Looking to play one more course on the way out of town Goat island seemed like the ideal location to throw a unique course before the long drive home.

The parking area is at the back of what seems to be a well to do residential area, hardly normal disc golf fodder. The first two holes play along the park entrance and really set the tone well. You will be helped by throwing hard here but the main thing you want is accuracy. Hit your line and you will often have a birdie look, overpower a shot and you may be looking at a bogey or lost disc in the water.

After hole 2 you throw a shot over the creek and onto what I assume is the actual "goat island" and the course really begins to define itself. Hanging vines, oddly shaped fairways and greens that have some challenge even after you get close to the pin are abundant. But I don't mind a not super clean green. They can be a lot of fun.

Pads are decent if somewhat small concrete, and though a few a damaged the signs that are around seemed nice and accurate.

The flow and vide here is pretty nice, and though it's a busy park with fishermen and pedestrians you are rarely in a position that would put them in your path.

Even has a few longer holes mixed in that while not true bombers Will test you a bit on your longer shots.

There was something about this as a play that made it seem more of a labor than it should be. Navigation isn't perfect and you so have to walk a long way around large wooden fences to reach the bridge. There are a few long walks between holes and there seem to be a couple of rarely used pads around that are unmarked and can add to confusion.

The design itself has only a few issues and they are mainly that you have some long not super well marked paths between holes and the are a couple of areas where a tree kick could take you into another fairway.

This isn't a design con, but the water at least in the winter was deep and drops off quickly. On the water carry holes if you throw it in, it's probably gone. You won't even be able to see the location in the muddy water to use a golden retriever or other deep water device.

Very solid play and I enjoyed it a good bit. Not flawless, but admirable and a unique feel compared to the other Charlotte area courses.

Located in the middle of the South Fork of the Catawba River, is Goat Island DGC. I've been meaning to make my way out here for a few years, ever since my good friend moved to Cramerton, but kept missing it (outside of Hole 19 after dinner one night).The course shares the island with a small playground, but otherwise is mostly used as a disc golf course. This 18 hole course features DISCatcher baskets, concrete tees, decent navigational signage, and adequate tee signs at most holes. I noticed a couple of benches along the course, but they weren't at the teepads, outside of one tee that had 3 lawn chairs beside it. These and the two tee signs I saw with bag holders were nice to see. The course features two layouts, where eight-or-so holes have two teepads. Hole 2, while playing from the same tee, has different Par listed between the layouts. These alternate tee pads often completely alter the shape & nature of the holes.

The course is full of wonderfully designed holes that really stand out. Many of the Par 4s really stood out to me, not only in how they played, but the way they looked. The course overall is extremely beautiful and there are times that you feel like you are in your own little world. The views of the river surrounded by dense trees make the course have a unique feel that can't be found anywhere else close by.

Goat Island will require a variety of shots to score well on, and accuracy is emphasized way more than power. If you are on the fairway, you will find yourself enjoying this course. If you miss the fairway at all, your score is going to fill up with red, fast. Fortunately none of the holes really require much more than a midrange or fairway driver to have birdie looks.

Holes 1 & 2 are absolutely phenomenal starting holes that utilize the bluff really well. Right out of the gate you will realize how pretty and interesting this course is going to be.

On the opposite side of the river from Holes 1 & 2 is the downtown Cramerton area, where there are plenty of food and pub options to hit up after your round. Right there in the grassy field is "Hole 19" which is a fun ace run hole to try for. If you plan to make this a part of your day, it might be worth parking over here and starting on Hole 4, playing around the course and finishing on Hole 3.

The biggest and most apparent downside of Goat Island DGC, is the double-edged sword of being located on the low-lying, flat island for which the course is named. As amazing an experience as it is to have the course almost fully situated on the island, it comes with a lot of downsides as well. First-and-foremost is the fact that the island has the potential to be shut down for extended periods of time due to flooding. Earlier this year the course was closed because the island was closed for a few months for this.

It also means that if it has rained at all in the days/week before your round, it is likely going to be caked in mud. When I played, I had a rag in hand to wipe my discs off after every throw, but Holes 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, & 16 were particularly muddy. When I played there seemed to be at least an inch of mud covering Hole 11's tee, outside of the very front corner, and Hole 16's tee had been completely swallowed by mud.

