Pros:
Mars Hill is a challenging, entertaining course that plays throughout a small college in a quaint mountain town. By playing the course, I felt I saw all of the college and town.
- The best thing about the course is the "nature" feel about it. Your round will involve playing in, around, up & down hills and in the woods, all while surrounded by amazing views of the mountains all around. Even the holes that play near the round and college buildings have some of the same feel, mainly because you still have that quiet, small town/college "charm."
- Some very good elevation holes. They range from downhills: #7 (my personal favorite), 10, 11,15 & 18; uphills: #6, 16 & 17; and holes with major slope factors: #1, 3, 4, 9 &14.
- Good variety of holes and layouts, from tight & wooded to wide open; from doglegs to straight layouts; plus the elevation factor listed above. The course also has a good mix of challenging and easier holes. I'm a fan of throwing in a couple easier, catch-your-breath holes after stretches of tough ones.
- Very nice flow of the course. You wind through a more populated stretch of campus on holes #1 - 5. From then on, you're away from the busy part of campus, and actually have to deal with a rural, two-lane road instead (on #11 & 13). #18 ends right back at the parking lot, but #9/10 is far away, so if you start playing, you're playing the full 18.
- Challenging for a college course. Part of the challenge is the physical aspect - lots of walking, course is spread out, going up and down hills. Throw in the course itself, and this is a true grind.
- Great course map. You can print one of this site. It's very accurate and thorough. With a lack of signage, it's an absolute must for first timers. Playing with a map, I had no problems navigating the course.
Cons:
Lack of signage is the major problem for this course. Tees are marked with small blue markers, and combined with a printed map; you can troll your way from hole-to-hole rather easily. The problem is once you get to actual holes. Not having listed distances is a big problem. The eyeball/feel test is ok for a hole/shot or two, and I (and probably most people) can be relatively accurate with estimating distances. But doing that for 18 holes, plus having some blind tee shots, an no tee signs/hole layout pics, eventually leads to some bad shots.
- Several weird hole layouts. After hole #10, you walk past the tee for #13, and a third of the way up its fairway, to get to the tee for #11. We were smart; we teed off on #13, marked our discs, then played #11 & 12, rather than having to backtrack. The other issue was with holes #1, 3 - 5. I wasn't a fan of the blind tee shots in heavier usage/common areas so close to buildings. Add to that the fact the hills also sloped right to left, and you have a real chance of discs really sailing away towards building/people.
- Untapped land. There were a lot of wooded areas on the course (the area around #8 - 10 & #14 - 15) that seem like great places to add holes. Build a couple more holes here, and you can get rid of some of the potential risk holes listed in the comment above.
- Lack of amenities. Obviously restrooms, drinks are inside buildings, which is standard for a school. But it would have been nice to see a bench or two, and trash cans, throughout the course
Other Thoughts:
Mars Hill has some real good parts to it, which make it a fun course. Not surprisingly, some areas need to be improved if it's to join the elite ranks.
- I didn't quite understand the comments in other reviews about first-timers needing a guide to play. If you have any common sense, can read a map, and see blue markers in the ground, you'll be ok. For me, the only confusing part of the course was the transition from #13 to 14. I didn't realize the arrow pointing towards the next hole (#14) meant walk into the woods right there.
- Course could use some TLC. I could tell the wooded holes didn't get much attention.
- My favorite hole was #7. Long, downhill hole (I'm guessing close to 400 feet - remember no distances listed) that sweeps left to right. For RHBH throwers, you better keep your shot tight, or it's going to sail too far to the left, leaving a long, tricky second shot. The basket is hill, which presents another challenge. My buddy threw an amazing tee shot, about 20 feet from the hole. His birdie putt hit the front of the basket, and rolled 30 feet down the hill. Holes #6 - 8 offer a great three-hole stretch.
- Overall, it's a good course, with the potential to be better. Lots of fun, lots of risk/reward factor, lots of birdie chances.
- Not too far from Asheville, so definitely worth the drive to check it out. With a little bit of work, this course will get a big bump in its ratings. With even a little more work than that, this could be a true DG destination. It could challenge, or dare I say surpass, Richmond Hill as the Asheville area's best course.