I like the hole design on at least 14 of the holes. Stay on the fairways or run out of ink counting strokes (is that a thing?). I have played over 50 rounds so I think I have a good feel for the course, at least from the perspective of a sub-900 golfer with a noodle arm, but I play a lot with a strong armed kid, so I've seen what's possible.
1 is a fine starting hole to get you rolling. Even I'm thinking starting with a 2 is realistic.
2 is a typical, if not typical shorter obstructed par 3. Tight off the tee and the log "X" about 20ft short of the basket. Again, I want a 2 on this one.
3 is a great hole. Bending right, soft curve left, hard left to the basket. Get your drive around the corner in the fairway, and a 3 is possible. Even I've managed a few birdies on this one.
4 was recently re-designed to make a tighter right turn. Some trees were removed to make it possible to get to the basket if you have the right throw. I've seen 2 birdies, and had a couple of decent looks myself.
5 is now shorter than original and it's a pretty soft par 4. Eagle is possible for bigger arms.
6 is a tough 3 for my weak arm, a little uphill. But if I can get a clean drive I should get the 3.
7 is a nice shorter hole with options. Down the gap with a left finish, or big wide hyzer into the woods.
8 is one of the best, again maybe a bit of a weak par 4. Any drive up the middle that stays in the fairway should net you a 3. Again, eagle is possible.
9 might be the best and the signature hole. Bummer that one of the overhanging limbs fell down, but still a great hole. Hit a tight gap, shape an upshot for the birdie look. Miss the gap.... enjoy your bogey.
10 is a great hole if you can bend a drive right. Birdies could be highlights to your round, just have to throw the exact right shot.
11 is a placement off the tee, then are you willing to rip one down the "fairway" 150 feet for the 2 or are you laying up for the par? It would take a throw in for a birdie, unless.... you take the wide gap that doesn't exist. I've seen one circles-edge look at the two taking that unintended route.
12 is another gentle RHBH hyzer that can result in a decent look at the 2 if you have the arm and miss the few fairway trees.
13 is a great hole. Double mando, left finish. Easy 3 as long as you make the mando (I've seen basket hits off the tee, so think ace?).
14 is a sweet gentle right bending hole. Pretty open fairway, and even noodle arms are thinking birdie.
15 is now a mando, down the gap tunnel shot. Used to be you could go big left to right bomber shot, but smartly that shot has been taken away since errant drives had a chance to impact people on holes 5, 6 and 7! I've seen it, I know. I had a long look at eagle once, so if you can hit the gap with the right shape, 3 is right there for the taking. Again, as is common for the course, if you get off the fairway, start counting strokes.
16 is another right turning hole. This one turns right, then right, then right. It's a par 4, 3 is possible... again... if you can shape shots. Right turning shots.
17 is another placement shot off the tee, then 90 degree right turn. Like 11. Tight off the tee, mando corner, place it well and a nice shot down the fairway has you looking at 3.
18 is... surprise!... a right turning hole! Once again, like hole 3, if you make the first corner in the fairway, a 3 is possible. This one just finishes straight instead of left.

April 2024 UPDATE: Hole 5 is now a 120 foot pitch, and hole 6 is now shorter and downhill (old hole 5 from a much shorter tee). Drops the par rating by 1 stroke, but makes 5 a must get birdie, so really it drops the overall expected score by 2 strokes. But the change solves the parallel 5/6 fairway problem and apparently solves the problem of people throwing into the neighbor's yards (not sure how that was happening, but I guess it was an issue).

All the cons have already been mentioned, so no need to re-hash any of that. Although I don't necessarily disagree with the cons I also don't think they are all as bad as portrayed. For instance, yes, 5 and 6 fairways are parallel and there's not much room, but they are basically wide open so a minimum of adjustments are needed even when there are groups on both holes. One new con might be that since 4 has been re-designed, the baskets for 4 and 12 are now about 20 feet apart.

Bottom line, after playing a lot, and a times with many other groups on the course creating some traffic, I've found that overall the course is a plus to play, and cons can be mostly overlooked.

As for the cons, I think there's a way to eliminate them with flow change, a few re-designed holes and a few moved teepads and pins. So here's my unsolicited and likely unwanted idea.

