Pleasant scenery / trees
Easy access from the highway
"Welcome" table
good mix of distances
Fun!

Jungle grade schule left side of 1 & 2 (read: old growth disc eating poison ivy)
baskets and tee boxes can be crowded
Highway noise can be distracting

From the road this looks like a dink and dunk eagle scout project. Stepping on the first tee you get that classic central NC park course feel. It's a real pleasant surprise! The holes were surprisingly well balanced and just challenging enough with full summer foliage.

This is a DG boon for Chair City! Check it out and please be respectful of the grounds.

As other reviewers have accurately stated, Pleasant Grove is not a destination course, but it accomplishes what it intends to: a well designed beginner-friendly course that makes good use of a rectangular tract of land.

+ The course is surprisingly long, especially for a 9-hole and/or church course. I didn't look at the length in advance and was honestly expecting a putter course. Wrong. It has 6 holes at 296+ feet, including one at 415 feet, and averages 291 feet per hole. That's pretty solid for a rec-level course.

+ For the land that's there, they did a good job arranging the baskets and "fairways". Everything flows easily. Navigation is simple. Some tees are pretty close to baskets, but with low (or no) course traffic, it shouldn't be a problem.

+ Good baskets.

+ They went the extra mile on the tee signs. They all have accurate yardage and drawings of the hole layouts. They also have engraved Bible verses on each tee and they look really nice.

+ I really like that they put a table at hole 1 with a stack of loaner discs to choose from. Granted, they're all basic plastic, but what a cool idea for beginners who want to try out disc golf.

I applaud the church for putting in this course. I think it's great for members -- as well as guests and passers by on the highway (like me). That said, it's not a destination course (not designed to be one). Here are the cons:

- The course is right beside a loud, busy highway. I enjoy disc golf more in quiet, serene settings. You don't get that here.

- When I played, many parts of the course -- and all of the tees -- were water-logged. There was standing water and the ground was very muddy. The grass was under control when I played. I understand it might get out of hand in the summer though. There's also lots of leaves on the ground and it's easy for a disc to slide underneath and disappear.

- While I enjoyed the variety in the length of the hole, there wasn't much variety in their design. They're all pretty much straight shots. Some holes are challenging 2's, but very simple 3's. The 415-foot hole, a par 3, kind of stands out as a tweener hole, especially on a rec course. For intermediate players like me, that hole and several others are basically guaranteed 3's with little chance at 2 or 4.

If your travels take you through Davidson County, it's worth the stop at Pleasant Grove UMC.

Nice, new DISCatchers, homemade tee signs, rubber tee mats and discs available at first tee.
First time I have seen an open tote with free discs to use. All different types, mostly "worn in", for an new players to use free of charge.
Good use of this otherwise unused church property. There are a few large trees on the property that they used for shot shaping and obstacles very well. I believe you can see almost all the baskets when on the property.
Not much chance of losing discs, except for the long grass and piles of leaves.
Easy to get to right off Business 85.

Grass did need to be mowed the day I was there, but still very playable.
All holes were labeled as Par 3, including the 415' #5. I thought it should be a Par 4, especially considering the players this course is targeted to.

As I mentioned, great use of the available land. Mostly targeted to the church members (although open for all to play) after church or as a weekly get together. Get some exercise, throw some discs, have fun.
It would be nice to see more of these pop up, to get others involved in the sport and build their confidence.
I agree with Mike C, it would be great to have a course like this near your house, where you could drop in for a quick practice round a few times a week, but certainly not a destination course.

+ Hand painted tee signs are unique and accurately depict holes and distances.

+ Baskets are in good shape.

+ Very quick to play. Could easily be finished in 15-20 minutes solo.

+ Navigation is dead simple. There are one or two holes you have to figure out which basket you're shooting at because it's not immediately obvious, otherwise it couldn't be easier to get around.

+ Surprising length on a few holes. Did not expect to see a 340' hole, much less one over 400'! That was a nice surprise for a 9 hole pitch and putt.

+ Donor disc rack. This is an awesome feature I've never seen before. At Hole 1 there is a small table with a rack of discs. They're mostly labeled "putter" "midrange" "driver" to make it easier for beginners to pick. Some discs I noticed were a Discraft Magnet, Innova Gazelle, TeeRex and blizzard Vulcan, and a millennium jls. This is the only course I've seen that you could show up empty handed and play a round.

- Tall grass. Despite the fairways being short and open, I actually had to hunt for my drive a bit a couple of times for this reason.

- Minimal challenge. Mostly due to the terrain used, the short length on most holes doesn't help. What trees they had were utilized pretty well, but there was only so much they could do. Plus its geared towards beginners anyways, nothing wrong with that, it just doesn't appeal to me in particular.

- Slick rubber mats. These aren't the rubber mats like at Moraine State Park. Not sure what those kind are called, but these had a different texture and feel, and were a bit smaller. I don't know if it was some dew in the air or what, but a few of them were a bit wet and very slick, so I teed off next to them most holes. At first I thought they looked slick for a little 9 hole course to have, but after using them I think natural pads might have worked better.

- Plays next to a busy highway. I was there around 8pm and it was noisy.

