Pros:
Beautiful location with mountains as a perfect backdrop. Nice creek that runs along several holes on the front 9. I'd hate having to fish a disc out of the water in the middle of winter. Back 9 plays mostly in a wide open field.
- Front 9 plays on one side of I-40, back 9 on the other side. Front nine plays in the park; back nine is disc golf only. Easy transition from the front to back.
- Great, descriptive tee signs. You can tell a lot of effort went into them.
- Some very cool, unique hole layouts. I loved #9 where you can see the basket through a drain pipe that runs under a bridge, but you have to throw over & around the bridge to get to the basket. I wonder if anyone has ever thrown a tee shot through the pipe or how many have gotten a disc stuck in their attempting to do so. I've also never had to throw around a billboard 30 feet from an interstate before - hole #17.
- Lots of shorter holes mean plenty of chances to make ace runs. Even the longer holes are mostly open, so you can be aggressive for potential birdies.
Cons:
Tee pads are hurting. Some are dirt, which is okay because most of those holes aren't long. The other tees are artificial grass boxes, which are only about half as long as they need to be. I couldn't get a full X-step run up on any of the artificial tee pads. The tee pads were also raised up several inches off the ground, which could result in a twisted ankle if not careful.
- The tunnel between the front and back 9 needs a complete guardrail. You can also tell it probably floods pretty easy, so I don't know how easy it would be to access the back 9 if the tunnel is inaccessible.
- Most of the front 9 weaves in and around a walking trail. I played on a slow Monday afternoon, but even then, I had to wait 3 times for walkers to move by before I could throw. I'm sure this is much more of a problem when the course is busier, like on weekends.
- Holes 3 - 5 are essentially the same hole. They're all BHLH throws in the 150 foot range all in a cramped, little part of the park. The whole front really is cramped together in a small part of the park. Now that the course is 18 holes, I would really like to see more use of the land to make some longer, tougher holes on the front 9.
- The back 9 is mostly in an open field. When I first walked out from the tunnel, I saw a bunch of baskets in this open field. Without a map, it'd be really hard to navigate the back 9 without throwing to wrong baskets. Also a note on several holes on the back 9. On #11, the basket is really close to a vegetable garden in somebody's backyard. On #13, you're throwing near, or through, the backyard of an abandoned house to the basket.
Other Thoughts:
All in all, the course seems like it may still be a work in progress. The kinks on the back 9 are still being worked out. Better/longer tee pads are a must.
- As mentioned above, now that this is an 18-hole course, it would be great if some of the holes on the front 9 got a makeover, improving the overall quality.
- On the back 9, the fairways and paths between one basket to the next tee are cut grass. Everything else (the rough) is taller grass. As long as the grass is constantly kept short, this strategy will work. If not, it's going to make things more difficult.
- Overall, the front 9 is nothing special. It felt like every small town 9 hole course. As mentioned above, I was surprised the back 9 was better, and more enjoyable than I would have expected.
- I feel a 2.0 is a slight bit generous, especially with the problems noted and the lack of overall difficulty. Still, I was able to manage to play a quick, enjoyable round on my way out of town. It's good that the Asheville area now has a second 18 hole course. And with a course at UNC-A being installed, the area is taking major steps to improving its DG scene.