The Best Course in the Triad
3 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Clean park free of litter and alcohol bottles.
Challenging holes with many elevation changes
Good mix of open and wooded holes
Well marked course path easy to follow.
Cons: I don't really have any cons for this course. I have no complaints
Other Thoughts: This is the best course in the triad as far as I am concerned. I am not pro but have been playing for almost five years now and I would say this course would offer a good challenge to those who have played disc golf for more than a year. Playing this course will give you a good workout because sometimes it feels like you are on a hike. The layout is excellent from hole to hole, the tees are easy to find and clearly marked. My two favorite holes on this course are 10 and 11. This course has becoma a weekly stop for me.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Lost It's Edge
12 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: I'm downgrading this course a notch b/c as I've gotten older and wiser with my course knowledge I had this course a bit overrated. It's still a very solid play and worth hitting up if you're remotely in the area but it has some flaws that I'll get into later.
Great concrete tees and nice signs, defined fairways (mostly) and really picturesque NC nature and terrain to deal with. Fairways move every which way and there's enough length to justify carrying your drivers. Carry all your trick shot/utility discs too b/c between corkscrewing fairways and elevation change you'll probably need them.
It's nice having the park store right there at hole 1/18 with drinks and a few racks of Innova/Discmania to check out. They've got complementary scorecards and golf pencils too, suh-weet.
The front nine is a very solid and fun section. Hole 1 is a great starter hole with it's scenic, valley, tunnel shot. Hole 2 and 3 are quality, fun par 3's as well. 5 might be my favorite on the course but I'm partial to longish, lazy turnovers through the woods. Hole 9 is a nice open to wooded blend with an appropriate sized gap to hit. The back nine is more of a mixed bag but has some highlights such as hole 11 that is wide open and long enough to grip and rip. 13 is another challenging but fair wooded turnover/flick. 16 is a nice water carry that is not too scary (there's a water-less tee available if you disagree).
Cons: The biggest problem with this course is that the par is really inflated. Par 3's seem mostly correct but the 4's and 5's are really soft except for one tiny issue: The fairways are often so awkwardly angled and undefined that you need that extra stroke. Lots of these holes would be better if the fairways weren't shaped like a crazy straw where you have to play it in monotonous, 100' segments of placement shots. There's also a distinct lack of appropriate landing zones on some holes, like hole 4 for example. 420' par 5 with significant elevation change. The problem is that the significant elevation change is the landing zone which is also rife with obstacle trees. So placing your drive accurately to set up for your next shot is almost wholly dependent on not hitting anything and not rolling down the hill into crap. So basically: Luck. I'd prefer a well defined fairway and landing zone and one less stroke to the par instead of pinball plus a stroke but that's me. Hole 18 is basically the same exact problem except it's a shorter par "4." Poke and pray with inflated par to sooth your ego versus properly defined fairways with accurate par.
The other big cons are basically classic Russell Schwarz-isms. His patented L-shaped hole with awkward length is hole 7 which even features a mando because the bend in the L is due to a fenced in maintenance area. This hole is really a poorly designed par 3 but throw a mando on there in addition to the odd length/angle and boom! Par 4 baby!
Hole 10 is a bizarre hole all to its own. The first problem with hole 10 is you can easily get hit at the tee from someone driving on hole 9. That's the least of it's problems though b/c playing the hole itself means playing Frogger from fairway to fairway. You start with a normal, wooded fairway then you exit stage left through a gap before you can continue down the next wooded fairway. This next wooded fairway is literally a gravel road. You don't merely cross the road, that would be bad enough, you have to USE THE ROAD AS THE FAIRWAY. This road is busy enough I wouldn't have done this, especially since I'm pretty sure it was completely avoidable.
