Course is in a multi-use neighborhood level park of about 50 acres. Typical of courses/parks in this area, it is sited on rolling piedmont landform under near climax canopy. Kilbourne TPC is largely sequestered from other park activities and circles the park perimeter in a roughly counter clockwise fashion.
Initially installed in 1991 as Charlotte's 2nd permanent 'pole-hole' course, it has undergone at least 2 major revisions for various reasons. As a mature course, under the 'care' of the local DG community, it has aged gracefully, despite the large amount of foot traffic it receives due to its central Charlotte location. Reviewer has not visited the site in a decade, so while the review will address the current situation, some reference to the past will be unavoidable.
Amenities at the park are above average. Kilbourne's routing features returning 9s and is intuitive with the exception of a rough transition between hole 8 and tee 9. Overall park renovations have forced some major redesign around the turn, resulting in #s 8 & 9 being virtual duplicates. This deviation from the original has substantially weakened the course's design; subsequent adjustments have failed to fully compensate for this loss. Equipment is above average. Short tee pads are superior, while the 14 long tee pads are shorter and might be considered undersized. Signage adequately expresses current conditions with the exception of the course map at the 1st tee. At the time of writing, all long pin positions have been removed except #s 15 &16. Course has some drainage issues that will moderately affect play; the worst of which are #1's fairway and approach, #14's fairway and #15's tee area.
As one might expect, this course will reward flat, straight shots of up to 300', but overall the course, especially from the short tees, is decidedly 'clock-centric'. This means a decided advantage is given to stable clock spin shot shapes off the tee. This is truer on the back 9 and is amplified by the back's greater length and use of elevation changes. The demand for supreme fade control is not especially rigorous at Kilbourne. Elevation changes at Kilbourne are slight, and the cross-hill examples are more receptive to fades from clock-spin shot shapes. Ob areas are rare and are either clearly marked or intuitive.
As is the case with many other Charlotte area courses, the back 9 plays considerably longer and tougher than the front. Fairly unique for any golf course, nearly every hole at Kilbourne is either blind or semi-blind from the tee, so some local knowledge (or previous rounds) is (are) needed in order to score well. Despite this fact, fairways at this course are some of the widest, best defined and most forgiving of any wooded course this reviewer has played; there is plenty of room for variations/inaccuracies of any given line, without fear of serious penalty. Roughs can be very penal for the serious gaff, but are well worn in the areas with highest foot traffic. Generous recovery chances are available while scrambling. In addition, fairways are smoothly graded, very clear of debris and the clay substrate is thoroughly compact, opening up the roller game somewhat (a couple of fairways actually have volunteer turf established). This is somewhat rare for a wooded course.
#4 is one of the first area incarnations of the 'split' fairway concept and was one of this reviewer's favorite holes when the course first opened. This hole's style need be in the vocabulary of any course designer, as multiple route options from the tee offer some of the highest 'play' value for golfers, despite the labor intensity needed to create them. The designer's hand will be evident, but not dictatorial so.
Long throwers have been known to overwhelm this course, and this advantage has become even more pronounced over the years, which should be a reasonable expectation based on the course's forgiving nature and an average hole length of about 300'. It should also be noted that this is in part due to sections of the initial course's design being based around short-lived tree species (loblolly pine). Where unprotected, these trees are now largely absent. The few that remain in fairways are either diseased or past mature.
The fact that long throwers could overwhelm the course was probably the prime motivator for the creation of the 'Skillbourne' layout, which now consists only of extended tees on 14 holes with additional pins on 2 holes. These tees, with a couple of exceptions, are mere extensions of the existing lines of play and all add extreme 'tightness' to the tee shot. Frequently, the golfer is asked to throw out of tiny chute (how does 6' wide @ 40' on a 300'+ hole sound? Tight?). Often a tree is centered directly in the line of play. In a couple of instances, the golfer may 'select' from a group of uniformly tiny windows that vary slightly in distance from the tee. Despite the fact that several of these newer tees are canted to the right of the original line of play, playing from these long tees even more greatly favors stable clock spin shot shapes (than the original course), especially those from a RHBH thrower; any roller game has been effectively neutralized as well. In instances where there is a tree centered in the line of play, it actually results in a Hobson's choice, defaulting to the previously mentioned advantage in shot shape.
Kilbourne's greens are perhaps the least punishing and most forgiving of any area course of this length or greater. In the main they feature less than 2% slope and are largely 'open' within the circle. Several are 'pocketed', however, and these few are fairly well congested with obstacles. They add some variety, which was previously missing, to the approach/short game, and are the results of renovation.
Despite its age, Kilbourne TPC, is still a solid course that has held up well over time. One must attribute this to the efforts of the local community, who demonstrate an almost religious fervor and dedication to their facilities. Reviewer feels the course offers excellent play value for golfers of all levels, especially advanced level players. Until you can shoot in the low 40s here, every time, there is no reason to feel it outdated or unchallenging.