Beautiful park
Excellent signage
Close to many cities with tons of food and attractions
Outstanding use of the available land
Good mix of elevation
Good for a quick round
Overall a fun layout

Park can be crowded at times
Traffic in surrounding area can make it confusing to get to the park (yes I know this is not at any fault of the course)

Disc Golf is constantly growing in East Tennessee. There have been courses popping in this area on a near-yearly basis for the last decade. One place on the map of East TN disc golf courses that most disc golfers in this area have felt is lacking, would be in the Sevier County area. Most of you will know that this area is the home of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge which are some of the most touristy places in all of East TN. Due to the amount of visitors in Sevier County, (roughly 12 million tourists annually) I have always felt that this area is underserved when it comes to disc golf. East Tennessee is a fairly popular area for disc golf and I have always feared that visitors to the area play the Sevier County courses and are underwhelmed when with what they would then consider "East Tennessee Disc Golf." Fortunately, the newest course addition to this area, Northview Optimist Park DGC, is a step in the right direction. I know this was a long-winded way to get my point across, but I wanted readers of this review to realize the impact of a well-designed course in an underserved area. Northview Optimist Park DGC shows Sevier County how a properly designed disc golf course can be an outstanding use for public property. This 9 hole course weaves in and around the outside of the park with an excellent flow and pretty much all available space utilized in the design. This is something that the Sevier County area has been missing in my opinion. I have played this course twice. The first time, before the tee pads were installed, and the second time after. To me, this shows that even though this course is seemingly permanent, it hasn't been forgotten and is still getting improvements. The signage, tees, and baskets are all in great shape which is to be expected from a newer course. Hole 8 actually has two tee pads that players can choose from. Obviously, more skilled players are going to prefer the longer, more challenging tee, but players like myself are going to go with the short tee. I do like this option and hope that more holes get this treatment over time. In addition to this, I feel this course has a great mix of elevation. You will be surprised by the mix of elevation utilized in such a small park. Now, please don't misunderstand my review and think of this course as a destination course that you must play, but if you are traveling through the area and want to play a fun layout, this would be about the best that you are going to find in Sevier County. This is not the long wooded challenging course that we are used to in East Tennessee, but it is definitely a fun little layout to play if you are in the area. Most of the holes have multiple ways you can play them which is a much harder feat to accomplish when installing a more open course. In summary, this isn't the type of course you want to make a specific trip for, but this is definitely a step in the right direction for disc golf in Sevier County. If you want to see this course on video, please consider checking out this playlist with all 10 tees in individual videos as well as a full round at the course:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW_PphhAUBjXwGe7Fe0HCj84NghM_q3sx

Shiny penny, brand new, excellent casual/recreational course. The course designer did a great job laying out this course as it makes perfect use of the available terrain utilizing some decent elevation changes and tree locations. Generally one large awesome concrete tee and one good basket per hole. The new tee signs are spot on and have all the pertinent information on them. There are navigation aids, but they are really not necessary as most next tees are visible from the previous basket. The course is exceptionally maintained with mowed tight grass fairways and no litter anywhere. The course mostly features recreational distances and offers a nice casual round for lower skill levels. The course is fun to play and showcases some nice views of the surrounding countryside.

Not many cons here. Those who crave a longer more difficult course might not like it as much. If so there are plenty of those types of courses around.

There are a couple of holes that get near a walking path or park building but it's not that big of an issue.

One of MY favorite Knoxville area courses, but I'm old and decrepit so It is a better fit for me than the brutal mountain courses in the area. If I lived nearby I would at least play it weekly. Also, it is a good course to introduce new throwers to the sport with little to no chance of losing a disc. I loved it!

Just off Exit 407 on I-40, which proclaims itself as "The Gateway to Adventure" leading to the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge entertainments, there's a new nine-hole course with decent design topped off with a really good finishing hole.

The Northview Optimist Park course has just added new concrete teepads, which are in excellent shape. There are parking options near the first tee that won't interfere with the course at all.

The first hole is a fun start with a gradual downhill throw that offers multiple options to navigate the few medium trees in the fairway. Throwing over the trees is definitely the most enjoyable line.

The available trees on several holes are well-utilized. The mini-forest around the Hole #3 basket provides a challenging ceiling to get close to the target. Hole #4 incorporates a huge evergreen near the teepad and several more trees that hide the basket and force an accurate line. The basket for Hole #5 is hidden behind a couple of bushy evergreens and requires precision, as drives that find those trees might be completely cut off from a direct route to the target.

Hole #8 offers a second teepad option to make that uphill hole over 500 feet and provide a legit par-4 option.

Hole #9 is the best designed hole on the course. While it's about 280 feet, it's downhill with a nearly impenetrable wall of trees on the right that you'll want to avoid. The basket is well-positioned in front of several evergreens, meaning that angle control and disc speed need to be regulated in order to set up the birdie putt. Drives that are too long risk fading left and being cut off by the trees, ending up in the trees or worse yet, bypassing the trees and ending up near the parking lot.

Navigation was good. The next teepad can usually be spotted from the previous basket. Also, the course itself is just a few minutes off the interstate and easy to locate.

A couple of the longer holes are fairly straight and uninteresting; they feel more like connecting Point A to Point B. Holes #2 and #6 are two of the longest holes and fairly open. These holes will appeal to the bigger arms. Meanwhile, Hole #8 is a better design, but it's the longest hole at about 370 feet and plays considerably uphill, making it a "tweener" hole for those without bomber distance.

The simple teepad signs include the hole number, but strangely, not the distance.

Several of the baskets are not visible from the teepad and there's no map on the teepad signs to provide guidance. My playing partner and I had to walk down a few of the fairways to locate the basket and determine the best route.

A few of the holes run near the park's walking path, so keeping an eye out for pedestrians is a must.

Holes #3 and #4 are near a cinder block building which could be an unintended obstacle for inaccurate throws.

Some disc golfers have reported that the course retains water after the rain, leading to muddy fairways in places.

Northview Optimist Park is an adequate design considering the limited land features. The layout does a good job using the available elevation and completing a loop back to the first hole without any bizarre transitions. Overall, the course doesn't offer much of a unique nature, but the classic closer is a fantastic design and makes up for a few of the ordinary holes.