Gaston Christian School disc golf course plays around the back edge of the campus, mostly along the service road and cross country trail. It features colorful tee signs and DISCatcher baskets.

The course is more than most generic school courses you play, it has a real course feel. It has some really memorable holes spread throughout the course as well. The limited elevation around the property seems to be used well. Hole 4, which feels pretty unremarkable from the tee, but finishes with a massive uphill slope that the basket is on. A forty foot putt here feels like you are throwing up a wall. The most surprising thing about the hole was how well maintained the grass was for being on such a steep hill.

Holes 7 & 8 play over a fairly scenic creek in the woods. Hole 7 was definitely the better of the two holes to me, requiring a placement shot to a gap from the tee for a clear approach to the basket. Hole 15 plays down a grassy opening into a gap on the right side, the left gap is shut off by a mando to protect Hole 16's tee. Hole 18 is a rather large hole that plays down a natural gas pipeline easement.

The plastic tee pads that are used were not great. Luckily it was dry, so it wasn't too bad. But it was painfully obvious how dangerous they would be if it was even slightly wet outside. About a third of the holes didn't even have tee pads, so I just chose spots that looked accurate based on the tee signs.

The front nine is nice and spread out, but the back nine was all crammed into a tight space. While they are mostly good holes, it did feel like they ran out of room and forced 18 holes in.

The rough is classic NC rough you find around new or underplayed courses. Expect to take some time looking for any errant shots.

Some of the holes feel like a tee and a basket was placed in the woods, with no intention of defining a real fairway. Hole 17 is an example of this. Unfortunately it seems like some trees have fallen over and are leaning into the "fairways" since the course was installed, which makes this feel even more annoying to deal with.

A couple of holes that are above 300' in length, are designated as par 3 despite having fairway shapes that would probably have been better used for a par 4. Holes 7 & 15 are prime examples of this. I had two of my best drives of the round on these holes and still had second shots to reach the putting green because of the dogleg nature. (If 15 didn't have the mando to protect 16's tee, it probably would have been more accessible from the tee.

Hole 9 throws over a little picnic area.

The course does not loop around, ever. At best it makes a U shape, requiring players to awkwardly walk across the school's parking lot/campus or backtrack the entire course to reach Hole 1.

Gaston Christian School is a course with a decently laid out design that is held back due to tee pads and maintenance. I think a 2.0 rating for the course is fair. Replacing the tee pads with something better, like turf, would be an instant improvement for the course. More importantly, if the more heavily wooded holes on the course were more clearly defined and well kept, the course could become a great compliment to other courses in the area.

Realistically this feels more like a pet project that someone at the school is passionate about, and less like something the school itself is invested in. Which is shame, it could have been a great beginner level course to compliment the intermediate level courses already in Gaston County.

Favorite Holes: 4, 7, 15, 18

+ 18 hole disc golf course

+ Pretty well marked, generally easy to find the next tee.

+ Signs at every hole.

+ front 9 has some pretty decent variety.

+ Lots of other things to do. Running track, basketball hoops, tennis courts, soccer fields etc.

- Tee pads are plastic and slippery even in ideal conditions. None of them were attempted to be set at level.

- A lot of holes don't have tees.

- The back half feels very repetitive, with most holes being straight shots through heavy woods, 200-300'.

- The rough is pretty rough in certain areas. Thick briar patches and dense undergrowth mean mids off the tee are often the best option.

- Half the course plays across a running trail. Wasn't an issue for my round but would be a serious issue if it were in use during your round.

- Some awkward shots. I'm a pretty skilled player but I don't see anyone getting a birdie on #7. There's a few holes that just don't feel quite right. Lots of fairways need way more definition, such as hole #17. As it stands it looks like a basket was put in the woods and that was that.

This isn't a as good of a disc golf course as other nearby options, unfortunately.

I was excited to check out a new 18 hole disc golf course. I played a round here, but I don't expect to play another any tine soon. Rankin Lake, Goat Island, Bradley Center and RL Smith are all a short drive away, and are all superior courses.

Some of the issues I could look past if there were some more fun holes. I can deal with shoddy tees if the rest of the course makes it worth my time. This one doesn't, however. Just a little too plain and repetitive, especially the back 9.

