot next to the ball fields is the correct parking lot. (UDisc says that you should start at #16, so don't get confused!)
-One thing I think would've been better is if #15's basket was down by the creek near #16's basket. I think old #18 was that exact layout, which would have been yet another test to finish out the round (this should be irrelevant with new changes, see EDIT).

I was really impressed by Angry Beaver. I think caliber wise, this course is definitely below the big 3. However, after playing it, I would prefer to play Angry Beaver over any of the big 3. Why? Probably because of the final three holes, but honestly, I'm not sure. The park is in a nicer area of Charlotte, and is more aesthetically pleasing than some of the others. I think this course goes under the lower 4.5 end, but there is just no way I can rate this a 4.0. This park is cool because it is the only park with two completely separate courses, Renny and Nest overlap. Definitely one of the best in Charlotte!

As a longish thrower who has morphed into a woods golfer over the past few years I was very curious to try this one.

Elon park has 2 18 hole courses and this one is quite a bit longer and more devious. I played the longest layout, go hard or go home right?

A buddy of mine played a dubs league out here and said that -5 got them a podium so I came in just trying to shoot even.

The course is long, wooded and features many true multi shot par fours that push even the best disc throwers to execute and I don't think you can expect to score without at least 350 backhand and forehand/turnover. A roller could also be of service on a few holes.

The tee pads are mainly large, concrete and some have a rough run off area at the end which I liked, and the signs are relatively basic but will give you the info you need. Next tee signs and minis on the trees were also a cool touch for navigation. Baskets were Innova Disccatchers and I didn't have any issues with them, we're all in good shape. Benches on every hole I think as well, some with a couple.

The attention to detail here is easy to miss, but it makes the course. A couple of mildly elevated baskets, greens of multiple heights, OB marked with giant PVC pipes and the way the shots are shaped to make you execute a shot are all huge pluses here that made it great to me.

Some holes are a little tight, but nothing I would deem unreasonable, some holes are long but relative to par they are fair.

I shot pretty well and made a couple of putts to put up a -2 and was very happy with that. The birdie 3 on holes 3 and 5 were highlights. And I may be able to say I'm the first person to go Flare/Flare on 3 for the birdie.

The course is art as it relates to disc golf. Maybe a bit brutalist and lacking in mass appeal at points but pure art nonetheless. My favorite in Charlotte so far.

The negatives are ones that I sometimes see on high quality courses that are not currently brushed up for big events.

Grass was a bit long in spots, and some of the little bridges made to mitigate what I assume could be swampy areas in other seasons looked a little out of place on a course of this caliber.

Navigation was mostly good but there are a few spots you could get crossed up, I almost skipped a few holes by getting turned around.

It's also a little confusing that the main parking area serves hole 1 of the other course and you can access hole 16 from there on this course but where 1 is there isn't an indication that is where the course starts. So I actually played it starting on 16, and thought that was fine it was a little weird.

This is getting into must play area for me, if you are intermediate level or higher and can throw 300 with any kind of accuracy you should try it. Definitely a gem in the Queen Cities crown.

+It\'s free. Mind boggling is the quality of disc golf you can get in Charlotte at city parks. This is not a unique trait of Elon Park (home of the two Beaver courses) but is huge when you place it next to how good these courses are. +Has it all. OB, water, trees, island greens, placement golf, par 4/5s, ace opportunities. Not too many aspects of the game you won\'t find here. +Shot variety. All aspects of your game will be necessary. Great use of elevation. While it is definitely Charlotte woods golf, the fairways are clear and defined. Off the fairway there are fair scramble chances which was refreshing in comparison to some of the other courses in the area. Also provides options off the tees which is always a plus for me. The reputation had me thinking this would be a "hit the fairway or you\'re pitching sideways" course but I found it very fair while also challenging. +The community. All assumptions but it seems clear that the Charlotte Disc Golf Club takes its job seriously and it shows. Believe the course has gone through changes recently and everything from pad to basket was very clean and efficient. All the small details show the love and work put in. Case in point- the massive amount of OB stakes that add one of many small touches that add to the enjoyment. +Not feeling the angriest? There\'s another course on site! +This was the least busy course I played in the area. Doesn\'t have the name appeal of Hornets Nest or Nevin. +Great equipment. Best pads in town and Innova Discatchers. Shout out to whoever made these baskets the Charlotte standard. Not a Mach III in sight in this area.

-Tee signs did not have images, just distance, par and OB information. Digital maps will be helpful on your first play through. Updated signs may be imminent as it felt like the course had recently been redesigned or updated. -Not too many garbage cans on course. Feel like this is due to the city not wanting to drive vehicles that deep in the woods, so it makes sense, but will add it as a con. Like always, pack in pack out is not that hard!

