Nice hike. 2 courses here. Multiple tees
You could play this with only a few discs.

Most tees are natural which isn't that bad given that they're mostly 200+ ft. holes. I only throw long discs on a couple holes.

When the leaves pile high it's easy to lose discs.

A mix of straight tree lined woods and a few doglegs. It's the elevation variations that make this interesting and fun. My forehand is in development, and this course and the black bear are both great for training - tight fairways at getable lengths.
There is a long walk between I think 5-6. Walk down the hill and trail around left. Cross the bridge and up to the next tee. Coming back is similar

Golden Hills - Golden Bear is one of 2 19 hole courses on site here . The parking lot isn't very big , so if you go at peak times , you may have to find off road parking . There are no bathrooms that I saw , but there is a nice shelter that sits in front of the #19 basket . The wall has a kiosk on it .Golden Bear has a first tee that sits behind a mound of dirt , where you have to descend to get to the tee . There are 3 tees for many of these holes . The tee pads are dirt , so you may not want to play in the middle or after a storm . The signage is very worn , so much that on some of them , you can't read anything . They are made of wood , with a little Golden Bear on them , giving distance and par along with hole# . The ones you could read also gave you the amount of elevation from tee to basket . I NEVER see that ! The baskets are yellow banded Discatcher and in decent shape . Print the map . You can see some of the tees from the previous basket , but there are times where you will take an incredible walk to get to the next group of holes ( see cons ) . There is a nice creek that is utilized in a hole or 2 , but you rarely see it . There are nice bridges that go over it , though . Some of the trees are spray painted blue or red to help with the navigation . If you like elevation , you will fall in love with these courses . More than you will ever need ( or want ) . The course will divide itself into 1-5 , 6-15 & 16-19 . The distances of the holes are pretty short . I played straight up from the signs . You may want to play with more than one here . Spotting for each other will help a bunch , especially on holes like 4 & 5 , 12 & 15 , Foliage is especially heavy on the first 5 holes . None of the holes here are ones that will live on in your memory . but overall , you will have a good time . Fun Factor is pretty good . Short holes , big hills . Plenty of spots to hit a bird here and there . The course is mostly woods , from #2 through #18 . Bring your water . The course is popular , partly because there are options to play either course . Or both . No signature holes , but I liked #6 , 271' forcing you to throw between trees right to left on up to a basket sitting on a hill with the green below it . Also #19 has an island hole shot playing left to right at 253' . It took me close to 85 minutes to play this course . Figure a group of 4 , 2 1/2 hours +

With the good also come the bad :
#1 Safety . Both with others , there are blind throws that might catch a fellow player by surprise that is looking for a disc in the brush .Maybe grunt or call out before throwing blind . Also slipping downhill or climbing uphill can make for you to be skinned up , yourself .
#2 Navigation . WOW . Once you start the group of 3 different parts of the course , then you have no problems until that group ends . There is a trail that splits after hole 5 . Take the one directly behind the basket instead of the one on the left . I went left and walked probably 400 meters . Another big walk was 15-16 . You have to cross a couple of bridges on that one , along with a long downhill walk to what seemed to be a longer uphill one .
#3 Equipment . The signage wouldn't have been so bad if you could read them all . Also , natural tee pads are not a good idea for a course that sits on what seems a mountain . Plenty of chances to take a long spill from the hill ( check out the blue tee on #2 . I understand that it would be improbable to haul cement up or large amounts of gravel to make tee pads , but what about turf , or carpet .? And how about some wood railings or more steps descending from these slopes ?
#4 Disc Risk . I felt sorry for a man with his 6 buddies that were working on contract nearby and loved disc golf . He had just lost his disc for good on hole #4 . I gave him a driver out of my bag and told them to try and take turns spotting for the rest of the course . Since some of the course plays on hillsides , or with big dropoffs , it would be easy to have a midrange drive hit a root or a rock and roll 150' down the hill . I was penalized on a good midrange shot that rolled over 100' down the embankment . I imagine it's murder to try to find a disc in the leaves of autumn .
The course could use a bathroom and a bigger parking lot. Once you start this course , it doesn't look like you come back to the lot until hole #19

Despite that there is so much room for improvement for Golden Bear , there is still that lingering fun factor here . The course had lots of players here . How can you go wrong with a park that boasts 38 holes of disc golf ?! Not a fast play , this technical course will force you to play within yourself and make decisions on risk/reward fairways and basket placements ( #5 , a downhill putter shot that drops off hard past the basket which is also sitting on the hill ) .I can't give this place lower than a 3 just because of the amount of different holes total . Bring something to drink for afterwards and chill in the shelter like I did . Hell , the parks board should hand you a beer if you complete all 38 holes . Pay attention to the weekly doubles on Wednesday evenings from March thru October .
My Recommendation : plenty of holes , on a popular course . Not as good for family dates or newbies ,or even good intermediates or Pros , but great for locals , enthusiasts , groups , course baggers ( not far off I-81 ) . Give this course a play if not too far ,,,,,

Good challenging mid range wooded holes
Good variety and use of elevation
Great proximity to Virginia Tech
Good for getting people into the sport.
At same park as Black Bear, makes for a great day to do both.