Many of the tee signs were either missing or illegible. The course could definitely benefit from new tee tee signs, with bag holders on every post. I only saw two tee signs with bag holders while I was out there, and greatly appreciated them, but with how muddy the course seems to get - one at every hole would be a marked improvement.

Outside of a few benches that seemed to be placed more for park goers, there weren't many benches along the course - and I don't recall seeing any trash cans on the island at all. This isn't an issue in my eyes, as long as park goers actually utilize the pack-in-pack-out mentality. I imagine the lack of trash cans is correlated to the possibility of flooding, but a couple of benches could benefit the course.

Navigation can be a bit tricky at times. For the most part the course flows really well, and has decent navigational signage, but the back-nine had a few instances worth noting. After Hole 10, the obvious trail takes you to Hole 18's tee. I'm not even sure if the "trail" to Hole 11's tee could even be called that at this point with all the growth and rough covering it. A sign or two could be placed pointing golfers in the right direction. It was one of the few parts of the course where navigational signage was needed, and one of the few places where there was none. After Hole 11 you have to semi-backtrack to get to Hole 11. But there is a path just off the fairway, heading back towards 11's tee. Just something to keep in mind when you are teeing off, because this trail is definitely not out of play.

When I played the fairways for Hole 8 & 16 looked like they were starting to become a bit overgrown. Hole 8 wasn't as bad, but Hole 16 was in quite rough shape. The rough is already thick on the sides of many of the fairways, which didn't bother me much, but when that same thick rough begins to encroach so much on the fairways it tends to be less enjoyable to play.

If you're planning on playing here in the summer, make sure to eat a few bananas beforehand and cover yourself in DEET. Lest you be bombarded by mosquitos while out and about on the course. Fortunately my friend who lives close by, gave me the heads up and I was able to prepare accordingly.

I am a bit torn on what rating I should give Goat Island. This course really seems to be a bit of a Goldilocks Course (love it or hate it course depending on the condition that it is in when you play it / time of year you play it)- at least based on what I have heard from others. So for now, I am going to give Goat Island DGC a 3.0 rating. I've chosen this score by trying to take into consideration how fun I felt the layout is/would feel under better conditions, while factoring in how bad the mosquitos and mud seem to get in the summer. I will definitely revisit this rating if I get the chance to experience the course in better conditions in the future, but for now this score seems like a fair compromise between what it could be and what it felt like for me.

However, I do want to give a huge shout out to the GDGC for trying to keep this beast tamed over the years. I imagine the island being closed for a few months earlier this year probably prevented a few of the workdays that would have been spent getting this course into better shape. Hopefully the next time I make my way out to Goat Island, I will get to see it on one of its better days - and plan to revisit this review if that happens.

Favorite Blue Holes: 1, 2, 10, 14

I'll be honest, I'm not seeing how Goat Island has stacked up some many above average (if not glowing) reviews, including from many Diamond reviewers I trust and respect. I did not have the same experience. Perhaps being a first-time player at this track was my downfall: I played in the spring...*maybe* a few days after a rain? But when I played, the course was almost unplayable it was so muddy. The fun factor, save a few holes, was next to nil. My 2.0 rating is likely due to some peer pressure and all the 3.0-4.0 ratings I see from better reviewers than me. It's honestly a borderline 1.5 for me, but I'll give it *a little* benefit of the doubt. I'm sure that in the winter--when the underbrush is more manageable and the bugs under control--or after a few months of drought conditions to dry the course out, it's a fun and unique course to play. That wasn't my experience though, so take warning. That said, it has a few pluses:

+ The signature hole and only water carry on the course (tragic since it's on an island with water in view everywhere that it's really only in play on the last hole), #18, was by far my favorite.

+ I will say this, the course is unique--with the two beginning holes playing on one side of a river, then you cross over to the island for the next 15, with the finishing hole playing back over the water to where you started.

+ Certainly a challenging course. Not a fun one for me, but challenging.

Lots of reasons to go elsewhere in Gaston County (I played Rankin Lake years ago and it was good) or across the Catawba River to Disc Golf Mecca. Here are a few:

- MUD. It's everywhere. Unless you're wearing boots or don't care about caking mud on your shoes, you're not going to like this track. Not surprising as the course is situated on a small island in the middle of a river. Not to "pile on" the mud negative, but beyond the annoyance of walking through it on most of the course, many "tee pad areas" are just patches of mud. Fun! Also, many of the fairways and greens are mud. In other words, you simply cannot avoid it.