For my money this was my favorite course in Charlotte. Has a great variety hole to hole. While you will be getting beat down by long woods holes often, there are some short, reachable holes mixed in. Also some fun par 4 and 5 holes that reward smart placement shots. A couple of signature holes will stick in my memory, the par 5 #3 and the island hole, #15 I believe. Was very fun to pair with Eager Beaver, a shorter course that starts a couple hundred feet from Angry Beaver. This course seemed a different flavor from your standard Charlotte course. While you will find plenty of your patented 450-550 par 4s with gentle turns, there is more in the way of variety at Angry. Perhaps it is due to me having no tournament coverage or Pro Tour providing me with expectations, but man did I love this course. If you don\'t have fun playing here, you\'re doing this thing wrong. Difficulty is not a con for me, especially when the shots are fair and doable.

This is a well put together course. One of the few courses in the Charlotte area where OB is marked so clearly. The short and long pads are also marked very clearly. I like the bench on hole 1 that says the name of the course "angry beaver". There was even a "respect the beaver" sign after I think hole 3. It helps give the course its own feel and distinguishes it. Course customization/uniqueness is something that is lacking in the disc golf world so it was very nice to see this course adding some customization even if it is something small. The creek contours the course very well and the bridges to cross it are in good shape. The elevation changes are nice. I finished this course at +8 from the short tees and loved it.

At the short pad for hole #4 there was no par or distance. It looks like there is a stand for the tee sign but there is no tee sign in it. Hole #14 could use more clarity as to where the tee is. I believe this has to do with how sharp the left turn is halfway down the fairway. Standing on the tee I thought I was going for the hole #16 disc catcher. When I was putting on hole #16 a disc from a player on hole #14 landed near me because he thought the same thing.

Signs pointing where the start of angry beaver and eager beaver are would be a nice addition. I was a first time player here and went left at the court and after a few minutes I realized I was on the eager beaver side but I still couldn't figure out where hole #1 was for that course. Driving out of that area you then see the "angry beaver" sign across the court on the back of a bench, but it is facing in a way that incoming vehicles cannot see it.

A grueling woods challenge that will beat down most.

-Amenities: Big concrete tees, DISCatchers, a mix of tee signs (shorts have good DGPT-style maps, longs only have number, distance, and par). OB stakes are clear throughout. Rocks in the fairway mark 100', 200', and 300' to the pin. Next tee signs and benches.

-Difficulty: Whoa, this one is a beast. Imagine all the hardest parts of Hornet's Nest, and then expand them to 18 holes, and that's a pretty good picture of Angry Beaver. To score well, you'll need 300' of excellent accuracy in the woods throughout.

-Multi-Tees/Baskets: Every hole has two tees, and several holes have baskets in both short and long pin positions. Per the usual, this provides players with a better selection to tailor to their wants.

-Seclusion: With long holes in the thick woods, it's possible to get away from the rest of park for a lot of this course.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Using constant trees, solid elevation, and a creek, there's a plethora of shapes. Half of the holes are multi-shot par-4s or -5s. The creek is a great feature on (1), (2), (7), (15), and (18). OB is used on a decent number of holes, but just as many utilize natural OB from thick forests. Hills complement curves frequently, and a controlled curation of shots will be necessary to have birdie looks on many placement par-4s. Most of the par-3s will feel like bonus birdies. It's hard, creative, and satisfying to score on.

Scarcely anything.

-Single Biome: It's all thick woods. The only exception is hole (3), and even that one starts with a long woods tunnel from the back tees. Thus, it's a mono-thematic course.

-Beatdown: This course may be the single biggest beatdown of any course I've played. Odds are that multiple discs from your bag will fly a little more understable after your round here. Beginners and rec-level players should stay away. Intermediate players will be recommended to throw from the shorts.

-Long Tee Signs: Would really love to see the same excellent tee signs for the long tees as for the shorts. This, I suspect, will happen sooner or later.

Angry Beaver is a beast. For well-traveled players, it's reminiscent of IDGC Warner (but harder) or the tightly wooded portions of Hornet's Nest. Even though I'm sure it's called Angry Beaver because the trees are angry at you, it can feel like *you* are supposed to become the Angry Beaver after this kind of beatdown. It's solidly Excellent, but lacking the variety and specialness to rise to the phenomenal.

-Beautiful course (I played it in the summer). The brush off the fairway is pretty mild so it's super easy to find your disc if you shank a shot.
-Tee pad length is great
-The Course is nice and technical because it forces you to hit specific lines between/around trees.

2 main cons.
1. Playing through the course for the first time, it's a little confusing where the baskets are and where the next tee pad is. There are no maps of the hole to give you an indication of where the basket is. My doubles partner and I had to walk most of the course twice because we didn't know where we needed to throw and we didn't know where to go from hole to hole.
2. As a 930 rated player, I got a little exhausted with the lack of hole variety. Almost every hole was a tunnel shot that ended on the right. If you have a nice sidearm (or are a lefty), you'll probably love this course, but as a righty, I slowly got tired of throwing the same disc on a 300' turnover or throw my sidearm through a tight gap.

