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Croatan High School reviews
14
0
Has a picture in the dictionary next to “skippable”
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 27, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
If you get to play:
- You will get practice playing in sustained wind
- You should be able to open up on a distance driver as if you were in a practice field (because you are)
- The tee shots on #2, #3 and #4 could be described as interesting. #2 throws over a cargo container, a shed and a 10 foot high fence while navigating around a light pole and a climbing tower. #3 seems to me to beg for the perfect roller that matches the curve of the fence and rides the slight left to right slope to finish at the basket. #4 seems to have a painted mando that calls for either a very specific roller or a bomb of a high hyzer forehand.
- The baskets are fairly new and good quality
- You will get practice playing in sustained wind
- You should be able to open up on a distance driver as if you were in a practice field (because you are)
- The tee shots on #2, #3 and #4 could be described as interesting. #2 throws over a cargo container, a shed and a 10 foot high fence while navigating around a light pole and a climbing tower. #3 seems to me to beg for the perfect roller that matches the curve of the fence and rides the slight left to right slope to finish at the basket. #4 seems to have a painted mando that calls for either a very specific roller or a bomb of a high hyzer forehand.
- The baskets are fairly new and good quality
Cons:
The course plays in and around very tightly packed in high school athletic facilities. I wouldn't play during school hours. I also wouldn't play when athletic games were going on. Or practice. Even early in the morning, during the middle of summer, you may encounter multiple sports teams working out. Unless you know the full athletic schedule of the school, expect that you may not be able to play some or even all of the holes. The 3 sports teams practicing when I was there had me skipping holes and carefully considering my shots on several other holes. I couldn't find the tee for 7, but wouldn't have thrown it anyway given the parked tennis parents cars I would have been throwing over.
The course also plays over roads and parking lots. Depending on what is going on, you may also may need to skip holes or alter them on the fly to prevent putting parked cars in jeopardy. If HS students were to play this during school hours, they would likely be throwing over parked school busses and moving vehicles with students driving.
There are several places where you could put your disc behind a locked fence. It's also possible that you could tee off on #2 and then realize that baskets 2 through 7 are all behind a locked gate.
The vast bulk of the shots are throwing at baskets out in a field, essentially unprotected. #8s basket is in the middle of what seems to be a currently active construction zone, with all of it grass having been scraped off leaving just a shady area that seems like it might destined to become a parking lot. The tee pad for nine seems to have been a casualty of this construction.
To add insult to all the injury, the tee pads are more like tee spots and there is no signage,
The course also plays over roads and parking lots. Depending on what is going on, you may also may need to skip holes or alter them on the fly to prevent putting parked cars in jeopardy. If HS students were to play this during school hours, they would likely be throwing over parked school busses and moving vehicles with students driving.
There are several places where you could put your disc behind a locked fence. It's also possible that you could tee off on #2 and then realize that baskets 2 through 7 are all behind a locked gate.
The vast bulk of the shots are throwing at baskets out in a field, essentially unprotected. #8s basket is in the middle of what seems to be a currently active construction zone, with all of it grass having been scraped off leaving just a shady area that seems like it might destined to become a parking lot. The tee pad for nine seems to have been a casualty of this construction.
To add insult to all the injury, the tee pads are more like tee spots and there is no signage,
Other Thoughts:
I'm not sure this course should be in the ground. The people mostly likely to play it, students, are also the least likely to carefully consider whether they should be throwing at all. The lengths of the holes aren't really conducive to beginners that might be playing during gym class. Having the general public playing the course seems like it will inevitably lead to someone playing there when they shouldn't be and ending up in property damage or injury.
And given all that, the course is also not offering much of a pleasurable experience. It's a course jammed into a multi-use facility with all the issues that brings, something of an afterthought of baskets.
It's not quite at the level where I'm giving it a zero rating, but it's close.
And given all that, the course is also not offering much of a pleasurable experience. It's a course jammed into a multi-use facility with all the issues that brings, something of an afterthought of baskets.
It's not quite at the level where I'm giving it a zero rating, but it's close.
13
0
A High School course with length ... and wind! 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Jun 20, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
Baskets are in decent shape.
Long for a school course, variety of shots needed.
Not much chance of losing a disc, only in a few easy to spot areas.
Mostly open course give you a chance to work on throwing in the wind.
Easy to access off Hwy 24.
Long for a school course, variety of shots needed.
Not much chance of losing a disc, only in a few easy to spot areas.
Mostly open course give you a chance to work on throwing in the wind.
Easy to access off Hwy 24.
Cons:
No Tee signs, tee markers are difficult to find.
Three areas with lost disc potential - #1-fenced in water tank area, with barbed wire - #7-fenced in water retention pond, fence is only 4' but a tough climb - #9- thick woods right side of basket.