Holes 12-18 is where the course loses it's edge. 12 is another hole where the FW zig zags like a schizophrenic on a bender which is a shame b/c the land is superb. 14 and 15 reek of filler hole shame, they're shoehorned in to bring you back around the lake. 14 is just one of the stupidest angled fairways I've played, there's no other way to say it. 15 doesn't have much of an approach to the green but the lake is cool. Strangely, playing 14's FW backward to 15's basket would actually be a decent hole. 17 has a bit of a pinched bottleneck in the FW but it's alright. 18 basically doesn't have a FW nor a landing zone for it's dogleg left that goes steeply uphill. But there is a creek acting a FW for you to throw your disc into so there's that I guess. This is a weird filler hole jammed in to finish the course near the start basically.
Other Thoughts: So I filled up the cons section pretty good but don't let that stop you from checking this course out. In the grand scheme of things it's fairly overrated and unlike most locals I scrutinize my courses without rose tinted glasses. But it's very rarely crowded, has nice vistas and if you can unsee any design snafus I brought up you'll enjoy your round of golf. It's not the best Schwarz design but it ain't the worst either.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.
C = needs more development
6 Helpful / 5 Not
Pros: Note: I played this course shortly after it opened. This review reflects the course as it was when I played it. Thankfully lots of work has gone into improving it - can't wait to play it again!
What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- C+ (Most of the holes are too long or shaped too wierdly to go for a birdie.....so you play putter, putter, putter, drop-in. Boring! I drive 300' accurately, BTW. On too many holes you are just throwing towards a wall of trees - no real fairway defined. This is easy to fix, and may have already been fixed.)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- B- (See above. Also, many are too short to be rewarding)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- B+ (This is a strength of the course design)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- A (The scenery is by far the most impressive part of this course! I was dissappointed that the quality of the holes did not come up close to the same level)
5) Bonus amount for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- C- (Most of the multishot holes had no landing zones or "strategery" designed in. And most are too short for legit par 4's).
Other Thoughts: It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.
I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.
6 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Whoa! What a challenge!
4 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Excellent signage on every tee / hole.
Begins with wooded holes played across sloping ravines with creekbeds and well-placed trees restricting disc placement.
Trails through course are above average. Bridges and benches throughout.
Lake hazard comes into play on back nine (last seven holes) requiring accurate throws.
Cons: $2 entry is worth the price.
Way too challenging for beginning discgolfers, yet extremely fun. Neither a con, though.
Other Thoughts: Well maintained park with all the amenities is very clean and family-oriented.
Park office has pro shop, snack bar, restrooms, and overly helpful staff.
Well designed map/scorecard available at office.
Update..1-24-09...Course is in better condition: improved tee pads, benches, and fairways.
Update.. 2010....Fairways more defined.
Alternate basket placement on longer holes adds a new level to this already spectacular course.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.
A work In progress with some thought provoking hole designs
16 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros:
NOTE: I put a lot more time and effort than usual into trying to understand this course, and I labored over this review. The course designer, Russell Schwartz, and I exchanged several emails and he very graciously gave a lot of his time to discuss the course in a long phone call.
This course opened in summer '07 and I played it in Dec '07 while it was still pretty new. When I played it there was a list of items still to be completed, so the course was still a pretty new and unfinished work in progress.
• I especially liked the holes on the back nine where the lake came into play. There are also creeks in play on several holes and 6 holes on the back nine have water on them. The drive on 18 is a really cool shot plays straight down a creek until you get to a perilous landing zone.
• There are some really good and fun holes such as 1 (short valley shot in trees), 2 (great fairway in the woods), 5, 15, 16 (my favorite; see more below)
• The land has nice trees and terrain. 14 holes are in the woods, 3 are a little more open, and 1 is a long wide open downhill hole to let it fly at full power.
• There are a wide variety of fairway shapes- 4 St/ 4 Lt/ 4 Rt/ 5 S curve/ 1 L bend
• Excellent length variety: [Short tees] 8<299/ 5 of 300-399/ 3 of 400-499/ 2 of 500-520
• There's a fair amount of elevation changes. 9 Up/ 9 Down. The greatest is +30 ft, but 10 holes are under 10 ft elev change.