- BUGS. Also everywhere. And from a few previous Course Conditions updates I saw, I may have played Goat Island on a "good" day. I'm guessing that summer evenings here are absolutely brutal.

- UNDERBRUSH & HIGH POTENTIAL FOR DISC-LOSS. I literally lost a disc on my first throw. (Amazingly, I made it through the rest of the round without losing another one, but I spent a lot of time searching through nasty, muddy, disc-snatching underbrush.)

- Navigation can be tricky. The UDisc map worked though.

- Despite some interesting hole layouts, technical challenges, and that fun finishing hole over the river, it's just hard to enjoy a course with these rough conditions. Low on the Fun Meter.

This course is only worth a stop, in my opinion, if the confirmed course conditions are very dry and without a mosquito infestation. Otherwise, you're better off trying one of the many other options in the area.

+ Diverse shot selection demanded by the course. Long holes, short holes, straight shots, right and left turns, ace runs and par 4's.

+ Excellent tee pads, tee signs and baskets. Easy first timer navigation without referencing a map or guide at all.

+ Two water carry holes. Both are beautiful holes that only take a 250' straight shot at most to clear water from the longer tees.

+ Great use of the land.

+ While other park activities take place near many holes, I'd say half of them give me a pretty secluded feeling. Its pretty tucked away, no busy roads or anything nearby.

+ Beautiful location in a very safe feeling area, with various other amenities on site.

- Course is definitely on the flat side, aside from one or two exceptions like the bank on #1 and #2's pin placement.

- There isn't two full sets of tees. Just over half the course features this option.

- The ~300' RHFH hyzer tee shot is used too many times throughout the course.

- Would have been better balanced with one or two more longer holes. Only 5 holes 400' or more.

- On the easy side compared to some of Charlottes tougher 18 hole courses.

Looking at some of the past reviews I wonder if the time of year plays a big role in how much one will enjoy Goat Island. I've only played it in the Winter and Spring, and did not have any issues with water, bugs or bad rough.

The reviews here don't really match my experience. Every time I've come here, I've enjoyed a solid 18 holes of golf in a peaceful atmosphere. What negatives I can think of for this course are petty, and in most area of the country this would be a well respected course. I think being next to Charlotte, a disc golf mecca, might be skewing perspectives somewhat.

Does it stack up to Hornets Nest, Nevin or Renny Gold in terms of the areas premiere destination courses? No. But I think 3.3 is a lower score than a course like this deserves. Great location, perfect tees / signs / baskets, good mix of holes and not a complete walk in the park.

Doffers Canteen is walking distance from the course and offers a good selection of food and beer. I had steak tacos and some local craft brews after my last round at Goat Island.

Well designed course with fun blind tee shots, good concrete tee pads, great tee signs and direction signs near the baskets. Water comes in play on a few holes and forces you to throw over water twice from the long tees. Plenty of natural arched trees, gaps, and good variety requiring a lot of shots. Not too many high options, but there's a couple.

For first timers, it's tough to judge the distance on the blind dog legs. Even after walking up the fairway, you don't get a good idea of the line until after you throw. This is a very minor con since this is also what makes this course fun.

I would play this course regularly if I lived closer. Its a fun challenging course that also suits beginners. There are short tee positions marked to avoid forced water carries, but they didn't install tee pads (grass only, but distance is marked). This was a very pleasant surprise. I look forward to a return visit in the coming weeks

Absolutely, IMHO, the most beautiful course around Charlotte, N.C.. The entire island is basically a disc golf course, with a playground in the middle and its surrounded by the river. The holes are well laid out with a mix of backhand, forehand and 2 holes where a roller is the only way to make birdie.
The river is almost always in view and the island is lush and green. Very flat except for the designed-in, raised baskets, so it doesn't beat you to death walking it (ala RL Smith Park)
The flow of the holes is well done except for finding 18. Once you find it, it takes you on a cross-the-river throw and your end up right at the parking lot.

Bugs, bugs and oh, did I mention bugs? But if I hadn't forgotten my bug spray, it would have been fine. My bogie
Not enough trash cans. People seem to forget the "pack it in / pack it out" courtesy rule in disc golf.
No concrete tee pads. Makes throws a little risky.
The white tees didn't have markers and that is a shame because they went to the trouble to put up the post next to the white tees. And you know it isn't a matter of not knowing how to make a sign because the rest of the signage is great. Except for hole 14... it's labled as hole 12.

