The Bear reviews
10
0
A disc golf country club 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Feb 1, 2020
Played the course:once
Pros:
Foothills Disc Golf (aka "The Bear") is what I *hope* is the future of disc golf: a *nearly* dedicated pay-to-play disc golf "country club." (There are 6 shared foot golf holes, otherwise it would be solely disc golf...and one of the club managers told me there are rarely any foot golfers.) If I lived near Hickory, I would most certainly buy a membership and play disc golf and hang at the club all the time. At $6 to play all day, it's well worth a visit.
+ What stands out most is just the atmosphere and feel of disc golf's version of a country club (pay-to-play, no other major activities, a club and pro shop). I've now been to a few of these: Foothills Disc Golf, The Rock at Stonewall (R.I.P.), The Blockhouse, and Trophy Lakes. All of them are among my favorite courses: 4.0+ across the board. If you've played any of these destination courses, The Bear most closely resembles The Rock at Stonewall, also in NC, 90 minutes away. The Rock is probably the most epic, tough, mega-elevation course I've ever played--right up there with Black Jack, except with golf carts. The Bear is like the younger brother version of that. The front 9 is open and has lots of great elevation; the back 9 is more wooded, but still with great elevation. (It's just not the killer elevation that requires a golf cart to navigate it, like The Rock at Stonewall.) I actually enjoyed playing The Bear a lot more than Stonewall and on par with The Blockhouse and Trophy Lakes. The Fun Factor is top notch.
+ Challenging, but not so much that it beats you down and makes you beg for mercy.
+ Awesome downhill holes where you can rip and watch the disc fly a long way. Hole 18 is a fantastic top-of-the-world hole and one of the best finishing holes you'll play.
+ LOTS of interesting greens with death putts and risk/reward decisions: baskets on hills and ridges and big roll-away gambles.
+ Hole 10 really encapsulates the risk/reward gamble and how important landing the disc with the proper speed and angle are so important. The basket is perched on top of a ridge with an extremely steep slope down to rough and OB. The very small strip of flat land to the left of the hole has the road and OB. So, if you play a RHBH hyzer to the basket, you are very likely to skip OB to the left or hit the hill with some velocity and roll backwards down the hill to the right. I played a RHFH skip off the road, trying to stay on that tiny strip of flat ground near the basket without rolling down the hill...then hitting the death put. Very simple, but fun and challenging little hole.
+ Variety here is top tier, with the mostly open front 9 and mostly wooded back 9. Distance and accuracy are needed to score well here. There are uphills, downhills, left-to-right, right-to-left, and dead-straight.
+ A couple of par 4's with landing zones to hit to setup the approach shot. The par 4's all have variety within the hole: open tee shots to set up technical upshots. Really fun.
+ Short and long tees. I'd say the shorts are in the white/intermediate (880-900 rating for par) range; the longs are in the blue/advanced (920-940 rating for par) range.
+ Great use of OB here with roads and marked and staked off streams and other areas. It increases the challenge and adds to the fun.
+ Nice new baskets.
+ Beautiful piece of property situated in the NC foothills (hence the name of the property). There is a neighborhood bordering the course. I would *love* to live in a "disc golf country club neighborhood" like this one day! Sounds like a good retirement.
+ Chillax after your round at the clubhouse! I had to rush through, so I didn't get to see everything the place had to offer, but in addition to a pro shop area where you can buy discs, clothes, and gear, there is also a grill area and seating. I'd love to grab a beer and a burger here after a round of golf!
+ What stands out most is just the atmosphere and feel of disc golf's version of a country club (pay-to-play, no other major activities, a club and pro shop). I've now been to a few of these: Foothills Disc Golf, The Rock at Stonewall (R.I.P.), The Blockhouse, and Trophy Lakes. All of them are among my favorite courses: 4.0+ across the board. If you've played any of these destination courses, The Bear most closely resembles The Rock at Stonewall, also in NC, 90 minutes away. The Rock is probably the most epic, tough, mega-elevation course I've ever played--right up there with Black Jack, except with golf carts. The Bear is like the younger brother version of that. The front 9 is open and has lots of great elevation; the back 9 is more wooded, but still with great elevation. (It's just not the killer elevation that requires a golf cart to navigate it, like The Rock at Stonewall.) I actually enjoyed playing The Bear a lot more than Stonewall and on par with The Blockhouse and Trophy Lakes. The Fun Factor is top notch.
