This is one of the best of the best courses in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Until yesterday, it was my favorite area course. I'm afraid with the arrival of Diavolo, Rock Ridge drops to a close second.
It's a bit of a trek to get there from the RDU area, but it is definitely worth the drive. The course is in a very secluded park in Pittsboro. It is very quiet and was not crowded at all on a Saturday morning for us.
- The layout is fantastic. It's a championship level layout, but is playable for rec level players from the shorter tees.
- Tee pads were immaculate.
- Baskets are in perfect condition
- This is a typical wooded North Carolina course, but every hole is fair if you hit your lines
- Signage and flow are great. We never hand any trouble navigating the course.

The only con was the lack of bathroom facilities. There was a very clean porta-toilet near the parking lot, but true facilities would be nice.

We love this course and will return. We especially liked that it was not crowded, even on a summer Saturday morning.

I think the course flow and hole breakdown is well covered in others reviews, so I'll just offer a couple of reasons why this is one of my favorite courses ever.

Great placement golf that requires using your brain just as much as your arm. Great risk/reward on all the par 4 and 5s and every par 3 is a chance for birdie even if you don't have a super arm. Even though the course is wooded, the lines are so well defined there is less "unfair" limbs to screw up a good shot.

Privacy- The park has many walking trails, a playground and picnic shelters, but you only see these transitioning between holes and never have to worry about interference with other park goers. In the 15 rounds i've played, never had to wait on anyone to throw or had someone come up behind me. The only evidence of other players is usually the distant sound of chains.So you never get hurried or distracted, which I feel is crucial to success on a "thinking golf" style course.

Replay value- I couldn't imagine ever getting bored with playing here due to the dizzying number of line options on each hole.After 15 rounds here I still haven't explored all the lines or found the best route to get to the hole. The last time I played here My drive on 18 finished hard right, thought I was in the spinach but found the right (and I think easier) fairway! Never even seen that line. I live over an hour away but still can't get enough of this course.

Course is always well maintained and clean.

Nitpicking really-

Teepads are nice and the best gravel/rubber mat combo I've seen. You're not throwing bombs so you don't ever need a crazy runup, but they can get soggy when the course is wet.

Some drainage issues when rain has been heavy, which I don't personally mind, but some of the holes have that "rugged"aspect and you could get your feet wet if you dont wear boots.

No long distance throws even with lots of 4s and 5s- I think this is a plus, and one of the things that makes rock ridge unique, but if you're looking to air it out go somewhere else. And I suppose a 5 rating would really need at least one of these, as an example #17 at wellspring.

I first tried this course because a good friend/throwing partner moved to pittsboro, and we could not believe the caliber of this place in his backyard. One of the best courses in the state. I am very biased, but as I said I live over an hour away so this course has earned my bias. It's that good people. And rarely used. Even with privacy being one of my top pluses of the course, there is PLENTY of room for more players and no fear of overcrowding. C'mon out!

- Beautiful course in mature NC forest.
- Very well designed; there are clear lanes that will reward you for accuracy.
- Two sets of rubber tee pads at every hole in very good condition; was very nice especially as it was a little muddy.
- Excellent signage; by far the best at any course I have played. Each tee pad has an accurate sign which tells you what path will be the easiest to the basket. Also small signs to direct you to the next hole. I was never wandering around trying to find the next hole.
- Secluded. Even though I played on a perfect 75 degree Saturday afternoon I only saw glimpses of 2-3 other groups.

- Not the most accessible course to get to. Obviously this depends on where you live but there are many options closer to the triangle.
- A little nitpicking but for me there were no holes with jawdropping views (like at Buckhorn for example).
- I like courses to have at least one or two wide open holes to let it rip.

I felt compelled to write a review of this course after a day of disc golf around the triangle. I played Buckhorn, Rock Ridge, and UNC. Rock Ridge was my favorite followed closely by Buckhorn. UNC just didn't do it for me. I cannot emphasize enough how great the signs and tee pads are. While there are some difficult long, blind holes, there are a few good chances for birdies that make up for it. I would definitely play this course all the time if it was closer to me. The best in the area.

Tee Pads are great for the terrain. Fairways are well defined. Benches on all pro tees. Multiple Tees on each hole. Tee signs and course flow are among the best I've played. Only course to have better tee signs is Rockness.

The longer tees allow more experience players a challenge while the shorter tees allow rec and intermediate players enjoy the course as well. I have played both multiple times. You will need every shot to succeed here. Course is very balanced and doesn't favor any one particular hand.

Drainage could still be a concern on 2 holes. As the course has matured and the fairways have worked in it has improved. But the times that I have played after rain it was an issue. This is what keeps it from a 5.

This course has gotten better every time I've played it. I've played it about 4 times this year alone. Definitely one of my top 5.

This course has it all. Ups, Downs, Lefts, Rights, Dead Straights. This is my first non par 54 course, and this is the kind of golf I want to play more of. Its difficult, but also incredibly fair in the sense that it usually allows you to pitch out with forward progress if you get into the junk, and still make a good upshot to save par. If you play conservative, its really fairly easy to stay within range of par here. If you do decide to go for it on the risk/reward holes, you either feel like a hero or a nobody.

