Hampstead, NC

Wild Turkey DGC

Permanent course
2.55(based on 3 reviews)
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18 0
Rastnav
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 55 played 12 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Short but scrappy 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 2, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

Short course that nonetheless will eat you alive if you don't hit your lines. It is carved out of a small patch of new growth pine forest, and you aren't likely to see anyone or anything else while you are playing. Most of the tee shots are blind to the basket, or even the next section of fairway, so you will need to scout and take careful note of exactly what line you can throw.

Every holes has a well defined fairway, but it is the very antithesis of a Houck course. There is one line, and one line only. Fairways are quite tight, sometimes as little as 10 feet wide. Off the fairway is rough that is as thick as I have ever played.

The way to play some of the holes, especially the ones marked as par 4 or 5, is not necessarily obvious on first play through. I think there is definite replayability here. This course should make you better at hitting tight, short lines. You might think of it as scramble practice for a longer but more open course.

Even the hole that was only 100 feet I found to be a non-trivial challenge, as there is no direct line to the basket and the only real play is some sort of spike hyzer or grenade, with a basket that was quite elevated.

Side note: Despite earlier reviews mentioning this, I saw no sign of multiple tees at this time.

Cons:

I would say that this course probably doesn't really get enough play given the maturity of the trees, and it shows in the absolute tangled mess that is the rough. It may have started off less dense, but once the fairways were cut in the areas off the fairways sprouted into dense thickets of brush, brambles, and vines that will eat a disc in one gulp.

I thought I hit my line on #5, a 150 foot sawed off hyzer with a putter, only to discover that it must have skipped or hyzered too far off to the left. I searched for a solid 20 minutes and simple could not find it, even though the possible search area was quite small. (One of my favorite discs, too, sadface.)

Because the course is quite short, with tight fairways, many of the holes have really awkward required placement shots. I can't say for sure, but it feels a little like some of the tough lines required at Castle Hayne have influenced this course as well as a couple more courses to the north.

At no point is there really any air to send your disc into that isn't the fairway. The bright side is that the dense rough usually means you can't stray too far off the fairway, but once you are short of the corner and pinched, you aren't likely to find an easy way to recover.

The turf-on-pallet tees are a good idea that need more maintenance than they have gotten. In some places that means the turf is gone, in some places the turf is no longer fully attached. This isn't a huge issue simply because the course is so short, but in one instance it made for a nasty slip when the turf actually extended, non-obviously, off the end of the pallet.

The tee signs are nicely done, but given how blind the course plays, it would be nice to have an accurate depiction of the hole on the tee.

Other Thoughts:

I found this an enjoyable course to play despite losing a disc and generally getting beaten up. I think that if the course had enough regular play, it would become even more enjoyable.

I think the disc golf world is overall better if private, pay-to-play, courses thrive alongside the public ones, and I'd like to think this "semi-precious gemstone in the rough" sits nicely in that setting.
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8 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 21.4 years 568 played 261 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Wait! ... there's how many holes here?! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 25, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

Good DISCatcher baskets.
Turf tees on pallets, on every hole!
Basic tee signs.
Private course, so no outside interference, in a very accessible location.
18 unique and challenging holes, on about 7 acres! Many had 2 tees.
Par 4s and 5s, with holes going left, right and straight. The fairways are tight, but not the poke and pray types, they are fair and will make you a better disc golfer.
Some elevated baskets, to compensate for no elevation on this near beach location.

Cons:

Fairways are cleared, just a little rough walking.
Rough are pretty thick and unforgiving, but disc loss potential is low.
Some trees down from a recent storm when I was there, actually just added a few new obstacles.

Other Thoughts:

I'm sure all of us are driving along and see a great piece of property and think, "That would make a great Disc Golf course". Or drive by those identified properties each time and think, "If only the stupid lottery clerk would sell me the right numbers" (cr: scarpfish). Well, you drive past this piece of property, a flat, non-descript patch of woods, on a divided highway, and you wouldn't think, Disc Golf course. What Jesse has done here, on just 7 acres, is pretty amazing. 18 unique holes, many with 2 tees, with clearly defined fairways, that don't cross and rarely adjoin each other.
There is a natural, small clearing on the property, enough area for parking, a port-a-potty, #1 and #10 tees, #9 and #18 baskets and a practice basket. The space is used very well, without feeling cramped.
The tee pads are all well done and very unique also. He has taken pallets and laid 3 or 4 end to end, then covered the front ones with turf. This always give you a well defined tee box, good footing and (with all the rain the coast gets and flat elevation) a dry, safe place to tee from.
The longer holes also have adequate fairways and Par 4s and 5s over 400' are well earned here.
A couple of my favorites here were:
* #3 - a short hole with a large tree root ball blocking the basket, made for an unusual obstacle.
* #10 - tee in the open to a tightening fairway, a good one to nail.
* #17 - long Par 5 that just kept bending to the right at the end.
It was funny, when I asked Jesse if 7AM was too early to come out, he said anytime was fine. Once I got to the course I realized why, he doesn't live there!
The location of this course is another of its attributes, located between Wilmington and Jacksonville, its close to Wrightsville and Topsail beaches and not a big stretch to drive from Emerald and Atlantic beaches. I feel that once this course gets beat in and a few facilities added, it will be a must play course on the NC Coast, right after Castle Hayne.
The course is private and pay to play (I got my first play for free) so its not marked on the map on this site. Contact Jesse for the details, he was very quick to respond and happy to accommodate.
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6 0
takman
Experience: 23 years 124 played 25 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Good job! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 1, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Raised pallet tee-pads with nice driving range mats for traction, always a dry place to tee.
-Signs and distances on every hole (rare for a private course). Benches on most holes
-18 holes with good transitions. Hole 9 finishes near the entrance so you can easily play the front or back as you choose.
-Good variety of shots. Most holes under 200ft but a few 300+ footers make it challenging.
-Private, so rarely busy. Port-a-let on-site.

Cons:

-Hurricane Flo did a number on this course, many large trees still down, hope some locals can help clear them up.
-Footing is rough on the fairways from initial clearing of trees, some heavy rakes would help clear this up.

Other Thoughts:

For a private course, this little gem has a good design and some great potential. Looking forward to improvements and more holes.
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