It's been a little over a year since Fletcher Park DGC opened, finally giving Cleveland, Tennessee its first legitimate disc golf course. I have now played the course over 100 times and feel like the course is long overdue for an updated review that takes into account all the various improvements and upgrades to this amazing course!


Options: With two baskets and two tees on every hole except three (#7, #10, and #11), there is something for everyone at Fletcher. If you want a super fun birdie or die layout, play short to shorts. Need something with a little more teeth, try long to shorts. Like your baskets pushed back in some tighter gaps with tricky approach lines, then short to longs will do nicely. Long to longs give you plenty of length and challenge, without being overly punishing. On every layout, there are birdies to be had, with an equal amount of trouble to get into.

Fun Factor: Fletcher is so much fun!!! There are few courses I have ever played that have the fun factor of this course. The course is just a blast, and as alluded to previously, the fun extends to all skill levels. Where some courses have an identity crisis, Fletcher knows exactly what it is. It is a course of the people and embraces it fully. Yet, don't mistake this as meaning the course is always just an easy birdie fest, but it is without a doubt made to accommodate a wide variety of players. It does exactly what a community disc golf course should do; it makes disc golf a sport accessible to everyone!

Hole Design: Many of my favorite courses are the ones that are a nice mix of both wooded and park style holes. Once again, Fletcher nails this aspect with a more park style front 9 paired with a mostly wooded back 9. And regardless of which type of hole you are playing, there is usually just enough trouble for even the most seasoned disc golfer to stumble into.

Take hole 2 for instance: Short to short is a pretty straight away birdie hole with very little between you and the basket. However, fail to commit to your shot and you find yourself in some nasty stuff on the left. Directly to the left of the hole, is the slightest bit of a downhill grade that seems like it should not matter, but after missing plenty of 25-30 putts from the top shelf, most would say that it matters a great deal. But then you stretch the hole out to around 330-350 from the longer tee, and you bring the thick stuff on the left far more into play. Play to the long basket, and the downhill grade is no longer an issue, but has been replaced with a gauntlet of trees that surround the basket, and a slight uphill slope in front.

This is just one fairly simple hole, but almost every hole has these subtle intricacies that shift depending on the tee and basket. Where some courses might make the tees or baskets just a little longer, the various tees and baskets really make the majority of holes and baskets feel significantly different.

Amenities, and Upkeep

If you haven't been to Fletcher since it first opened, you owe it to yourself to come and see all the amazing improvements that have been made. There are now hand cut wooden benches on almost every tee. Tee signs have all been installed for both short and long tees and do a nice job of giving all the relevant information. Many of the fairways that begin as ugly and rough have now been refined thanks to the tireless efforts of the amazing Cleveland Disc Golf Club. Trees have been planted on hole 1 to create a subtle yet visually appealing divider between 1 tee and 3's basket. 10 and 11 used to be two of the most visually unappealing holes due to the initial clear cutting, but now thanks to some newly planted trees and lush green grass coming in, you have a pleasant couple of short holes that lead into the more challenging back 9. Rough fairways like 16 and 18 and have been cleared so much now that it's almost like they are different holes. Deep rough has been cut back to make shots more fair, while not hurting the integrity of the course. Every time I go out there, it seems like I see something else that has been trimmed, cleaned up, or improved.

The tees are concrete and a very good size. There are no awkward drop offs or step ups, and they allow for a nice run up on almost every tee.

There is a restroom at the front of the park, and while it is not really convenient to reach once you begin playing, it is there if you need to use it before the round.

Beauty and Character:
Fletcher is a multi use park shared by many walkers and is often the site of community events held at the two park pavilions. Before disc golf arrived, there were no athletic activities available at the park. Even as a lifelong resident of Cleveland, I must admit I had only been to Fletcher a few times before the course was installed. It truly is a beautiful piece of property. It has that sort of peaceful, subtle beauty that is easy to take for granted. Nothing flashy or breathtaking, but just a nice walk in the park or woods. Walkers are abundant in the park, but fortunately, there are only a couple of places on the course where there would be any chance of hitting someone. For such a high use park, it does a very good job of making you feel secluded.

While I love this course, I do have some minor cons that must be addressed.