+ Challenging, but not so much that it beats you down and makes you beg for mercy.
+ Awesome downhill holes where you can rip and watch the disc fly a long way. Hole 18 is a fantastic top-of-the-world hole and one of the best finishing holes you'll play.
+ LOTS of interesting greens with death putts and risk/reward decisions: baskets on hills and ridges and big roll-away gambles.
+ Hole 10 really encapsulates the risk/reward gamble and how important landing the disc with the proper speed and angle are so important. The basket is perched on top of a ridge with an extremely steep slope down to rough and OB. The very small strip of flat land to the left of the hole has the road and OB. So, if you play a RHBH hyzer to the basket, you are very likely to skip OB to the left or hit the hill with some velocity and roll backwards down the hill to the right. I played a RHFH skip off the road, trying to stay on that tiny strip of flat ground near the basket without rolling down the hill...then hitting the death put. Very simple, but fun and challenging little hole.
+ Variety here is top tier, with the mostly open front 9 and mostly wooded back 9. Distance and accuracy are needed to score well here. There are uphills, downhills, left-to-right, right-to-left, and dead-straight.
+ A couple of par 4's with landing zones to hit to setup the approach shot. The par 4's all have variety within the hole: open tee shots to set up technical upshots. Really fun.
+ Short and long tees. I'd say the shorts are in the white/intermediate (880-900 rating for par) range; the longs are in the blue/advanced (920-940 rating for par) range.
+ Great use of OB here with roads and marked and staked off streams and other areas. It increases the challenge and adds to the fun.
+ Nice new baskets.
+ Beautiful piece of property situated in the NC foothills (hence the name of the property). There is a neighborhood bordering the course. I would *love* to live in a "disc golf country club neighborhood" like this one day! Sounds like a good retirement.
+ Chillax after your round at the clubhouse! I had to rush through, so I didn't get to see everything the place had to offer, but in addition to a pro shop area where you can buy discs, clothes, and gear, there is also a grill area and seating. I'd love to grab a beer and a burger here after a round of golf!
Cons:
There aren't many cons here that can't be fixed over time and with investment in the property. Hopefully, lots of people will continue playing the course, buying memberships, and playing in PDGA events here so the owners have some money to invest in making this course even better.
- The tees aren't the best. Several natural grass or dirt tee areas and others of carpet or rug. Some are concrete or brick, some on wooded structures with rubber pads. I would love to see big, flat, (mostly) concrete tee pads (for the longs and shorts).
- I played the course before anyone was at the club to give me a map or scorecard. There could have been navigation directions on the scorecard, so I apologize if that's the case. But I was a little confused at first as to which tee pads to play for which layout. The course layouts are properly labeled and mapped in UDisc as white and blue. But on the course, they used orange and pink. For consistency and to improve navigation and any information a player might need out on the course, I would mark and label each layout white and blue and have tee signs at each tee (or at the very least, at each hole).
As you can see, these are very fixable and somewhat nit-picky critiques to an otherwise near-perfect disc golf destination course!
- The tees aren't the best. Several natural grass or dirt tee areas and others of carpet or rug. Some are concrete or brick, some on wooded structures with rubber pads. I would love to see big, flat, (mostly) concrete tee pads (for the longs and shorts).
- I played the course before anyone was at the club to give me a map or scorecard. There could have been navigation directions on the scorecard, so I apologize if that's the case. But I was a little confused at first as to which tee pads to play for which layout. The course layouts are properly labeled and mapped in UDisc as white and blue. But on the course, they used orange and pink. For consistency and to improve navigation and any information a player might need out on the course, I would mark and label each layout white and blue and have tee signs at each tee (or at the very least, at each hole).
As you can see, these are very fixable and somewhat nit-picky critiques to an otherwise near-perfect disc golf destination course!
Other Thoughts:
What else is there to say? If you live in the area or are passing through on I-40, you have to play it. It's only minutes from the interstate, so you really have no choice but to play it. You won't be disappointed.
13
0
A disc golfer's true greed. 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Jun 7, 2017
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
-It's 2019 and the course has undergone many changes. I didn't think it could've gotten much better than it was. I initially gave this course a 4.5 when it was a 4 at best. Now it's really a 4.5. The layout now makes the original layout (great course) look like an inferior good that no one will purchase anymore. This review is going to be a rant, but it's a happy rant.
