I finally got the chance to play The Firecracker! I had heard tons of great things about it, so I was eager to take a look.
When I got there, I immediately noticed that there were no bathrooms available to public (especially during the Covid19 era). There is also not much in the way of secluded wooded areas for guys to take care of good ole' #1. With this course being VERY intertwined into the school surroundings, I did not exactly want to get caught taking care of business where kids could be present even if it was after hours. No one needs a criminal record for exposing one's self to a minor. So if you come play here, keep that in mind and prepare accordingly.
I had to ask around, but I finally found the first tee box. I am guessing with it being on school property, they probably did not want huge gaudy signs to help people find their way. The school itself also has a lot going on, so the tee signs don't exactly stand out from the surroundings.
I was meeting a group later so I wanted to preplay/warm up while my phone charged. I started on hole 1 which is a doozie of a starting hole requiring a long straight drive to the basket for any decent birdie opportunity. That hole went fine, but the trouble started at hole 2.
I found hole 2's tee sign sure enough, but I could not for the life of me see how the geography on the sign lined up with what I was seeing behind the sign. I could not see the OB it described at all. Also, the distance to goal was not even close! I pondered on this for a while as I tried to figure out what I was missing. Then, I turned around. The goal was actually to the left and not directly behind the tee sign! So once I got that figured out, hole 2 played just fine.
I went on through holes 3 and 4 with no issue, but then I hit a wall. I could not find hole 5's tee anywhere! I could see the basket, but walked around for a good 5 minutes and could not find the tee! The little old lady dropping off her recycling watched me like a hawk. She probably though I was going to mug her or something, but I bet I did look pretty strange just wandering around in circles for no apparent reason. It was almost time for my group to get there, so I gave up and when back to hole 1.
Luckily, there were locals in my group that knew where everything was. When we got back to hole 5, I realized the tee was literally right against the school wall! I have never seen a school course so intimately intertwined with a course.
We continued playing playing through each hole until I found my absolute favorite. Hole 14 is a bomber hole. One of those where you have plenty of space to let a drive RIP. Due to the OB field and fence in front of you, you need to be able to throw at least 360 to clear the height of the fence, or you go to the drop zone at the red tee. I bombed my drive and it felt so good watching it fly! Ended up with an easy 3.
I guess hole 15 is the signature hole with the tight line between the pines. I had seen pictures online and it looked terrifying. Good news! It was not as bad as I imagined when I saw it in person. It is an easy 3.
I know a lot of people love The Firecracker. It is a good course in an area where the next closest course is Simpsonville which pales in comparison. But in my opinion, it would be tough for this one to hold up in comparison with the greatest courses in the Upstate. If you are in the area, and want a good disc golf experience, I would definitely recommend The Firecracker, but I would not say it is a destination course at this time.
To improve, I would suggest posting information about restrooms (if they are even available), and putting next tee indicators on each basket for newbies that wonder through.
8/24/21 Update:
Out of the 69 courses I have reviewed, this is where this course ranks along with similarly rated courses:
Rank-Course, Location
27-Veteran's Park, Arlington, TX
28-Griffin Park, Norman, OK
29-Boyd Pond Park, Beech Island, SC
30-Riverview Park, North Augusta, SC
31-Trails DGC, Anderson, SC
32-The Firecracker, Fountain Inn, SC
33-Earlewood DGC, Columbia, SC
34-Granbury City DGC, Granbury, TX
35-Owens Field Park, Columbia, SC
36-Pecan Grove West, Sherman TX