Great Course
3 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Shorter holes and open fairways are very good for beginners to get a hang of the game but the course is also fun for experienced players as there are a bunch of birdie chances and a few hole in one chances. Short course really emphasizes distance putting. Also loops back on itself so once you get there if there is a line you can start on the back 9. Good mix of uphill and downhill holes.
Cons: Near NC State campus so in the afternoons and on the weekends there can be long lines. Sometimes you wish they could have a few holes with longer drives so you can pull out the driver and let it rip.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Fun but busy
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This is a super fun course. It's fairly short, but has some major uphill and downhill holes that can be challenging. There are plenty of trees, but not so many that any holes are impossible to play without hitting one.
Cons: Concrete tee boxes are a little small. It does get crowded and the holes are right on top of each other, so stay alert.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Kentwood DGC Review
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Kentwood is one of the older courses in the area, giving one a glimpse into disc golf's past. Depending on your point of view, this past can either be nostalgic or downright ugly. Kentwood's pros and cons can be in the eye of the beholder, but I will provide my objective opinion on the course that inhabits downtown Raleigh.
- Kentwood is what many would call a pitch and putt course. There are no holes over 400 feet and most are within 200. This probably served a challenge with older versions of discs, but within today's standards, the course plays quite easy. There is a good amount of elevation which may compensate for the shorter holes. This could provide a good starting course for beginners and a fun round for anyone intermediate and up.
- This course drains extremely well and remains playable after the heaviest of storms.
- Due to the short length, there are plenty of birdie opportunities and aceable holes. In my last visit, there were 2 aces on the course while I was playing so be prepared for a plethora of congratulatory high-fives.
This sums up the main "positives" of the course, on to the negatives.
Cons: Kentwood is like middle-school. It may have been daunting your first time there, but once you graduate from it, you never want to return. Any serious player should typically avoid this course, especially if they want to have any semblance of a serious round.
- Kentwood has to be the busiest course in the area. The crowds can make it almost unplayable on most days at any time. The course is right next to NC State so it attracts the herd of college kids. Most players are those who haven't played before which drastically slows down the pacing for everyone in succession. It's fairly typical to wait for every hole before playing.
- Although having some woods, this course is very rocky. Any premium plastic will take a beating here.
- The tee pads on this course are entirely too small. They aren't typically in bad shape, but reflect the style of older courses. They may also become slick on a wet day.
- The course doubles-over itself so playing can be somewhat hazardous. Coupled with the players who are oblivious, you may have frustration throwing and navigating the course.
- The baskets are pretty dated and are known to spit out discs. Most, if not all, lack yellow bands on the top making them difficult to spot if you aren't familiar with the course. Additionally, Many baskets for different holes are near each other, making it easy to throw to the wrong basket or get hit by another person while retrieving yours.
- In addition to the crowding, the players here are not often courteous, leading to rushed rounds and frustration when someone throws while you're still finishing the hole.
Other Thoughts: Overall, Kentwood is not the greatest nor worst of the courses in the greater Raleigh area. It definitely has its place as a casual course and it sticks true to that mantra. Filled with newer players, college kids and the girls they are trying to impress, Kentwood can either delight or disappoint depending on the experience you are seeking.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
great fun course
5 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Short course that is beginner friendly.
Easy to navigate for the most part.
Variety of open/wooded shots as well as terrain variety.
Beautiful park.
Several ace runs.
Great variety of left to right and right to left shots.
Cons: Some holes overlap fairways or are very close to other fairways.
Can get busy.
Some teepads are broken.
Other Thoughts: This is a great course to stop by and play if you're in the area and need a quick round. The first several holes provide open shots but have OB's that make the short nature of the course challenging. Several holes cross over a creek that runs through the park and makes it fun to try and push your throws. This park can get busy but the short nature of the park allows for minimal backups. Overall this is a good course and will play again when back in the area.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Small on Length, Big on Fun
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: - Great variety of fairway shapes despite short length.
- Very pleasant park to play through.
- Plays well for both beginners and intermediate golfers.
Cons: - Very short, challenge is limited for more experience players.
- Course equipment is somewhat lacking and showing its age.