Some fairways have a frustrating amount of trees
Could use more open fairway holes mixed in
Trails are in poor condition in places

I disagree with the navigation and length concerns, this course and black bear are in a great location for walking through the woods and the hikes are not that long at all.

As I stated in my review of Black Bear, this course is a hikers dream. You'll find yourself meandering the hills of Christiansburg soaking in the natural beauty all while getting to indulge in some ace-runs along the way.

There are, again, 3 tee pads per hole. This course, unlike it's brother(bear), will allow you to pull out at least a fairway driver on occasions. You won't fully test your game on either course, but you'll get a little more out of Golden Bear.

Most of the holes are tight, heavily-wooded tunnel shots, some with more elevation change than others. If you get an ace on these holes, you'd likely be more proud of it than one on Black Bear.

Hole 19 is a cool concept and works well at destinations with multiple courses like Golden Hills. Either as an addition to the round, CTP or tie-breaker, the additional open island shot is neat.

Neither of these courses, despite being shorter, are without challenge. You'll need precise shots to do well out here, but hardly any of those will be with a driver. If you're familiar with Peaks View in Lynchburg, this is a little longer and A LOT more challenging.

Like most heavily-wooded courses, the chance to lose a disc out here is pretty high. Even in the fall/winter when underbrush is dead and gone, you'll have the leaves to contend with. Not to mention the extreme hills you'll be perched on. One wrong roll and your disc may be 40 feet below you.

Navigation is the major issue I have with both of these courses. I feel like they were designed for the inquisitive/boy scouter adventurist type. If you like hide-and-go-seek disc golf, this is right up your alley! For those who prefer more structure, you may find yourself more frustrated than anything. I kept an open-mind and enjoyed my tromp through nature the best I could...Thrill-seekers and casual golfers alike will definitely want to print a map!

Neither of these courses do a 9-hole loop. If you want to play 9 holes, you'll be walking out of the woods quite a ways to get back to the parking area (if I recall correctly). Whatever the case may be, it would be difficult to organize a large tournament here.

Final complaint would be the natural tee pads. I get that it's probably necessary and would be a tremendous undertaking to have concrete at those remote holes, but something like rubber or AstroTurf might enhance the place a little.

If you want a nice, chill, relaxing type of open-park golf day, this IS NOT your course. At the very least, you'll have wished you had a hiking stick (I picked one up along the way) and some nice boots. Coming in flip-flops is not recommended.

+Fun course with some crazy holes
+Nice engraved signs at every hole
+Easy to drive to/free parking provided

-Almost entirely wooded holes
-Some holes are far apart and require a little trail walking to get to the next tee.
-Terrain can be very steep
-Easy to lose discs
-Mostly dirt tee pads

An exciting course that will keep you on your toes. Mountainous terrain makes for some crazy layouts but overall definitely worth playing and can be a lot of fun.

1. Elevation change. Just like Golden Hills Black Bear they put a lot of thought into some tricky uphill and downhill shots on this course.

2. Hole directions. There are quick left and right turns, straight holes, uphill and downhill, and gradual turn holes.

3. Beautifully placed in woods.

1. Length. You can play this course and only need a driver on a few holes. Getting into trouble off the tee doesn't always hurt you, good second shots can erase bad first shots.

2. I play this course a lot but can understand how it can get confusing for new players to find each hole. Not nearly as hard to navigate as Black Bear.

3. 1 long walk between 5 and 6 and one medium walk between 15 and 16.

4. Tee Pads. They are just dirt and when it rains they are a problem. Well marked, but footing can be an issue.

I think this is the better of the two Golden Hills courses offered in Christiansburg. I go back and forth but recently have been enjoying what this one has to offer. There is a great variety of holes, lacking only a true long hole. Everything is scored to 3 which makes it easy to keep track.
A round takes a couple of hours to play at most, less if you are experienced and familiar with the course.
Overall a fun experience and a course I recommend to all my friends.

close to freeway
lots of baskets including two warm up tees

very hard to navigate
lots of trees and underbrush which makes finding throws very hard
lots of long walks
slightly illogical and to much use of upwards elevation
bugs

makes me think if you're a local you have an obligation to help visitors on your home course. I didn't have a good experience here but you can tell that some people took a lot of time and resources to make these courses happen. having an excited guide to show you the cool things about a course goes a long way to a good experience.