Basically, 11 and 12 are both played backwards, 17's tee is moved to about where the current landing zone is, and 16 is played shorter. Then play it this way: 1,4,13,14,5,6,7,8,9,11 (backwards),15,16,10,17 (new tee),18,12 (backwards),2,3.

No more crossing fairways. No more walking across fairways. You finish on a great hole, no longer in the middle or the course. Granted you would lose 2 par 4 holes (16 and 17 become 3's) but you also eliminate the two very short placement tee shots on 11 and 17, and the now close proximity of the baskets of 4 and 12. It's totally possible to stretch two of the other holes to make up the 2 lost strokes. Personally I like par 4's.

-There's some creativity on the front nine. I liked the green for #2. It has two trees in front of the basket with two logs tied to the trees creating an "X". Makes a shorter hole a little more difficult and strongly encourages to find different ways to birdie rather than to throw a straight putter at the pin. #6 is a nice uphill open hole near an OB retention pond. The green is elevated on a small stack on cinder block.

-Holes #8 and #9 are both fun par fours. #8 was a pretty straightforward birdie since it almost plays straight. Throw low and safe and you'll probably have a good look for birdie. The shape of the fairway does allow you to throw a driver and gives a possible look for an eagle, but that would be incredibly risky. #9 to me is the best hole at Pisgah. It's a brilliant pro par four. A lot harder than #8 but still has a very logical line. Throw left to right and throw a nice right to left approach. An "S" shaped par four down a tight but wide enough trail.

-There's a kiosk right beside the first hole in the field. There's also a huge recycling bin next to the first hole.

-Concrete tees with tee signs that give hole info. The holes also include handicap numbers, with handicap 18 being voted as the easiest hole and handicap 1 being voted as the hardest. See cons below.

-Note: There are established handicaps, like there are on many golf courses. Where handicap 18 is the easiest, and handicap 1 is the hardest.

-I hope Pisgah Lutheran Church has a recovery group program because the person that established the handicaps might need it. I think they were on the devil's shrooms when they came up with the handicaps on some holes. I understand if they haven't been playing as long, and I would expect to disagree with some of their handicaps for each hole, because I mean all players are different with different abilities. But here's a breakdown. #1 is a simple hyzer in the field tucked into the woods. Handicap is 14. That seemed reasonable when I stepped to the pad. Easy hole. Probably thirteen holes harder than that. #2 is a short 210' foot par three. Basket is guarded by two trees with logs crossed in front of them. Handicap is number 10. Well, not sure that's right but I could maybe see their point of view. #12 is a 350+ par three down a tight wooded fairway. There's a tree in the middle of the fairway not far ahead of the tee pad. You'd think this would be handicap 4, or maybe 3 because you wouldn't expect more than maybe a few holes to be tougher. Wrong. I kid you not, hole #12 is handicap 15. This is a very tough pro par three with some incredibly dense woods on the left side. You're telling me that this hole is the fourth easiest hole on the course? Easier than #1? You've gotta be on something really bad here if you really think hole #12 is easier than #1. Go to rehab, an AA meeting, something.

-Some very aggravating holes. #4 is the worst hole on the course in my opinion. Bad sidearm hole, about 330' down a skinny trail that fades off into nothing but pachinko once you reach the landing zone. This is handicap 8 by the way. It should be handicap 1, maybe handicap 2. You should know now that the handicaps here are way off. I know different players have different skills to show, but there's no way this hole would ever be less than the fourth or fifth hardest hole. The line to get there is nil. #11 was a weird sharp af skip shot left to right. It's probably 100' to the landing zone and 190' from the landing zone to the basket. The last two holes were hardly any different. Two luckluster sidearm holes in the woods that break off to the right. #17 was basically #11 on steroids. Throw a 90' putter shot or wimpy sidearm, and throw a long 250+ approach. It was a par four, and fair by all means but doesn't mean it was fun.

-Some fairways cross one another and the course is crammed incredibly tightly when the fairways aren't crossing. I'll refer to it as a "tent course." Think about camping trips. When you leave, you're having the worst time of your life trying to put the tent back in the bag that it comes in. You try and try to squeeze it in and it's just downright impossible to put in back in the way it was. Then you give up, because well you have to go home eventually, and you throw it in the trunk without putting it back in the bag. They put in eighteen holes but some of the fairways cross and others are practically throwing directly back in the direction you threw from. #5 and #6 are both good holes in terms of quality, but they practically face each other. #7 is a big hyzer hole, so you have to throw a big hyzer well across #6's fairway to have a good shot on #7. There's some of that too on the back nine.

