- Good variety of shots, elevation changes, etc
- Hole design is relatively challenging (much more so then Black Mountain). Quite a few tight tunnels, blind baskets, "unique" shots.
- They have discs available for borrowing (sharks, leopards)

- no teepads, minimal benches
- no downhill bombers. Seems like many of the shots are uphill. There are a few downhill shots, but it would be totally cool if there was a wide open bomber.
- course can sometimes be non-intuitive, but play it once and it's pretty simple.
- OB on 2, 3 has a very unfriendly looking house on the other side of the fence.

our church does retreat here, so I have gotten to play several times. We usually play in a group with non-discgolfers, playing a scramble format, but making sure everyone in the fivesome or sixsome drives once on the front and back nine, so it's a strategy thing. If I were playing by myself, it would still be enjoyable. You could play the course quickly. Don't know if they would let people come through not staying at the conference center.

Scenic views & decent golf await you at this private course. Hole types include open, wooded, flat, uphill & downhill shots. Mostly short but a couple semi-long throws here & there. Lots of Birdie holes! It's an easy walk & a pretty decent layout. OB's, Mandos & a small creek in play. Very nice color tee signs with distance, Pro & Rec pars listed. Bag holder hooks at every tee pad! Some holes were flat & some were slightly uphill/downhill. Baskets were hidden from view on many holes including #3, 6, 11 & 15 etc.

Some tee signs were damaged by weather/vandalized (more on this later). No maps, benches, practice basket, extra tee pads or pin placements. Fire ants.

The tee pads are natural (dirt, roadway, grass, etc). I prefer concrete. It's not a deal breaker but that & the fact that it is not easy to get in to play at this course held back my rating about 1/2 a disc. The tee 'markers' are small wood posts similar to what you'd see at a ball-golf course. Some of the holes are super-short but they use the trees & lay of the land to make it interesting. The course uses some of the dirt roadways as 'fairways' which is good & bad in my opinion (watch out for cars & people walking). #18 plays around a mini-golf putting area. It made me wish I had a putter & a couple golf balls. The parking lot is just past #18 basket.
We got into this private course by driving up to the gate & asking politely. The gate keeper was hesitant but let us in only if we agreed to fill out a 'waiver' form. It is safe to say that this place will be playable to most if we respect the place. Some of the tee signs had the plastic corners broken off. If you get in to play here, dont break stuff. And no loud noise or unruly behavior, etc. Keep it enjoyable for all!

*Introducing new people to the sport- since this is a family conference center there are many people who might play disc golf for the very first time.
*Terrain- hilly with nice woods on many holes. The course is up the hill, at the back of the property, so it's mostly secluded from the rest of the conference center.
*Bag holder hooks on the tee sign posts
*Baskets- Innova Discatchers

-Fairways on roads: the majority of the fairways are on or near gravel roads that will chew discs (holes 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18). I guess they weren't allowed to cut any trees but I really dislike the road fairways. Two holes also play right next to a tennis court; not my favorite design.
-Fairway shapes: repetitive, with 2/3 of the holes as straight shots. 12 St/ 4 Lt/ 2 R. Quite a few seem to have just been crammed in wherever they could find a spot for them, such as along side a soccer field and next to tennis courts.
-Uninspiring holes. There are a few fun holes, but when families are trying out disc golf for the first time the mostly lackluster holes might make them think that disc golf is boring and keep them from trying it again when they get back home.
-I'm sorry, but hole 15 has a really dumb fairway (just being honest). It's very short (145 ft.) with about a 30 ft. elevation drop, but it requires a severe left meat hook to get around the trees and kind of close to the basket. The dogleg is so severe that was nearly impossible for me to get enough angle to get it to the basket, making it just a boring 3.
-Tees: only the front line is marked with little green blocks. The natural tees are at least level and they still work, though.
-Very few amenities. No map, scorecard, or warm up basket. I guess there's a little pro shop that sells discs and drinks, but it was closed when I was there in January.

Course Level: Red (most suited for Juniors and Intermediate players rated 850)

~Elevation changes- there are some decent up or downhill holes, but there are also 6 flat holes, and that's a little disappointing given the location. 6 Flat/ 7 Up/ 5 Down
~Tee signs: small with very basic maps; not the best but not the worst.
~Private- you have to be staying at there to play the course. I'll reiterate what others have said-- if you're not a guest and you somehow make it past the front gate guard, please don't do anything disrespectful and ruin the chance for others to play here.

