Blue Flame offers mixed heat. There is a portion of this course that is excellent, just a notch below Grand Central. Then, there are a couple stretches that remind you what it's like to play a school course. You take the good. You take the bad.
- Course starts kicking into gear on #4, then hits full speed on #5. You're teeing off right next to a 4-lane road, (Yes, I know it's a highway, but the speed limit is 45mph.) throwing downhill into the woods. This is a near dead-ringer for #4 at RL Smith in Charlotte. Such an excellent hole.
- #6 is a nice, uphill dogleg. #7 & 8 are fine. Then you get to a stretch of a couple more excellent holes. I really liked #9. It's the first of several holes with baskets playing alongside a stream. One hole after another that requires good approach shots.
- #11 is a lesser version of #5 but still fun. This time there's a large tree in the middle of the fairway. You going to throw a shot around the tree: you gonna throw low and let it slide towards the basket; you gonna try to skip it towards the basket?
- Between #11 and 12, you have the two most scenic backdrops on the course. They're also two of the most scenic greens in the region.
- Add to that, #12 has such a fun, creative layout with the stream weaving in and out of the fairway changing its width throughout. The closer you are to the water, the better angle your approach shot to the basket will be. So, do you risk going OB into the water with your tee shot, or risk it with your approach shot?
- #13 & 16 are the final two good wooded holes. #17 is wide open, but does offer a nice ace run.
- Good tee signs at each hole. Helpful for the blind tee shots.

Course starts with a whimper and ends with a whimper. Just like you had to sit through the Jessica Tandy scenes at the beginning and end of Fried Green Tomatoes before you got to the Idgie story, you've got to sit through the bland open holes here. At least you avoid the mirror.
- If you could trim the fat, the course would be greatly improved. Replace #2 & 3 with two more holes in the woods. Plus, it'd be an easy walk straight from #1 to 4. I'd say #18 also has to go, but then you'd have a long walk from the back of the campus to the front parking lot near #1.
- A couple holes have awkward/unnatural angles/lines that are frustrating. The fairway on #7 is too much station-to-station shot making. I also felt there had to be a cleaner transition from the field to the woods on #9. Once, you're in the woods, the second half of this hole is outstanding. It's just clunky.
- No amenities on the course. Benches would be nice in a couple spots. So would trash cans, but I at least understand the logistics of why there aren't any of those.

Blue Flame overall offers positive vibes. A lot like Pisgah Park in Lexington in terms of quality.
- During the stretch from #4 to #13, you almost forget you're at a high school. You get reminded when you tee off on #11 where you are. Not feeling like a school course is a very good thing.
- I like having three long par 4s. Holes #7, 9, and 12 are all longer than 500 feet. And with tight fairways, all require accuracy.
- It's at least a quarter mile walk from #18's basket back to the first tee. Regardless of where you park, you're going to have a bit of a hike to start and/or finish your round.
- Holes #2 & 3 overlap with the original eight-hole loop. Go ahead and play the remaining six holes and bag an easy second course while you're here.
- When you're teeing off on #9, you notice how steep the hill to your right is and how far down you are compared to the parking lot. If only there was a way to incorporate the massive drop-off into a hole. Hmmm.
- This is a fun course. I'd recommend playing Hagood while you're here. You get a big drop-off, top-of-the-world hole there in #17 (former #8).
- There's a lot to like here. Even with a few clunkers, my overall impression of this course is positive.

-Located on a huge high school campus with a very hilly terrain, Pickens HS has the most potential in the area. There are many par three holes that seem pretty common to the ones you'd see at Dacusville or Hampton Baptist. There's a great mix of elevation, open and wooded, distance, and The four par fours are the four most difficult holes here. They are all pretty long, have tight lines at some point, and have dense rough on both sides of the fairway. All of them have their own shape and character to them.