This is a neat little course for what is is. A compact 9 hole for beginners and kids, something to get them into disc golf. If the tees weren't slick and the grass was mowed a little, this would be a good first course for someone. You have short ace runs, a couple longer holes, enough trees to create some obstacles but generally wide open, frustration free fairways for someone new with little control.

For a seasoned player there's no real reason to make a trip out here. Unless you're ace hunting, looking to pad your course count, or happen to be in the area, there's more attractive options.

I was passing through and there was just enough daylight to squeeze in a round, which is why I played. I enjoyed myself and would stop by for a quick 20 minute round if I'm in the area, but wouldn't ever go out of my way to come back.

This is the kind of course I'd love to have in my neighborhood for warming up at before traveling to a bigger, better course...but a destination it is not.

Imagine a rectangular plot of land alongside a road that runs runs parallel to a busy highway, sparsely populated by 9 shiny Discatcher baskets and a dozen or so old growth trees. Half of this rectangle is wide open on natural, uneven ground like a plowed field gone long fallow. The other half is more reminiscent of a city park course with solemn oaks guarding baskets and fairways like sentinels.

Literally right off the highway which highlights what this course excels at: Quick, training ground rounds for getting your disc golf fix and honing basic skills. The course loops around the rectangle in a clockwise fashion with minimal walking between holes as well as between hole 1 and parking.

Tee signs and tees aren't world class but do the job. Tees are rubber mats and function well when dry. Diamond plate pattern hopefully keeps them from being too slick when wet/muddy. Tees help you locate your appropriate basket when multiples are in view along with general distance.

Distance is not something you necessarily associate with a 9 hole course, especially a church course, but PG UMC surprises with legitimately long holes, some borderline par 4 range. The mix of short to long distances is a feather in its design cap.

There are just enough trees to factor into line shaping strategy. The holes are mostly straight but the trees ask you to do a little work getting around either side. The openness is great for airing out drives, even distance drivers aren't out of place.

The rack of donor discs at hole 1 is a nice amenity. Not a great selection but I'm looking forward to donating some decent ones to it the next time I'm there.

If the course has many other players there you're gonna want to be careful b/c the next tee is ~40-50' from the basket. Also easy to get a black ace here with many baskets in possible play. Some of the tees are on lumpy ground and would greatly be enhanced if the tee was graded flat.

You'll throw nothing but slight hyzers, slight anhyzers, and straights out here, no big turns to be found. Hole 3 pretends to be an anny hole but it's just a short hole in a field with the tee turned 45 degrees the wrong way.

There's quite a bit of trash from yesteryear strewn about the course, especially off the fairway on the first 2-3 holes. Mind a couple of holes created by uprooted trees also. A stretch of asphalt not yet fully reclaimed by nature runs down the middle of hole 9's fairway so you probably want to leave your 1st Run LE 10x CE blah blah blah at home.

The only thing I didn't really like about this course is the proximity of baskets to tees and how straight the holes were. Straightness they probably couldn't help much but the basket/tee conflict could be a headache with much activity. On the whole though, I'd love a course like this near me and it really adds a great activity to the church, otherwise it would be a vacant lot. This is decent, worthwhile golf and stupidly accessible from the road and worth a whirl for a warm up, solitude or a little form work.

Pleasant UMC is what it says it is. You know with a church course, the designers are going to be honest.
- Nice 9-hole layout. Design is simple and well-executed. There aren't a lot of trees on the entire course. For the ones that are there, they're used effectively.
- Course has plenty of length - average hole length is 290 feet - so you've chances to air it out on a couple holes.
- You've got to throw well to get your 2s. Every hole is easily par-able, but you've got to throw good tee shots to see birdie putts. Course is easy to navigate even with multiple tees and baskets visible the entire time.
- For such a small, confined piece of land, the designers did a great job keeping the holes relatively separate. Obviously, an errant throw off line might sail onto a different fairway. But for the most part, it didn't feel overlapping.

There really isn't anything to complain about the design. With an open, bumpy field and minimal trees, you're not going to get a masterpiece. Consider these observations more than true negatives.
Course is held back by the terrain. I felt like I played 9 straight decent holes without any one memorable or standing out above the rest. I felt like I the course stayed in second-gear the entire round.
- It's a loud course. It's in an open field, next to a highway, without anything to buffer the noise. I've played plenty of courses next to highways & interstates, and Pleasant Grove UMC really stood out as being exceptionally loud.
- This is a perception more than a reality, but I felt like I did a ton of walking here. The reason is due solely to having all 9 holes in a single field. You walk back and forth across the field twice, which creates the repetitiveness.
- It's a church course, so be respectful of the locations: no drinking, smoking, littering, loud music, etc. Also, no trash cans or benches, so there's that too.

My expectations dropped as soon as I pulled up to the church and saw how small the building and parking lot were. I was surprised then when I drove around back and saw a decent sized field.
- I love how the church has taken ownership of the course. It's cool seeing the table of loaner discs sitting right there by hole #1. There's no doubt people are stealing good discs (the quality of discs was very low), but it still gives anyone the chance to play.
- This is a good course for casual players. Except for the woods along the left side of #1 & 2, there's no chance of losing a disc. Side note: with the amount of trash in those woods, I don't even know if I'd want to walk into the woods to get a disc, especially if I were in shorts.
- The course lived up to its name. It's good for a round or two, then off to Johnson Street or Creekside for a serious round.

