Pros:
Sawmills Orange is a fun, short 9-hole layout. It's a fantastic way to warm-up or cool down when playing Sawmill's 18-hole course.
- This is a great, beginner-friendly layout. Other than hole #1, every hole has enough of a challenge that beginners will feel rewarded for good shot making.
- Great layout to practice throwing putters/approach shots off the tee. All nine holes range from 96 to 160 feet. Every hole has ace potential. Here's an example of the beauty of short courses. On #8, an open, 150-foot layout, I threw off-line, knowing it was a poor shot the second it left my hand. I walk up to my disc and see my penalty for a bad shot here was a 15-18 foot birdie putt.
- It's a fun, creative layout. The course uses the rolling hills to create good layouts, more so than the average pitch-n-putt course. Trees come into play on the final 8 holes, either directly (blocking the basket on #4 & 6), or by boarding the fairways (#2, 3, 8 & 9).
- Even the most basic hole on the course - #1 - is fun in that it's a cubby ace to be had. Throw a bunch of discs at it to start your round, retrieve them, and play all 9 holes. As you walk from #9 to the parking lot, you cross right past #1's tee, so empty your bag again.
- The course is the perfect ego boost before your round or a pick-me-up after your round playing the 18-hole layout. That course has enough love/hate tough layouts that a bunch of cheap birdies and possible aces may just be what you need.
- Holes #2, 3, 6, and 7 seem like the best ace chances on the course, with each having a different look. #2 is a straight ahead shot; #3 is a slight dogleg right; #6 is a short, downhill throw with two lines to the basket, and #7 is an open, slight dogleg left that begs for every disc to fade back to the basket. One of my two pars on the round was on #6 as my tee shot sailed right past the basket and landed 40 feet away. If the shot was three feet further to the left, it's probably hitting the basket.
Cons:
Do you want a fun, 1100-foot nine-hole layout with a good variety of layouts and designs? This is about as close to perfect as you'll find.
- Signage at the front of the course could be better. I don't know how many casual/beginner players do research prior to a round. As you walk up the sidewalk, there are tees in two directions - the 18-hole layout to the left & the orange, 9-hole layout to the right. A simple sign pointing players to the appropriate course would be a nice touch.
- Have better signage between holes, especially in the potentially confusing parts of the course. There's a long transition (relatively) from #2 to 3. Also, after finishing #7, the only visible tee pad is for the pro course's #2. Again, you don't want to confuse and/or frustrate a new player by having them get lost on a course.
- If you want to introduce new players to a portion of the 18-hole course, maybe have signage after #9 to the pro course's first hole. Let new players get a taste of holes #1 & 2 (two of those course's easiest holes) to see if they're ready to tackle all 18, or simply have a short walk back to the parking lot.
Other Thoughts:
Sawmills Orange is a fun course. In terms of design quality and execution, it is laid out better than the original 18-hole layout.
- You can tell the course had a lot of work put into it. Again, there aren't a lot of 9-hole courses that get a lot of clearing done in the woods. It seems you tend to get the simple basket placements out in the open.
- If the course were in a more convenient location, it would be fun to play this often. As it is, even if you're in Hickory, I don't see people driving 20 minutes to play a short course. It's not even as close to 321 as Redwood Park in Hudson.
- Because of the similar terrain and proximity, this course has a similar vibe to the Hildebran 9-hole course. Combining the two courses would create a fun, short 18-hole layout.
- I was in the area and in a time crunch, so I didn't play the original 18-hole layout. Even with that in mind, I didn't have interest in playing that course while I was here. Just an 'other thoughts' observation.
- I do like the variety of courses in the Hickory/Unifour area. This is a good compliment to the scene. Taking all 27 holes into account, this is worth a play if you're in the area.