One of the best courses in the state because it does an excellent job of appealing to players of all skill levels while providing a clean and engaging experience. Suggestions to make the course more "technical" would be disastrous. This review analyzes the course from two perspectives: the average run-of-a-mill recreational player and the more advanced player perspective. This is a solid course for advanced players, but where it shines is for beginning to intermediate players. The proof is ultimately in the pudding as Patriot is usually quite crowded and played by all levels of players. I have seen families with actual frisbees and pro-level players parking 500 foot holes.

Pros:

Atmosphere and Flow: Well-maintained public park where it is difficult to lose a disc. Great tees with some of the best tee signs I have ever seen. The course flows very well, and it is difficult to get lost. Not a ton of elevation, but many holes use it (4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 15, 18). This course is always immaculate, and the park staff quickly responds to any disruptions like a downed tree or a yellow jacket's nest.

Beginner and Intermediate players/Red tees: For someone just starting disc golf or at an intermediate level, this is one of the best courses in the state to play. The red tees are a good mix of open shots, open shots with some obstacles, and a few wooded shots. There are a few longer holes and more challenging holes (12 and 3 come to mind), but even those holes are decently forgiving. You can generally throw RHBH hyzer off most tees and be fine(less true for some of the later holes), but the ideal play is often slightly more complicated, and there is plenty of scoring opportunities for lefties, forehanders, or overhand players. Not many free birdies for new players, but 1, 5, 7, and 16 are all very gettable. The design also does an excellent job of going back and forth between easier holes like 1 and 5 and more complex holes like 3. Three holes are completely wooded from the red tees, but eight other holes bring the woods into play prominently.

Advanced players/Blue tees: The blue tees are challenging because most require premium distance to have consistent birdie looks. A high-level pro would crush most of these holes, but 99% of players are left with risk-reward choices on most holes. Par probably ends up about where it should because of a mix of highly gettable par fours (4, 11, 16) and challenging pars 3s (2, 5, 6, 10, 14, 15). Some of these holes also encourage highly creative play (BH roller on 13 and FH roller on 18 are good examples of solid plays that aren't immediately obvious).

Signature Holes: A couple of holes shine and would probably be part of my dream 18. 6 is a downhill right finishing shot with woods on both sides with a sucker's gap up top that lures you to try and hit it when the best play is to crash through a bigger and less visible gap down the hill. 8 from the longs is a great hole because it is gettable for most advanced players distance-wise, but it requires avoiding the trees off the tee to the left and then hitting a small gap. 10 from the shorts is a fun 240 downhill ace run with some danger if you leave it short into the woods or bomb it long. 12 from the longs is a solid par four that doesn't require a ton of distance but requires hitting a gap of 250 off the tee and not leaking into the woods on either side. 18 is probably the best hole on the course from both sets of tees. From the longs, it is a technical par four that requires both hitting a gap and distance control to have a look at birdie and from the shorts is an eagle opportunity, but also a tricky enough shape where it is not an automatic 3.

Advanced players may feel left out: Let's be real, some of us are never going to throw 400+ feet. That means many holes from the Blues are going to be relatively simple threes with little chance of birdie looks (5, 6, 10, 15, 17). At least some of this is mental; at challenging wooded courses, there are plenty of holes that players should also play for a safe three, but don't because they technically have the distance to get a putt at it even if they don't have the consistent shot shaping to justify that play. The longer par 3s rub that in your face by being impossible to get because you can't throw that far.

Open: If you are good at disc golf, you will eventually want to play other courses because Patriot is very open especially compared to many other NC courses. 5 and 9 are basically the same hole and I think the best way to remedy that is leave 5 as is and make 9 into a more challenging hole (probably a par five).

Crowded: Almost definitely the most popular course in the Triad.

This course is an easy 5-star course for beginner and intermediate players. What holds it back is that it is probably more like a 3.75/4 course for advanced players because of the issues I have mentioned. I'm giving it a 4.5 because I think its appeal for a supermajority of disc golfers outweighs the fact that a small minority wants it to be something it isn't.

Patriot is never going to be home to a DGPT tournament, and that is okay. I do think that if I was allowed to move six or so of the baskets and put in a couple of temporary tees, this could easily be good enough and challenging enough to host a "real tournament."

* Large Tee Pads
* Great Signage
* Easy enough for beginners to enjoy it and not get frustrated but difficult enough that seasoned veterans will find it challenging
* Good mix of open and wooded holes. Most holes apply both.
* Plenty of parking.
* Very clean and well kept.

There's really not much to complain about with this course. Any complaints are just nitpicking.

I've played a lot of the "top" courses in NC and honestly, this is one of my favorites in the state right after Rolling Pines in Wilkesboro and Ash County Park.

Well marked and maintained. Nice tees

Only played it once and found it fun and interesting. I guess I can see how some are saying it could get repetitive, but if you play any course a lot that could always happen. I really can't think of anything bad to say about it!

Great course in a beautiful park.