To tell you the truth, it feels like they just threw a course together in a way that would involve minimal tree cutting. This new course appears to be designed by someone didn't really know what they were doing. The original 9 hole course was a classic Green level Harold Duvall design in fantastic terrain, and it was perfect for kids. In my opinion, they would do better to remove the current course entirely and go back to the original short 9 hole design at the original location. If you're not staying at the conference center I don't think it's even worth the effort of trying to get past the front gate guard to try and play here.
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I'm always trying to improve my reviews, so if you mark this review unhelpful or if you find a mistake, please send me a personal message here on DGCR to tell me what is wrong with it. I'll be grateful for the feedback.

Ridgecrest is a short, beginner friendly, private course that plays through the back of the Ridgecrest Conference Center. The course is isolated from other parts of the center, and gives a true "out in nature" feel.
- This is what you'd expect for a disc golf course at a private, retreat center. Not a lot of challenge or length, plus a couple of less than desirable hole layouts. For advanced players, you can easily play this course with only several discs.
- That said, there are some pretty decent holes. The back nine is more challenging than the front. Whereas on the front 9, where every hole seems birdieable, the back 9 will require some real shot making and aggressiveness.
- Plenty of birdie chances and ace runs here. Average hole length is less than 220. Only 1 hole is listed longer than 300 feet (#16 at 345); however the basket for #13 (listed at 286 feet) has been moved back from its location on the tee sign. It seemed to be closer to 320.
- Course is easy to navigate, almost to a fault. Anytime you can navigate a course without a map is a good thing. The caveat is that most tees are within 10 - 20 feet of the prior hole's basket. The only time a next tee sign would have been helpful is the transition from #10 to 11. Shortly after #10 basket, the trial splits. #12 tee is to the right, btw.
- Tee signs are descriptive. Tee pads are dirt/grass, but at least they're flat, so not an issue.
- The beauty of the area might be its best feature. You're pretty high up on the mountain and have some great views of all around. Course uses some of the elevation, but could easily incorporate a lot more, if they wanted to toughen up the course. The fields would also be a nice play to camp. You'd have a great view, first thing in the morning.

Course has some funky aspects to it. You can tell the designers (or more likely the conference center) didn't want to put in too much effort into making a course or disturb anything. For example, holes #1 - 4 run around the edge of a soccer field. Other holes use a trail/road as their fairways, and #8 & 9 play around gated tennis courts.
- Speaking of #8 & 9, they need to be replaced by two actual holes. #8 plays down one side of the courts, with the fence on the left and woods on the right. Then you walk around the courts and play #9 down the other side. They're poorly laid out, and seem to only add the chance of searching for a disc in the woods.
- The tee pads two steps from the basket are kind of weird. Obviously the course doesn't get much use, so it shouldn't be a problem. The bigger problem will be when other activities are going on. If people are playing soccer, I guess #1 - 4 are shutdown.
- For being in the mountains, and halfway up one itself, you'd like to see more elevation in play. Most holes are flat, and the others only have minimal up or downhill shots.

You can tell the course was built mainly to create another outdoor activity for people at the retreat center, so they put in 18 baskets. I don't know how much disc golf knowledge the designers had, or if they were just content to build a course and leave it at that. It's sad, because there's so much room here to build a great course. That said.....
- On the flip side, Ridgecrest is in the process of cracking the whip on non-guest DGers. From people on the inside, the course is soon going to be only open to outside play after 6pm. They're had problems with DGers and other outsiders, they're being forced to make changes. All I can say is, that didn't take long for there to be an issue.
- The back of the park is dedicated to all sorts of different sports/outdoor activities from tennis court, hiking trails, ball fields and mini-golf. I don't know if that's open to the public or if its only for people staying there as well.
- Fairly or not, I found myself comparing this course to Bonclarken, another private course at a Christian conference center. Bonclarken's best hole was better than Ridgecrest, but it also had worse holes. Ridgecrest also has more potential for a better course.
- If you can get in here, not getting stopped by a guard at the front gate, it's worth checking out. If you don't raise suspicion, you should be fine.

