Looking to play one more course on the way out of town Goat island seemed like the ideal location to throw a unique course before the long drive home.

The parking area is at the back of what seems to be a well to do residential area, hardly normal disc golf fodder. The first two holes play along the park entrance and really set the tone well. You will be helped by throwing hard here but the main thing you want is accuracy. Hit your line and you will often have a birdie look, overpower a shot and you may be looking at a bogey or lost disc in the water.

After hole 2 you throw a shot over the creek and onto what I assume is the actual "goat island" and the course really begins to define itself. Hanging vines, oddly shaped fairways and greens that have some challenge even after you get close to the pin are abundant. But I don't mind a not super clean green. They can be a lot of fun.

Pads are decent if somewhat small concrete, and though a few a damaged the signs that are around seemed nice and accurate.

The flow and vide here is pretty nice, and though it's a busy park with fishermen and pedestrians you are rarely in a position that would put them in your path.

Even has a few longer holes mixed in that while not true bombers Will test you a bit on your longer shots.

There was something about this as a play that made it seem more of a labor than it should be. Navigation isn't perfect and you so have to walk a long way around large wooden fences to reach the bridge. There are a few long walks between holes and there seem to be a couple of rarely used pads around that are unmarked and can add to confusion.

The design itself has only a few issues and they are mainly that you have some long not super well marked paths between holes and the are a couple of areas where a tree kick could take you into another fairway.

This isn't a design con, but the water at least in the winter was deep and drops off quickly. On the water carry holes if you throw it in, it's probably gone. You won't even be able to see the location in the muddy water to use a golden retriever or other deep water device.

Very solid play and I enjoyed it a good bit. Not flawless, but admirable and a unique feel compared to the other Charlotte area courses.

Located in the middle of the South Fork of the Catawba River, is Goat Island DGC. I've been meaning to make my way out here for a few years, ever since my good friend moved to Cramerton, but kept missing it (outside of Hole 19 after dinner one night).The course shares the island with a small playground, but otherwise is mostly used as a disc golf course. This 18 hole course features DISCatcher baskets, concrete tees, decent navigational signage, and adequate tee signs at most holes. I noticed a couple of benches along the course, but they weren't at the teepads, outside of one tee that had 3 lawn chairs beside it. These and the two tee signs I saw with bag holders were nice to see. The course features two layouts, where eight-or-so holes have two teepads. Hole 2, while playing from the same tee, has different Par listed between the layouts. These alternate tee pads often completely alter the shape & nature of the holes.

The course is full of wonderfully designed holes that really stand out. Many of the Par 4s really stood out to me, not only in how they played, but the way they looked. The course overall is extremely beautiful and there are times that you feel like you are in your own little world. The views of the river surrounded by dense trees make the course have a unique feel that can't be found anywhere else close by.

Goat Island will require a variety of shots to score well on, and accuracy is emphasized way more than power. If you are on the fairway, you will find yourself enjoying this course. If you miss the fairway at all, your score is going to fill up with red, fast. Fortunately none of the holes really require much more than a midrange or fairway driver to have birdie looks.

Holes 1 & 2 are absolutely phenomenal starting holes that utilize the bluff really well. Right out of the gate you will realize how pretty and interesting this course is going to be.

On the opposite side of the river from Holes 1 & 2 is the downtown Cramerton area, where there are plenty of food and pub options to hit up after your round. Right there in the grassy field is "Hole 19" which is a fun ace run hole to try for. If you plan to make this a part of your day, it might be worth parking over here and starting on Hole 4, playing around the course and finishing on Hole 3.

The biggest and most apparent downside of Goat Island DGC, is the double-edged sword of being located on the low-lying, flat island for which the course is named. As amazing an experience as it is to have the course almost fully situated on the island, it comes with a lot of downsides as well. First-and-foremost is the fact that the island has the potential to be shut down for extended periods of time due to flooding. Earlier this year the course was closed because the island was closed for a few months for this.

It also means that if it has rained at all in the days/week before your round, it is likely going to be caked in mud. When I played, I had a rag in hand to wipe my discs off after every throw, but Holes 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, & 16 were particularly muddy. When I played there seemed to be at least an inch of mud covering Hole 11's tee, outside of the very front corner, and Hole 16's tee had been completely swallowed by mud.