Overall beautiful course, and if they added hole maps on the tee pad, I think the experience would be awesome. I personally didn't like the course because a majority of holes faded to the right and it made me feel like it liked variety. The woods provide a fun challenge that gets less fun as you spend longer out there. If you're new to the sport, just enjoy Eager Beaver for a while. I gave it a 3 because it is a well-kept course but wasn't as fun for me to play. I'd personally rather play Renny-Gold, Kilborne, or Hornets Nest.

There seems to be a pretty wide range of opinions on the Angry Beaver, with many Trusted Reviewers saying it's one of the best, while a couple of others "not so much." I fall into the "not so much" group. Reposado wrote the review that most closely aligns with my rating, 2.5, and experience on the course. Give him a read.

+ It's one of the most challenging course I've ever played. I say that as a con in addition to a pro. It's a con in that I really didn't enjoy it at all. It's a pro in that I believe the challenge of the course is the most important piece of the rating. In the Angry Beaver's case, it's a 10 out of 10 on the challenge, 1 out of 10 on the fun, and the rating washes out in the middle.

+ I've played the Eager Beaver many times and think it's highly enjoyable, especially when playing with my sons. It might actually be the perfect course for that, in fact. Hole 1 at the Angry Beaver starts out right next to its Eager brother and is very short and downhill. Hole 2, likewise, is straightforward enough and short. The basket is on a ridge right in front of the pond. These two holes were fun, but that's basically where the fun ended for me!

+ Good baskets and tees.

+ I'll mention it again: the main pro of the Angry Beaver is the challenge it throws at you. Holes are long *and* technical. It's designed with advanced players in mind. I'm not exactly the intended audience, thus I didn't enjoy it. But if you're an advanced player looking for a top notch challenge, you're likely one of the folks ranking the Angry Beaver among your favorites.

The Angry Beaver was way too angry for my liking:

- As I mentioned in the pro's, holes 1 and 2 were fine. But on hole 3, the Anger starts. It's a blind shot over or through an absolute jungle of trees and underbrush. It's a short hole and a spike hyzer or tomahawk probably gets the job done, but as a first-timer on the course, I didn't want to blindly throw my disc that way towards the road! Oh yeah, the basket is right by the road entering the disc golf section of the park. To me, this hole is a big safety hazard, especially for people who haven't played the hole. You can't see the basket, you can't see where your disc lands, you can't see the road, you can't see oncoming traffic, and there's a jungle of mess you have to walk through. Why?!?!

- I mention the underbrush on hole 3, but it's bad in spots on other holes too. We somehow managed not to lose any discs there, but it was a miracle.

- Maybe the course has seen better days, but it's in need of some TLC now. There were several missing tee signs. Navigation was impossible in the middle of the course. And it appeared that some tee signs were no longer accurate. (Renumbered?) We somehow got off track and skipped a few holes just because of the lack of signage.

- I don't want to just recap Reposado's review, but I agree with it word for word on the length of the course, the 90 degree turns, and the layup after layup nature of the course. All of these aspects of a course can be good, but for hole after hole after hole, it's just brutal.

- Upkeep and aesthetics were not good. I mentioned the underbrush. There was also a lot of trash. The course would also be a lot more fun, in my opinion, if a few more trees were taken out.

I know I could get some thumbs down on this review due to its negativity and being out of step with many other reviews. To detractors, I'll just say that it was my first and only time playing the course, no one else was on the course when I played (which is sort of a telling sign that maybe not many people like it), and I had no direction when the navigation became impossible. I would hazard a guess that if I gave the Angry Beaver another shot, I might appreciate the challenge more and actually enjoy the round (maybe). But not living in Charlotte, with so many other phenomenal courses in the area, the chances of me playing here again are next to nil.

To me, reviews are important because they help you make wise decisions on where to play when other tracks are available. Reviews help you determine your opportunity cost for playing a course. I'm an intermediate player and not living in Charlotte. If you're an advanced player and do live in Charlotte, I imagine the Angry Beaver is an acceptable or even a preferred option for you. If you're a beginner or an intermediate player--or coming in from out of town with limited time to play the fantastic tracks in Charlotte--I can't imagine choosing to play the Angry Beaver instead of one of the many other courses here, including the far less challenging, far more fun, newbie-friendly Eager Beaver. If you're looking for a reasonable mix of intermediate- to advanced-level challenge *and* fun and well-maintained, I offer these (superior, in my humble opinion) alternatives in Mecklenburg County: Nevin, Hornets Nest, Robbins, Bradford, and Kilborne. (Note: I haven't played Renny Gold, the Scrapyard, or Reedy Creek yet.)

I apologize to the course designers, those who may be doing upkeep on the course now, or those who love them some Angry Beaver! It just wasn't for me.

