I frequently travel the Interstate 81corridor between Johnson City and Knoxville looking at the rolling hills and thinking about how many amazing disc courses it could hold. I had wanted to visit this course for a while and was eager to see it for myself in spite of the fact that I knew it was going to bruise my disc golf ego. Tales of monster holes with fairways tight enough to scare off Br'er Rabbit, throwing around a 40' deep sink hole (bottoming out in water cave) and very long approach shots had certainly peaked my curiosity. We played two rounds and I have to say it was the most fun I've had getting my butt kicked since High School. I would not recommend that you take a new player to this course as it plays to a par of 66 in 18 holes but if you can throw 300 out of a 20 foot wide fairway and can shape long approaches, you're going to have a blast.


Just to make it easier, I'll write the Pros as features and benefits...

The front and back 9 start and finish at the parking area - Makes it easy to reload on refreshment.
Good mix of open and wooded holes - It's nice to have some grip and rip Tee shots.
More open holes on the front - easier to get your game going in the right direction.
There is a balanced combination of left and right doglegs - adds to the challenge.
Rolling hills, rock gardens, sink holes, big old trees and nice rural views - visual candy.
None of the holes give you the 'it's all up hill' feeling....most play down - Tee shots are more fun.
Plenty of Tee shots where big arms can air it out - even if you can't do it, it's fun to watch someone go big.
A fair number of tight Tee shots - to help those of us with less distance to compete with the big arms.
It's a rural area - you won't see a lot of other groups and you'll feel like it's your private course.
Terrific signs on every hole - you know where to throw even if you can't see the target.
Easy to find your way around - no time wasted searching for the next hole.
Rough finished concrete Tee pads - good footing in all weather.
Nice pro baskets - hit them right and it stays in.
Lots of benches at the Tee Pads - great for bag stashes or taking a breather while your group throws.

There are none! This is a private course on amazing terrain. This trumps any of the few minor 'cons' that I could come up with.

I played Harmon Hills with a group that included three private course owner/builders from the North Carolina high country so the conversations tend to be about hole design, the flow of the course and optimum land use. Discussions about improving a tee position and comments like "I'd take out this tree'- "would not have cut this one' or moving this basket to some overlooked location are more frequent than those about disc selection or playing strategy. I say USUALLY because it was different at Harmon Hills. We were quickly drawn in to the rhythm of the course and it was obvious that the designer/builder intimately knew the land and took full advantage of it's unique features and terrain. It's an incredible layout on an amazing piece of land - there is not a bad hole in the mix and most are exceptional! Sure, I'd cut a tree or two to make a few holes more playable for the average golfer (like me) but then again, this is no average course.

The owner is really nice and told us we didn't even have to pay to play but we gave him money for maintenance. Perfect variety of open and wooded holes. Great length range. Difficult yet not frusterating (this is really important to me). Super scenic. Probably my favorite course I have played.

Not much maybe some trashcans along the way and it wasn't mowed in some places (which is completely understandable).

Super memorable holes: 1,3,4,5,10,12, and 16 all stand out in my memory. Very secluded and just a great course.

- Jerry Harmon. Jerry Harmon is a true Southern Gentlemen. I have crashed at his house a few times for DG tournaments and he has always welcomed me and others. I've also seen other people camp on his land. He's a great guy and he'd probably be more than happy to have you over to play his course sometime.
- Private Property. How many times do I have to say it...? Private Property courses rock. How can you beat a course that sits on 90 acres of beautiful Appalachian farmland? With that amount of property, there are some BIG holes out there... 800'ers, 600'ers, 500'ers through the woods, etc... I think every Hole takes up more than an acre of land!!!
- Serious Golf. Even though we all know "everything's a 3" in the world of DG, Jerry will tell you that his course plays as a Par 66 (I agree with Jerry). The Holes are amazing. You'll need to throw a great 300+' drive to an "ideal" landing zone in order to throw a 200+' upshot through a gap or a in a different direction just for the opportunity to make a putt. You definitely need to play golf.
- Open / Wooded. Harmon Hills feature a nice combination of Open and Wooded holes... and in many cases, both open and wooded on the same hole. There are many holes where you start in the trees, play across an open field and then back into the trees... with opportunities for punishment all along the way.
- Holy Cow Man Cave. The best clubhouse I have ever seen. 80' long, 30' wide, 3 sided structure, couches, fireplace, flat-screen... Tennessee football games on TV post-round... etc. Every disc golfer in the world will be jealous over Jerry's man-cave/course combination.

- Tweeners. A few of the Par 4's are really more like 3.5's. Many of them are easily 3'able, but rarely to never 2'd. 4's would be common, but the 3's could come a little easy on a few of the 4's.
- Tee-Pads. This really isn't a "con" but it belongs here more than the other sections. Jerry's tees are concrete (yeah!), but they're rather small for the length of the Holes and chunky (deep grooves for traction in winter).

- Quite Possibly One of the Best DG Experiences You'll Ever Have. When you combine a supremely awesome course, with Dave242's Appalachian Beauty, with Jerry's man cave, and great people like Jerry Harmon himself, Harmon Hills becomes one of the best disc golf experiences you'll ever have. It's definitely in my Top 5. The only thing missing from Harmon Hills is a Top of the World shot and Water.
- Course Record. Kris Orrick and I were partnered in a doubles tournament and set the course record of 51... and we played almost perfect golf. Jerry Harmon shot a solo round of 52 during a tournament, in the rain. I mention these numbers to give some idea of the difficulty of Harmon Hills... it's definitely not your standard Par 3 course. I think there are only 4 or 5 Holes that are actually, realistically 2-able... and, you'll need to get them all to counter balance the 5's and 6's your bound to take.
- Great Destination Area. The Johnson City/Kingsport Tennessee area is a hotbed for great disc golf. Fossil Hill is less than 1 mile away from Harmon Hills and it's super fun, although Fossil Hills is extremely private now and only really open for tournament play. Warriors Path is a great little course and it's just up the 81 probably less than 25 minutes away. And Winged Deer, also ½ and hour away, is bad ass. If you're on a road trip... PLAY HERE.

**edited**
- My Disc Score: According to DGCR's disc scale, a 5 disc course is the best of the best. Since I gave Sugaree (IMO the best course in North Carolina), a 5 disc score... and, I think Harmon Hills is even better than Sugaree, I had to come back and revise my disc score to reflect that. I just don't pass out 5's like candy at Halloween, I take reviewing very seriously and felt like I had to come back and do justice for Harmon Hills.

one of the premier courses in upper east tn. pdga par 66. placement golf. accuracy a must. i love the par 4s and 5s. mostly open, plenty in the woods as well. great hospitality.

none

extremely challenging. great fun.