This is surely going to become a go-to course for me not only because of the beauty and smooth play, but it's close to my home in Clover.
All I could ask is that you just give it a try. I'm sure you will love this course.

Great signage coming off the main road to let you know lark was nearby. Park is set in the back of a quiet neighborhood along the river. Good place to walk or disc golf.

Very nice course along a river. Many holes play near the rivers edge and make this a scenic course. Holes were very well layer out and for the most part had a good flow to them. This course from whites is very friendly to newer players as there are not a lot of long holes. Blues is a different story, it's well set up for experience players.

I felt this course has a good mix of shots for all players. Turnover backhand, forehand flicks, over hands, etc.. Baskets are discatchers and in great shape also as this doesn't appear to be a very old course

Biggest issue I had were there were no tee boxes besides on hole 1 and hole 6 (?) where you could use the sidewalk to tee from. Signs were at the blue pads and posts with nothing on them were on white pads.

Small "next hole" signs were near baskets on trees. Look hard or you may miss them. I didn't like how hole 3 has you finish then path takes you halfway down fairway of hole 4, this could be dangerous if this park had more DG traffic.

No benches and only one trash can that I saw. The trash an was near the hole 15/16/17 junction. Not having a lot of trash cans doesn't bother me a lot since I usually pack it in and pack it out.

Also hole 1 was kinda hard to find. Sign in near parking lot. You throw into the corner over the hill to the first pin, just a FYI (not a con)

This is a great little course in the area. I think this course will be even better in the near future when they get concrete pads and tee signs on all pads. I rate this course about a 3.3 due to it missing pads and some lack of signage. I would recommend it if you're in the area looking for a unique course to play

First and foremost, Goat Island has a terrific collection of disc golf holes. From the two water carry holes, to the longer multi throw fairways that force accuracy and precision, there's not one bad hole, not one shot that makes you scratch your head wondering what happened. If you like stepping up to the tee and looking at what's before you and thinking, "I think I can make that shot," and being fairly challenged to do so, you'll love the Goat. Multiple times while playing there, I looked around and thought to myself, "Wow, what a great hole, this is awesome"

The holes flow well from one to the next, and there's very little repetition, and the course flows well from one hole to the next. Nothing seems out of place. The holes test different skills, whether it's throwing hyzers, annys, straight shots, forehand and backhand, but all provide a similar level of challenge. None seem ridiculously tough or easy. On the whole, I think a masterful job has been done fitting the course into the space allowed without interfering with other park activities or any ridiculously long walks.

Hole 3 is the first of the water holes, throwing onto the island (with an optional short tee on the island that eliminates the water carry). It's around a 250' to 270' throw to get across and stay dry, and can fairly easily be done with either RHBH or RHFH, although the hole does finish slightly to the right. Hole 18 throws off the island to finish your round. From the long tee, the water's edge is around 250' on the basket side, or you can lay up near the short tee, and only have a little more than half that to get across and stay dry.

Navigation is pretty straightforward, with nice tee signs at all the long tees, and next tee signs throughout the course. There are a couple of places where a few holes are pretty close together, but only one potentially problematic spot. (More to come on that in the cons.) The tees for 15 & 17, along with the basket for 16 are pretty close together, but don't really interfere with each other at all.

The biggest cons with Goat Island have nothing to do with the course itself, or the design. The issue is that it's a low lying island in the middle of a river. You will probably never experience more mosquitos, gnats, or any type of flying, biting, stinging things than at the Goat. The rough is ROUGH. Lots of thick prickly underbrush is everywhere you don't want to throw your disc. I will say that the rough has gotten much better since the course and park first opened, thanks in large part to some seriously dedicated volunteers with a lot of love for the place. This has made many of the holes much more enjoyable to play.

The island is also a bit flood prone, or at least was this summer, which had some record setting rainfall totals. It's kind of weird to see water lines on trees two or three feet higher than the top of a nearby basket. I don't think that it will flood as often in the future as it has this year. There are also parts of the island that seem to stay perpetually damp. This probably contributes greatly to the insect issues.

Also because it's a flat island, with little to no elevation, there's very little elevation on the course. The first two holes offer the only up or down, and the only place in the park that has any up or down.

The one spot that I've seen some issues with one hole being too close to another is near hole 9's tee. The turn to the final stretch of 8's fairway is fairly close, and there is potential for someone to be in the way, as groups tend to stand at the edge of 8's fairway, while their card mates tee off on 9. A solution may be to clear out an area on the other side of 9's tee, or more directly behind the tee, instead of to the left of the tee, on the edge of 8's fairway.