- Layout is occasionally congested/potentially dangerous
Other Thoughts: Kentwood Park was a delightful discovery during my first visit to Raleigh. It's proximity to downtown and short length make it a great stop for people traveling to the area, especially those with limited time to go explore courses further from the city. It's short length also means you can easily play this course with one to three discs (also great for travelers). As an intermediate player (rated ~915) I threw a putter on most holes. That said, I still had a lot of fun playing the course, hunting for birdies, and there are a few uphill shots that play much longer than their posted distances where I broke out fairway drivers. My wife (rated ~725) also played a round with me, and really enjoyed playing a course where she had many more opportunities to birdie than usual.
For being so short, there is a really nice level of variety at Kentwood. I threw about an equal number of forehands and backhands off the tee, and many fairways play quite a bit uphill or downhill. Some holes are quite wooded forcing a particular line, while some are more open allowing for options off the tee. Bogie is definitely possible after an early tree hit on many of the more wooded holes. A few holes also have either a creek or ravine nearby to provide an additional challenge to navigate. That said, the average hole length is still only 225ft and more experienced players with better command of their discs may be bored with the lack of challenge.
The course layout is mostly good despite the relatively small footprint of the park. It is impressive that the designers got 18 holes in here, but it does present some occasional issues. Many fairways play close to each other, and two (I think #7 and #16) actually cross. With the volume of play this course gets, I can see this frequently being an issue. My rounds were quite early on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but there were still several other people out on the course, and by the time I finished it was getting quite crowded. Routing is occasionally confusing, and many baskets are close in proximity and I accidentally threw to the wrong one my first time on hole 14. This is mildly frustrating for first time players, but not a problem after your initial play, and the course is so popular I was easily able to ask someone where to go next the two times I was unsure.
The course equipment could definitely use some upgrades. The baskets are older, but still caught fine. The tee pads are an odd type of decoratively cast concrete, most of which have started deteriorating, some significantly. This isn't too much of an issue because of the short hole length, but both my wife and I were concerned with footing on a few occasions. There are no tee signs, but simple concrete blocks at the front of the tee pads with the hole length and number. Descriptive tee signs would go a long way to aiding in course navigation and preventing the occasional confusion as to which basket to throw to for first time players. There are two practice baskets near a pavilion and bathrooms which is quite nice.
One final thing to note is that the hillside the majority of the holes play on is very rocky. Footing can be precarious while walking up or down and throwing from the fairway. The ground surface can also wear discs quite quickly, especially DX plastic and its equivalents. I left with a handful of new scrapes and gouges in a few discs.
Kentwood Park is a short course but big on the fun factor. If you are traveling through Raleigh and short on time, this is a great place to get a round in. However, if you are a more experience player with more time, there are other courses further away from downtown that are likely more worth your time. Kentwood doesn't take long to play though, so why not do both?
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Really fun course
0 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Awesome designed course with a lot of elevation changes. So many birdie opportunities, but if you miss still very challenging. I really like the technical courses that allow you to use putters and mid-ranges for nearly the entire course. Helps the short game on the longer courses
Cons: Honestly, just that they should update the tees, baskets, and have a map at the location. I missed a few shots due to the old baskets (sure, I know I am reaching here, but it was a few birdies ;-) )
Other Thoughts: Enjoy a quick 18 hole course close to the NC State Campus. Cool Park.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
First course!
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -Easy to navigate all 18 holes
-Decent elevation changes for a NC course
-Lots of ace runs
-Mostly wooded but a fair course
Cons: -Rocky terrain can do some damage to your discs
-Course can get very busy due to its proximity to NC State
-Some criss-cross fairways to be aware of
Other Thoughts: This was the very first course I played and definitely inspired me to play more. Nearly aced hole one on my second ever shot with a disc. Course has held up well and always brings back memories of when I discovered the sport.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Nice Course
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Great Course for beginners and intermediates. It is a perfect course to work on your shorter game. For the most part don't even need to bring a driver except for 1-2 holes. Good changes in elevation and has a variety of layouts. Most holes are rocky and in the open. Others are dirt and grass. There are a few that are covered in pineneedles. Can have a quick and fun round. There are decent bathrooms, playground, picnic area, and small baseball field. Good place to bring the family.
Cons: It can be very crowded. Located next to NC State and during the summer the course is packed with college kids. Low quality baskets. Some holes interest each other. Not anyholes to unleash a driver on.
Other Thoughts: definetly a great course to start your disc golf career.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Deserves a better rating than it gets
1 Helpful / 4 Not
Pros: Friendly to everyone, not just advanced players. Lots of birdie opportunities. One easy way to tell how good a course is - it's busy all the time!
