Pros:
Bearcat is a good, varied beginner course on the campus of Rock Hill High. By school standards, this is one of the more enjoyable courses.
- Good variety. #1 is a solid opener. Midrange hole with rough/wetlands running along the entire right side and a parking lot along the left. #2 is a little uphiller teeing off alongside a rock. Unlike Sullivan, this is the only rock that comes into play.
- #3 & 4 are nice little downhill shots. Either one may tempt you to throw a second or third disc as you insist you should be able to make a run directly to the basket.
- It's a good course to introduce newcomers to the game. None of the baskets comes close to the main road, so that's not a problem. And with only one hole longer than 250 feet (#5 at 298 feet), you don't need a big arm here. Second longest is only 218 feet - #1.
- Course is easy to navigate. It's easy to spot the tee sign posts with the possible slight exception of #2 if you don't walk far enough. Even though you can see multiple baskets at any time, it's not difficult figuring out which one to throw at.
- Course encourages aggressive tee shots with this layout. Your biggest penalties are if you go right on #1, 4, or 5. On #4 & 5 especially, there are some nasty thorns in that rough. Playing in January, I had on long pants and layered shirts and those thorns still managed to work their way through.
- It's great that a high school has a disc golf course. It's a nice little plot of land for this type of course. I hope a lot of students get introduced, and hooked, on the game by playing here.
Cons:
For intermediate level or above, the course presents very little challenge. There are strategically located trees on #3, 4, & 6. Otherwise, even an overly aggressive tee shot should likely only yield a par at worst.
- In terms of length, there's very little variety. I only threw a driver on #6. It's only 164 feet and uphill. I opted for driver here because I wanted a big skip on a low tee shot around a tree. And, seeing my disc underneath the basket, I made the right call.
- #8 & 9 are basic filler holes. It's not the greatest look when a course seemingly runs out of steam after seven holes.
- Tee markers were inconsistent. I say this is only an issue because it impacted several holes from being easier or more difficult if you're teeing off 10 feet to the right vs 10 feet to the left of the tee marker. On #9, for example, choosing the side of the tee signs alters whether you're throwing right at the basket with no obstacles (left of tee marker) vs having a little tree obstacle and having to throw more of sweeping shot (right of the tee sign).
- The course has no amenities, not that any are needed. There's a board by the first tee, and that's about it. Being a high school and aimed for its students, water fountains, bathrooms, etc. are inside the school.
Other Thoughts:
If you live more than 5 minutes away from this course, you're not playing here unless you're bagging.
- The course was decent, but unmemorable. #1 & 4 are the most scenic, and probably memorable, designs but even they're rather mundane. It would be nice to see something just a tad more significant here.
- This is pretty middle of the pack in terms of the Rock Hill/York County school courses. It is better than Castle View Middle, just down the road. So if you live close by, this is the one to play and/or practice at.
- I like that there's a sidewalk/path that takes you directly from here to Sullivan Middle. If you choose to play both courses, it's easier to just walk from one to the other. It's barely a tenth of a mile to go from #5, walk to Sullivan, start your round on that course's #6, play all nine there, walk back, and pick back up on #6.
- It had been 11 and a half years since the first time I played here. In the meantime, I've played more than 300 additional courses, which may have helped me appreciate this layout a little more. If they're not going to afford the course more land, this is about as good as you can expect. As such, I've bumped my rating up a half point.