Pros:
+ The peace and quiet here from the trees, water features and open areas let players collect and recenter themselves.
+ The tee signs have clear illustrations and all the right info.
+ The first half features mostly park-style disc golf, and the back nine focuses intently on dense woods, however...
Cons:
- ...The fairways are most often just straight shots to the basket with few opportunities to test your angle control.
- The tees are just dirt or mud.
- Rocks and roots on many of the fairways and even within some tee boxes.
- No lost disc box or practice basket (just use hole18's).
- No 'next' indicators anywhere to be seen.
Other Thoughts:
I will admit that I allowed my own expectations to taint my vision with Hickory Run. The road to the course is surrounded by nothing but trees, which caused me to think that the entire course would be a similar experience. In my mind I was picturing a deep, dark and mysterious forest with overlapping shadows, eerie silence and disc golfing fairways so twisted and challenging with hellish hills and wanton waterways. Things never got quite to that level, but I still had a fun time with Hickory Run's circuit of 19 holes.
Right off the bat, you acknowledge how peaceful and pleasant the venue is. There are tree-sprinkled fields, heavy tree cover, a few waterways and some modest elevation. Hole13 deserves a special mention. Maybe this was simply an instance of "right place, right time," but as I stood on that tee I experienced almost complete silence. No wind. No cars on the road. No pedestrians. No birds or crickets. And the setting was deep in the woods. It felt as though I were the only person for miles.
A fair few of the holes are fun to play as well. My favorite one is hole3A. From start to finish, there are trees to worry about. After the initial flat tunnel, the fairway banks left and downhill directly towards a shaded stream with four possible pin positions. There is a rotating pin indicator to tell players which position is active. There was a healthy layer of protection around the basket during my round, and the water hazard was fun to avoid. It's a shame that all of the elements don't combine like that a second time at Hickory Run. Still, you should find yourself having a good time. During the back nine, things get really crazy as it is nothing but forested fairways until the end. The more open park style holes occupy the front ten.
It's not all good news, though. Hole9 is pretty dull owning to its wide-open fairway right over a walking path. And what the hell is with hole16? I understood from the diagram that the fairway follows a dramatic sharp left dogleg. I walked down the fairway, saw a basket and did what felt natural. That basket I hit at the end turned out to be for hole11, somehow...? I went all the way back to the tee pad, re-examined the tee sign, traced my steps on the fairway and then spotted 16's basket- so easy to miss- shrouded by trees after a bonkers 90-degree turn halfway between the tee and what I thought was the fairway. The design of that hole irritated me when all of the others were so straight-forward and approachable. The tee pads of dirt, mud, rocks and/or roots also got me down a bit. Not to mention, I was still overall disappointed to see that the course didn't really match the deep forest around it. And the relatively flat landscape throughout it all left me feeling underwhelmed. Hole8's uphill jolt is as hilly as it gets here.
Still, Hickory Run is worth a visit. If you can forgive the cruddy tees, the peaceful venue will bid you welcome. If you can forgive the somewhat dull elevation, the devious trees will keep you on your toes. And if you can forgive the somewhat confusing first-time navigation, the 19 holes at Hickory Run will try its best to challenge you. But something tells me that forgiveness won't be an issue. Disc golfers tend to be chilled people in the first place.