Goat Island will probably be enjoyed best in the fall of the year, when there aren't as many bugs, isn't as much rain, and won't be as much stuff growing in the rough. If you like a course that asks you to execute quality golf shots over and over, shot after shot, you'll love Goat Island. If you have trouble hitting fairways, or are afraid to lose a disc throwing across water, or are afraid of getting swarmed by flying buzzing things in the middle of summer, beware of the Goat.

As time passes, and the course gets more play, the rough will not be as rough as it is now. It's already much better than it was a year ago, soon after the course first opened. If you haven't played it in a while, you owe it to yourself to give it another try, and to do it before the winter rains start. If you're travelling through, and aren't afraid of the bugs and the rough, you should give it a try.

It was '64. The choppers had just dropped off into the bush and flew back out like its ass was on fire. Every shadow, every turn, and every tree menaced your thoughts with Charlie. The only time you weren't worried about Charlie was when you were fighting the VC's most loyal ally, the damn skeeters. You almost wished for the boys to dump Agent Orange over you just for some relief. Your mind bounced back and forth from Charlie to bugs like a never ending tennis match. And it's played on clay courts baby, oh yeah. Enough mud to drown a pig.

Wait a minute. This isn't 'Nam. This is Goat Island...

There are some killer holes out here, in a good way. Awesome tunnel holes that are as pretty as they are well-designed. The course is mostly wooded, sort of. You're in the woods but the fairways are way fair. The challenge is threading the tunnels and staying on the fairway. Only a couple of holes actually involve the river unless you really let a wild one go. Nice tee signs keep you informed.

This is a very unique terrain/setting for a DG course, especially in this area. It's worth playing just for that alone.

Here's the thing. Unless you are a dedicated, badass of a disc golfer that sleeps with a disc under his pillow you are going to want to steer clear of this course unless conditions are perfect. This course gets very muddy, very buggy if it has rained recently at all. I literally expected to see a Vietnamese boy riding a water buffalo coming down the fairway on some holes, it's that jungle-ly and natural.

The only really negative aspect design wise is the rough. It's very easy to throw into and impossible to throw out of. A small army equipped with weed wackers would do wonders. I hope you enjoyed the alliteration in that last sentence as much as I did.

The tricky part though is that you can't thin the rough out too much without the holes blending into each other's fairways. I have full confidence that Chuck and the Gaston Co crew will tame this beast in time.

Natural tees that are often guesses as to their exact location thanks to the mud. Hole 3's long tee needs serious work as does it's fairway.

I almost didn't want to review this course because I didn't want to give it a rating. It can fluctuate wildly depending on what day you play here. Play during a dry spell during winter and it's probably a fantastic challenge. Play during the wet summer like I did and have Vietnam War flashbacks (and I wasn't even alive then!). Yeah. But there are some seriously good holes out here, holes that were eerily reminiscent of the lost holes from Brackett's Bluff. Hole 2 is a great hole and interesting fairway.

Hole 8 I think could be made stellar if a tight, risk/reward FH line was cut into the left before the short tee, making it a sort of John Houck split fairway type of hole.

Design wise this course is great and has Amazing potential.

The use of the river is well done and there is rarely a dumb hole design.

18 is a great way to finish with a nice water carry

Holy cow is it rough! If you get off the fairway if/When you find your disc your only option most of the time is pitchout.

We played the longs and it turned into a long and grueling round that took away from the rest of the Gastonia road trip. This was mostly due to the roughness of the course and the amount of time we took searching for pads & discs

Pads are not well marked.

Natural pads that are still rough and not well defined. It was also hard to find some of the long tees with very little "Next tee" markers.

Some holes do not have transitions to the long pad yet.

no trashcans or Benches.

part of the course transitions past a playground which always bugs me cause we all know people are drinking and not all are discreet. All it takes is one bad complaint and the course is in jeopardy.

Lots of trippers.

I know my pros section was short but this course really is a potential gem and championship course. However it is going to take a hell of a lot of work to get it there. The course has all the potential to become a 4* but until a lot of work is done to improve it I cant give it near that much. my 3 is generous in the courses current condition in my opinion but I am banking on the potential to grow.