The tee pads are AMAZING. If you've played Camp Durant BSC's course, you know that the fine gravel mixture they use is about as good as it gets. Rock Ridge goes a step better by laying down hexagon mats in the gravel to combat erosion and ruts. I much prefer these to concrete tees, but I'm weird.

GREENS! The greens on this course are very well designed. While not always the full diameter of the circle, they are plenty big to collect a decent shot and allow a putt opportunity. The biggest thing that I like about them are that the only trees left inside the green area are very well thought out guardian trees. No random knock your putt down for no reason types.

The fairways are plenty wide for NC golf, and there are usually multiple line options on any given hole. Some don't make sense when viewed from the short tees, but step back to the longs and it all makes sense.

This park is not really a multi-use park in the sense that it doesn't have ball fields, soccer fields, basketball courts, or any of that stuff. Once you're on the course, you don't run the risk of making an errant throw and accidentally hitting someone. The only other things in the park are the paved walking/running paths and a playground for families. Both of these are far enough from the throwing areas that you don't have to worry about them though.

The biggest con that I have with this course is that it's 2.5 hours from where I live. It's that good.

The minor gripes that I have are easy to get over when I think back about all the things I love, but I'll talk about them here anyway.

Signage. The tee signs are wonderful, but some signs pointing you in the direction of the next tee would be useful on a few of the holes, especially when you have to go back out to the paved paths. Our first time around we got a little confused once or twice, but nothing terrible. Something a little more permanent than the survey flags currently marking trails would be nice.

There aren't too many places to refill a water bottle so bring at least two if you drink a lot.

Bathrooms. There is only a port-a-john at the parking lot. If you hit DEFCON 1, go ahead and write-off your golf towel.

This course is truly a gem. I've rated it a 4.5 because I honestly think it will be at least that good as it gets played in.

The course may not have been strictly finished when I played here, but that didn't really detract from my experience. Some of the holes had the tees and signs in: I can imagine that the rest of the holes will feature the same quality amenities. And with trusty(and fantastic) map in hand, I really didn't need the signs. Honestly, even in its unfinished state, I could have navigated this course without sign or map. The design is that intuitive.

I'm not sure what else will be done to Rock Ridge before it is considered finished. In my opinion, it doesn't need too much more work for me to list it as one of my favorites. Why? It's the curves. While this isn't the only course to feature established fairways,(as opposed to picking a line through trees) it is the on that has carved them at the perfect angle to be thrown down. The longer holes often feature two different curved sections. The first throw may be right to left, the second forces you to go back the other way. Here too, the angles are perfect for disc golf. If the first throw lands correctly, the second fairway will be just as beautiful as the first was off the tee. It's those damn curves, that get me every time.

Rock Ridge also brings a ton of variety to the table. There are short holes: six are under 200 feet. There are long holes: the two par fives are over 500 feet, long for wooded holes. There are holes of every length in-between. Ambitiously, the majority of the holes (excluding the shortest ones) feature multiple channels. Typically this means a right channel and a left, but 5, 14 and 6 feature three separate paths to the basket. Between the separate channels, and the two sets of tees, which do provide significantly different looks, there is a ton of replayability here.

There is also a ton of challenge. The par fours are real par fours. The par fives are indeed fives. I've yet to see wooded holes so long. They require not just accurate shots, but multiple accurate shots if you want to stay in the fairway. And if you want to score well, you need to stay in the fairway. In all it's one of the tougher courses I've played, and I like to think that the long tees, with multiple holes over 500 feet, and seventeen an impressive 741 feet down a wooded fairway, will challenge better players as much as the short tees do intermediates.

The flow is also impeccable. The paths between holes are a joy and transition from hole to hole seamlessly. There are a few next tee signs where the path joins the walking path, but most of the holes have absolutely no need of them.

In summation, it's just one of the best layouts that I've ever seen. I've never spent that much time thinking the curve of a fairway before. I'm sure it's rattled around in my brain on one course or another, but I've mainly noticed angles that were off. Here, I suddenly notice how all the curves are just right. But be careful, once you pass that threshold, you may not look at a different course the way that you used to.

Well, there isn't any terrain variety. While the holes all play differently, the look is fairly consistent. There are also no open holes, and no water holes so if you want some of those, you are out of luck here.

It's also a bit of a haul between nine and ten. The route pops back out into the parking lot. This could be a pro for some, as it allows people to play nine, or twenty seven, or just start on 10. But leaving the course does break the atmosphere a tad.

UPDATE: If anything could be improved about the course, it's the drainage. Granted, this is just after an ice storm, but there has to be some way to keep water from sitting in tee areas. And a path should be constructed leading from the twelve basket to the thirteen tee.

UPDATE: The above was written after I first played the course, when it was not yet complete. I had thought about waiting till my next go-round to write the review, but sometimes courses put words in my head, and I had to get these ones out. I returned to the course this morning and I still couldn't help but be amazed by how well-crafted the course is.