First and foremost let me that a big THANK YOU to the Pleasant Grove Church Mens Group for all their work making use of the land with a decent 9 hole course!
I, for one, will be back and will try to bring friends.

- Only DG course in T-ville!
- Convenient to Bus. 85 highway.
- Plenty of distance for experienced players ( 1 hole >400 ft, 3 holes 300 - 350, 2 holes 250-300, 2 holes 200-250 and 1 hole <200..... Total distance >2600 ft).
- Rubber Mats were recently put down as tee pads for first 8 holes.
- If you don't own any discs, the church supplies some putters, mid-range and drivers (labeled as such to help newbies) on a table at the first hole that anyone can use and return. (Feel free to donate any old discs you have).

- As typical for smaller courses on smaller lots, some of the tee pads are dangerously close to the baskets. Both #2 basket/#3 tee and also #6 basket/ #7 tee are within 20' of each other. #8 tee is somewhat in path of #4 teeshot, but at least well protected by trees.
- In general, the hole distances on the signage are fairly accurate (compared to my GPS mapping of course), but hole number 9 is actually 100 ft longer than the 252 ft shown on signage (I submitted correction for DG course review).
- Some of the longer holes, like #2, #4, #5 and #9 may be frustrating for newer players.
- Hole #5, at 415 ft, needs to be a par 4. Especially since there are large trees halfway to mess with tee shots.
- A couple of areas on the property look like they may get fairly soupy with very much rain, but the course mostly seems to be trying to work around those.
- The rubber mats are fairly small for runups required on several long holes. Remains to be seen how grippy they will be when damp...
- Currently no tee pad on #9.
- Currently no mulch around baskets.

Hole by Hole notes. Let me say first that I am NOT a course designer and these are just my thoughts on course improvement as a middling player (for what it's worth).

Hole 1: Good opener. Both hyzer and ani lines for forehand and backhand players.

Hole 2: Fairly long and open on right with trees on left. Decent hole. No complaints.

Hole 3: My least favorite hole. Tee pad dangerously close to #2 basket (probably 20 ft or closer). Not sure how to correct that without making #2 shorter or #3 shorter. Listed as 191 feet, but GPS showed 177. Completely open. Would recommend a couple trees be placed directly between the basket and tee to add a little more challenge on this shortest hole.

Hole 4: Large trees make tee shot difficult unless you can bend the shot out over the road and back or keep it low for that distance. Tough 3 for this hole. Only change I might make would be a small bit of tree trimming to allow a better path from tee to hole.

Hole 5: Same thing as hole 4 with large trees halfway down fairway. MUST be made a par 4! The only reason I made par 2 of 3 times was due to a great 200'+ approach once and ok approach with great putt the other time. Same as #4, maybe some tree trimming needed to give a better tee shot path, but a change to par 4 will definitely add some reward potential to this hole.

Hole 6: Good mid-rangy hole with some trouble to left. Wouldn't change a thing.

Hole 7: My favorite hole! Close to 300 ft, requiring a low shot and lines for both hyzer and ani for forehand or backhand side with some protection of basket by trees.
Tee is dangerously close to #6 basket. I would move the tee directly up the hill some to create separation from the #6 basket, which should leave almost the same shot and distance as what there is now.

Hole 8: Another good mid-rangy hole. Slightly uphill, so plays just slightly longer than the distance. Trees immediately in front of tee, so requires fairly straight release. Good hole.

Hole 9: Definitely needs the signage corrected to add 100' to the distance (should be 352' instead of 252). Also needs a tee pad added. Decent hole, but I would recommend moving the tee up by around 30 - 50 ft to get the hole closer to 300'. Currently plays longer than 352 in my opinion due to slight uphill shot. Very tough par on this hole unless you got a big arm or can throw pinpoint approaches from 150+.

This course is practically on Business Highway 85. If you happen to be passing by (which I was), it is a worthy diversion. I didn't read the hole info here on DGCR first and was expecting a pitch and putt. So I grabbed a putter and hit the course. There is some distance here! Only one hole under 200 feet. And there is one at 415'!

Brand new Innova DiscCatchers are nice.

The layout makes the best of what's available in terms of trees, as this course is pretty wide open and flat. The shots are mostly pretty straight. That will be good for the intended audience. As far as tree density, think Horizons Park and it's close.

The vacant lot that this was put in on used to have some type of structure or at least a parking lot on it as most of one of the fairways is asphalt that nature is attempting to reclaim.

Some of the rough is rough! This may be rectified in the future as the course gets more work done on it. Not so bad for experienced players, but newbs (assumed intended players) might get frustrated by it. And the length of some holes.

Not a destination course, but there are a lot worse church/school courses out there. Again, if you are passing through or ticking off courses, it is worthwhile.

The natural tees are not uneven or rooty, so they were fine for me as I don't really have a run up.