-I thought Hardaway was blast. The whole setting at the old Badin Inn is very pleasant being outside of the Uwharrie Mountains State Forest in an open space with lots of elevation changes. Multiple holes gave me the uncontrollable urge to throw several shots off of the tee. Especially #17, the extreme downhill par three that's 430' and reachable with a putter for big distance throwers.

-Course has only been around, or at least completely playable for a few months. Already has some excellent tee signs and tee pads. The tee signs give hole info and the elevation changes on each hole. A few seemed off, but the holes with bigger elevation changes seemed accurate!

-It's not a hybrid without at least a few four fours. #3 stood out to me since it's a shorter par four (450' or something). The design is very creative. You tee off in the woods facing a real corridor that brings you out in the open. OB rough is on both sides of the hole. You'll want to throw your straightest disc on this one. #7 allows you to rip one as far as possible, but your biggest challenge is the upshot. Basket is surrounded by three OB bunkers less than 20' away. I had a very long throw and was left with a long putt (maybe 75') and I landed in the OB bunker and barely saved par. The other two were good. One was a little more basic and the other was wooded with a few trees that need removal.

-Several fun downhill shots. #4 is quite a blast being over 400' and down 46 feet in elevation. The tee pad is located on one of the highest parts of the property, so you can see a good portion of the city of Badin from the tee pad. OB on both sides and past the basket, makes it very risky to throw a driver even at 416'. #12 is 511' and reachable. A real confidence booster if you are able to deuce this one. #17 has the greatest use of elevation here at Hardaway Point. 72 feet down with an exquisite view of the property. Probably my favorite hole.

-Few excellent uphill holes as well. #11 was a ton of fun. It's under 300' but plays much longer. It's steep uphill with two routes around a big tree with long and low hanging limbs. You have to throw high enough but low enough to miss the branches in order to have a birdie look here. #16 was a close favorite of mine. #16 and #17 offer an excellent two hole stretch! #16 is a big uphill hyzer into a gap in the woods with some excellent rock work near the basket. Miss the gap early, and you could be in the rough leaving you short and looking up at the basket with a tricky way out of the woods. I threw a slightly overstable driver and it went far enough through the gap and skipped left and I was 40' from the basket with a look for birdie.

-There's a lot of challenge added. Lots of OB, but not quite as much as there is at North Cove. I like OB challenges but not when they are regularly consisting of greens only a few feet from OB stakes or bunkers. A couple of greens having OB around them and there are many flagged spots, making them separator holes but a little more tare. You'll see it instantly on the first hole. Don't be too alarmed. The first hole is probably in the top three hardest holes here. It's over 400' with OB on both sides. It's a pro par three with many ways to par with a birdie being a bonus. Most of the tall grass is OB, making you try to be as conservative with the limited fairway while keeping distance. Some holes like #9, 13, 14 were a bit more bland because the fairways were a bit wider or there was less OB in wide open spots. They are less interesting but they do give players moments to relax on those holes and just throw longer shots without as much risk.

-There is an indoor bar that is open on weekends. Course is open everyday and you don't have to make a reservation. You will have to pay into a dropbox at the building where you park at.

-There's a real barrier to entry. Well, not literally because anyone can play here (because anyone should be able to) but players with limited distance will be worn out because they'll most likely be throwing drivers off of every tee pad. Could use a few short pads. For me, this course is great and the barrier to entry does not affect how I rated this course, but it could disappoint players with less distance. Shortest hole is 280' and that hole is #6. It's very tight and wooded. I wouldn't dare throw a driver on this one. #18 is around 285' and it is downhill. That is probably a limited distance player's best bet at an easy birdie and it's still nothing facile. It's more sidearm friendly since there's a bigger bush in play on the right side and there are several OB bunkers in proximity.

-Could use a few more trees. I mean you see superb holes with woods like #3, 6, and 16 and they make you want to see more wooded parts here. #5 is fully wooded, but it is a fragmentary design because the fairway closes up in the last 100' or so. One of the executives here told me that #5 was being redesigned since it crossed over a property line. Hopefully it'll become a better wooded hole.

-The hole lengths range from 280-580'. I think that's a bit small for a hybrid. We are missing a real multi shot hole for advanced players. Needs a par four that's over 700' and more alarming.

-It isn't far from Fox Chase or City Lake. I think Hardaway is better than Fox Chase but I like City Lake a little bit more because there is a better balance and has dual pads and a few alternate pins. The elevation is very well used here; there's a lot of it which is something I never get tired of. But I think Goose Landing (another course close by) is just as fun as Hardaway Point. There isn't much elevation at Goose Landing, but there's a lot of character with distinctive appearances and uncommon lines that are still very hittable. All of the courses around here are fun and the Stanly County area is not worth missing with its courses, its hiking trails nearby, and the lake views you get to see around the area.

-If you have distance and need to work on your accuracy, this course can demonstrate to you what you are doing right and wrong. To me it really is a great course with just a few missing ingredients, but still worth holding tournaments here. Even the filler holes that I mentioned have a good purpose. They are longer but are easier birdies for the pros. They are right in front of you and are easier to make par on but they are not attackable birdies without distance. I still struggle with accuracy some, and missed my birdies on holes 8,9, 13, and 14 because I was a little past 30' from the basket. They gave me insight on what I need to work on the most. I can throw 400' without much trouble, but it's hard to do it accurately sometimes. This being said, Hardaway Point is a difficult course and it's mainly because of distance but it does allow room to practice drives and possibly gain more distance while doing so.

-Stanly County needs to start having a big annual B to A tier tournament at the four course in the area. Fox Chase, City Lake, Hardaway Point, and Goose Landing. I'd sign up with hesitation! It'd almost be like the Magic City Mega Bowl except in North Carolina!