If a church group were to have a big event where a bunch of members play disc golf in different groups, that would be a serious test of patience because they'd have to constantly yield to one another. The fairways are in the way of others. With crossing fairways and others entirely too close, that also means that there's a greater chance of hitting someone.

Is there more? Oh yeah! There's always room for more!

-Yes there are concrete pads. But they are painted. Painted red, yellow, or blue. Why paint them? I played while it rained and they felt a little more slick due to the paint covering the concrete. Was the intention to make them look like Candyland spaces?

-The baskets aren't the best. They are shallow with smaller diameters. This is understandable, as budgets can be tight.

-The rough can be very messy in spots and incredibly hard to even pitch out of. I had some errant throws, and made plenty of bogeys, doubles, and a triple due to there not being opportunities to scramble. The others in Columbia have some rough areas that are hard to get out of, but they still allow you to scramble and possibly be able to save par. Pisgah does not forgive. And you will not forget.

-It's great to see a course with established handicaps for each hole. Opinions will vary. On a side note, I played here after the first round at the Southeast Open. Personally, I think #3 is the toughest hole at Southeast. But holes #11 and #17 played as the hardest holes at Southeast in the tournament. And that makes perfect sense. #11 at Southeast is a 600+ dogleg left that requires an approximate 300-325' straight drive to the landing zone in order to have any sort of a birdie look. The fairway is relatively wide for the first 300-325' and tightens a little. #17 at Southeast is a 744' par four. It's wooded for the first maybe 225'-250' and opens up. For me, it's a standard four. I've birdied it once before, but the other times I parred it. I thought #3 would be the hardest hole in the tournament since it is over 350' through a corridor and turns a bit right. If I would've had to establish the handicaps for every hole at Southeast, hole #3 would've been the number 1. Turns out I was wrong. Very possible. I think it's a very tough hole but most other players in the tournament had more trouble with a few different holes. There are going to be holes I consider to be the hardest from my sole point of view and the tournament statistics will often disagree with me because all players have there different strengths and weaknesses.

Opinions may vary on what is the easiest and what is the hardest. But here, they got it wrong so many times on the handicaps. A few seemed about right. #5 is an open downhill, shorter par four. Handicap was 17, meaning it's supposedly the second easiest hole. Handicap 18 was #14. It's a more open par three, but it's over 250' and a bit of an anhyzer. It's not necessarily tough, but definitely tougher than #5. There's no way #1 would EVER play harder than #12. Never. Not when turtles become track runners. Not when crocodiles become safe pets. Not when squirrels become opera singers. Never. Hole #9 is definitely a difficult hole, but should not be the number 1 handicap. #8 was listed as one of the hardest holes. I think it was handicap 3, but there's a countless number of ways to birdie. Some pros could eagle it. If I had one hundred tries, I think I'd have a few chances for an eagle on #8. There's no way its one of the hardest holes here.

-The land is very limited. Yes, I enjoyed several holes on the front nine and they are fun in terms of appearance. Even though they were too close to each other, I liked holes #5-7. Each of them had their own challenge. #8 and #9 to me are the highlights. Unfortunately, the rest of Pisgah is a total bummer. A couple other holes were decent, but I can only safely say I liked six of them. And they are all on the front nine. A few on the back have potential, but they still weren't particularly fun.

-Few fairways make Xs with them crossing. Guaranteed to bring plenty of woes to this course. Woe is me. And probably woe is you too if you play here.

A one-of-a-kind course that presents some fun stretches and some puzzlingly disastrous choices.

To be honest, I have no idea how to write this review. Pisgah is a strange and unusual mix of good and bad, and it's impossible to separate the two elements at times. It's as if the unique elements that make this a fun divergence from the ordinary also make it taste just a little too weird for comfort.

I'll start by saying that this is a homemade course that feels like it's gotten a lot of work. Though the amenities are flawed, they've all been accounted for. The fairways are mostly pretty well cleared, if weirdly shaped. The course has a flow, if a twisting one. There are occasional nets and purposefully added obstacles to give more of a manicured appearance.