-I think the greatest thing that happened to the Bear was the fact that there are more wooded holes. It initially had a few holes that are fully wooded. A couple of those holes remain, a couple were transformed into better holes, a couple were added. This course is a true beast from the long pads and you'll have the privilege of playing one of the greatest challenges you've ever played if you play the longs. The shorts are well, shorter. But they are still difficult. Unfair? Heck no! It's definitely doable to shoot under, but if you're game is off then you'll have to make the best of it.
-Great clubhouse! Toby and Chris are awesome, laid back hosts. A wide variety of discs are sold here and there are shirts sold too. And if you like, you can ride a golf cart. Wow!
-Too many signature holes here. It would take me forever to describe how great each and every hole is here. The first three holes are open, but have a lot of OB flags that make this course tougher. Placement is crucial. Hole 4 is now a 264' putter/midrange throw through a bamboo gate. #10 is a crazy downhill par 4 into the woods that makes you want to do cartwheels and not give af if you can't do them right. This hole is actually reachable for big arm throwers, but there are so many trees to avoid. Hit one, and you suddenly have to think about your next shot. Basket is on a drop off and it's pretty daunting past it. But I've seen eagles on this hole. #11 is a fun island hole. Stay inside of it cause if you don't, then you have to play your next shot as a hazard (play where it lies with a penalty stroke). #12 is the old #14. They made it more intimidating. This hole has you teeing off on a large hill (even larger from the long). You have to throw through the mouth of the woods and over an OB ditch. My best round on the longs (-4) involved a 7 on this hole because of two rollers into the ditch. Scary! But it's an epic hole.
-Challenge has been added, I already said that but I really gotta get my point across! The last six holes are almost fully wooded. #13 is a challenging par 4 that's tight the whole way. #14 is a gem of a hole. 320' and steep downhill. Pretty tight hole and you don't want to throw a driver unless you throw a tomahawk. The right side is death because it's back in the open and you'll find to find another entrance in the woods. #15 is a make or break ace run. 160' flex forehand or soft hyzer backhand. Then you play two back to back par 4's that are BRUTAL. #16 has two pin positions. The first one is challenging. It's like 486' down a sloping fairway that goes left. The long pin is only about 80' past the short. Who knew 80' could make such a drastic difference? This pin position makes this hole a monster to say at the least. I've seen eights and nines on this hole. #17 is terrifying too! This hole is a snake. Literally. It has a tight and slightly bending fairway the whole way. The short pad is a 278' gentle anhyzer. Not as hard, but it's still a hard hole.
-The finishing hole is awesome! 380' downhill shot toward the clubhouse. It's a bag emptier.
-Construction is getting better and better. There are stairs being added on the hilly holes. And there are teesigns. There are concrete pads and a couple of decks on most of the holes.
-If you haven't played the current layout but have been here before, come back. There were a few holes here that weren't great, and now they are gone. Many people weren't fond of the old 16, the super tight "C-shape" fairway. Now you get to play what's now #14. You tee-off what is to the left and uphill from the old hole and you have a great downhill throw at the basket. The old #15 was a very tight, 318' par 3 that was almost a tweener. The pin was pushed back and now you have a great par 4. A couple of "lemon holes" were squeezed and poured into a tall frickin pitcher of lemonade.
-I think the greatest thing that happened to the Bear was the fact that there are more wooded holes. It initially had a few holes that are fully wooded. A couple of those holes remain, a couple were transformed into better holes, a couple were added. This course is a true beast from the long pads and you'll have the privilege of playing one of the greatest challenges you've ever played if you play the longs. The shorts are well, shorter. But they are still difficult. Unfair? Heck no! It's definitely doable to shoot under, but if you're game is off then you'll have to make the best of it.
-Great clubhouse! Toby and Chris are awesome, laid back hosts. A wide variety of discs are sold here and there are shirts sold too. And if you like, you can ride a golf cart. Wow!