The design of this course could use some tweaking. Define the fairways in the back half better, maybe try to stretch some holes out further, etc.

Unless you're simply looking to bag a new course, pass on this one. You'd be better off playing Goat Island, Rankin Lake, Bradley Center or one of Charlottes many wonderful courses.

-It's hard to find much to say about Gaston Christian School. It has some good holes. Many redeeming opportunities to help your score and several challenging holes that will improve accuracy. It's honestly hurting my head just thinking of things to write.

-#7 and #8 offer good features of the creek. #7 should be a par four, but the design is unique. It's a 400' dogleg right. Starts off more open down the 5K trail. The landing zone is about 210' from the pad. The remainder of this hole is wooded and over a creek bed. #8 is clearly the signature hole. It's down a small but steep hill back over the creek with some rock formations in the fairway. The line is still is a bit unclear due to excess limbs and a few unneeded trees, but it's still a fair enough gap. Sign says 369' but I got there with a mid range after it flying through some branches. It's about 315'.

-Interesting basket placement on #4. Basket is up on a steep hill. The green is instantly to the left from where the fairway breaks off to the green. So it's difficult to navigate the green on a second shot on this par four. Tough but very fair par four that requires some outside the box thinking.

-Plenty of parking spaces available. There's a practice basket.

-The tee pads are horrible. Ever taken a shower instantly after the bathroom was cleaned? When the shower floor is extra slick from the chemicals used to clean it and the water falling from the faucet makes it extra slick? The pads are about that slick after a rainfall. They are still slick when dry. Not to mention, they are quite small.

-#14-17 is the worst part of the course. #14 is a weird par three around 330' and deep in the woods. The fairway turns a good bit left and straightens out as it approaches the green in a wooded inlet. If you are as little as 25' right of the pin, you could lose a stroke due to excess trees blocking your way to a putt. #15 and #16 are the worst holes on the course. #15 is the worst and #16 is the second worst. #15 is a 400+ par three that starts in the open. The wood line is immediately to the right side of where the pad is, so you essentially have to throw a decent distance straight without hitting anything on the right side, which is nearly an arm's length from where you tee off. The approach is through a tight gap down a crooked wooded trail without much of a line to get to the pin. You won't make a 2. There's a left gap that appears to make more of an anhyzer open. You COULD be throwing further on the left side from the pad and try to break right on an anhyzer. But nope. If you do that, then you missed the mando, which is nearly impossible to see from the pad. You have to take the right gap and face the likely occurrence of hitting the woods on the right side and being left with a pitch out and then an unsettling approach. #16's tee pad is on the mentioned left gap. This is another bad hole. The line is maybe 10' wide and it breaks off sharply left, escaping one trail and crossing a line of trees splitting the two trails and on to the other. There are plenty of thorns there to pester you even more. #17. This one has potential, just needs a better line. This will possibly be a good tight short one in the next year.

-Reaper's Rough. The rough here is terrible. It's tough to even pitch out on some holes here. #18's rough on the left side is covered with thorns. Giving you the worst of the reaper's rough.
I got sliced like I was a carrot or something in there. It's tough to even enter the woods on #4. It's like this on many other holes. Either too many trees close together when you are less than 30' from the basket, too many thorns making it tough to find a safe way to enter the woods, or simply both.

-#7 and #15. These are distances that of a long par three, but the lines are impossible to hit on one shot. #7 is a dogleg right in the woods over an OB creek. #15 is too tight on the approach and the first half of it is on the edge of the woodline.

-Lack of shock value. It's a blend of Rankin Lake and Goat Island. Not much excitement to be had here. Lots of holes with crap shoot fairways (like at Rankin) or bland wooded holes like at Goat Island. Gastonia needs a more interesting 18 holer. I usually drive to Charlotte for a fun 18 hole round.

-All this thinking I did just to write a relatively basic review was time consuming. All this hard thinking lit a thousand fuses but all that came from the fuses was smoke; we can't afford gas to build a fire and make anything out of this review. Therefore, there's nothing else to really say.

