Nestled in between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, on the campus of Western Carolina University, the Catamount Links course offers some gorgeous views plus hilly disc golf.

In its current condition, the Catamount Links course plays better as a nine-hole round, though three holes are "playable" on the back nine without trespassing into the construction area.

The front nine is quite hilly but short, as Holes #2 through #4 are all less than 200 feet, and the first hole is downhill and seems shorter than the 240 feet the tee sign says.

As the most wooded hole on the course, Hole #5 is a good challenge that could pose a threat to your bogey-free round. At 286 feet, the teepad is in the open but quickly enters the woods along a narrow, uphill path that turns to the right close to the basket. Staying near the path is vital as the off-the-fairway areas are filled with small trees and brush.

Holes #6 through #8 involve throwing across the sloping part of a large hill; the first two play to a basket just in the woods, while Hole #8 has a sneaky, sharp drop-off just past its basket.

Hole #9 is another fun hole that takes advantage of the elevation. The downhill approach involves navigation over (or around) a few trees, and the basket is placed about 20 feet in front of a pond. If you misestimate the distance, your disc will be swimming with the fishes.

On the back nine, Hole #17 is the only hole that is open and worth playing, even though a five-minute walk from the front nine is required to access it. But it's a beautiful hole with an enjoyable risk-reward challenge. At 280 feet, it traverses slightly downhill across a lush grassy area. Shortly before the basket, there's a sudden drop off, which hides the basket from view while on the teepad. And behind the obscured basket is a creek that threatens drives and putts that are too long.

There's a lovely practice spot on the other side of the parking lot from Hole #1 that includes two baskets and a flat, grassy area.

The current construction has temporarily (hopefully) knocked out six holes on the back nine. There's a sign at the beginning of the course alerting you that these holes are "offline," as several of the baskets have been pulled. The sign mentions Holes #10, 11, 15, 16 and 18, but the basket for Hole #13 is also laying on its side and inside the construction area.

When playable, the back nine seems to offer a contrasting challenge; five of the holes are listed as longer than 300 feet, including a couple holes over 450 feet. But right now, those holes are CLOSED and occupied by bulldozers and other construction equipment.

Holes #12 and #14 are in mediocre condition but technically playable. The teepad area for Hole #12 needs some trimming and the 268-foot-long fairway is pinched a bit due to the construction area. Hole #14 also has a narrower fairway with untrimmed and unmowed areas serving as obstacles, and there are weeds growing through the bottom of the basket. With the construction, these two uninteresting holes are isolated and require a several-minute walk. If I played this course again in its current shape, I'd pass on playing these holes again by themselves.

Hole #1 is one of the uglier holes on the course, as the utility poles and high-wires detract from all the beautiful surrounding landscapes.

Navigation is a bit odd. To get to the teepad for Hole #2, you have to walk down a hill and then throw up that same hill. A little sign indicates that Holes #4 through #8 are across the road, but if you miss that sign and aren't using a map, you might be wandering around for a bit. It's not the only time that the course is segregated; Holes #17 and #18 are quite removed from the rest of the course and require several minutes of walking to access them.

Due to its current state, the Catamount Links is a tough course to rate currently.

However, the front nine is a fun play with some fantastic views of the mountains. While the total distance doesn't seem to be intimidating, throw in a few elevated baskets, perilous placements and rollaway potential, and suddenly, there's the possibility for dramatic score variance.

Personally, I loved the front nine. And Hole #17 was my favorite. Even though the design and navigation aren't perfect, there's a good variety of hilly holes and tricky throws. Therefore, the course can still hold its own and is a worthwhile play if passing by the Cullowhee campus.

Course right on campus, near athletic facilities and housing.
Good DISCatchers, several are raised.
Mix of open and wooded holes. Front nine uses elevation and woods, back nine are mostly flat and long.
Really cool finishing hole, if you can find it.

Spread out, several long walks between holes. #17 & 18 were especially tough to find and play. Then didn't finish near the parking lot.
The tee pad and signage on #1 did not continue throughout. In fact, that was one of the few paved tee pads.
Construction had #4 closed and possibly more are closed and unplayable now.
#14 was a filler hole and very overgrown.
#2 - walk down a steep hill, turn around and throw back up the steep hill.
#3 - not much fairway at all, just a goat path to get from tee to basket planted on the hillside between several trees.

