Sloan Park is a classic, small town park that offers a fun, small-town feel. Don't let the laid-back feel of the park fool you as the course offers plenty of bite.
- Course offers a simple warm up stretch with the initial stretch of holes. The most memorable part of the first four holes is easily the mill house behind the basket on #2. A fantastic backdrop for a simple layout. If only this were further along in the course. Then it'd be a great place to stop and soak in the scenery.
- #5 & 6 are the best of the open holes with #5 offering a birdie run, ace race chance. #6 has a hill to crest followed by a slight dogleg right basket laid just into the woods. At 375 feet it's one of the course's longer holes. As it plays, it's one of the course's best several holes. If only more holes had this level of fun & challenge.
- #7 is the start of the wooded portion of the course. It was seemingly the easiest hole on the course, a dogleg left, 185-foot birdie run design. Throw a soft, high-sweeping shot and let it fall back towards the basket.
- The course offers a high risk/reward component especially for one that's sub 5,000 feet. I feel had I played more aggressively my round would have yielded more birdies and bogeys, but my score would have most likely been comparable to what I scored with my par-fest.
- Course places high emphasis on accuracy over distance. If you can carve a shot around trees, hit small gaps, and avoid unlucky bounces, you'll see lots of birdie chances. If not, you'll be like me and have lots of scrambling to save pars.
- #9 was a tight, gauntlet-esque design. It was a light version of #9 at Fox Chase in Albemarle with the down and up factor to it. There's one tree sticking out just far enough 1/3 of the way down the fairway that I managed to hit 3 times in a row. I finally avoided it and put myself in position for a long birdie run. A fun, straight-ahead design.
- Whichever of the wooded holes you avoid hitting a tree on will be more enjoyable that day. Honestly, 11, 12, 14, 16, & 17 were all non-descript. But you'll probably have a great tee shot on at least one of them, and that will be a fun hole that day.
- Nice, large park. For some reason, if you're coming from Charlotte, GPS has you driving on back, country roads for 15 minutes. In reality, you're close to both Salisbury and Mooresville so other disc golf courses are nearby.

Two main issues left a pall over the round: poor navigation/signage and overly tight/uncompleted clearing of fairways. Both are prevalent issues throughout the course with one being a micro issue and the other macro.
- Start with the micro. Navigation is nonexistent. Pulling into the park, you'll see baskets for #5, then #4. Driving to the main parking lot, I saw no other signs of a course, except one basket in the distance - #14. I then went up the side road, saw the basket for #6, and that was it. I was fortunate enough to see an employee who directed me where to go for #1. I never would have thought to follow a trail past the playground, over the creek, to the mill house to find #1. Put a sign in the parking lot!!!
- After that, issues came up again throughout the round. After #7, the path goes two directions. Both options would be wrong as instead you follow a little side trail for #8. After #11, you again come to a fork in the road. I correctly chose to go left. However, before coming to #12, you first see the tee for #16. And finally, after #14, if you walk into the field, you see the basket for #18. Here, you backtrack to the path to find #15.
- The wooded holes need to be cleared both high and low. Fairways are too narrow. Put it this way, anyone who's ever played Tidal Creek in the Charleston, SC area knows what it's like to have walking trails as fairways. This is that level of non-clearing. In additions, the fairways are littered with tree stumps so pay attention unless you wanted banged-up ankles.
- The issue with tight fairways is that it takes the fun out of so many potentially enjoyable holes. #18 could be a great downhill closing hole. Instead branches hang over the fairway make this more of a dud. As was the case with other holes, I hit a branch halfway down this fairway, then had a simple 120-foot up-and-down for another unsatisfying par.
- Tee signs are minimalistic: hole number and lengths only. For the several blind tee shots, an image would be useful. Also, a great spot to point players towards the next hole.

There are solid bones at Sloan. I enjoyed more than half the holes, probably about two-thirds are solid. The biggest flaw is the stretch from #10 - #15 where the fairways are very tight, leaving little margin for error.
- Think of the course with two general designs: wide open holes (#1 - #6) and heavily wooded (#7 - 18). A better mix of the two at least break up both stretches. Say for example, after #14 or #18, have another open hole or two in the field.
- #14 and possibly #15 are in flood plains. Park worker I talked to said that the fairway for #14 will flood after heavy rains, or at least remain muddy. Something to consider.
- There is some solid terrain that could be used for holes in the option portion of the park you see on your walk from #7 to 8.
- With a high risk/reward component to this course, scoring variances could be higher than normal for most short courses. On a good day, you could see one birdie chance after another. On a bad day, you'll be scrambling for par throughout your round.
- I've lived in Charlotte since 1987 save for my time in college in Chapel Hill. Up until this course was posted on DGCR, I had never heard of Mt. Ulla. Just an ignorant big city person, I guess.
- I'm confused as to who this course is aimed for. Holes #1 - 6 seem aimed at more casual players. Once you play a couple of wooded holes, the one-disc carrying players may be out of their element, especially if they're walking deep into the woods after bad bounces off trees.
- I feel it won't take much to make this a better course than currently exists. A few more branches or trees cleared on the wooded holes will make the course more enjoyable. As is, it's just off the mark. I feel that Lake Corriher, Rowan County's other new course, is a far better course even though that's only 12 holes. Given the option, I'd rather play that one again than here. In its current state, Sloan gets a 2.5 in my book. It's not that far away from a 3.0 rating so a return trip would be in order if/when the course work gets completed.