Course Flow: While this kind of thing doesn't bother me a great deal, I definitely feel like this is the area that will garner the most complaints from players. There are multiple medium to long walks between holes at Fletcher. While most of these are just slightly inconvenient, some of the more lengthy walks could lead to a few course navigation issues for first timers. However, in the age of UDisc with its maps and navigation aid, I just don't think this is much of an issue for most people. Also, there is now a course map by the first hole that you can take a picture of and use as reference.

Despite a little more walking than you might get on a lot of courses, I feel that some of this is offset by the aforementioned beauty of the course. The walk between 14-15 is along a nice boardwalk with a scenic marshland view toward the end. 11 to 12 gives you two boardwalk bridges that run down a beautiful tunnel of trees.


Filler Holes: While 10 and 11 have definitely improved with time, I can't help but still feel like they are just two very simple (and similar holes) that seem like fillers. They are pretty much the same shot (especially short to short). The long basket on 10 and long tee on 11 make them somewhat more interesting, but regardless of layout, they are always around 180-220 stock hyzer shots. Being the two must get birdies on the course for every single layout does give them this weird extra level of psychological pressure because you know you have to birdie them both to either keep a hot round going or kickstart a slow round. Regardless, I feel like they are just too similar (especially being back to back holes).

Hole 13 Long Tee: While hole 13 tee (situated beside a nice flowing creek) provides one of the more scenic spots on the course, I think the tee is just a little gimmicky. It's such a tight shot straight up a hill, and most people just take a putter and try to get to the top and then play the rest of the hole from around the short tee.. It's not awful, but it's also just not a very fun shot.. Miss the gap, and the hole becomes miserable. It also doesn't help that the hole feels like it should be a par 4 from the long tee but is labeled a par 3. While not meaningful to score, I do believe that having appropriate pars for the intended audience is one way to make a course more enjoyable (something Fletcher does very well most of the time).

Signature Hole/Epic Feel
While I have praised Fletcher for its all-inclusive nature, I do think this adds to one of the minor cons. Even at its longest layout, Fletcher never feels like an epic experience, nor does the course ever feel like it's just beating you down. Having said that, I don't believe Fletcher was designed to be a championship level slog that only elite players can enjoy. As stated previously, this course knows what it is and does it so well that it can stand up to hundreds of plays and never get boring.

Along these same lines, I'm not sure what the signature hole would be, but I guess it's 18. The tee shot is trickier than it first appears, but what makes the hole special is when you play it to the long basket and must approach down a beautiful wooded tunnel. I do think the fact that it's hard to identify the signature hole might mean it doesn't really have one.

Final Thoughts:

I have been playing disc golf for roughly thirteen years, and I have likewise waited a very long time for Cleveland to finally get a course. The first time I ever played Fletcher Park, my wife asked me about it when I got home. All I could say at the time was "It's glorious." It was not only a disc golf course, but a REAL disc golf course with good holes and variety! In hindsight, it would probably be fair to say that my opinion was clouded by the excitement of just having a decent course so close to home. However, after a year and over 100 plays, I can say without reservation that Fletcher Park is an amazing course! In my mind, it is the perfect example of a community disc golf course with enough variety to appeal to everyone!

Last but not least, I can't end this review without a shout out to the Cleveland Disc Golf Club and the Cleveland disc golf community in general. Cleveland has embraced the new course with a fervor not often seen, and due to the work and commitment of the local club, not only has Fletcher blossomed into an amazing disc golf destination, but Cleveland recently installed its second course! Along with all their hard work, they are one of the most welcoming groups out there and are constantly finding ways to encourage newcomers to play this wonderful sport.

If you haven't had a chance to play Fletcher DGC yet, you owe it to yourself to try it out! If you played it in its infancy, you need to come back to see how much it has changed. Fletcher Disc Golf Course stands proudly amongst the best courses in the Chattanooga metro area.