However, this course is anything but manicured. It's quirky. There's a far-reaching mind behind the shapes, flow, features, and fit of the course. You'll see hole shapes here that you may never see again - weird high turnovers, tunnel shots running through an X shape of branches, and par-4s with short layups leading to longer tunnel shots. Many of these ambitious shapes are constructed with enough room for them to be viable.

A strong feature of Pisgah's unusual mix is its varying hole concepts. There are basic kinds of birdieable par-3s right there, but almost as frequently are two-shot holes that range from placement shots to big drives to short layups. A couple of my favorites of each type were (9), a right-turning shot leading to a very low ceiling approach that will favor far right placement, and (14), a high turnover or forehand with a bushy tree dead ahead to catch uncommitted shots. This mix of par-3s and -4s was the factor that appealed to me most.

A bit easier to itemize than the pros.

-Overlapping Fairways: The fairways are so well nestled that there are often signs on trees indicating which fairway you're playing. On several holes I found it expedient to play another hole's fairway either off the tee or after a ricochet. Should multiple groups be out, this is a recipe for injury by plastic.

-Bizarre Shapes: Most of the shapes are weird, but some of them are downright bad. Hole (4) travels so far right after a short opening that it is impossible to consistently birdie, and difficult to salvage if you go off the fairway at all. Hole (10) is solidly over 300' with a low ceiling, traveling uphill, and an incredibly touchy shape. Other holes are very unlikely, and can provoke anger or confusion.

-Maze Qualities: Because of overlapping fairways, it's hard to know which tunnel you're supposed to follow. Then, you have to find the right basket (which is often aided by color-coding, but still difficult). Then, you have to figure out which path away from the basket leads to the next tee. You cross your own steps so many times you'll feel like a Greek teen confined to the Minotaur's labyrinth. The course literally ends with signs pointing towards the exit, as if it was a corn maze.

I've tried to review the course, but really you have no idea what to expect of Pisgah until you're there. It's a sea of baskets, tees, fairways, and trees, but despite all of that, many of the holes are lots of fun. You'll likely come away with emotions thoroughly mixed, as if put in a KitchenAid stand mixer running its top setting. This is a course that is Decent but very far from Typical. If you're in a good mood, I would recommend giving it a shot.

-Amenities: Concrete tees, but they're uneven. Tee signs with all info and maps, but the distances are badly off. Thin, wiry baskets, but they have many chains. There are copious benches and brooms, but some are broken.

The biggest 'PRO' for this course is that it IS a course. Here in the dead-zone of disc golf in the midlands of SC, there's not many choices. So we were estatic to get a new course, any course whatsoever in the Columbia, SC metro area. After playing I was equally joyous, dismayed, confused, excited and depressed - all at the same time. Pisgah Park has got to be one of the stangest layouts of any course I've ever played. And with 11 years and 150+ courses under my belt - coastal, mountain, wooded, open etc.- I feel rather qualified in making that statement!

Another good title for this post would have been WTF Park. I mean, what freakin' course in the world do you CROSS hole# 3 to play hole# 2? Hole #10 crosses over Hole#16? To get to #12 you cross over #10, #17 & # 18 (which ends in the middle of the course!). Lastly, hole #17 crosses over #12 and#18!! I know, you're like 'Whaaaaat?" Yeah, exactly...weird, weird weird. The best description I can give you is this: draw and cut-out 18 fairways, put them in your hands, shake aggressively, throw in the air, then let them fall. How they land is how you play!

That's not to say, this course isn't an absolutely bizarrely blast to play. It's almost like golf on acid (though I've never tried it, just thought it to be an apt description). You have amazingly tight holes, wide-ass open bomber holes, up-hill, down-hill, cross-hill...only thing missing is an underground shot.

Back to Lefty's Revenge...this course has 13 holes where righties have to either throw a forehand, turnover or anhyzer shot off the tee. Lots and lots of long right-turning shots. Too be honest, many of these lefty shots are S-turns. Lefty off the tee, righty on your approach. And only 4 holes where you don't have trees or tight fairways to deal with.

Here's a breakdown of holes...

#1 - It's okay, long flat shot across a field, ending in a sharp hyzer to a basket in the woods.

#2 - (after crossing over #3) is a soft anhyzer shot from a small tunnel to a basket about 225' away. Sounds simple, but they put a ginormous 'X' of trees in front of the basket that deflects shots away. Sigh.

