It's a much-anticipated annual treat to play disc golf on this beautiful property's temporary tournament course. Oak Hollow Lake borders half of the course, and multiple hilltop tees provide sweeping views of the lake reaching into the distance. But the lake then provides a dangerous challenge, as multiple baskets are often placed right by the shoreline, and death-putts abound. Most of the course is open, but large trees guard baskets and lines. OB Roads and fences further provide shot-shaping challenges that reward distance and accuracy. And the course features huge elevation challenges, particularly involving the intimidating lake dam. Challenging uphill drives are often balanced by thrilling downhill bombs soon after. The terrain and the lake combine to create memorable holes year after year, no matter the layout.

The layout of this course changes drastically from year to year. Only a small handful of signature holes seem to consistently stay in place.
On the one hand, some of my least favorite holes from previous years have been removed. On the other hand, some beloved favorites are also removed entirely. There aren't even replacement holes to speak of, the entire layout differs so completely that they play as very different courses and experiences from year to year.
I'm certainly in favor of tweaking and adjusting course design, but these wholesale changes seem less about iterating and improving, and more about change for the sake of change.
Philosophically, you could absolutely argue for that approach, as each year's experience becomes wholly unique and special, never to be replicated. Each year also introduces great new holes that have never been played, which is obviously very fun.
But I think for many of us, it's saddening when our favorite holes disappear in new layouts. Though each new layout brings about new great holes, you still know that those are probably slated to disappear like all the others before. To have that happen year-after-year feels a little bittersweet to me.
It should be noted, though, that a few signature holes are consistently kept, and those have been well-chosen. Old holes have also risen back from the dead after years of slumber.
Aside from that general complaint, there are some smaller miscellaneous nitpicks. The natural tees that come with temporary courses are an obvious drawback, particularly with bad weather. Usually there are a number of holes that are nothing but wide-open hyzers, that exist to facilitate course flow. In some layouts, my midranges have never left my bag, which probably says something about the range of holes then. And the transition between the two halves of the park involves a narrow unprotected walkway next to a very busy road, but there don't seem to be any good alternatives to that unfortunately.

The Oak Hollow Open fills up immediately every year, largely thanks to the special experience of playing this temporary course. I would say that on average, I like this course a little less than some of the other temporary tournament courses in the area (ex: Rock Creek, Forest Hills, WakeMed Soccer Park, etc.), just because it's so wide-open. But, if you reach back through the years and remember the better holes in each year's layout, you come up with something remarkable. It's just too bad that those holes come and go from the ground year to year, and they'll only exist all together in your memories.

Really good place for a DG course. The dam and spillway provide some major elevation change and water in play while the rest of the park provides open lawns dotted with mature trees. The designer(s) was really clever utilizing roads and parking lots as OB and just did a bang up job overall.

Each hole has enough shape and/or different features to feel unique, from your short, wooded #1 to the long, wide open #8. A hallmark of an excellent course is memorable holes and Festival has a few. #9 across the dam spillway, #15 dogleg up the steep dam and #18 with its lake dock green definitely qualify as signature holes.

Holes 3 and 11 had island greens created by roads, with 11 being a stroke and distance hole comprised of a traffic circle. These and other holes define a characteristic of Festival, the balancing act of "going for it" without going OB. Lots of holes have a good mix of distances, elevation and OB that keeps it all interesting. You could shoot a hot round here or an awful one, it really depends on how well you avoid those trouble areas.

Excellently marked baskets and tee signs. Course flows very well.

Huge walk from #7 to #8 (and #13 to #14; same walk) as the dam's spillway basically divides the park into halves. C'est la vie.

Tees are mixed up between appropriated spots on roads and sidewalks to natural grass. The good news is that for the most part the club picked good, flat spots and used mulch to make the natural tees as playable as possible. Only hole 10's tee really bothered me.

It's an open park so seeing multiple baskets is possible. However, I hesitate to put this in the con section b/c the club was very clever in having even numbered holes using white baskets and odd holes using black, so it was no problem at all picking out your basket.

The only transition snafu I had was wanting to skip hole 17 by going #16 to #18. The course is laid out pretty intuitively for the most part.

This is a tremendously fun course and a crying shame it isn't available more often. The course is worth the price of tournament admission and the Oak Hollow guys are on the ball and throw a fun tourney.

What an incredibly fun test of disc golf. This course is absolutely one of the most fun, and most unique layouts I have ever seen. The terrain is incredible. A few lightly wooded holes open the course. Thern there is a great stretch of relatively open ones. The course really shines when the waterways and the gigantic dam complex are put into play. The elevation changes on this course are insanely awesome.

This course defines risk-reward play. There are multiple holes in and around the water that give advanced players the opportunity to really push the envelope to make birdies. Hole 9 comes to mind especially, as it is a very simple par with a layout to the right, but running the basket is a devilish downhill throw over water to a tucked pin.

OB here is very common, but definies the holes nicely. In all places it is avoidable and fair.

The mando on hole 13 is really crafty and creates a really nice hyzer while keeping play away from the highway.

The course design has gone so far as to have temporary staircases leading over fencing to open up wide parts of the course. It seems that even the minute details here have been addressed.

With excellent custom labeled DISCatcher baskets and impeccable hole signs that clearly layout OB areas and local rules, this course has amenities that most permanent ones do not. Periodic park shelters with restroom facilities are available as well as shaded rest tents.

18 was a really cool throw down a hill to a basket perched in the middle of a small dock. As above, definitely risk-reward. Most definitely pretty and unique.

There are just a few cons here.

It was a bit difficult to find the first hole...and getting down to the hole requires walking striaght down the wooded fairway.

Hole 2, which is really fun, has a lot of the roads involved and non-golfers aren't used to the course being there. That could set up for a few car strikes.

Hole 3 crosses the road.

The only other major con is 4 which basically plays right up the park entrance road and is partially blind. The tee is actually on the road. The hole itself is really nice, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a car get hit on this one.

The obvious...this is a temporary course and has a fair amount of grass tees. Not much that can be done about that.

I got to play with one of the course designers/tournament director. It was really cool to hear all of the thought that goes into planning the course, and how the course has evolved over the years into its current layout. The course layout that I played (2015) is one of the best courses I have ever played. Tough, rewarding, exciting.

You can tell the local guys put a lot into this tournament. The baskets are custom labeled discatchers, are all impeccably leveled, and there are tee signs here that are better than many permanent courses have.

I wish I could play this one year-round.