Pros:
Canaan Riverbend is an absolute gem of a course. Somehow, a course this good in an elite-disc golf metro has remained to be hidden. And that's just from playing the short tees!
- Canaan is even better than I expected. I'll admit I was skeptical about how a course 15 minutes south of Charlotte could be getting such positive reviews yet many disc golfers in the area (myself include) didn't know much about it. After making trips to play courses several hours away, I finally made the short drive to one of the closest courses to my house. Man, did I feel like a fool for not coming here sooner.
- The first three holes alone give you feels of three different courses. I played the shorter tees with my pal. Even from the shorter tees, the course is tough. Hole #1 reminded me immediately of WR Jackson at the IDGC. A long, wide-fairway layout that still plays tough.
- Hole #2 is 312 feet (from the shorts) that is a semi-sharp dogleg left. If you miss the dogleg, you're in the river. #3 is only 111 feet from the short tee, and is about as easy of a birdie chance you'll see all day. From the long tee, you're throwing over the creek, which is a taste of things to come.
- This is the longest 5800-foot course I've ever played. Even from the short tees, many of the holes are grinds. The way that's most often achieved is by creating challenging putting zones with baskets on the edges of slopes.
- This is both a pro and a con. On one hand, just like a (ball) golf putting green where you need to land your ball on the correct side of the hole, you need to be accurate with where your disc lands. On several occasions, I thought I had thrown a great tee/approach shot, landing 15-25 feet from the basket. When I got to my disc I realized I was above the basket, and if I missed my putt, I'd be down the hill, facing a 40-foot comeback putt. Nothing to slow your momentum in a tough round like having to lay-up from 25 feet.
- Course is relatively flat, yet, somehow also somehow seemed to have just enough elevation to create difficulty. It was another layer of challenge to have holes seem flat, but to have enough elevation to cause shots to either land short or sail long.
- Course offers some great, creative layouts. A straight, 156-foot layout should be an ace run....however, on #9, when the Catawba River is running along the left side of the fairway, suddenly the fairway seems pretty narrow and you can start overthinking about having a shot sail left or kicking off a tree towards the water. Same thing on the next hole. #10 is a dogleg left, 192-foot downhill layout that now has the river behind the basket in case you sail long. Now, you're thinking about whether you want to throw a disc 192 feet, or if it's better to only throw it 160, 170, 180 feet. How brave are you going to be?
- Then there's #13. The Beauty and the Beast hole. Outside of a couple mountain holes, this is the most picturesque holes I've ever seen on a disc golf course. The tee pad from the longs (427 feet) has you throwing over the edge of the Catawba to a right curve back towards the basket. You'll want to stop here just to take in the peaceful, serene view. Just remember, no matter how long you stop, you're going to have make a tough throw. At least from the short tees, you have a realistic option of avoid the river altogether and still having a birdie putt.
- What separates this from the elite Charlotte courses - Nevin, Renny, Hornets Nest, Bradford - is that this is a private course. On the Saturday we played, we only saw a couple other groups of disc golfers, some people on the zip line course and a couple other park goers. For more than an hour, we never saw anybody else there. Good luck finding that in any of the public courses.
Cons:
This is a pro and con, so here's the con perspective: too many baskets are placed on the edge of slopes. Is it gimmicky or is it creating a game where you must land on the correct side of the basket? In the majors - U.S. Open, the Masters - are pro (ball) golfers penalized for landing on the wrong part of the green? This idea clearly rewards accuracy and/or players who have a knowledge of Riverbend. It's also going to frustrate/anger many players who don't appreciate this added layer of challenge.
- I didn't like having two similar long par 5s only two holes apart on the back 10. Both #15 & 17 are long, dogleg rights. Whereas #17 is a solid layout, #15 was the inferior product in that the bend was much longer, and more extreme, the fairway was much narrow, and the rough wasn't cleared away as much. The second half of #15 was the only portion of the course that wasn't cleared away, having an in-progress feel to it. It wouldn't be noticeable anywhere else. Here, with the quality so high, I was aware of an 'average' portion of one hole.
- The closing holes aren't what you'd expect of a potential championship caliber course. The closing hole - #20 - for sure isn't the challenging end you'd expect from a top-notch course. Compared to the final hole at Renaissance, for example, it's a major blemish here. I wonder if the course was turned into an 18-hole layout, if a better closing hole could be had.
- I don't recall many benches throughout the course. On a hot day, you'll be wanting them in the closing stretch.
- Not a con, but must be stated for the ill-prepared: You must pack out your own trash. Also, for the stereotypical player, no drinking or smoking, so you'll have to adjust. Between that and the non-flat putting circles, you're going to be irritable for the better part of 2-3 hours.
Other Thoughts:
Canaan Riverbend is close to an elite-level course. If I had played from the pro tees instead, I might be able to remove the disclaimer entirely.
- Canaan clearly seems to be a sleeping giant. I must tread carefully with this statement. Charlotte, and its disc-golf community, tend to have an elitist, inward focused mentality in regards to other nearby courses. Think of ESPN and how if a sport doesn't appear on its airwaves (the NHL), it's virtually ignored by the mothership. If Riverbend were in Charlotte proper, this course would have been getting praised from day 1. Instead, simply being just outside the city, many disc golfers don't even know the course exists. And that's an unintentional shame.
- Variety is this course's flavor. After the back-to-back shorter water holes, you suddenly face a crazy, low ceilinged tee shot on #11. That's followed up by a fun, dogleg left, slight uphiller on #12. However, if you go long, you're down in a valley thanks to another basket on the edge of a slope. And that leads to #13.
- #20 is a good, simple hole. I just wish it wasn't the closing hole. Switch #17 with #20, and you're ending on a high note.
- There are steep slopes down to the water on many of the water holes. I was reminded to not go in the water, plus I signed a disclaimer at the start. However, I didn't know the trek down the slope could be challenging to retrieve a disc that was still on land, as happened to me on #20.
- This course most often reminded me of New Quarter Park in Williamsburg, VA. That course is in my top 5%, and I feel Riverbend is in that same elite category.
- It's a no-doubt must play for all disc golfers in the area. It's also going on my recommendations for every 'I'm visiting Charlotte, what courses should I play' thread.