• Tees are very good rectangular raked concrete, and tee signs are fine with a basic map.
Cons:
• There are still lots of thorns in places.
• Seven baskets are hard to see from the tee.
• If you play in the late fall it's easy to lose your disc in the leaves on the holes in the woods.
Other Thoughts:
• Course Level = Blue (Advanced)
• There's work currently being done to finish up some aspects of the course, to make some holes a little more fair, and to address a few potential safety issues. There are a few trees that have been, or will be, taken out to make some fairway shapes more fair. On 18 it's planned for the landing zone on your drives will be made bigger.
• There's an active beaver on hole 15.
You be the judge-
I have great respect for Russell Schwartz' course designs, but I expect that this course will continue to produce some strong reactions, as it already has. Some of the holes have creative design intentions which require uncommon shots. These are intended to add variety, to stretch the boundaries of hole design, to make the best use of the available terrain, and to force a player to think about their shot selection. In addition to the Schwartz signature "L" shaped fairway on hole 7 these unusual holes are 4, 12, 14, 15, 17, and 18. Most of these holes have forced layups which require more accurate, lower power, and shorter shots. Some players will appreciate the creativity and diversity of playing fairways that are different from the norm, while others will be frustrated because the holes don't play the same way that they're used to. Big arms may be especially frustrated when they have to hold back their power on some holes. On a few of these holes (especially 17 and 18) I was baffled how to throw the hole and wondered what the intended shots were. It may have been because I didn't have the skills for certain shots, but several times I couldn't figure out how to make a disc follow the fairway. Personally, I rather liked the unusual holes because for the most part they add variety, but by the end having them on 6 of 18 holes may have been a little too much. I suspect that the typical Advanced (Blue level) player that the course is most suited for may not like these holes as much, so my rating is a little lower because of this.
-I expect the course rating to improve a little over time as some issues are taken care of, the work is finished, and the course gets more broken in.
Favorite holes: 16. From the long tee- you drive over the water for a beautiful hole with risk that makes your palms sweat.
15. A beautiful hole with the lake all down the left side. Play it safe with shorter shots for a 3 or take a big risk to try to get near the basket for a deuce.
A note about my rating: My rating is a subjective measure of my enjoyment of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the quality of the course. My ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.
~More detailed "Overall Rating" notes and "Hole-by-hole Ratings" are available in the Files section.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful.
Great Course to Challenge You!
8 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: I am updating this on 7/16/2010 as we have done alot of work to this great place. It is hands down my favorite course in the triad.
This course Rocks!
Club has Improved fairways to add challenge and short tees to make the course more accessible.
Very good amenities - store with gatorade, snacks, disc, hats, ice cream, bathrooms, great camping sites and an occanssional bass tourney!
Par 66/Short pin placements Par 60
Innova Discatchers
Easy 1st Hole, or is it?
Tight Wooded Holes to Long Open Bombs
Very Scenic
Friendly Staff
Great Bridges
Tough Holes
Plenty of Trash Cans
Tournaments have great support and prizes from Park and Rec
Nice mix of long/short/par 4s and 5s
Cons: Not enough benches (in progress)
$2 entry fee per car load
Really Tough Holes
Other Thoughts: We are located off Business 29 in Reidsville or Waterworks Rd. We are going to more add from benches, add a few more pins/tee pads very soon, course is awesome now, summer months bring many bugs and vegetation. Make sure to use bug spray and watch your disc. Sometimes it is smarter to just play it safe, but low scores are out there to be had. I absoultely LOVE this course, it will be a tough course to grow tired of, so go give it a try!!! They keep a guestbook, so please sign it when you visit the park store.
Thanks,
Tyson
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.
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5+ 
4/15/2017 
6/8/2009
Review By: BrotherDave 
This review was updated on 4/16/2017
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