Many of the tee signs were either missing or illegible. The course could definitely benefit from new tee tee signs, with bag holders on every post. I only saw two tee signs with bag holders while I was out there, and greatly appreciated them, but with how muddy the course seems to get - one at every hole would be a marked improvement.

Outside of a few benches that seemed to be placed more for park goers, there weren't many benches along the course - and I don't recall seeing any trash cans on the island at all. This isn't an issue in my eyes, as long as park goers actually utilize the pack-in-pack-out mentality. I imagine the lack of trash cans is correlated to the possibility of flooding, but a couple of benches could benefit the course.

Navigation can be a bit tricky at times. For the most part the course flows really well, and has decent navigational signage, but the back-nine had a few instances worth noting. After Hole 10, the obvious trail takes you to Hole 18's tee. I'm not even sure if the "trail" to Hole 11's tee could even be called that at this point with all the growth and rough covering it. A sign or two could be placed pointing golfers in the right direction. It was one of the few parts of the course where navigational signage was needed, and one of the few places where there was none. After Hole 11 you have to semi-backtrack to get to Hole 11. But there is a path just off the fairway, heading back towards 11's tee. Just something to keep in mind when you are teeing off, because this trail is definitely not out of play.

When I played the fairways for Hole 8 & 16 looked like they were starting to become a bit overgrown. Hole 8 wasn't as bad, but Hole 16 was in quite rough shape. The rough is already thick on the sides of many of the fairways, which didn't bother me much, but when that same thick rough begins to encroach so much on the fairways it tends to be less enjoyable to play.

If you're planning on playing here in the summer, make sure to eat a few bananas beforehand and cover yourself in DEET. Lest you be bombarded by mosquitos while out and about on the course. Fortunately my friend who lives close by, gave me the heads up and I was able to prepare accordingly.

I am a bit torn on what rating I should give Goat Island. This course really seems to be a bit of a Goldilocks Course (love it or hate it course depending on the condition that it is in when you play it / time of year you play it)- at least based on what I have heard from others. So for now, I am going to give Goat Island DGC a 3.0 rating. I've chosen this score by trying to take into consideration how fun I felt the layout is/would feel under better conditions, while factoring in how bad the mosquitos and mud seem to get in the summer. I will definitely revisit this rating if I get the chance to experience the course in better conditions in the future, but for now this score seems like a fair compromise between what it could be and what it felt like for me.

However, I do want to give a huge shout out to the GDGC for trying to keep this beast tamed over the years. I imagine the island being closed for a few months earlier this year probably prevented a few of the workdays that would have been spent getting this course into better shape. Hopefully the next time I make my way out to Goat Island, I will get to see it on one of its better days - and plan to revisit this review if that happens.

Favorite Blue Holes: 1, 2, 10, 14

It was '64. The choppers had just dropped off into the bush and flew back out like its ass was on fire. Every shadow, every turn, and every tree menaced your thoughts with Charlie. The only time you weren't worried about Charlie was when you were fighting the VC's most loyal ally, the damn skeeters. You almost wished for the boys to dump Agent Orange over you just for some relief. Your mind bounced back and forth from Charlie to bugs like a never ending tennis match. And it's played on clay courts baby, oh yeah. Enough mud to drown a pig.

Wait a minute. This isn't 'Nam. This is Goat Island...

There are some killer holes out here, in a good way. Awesome tunnel holes that are as pretty as they are well-designed. The course is mostly wooded, sort of. You're in the woods but the fairways are way fair. The challenge is threading the tunnels and staying on the fairway. Only a couple of holes actually involve the river unless you really let a wild one go. Nice tee signs keep you informed.

This is a very unique terrain/setting for a DG course, especially in this area. It's worth playing just for that alone.

Here's the thing. Unless you are a dedicated, badass of a disc golfer that sleeps with a disc under his pillow you are going to want to steer clear of this course unless conditions are perfect. This course gets very muddy, very buggy if it has rained recently at all. I literally expected to see a Vietnamese boy riding a water buffalo coming down the fairway on some holes, it's that jungle-ly and natural.

The only really negative aspect design wise is the rough. It's very easy to throw into and impossible to throw out of. A small army equipped with weed wackers would do wonders. I hope you enjoyed the alliteration in that last sentence as much as I did.

The tricky part though is that you can't thin the rough out too much without the holes blending into each other's fairways. I have full confidence that Chuck and the Gaston Co crew will tame this beast in time.