- Extremely Private... Most of the time this might be considered a "Con"; however, the extreme privacy means you'll probably have the place to yourself, if you can get in.
- Decent Little Shots. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of shots found on this little gem of a course. Wide open, tight gap, short, medium, long, a crazy hyzer hole, a few roller opportunities, righty, lefty, overhand, s-turn, etc... this little course had a little bit of everything. Nothing major, but decent enough to be the best course in terms of total shot quality in the Black Mountain area, in my honest opinion... (and I built one of the other courses).
- Pin Placement. The pin placements on some of the holes were great. After the first five holes, I was thinking, "Wow, this little course has got some game." A lot of the pins are placed on sidehills or near the edge of a hill, punishing missed putts. Other pins are tucked into little coves in the bushes, making approach shot accuracy important. The pin placements definitely made an otherwise short course a lot more fun.
- Tons of Punishment. If you get off the fairway you're screwed. Rhododendron thickets, thick forest, sidehill roll-aways, etc... This little course places a premium on accuracy off the tee. There are also a couple holes with OB features (road, fencing, mini-golf course).

- Finding the Course. If you've never been to Ridgecrest before, finding the course is going to be difficult. All I can say is if you're lucky enough to get past the guard shack, turn left up the hill and follow that road until it reaches a parking lot near a recreation shack. Hole 1 is at the south end of the parking lot.
- Natural Tees. This is not necessarily a con for what this course has to offer (a fun recreational experience), but it deserves to be mentioned. The tees are marked by two wooden blocks staked to the ground similar to a ball golf course. They can be muddy, but otherwise they're fine.

- You're Not Supposed to be There. This course is EXTREMELY PRIVATE... I don't even know how it got listed on DGCR, or if it's even supposed to be listed on DGCR (or anywhere else for that matter). This could present a problem for you in gaining access to the course, so if you do...
- Keep Your Shirt On. This course is on a PRIVATE retreat center facility... Drinking beer, smoking, cursing or yelling, littering, bringing dogs, or anything else that would bring negative attention to the fact that people sometimes get to play here would be a bad thing for everybody. If you're lucky enough to get to play here, keep it cool so as to not mess it up for everyone else.
- Black Mountain Disc Golf. There are 6 courses within the immediate area... none of them are "world class", but if you're looking to hit a bunch of new courses in one afternoon, it can be done... although three of them are more private than this one and practically unplayable by the general public. My Black Mountain area rankings for the listed courses are: Ridgecrest, Owen High Nature Trail Disc Golf Course, Black Mountain Rec Park.
- My Score: +14 (Left Handed)

wonderful terrain, great scenery, very private and wildernessy. Many long holes, multiple trajectory paths, like a stroll in the woods with discs.

There are some crazy holes where the shot makes no sense. Signage and directions are a little haphazzard. you do get tired going up and down the mountain. some holes are played over walking paths and driveways.

Fun Stuff. it helps to have a map or quide. much more fun with friends on this course.

-This course is on the side of the mountain and begins near the "rec shack" next to volleyball court and sports fields.
-Lots of variety in terrain including hills, field, woods, ravines, creeks, etc.
-Great mix of technical shots. Forehand, backhand, etc.
-Shots around tennis courts, near soccer field, over ultimate field, etc.
-Groundskeepers keep this course up very well.
-Incredible disc selection at the rec shack considering this course is way out of the way. They also have free rental discs if you don't have your own.
-Cheerwine slushies at the rec shack. It's perfectly positioned so that you can drop by right after hole 8 or 9 and then continue on.

-Private course owned by SBC. In order to play, you must be a guest of the conference center. However, there is a large gate immediately next to hole #2 and you could probably park there and go through the gate. As long as you were respectful and didn't create any disturbances it may not be an issue. You could also try speaking with the front gate attendant and explain why you're there and they may grant you a temporary pass.
-Some holes in immediate proximity to neighborhood and shots can fairly easily go into someone's backyard.

Overall, great course, VERY secluded, so that's a good thing. Private course keeps all the riffraff out. If you're Asheville area this course is definitely worth the short drive and is easily accessible off of !40.