You ever finish a course and feel completely indifferent about it? Welcome to Gaston Christian School, where you'll have a quarter mile walk back to the parking lot to feel (perhaps less) indifferent about it.
- Course is a work in progress. It will get a tad better when completed.
- The course plays through the back portion of the campus. The front 9 is a nice, spaced out stroll. Then the designers ran out of space and had to cram in the final 9 holes.
- The course is predominately in the woods. That said, the better layouts all seemingly had a mix of grass and wooded aspects.
- #4 is a really good hole. 465 foot, par 4 layout. A wide-enough fairway with thick rough/tree lined sides to the fairway. The basket is a slight dogleg left, uphill layout. Uphill basket will allow players to come in hot with their approach shots.
- #7 & 8 are the best two holes, mainly due to the terrain in this portion of the course. #7 is a 408 foot, par 3. Disclaimer, nobody is making a 2 here unless you hole out. A little more than halfway down the fairway (I'd estimate around 225 feet), there is a 90 degree right turn into the woods. It's not a wide gap so too short or too long and you're possibly playing Plinko with the trees. It's a solid upshot to the basket. Realistically, this should be lengthened just enough to be classified as a par 4. Even if you played this as a short par 3 from the right angle, that short, uphill shot would still be one of the better holes on the course.
- #8 is the most scenic hole on the course. It's downhill over a nice rock formation. A couple trees that players to need to throw around. It's 369 feet, so players can get close with their tee shots. It's a well earned two and a not-overly difficult par 3. This might be the only hole on the course you'd want to throw multiple tee shots.
- Course is extremely easy to navigate. Almost every tee sign is visible from the prior hole's basket. While that's a positive on one hand, being too close together can be an issue. See below.
- Course can be played well with only two discs. I played with a mid-range and fairway driver only. It only cost me a couple strokes on the round not having more variety.

COURSE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. More clearing is needed from stumps cut further down to the ground to more dragging away from the fairway to (hopefully) a few more fairways opened up.
- It's never a good sign when standing on a tee pad and not sure which direction you're throwing. There should be a clearly defined fairway. On #17, I debated three directions I could throw. The one direction I thought was the correct one ended up being wrong. That's never a good sign.
- The plastic tee covers are horrible. I hope this is not permanent. They're way too slick, even just from dew, that I almost slipped on them multiple times. It was better throwing from dirt or ankle high grass than these disasters.
- Have you ever seen a grade school kid writing on a birthday card? The first half is written in really big letters. Then, they realize they're running out of space and suddenly everything is crammed together and written in small letters. That's the back 9 here.
- With the exception of #11, every single hole on the back 9 essentially overlaps with another hole. Hit a tree on #10 and end up on #18's fairway. Go through the left route on #15's fairway (which means you missed the mando), and you're on #16's tee. On #13, you can easily end up on the fairways for #17 or 14. Not surprising, #11 is one of the best holes on the back 9.
- Then there's the long walk from #18 back to #1. It's 1400+ feet as the crow flies. Walking around ball fields and buildings and you're 3/10 of a mile walking across the entire parking lot.

Gaston Christian has some enjoyable holes. For every good hole, there are completely unforgettable, or worse, layouts.
- #2 was an 'uh-oh, this might be one of those courses' layouts. #3, 6, 9, 16, and 17 were amongst the holes that were just there.
- If the mando on #15 was better explained, this would be a good hole. From the tee, you're starting in the open to what appears to be a split fairway as you enter the woods. Instead, the left side is OB (it's #16's tee), and you're left with a narrow, walking path wide fairway on the right side.
- A few too much reliance on trails for fairways. There's a 2 mile marker sign by the tees for #11 & 18. I'm guessing that's for a 5K trail, which seemingly weaves through and around much of the course.
- I wish the tee signs were a little more specific instead of very basic, generic images. The cartoonish images of a fairway with generic images of trees and curved fairways doesn't let anyone know how sharp a dogleg, where the basket actually is, or the extent of the tree coverage.
- Because it's on private school property, there are no amenities for disc golfers. Let's not use that as an excuse to litter and risk losing access.
- I'm giving this a 2.5 rating. Once the clearing is done, and a little more basic maintenance is done, I'd consider bumping it up to a 3.0. Of the four 18-holers in Gaston County, this is 4 on the list (behind Rankin, Bradley, and Goat Island).