-Starts off with a few shorter holes - I'm pretty upset if I don't birdie at least 2 of the first 4
-As people have mentioned before, risk vs reward is definitely in play here - I've birdied all but hole 5 at some point, I know I've bogeyed (double bogeyed too) every hole at some point. The death putt after coming up short on 3 has gotten me multiple times.
-Pads and baskets are both in fine shape
-Great mix of long and short holes - short ones aren't easy either, they're all tight and wooded creating small lines
-Plenty of obstacles that make it fun - trees everywhere make natural OB, pond behind 2, road OB on 3, creek that comes into play on 4/8/9/11, swamp thing on 5 - none are impossible to avoid, but I usually find or get close to one per round
-Pretty wooded after 3, which makes it a bit cooler on hot days
-18 is a pretty cool par 5 to end on, which I like
-There are a few brand new looking benches that have been set up recently
-I don't think the navigation is super confusing - you do have to cross the road after 1 and 3, but I do see how a first timer could have issues
-Plenty of trash cans - they obviously aren't used by everyone, but they are there

-Signs - I'm updating my review because new signs were put up this week. They have the par and distance and look really nice, but are still missing maps. Something is better than nothing, but a first timer would still have issues on the multiple holes where the basket isn't visible from the tee. I would probably get a little frustrated playing this course for the first time. All other Charlotte courses have great signs, not sure why Angry Beaver is different.
-Trash - there are so many trashcans around, yet there are still beer and water bottles everywhere - I usually end up picking up something every round

I love this course. I've played it at least 75-100 times in the last 4 years and I haven't gotten bored of it. My best score is -3, but I'm usually just trying to get somewhere near par. It is never too crowded, but there are always people there. It definitely needs some maintenance, which has happened recently (2, 3, 5, and 8 look a lot better now). If it had proper signs with maps, I would give it a 4. I think it's just as good (if not better) as Nevin and Hornet's Nest, but both of those courses have great signs.

This course is a well laid out course that allows you to disconnect from all distractions and really focus on your game. The course will play par if you play fairly conservatively and have good control of your throws, but you will not find birdies easy to come by if you don't get more aggressive. You run the risk of playing disc plinko when you get into the woods, but without the risk you wont find any birds.

The course is tough and it can be easy to lose a disc when playing. Stay focused and objectively approach every hole. You may need to get muddy if you get off the beaten path, the creek comes into play quite a bit.

Very fair course with high risk/reward factor. This course is not like Nevin in that if you play this one conservatively, there will not be many birdie opportunities; or, bogeys for that matter. Go for it and you run the risk of either pinballing into some tough woods or splashing into the creek that is present on many holes. Hole 8 comes to mind right away with the basket on a slope leading into the creek. Hole 11 is another where the creek guards the basket, requiring an almost perfect approach shot. The woods here are much tougher to play out of than the Eager side; and, the creek, though dry in many spots right now (just because we have not had much rain lately), is deep and nasty. Hole 2, well . . . I know about the pond behind the basket since I have lost many a disk playing the Eager side. As other's have mentioned, that hungry pond is only about 20 feet or so behind the basket, with a rather steep bank into the pond. Chances are, if you overshoot the basket, I hope your disk floats or scuba gear will be needed. And the growth in front of the green does not lend itself to a very large landing zone. All said about the Angry Beaver, if you "go for it" and place your shots well, there are many chances at birdies here.

Because most of this course has a nice tree canopy, it can be enjoyed a bit more on those real hot summer days.

Not really a negative; but, on hole 3 the foliage seems to have choked off both the left and right preferred flight paths. It appears that the best way to approach this one is to just go over the trees (some of which are quite tall). Miss the tee shot and the disc will end up in some very tall brush.

The biggest negative on this course is exactly what almost every other reviewer has mentioned in the last few years; and, that is navigation. The course has undergone many changes since its inception and the documentation and signage has not kept up with those changes. Most of the front nine pretty much flows as it always has, until one gets to hole 8, and then the adventure begins. I personally took the risk of playing the course on my own (it was 6:30 AM when I started) and even with all of the notes other players have placed on various websites, had a few problems with the back nine, primarily with holes 13-15. There were enough notes about the new "S" hole 8, could see the new 9 & 12 baskets from the tees, and another reviewer updated the signs for 10-13, which helped immensely.

I have taken the liberty of creating an updated course map and posting it to this site (hopefully the map will be approved since the maps posted there now are very outdated and will get you lost in a hurry). As I played this course for the first time, it also seemed in some ways, the course is becoming neglected. Vandals have taken their toll on some of the signage; and, we could all do a better job of cleaning up the trash. Perhaps this is just me; but the Eager side has had new signage for a few months. It could be a financial thing and new signs are coming; I can only hope this is the case and CDGC is not abandoning it. We already lost Hornet's Nest, don't want to lose another.

The front nine has better chances of losing a disc in deep brush. If you place a disc in it, please be midful of snakes and ticks as you look for it. The back nine, with the exception of the 18th, is pretty much all wooded.