Unlocked pedestrian gate provides access to #2 basket, but after #7 tee shot, there is a 400' + walk to an open ped gate, then back, to finish the hole. There is a ped gate right at #7 tee, but it is locked.
#9 uses the main campus road for most of the fairway, the basket is tucked on only about 20' of grass between the road and thick woods. Then, you have a long walk back to the main parking near #1.
Three areas with lost disc potential - #1-fenced in water tank area, with barbed wire - #7-fenced in water retention pond, fence is only 4' but a tough climb - #9- thick woods right side of basket.
Unlocked pedestrian gate provides access to #2 basket, but after #7 tee shot, there is a 400' + walk to an open ped gate, then back, to finish the hole. There is a ped gate right at #7 tee, but it is locked.
#9 uses the main campus road for most of the fairway, the basket is tucked on only about 20' of grass between the road and thick woods. Then, you have a long walk back to the main parking near #1.
Other Thoughts:
Croatan HS has a pretty large campus with nice athletic facilities, softball, baseball, football only stadium, very nice track, the tennis courts are the only blight on the campus. With the adjacent Elementary school campus, there is a lot of open space here. The campus is separated from Bogue Sound by about 1200' of open and wooded land, so I imagine winds off the Sound are a constant challenge.
If the course is used for HS gym class, I hope they adjust the hole length for the beginner players. The holes average 345' with only 1 under 300', that is the 254' uphill #7, and since it goes mainly into the prevailing winds, it plays much longer.
Most of the holes are straight, open shots, but if you play #4 as a mando around the BB fair pole, there is some shot shaping required. #7 - already a challenge going uphill and into the wind, requires clearing an 8' fence just 30-40' in front of the tee.
#9 was rather disappointing, as I mentioned, the main campus road is the majority of the fairway (that's where my tee shot landed), and thick woods to the right, I think the idea was to keep it away from the buildings and make a challenge. However, there are two pieces of open land, nearer the buildings, that look like either could hold the final hole, then would provide a shorter walk back to your vehicle, or gym class!
There were a couple of holes I really liked:
+ #3 - 338' slightly downhill, the softball fence cuts into the fairway from the right, like a pond you need to carry. There is a sidewalk close enough to the tee to use to tee from, so you can hang a RHBH over the field and let it fade (with the prevailing winds) over the corner into the fairway!
+ #8 - tee from the edge of the parking lot, consider the parking lot OB, to the only basket in a wooded area. The hole is 325' and these old growth trees are quite the guardians.
The campus is easy to access right off Hwy 24 in the Crystal Coast area of NC. Its about halfway between the Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach bridges on the mainland side of the sound. So if you're at one of these beaches on vacation, in addition to playing Emerald Isle Woods and NE Creek in Jax, this course provides a windy challenge.
EDIT: After just reviewing nearby Broad Creek MS and giving it a 1.5-Passable (as a Practice Area), I'm raising this to 2.5, this deserves more separation.
If the course is used for HS gym class, I hope they adjust the hole length for the beginner players. The holes average 345' with only 1 under 300', that is the 254' uphill #7, and since it goes mainly into the prevailing winds, it plays much longer.
Most of the holes are straight, open shots, but if you play #4 as a mando around the BB fair pole, there is some shot shaping required. #7 - already a challenge going uphill and into the wind, requires clearing an 8' fence just 30-40' in front of the tee.
#9 was rather disappointing, as I mentioned, the main campus road is the majority of the fairway (that's where my tee shot landed), and thick woods to the right, I think the idea was to keep it away from the buildings and make a challenge. However, there are two pieces of open land, nearer the buildings, that look like either could hold the final hole, then would provide a shorter walk back to your vehicle, or gym class!
There were a couple of holes I really liked:
+ #3 - 338' slightly downhill, the softball fence cuts into the fairway from the right, like a pond you need to carry. There is a sidewalk close enough to the tee to use to tee from, so you can hang a RHBH over the field and let it fade (with the prevailing winds) over the corner into the fairway!
+ #8 - tee from the edge of the parking lot, consider the parking lot OB, to the only basket in a wooded area. The hole is 325' and these old growth trees are quite the guardians.
The campus is easy to access right off Hwy 24 in the Crystal Coast area of NC. Its about halfway between the Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach bridges on the mainland side of the sound. So if you're at one of these beaches on vacation, in addition to playing Emerald Isle Woods and NE Creek in Jax, this course provides a windy challenge.
EDIT: After just reviewing nearby Broad Creek MS and giving it a 1.5-Passable (as a Practice Area), I'm raising this to 2.5, this deserves more separation.
