Pros:
Dacusville is an out-of-the-way, work-in-progress course. Don't let that fool you. I was shocked how good the course is.
- Here's the obvious question. How can a rural elementary school have such a great course? Second obvious course. Is a rural, elementary school course going to get the proper attention/upkeep it needs?
- Hole #1 is a near-mirror image of #1 at R.L. Smith in Charlotte. Dacusville's has a steeper drop-off and sharper angle to hit. Still, one hole in, my expectations for the course were completely shattered.
- The next 3 holes continue through the woods, all offering solid risk/reward factors. #2 is the best of these 3, with a split fairway, slightly downhill, 260-foot layout. A good shot will flow down towards the basket, giving you a chance at 2.
- #5 & 6 are the only open holes on the course. #5 should yield plenty of birdies, being a wide-open, 290-foot, slight dogleg left. Even a poor tee shot will give players a long birdie putt. #6 starts on top of a slight hill, playing across a wide-open field. At 515 feet, it's simply a long filler hole. This was a simple par 3.
- #7 - 9 are once again tightly wooded par 3s. #9 was my favorite: a short, straight, and tight layout at only 185 feet. With an upslope behind the basket, an aggressive shot will get knocked down only steps from the basket.
- The best part of the course is the closing stretch. #15 is a fantastical voyage. This layout is almost too good for this course; one of the best layouts in the region. A quick disclaimer: the long (blue) tee is either not yet built or relocated. I played from the middle (white) tee. From here, it's a steep downhill, 260-foot layout that curves sharp left the last ¼ of the hole. This layout is a poor-man's version of #5 at Blackjack (Valle Crucis, NC). This is a fantastic, elite-level layout. There is no need whatsoever to mess with this current layout. Don't add a longer tee. Keep #15 as it is. You'll see ace runs, you'll see people scrambling for bogeys. You'll have a blast playing here.
- #16 looked like a good hole as well. For unknown reasons, the basket was covered, so I could only scout the layout; but, I liked its potential. #17 is a tricky, downhiller. It's only 115 feet, but with enough small trees, don't just assume you're getting an easy 2. I threw 6 discs here. Two made It through, landing as short birdie putts. The other 4 hit trees, leaving anything from a long birdie putt to a wicked bounce off a tree/probable 4. Just picture being 75 feet deep in the woods after a bad bounce off a tree, and suddenly looking at a probable 4 on this short hole.
- #18 is a solid finishing hole. It's a sharp uphill layout, turning the listed 280-foot distance play much, much longer. It took two solid shots just to get into putting range. This is a testament to how you don't need length to create challenging holes. None of the closing four holes is longer than 300 feet, yet players get four challenging looks to end their rounds.
- The course has 3 sets of tees. The short (green) tees make even the toughest of holes very beginner, kid friendly. Those are what you'd expect for an elementary school course.
Cons:
The biggest cons are the work-in-progress problems the course is currently facing.
- A lot of clearing needs to be done to make this course safe and playable. I tripped on one vine completely while stumbling a couple other times on vines & stumps. The big clearing is done. Now it's time to focus on the minute details.
- Along those lines, improved stairs & bridges are needed throughout the course. Footing is bad walking up or down many of the hills. It's also tricky crossing the creek at times as the current 'bridges' may only be a couple branches or rocks. It's going to be nice being able to cross the creek rather than having to walk in mud.
- There are several long walks between holes throughout the course. It's worth the walks (for the most part) to have quality layouts. Just be aware so there's no confusion about the layout.
- Not all tee areas are finished yet. Three or four of the long tees weren't in, so the signs said to play the mid-range tees instead.
- Also, tees are dirt/natural. Overall, it's not a big issue because you're throwing a lot of mid-range discs and not needing run ups. The biggest issue was on #6 because you throw driver and the tee area on top of the hill is just a little too tight. Plus, you've got to make sure you don't smack your hand on a tree on your follow through.
- If the course does reach its potential, the biggest con will be its limited availability. You can't play during school hours, so it's only going to be opened a couple hours in the afternoon during the week.
Other Thoughts:
In case I haven't made it clear, let me reiterate. I was shocked how good this course is. This course really felt and played a lot like R.L. Smith in Charlotte with its wooded, hilly feel. Throw in the couple long walks and crossing trails, and this has a lot of similarities.
- The concern here is clear: will an out of the way course get its proper attention or will it become an afterthought? I'm optimistic because of this area's strong disc golf scene that the needed maintenance will be performed.
- You shouldn't get lost on this course because of the ridiculous amount of signage. There's one stretch on the front 9 (either from 2 - 3 or from 4 - 5) where every third tree had a 'next hole' arrow. Standing on the trail, you can see a line of arrows on trees down the path. If that's a sign of the amount of attention this course will receive, this course is in good hands.
- I really liked the colored arrows in the ground next to #5's basket pointing players to their respective tees on #6.
- This course was tough but fair. Hole #13 has a tight, snaking fairway. My second shot landed about 20 feet from the basket, but I didn't have a real look because of a line of trees between me and the basket. I made what appeared to be two good throws that barely landed off the fairways. But, because I was off the fairway, I didn't have a look.
- Along those lines, you will be rewarded for good shot making while also being penalized for poor shot making. On hole #13, I didn't make bad shots. But because the shots didn't land where they needed to be, I paid the price with a bogey.
- One of this course's best attributes: just about every hole is birdie-able (for a player of my intermediate skill level) while also being bogey-able. The next time I play here, I could birdie 5 or 6 different holes and it wouldn't surprise me. I feel I left some birdies on the table while also lucking into one or two.
- I'm giving this course a 3.0 based on its current condition. This is a 3.5-level course, but the safety conditions merit a knockdown until they're fixed. That said, use caution while playing, watching where you step. Overlook that (hopefully) temporary issue and see this course become the region's hidden gem.