Campus courses can be very difficult to design, at some point, I imagine the Administration says, "Yes, you can put in a Disc Golf course, you can use this open area, but only along the edges, you can use that hilly area, but only until we need it for expansion, and you can use that other small area, its not close to any of the other areas, but we don't need it for anything."
This course sits on areas that match all of those descriptions, and that's too bad. This is a really beautiful campus in a mountainous area of NC. But like most mountainous areas, there's limited space for development. Things like a DG course get what's left.
I would say the designers did the best they could with what they had available, but that leads to these design shortcomings:
* Several wide open holes along the edges of a rec field, with no obstacles.
* Holes stuck on a hillside that is now being developed and possibly lost.
* Maybe two of the best holes completely separated and a long walk back to where you started.
With that in mind, there were a couple of things I liked:
Baskets for 9-12 were very near dorms, very useful as practice baskets.
#9 was a cool, downhill hole to an open basket with a pond lurking behind. Unfortunately, the tee was short and uneven, tough to tee from.
#18 was a neat finishing hole, after a long walk from 16 to 17 tee (which was actually pretty close to the parking lot), you back track to 18, across a bridge, towards the highway. Only 150 feet, but the basket is right behind a large, hardwood tree, with low, wide branches. Creek to the left and beyond and the basket is again raised, making an ace run almost impossible.
This was a fun hole to finish on, but you are at just about the furthest spot on the course from the 1st tee. Better flow would be to play 18, then 17 in the reverse direction.
It would be awesome to have a course right on your college campus, so I hope this one survives. The baskets are in great shape, but the lack of consistent tees and signage keeps this course from being very good.

-18 holes. The course wraps around a sports complex, dorms, fields and along a creek on the campus of Western Carolina University.
-Good Variety. Every hole is unique in some way. Great use of elevation. Hole distances range from 150 to over 450 feet. Multiple baskets are elevated.
-Signage is decent. Course map is located at hole 1. Signs warning walkers are also a great idea.
-Good maintenance. Regular mowing even during summer.
-Great place to improve your drives and physical stamina.

-A walking path runs through most of the course. Could get busy when schools in. A couple holes also play close to parking lots.
-Natural pads may be a con for some.
-A few lengthy transitions between holes.

Catamount Links is a fun and challenging course. The first 9 holes are classic mountain golf with fun up and downhill birdie opportunities. The next 7 holes wrap around a large field and along a creek. Here you get to air it out on some longer holes with a couple short ones thrown in. Hole 17 and 18 is where it gets awkward. Both are cool holes that play next to the creek near the main entrance. Its a long walk from 16 and you have to double back up the hill to the parking lot when finished. The transition between 3 and 4 is also somewhat strange but a sign helps direct you up there. The course map should also help first timers. The course pairs great with the pitch and putt down the road at Jackson Rec Center.

UPDATE(1 year)- A solor hammock lounge was constructed near hole 17 but does not impact play.
UPDATE(2 years)- The recent expansion to 18 holes is awesome. 6 new holes were added while old hole 1 was eliminated and turned into a large parking lot. Another practice basket was added near the old one and makes for a good warm up area. Unfortunately it is a good distance from hole 1 and may not be used as often as it should be.
UPDATE(5 years)- The past couple years the back half of the course has been closed due to a major construction project on campus. The course is currently best played as a 9 hole course. Holes 17 and 18 are playable but nowhere near the front 9. It appears an effort is underway to add holes in the woods near hole 5.

-This course has gone through changes. Some good, some bad. Course has 18 holes so it's no longer incomplete. The new holes are across the road from what you'll see after you play what is now hole 3.

-Course has gotten tougher with some challenging but fair OB rules. The tee-signs say what the OB is.

-#11 and 13 are fun downhill bomber throws. Both over 400'. #11 allows you to rip a driver. The parking lot is close, but a left to right crush should keep you in the fairway. #13 has more risk. It's 480, and the OB path is to the right and can be tough to avoid if your shot goes right.

-Course attributes better than it used to with woods. The new 5 and 6 are challenging wooded holes. #5 is uphill about 20' and gently cuts right. The fairway is tight and the woods are penalizing, so this hole is a very difficult birdie, but can be done. #6 is even tougher! It's short, like maybe 240'. However, it's a dogleg left that goes back uphill into the woods. There is a low clearance once you enter the woods, so this is preferably a skipshot hyzer hole.