Hardaway Point at Badin Inn. There are all sorts of dichotomies here: new disc golf course on an old golf course. Classic looking inn in a run-down part of town. Rolling hills with some mountain-esque vibes (and views), followed by wide-open, uninspiring portions of the course. Let's say, this was a tricky one to evaluate.
- There are parts to this course I absolutely loved. The view from the first tee, overlooking a series of fairways, and baskets, gives one a sense of purpose and challenge. The view from the first basket, looking back towards the first tee, gives more of a sense of some of the terrain.
- That's followed up by a couple more fun, if not overly difficult layouts on #2 - 4. #2 has a fun basket on the rocks with some tight OB. #3 has a tight tunnel tee shot to a more open approach shot. And, #4 is the fun, downhill, air-one-out tee shot. On #4's tee, look at the view over the course and inn. This feels more like the NC mountains or foothills - think North Cove or Ashe County - rather than Stanly County.
- #6 & 7 are two excellent holes. Man, oh man, how I wish there were about three or four more wooded holes like #6. Take away the wide open stretch of holes from essentially #8 onward, and throw in a couple of wooded holes, and this course would feel so much different. It's a sweeping, dogleg left, easily reachable with a midrange or fairway driver type of hole. Throwing over the rocks makes this a fun fairway, and a somewhat challenging walk if it's slick.
- #7 is the first par 4. A true multi-shot layout. I really enjoy the use of bunkers as OB, which can punish an overly aggressive approach shot. It'll force players from making a run at the basket with their second shots, and possibly forcing a more conservative approach instead.
- On the back 9, there isn't a lot of challenge; rather, the three big downhillers are going to get the most attention - #12, 17, & 18.
- I preferred the serenity, and overall picturesque, pine-lined fairways on the slightly uphill #10. The view from the tee on #4 is the best spot on the entire course. For an entire hole's worth of beauty and good vibes, it's hard to beat #10. That's followed by a fun, tight uphiller on #11. Then, for all you impatient types, now you can empty the bag throwing bombers on the big downhill, 536-foot #12. It's a wide fairway, so throw 2 or 15.
- What the course lacks in true challenge, it makes up for, or tries to at least, with great scenery and (sometimes gimmicked) OB. Good OB is using old sand traps and tall rough, which is easy to understand. If you've got to read or double read the tee signs to understand where there is OB, eh, that's where you're having to (perhaps) force some.
- This is a course that seems as if it was built to host a larger event. With plenty of wide open spaces, you can easily have crowds following players. You can easily set up cameras to film the action. You can easily tell the story of the tourney to casual viewers.

The first seven holes are fantastic. I was thinking this might be the best course in the area, better than Fox Chase, City Lake, and Goose Landing. Well, things get different in a hurry. The rolling hills are now gone as you enter the lower portion of the course.
- There's a lot of 'just ok' holes for the second half of the round. Sure, you need a bigger arm to be having birdie putts. Otherwise, it was seemingly a lot of simple pars hole after hole after hole.
- #7 & 18 should be swapped for quality and continuity purposes. First, the simple reason: flow. As is, playing #7, it runs past the entire length of #18, then requires players to walk past #18 to get to #8. Swapping them, shortens the walk. Then the quality reason. I like the idea of ending the course with a longer, multi-shot par 4 instead of a shorter, make-a-run-at-the-basket par 3. There's more of a chance for a multi-shot swing to end a round on a 581-foot, par 4 than a downhill, 285-foot par 3.
- It would have been nice to find a way to have a couple more wooded holes. As is, this course have two and two halves wooded holes (tee shot on #3, all of #5 & 6, and the approach/green on #16. Everything else is in the open. That alone is going to be this course's biggest hindrance.
- The transition from #17 to 18 is clunky. In short, they wanted to have one more big downhill layout on #17. However, in order to accomplish this, you finish #17, whose basket is in the vicinity of the r for #12 & 15. So, after finishing #17, you essentially walk backwards up the fairway of #12, past #7's tee, to get to #18. Something got wonky in this corner of the course, and it all came to roost here.
- When I played in August '21, some of the tee signs and tees were still missing. Throw in a need for more benches and trash cans, and there are still some new course kinks to fix.

Hardaway Point is a good course. It's not elite. It's not great. It's a good to really-good design. I feel like it built up momentum in the first seven holes, then never built on it. It's a late-model sports car that still can accelerate quickly, but then fails to get out of third gear.
- This is a physically challenging course. Hiking the hills, playing a stretch of open, barely-shaded holes on a 90-degree August day can wear one out.
- At some point in the (near?) future, the bar in the Inn should be re-opened. That'll make a great spot for post round/tourney meet ups.
- Did I mention you're 12 minutes from Fox Chase? You're also less than 20 minutes to (the vastly underrated and overlooked) Goose Landing and City Lake Park. You can play 72 holes of excellent disc golf in one day.
- Here's a reason this course may be just a tad short of other courses in the area. What is this course's signature hole? If it's scenery, I'd offer #1, 4, or 10 as options. If it's fun factor, let's throw out the obligatory downhill layouts of #12, 17, or 18. If it's challenging tee shots, I'd say #3 or 5. If it's quality hole designs, perhaps #6 or 7. So, if a course has half its holes as nominees, does it even have a best hole?
- I'm giving this course a 3.5. It's closest comp is South Mountain DGC in Bostic, two hours to the west.
- You'll have a fun time here. Come tourney time, you'll need a bigger arm and/or need to nail your putts to be in contention. If it's easy for you, it's easy for everyone else too. It's worth a play next time you're in the area.