#3 - A super hole! Very tight S-turn on a narrow, pine-tree lined fairway. Tough par 4, have yet to see a 3 on it. Lots of 4's & 6's

#4 - 150' laser beam straight, 90-degree right, 90-degree left...and tight. OB long on he drive

#5 - Grab your long range bomber! About 500' slightly down hill on a wide open field with a few trees to navigate

#6 - Reverse of 5...raised basket almost at the #5 tee

#7 - Kareem Abdul Jabar RHBH hook shot! SUPER sharp, 275' drive around the trees to a basket in woods. Throw it HIGH and TIGHT for a shot at a 2

#8 - Perfect, long, narrow, wooded sidewinder shot of 400'

#9 - This hole, with some tweaking, could be close to epic. More of a pitch off the tee to the fairway that runs under a series of oak tree limbs (12' diameter) that extend over the fairway. Gotta go under/over the limbs to have a hyzer shot at the basket

#10 - Another long, turnover, hyzerflip, Anhyzer drivers from RHBH

#11 - SHARP, short forehand, Hyzerflip, Anhyzer drive

#12 - Really nice hole...long, tight, right-turning, hill climbing
shot

#13 - **My Favorite** - Double mando, 275', left-turning shot that drops out of sight. Flat, hard shot with eagle/tee bird etc puts you on the basket

#14 - yet ANOTHER forehand, Hyzerflip, Anhyzer drive of a bit over 300'. I did chain out once on an ACE, so like this hole too ;-)

#15 - BIG forehand, Hyzerflip, Anhyzer drive (plays beside Hole 5)...500+' HIGH ANHYZER shot with woods playing all the way down the hill

#16 - Forehand, Hyzerflip, Anhyzer drive...you should be good with these by now ;-)

#17 - Pesonally, the way it is set up is top 5 WORST holes in golf. Double mando, 50' toss to landing zone. From there forehand, Hyzerflip, Anhyzer drive to the basket. Move the basket more inline with the basket and it would be a long, soon anhyzer shot. As it is...it sucks.

#18 - Forehand, Hyzerflip, Anhyzer drive yada yada yada

Lots to list...crossing, recrossing and re-recrossing fairways are a few of the issues. Sometimes you can see multiple baskets from the tees and have to know which ones to throw to. The designer did help some by painting some baskets blue, some yellow etc.

Tee pads are really short

Navigation is... {{{shudder}}} print a map or you might never be seen again

Repetitive shots

Large groups playing at the same time would have to stand back-to-back to avoid being hit by errant shots

Yes, I just bashed this course, it has many flaws, but...if you play it a lot, your tight-game will become very good. Some of the fairways are crazy tight and you MUST hit your lines. If you keep your shots in the middle of the links, you should shoot a few down. Get off the fairway and you are in bogey city.

Not a beginner course by any stretch of the imagination. Major challenge for experienced players.

Lastly...major Kudos to the guy who put it in. Not so much for the overlapping fairways, but because he put in his time and effort and was mostly a new player. Despite the flaws, Pisgah Park is a ton of fun, aggravating at times, but well worth the trip.

Challenging course. Some extreme dog legs especially on 17 and 18. Raised basket on 6. Plenty of challenges. It's a technical course that requires many precision shots.

Some fairways cross each other which can be a problem on the busy weekends.

I enjoyed that most walk paths are designed with natural limbs making the path easier to follow.
I played during the day but it appears you can play at night due to the lights that appeared over the path ways,
It's a technical course for sure but overall very fun.
No water that I could find, I believe beginners would enjoy this course.
You distance throwers there's a few long distance maybe par 4 shots at best. I believe hole 5, 7, and 9 were good distance,
The owner wasted no time installing a bunch of "watch for flying disc signage."

No overall course map. Maps are provided at each tee box but they're held on by push pins and some are missing.
The pathways intertwine to the point you have to look both ways or a disc will hit you. No benches at any tee locations. No trash cans at any Tee locations.

I did post a picture of hole 17 map, if anyone makes a hole in one, I'll pay you a $100 but I will require proof. I would like to see a more permanent signage posted for each shot. I hate being the first one to leave a comment because I don't write a book like other's I just tell it like I see it.