Ample parking, easy to find, only 15 minutes south of the I-81/I-26 interchange near the Tri-Cities.
3 distinct loops, all of which end at the parking area, so you can bite off 9,18, or all 27 holes.
Scenic course.
Friendly owners, always appreciate those owners willing to share their backyard with complete strangers!
Good elevation changes, but nothing that will kill you
Course flows well for the most part, with most next tees easily visible from current basket.
Plentiful benches.
Good shot variety, with some nice doglegs being good.
Bomber holes, tight lines, and everything in between.
I think even better players will have to earn birdies here, there are only a couple seemingly easy ones out there. Many holes are par 4 and require two good shots to get to circle 1.

Very difficult on first timers to know where to throw. By far my biggest gripe. Even with a map and Udisc, many pins were not visible from tee pad, some not even after 1st throw. The hole signs do give some info, but with more than one pin position, and not knowing which position basket is in, I imagine even those familiar with course may not know where the pin is. Some bright flags would help.
Baskets are older (I didn't note the name, older Machs maybe?) and don't catch great--chains are sounding pretty brittle.
No bathrooms
The first several doglegs were OK, but the course just has too many, meaning one has to throw to many landing zones. Again, a few of these are fine, but it seems there are too many, especially in the woods, where the gaps are small on top of this. So an early tree can be big trouble.

I'm a rec level player who can throw about 300' max, and I felt par was a good possibility on each hole if I stayed clean. Also had a few birdies, so certainly a fair course. But if you are not clean, strokes can add up fast. Mids are your friend here, despite the length, as many holes are in the woods.

Add in a porta-potty, newer baskets, pin positions on tee signs, and bright flags on baskets, and I would bump this to 4.5. The golf itself was worthy of that.

If you are playing all 27 holes, pace yourself, and bring an energy bar/water. Its a long course with a good amount of ups and downs. A rec level twosome should take 2.5-3+ hrs to play the whole course. Better players not as long.

Stay out of the right side rough on hole one--its nasty!

We traveled 4 hours to play, and are glad we made the trip. Not sure I would travel that far again just for this course, but if ever in east TN again, will definitely come back.

Nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains (do the Appalachians have foothills? I'm going to say yes), the 27 holes have some big distance and big elevation.
The course is mostly wooded but pleasantly ducks in and out of the forest with more than a few wide open areas. I can't remember any holes that didn't have trees come into play.

There are several holes that have some Houck-ian design elements, turning what could be two or three fairways into one epic, multi-shot hole. Hole 6 starts shooting out of a wooded gap on a hill and requires a straight shot to avoid an errant fade into the woods to set up a shot around the corner and up a steep hill. Then it's over a plateau into another narrow gap to hit a basket maybe 100 feet into the woods. It's a 720-foot monster.

Hole 10 is a fun open blast down the hill to land on an upslope on an upslope. You then have to manage a shot over the hill to set yourself up for a left-to right approach to the basket. Fun, tough hole.

Navigation from one hole to the next (as opposed to navigating a particular fairway -more on that in a second) was pretty easy.

On a Thursday before a holiday weekend, I had the course completely to myself.

Doglegs. Normally this would be a "pro" for me. When used well, they add some nice flavor to the course. But the designer here fell in love with the dogleg and never got over it, even when the dogleg said, "You need to move on! We can't be together anymore! I'm in love with another designer!". I can only think of two or three holes out of the 27 where I could see the basket from the tee. It got old. It felt like a comedian who heard people laugh and then just kept telling the same joke.

Lost discs. I spent over 45 minutes looking for discs, and I was generally staying in the fairway. The owner was mowing when I played, and it probably would have been a little better the next day. But it wasn't just the grass in the fairways, but the thick weeds lining nearly every fairway (or the 3-foot tall grass that popped up next to or in the middle of fairways). I know there is no way to weedwhack this sort of property, but I have never spent so much time looking for discs after good drives.

Navigation. The holes are long, and many times I threw my drive and then couldn't tell where I was supposed to go next. The hole 6 I mentioned earlier? Case in point. It was really tough to tell where my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th shots were supposed to go.

