Pros:
After playing this course twice in the last week, I'm honestly stunned at the low rating for this course. I can see that prior confusion over Black/Grey/Gold/etc. may have been an issue in the past, but currently -- Renny PPC is for sure in my eyes a solid 4 disc course.
This is the mid-level course on this property, with the nearby Renske filling the short track beginner slot and Gold filling the World Champion layout slot. While it may seem on the short side at around 5200-5300 feet for a mid-level course, the often dramatic elevation change (for Charlotte) more than makes up for the challenge. It is a much more strenuous trek than RenSke, which is a walk in the park by comparison.
As someone who played many years ago and is now back as a beginner/intermediate player, this course offers everything I want: uphill holes, downhill holes, open holes, tree'd up holes, split fairways, doglegs left and right, awesome green complexes - the whole gamut is here to test a player's skill. (I currently have no interest in tackling 1,000 foot holes - that's what the Gold course is for).
The love and care put into this course (and Gold, obviously) over the years shows itself in many ways and is greatly appreciated. There are steps, bridges, bulkheads, signs for every hole, benches on every tee - even a lookout stand on No. 11. Wayyy more than is normally seen at a disc golf course.
The basket placement is at times phenomenal. Baskets -- all Discatchers by the way -- are mounted on huge rock formations (10 & 14), nestled behind rock formations (11), precariously perched on dropoffs (3, 6, 7 & 8), or tucked neatly away (4, 12 & 13). In all these cases, you still have real work to do to make par, even after a good drive.
Signage on virtually every hole was well marked and easy to navigate, even through the overlaid Gold course. Once I found the first tee (on the sidewalk up past the tennis "stadium"), everything flowed well from there. (Two small issues, below).
Cons:
While navigation is clearly much improved and for the most part crystal clear, there were a couple of confusing spots.
On No. 9, the basket wasn't where I was expecting it to be. It was a good 150 feet uphill and to the right of where it seemed a basket was at one time. Which is fine, although I felt 9 should be a par 4 with the extended length.
Also, 18 tee wasn't readily apparent to me. I walked up and played from where the two white stakes were in the ground with a faded "18 200ft" on the left one. This would differ from the 300 ft length listed under Hole Info. I may have just overlooked the tee pad though - I hope so, since a 200 ft ace run in this location with the massive ravine really not in play is a mildly disappointing way to end such a nice track.
Standing water on left side of 14 fairway and on 15 are likely due to the near record amount of rain Charlotte has had this November.
Other Thoughts:
To me, this is a fantastic course and a full test of your throwing arsenal. My favorite holes are:
- No. 10 with the long downhill hyzer bomb to the basket on rock mountain
- No. 13 with the long downhill anhyzer to the tucked basket
Others of note:
No. 4 is a long S turn that plays around a fence to a tucked basket. Very tough.
No. 7 brutalized me both times, with the nasty dropoff all down the right side.
No. 9 as mentioned above, is wicked - downhill through the trees, then uphill hard right and long.
I hope more players will play "The Whites" at Renny and give the PPC the solid rating it deserves.