This course features a fantastic variety of holes, from wide open to partially wooded to completely wooded. Add to that plenty of elevation and you've got the makings of a fine course.

Hole lengths from the Blue tees vary from 160' out to 525', but if you eliminate the three shortest holes you're looking at mainly 300' - 500' holes. There are six alternate shorter tees that chop about 1000' off of the total course length and reduce some of the long uphill drives.

You start on a completely open but steeply uphill hole, continue to play across mostly open grass on a shared (foot?) golf course for the next several holes, but then head into the wooded area for most of the remainder of the round. There are some tight (but fair) lines to hit in the woods, with plenty of thick rough to penalize your misses.

Hole 4 is a 264' throw over grass, with a double-mando bamboo "gate" guarding the green. Kind of an homage to the Winthrop Gold Hole 7 triple mando.

Hole 12 is a challenging and complex hole, with an open downhill drive that needs to curve to the left of a mando and enter a specific gap in the woods. Add in a small creek in front of the basket and you've got something special.

Hole 18 is as much of an epic downhill as you'll encounter. You'll empty your bag and wish you'd brought more discs.

The wide variety of holes is accompanied by a wide variety of teepads. I played off of poured concrete, bricks, paving stones, wood with rubber mats, carpet and dirt. I'm not sure if they are working toward a standard teepad, but there are currently more different materials than I've ever seen on one course.

Lots of roots, stumps, and rocks make ground action highly unpredictable on the wooded holes. Seemingly perfect drives would land and richochet off into the rough.

Some early holes ( 2&3) were simply 300' shots over open ground, with artificial OB to restrict them. Not as good as the remainder of the course.

$6 to play all day is completely reasonable.

Nice pro shop/clubhouse with a surprising assortment of discs for sale, along with beverages and snacks.

Easy to begin on either hole 1 or 7. I arrived just after a small doubles tournament teed off on Hole 1, and was able to start on Hole 7 to avoid any conflict.

I really enjoyed this course and it is obviously a work in progress. With a bit more polish I can see a 4.5 in it's future.

The Bear is one of the best new courses to open in NC in 2017. It immediately became the go-to course between Charlotte and the mountains.
- Tough, long, and fun course, all in one. With rolling hills throughout the course, it plays much longer than its listed 6800 foot. Enjoy wearing yourself out on #4 - a 780-foot uphill hole. At least you've got 14 more holes to catch your breath.
- You're playing up and down the hills throughout the entire round. The front 9 only has two holes with no elevation factor - #2 & 8. On some of the uphill holes, just take your par and move on. You can make up strokes, and be aggressive with some of the downhill layouts.
- Lots of downhill holes that let you grip it and rip it. #5 & 6 are fun driver holes. #9, 11, 12 and 14 are all mid-range/fairway driver length downhill shots. Any of these will make you want to throw multiple discs off the tee.
- And then there's #18. Think a light version of #9 at Ashe County Park with an island green. At 380 feet, you get a chance to watch the disc sail over OB field, hoping the wind won't blow it off line. This was my best shot of the round, as I parked my tee shot 5 feet from the basket. It made that long walk down the hill that much sweeter, soaking in the tap-in birdie to end the round.
- Fantastic, creative hole layouts. #7 was my favorite designed hole in terms of challenge and flow. It's a 480-foot dogleg right to an uphill basket. Tee pad is guarded on the sides and ceiling by trees. Accuracy is more important than distance to give you the best angle to the basket. Play the hole as it's intended and take an easy 4, with a chance at 3.
- #6 is a solid risk/reward hole. The entire hole is downhill. Avoid the trees off the tee and you'll be in good shape to be on the green in 2. That said, aggressive approach shots can easily sail way past the basket 75 - 100 feet.
- You finally get a taste of wooded holes with the stretch of #14 - 17. One could argue their location in the round and/or the challenge (or lack thereof) they offer.
- The clubhouse. Good disc selection, a grill, and lounge area. Easy to see how this is a great place to hang out after a round. Or, just hang out with other disc golfers even if you're not throwing.
- Seats and trash cans throughout the course. This is a slow-paced round, especially in the summer. There are plenty of holes to sit down, relax, and enjoy some of the views.