I am going to go out on a limb during this review. I was once critical of the CDGC on a review and got roasted over the coals for it; mainly because I did not word things well, and because everyone's sensitivity meter seems to run way too high nowadays. We here in Charlotte have hosted the World Championships and have many players of all abilities taking road trips to our area just to play our wonderful courses. Elon provides the opportunity for someone to play 54 radically different holes in one location. If we are to be sensitive, this is an area where we should all direct our energies. If CDGC is going to link to DGCR, it must be mindful of keeping the documentation up to date, lets all do a better job of picking up after ourselves, and keep our courses the best around. It is always the little things we take for granted. Most of our courses are free to play. I just came off of a road trip where most of the courses I played required a fee to play (at least the nicer ones did - maybe the fee is one of the reasons the courses are nicer; not sure).

Great course that offers a great deal of challenge and requires a shot from your whole bag. Love this course and how deep in the woods it is. You can really disconnect and play some solid disc golf. However you must be precise or you can be getting bogeys every hole pretty easily.

Course upkeep. I have been going every week recently to clean trash and I am the one who wrote on the 8 tee pad where the pin is actually located... I have also cleared dead trees that were just making the course unattractive. I did not however make any whole easier or harder...just routine upkeep.

Favorite course in charlotte behind winget and I have played them all.

Challenging, tight woods course. Not too long, but long enough to give every player a challenge. Clean course, nice tee pads. Benches or chairs at nearly every tee. Good variety of holes, from a couple ace-runners to a couple 800' par 5's that will truly test your accuracy and distance. Well rounded course that needs to be played a few times before truly appreciating it!

What they did to hole 8 is a travesty. The original 8 was a great par 4 down the creek. Adding another 200' and a curly-Q with a ridiculous mando doesn't make the hole any better - just longer and more frustrating. Signage is still not correct on the back 9, and can get a bit confusing if you are playing the course for the first time.

This is a very "mental" course. It will challenge you and if you are hacking thru the trees hole after hole due to a lack of driver control - you will truly understand why it's called the "Angry Beaver". If you can avoid the head games, keep your focus and play smart, this is a very fun course and one that will keep you coming back for more!

Beautiful area, professional level OB and course structure. With proper signage and directions could be one of Charlottes top 3 coures.

Really got turned around at hole 8. 1-7 plays pretty self-evidently. Without a map or dgcr on mobile web you will be lost on this course guaranteed. Some signs are simply drawings of cupcakes or flowers. The only reason this course should make you angry is the lack of instructions. Bewarned...do not attempt to figure out the course blind, it must be a locals only type of info as with the proper signage this could be a 4.0-4.5 rated course. Without it you will simply be angry.

Really a testament to how you can control your disc through tight lines in the woods.

It starts out friendly enough with holes 1-3 being prime short birdie opportunities. They are fun and interesting but are more like the Eager Beaver course than the remainder of this one. Just be careful on #2, a very short 180' hole - but don't overshoot, as there is a pond hiding behind the pin which (apparently) won't yield your disc. It's not intuitive to find tee #2 or 4 except they have kindly painted arrows with numbers on the pavement to show you how to navigate this tricky part.

Then the work begins as you head into the woods where there are many par 4 & 5 holes (only two of which are in the open - 5 & 18 - which are very refreshing but STILL have great peril along the edges), but you will be better served to take some power away on the long holes in the woods, or you will be suffering many pitch-outs. The long woods holes primarily make you turn a dogleg successfully to set up for your next shot. I found this course to be similar to Nevin but seemed more intense than that course.

When I finished playing my round here I was the angry one! Angry at that Beaver that did not chop down enough trees for his dam. Actually, I felt mentally drained. I liked the challenge, but just felt the difficulty level drained some of the fun.

Some specific points of contention:
Hole #8, as Reposado mentioned is kinda ridiculous. It used to be two separate holes which seemed that they may be better as two holes instead of one. Now, it is a twisty, climby, heavily wooded with lots of OB and very long mess. I scored a par on the hole but felt I hadn't played it well. It just seems like an afterthought.

Perhaps this is just a first-timer's woes but some of the long holes in the woods seemed VERY picky on placement with a mix of poke and hope (yes you, holes 8, 10, 15, 16). If you land just slightly off the edge of the fairway or come up a bit short in distance, you will be punished heavily without a decent line on your next shot.

Granted, this course will be a sharp learning curve on your first play because you don't know where your landing zones are yet, and you will also be walking up fairways to spot the pins. That said, I am intrigued to try this course again as there are some interesting elements.

This course is really best played if you can swallow your pride and put most of your power game in your back pocket for a majority of the course . If you can't have this mindset, you may have a VERY frustrating experience. But if you have more of a placement game in mind, you can probably shave some strokes and stay out of trouble.

Make sure and play the Eager Beaver while you're here. It's a nice easy companion to warm up or down from this course.