(3.609 Rating) A 4 layout course with a good mix of everything.
- TWO TEES TWO BASKETS - I love it when courses have options. There are four easy to follow layouts here. Short to Short, Short to Long, Long to Short and Long to Long. Players will be able to choose from a sub 4,000 foot MA4 friendly layout, to a plus 7,000 foot MA1 level course. My threesome chose the Long to Short layout and I thoroughly enjoyed the blend of technical challenges and length.
- HOLE VARIETY - Due to the 4 layouts, the variety is really good. There are a handful of sub 200 foot ace runs from the shorts. The long layout meanwhile has several snakey wooded par 4s and there's even a soft par 5. Elevation change is present on many holes. There are some ups and some downs and a hole like long to long (13), goes both up first and then back down. Fairways break left and right, there are heavily wooded shots and openish plays. It's a great mix.
- RAW BEAUTY - This sprawling park has several nice elements to it. My favorite part was that several holes feel fully detached from the built environment with their thick in the woods characteristics. Even the more open holes had some grace with the rolling meadows of mowed grass. Overall, I scored this aspect 75 percentile.
- AMENITIES - The baskets are prodigy unfortunately, but still a nice second tier basket. The tees are big and concrete. I didn't measure them like I normally due, but I don't recall having any issues with them. As noted above, two tees and two baskets per hole. There were no benches yet, but I've seen pictures now with a few installed. Tee signs were also not in when I played it, but the long to long tee signs have been planted as of this review posting. The park also has restrooms and shelters with picnic tables.

A well-executed course with very few blemishes.
- LAYOUT GAPS - Often times when courses are put into expansive parks like the one here at Fletcher, ideal fairway locations are chosen over adjacency. OK in my book, as long as the holes are good and that the gaps are less than 500 feet or so. Anyways, there are several big gaps here including (7 to 8), (9 to 10), (11 to 12) and (14 to 15). For this reason, some hole to hole transitions are not the easiest to figure out. Players will need a navigational app to follow along seamlessly. Hopefully a course map has been posted or it gets posted soon. I don't see how one figures it out without a map. The short to short layout, as expected, has significantly more gaps between holes, compared to the other layouts.
- YOUTH - Most of the wooded holes were very raw with small twigs and branches littering the ground. Low cut tree stumps to kick into and roots to trip over, are also present. It's going to take a few years for the holes in the woods to beat in. The parkstyle holes were in great shape however.

Fletcher Park has the pedigree potential to become a top 3 course in the Chattanooga metro area. It's got everything a high quality course requires in its gameplay, beauty and amenities. It's basically just time and volunteer love that's needed to massage out the rough areas. As is, I found this course to be above the 3.25 level on my personal ledger. I upped my ratings on a few attributes as I assume by next summer the new course omissions will have been addressed. I don't think the course is destination worthy outside an hour's drive, but definitely a must hit for anyone who travels along I75 between Chattanooga and Knoxville. The 4 layout options will also attract return visits while still keeping it fresh. I had a tough time thinking of courses it reminded me of, as each layout will be slightly different. Ratings wise I have Fletcher at around the same caliber as courses such as Sharpe Springs in Nashville, Redan in Atlanta, George Ward in Birmingham and Victor Ashe in Knoxville. None of the noted are super close matches, but some elements from each, are here.
- BAGGERS UNITE - I bagged this course with RocketCityRedd and eric_vdberg. It was our first round at Fletcher for all of us. Tip of the cap to Eric for the casual round victory by a few throws and an enjoyable round discussing disc golf adventures.

I was lucky enough to qualify for a points series finale at this park and play two rounds here and unlucky enough to twist my torn up knee in round two and play very badly but will try not to let that taint my perception.

Fletcher is an interesting course as it has two sets of tees on every hole and two baskets(longer white and shorter red) on most holes. The first three holes are medium to long park style holes and the. The fourth is a deep bending dog leg par 4.

Then you play a little 270ft backhand with the creek to the left and a long uphill par 4. After one more open hole you dive into the woods and start playing up and down the hills in tightly wooded fashion with several par 4s mixed in.

Some tunnel shots and tricky mandos feature as well.

The final hole is a booming par 5 that requires a couple of bombs to get a birdie, but eagle is technically possible and I've seen it done but you need grey accuracy at 400ft + of power preferably rightly backhand.

Navigation is pretty easy, signs are only on long tees for now but look very nice. A few handmade benches around as well.

It's going to be a great course but is still pretty raw in spots, the cut trees and stumps are somewhat easy to trip on and it's easy to get turned around in some spots. Walk to 9 is especially long and tricky.

There are also a few spots where I think they could lose a tree or two, for the length of the holes it's a bit tighter than I'd prefer. A lot of times you think you made the critical gap and then hit a hidden tree and end up with a briar wrapped around your ankle.