If you come here to play the Blues be ready for a long tough round. The Whites looked much more forgiving, fun, and had less of a lost disc factor. Give this course some time and it will be great!

-Goat Island now has 18 holes and it has definitely been cleared out. I got timg to delete my review when it was 9 holes because the designer said I reviewed it too early so I played it again and it's a good course.
-No more debris is on the fairway like it was in July.
-The short tees are all very playable.
-#18 is a great finisher finishing hole over the river. It spans maybe 150'. The long pad is a barrier type hole. You have to be able to throw 260+ to enjoy it, since it takes a 260+ drive to clear the water. The short pad is still fun! 200' on the edge of the river and across. Throwing from bank to bank here.
-This is a great park for families. It has a greenway for the older people (no offense). A playground for children (solution for my sister) and you can go canoeing. The best thing is that it has a disc golf course that will be a destination course in a year or two.
-The tee signs are very accurate on almost every hole. On the long tees, it shows the shape of the fairway. It shows where the short tees are located. Keep in mind that the short tees are wood with the hole number on them.
-The park is easy to find. While your headed to it, it has signs with arrows pointing you the way to this park.
-I used to HATE #7 but it's been cleared out. There actually is a birdie chance but you will need a good 275' foot hyzer. The trees are no taller than 10 feet. It's tough but much better than I remembered.
-The discatchers are in perfect shape.
-There are portajohns around the parking lot. I don't know if they are in good shape though.
-#17 is the only hole that plays only downhill.

-The problem was, when I played 13-16 were not playable yet. I had to go from 12 to 17. At least 12's basket is close to #17's tee. Be appreciative though, #13 through #16 are getting worked on.
-I would like it if #3's long tee was on the pavement. So the shot would be straight downhill.
-It has improved but the woods still are a bit thick. Especially on #12. I played the long tee and I lost a white beast. The long tees on some holes like #10 and #12 are not ready for play yet. My beast didn't land so it's stuck in the deep woods in the limbs.
-You can't cross the water on #18 so you go up a big hill to get to the bridge. It needs stairs but they will come soon.
-The woods have trash. In particular, soda bottles. You will pass a couple trashcans like in the transition from #7 to #8.
-There is quite a bit of tall grass around the fairways. It's not major but would be great if it gets cut since it's no longer summer.
-No benches installed yet but it's still new and a lack of downhill shots, #3 long could really be on pavement so it would have a nice 20 foot drop.

Goat Island overall is a good course. It has some easy holes and some holes are tough to save par. This course isn't hard from the short pads but it's a real challenge from the longs. Once #13 through #16 are in play and gets cleared out a little more, this would be a great course. Hole #11 really looks sweet and innocent from the long but by the time you get to the short tee, your next shot is very narrow and goes a bit right. Keep the drive short, if you go too long then you are in the ol' aqua.
-#9 actually has a short tee. At about 205' feet long. It's more of a recreational tee. I just wanted to throw a midrange from it and was 18 inches from the basket. There are a lot of low ceiling shots. Some shots can't go more than about 12 feet high. It's tough but a good thing will happen if you keep it low.
In my opinion, the stand out holes are #6, it's an easy hole that is more open than others that allows a birdie if you have good enough accuracy. #11 is also unique from the long, it's easy until about 190' feet. Then, if you miss your line, which is narrow. You are going to be stuck. It's the hardest from what I played today. #14 (which I saw a pic of but didn't play) has a very cool view of the water which if you go maybe 7-10 feet farther, you might take a swim. #18 is a flat finishing hole but OVER the water. It's not boring like #18 at trophy lakes or #18 at Winthrop. It's a memorable, super fun tee shot. Overall Goat Island is much better than it was before. When it was 9 holes. I was hoping from a fun tee shot over the water. I got exactly what I wanted.

Holes near the water made it kind of cool.

Good walking paths from hole to hole.

Really nice signs to designate pars and a map of the course.

Holes are very long, which isn't that common around the area.

Out of bounds woods are EXTREMELY thick! If you throw a disc in the woods, you're not getting it back.

Very Straight holes, which make it very tough for a mediocre player.

Not all tees were bricked off as should be.

The maps were not that accurate, making it very hard to find the tees.

* Shady
* Not very crowded
* Nice location on an island
* Going to 18 Holes soon.

* LOOOOOONG Holes
* Deep underbrush OB.
* Can be a bit hard to find the entrance.

First off, I'm an Intermediate player, maybe still a novice by some people's standards, so that's going to color my review.

