Good overall course, put in 9 relatively interesting holes rather than 18 mediocre/poor ones. Navigation was pretty easy.
Holes are generally tight and reward accurate shots.
Many of the fairways have obvious fair lines without trees even if sometimes a little narrow.
The par-4s are legit two shot holes, asking to hit a landing area and make an approach.
Cool basket in tree on hole 2.

Rough is very thick, tough but not impossible to advance if you get off the fairways.
A few of the fairways are more 'close eyes and hope' (hole 7 approach and hole 8 drive)

Puts other vacation courses I have played to shame. That being said I would go to castle hayne about 30 minutes south if I had lots of time or wasn't staying in surf city.

Great location, near vacation beaches.
Good DISCatchers and great tee signs.
Good mix of holes, left and right, with 4 Par 4s. You usually don't see that many Par 4s on a Niner, but there was enough room for them here.

The tees were commonly rubber mats that weren't secured down very well. Since this is within a couple miles of the beach, I'm sure it gets a lot of rain. I imagine these are slick and uneven after a rain storm.
The rough is pretty unforgiving in several spots, off the normally narrow fairways and its tough to get out, once you find your disc.
Several of the fairways were pretty narrow, especially for long, multi-shot holes. The ditch that comes into play on several holes looked pretty bad, but was not real deep.
No restrooms, water or even Porta-potty anywhere, come prepared.

This course is a great improvement over the nearby Hampstead park course (which is completely overgrown), but needs some more work. I guess the roughs will get tramped down as more rounds are played, but they are tough to deal with right now.
Be careful on #4, the basket is backed up to the fence at the property edge, and behind that, looks like Jurassic Park! No easy way to get over the fence, and then you are in waist to shoulder height weeds and grass. I'm so glad I didn't go long there.
#5 is pretty unique, a Par 4 that starts out requiring a sharp hyzer around several grain silos leftover from the farm that must have been on the property. I don't think I've had to throw around these before. You have to get as much distance as you can, because they are in the first third of the fairway, then the fairway narrows down.
#7 continues a trend I have noticed at beach courses. A short drive (putter or soft mid) then a 90 degree turn, then 1 or 2 more shots to the green. I don't have a problem with this type of hole, but it sure reminds me of #12 at Castle Hayne and #13 at Socastee in Myrtle Beach.
#9 should definitely give you some scoring separation, I think that is what the designer was going for. A 425' par 4, S-curve, tight fairway with trees in the middle right at the drive landing area, then across a weeded wet area, then a narrower fairway to a guarded basket. I'm not sure how big of a lead is needed to feel comfortable on that closer.
I'm glad we are getting more courses near the popular beaches of NC. For too many years, we've gone on beach trips without a place to play. This course is close to Wilmington, right at the Topsail beaches, and within an easy drive of others. A good start on a quality course.

Mostly a tight woods course with many different lines to the pin. Placement is more important than distance on a number of holes. It's much like Castle Hayne in this regard. It made me think of a slightly shorter version of Castle Hayne. There are fewer water-filled drainage ditches than Castle Hayne. And while staying on the fairway at Castle Hayne is important, on Surf City it's paramount. You won't find many throwing lines out of the rough.

The tee pads worked well, and while a few of them had an uneven surface, they all worked well enough. Signage is very good. We never got lost. Most tees are close to the previous basket. Follow the best path from the basket or just look around.

The course makes good use of what is there: large trees, fields, a series of old silos. Hole 2 has a great basket position on a low branch of a tree, with vertical shoots serving as obstacles. #2 also has a devious tree in the middle of the fairway near the tee which forces challenging lines to the green. A short but tough hole. (Watch out for the old fencing wire low to the ground, just past the path from #1, on the left side of the fairway. A friend took a tumble down the slope when he tripped on it. That really should be removed. If I had a set of stout wire cutters, it would be gone.)

Check out the photos to see how this course lays out. It's a useful tour before you play it the first time.

Some fairways are tighter than others, and many require you to hit a gap 100-150 feet from the tee. But I'd say every hole is fair. There is a way through; you just have to be accurate.

I'd like to see some thinning of the rough, especially around landing zones, so that an almost great drive is not followed by a mandatory pitch out. Make the next upshot tough but possible. A much more demanding request would be to thin the rough ten feet along every fairway. I played Castle Hayne years ago and it went from fairway to jungle in 6 inches. Now the rough is much more tamed. Not easy, but often playable.

A portable toilet would be a nice addition. It's a popular course and men and women were playing. It's not easy to find a secluded spot to answer the call of nature.

I can't think of any other issues.

Looking for 18 holes? Play it twice! It's even better the second time around.

We played in November, with perfect weather. I can imagine bug spray is a good idea during the summer.