-Several significant elevation changes. Few over thirty feet in grade change. The one with the most probably has about 45', which is more than Hampton Baptist! You'll LOVE the top of the world shot on #11. This is the big one! The big downhiller! Tee off on top of the hill next to the ball field and go all the way down in the woods to the creek. Fantastic hole! #7 is probably 40' down as well. This is a double dogleg par four with some rhododendron bushes all around the approach. The hill isn't just straight down like #11. You have to play this one smartly. Go long at the first turn, you'll be further down and will have to pitch back up the hill. #13 is an excellent uphill par four. Reminded me of two holes in different states. #15 at Lake Russell in Elberton, GA and #7 long at Inverness in Hoover, AL. The tee shot looks a lot like #7 at Inverness but the hill isn't immediately in front of you (similar to #15 at Lake Russell). Hole is a third of the way open and two thirds of the way wooded. The basket is on a flatter green (like #15 at Lake Russell), but the hill is steeper, a little higher up, and the basket turns a good bit right at the last 100' (like #7 at Inverness). This is my favorite hole at Blue Flame!

-Brilliant use of creek. Love how it comes into play on #11 past the green. You have to throw a very accurate touch shot down the hill to get a secure birdie. #12 has the best of it. The creek is in play in the middle of the fairway the whole entire way. Mind you, this is a 540' par four! I don't know if it is casual water or not, but even if it is, the creek drops a little and makes for a difficult footing. If the creek is OB, then this is probably the hardest hole for sure. The basket is visible from the pad and straight ahead, but the fairway is pretty tight and you can't see the whole creek from the pad. This is an excellent par four. #10 doesn't have the creek in play necessarily, but it does throw over a bowl in the ground.

-Nice green carpet tee pads. Very visible. U disc is currently a must have to play just FYI. Nice blue disc catchers that represent the blue color at the school as well.

-There are seven short pads. One on #2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 13. They are a little less difficult but also less interesting than the longs. I recommend the longs at least on #5. The long pad is off a 30+ hill and the short is just half the distance and flat. The short pad on #9 makes for an interesting par three in the woods and appears to be a lot different than the long (a 600' par four). It's a hyzer with more of a curve. The long pad is still more fun to play. Out of a wooded shoot into the open at the bottom of hill. The hill is incredibly steep on the right side. If you bounce of the side of it, your long drive could be sabotaged.

-The variety of challenge that you see from the blues is enough to attract all players and not discourage new players. #16 and #17 are both easy birdies. They aren't the funnest holes, but they are very welcoming for new players. They have a great opportunity to make a few birdies at a considerably challenging course. The par fours are all very difficult even for pros. You can clearly distinguish the easy ones from the hard ones.

-The ending could be a whole lot better. The last three holes are no fun. #16 is a short slightly downhill putter toss in the woods. #17 is a very weak par three. 205' and uphill. I saw the basket for #17 far off up a hill when searching for the tee pad. I was thinking "Hmm it's wide open, but maybe it's just REALLY steep uphill." It looks like it may be steep uphill on the way to it, and there is a huge slope a good way to the right side, but it's really not. It's one of those holes that sometimes looks to be very high up, but it's not. 20 feet up at most. I couldn't really read the elevation, so I through a putter pretty hard and went about 15' long. #18 is pretty similar. It's a little longer and the OB road is to the left, and the basket is on a hill. But being straight in front of you and wide open just makes the rollaway potential irritating since it's a very bland hole. There is a water tower inside a closed fence to the right side on top of the hill. Wish the basket was pushed back past the fence and further up the hill. Would be nice to see maybe a 375' uphill blistering par three with more rollaway potential that requires more critical thinking, but it's just a boring 260' hole by the road. If there are tournaments held here in the future, please come up with alt pins on the last three holes.

-#3 is very close to the road on the left and close to the parking lot on the right. Not a very fun hole either. Just open, flat, and a lot of OB.

-No tee signs yet, but I know they are coming. While we are addressing navigation, the first hole is very hard to find. You have to walk down the hill where you see #2's basket and enter the woods. Needs an arrow pointing to where the disc golf course starts.

-I wasn't wild about the very open holes at Blue Flame (#2, 3, 17 and 18). But the remaining fourteen were very interesting for the most part and had more of a "wow" factor than most of the holes at Dacusville and Hampton (which both are great courses too). If the open holes could change a little bit for the better then Blue Flame will likely be the next best course in the Greenville area next to Grand Central. I already like it a little better than Golden Grove, so to me personally, it's already about the second best in the Greenville area along with Hampton Baptist. I think it could distinctively be the second best if #17 and #18 are at least modified.

-Course is a hike for sure. You'll be walking up and down at least a few steep hills. Wear some good hiking shoes. Overall, highly recommend. It's a great new track that I think will only be greater as time goes.