-There are multiple elevated baskets. Some basket placements are scary too. #3 is perched on a the side of a hill. But this hole is along a sloping hill that's more than capable of rolling you OB. I've aced this hole, and I've gotten a 7. #9 is the major downhill shot by the pond. I've lost probably thirty discs in that pond because I went big. Hole itself though is picturesque, and you'll want to throw more than one disc.

-Discs available for use in the gym. Many students borrow them because they love the game!

-The worst thing is the fact that there are so many dinker holes. #1 (the old #2) was shortened. It's a 180' putter toss that leads to a dangerous putt because of the risk of your disc rolling to the bottom of the hill. #2 is a short putter toss back up. #3 is another putter shot that's under 200'. #4 is awful. It's a boring 150' uphill hole around a tree. Course sucks until you get to #5.

-#18. You either love or hate it. Well, I really don't love it. It's like 150' and the basket is past a huge tree where the eno kids love to sleep in. The limbspan is maybe 100' and there is OB to the right side in order to "protect" the highway. But if you're hyzer goes bad, you might be on the highway. Not to mention, the basket is elevated on a 4' post.

-Many joggers and other students using the fields.

-The overgrown bushes can get really bad in the summertime on hole 14. Hole 16 is pretty rough too during that time.

-Land restrictions are bogus. Turns out, the layout is well designed for what is "available." A land restriction was prevented in the woods where hole 5 is. This hole was a 450-500' par 4 that's back downhill and out of the woods to the left side. This would easily without question be the greatest hole in the area if the land restrictions weren't as strict.

-Catamount Links is a decent course on a great campus. I think if there was more flexibility, this course would be a whole lot better. But at least some holes have woods now. And at least you have opportunities to crush a driver.

Good mix of hole types. Predominantly wide open drive shots. Some uphill/downhill drive shots. A couple very technical putt shots will be needed. As another reviewer stated, power drives are definitely rewarded. Not even super power, just anybody who can semi accurately drive 350+ will have a huge edge over the guys in the 300 range.

Not a full 18 holes. the marching band monopolizes hole 1 a lot for practice. Long walk to the last hole then long walk back to the parking lot by the first hole.

This course has a lot to offer to an experienced player just passing through town. Holes require too much power for beginners to even begin to think about parring a hole.

It's a course that is wide open (1,6-12) with shots downhill (2,5) and uphill (3) and wooded (4) with water on play(13, 5 and 8 and 9 I believe if you shank a shot right).

It's well maintained and it's a fun course. Distance is rewarded, but even a player without a lot of power can par the holes if they focus.

13 holes? WCU charged me enough in student services fees in my years at WCU to make a 36 hole course with concret teepad's and private lessons from your favorite disc golf pro - So no clue why it's sit at 13 holes forever. ...5 more WCU...5 more.

It can be a pain in the rear to play M-F...Band can practice on hole #1, and intramurals can take up the field too. If you play it on a sunday, you'll never run into these problems usually.

It's a fun course to play, but it eventually becomes Drive/Putt towards the end.

It's a good, solid course that offers plenty of challenge even though it's in the midst of a college campus. Pedestrian activity is predictable - during breaks in classes and during the summer, the course is mostly empty. During the school year, a nice Friday night can be problematic because the students are out enjoying the same areas the course makes use of.

Holes 2-5 make good use of the available obstacles. Hole 2 makes use of large power poles to impede right to left shots. Hole 3 involves a pedestrian walking path and a small terrace. Hole 4 features a tight tunnel into a sideways hillside, and hole 5 is a drive to a basket close to the lake. The open holes on the back half are a great opportunity to power up, though even those holes reward accuracy. Hole 9 seems wide open, until one of you drives goes towards the trees and bushes that are near the river. The course is easy to navigate, and is an easy place to bring the kids.

While this isn't a wooded course where expert shot-making is required, there's a nice combination of fun and challenge to be found here. Also, they've recently reconfigured the 9th hole to accommodate a 13th hole.

There's now a mando on hole #4, which prevents players from laying up and taking their 3 from the pedestrian past at the back of the hole. Makes a great hole even better, IMO.

13 holes is 5 short of ideal. There are some long walks between holes, especially between #12 and #13. If you don't know when to play there, pedestrian interference can be annoying. I can imagine a day when the band is practicing on #1, the power company is performing maintenance disrupting #2, students walking to the dorms disrupt #4, students hanging out in the back of the residence hall disrupt #6, a full parking lot or the rugby team disrupts #7. If this isn't a local course for you, plan accordingly to avoid issues.