This course is angry indeed! Here are my pros:

1) The variety on this course is astonishing. After the first three holes I found myself wondering, what's so angry about this course? I remember starting 2, 2, 2 and thinking this course was going to be EASY. I could not be more wrong. Its not everyday you play a course with a 158 foot par 3 and a few holes later play a BRUTAL 821 foot par 5. The variety of the distances on this course was off the charts.

2) Great baskets and great teepads. The tee signs were homemade but they did the trick.

3) Usage of water - I love courses that incorporate water hazards and Angry Beaver has a few holes where water comes into play. Hole 2 would be one of the easiest holes in Charlotte if not for the lake that is just long of the basket. A 158 foot hole is not hard but when you have a lake 20 feet past the pin that is screaming to engulf your disc you think twice about what to throw at the basket.

4) Hole 5 - this hole is just a treat. Its super challenging but fair. I love the twists and turns on this hole and it just screams UNIQUE. The area in front of the basket and to the right of the fairway near the green, if played as out of bounds, adds a whole new element to the hole.

5) One of these holes is not like the other - Hole 18! This hole is literally like nothing on the course. It is so different from everything else on the course that it makes it a great hole. Even though its a long, difficult hole with danger everywhere (deep woods right, creek left) it actually feels like a breath of fresh air after the wooded holes. This is a great hole with a great green that offers risk/reward shotmaking.

Here are my cons for Angry Beaver:

1) Hole 9 - unfortunately this hole is one of the few things wrong with this course. I don't like "forced" par 4's. To me a forced par 4 is a hole that looks like it should be a par 3 but then the designer does something to turn it into a par 4. Hole 9 has a very difficult, uphill tee shot to a tight landing area. That wasn't the biggest problem to me (though I hated the out of bounds on this hole). The biggest problem was the fact that the hole then dove more than 90 degrees to the left and kinda curled backwards into the woods just to turn the hole into a par 4. The hole unfortunately left a sour taste in my mouth because it could have been a decent par 3 with a different pin location. Its just one hole, though, so don't let it spoil the fun.

2) The back nine became a bit too repetitive for me. I am okay with wooded par 4's that have bending fairways but 11, 14, 15 and 16 all just roll together in my head. These holes struggled to have an identity in my mind that differentiated themselves from the other holes on the back nine. It just felt like I was throwing a 250 foot shot to a landing area and then watching the fairway bend one way or the other. I would have been okay with one or two of these holes but it felt like too much in my opinion.

3) Hole 8 - this isn't a huge con for me because it wasn't too bad but in my opinion this hole just had a little too much luck for me. I know they have it listed as a par 5 but I remember throwing a drive on this hole and it was not a good shot and it crashed through a lot of trees and ended up really good. I then remember throwing another drive a few days later on the same hole and thought I had thrown a perfect shot it and ended up out of bounds. Its just a finicky hole in my opinion.

4) I am not a huge fan of artificial OB. If I throw in the water then that's a penalty. But having areas on the course that are not hazards marked as out of bounds does bother me. I can understand mando areas being blocked off, etc, but I think a better design will allow that kind of stuff to be avoided.

5) I refuse to knock any course for being hard, unless its unfair. This is course is NOT unfair. However, this course is exhausting and not the funnest course to play. I don't think it was designed to be super fun but this course reminds me of Idlewild or Iron Hill (albeit on a lesser scale). Its a gold level course and is meant to be one of the more challenging courses out there. Don't expect to come play this course and smile. Expect to play this course and be drained. This course is not for the feint of heart. Charlotte has many options so if you want something easy walk 500 feet and play the Eager Beaver course.

This course holds up to its name very well. It is very angry! That doesn't mean this is a bad course. This is a very good course that really challenges a player. Once again, Charlotte proves itself to be the mecca of disc golf. I have truly never seen so many 3.5 to 4.0 disc golf courses in one area. Angry Beaver is one of the harder courses in the area and will challenge every part of your game -- especially your mental game!

NOTE: I will admit that if I could give this course a 3.75 I would give that rating to this course. I feel like its not a 4.0 course but is somewhere between a 3.5 and a 3.75.

This is my favorite course in the Charlotte area but first a disclaimer: I live next door to Elon so convenience has some bearing on my opinion. It's a very difficult course but is generally a fair challenge. I play it about 5 times per week and never get tired of it. Lots of variety from (a few) short birdie holes to several "just-get-me-outta-here-with-a-bogey" holes. Very heavily wooded- might want to leave the soft plastics in the trunk. A series of creeks wind through several holes along with several retention ponds. Moderate elevation changes but nothing of major consequence. It's long, no way around it. For a reasonably adept 4-some I would expect 2-3 hours to get around the loop. Multiple tees on numerous holes give you a lot of options for changing it up as desired. Trash cans, benches and the like are adequate and there are restrooms in two of the buildings at the park. One of the only courses that you won't hear people worried about their car being robbed! The adjacent short course is nice for a leisurely warm up or to lick your wounds after a rough day at the Angry Beaver. Great community of regular players, too!

