Pros:
At the back of a neighborhood apartment complex in the shadow of Signal Mountain and near the iconic W Road, the Ascent Apartment disc golf course stays fairly hidden though it's a solid little beginner course.
Despite being in existence for nearly three years, the Ascent Apartment course has received minimal attention and even less play due to it being obscured from public view. But it has some decent bones for a neighborhood course, and I was pleasantly surprised at the neatness of the layout.
The course is fairly easy to find and to traverse with a map. The signage is attractive and while the teepads are a hard rubber mat with wooded planks on either side, they provide adequate footing.
A majority of the holes are fairly open on a lovely lawn. However, there's a bit of diversity with two holes in the woods, plus one hole that starts in the open and goes into an opening in the woods, and another hole that starts in the woods and requires hitting a narrow gap to reach the opening.
The holes are all about 200 feet in length and mostly straight and flat, which is ideal for novices. And even though the fairways are behind the apartments, there's enough of a buffer to not bring the residences into play.
Cons:
One of the biggest drawbacks to the Ascent Apartments course is that's it's not exactly open to the public. There's a sign at the front of the apartment complex that states "No Trespassing" and "No Soliciting."
The rubber teepads were covered with grass clippings in spots.
While the holes were fairly straight, a few of the baskets were placed just out of view of the teepad. There are some briars on the left side of Hole #1. And the wooded holes were a bit overgrown off the fairway paths.
The course crisscrosses a few times, and with a couple holes hiding in the woods, navigation isn't exactly instinctual, as it would be easy to miss a hole.
Other Thoughts:
I played the course at 7 a.m. on a weekend morning. I drove past the "No Trespassing" sign, parked near Hole #1, grabbed three discs, dashed through the nine holes of fugitive-like disc golf in 18 minutes, and got the hell out of there.
However, it seemed like a peaceful neighborhood and a course that could be quietly bagged without too much trouble. As another user said, the course is "private but not unplayable."