-Too many signature holes here. It would take me forever to describe how great each and every hole is here. The first three holes are open, but have a lot of OB flags that make this course tougher. Placement is crucial. Hole 4 is now a 264' putter/midrange throw through a bamboo gate. #10 is a crazy downhill par 4 into the woods that makes you want to do cartwheels and not give af if you can't do them right. This hole is actually reachable for big arm throwers, but there are so many trees to avoid. Hit one, and you suddenly have to think about your next shot. Basket is on a drop off and it's pretty daunting past it. But I've seen eagles on this hole. #11 is a fun island hole. Stay inside of it cause if you don't, then you have to play your next shot as a hazard (play where it lies with a penalty stroke). #12 is the old #14. They made it more intimidating. This hole has you teeing off on a large hill (even larger from the long). You have to throw through the mouth of the woods and over an OB ditch. My best round on the longs (-4) involved a 7 on this hole because of two rollers into the ditch. Scary! But it's an epic hole.
-Challenge has been added, I already said that but I really gotta get my point across! The last six holes are almost fully wooded. #13 is a challenging par 4 that's tight the whole way. #14 is a gem of a hole. 320' and steep downhill. Pretty tight hole and you don't want to throw a driver unless you throw a tomahawk. The right side is death because it's back in the open and you'll find to find another entrance in the woods. #15 is a make or break ace run. 160' flex forehand or soft hyzer backhand. Then you play two back to back par 4's that are BRUTAL. #16 has two pin positions. The first one is challenging. It's like 486' down a sloping fairway that goes left. The long pin is only about 80' past the short. Who knew 80' could make such a drastic difference? This pin position makes this hole a monster to say at the least. I've seen eights and nines on this hole. #17 is terrifying too! This hole is a snake. Literally. It has a tight and slightly bending fairway the whole way. The short pad is a 278' gentle anhyzer. Not as hard, but it's still a hard hole.
-The finishing hole is awesome! 380' downhill shot toward the clubhouse. It's a bag emptier.
-Construction is getting better and better. There are stairs being added on the hilly holes. And there are teesigns. There are concrete pads and a couple of decks on most of the holes.
-If you haven't played the current layout but have been here before, come back. There were a few holes here that weren't great, and now they are gone. Many people weren't fond of the old 16, the super tight "C-shape" fairway. Now you get to play what's now #14. You tee-off what is to the left and uphill from the old hole and you have a great downhill throw at the basket. The old #15 was a very tight, 318' par 3 that was almost a tweener. The pin was pushed back and now you have a great par 4. A couple of "lemon holes" were squeezed and poured into a tall frickin pitcher of lemonade.
Cons:
-The only real con I can think of is that there could be a little more variety in hole length. There was a third pin position on 16 that was like 650' long and I never got to play it. Hole 8 could have a long pin straighter ahead further down into the woods (where the old 8 was) and be a real monster of a par 4.
-Not every hole has concrete pads, but I'm sure they'll come eventually.
-Not every hole has concrete pads, but I'm sure they'll come eventually.
Other Thoughts:
-What a true joy. I always try and find time to play here when I'm not at school. This course is 35 miles away from my home and I call it my home course. What a privilege to be able to play this course. It's well worth the $5 a day or $20 per month. The Bear is a challenge but it's all a fun challenge that rewards.
-Golf carts, a wide shipment of disc golf inventory, epic holes, putting league. Layout is just about maximized, but I'm sure the designers are coming up with even better ideas.
-You won't regret playing here if you love the game. Every hole is reachable and can be birdied, but a few of them are quite difficult to even make par on. Even when you screw up, you'll still love this place. You start off getting to smash a big drive up a huge hill. Then you have to play cautiously in the open and avoid the OB grass. Then you throw thru a bamboo wall. It's all a fun adventure, and afterwards you can get yourself a beer or a gatorade in the clubhouse. There is not a hole here that isn't a pleasure to play.
-Golf carts, a wide shipment of disc golf inventory, epic holes, putting league. Layout is just about maximized, but I'm sure the designers are coming up with even better ideas.
-You won't regret playing here if you love the game. Every hole is reachable and can be birdied, but a few of them are quite difficult to even make par on. Even when you screw up, you'll still love this place. You start off getting to smash a big drive up a huge hill. Then you have to play cautiously in the open and avoid the OB grass. Then you throw thru a bamboo wall. It's all a fun adventure, and afterwards you can get yourself a beer or a gatorade in the clubhouse. There is not a hole here that isn't a pleasure to play.