The only hole I take issue with is #8. It's not that long for a par 5 but there is a creek that will make you question physics as it eats up every shot that isn't thrown perfectly. You can miss dead right and somehow go OB left. There are three 90+ degree turns on the hole with a sucker pin above another creek to finish you off. I've seen a lot of decent players take a 5-over par on this hole alone. A few holes demand identical shots even if the holes appear different to the eye. You'll need your anhyzers if you are a RHBH thower. The course can also be very, very muddy after a good rain.

It feels like you need raw distance here, but that is a mistake. This course will heavily penalize errant shots so focus on accuracy instead. Watch out for snakes in the warm months- there are a tons of them out here! Mostly harmless, of course, but will still scare you when you realize a copperhead or moccasin is at your feet!

It's tough. It's long. It's challenging. It's tight, woods golf in the Carolina tradition. The angry beaver will drag you down over eighteen holes and spit you out exhausted and beaten down.

There are some nice holes here, starting with 1, a downhill tunnel that forces an extremely straight throw to the pin.

There's a ton of variety with shots moving to either direction and a decent amount of elevation on many of the holes.

Also, if you like forced layups, this will be the best course you have ever played, because they are featured on most of the holes.

But hard does not not necessarily mean good and Angry Beaver is a good example why. While there are courses that are both challenging and excellent, this is an example of a course that was toughened up to make more difficult while ruining anything that was good about it.

A perfect example of this is what has happened to hole 8. The old 8 was probably the best hole on the course, with a long fairway over a meandering creek. It only needed a few trees removed on the approach to make an excellent signature hole. Instead, it was combined with hole 9(a bad hole with a too severe curve) to make the new 8. It's probably the worst hole I've ever played. It's shaped like a damn question mark. Unless your goal is to play courses shaped like sentences, I can't see you liking this change. It's harder, I guess, but only because it's a ridiculous hole in an artificial shape. This is an absolute disaster of a hole design which has warped the entire course in the name of difficulty.

There are an absurd amount of ninety degree turns here. The course encourages placement on drives, but only so that it can make the majority of drives a forced layup. I stopped counting the sharp turns on this course but none of them increase the fun here. It's a groanfest of sharp corners.

When the fairways don't require layups, they are typically overly long shots. This is evident in some of the new tees, where they are lengthened just for the sake of length. 5 is a good example of that. It's not a fun hole. It's just long.

Long can be good. But after a dozen holes of ugh, long is really bad. For a ton of people it will be a tiresome course full of holes that don't really make sense as disc golf holes.

The biggest problem is how much the course drags towards the end. The holes are long and there is little memorable about any of them. For the last last third of the course, I was more weary than excited. That is accentuated by the similarity between most of the holes and laying up to a ninety degree turn seventy feet down the fairway is extremely frustrating for the sixth time.

In many cities, I'd advise checking out the Angry Beaver. It has a lot of good qualities. But in Charlotte, there are a lot better uses of disc golf time.

Type of difficulty for some holes were unique such as:
Hole 1 - needed very controlled downhill slope shot.
2 - Blind basket, hyzer over briars, pond and slope away in 2 directions.
3 - Another blind hole, OB behind.
Tight, wooded remainder for most of the remainder of the course.

If the review is meant to be the *current* condition, this course frustrated the bleep out of me. It is in the middle of a redesin. Some of the new holes will be great, others - at this time - just didn't make sense.

In general, I'm not a lengthy essay reviewer. I submit a review primarily to balance a Course Rating if I believe it is skewed high or low to the 95+ courses, 15 states I've played so far. At the time of this review, the course was a 3.83 rating. I was disappointed in it.

If you have ever read any of my previous reviews of Angry Beaver, you'll already be aware that I have been a big fan of the course for a long time. Even advocating for the past decade that it was one of, if not the most criminally underrated courses in the Charlotte area. While the course has seen small tweaks and renovations here-and-there over the years, it has recently seen a rather substantial change that I believe is going to bring Angry Beaver right up in the conversation of destination courses in the Charlotte area, alongside Nevin, Renaissance - Gold, and Hornets Nest.

In all of the previous iterations of Angry Beaver, the course gave players three fairly simple birdies to allow them the chance to create a cushion for themselves before the course began in earnest. That cushion is gone, as hole 1 has been extended (actually playing to the old pin placement for hole 18), and old holes 2 & 3 have been removed. So right out of the gate you can tell that this beaver has had its teeth sharpened. If you continue to play you'll notice many holes have had long tees added (though when I last played the concrete hadn't been poured just yet).

The layout has been reworked and retooled to create much smoother transitions between the layouts. It might confuse veterans of the course at first, but I think with time they will realize the layout is much more fluid now. A short basket has even been added to what is now Hole 2, so that the transition to the short pad of Hole 3 quicker. I noticed that some of the pin placements have been pushed a bit further back and a number of other holes retooled to recreate/revitalize the original intention behind the course.

