Flat Rock Middle School DGC is a fun park-style course played on the grounds of a middle school just outside of Hendersonville, NC located in the greater Asheville, NC metropolitan area. The region boasts a mix of leisure courses along with some high-quality courses like Jackson Park just down the road, which results in a course like this one getting a bit overshadowed. I found, however, that the quality of the setup is worth a look if you are in the area.

There are three tee locations for each hole. The long blue tees and middle white tees play from either newly installed cement tee pads or from paved roads around the school area. There is a short red tee for each hole that is mostly natural with a strip of permanent material serving as the end of the teebox. The signs for each hole are easy to see at both the white and blue tee pads. They are well designed, showing a map of the hole, distances for each tee, and par. Small laminated signs with sign numbers are on each post if you are not sure, but it is clear that the design recommends you play the whites first, and then the blues for a different experience, an attempt at making 18 holes out of a nine-hole course. The map provided was accurate and easy to follow.

The only other thing I will say is that despite being in a small area, the lengths of the holes were impressive. Most of the white tees provided around 300 feet of distance and required decent throws to make the circle. The blues are much longer and provide a significantly more challenging experience with a few par 4's to contend with. The use of elevation also made the experience quite interesting. Not much flat area in Flat Rock! My favorite hole, Hole 1, is a fun ace run throwing from above on a hill that slopes down from right to left. The basket is placed in between two large rocks that makes for an cool play. I almost got a ricochet ace off of the first rock, which was exciting for the beginning of the round!

Despite the obvious care put into this course, it really is fairly average as far as course design goes. Though I did enjoy some of the basket placements and challenge of the elevation, most holes were pretty wide open and don't require a lot of shot-shaping. A decent drive will get you to circle's edge, which means a par, or even a birdie, should be easily attainable. One thing I missed is that there really isn't a signature hole on the course as they all are pretty similar. It could be argued that hole 8, the toughest hole (and longest from the blue tee) provides a signature, but the only reason it might receive that distinction is because of its length.

I encountered a bit of flooding on the course, even though it had not rained for a number of days before I played. Hole 2 plays from the road to a dry area, but you have to cross a "swamp" of flood plain to get there. I had to pull my disc out of there on both rounds I played, even though I was pin high and circle's edge. Hole 5 is from the main driveway across a little gulley and up to a hill on the other side. The gulley is surrounded by flooded areas, so wear water-resistant footwear.

Lastly, the fact that it plays on a middle school campus cuts into any beauty that might naturally be there. You will be playing around ball fields, roads, school buildings, and, possibly, vehicles trying to pick up children. That doesn't provide the most picturesque playing experience. Plus, sometimes you are playing from inside parking lots (hole 7) and around fences (holes 1, 3, 5, and 8).

Due to the course being located on middle school grounds, be aware of school being in session during the week. I played on December 22, a Tuesday around noon, hoping school would be out, but it was in session (the last day of the fall) and my round happened to be right when school was letting out. This meant that I had to consider students, buses, and cars coming and going during my round. I probably would have played on the weekend had I known.

Though I have seen some other reviews for this course suggesting it be considered an 18-holer, it really is a nine-hole course with alternate tee pads for a different experience. The reds are short enough that it is obvious they are there for the kids (or beginners who don't yet have the length for the longer tees). The blues are definitely longer and more challenging, but you are playing to the same pin locations as the other tees so the experience isn't too much different.

In all, one of the better school campus courses I have played. Even with a small course like this, I do appreciate that there was great attention to detail. On an 18-hole course, this care would garner a solid 3.0-3.5. Being that this is just a 9-holer, I can't give it quite so high a score. Still, it is worth it to come enjoy a nice leisure round, just make sure it's on the weekend!