Tee pads. They are concrete, but narrow and fairly short.

The final 9 are a little underwhelming after the front 18. Some of them are very good holes, but they felt repetitive.
Oh, and there are a couple U-shaped holes on the course. I've never played a U-shaped hole I enjoyed. Holes 13 and 27 are garbage holes. It's disappointing to finish on a hole like that.

As of this writing, I've played 8 of the current top 10 courses (and 15 of the top 25). If you're like me, you've spent many evenings dreaming of when you'd get to travel to the specific part of the country that would let you play those courses ("when am I going to be passing through Knoxville?"). This course is not a top 10 course, and at no point did I consider giving it a 5.0. So many courses have left me blown away in a way that Harmon Hills didn't quite. I believe a highly rated course should be able to stand up to some honest feedback, even if it's an overall great course (and it is).

Enough criticism, though. This is an excellent course with some imagination and challenge. I coupled this with a trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park and am glad I did on both accounts.

-Pretty good variety on the first 18.
-Good place to play controlled golf.
-No gimmick holes to force 27 holes.
-Mostly thin undgrowth. Off-target shots are pretty quick finds.
-Well maintained. Grass was recently mowed and no downed trees/branches on fairways or teepads.

-Teepads need some work.
-Signage is often inaccurate or absent.
-You're often lucky if you can see the pin after two shots on your first round. It's not a fun feeling to have to throw twice before you can see the pin. There was a lot of time spent scounting/searching for baskets.

I visited this course when I was down in TN on a family vacation. It was an hour and a half away from our stay, and it was #4 on the charts on this website so it was definitely on my to-do list for this vacation. I played 1-18 twice and 19-27 once.


My overall feeling when I left was, "I'd come back if I was in the area, but I'm not aching to return here"

27 holes of secluded disc golf on private land! Lots of fun challenging holes. Accommodating hosts.

The terrain on this land is simply awesome and what you expect from eastern Tennessee. Plenty of rocks jutting from the ground, ravines throughout the course, and elevation. Both of the ravines I remember were blind from the teepad.

Some of the teepads were short. Signage was non-existent or if it was there, wasn't really helpful for first time players. Next tee signs would be great on several holes.

All the holes were long which could get boring for lesser skilled players. I remember maybe one hole that was deuce-able.

Harmon was a great course and a great stop on our long road trip. Glad we played it in the fall. This course would be brutal with all the foliage on the trees!

If you like airing out the disc, Harmon Hills is an excellent choice. Harmon Hills provides a variety of different shots off the tee, so you are advised to bring a full bag of discs and a complete arsenal of throws.

Considering that Harmon Hills is huge and on private property, the owners do a good job maintaining the course.

The three nine-hole loops are ideal and a huge plus - this allows one to return to their vehicle for food and water during the round. Because you'll definitely need hydration and nourishment as you walk Harmon Hills.

Harmon Hills is peaceful and quiet (as long as you don't upset the dog). The course is in the country in a tranquil environment, and you probably won't run into many other disc golfers.
Navigation between holes is fairly straight-forward. You should be able to spot the next teepad easily from the previous basket.

Bad shots are punished fairly and saving par after a bad drive will prove difficult. (Occasionally, good shots are punished too.) Score variance is likely to be high, which I consider a positive. If you're driving and putting well, you will shoot a significantly better score than when you're struggling with your game.

The "traversability" on Harmon Hills is mediocre. Some of the holes have tons of poison ivy. Other holes have plenty of uneven spots on the ground that are plagued with rocks and roots. The course can be difficult to walk in places - and that's even if you stay in the fairway. The back nine has many rocks and several steep and un-cleared areas.

Also, there are several holes with no clear path to the basket - the random trees force some difficult lines and offer a "poke and hope" venture where good shots can still be punished.

Some of the teepads are in rough shape - too short and not even.

The signage at Harmon Hills is some of the worst I've seen. First-timers will likely have to walk down several holes to find the unsighted baskets.

