-I enjoy the layout at Restoring Hope Church. It's a simple design, done quite well. Even the wide-open holes aren't quite gimmes due to them either being over 250' (#2, #4, and #7), or having some sort of consequence for a misfire off the tee (OB on 1 & 9). None of the holes are too short.

-Great shot shaping requirements on the wooded holes. #5 is a nice uphill ace run up the gut into the woods. #6 is a 209' left to right backhand putter shot or a forehand mid. Tightest hole that Restoring Hope has to offer. This is kind of like stripped down version of #9 at Sugar Hollow in Bristol, VA. While this may be the tightest fairway, this isn't the hardest hole.

-#8 is a blistering hole. By far the most unique. Probably would have the most mixed feelings. Basket is no more than maybe 10' from the path. You tee off on a trail facing a gap out into the gap. There are overhead branches that prevent you from throwing a big hyzer, so you're looking for a big flare. The fairway instantly turns sharply to the left and the road is in play long. If you don't skip out at the right timing, you'll either be in the rough on the leftside of the fairway or OB long over the road. I shot -5 here with a double bogey on this hole.

-Nice new red disc catcher baskets.

-Family friendly property. Has a decent sized playground for the kids.

-Most notably, there is no signage. All of the tees are marked by flag, which is good, but direction is pretty vague when you first pull in. The first hole was a way's away from where I parked. It's directly behind the church around the playground. Course could use signage or a sign telling you where the first tee is.

-The rough on the right side of #3's basket is quite dense and hard to even find a way to enter if you go too far right. Very thorny in spots. #4's rough is a serious problem for those of you that are more sensitive to ivy. There's some lost disc potential.

-I like both of the holes, but #4 and #5's fairways cross each other. The house by #9 is too close and has plenty of glass windows that could break if hit. Not sure if a family lives there or if it's just used for storage space or a Bible study class.

-Other Thoughts: No bad holes here. I enjoyed the opportunity to throw a driver on #4. It's the longest hole at 365'. I like how this niner is more than just a bunch of short open putter shots like Warlick. There's some variety along with a little bit of elevation. This is a better nine holer that'll spark some interests, even though the chances for an ace are much slimmer. It's very well thought out and planned. Great job to whoever designed it.

-For big arm throwers, there's a nice opportunity to throw some big practice drives from #9's fairway to the field at the bottom of the hill. That is, of course if there is no crowd.

Restoring Hope Church is an enjoyable, straightforward layout. It looks like zero clearing was needed to install this course. That's encouraging because it means the course will need minimal upkeep over time.
- Course is predominately an open layout. Only two truly wooded holes. Stray tee shots can find the woods easily on many other holes as all but #9 border wooded areas, some of which are thicker than others.
- #4 is a fun tee shot. Tee area and basket hug the left side of an open field. Going left is bad. Going far right is worse. Wooded area is covered in ivy, so any disc landing in there can get easily absorbed. Even after searching for more than 30 minutes, I couldn't locate my pink Leopard. Considering old tires were almost completely covered by the ivy, any discs that settles in the ivy might be a lost cause.
- #5 is a fun uphill, shoot-the-gap shot. 163 feet, teeing off from the open (you cross #4's fairway), to a basket up on a small hill. Fun birdie, ace-run.
- #8 is a fun sharp dogleg left. Tee off from the woods, throwing into a gap, aiming directly at a metal storage building. Once in the opening, fairway slopes sharp downhill and left. If the hard surfaces (parking lot and basketball court) are played as OB, this suddenly becomes an extremely difficult par 3. Outside of the risk of smacking the building, this is a fun, little layout.
- #9 is a quick, open, uphill layout. Don't go left or you're hitting a house. You can be forgiven for smacking the building on #8. Crashing through a window on #9 is probably a different story.
- Baskets are in great shape.
- Once you find the first tee, course is easy to navigate. Tees are marked with white flags and are generally close to the prior hole's basket.

A couple of safety concerns with basket locations. On #1, you're throwing over or around the church's fenced-in playground. Even playing when it's empty, I don't like the risk of hitting property if it all possible.
- It's worse on #9. The house on the right side is in play for anyone who throws RHBH hyzer. Just move the tee spot 20-30 feet to the left and take that risk out of play.
- A lot of simple, open holes. As stated above, to combat the open holes, baskets are placed close to the woods. Going long on #2 is bad. Going long or right on #3 is bad. Going left or right on #4 is bad. You get the point.
- Grass/natural tees. I would like to see something better than white irrigation flags marking the tee areas. Even a basic sign on a wooded post would be helpful, simply to state the hole number and length
- There is potential for creating some holes if time and resources were allowed in the woods. I get why it wasn't done. So, consider this a mere observation. That said, with some behind #2 & right of #3, you could create excellent, change-of-pace layouts.
- No amenities on the course. Pack it in. Pack it out.

For a simple layout, I enjoyed Restoring Hope. Would it be as fun playing here regularly? Probably not. But that's not my concern.
- Open field where holes #1 - 4 are located offers a chance for some good field work.
- With enough space throughout the church campus, you could easily put in 9 temporary baskets and create a fun ace race tourney layout. I see this church doing bbq or fish fry fundraisers at some point throughout the year. So, why not do disc golf events as well?
- #2 is fun in that it's the type of hole where you can soft toss a disc, and watch it gently sail down towards the basket. The same Leopard I lost on #4 seemed like it was in the air for 20 seconds as it glided towards the basket. An easy, peaceful shot.
- I liked the outdoor classroom setting by #7's tee. It would have been fun to incorporate this more into the hole, even if it just meant teeing off through the space. I like when courses incorporate some of the aspects of their outdoor designs. Orchard Hill in Greenville, SC does an excellent job of this.
- Overall, this is a fun, simple layout. It's not going to wow anyone. Beginners and casuals should like this layout. Advanced players are getting mostly 2s on their scorecard. I'll call it a perfectly suitable 9-holer that's much better than the closest course to it: Warlick Academy.