Tees are well worn in, sunk in dirt in most places. Standing water can be an issue on the field holes. Trees in play are few and far between.

This is my home course, and it's a solid course great for learning and especially great for learning distance in an open setting. The holes are fun - the course designer tried his best to incorporate the few natural features available for the course's use. If you pick the right times to play, interactions can be kept to a minimum.

-Very open so great for practicing you long drives.
-A few short shots with some obstacles
-Hole #4 is a challenging hole with a narrow gap to hit and you must land pretty flat or you can roll to the bottom of the hill.
-good elevation change on most of the holes.

-not very many tough shots, being as the course is very open.
- 13 holes =(
-Tee pads
-Tighter fairways on some new holes if we ever get them.

This is my home course and i love playing here.

Scenic setting with mountain views. Mostly open grass fields with just a few trees in play. Pins set on angled hillsides on many holes making roll-aways a real possibility. Some elevation but mostly flat holes. Tee signs on every hole. Short & long shots. Water hazard (#5). Elevated basket (#10). Beautiful tall pines (#4). I imagine the students really enjoy the course since it's right on campus!

Dirt tee pads (I prefer concrete). No benches. There is a paved walking trail along the entire course. This could be good & bad. Easy walk but lots of potential for pedestrians/disc interaction. It's a very good design but only 12 holes leaves me wanting more. #12 is a beautiful hole but the round is over way too quick.

#4 is a very tricky shot. Its a short shot but you have to thread your disc through the tall pine trees. Then you have to land your disc on a small area that is sloping severely. Awesome stuff! Then #5 with it's long downhill shot to a pin situated at the edge of a pond.

- Pin Position. What would otherwise be considered a wide-open course becomes much tighter due to the pin positions. Almost every pin position had some form of trouble - 6/12 water, 6/12 OB (concrete sidewalk, parking lot, road, sport facility). 4/12 elevation.
Hole 5 is a gem: 300' extreme downhill with a pin that's 10' in front of a murky pond (I fluffed my putter off the tee and it floated over the basket and into the pond). Hole 11 is a huge flick shot with a pin located 20' from the edge of a deep, crystal clear pool in the river.
- Navigation. Even though the linked map shows 9 holes when this course has 12 holes, navigation was extremely easy due to the distinct 6x6 tee-sign posts.... However, the course follows the flow of the map (except map 9 is actually 12)... you'll see the rest.

- Only 12. I realize that 12 holes are better than no holes... but, I saw plenty of land out there and don't understand why they stopped at 12. Although, I've heard of plans for expansion.
- Hole 12's Location in General. The hole is actually a gem... but, the walk from 11's pin to 12's Tee is ridiculous... and then you shoot away from the car, finish the hole, and then have to turn around and hike your ass back up the fairway and up the hill to your car???
- Natural Tees. When asked to throw 400+ foot drives, anything less than concrete tees do not cut it for me; especially when the tees are muddy and/or on a slick grass field. Also, tee 4 was heavily rooted.
- Potential for Traffic. I played this course during the school vacation and therefore there weren't too many students hanging around in places where there could be a conflict. However, there is the potential for traffic during the semester and peak usage hours.

- Student Life. This course will hopefully expose a lot of kids to the sport, and since it's wide open it should make it conducive to beginners (although, it may be a tad too long).
- Expansion. The school looks like it has a lot of money. I hope the students appreciate and use the course so that the school will expand the course to a full 18.
- Overall we had a good time. It's a wide open course with lots of trouble in terms of OB. Every hole had something that tweaked it from being a regular, open hole into something a little more interesting.
- My Score: Even

practice basket w/ a 15 foot painted circle around it, good for practice. mostly open shots but elevation is a factor on the whole course. not crowded, and nice baskets. a good variety of shots , uphill, downhill, water, and a raised basket.

hole 12 was alittle hard to find , but was probably my favorite hole. no concrete tee pads.

a good little course with a variety of shots, nice surroundings, a couple holes you can really air out#7 and#9 hole #5 was a downhill water shot . hole 12 was across the road where you drive in. the basket is not visible from the tee, so find it first becausethere is a creek behind it

All of the pretty girls is a plus for me (being on campus) I like the creek, Cause I found 3 disc with no names. ( write your name on your disc)

Really wish that there were more than just 12 holes.

