Pros:
-Andy Laws is a very authentic individual and course designer. The baskets are man made, the creativity is very original, and the course plays in different parts of the neighborhood. From the average Joe's perspective, you are going for a neighborhood walk and are throwing frisbees as you walk. But there's more to it than that. Andy is an awesome host and we had a fun game of doubles the day we played.
-Authentic is a word I cannot say only once in this review. There's a sunken basket. A hanging basket. Few elevated baskets. Man made baskets (they are great catchers too). A few MVP baskets. Now on to the designs. The first two holes we played were on the highest point of the course. In the open field. They were nice warm up shots that give a view of two different mountains far in the distance. One of them is Roan Mountain. Further into it, there was that downhill hole across the road and over the cornfield. You have to throw maybe 320' to clear it, so it's definitely a hard hole. What makes it harder is the fact that there is an OB pond to the left and the OB road to the right and the basket is in between them. The last three holes were by far the biggest stand outs. Two of them were legit par fours and the other one was a very difficult par three. They were so great that I must continue below.
-The first par four (and the third to last hole) has you throwing off a driveway up a large hill in a different yard. You have to throw to the right side of a tree because of a mando protecting the house you throw past. Once you reach the top of the hill, you are throwing across a field with horses that takes you into the woods. A four is an excellent score, a bogey is not a disappointment either. The next hole is the long downhill almost like a key hole. You have to stay low while throwing long distance. Hole is probably 450' and downhill maybe thirty feet in elevation or possibly even more, but the angle of the decline is acute, so you can't keep it too low. A two is very hard to get, and a three almost feels like a birdie because it's tough to throw below a ceiling and keep an optimum height for a distance over 400'. Not to mention, the green is pretty guarded. I absolutely loved this hole. The last hole was excellent too. More than 500' and back up the hill. It's half open and half wooded. You throw your tee shot into the woods and then throw back out for a possible birdie. It takes a good 400+ to clear the woods so bigger arms could possibly make it out of the woods off their first drive and be left with a short but deceptively uphill upshot back in the open. Turns out this hole was the short pad and the long pad was at the top of a huge hill, but wasn't quite ready for play since the course recently opened back up. But this hole from the short pad was a true par four that ended on a high note for me.
-The land is very difficult to maintain. Grass is much more difficult to control in the mountains. And Andy keeps it maintained! To say that Andy puts a ton of work into this course would be an understatement. The fact that he's able to maintain it shows that he is a man that's full of grit, drive, and passion. He comes up with many different ideas for hole design too which is something I love to see. He's an awesome host that'll make your round feel almost like a historic tour of Burnsville.
-Lots of elevation movement. You'll get to play some sweet downhill holes and some fun challenging uphill holes too. There are a few flatter holes that'll help you catch your breath.
-Variety of shots that favor different styles of throws. The big uphill hole to the right at the sunken basket is a standout for the big sidearm throwers with maybe a baseball background. If sidearms aren't your thing, you could still have a chance in throwing a big backhand anhyzer and sinking a long putt since the basket is buried. There's a downhill dogleg left hyzer for backhanders to try and attack, yet a roller could also work in your favor if you don't backhand. I could go on.
-Lots of redemption available. Most of the holes are pretty hard to birdie to say at the least (even the short ones), but they can be cracked in several ways. You'll have a few opportunities for an ace.
Cons:
-Difference in basket diameters. You could get mislead. The man made baskets in the woods are wider in diameter than some of the regular baskets.
-Briars. Many different kinds of them and they are very tough to avoid.
-I love the different hole designs being brought to life, but the downside to that would be the fact that none of the holes really have a number. What used to be the first hole was #7 on the layout we played a week ago, but the number could be different the next time.
Other Thoughts:
-I love this course and can't wait to come back and see if there are any new holes I'll get to play. I really enjoyed my round with the group of guys that I played with and they seem to enjoy seeing the new ideas come to life as they play here. A part of the course was not ready for play when I played but I'm sure it's a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to playing that part of it at some point.
-This is easily one of the best courses in the WNC. It's far from traditional but it's a real gem you don't often see, such as a grandidierite with its hackly fracture and shiny dispersion making it very unusual but memorable in a very positive way. That's an object very difficult to find, but it exists and even wedding rings are made out of it.
-I'm not sure if events are still held here or not, or if they will be soon. But this is a challenging course that casual players can have fun at. It really gives a concrete minded person such as myself a very abstract view of disc golf and a dual opinion of the course. It's very tough generally speaking, but its easy and shreddable. It's one of those courses where you probably have to fall in order to fly. A casual local could shoot under par while a first time pro could shoot several over par. Knowing every hole could really favor you.