While many reviewers give Harmon Hills a 5.0, I'm not as easily convinced. While the course is long and offers some excellent challenges, the few problem areas on this course influence my rating. The rough "traversability" of the course is a huge issue, and the lack of amenities means Harmon Hills falls short of other top-rated courses.

However, Harmon Hills is still a worthwhile play and you should enjoy your time there. Play Harmon Hills along with Sugar Hollow, Winged Deer and Warriors Path on a trip to the Tri-Cities and you'll have a blast. And be sure to drop a few dollars in the donation mailbox to show your appreciation to the owners who maintain the course. The donation might improve your disc golf karma too.

Elevation - adds variety and challenge to your shots.

Design - I liked that there were some long open shots and some tight technical wooded holes and some nice turns in both directions.

Concrete pads - were unlike any I've been on before. They had lines in them and seemed nice and grippy. They were level and pointed in the right direction which is always a plus.

Location - While not the most scenic of courses, the property is secluded, quiet, and green. It was very pleasant. Saw a wild turkey and some other hedgehog animal that I couldn't figure out what it was before it ran away.

Maintenance - The grass was nicely cut and there weren't sticks or trash in fairways. The work put in here is well worth your donation.

No scorecard/course map/next tee signs - Most holes weren't difficult to locate but several times after putting out I found myself standing there looking around wondering where to go. The tee signs aren't anything more than the most basic descriptions of the hole. I don't know what course par is. Playing with a local would have made my experience much better but a scorecard with a course map would have made it more enjoyable. Hole 9 had a long basket that wasn't on the tee sign and I only noticed after putting out on the short and looking for the next tee.

Hole lengths - Several of the holes were difficult to tell if they were tough par 3s or easy par 4s. I feel like some of the holes weren't designed for my skill set. After throwing good tee shots I found myself faced with very simple, short approaches. If I was a pro I probably could have managed to be putting or if I was intermediate or rec level I probably would more often be faced with challenging approaches. As it was the course felt too short in many places (or too long, but I prefer 2 shot holes) and I had 100 or 150 foot upshots for drop in putts.

Blind shots - This isn't really a con unless you are playing the course for the first time by yourself. Several times I threw a drive around a corner only to walk up and realize there was a section of unmown grass in the fairway (as a bunker of sorts) or that the fairway didn't curve quite like I thought. It cost me a little time searching for shots that were actually in the fairway. No big deal but be aware.

Short tee pads - Only affected me on a couple of tees. Hole 10 comes to mind. It is a long par 4 and you want to really throw a good hyzer or anhyzer tee shot and there is a drop off of like 2 feet at the front of the pad. Most of them were fine.

The last three days I played Idlewild, Mountain Lake, and Harmon Hills. All three were comparable courses and that definitely shaped my reviews.

I was really impressed with the care and maintenance level of the course. Someone put a lot of sweat into this place and it shows. I enjoyed playing it and would like to go back and play it a couple more times to really get a feel for some of the holes.

I didn't know what the buildings were by the parking area and didn't see anyone around so I just started my round. There was a dog there to greet me at the start and finish.

I didn't play the 3rd 9-hole loop. I didn't even see where it was until I was leaving and noticed someone walking across the street but I was short on time anyway so I'll have to check these out next time I stop by.

Private courses are often the best thing disc golf can offer and Harmon Hills is no exception. I would recommend it to my friends and if I lived nearby I could see myself playing there frequently. Definitely worth the detour from my road trip to check out.

gorgeous terrain, lots of woods but plenty of space to work the disc, and the guy that lives on the property was so nice. Excellent outing!

the rocks in the fairways damage your disc but they make this course unique in its appearance

A mix of open shots through gaps and technical wooded shots. Great setting. Well maintained. Incredible for a private course.

Great course. Con? Maybe losing a disk on hole 11. If you miss the gap or make the gap and lose sight of your drive, several places it could end up. Limited parking? Private house, private course...what would you expect.

Owner is super awesome guy. Very friendly and welcoming. Great overall course. Every hole is long. Only one hole under 200 and not many under 300/350'. Planned for 1 hour game and ended up 2.5 hours. You will not get through the course in less than 1.5 hrs your first time out unless you throw blind and run.