You need to skip #1 if the band is on the field

Holes 2-5 and 12 were my favorite due to the changes in elevation and shot selection. I disagree with the reviewer that claims this course is a "driving contest" - I drove with a midrange on 4 of the holes and my putter on 2 of them. I liked the elevated basket on hole 10 and rarely had to deal with user conflicts. Parking is right next to the course and the putting basket was nice to see.

More holes and some concrete tee boxes would be a huge plus. Fun to play, but not designed for a 1000 rated player.

For a campus course, this was a lot of fun to play. I give it a 5 for the impact on the campus and surrounding community and a 3 for its play. If you want a real challenge, play the Asheville course (Richmond Hill) located an hour East of this one.

Geographically, the course it set in a beautiful valley with great views of the surrounding mountains. There are public restrooms nearby, along with a few food options and easy parking. Each hole is clearly marked and easy to spot, so there's no real hunting for where you're going if you've never been there before.

The course starts out so nicely. Holes 1-5 are the best the course has to offer (assuming the band is not practicing on #1 as Oso has previously mentioned). From then on, though, you lose the elevation changes and get out in the flats where all you do is throw your arm out a bunch due to the length of the holes and absence of obstacles. The later holes that follow the creek give you the pleasure of having to search through tall, disc-eating grass and weeds to find your disc if you're unfortunate enough to land in them. At least the course ends with an interesting hole on #12 where you're throwing blind over a small drop off... Just don't throw too hard, or you're back in the tall weeds or wading through the creek to find your plastic.

Also, due to the fact that it IS a college campus and there are students and student housing around the course, you'll most likely have to contend with students walking through some fairways causing delays in your game.

This was my home course for a while, as I was a student at WCU for many years. I say that this course could have been so much better because the land really is awesome. Too bad they don't try to make a full 18 holes by continuing the course through the back (and much more interesting / challenging) end of campus.

This course utilizes elevation changes pretty well on several holes, but flattens out as you go along. No. 3 is a great uphill ace run, and no. 5 is a fun downhill, but would be even better if they put the pin on the other side of the pond.

The course has some major design flaws. No. 1 is unplayable during band practice, no. 11 can be during soccer games, and the whole course would be way better off without that driving range there, although I guess they probably say the same thing.

Some holes are completely forgettable, and wide open. Aside from 4, 8,9 and 12 there are no trees in play, and very few obstacles at all.

No. 7 and no. 8 are wet pretty frequently. There's some pretty bad drainage in that valley, but if they planted some trees or did some sort of landscaping that would help with the water and make the course more interesting. If they moved the driving range they could do some great redesigning of several holes and add some more in there.

At last Western students don't have to drive 30 minutes to play disc golf, but Waynesville DGC still makes much better use of some very similar land. But that's a course that coexists with the other uses of the land, and this course is one pushed aside by the other uses.

The new 12 hole layout is a big improvement over the original 9 hole course. A nice college course- right on campus. Some significant elevation changes. Water is in play on several holes. Simple, but massive pressure treated posts used for hole signage, Nice DiscCatcher baskets. A putting basket is located right by the first tee and parking spots.

Holes are pretty straight and open. The natural tee boxes are fine - unless they are wet.

It must be great for the college students and faculty. I wish I had a course right next to my dorm when I was in college.

NOTE: I played this course in Feb 2008 but the course website says that they now have 12 holes (June '08) so it's probably changed since then. Who knows, the course may be better now than when I played it.

Being out in the mountains it's in a very pretty part of the state. There are some decent elevation changes on 3 holes. Since it's on a college campus it exposes college students to disc golf. Hole 5 is an open huck with a 40 ft elevation drop.

The tees are dirt and the signs are very basic. There's nice grass, but the holes are way too open and mundane for my taste, plus there are safety issues on some of the holes. Being on a college campus, near buildings, and in the middle of a college town detracted from the natural beauty. Every hole is straight and the one hole with some trees was short and had a quirky little gap that you had to hit.

Course Level: White (most suited to Intermediate players rated 875-925.)

<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my enjoyment of the course it is NOT intended to be a measure of the quality of the course. My ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.

More detailed "Overall Rating" notes and "Hole-by-hole Ratings" are available in the Files section.