Overall it's very good and I can see it even being a 4 once it's full broken in. It's got a lot to recommend it and I'm looking forward to seeing it in the spring again.

As the first permanent course in Cleveland, this Will Schusterick-designed layout offers plenty of choices, a good mix of open and wooded holes, and some annoyingly long walks.

The course provides a good start with the first seven holes on grassy fairways. The lines are mostly open and fair – with the exception of Hole #4 (see Cons) – allowing for a nice warm-up without being too punishing.

Elevation is gradual on most holes without being overly significant while still earning the moderately hilly description. The back nine introduces more hills that accompany a heavier dose of trees, especially on the long-to-long layout.

The new concrete teepads are excellent. They're adequate in width and length and most of them appeared to be built up slightly to minimize the accumulation of mud and erosion that affects footing.

There are red (short) and white (long) Prodigy baskets on nearly every hole, and the intention is that every hole will offer both options in the near future. Currently, only Hole #7 and Hole #11 have one basket, and this might change in the next couple weeks before the kickoff tournament.

Some neat designs and areas are utilized on the course. The long teepad on Hole #4 features a tunnel-like path in the woods. The long basket on Hole #10 is nearly concealed behind a small grove of thin trees, prompting creativity off the teepad. The short basket on Hole #14 is mounted onto a stump. The long teepad on Hole #16 is up a hill and demands accuracy as two large trees are just in front of the teepad. And the long-basket option on Hole #18 prompts a drive to the opening in the woods, then a shot (or two) to traverse through the woods, before popping back out into a clearing on the other side.

Navigation isn't instinctual, and several long treks between sections of the course are to blame. The first hike occurs after Hole #7, when there's a couple-minute walk on a paved sidewalk to Hole #8. After Hole #9, you must retrace your steps and walk past the fairway of Hole #7 to find Hole #10. After Hole #11, it's a several-minute walk to the next hole, and then three holes later, there's another several-minute journey to find Hole #15.

There are a few odd holes in the layout. While the distances and pars haven't been confirmed (to my knowledge), the medium options on Hole #4 are problematic. From long-to-long, the hole is 500 feet and shaped like a horseshoe, which seems like a legit par 4. The short-to-short option is about 200 feet on a straight line. However, the short-to-long and long-to-short are in the 350-foot range but require a nearly 90-degree turn. Those options are too short to be a par 4, but the fairway turn is too demanding to be a par 3.

In addition, a few holes have some difficult/unfair lines from the long teepads. A couple holes have an unreasonable fairway shape that when combined with the distance puts the par in the "tweener" range.

The course isn't quite finished with its amenities, but no points off for the lack of signs or navigational aids. If Schusterick's other local designs (including Westside and Edwards Park in northwest Georgia) are an accurate indication, the signage will be top-notch.

The course is also in a newness stage for condition. Several of the wooded fairways are rough, with uneven areas, ruts, tiny stumps and wood debris scattered about. Some of the more wooded holes have tons of branches piled up off the fairway.

The two-baskets, two-teepads design scheme has some positives and negatives. First, it's an excellent decision for the only course in the area to offer four choices, allowing for a wide range of skill levels to play Fletcher Park. The short track is about 4,000 feet; the two medium options are about 5,700 feet; and the longest version is around 7,400 feet. However, the multiple options compromise the designer's ability to offer the best possible layout. Instead of being able to simply pick the best spot for a teepad and basket, a total of 72 different holes had to be considered. Having played every layout at least once, in my view, the "best layout" at Fletcher Park would be a combination of all four layouts. Each layout has a few flawed holes due to being forced to offer four choices per hole.

There's no water on the course, though a creek is visible from a couple holes. If your drive goes too far left on Hole #5, you could find the water. Hole #8 is a newly-carved fairway that can get muddy and boggy after the rains. On Hole #13, the long teepad is positioned near a bend in the creek. On Hole #15, the short basket is to the right of a low area that can be swampy at times.

Fletcher Park is a solid course in a geographic area that was lacking in disc golf options. Traveling northeast from Chattanooga on I-75, there weren't any 18-hole courses in the 40 miles between Collegedale and Athens, and the few nine-hole options are private and not worth venturing to. The Cleveland community has embraced this addition, and as the caretakers put on the finishing touches, Fletcher Park shows much promise in the months to come.