The layout can be confusing if you don't have a map and/or don't have good directional sense. There's a major lack of tee signs right now.
- In stretches, there are also additional tee markers; wrong numbered tee signs; or paths that don't directly lead to the next hole. The areas I noticed as issues are: from #2' basket to #3 tee; #3 basket to #4 tee; #6 basket to #7 tee. Even with a map in hand (technically on my smartphone), I wasn't sure if I was teeing off at #3 tee. Clearly this is a work-in-progress matter, and only an issue for a first-time player.
- The three-hole stretch of #15 - 17 seemed out of place. In the closing stretch of a round, you expect to see the course's hardest holes. Instead, you get the course's two shortest holes on #16 & 17. Make them holes #6 - 8, for example, and it's an afterthought.
- Natural tee pads. Probably not a long-term issue. Until they're poured, it will be an issue.
- I'd like to see the front 9 wrap up at the clubhouse. As it is, you're back at the clubhouse after #6. If one wants to only play 9 holes, or only has time for 9 holes, it's not very practical right now. Guess everyone will have to settle for the entire 18.

The Bear has become the area's signature course. Between its own excellence, and the unexpected demise of Hilton, Hickory's top course went from being a wooded, technical course, to a big-arm, higher-caliber design.
- This location seems like it will become a destination for tourneys/players. It's convenient to Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville and it's got plenty of space to accommodate a large field.
- The course seems close to being great. It felt like there's still some room for growth. There's enough room in the woods to improve upon some current layouts.
- The first three holes seemingly only exist to warm your arm up. If they wanted to be cruel, #4 would be at the end of the round. Just sayin'. It could be worse.
- The course is a blast. There's much to like about the Bear. The course is tough at times, but it's always fair. Great shot making will always win out.
- This is a definite must-play. The course is only going to continue getting better. Can't wait to come back and play again.

The Bear is located at a former ball golf facility. The clubhouse has been transformed into an awesome disc store with a great variety, and the course has been converted into a DG and Foot golf course. I can't think of a better use of a retired golf course.

The clubhouse and carts are a nice touch and add to the quality feel of this course. The grounds are well taken care of and it shows that the owners take pride in their course.

Toby, the owner (I believe), was great. Took the time to walk us through the layout and scorecard. Just an overall nice guy.

The front nine are long. But fun. Really making you feel The Bear.

The wooded holes are a nice change of pace. More "North Carolina" golf, but the mixture of open long bombs and tight wooded fairways make this course a blast.

These are small "Cons" and I foresee them all getting better with time.

The last stretch of wooded holes seemed almost too tight and wooded. Very few lines available, kind of a hope and pray shot from the tee. (Minor con)

The tee pads, although for now natural, were never a hindrance. If anything they were more grip than a slick concrete pad. The only time the tee pad was an issue was hole #18.
#18 is an awesome downhill long bomb, straight back towards the clubhouse. Really a neat shot. But....the tee pad was just too short for such a bomb. Leading right up to the edge of the hill, there's not much room to throw.

With concrete tee pads on the way (I think...) I don't foresee #18 being an issue anymore.

Really just a few minor cons keeping this from being a really really great course.

The old ball golf clubhouse is a great space for tournament HQ, events, etc. Also makes for a great disc store with a great selection!

A few more trees taken out on the last few finishing holes, and a longer tee pad on #18 would complete this course for me.

If you're in the area to play Sawmills or Glenn C. HIlton, you'll have to play a round here! I will be back for sure.

Cliff notes:
Fun fun course with a nice mix of long open and tight wooded. Course will get better in time.
Play here

Good use of ball golf land. Elevation plays a big part of this course, the start of the round had a few uphill shots that you can unleash. 4th hole is in the 750 foot range, but being uphill makes it play all of 850 or longer. The back 9 has some more technical shots and good use of elevation again. Clubhouse has a good disc selection. I think I saw every brand but MVP/Axiom, but who would throw those anyway. Lol

Scorecard could show how OB works. With greens, bunkers, and cart paths we weren't sure what should be OB. That's all that was missing really. Great course.

Legs will feel the hills. I used a delta cart and made it through the course, but there were some challenging areas for the cart. Definitely worth a round if you are in the area. It was worth the trip up from Spartanburg.