This is an excellent 9 hole course. If you're in the area, give it a go.

It was a really beautiful course to walk. Good challenges on throws both left and right hooks. Long and short throws alike.

I really like the use of bridges and surrounding structures. Also a unique basket thats elevated.

Again, it's a tough challenging course. If you get off fairway into the trees, it's difficult getting back. Some long blind throws makes it tough to stay in and find your disc.

If you're not alone, let one person throw, and the other scout ahead.

Though it was tough, and my game suffered , I enjoyed this course. It was a challenge, but that's the way to learn. It's a good play if you're traveling on vacation at the beach. Not hard to find either.

I'd go back for sure.

Surf City DGC is a challenging 9-hole course near the beach. If you're a disc golfer vacationing on Topsail Island, it's worth checking out. But I have to say, this course isn't a great option for rec or casual players who aren't up for the challenge -- or up for the beach jungle conditions at Surf City.

+ This is one of if not *the* most challenging wooded 9-hole course I've played (139 courses played to date). It has 3-4 par 4's. (It looks like 3 official par 4's and one that was par 4 on a tee sign, but changed to par 3...and really is a tweener hole.) For a tightly wooded course, the holes are long. On the par 4's you have to hit landing zones or stay in the fairway. Going into the rough is death. (More on that in the con's.) This course was clearly designed by disc golfers for disc golfers, and probably not with the novice player in mind. It's at least intermediate level in terms of difficulty, which you don't often see at 9-hole tracks. This course will force you to throw all kinds of different shots (spike hyzers, flex shots, and lay-ups) -- with accuracy emphasized over distance.

+ Good signage and navigation. New players to the course will not need a guide or a course map. Be aware that after hole 1, follow the signs to hole 2 or you'll end up playing hole 9 and being back out at the parking lot.

+ Nice, new baskets that are visible from the tee (for the par 3's) and the fairway (for the par 4's).

+ The layout and fairness of the holes are top notch. The designers really cut down on the luck factor of the course. There aren't any trees in the middle of fairways. Now, the fairways are very narrow in places and tough, but I never thought they were unfair. The course rewards good shot making, the way it should be.

+ There are some old, abandoned silo-looking buildings on the property that the designers incorporated into the course. On one of the par 4's, you have to throw a spike hyzer over and around the silos, attempting to land in the fairway in an open spot for your approach to the basket. It's a unique feature and hole.

+ Some of the baskets are literally placed in trees, with guardian branches on certain sides. Very unique and challenging. Good design.

I don't want my 2.0 rating to scare you off, but I do want to explain why I'm lower than the previous two ratings. As far as challenge and design elements go, I rate this course much higher. However, it's a 9-hole course (which automatically drops it a half-point to a point, for me) and the roughness of the course really drop it in the fun category.

- This track has some of the thickest rough I've seen on a disc golf course -- and not just a hole or two. The underbrush and briars are thick from holes 1 through 9. You really do not want to be off the fairway. If you do find yourself in the rough, first off, it's a challenge just to find your disc (a big con for me). Secondly, you're likely standing in briars or something else you don't want to be standing in. And thirdly, you may have no path at all to the basket and just have to toss your disc back into the fairway (if that's even possible). Saving par from the rough is tough to do...and that's if you find your disc. My son hit one of the silos (mentioned above). We thought we saw right where it landed, but couldn't find it in the think brush. The craziness of the underbrush ends up making you throw safe shots just to stay in the fairway, cutting down on the risk/rewards elements that makes average courses something special. You don't go for riskier shots simply because you don't want to look for your disc in the jungle if you misfire.

- The bugs here are pretty insane. My son and I saw a course update stating "Good course, but the most insane mosquito situation I've ever encountered." We lathered up in 40% deet and were left alone by the mosquitos, but the flies and spiders are nuts here too. I walked through spider webs on every hole. (No joke.) I guess I was glad to see so many spiders to catch the other bugs, but this gives you an idea of how jungle-y the track is.

Surf City is likely a much different track in the colder months than it is in the warmer ones. If you do find yourself here in the summer, just come prepared!

Most challenging 9-holer I have played to date and the potential to become better.
First course in neighboring Pender County.
Great support and coverage from local news and government. Has a private feel to it and near a resort town.

Like any wooded course, bugs and occasional soggy conditions.

A great 9-holer can rival a good 18-holer in my book. End of discussion.

9 holes of varying difficulty and design.

Very similar in feel to Castle Hayne.

Bring your bug spray.

Course has convenient parking and is easy to find the next hole.

Parking lot is right by hole #1 tee and hole #9 basket

Baskets are brand new and tee pads are mostly the rubber type and not an issue at all.

Bugs and swamp water ditches

If you get the chance it is a fun and challenging course.