Cons: A couple of fairways cross each other and it gets crowded a lot. Have to keep your head on a swivel!
Other Thoughts: The area needs more courses like Kentwood to encourage casual, younger and older players.
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Short. Classic. Fun.
11 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Kentwood is a dinosaur in terms of disc golf courses. I felt like I had gone back 15 years when I started playing. And still, I had a great time playing here.
- This is an excellent short, mid-range course. Nothing longer than 300 feet here. Other than two uphill holes, everything was a mid-range or putter for me.
- Much to my surprise, there was a lot of variety in terms of layout. After playing the first two holes and seeing major potential risks of throwing at and parallel to a road, I was having doubts. From #3 onward, things got better.
- The course begs you to be aggressive. I was firing at baskets left and right. I think I had 4 tee shots land within 4 feet of the basket. I easily had that many hit trees, and several more sail 30 feet past the basket being too aggressive.
- A lot of elevation in the back of the course. Holes #5 - 9, 14, and 16 - 18 have you throwing up or down the hill.
- A lot of holes have tight gaps/fairways. If you hit the gap, you start thinking your disc has a chance. If you don't, just hope you got a favorable kick off one of the trees. #3 was one of my favorite holes on the course. You hit the gap here, your disc is most likely landing within 10-15 feet of the basket. My shot looked good for 2/3 of the hole, smacked a branch, and resulted in a boring up-and-down par 3.
- There are a lot of holes you'll want to throw multiple discs. Shoot, even on #1 I threw multiple discs. Just wait until you get to #8, 9, 16, 17, or 18. If the course isn't crowded, you'll be chucking multiple discs on these holes.
- Good for a quick round...when the course isn't crowded. I finished my 18 in about 35-40 minutes.
Cons: The biggest drawback of an outdated course is that it's too cramped.
- Let's see. Holes overlap each other. Holes play way too close together, which nearly led to my first black ace thanks to an unfortunate bounce off a tree. Baskets are too close to others at times. On #14, I played to the wrong basket. You only see the basket for #5. In that case, I can't be mad I missed my 25 foot 'birdie' putt.
- If the first time I played here was when the course was crowded, my entire impression would be 180 degrees from what this review says. I played at 9:30 on a Friday morning. A Saturday noon round would be sounding much different.
- Navigation needs to be improved, especially for first timers. If it weren't for another player teeing off the same time, I wouldn't have found the first tee. The tee signs are small markers in the ground, which are only visible up to a couple steps away. Also, throw a next tee sign/arrow or two up on the course. Going from #4 to 5 and #9 to 10 both could be easier with a sign.
- To add to that confusion, the baskets don't have numbers. Even though I saw plenty of baskets, I wouldn't have known which one was what. Same reason I played to the wrong basket on #14.
Other Thoughts: Kentwood isn't perfect. It isn't even great. Yet, there is a beauty in its simplicity. Expanded every hole by 50%, and now you have a 6,000-foot course. Shows you how far the game has come in 4 decades.
- If this park were installing a course today, you'd have a long 9-hole layout. There's no way an 18-hole course would ever be considered for a space this small now. This is a slice of vintage Americana, disc-golf style.
- I had a bunch of cons listed. If you noticed, they were almost exclusively centered around first-time players. For a regular player, you know the course like the back of your hand; you never even noticed the tee signs.
- I'd like to see some OB markers added, or more prominently displayed, on some of the holes, especially the ones near the creek bed - #9, 17, & 18. You make OB 10 feet past the basket on #17, suddenly this isn't an ace run shot.
- This course begs for low scores. I hit plenty of trees throughout my round, and yet I was never at serious risk for bogeying anything. I had a lot of relatively simple up-and-down shots.
- Just like the greasy, hole-in-the-wall burger joint, this course is much better than it appears. This is Raleigh's classic beginner's course. We have Reedy Creek in Charlotte. I have friends who remember only playing this course, or at least cutting their teeth here.
- Glad I finally played here. I feel like Lloyd Christmas reading framed newspaper headlines. I just discovered something that everyone else knew about years earlier.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.
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3 / 250ft.
Par / Distance:
2-4 
8/22/2020 
9/3/2020
Review By: rwgatorfan 
This review was updated on 10/17/2020
Hole #2 
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