Angry Beaver, like it always has, places a premium on placement and accuracy over a long distance. The course has many memorable holes which manage to be just as beautiful as they are challenging. The course uses the terrain of the park about as well as it possibly could, and features a variety of different holes where hitting your gap and finding the proper landing zones are key in order to score well. The course has always been designed in a way that it tempts you to really go for it, but really just smart, solid golf is needed here. However, the newly tweaked layout offers players a few more chances to really go for it. The course attempts to use what little elevation the land has to offer a bit of variety, and add a bit of extra hidden difficulty into the course.

While the course is still primarily wooded, and features long, tight fairways - the retooled fairways remove the repetition of layup-after-layup, shot-after-shot. While this is still a staple of some of the holes, it no longer seems to be over done in an overbearing manner. The creeks that weave themselves throughout the course add to not only the scenery, but to the difficulty and intimidation factor as well. Fortunately, even after heavy rains, it would be easy to retrieve a disc from them. The retention pond by Hole 3 is a different story.

It is important to note that this course is not the best place for beginners, as it was originally built to test Advanced level players. The new layout still does this, but fortunately there are no longer three relatively tame looking holes right at the start, lulling people into a false sense of security. So if you're a relatively new player or unable to let go of your ego before attempting to tackle this beast, it might be best to head over to Eager Beaver. However, players of all skill levels could enjoy this course, if they understand and are looking forward to really testing themselves against a truly challenging course. This is a long course, and it is refreshing that there are benches at most of the tee pads. This will give players a chance to rest during their round, because this course is very demanding.

The biggest issue the course still has would be signage. It would be nice if each Tee Pad were given a nice tee sign with a detailed map of the hole layout, ala the rest of the courses in the Charlotte area. With how much work that has gone into this course as of late, I doubt this will be an issue forever. It really is likely only a matter of time until the course is given shiny new tee signs. I imagine the club is waiting for the rest of the details of the redesign to be finished before investing in new tee signs. While the signage has still improved and navigating the course has gotten easier, new tee signs would definitely be nice for first time players.

There are a few spots on the course where the rough can be thick, making disc loss a possibility. However, these places are few and far between. If you are focused on accuracy like this course demands, you'd be hard pressed to find them. The places that are actually rough (like the detention pond on Hole 5), are nothing compared to some of the rough that can be found on courses like Renny Gold, Robbins, Dry Creek, Eastway, etc.

Parking can be an issue at Elon, as Angry Beaver and Eager Beaver share a small parking lot. Other parking exists by the ball fields, but that is quite a hike to get to the disc golf course. More parking is also nearby the course, at the Rec Center. That lot is quite small too though. This hasn't always been an issue, but the new popularity of Angry Beaver (and the sport in general) could become an issue. Especially on tournament days.

I've never bothered heading over to the Rec Center, but I've never been able to find the restrooms or water fountains at the park. I would recommend bringing your own water.

In my last version of my review for this course, I said, "I think that Angry Beaver is criminally underrated right now. When compared to other courses in Charlotte, I would put AB in a tier just below the Big Three (Renny G, Nevin, and Hornets Nest), but with a little work it could go toe-to-toe with them. Which is not at all a bad place to be, the fact that those three courses already exist in the same city is pretty insane to me, but this course has always been up there for me - but for some reason many players seem to turn a blind eye to it."

The work that has gone into this course over the past couple years, in my opinion brings it right up alongside those courses as to why Charlotte is a marquee destination for disc golfers. So I am bumping my rating of the course up to 4.5 for now. This is assuming the work continues and tee signs are made for the course. If the land permitted it, one or more open holes could really add to the variety of this course, but for the land that the course has been given, the course is firing on all cylinders.

There will still likely be people who rate the course lower than it truly deserves because it does have such a high demand for accuracy and the ability to identify proper landing zones. This course tests your technical skills, your distance, and your mental skills on a really steep curve. If you are a little off your game on the day you're playing - remember you might want to back off and try to get settled into the course. Angry Beaver is a demanding course and it can punish a player who doesn't respect it, but it is certainly not unfair.

If you try playing Angry Beaver and are finding it too difficult, or if you want a quick warm-up/cooldown round, hop over to Eager Beaver and give it a go.

Favorite Holes: 2, 3, 6, 11, 18

Long, sometimes tight, mostly wooded. This course has challenges for all! Accurate pars, IMHO. One of the tougher courses in the Charlotte Metro...

Multiple curves sometimes called for, which I, as a moderately skilled amateur, get beat up on. I can throw a hyzer flip with decent distance, but some of these holes require a pro arm to par. #5 in particular stands out for that. Again, this is just my opinion.

I truly enjoy this course. I don't score here nearly as well as I should, but I love it as much as any course in Charlotte.