Natural tees that are often guesses as to their exact location thanks to the mud. Hole 3's long tee needs serious work as does it's fairway.

I almost didn't want to review this course because I didn't want to give it a rating. It can fluctuate wildly depending on what day you play here. Play during a dry spell during winter and it's probably a fantastic challenge. Play during the wet summer like I did and have Vietnam War flashbacks (and I wasn't even alive then!). Yeah. But there are some seriously good holes out here, holes that were eerily reminiscent of the lost holes from Brackett's Bluff. Hole 2 is a great hole and interesting fairway.

Hole 8 I think could be made stellar if a tight, risk/reward FH line was cut into the left before the short tee, making it a sort of John Houck split fairway type of hole.

-Goat Island now has 18 holes and it has definitely been cleared out. I got timg to delete my review when it was 9 holes because the designer said I reviewed it too early so I played it again and it's a good course.
-No more debris is on the fairway like it was in July.
-The short tees are all very playable.
-#18 is a great finisher finishing hole over the river. It spans maybe 150'. The long pad is a barrier type hole. You have to be able to throw 260+ to enjoy it, since it takes a 260+ drive to clear the water. The short pad is still fun! 200' on the edge of the river and across. Throwing from bank to bank here.
-This is a great park for families. It has a greenway for the older people (no offense). A playground for children (solution for my sister) and you can go canoeing. The best thing is that it has a disc golf course that will be a destination course in a year or two.
-The tee signs are very accurate on almost every hole. On the long tees, it shows the shape of the fairway. It shows where the short tees are located. Keep in mind that the short tees are wood with the hole number on them.
-The park is easy to find. While your headed to it, it has signs with arrows pointing you the way to this park.
-I used to HATE #7 but it's been cleared out. There actually is a birdie chance but you will need a good 275' foot hyzer. The trees are no taller than 10 feet. It's tough but much better than I remembered.
-The discatchers are in perfect shape.
-There are portajohns around the parking lot. I don't know if they are in good shape though.
-#17 is the only hole that plays only downhill.

-The problem was, when I played 13-16 were not playable yet. I had to go from 12 to 17. At least 12's basket is close to #17's tee. Be appreciative though, #13 through #16 are getting worked on.
-I would like it if #3's long tee was on the pavement. So the shot would be straight downhill.
-It has improved but the woods still are a bit thick. Especially on #12. I played the long tee and I lost a white beast. The long tees on some holes like #10 and #12 are not ready for play yet. My beast didn't land so it's stuck in the deep woods in the limbs.
-You can't cross the water on #18 so you go up a big hill to get to the bridge. It needs stairs but they will come soon.
-The woods have trash. In particular, soda bottles. You will pass a couple trashcans like in the transition from #7 to #8.
-There is quite a bit of tall grass around the fairways. It's not major but would be great if it gets cut since it's no longer summer.
-No benches installed yet but it's still new and a lack of downhill shots, #3 long could really be on pavement so it would have a nice 20 foot drop.

Goat Island overall is a good course. It has some easy holes and some holes are tough to save par. This course isn't hard from the short pads but it's a real challenge from the longs. Once #13 through #16 are in play and gets cleared out a little more, this would be a great course. Hole #11 really looks sweet and innocent from the long but by the time you get to the short tee, your next shot is very narrow and goes a bit right. Keep the drive short, if you go too long then you are in the ol' aqua.
-#9 actually has a short tee. At about 205' feet long. It's more of a recreational tee. I just wanted to throw a midrange from it and was 18 inches from the basket. There are a lot of low ceiling shots. Some shots can't go more than about 12 feet high. It's tough but a good thing will happen if you keep it low.
In my opinion, the stand out holes are #6, it's an easy hole that is more open than others that allows a birdie if you have good enough accuracy. #11 is also unique from the long, it's easy until about 190' feet. Then, if you miss your line, which is narrow. You are going to be stuck. It's the hardest from what I played today. #14 (which I saw a pic of but didn't play) has a very cool view of the water which if you go maybe 7-10 feet farther, you might take a swim. #18 is a flat finishing hole but OVER the water. It's not boring like #18 at trophy lakes or #18 at Winthrop. It's a memorable, super fun tee shot. Overall Goat Island is much better than it was before. When it was 9 holes. I was hoping from a fun tee shot over the water. I got exactly what I wanted.