I think the best way to sum up my feelings is that myself and my friends refer to this course as Goat F****er Island. Why?

Well, we were there on the park's grand opening, and the person in charge of the park (not the disc golf course, but the park itself) said the designers were making it a "black diamond" course. If that's their goal, they succeeded. But for me, that's not a very fun course.

The holes are long. Even the "short" tees. Nothing under 200', and there's even one "short" tee that's 400'! Now, that alone wouldn't be bad. I could use some practice on my long throws anyway...

But I can't. Not here. Most courses with long holes put them in the open. But here, only hole #1 is open (and even then, only open 3/4 of the way before you enter the woods). So if you'd think this would be a good course to sling your driver on, you're wrong. The underbrush is so deep, you'll end up losing a disc. It's not lightly wooded in the OB area, it's a JUNGLE just off the fairway. My friends and I spent as much time hunting for OB discs as we did playing.

So hole after hole, I end up taking safe midrange shots down hundreds of feet of fairway. Yaaaay? Maybe if I was a pro who could crush a straight 400' drive, I'd have had more fun. But I'm not. And I didn't.

Fun somewhat shady. On an Island you can just in your kayak right after a round.

Super tight lines. Lost a disc (glo nuke). No water fountain. Signage could be a little better I had no problems however the maps have stright lines when the hole goes competely left or right before the strightaway.

STAY IN THE FAIRWAY.

Goat Island is one of the most interesting courses I've played. The idea of being on an island (albeit a small one), and having some great views of the river is awesome. And the disc golf is good, too!
- Right off the bat, I have a sense this is going to be a 'love it' or 'hate it' course for a lot of people. If you throw straight and keep it in the fairways, you're going to do well here. If you miss the fairways, and sometimes only by a few feet, you're going to be in for an adventure - either in some (at times) extremely thick rough, or possibly in the river - which in turn leads to the 'hate it' aspect.
- There are some very cool hole layouts here. It starts right off the bat with hole #1 - one of the toughest, coolest opening holes in the area. You've got to shoot the gap for your tee shot, meaning you could be scrambling for bogey right off the bat. From there, you've got a couple chances to throw over the river - #3 long & 18, both tees - as well as several holes that run alongside the river. I also enjoy #10 long, which incorporates a large, downed tree as an obstacle. Keep your tee shot too low and you smack the tree. Throw too high and you sail into the woods.
- There are risk/reward holes/courses, and then there are RISK/REWARD holes/courses. This is the latter. The course really forces you to play smart shots. We all want to throw driver on every long hole, but that isn't the smart shot on a lot of holes. Using #1 as an example, a smart shot is throw a mid-range disc short of the opening into the woods, setting up a relatively easy second shot over the hill. Sure, you're sacrificing distance, but you're taking a high score/shot in the woods/time searching for a disc in the woods out of the equation. Same thing on #8. It's 400 feet from the short tees, and throwing two 200-foot straight shots leave you a short putt. It reminds me of Nevin in the way some of the holes are laid out. Patience is a must here.
- Course is fun, with plenty of birdie chances, from the short tees. From the long tee - at least for an average player, like me - I felt like I was just hanging on, trying to salvage my pars.
- Course is almost completely isolated from the rest of the park. Biggest concern areas would be the tee shots on #1 & 10, as well as the occasional walker who will (inevitably) treat the fairways as walking trails.
- Great scenery throughout. I'm impressed with how much has been cleared out since the course originally opened. It had been more than 3 years since I last played and this update in 2017. You now see the river throughout the round, adding to that island feel.

Biggest issue this course will face is the bug issue for part of the year. There's really no way to avoid the mosquitoes in the summer. That said, this course is a perfect place to play in the winter, as I did.
- Other big concern is just how thick the rough is, at times. There are places throughout the course, where a disc can land 10 feet off the fairway and it's virtually hidden. Or, you might be able to see your disc in the rough; you've just got a challenge getting there as you navigate the rough.
- There's an above average 'lost disc' factor. Between the rough and the water holes, and the fact this is a 'family-friendly' park, you're going to see new/casual players throwing here, which can lead to lost discs. Even for more experienced players, it takes one fluke bounce off a tree for your disc to sail off line and into the woods/water.
- I didn't see a bench or trash can on the course proper. There are places for that throughout the park, however.

The course is somewhere between being a goat and being the GOAT. (Yes, I used the GOAT term back in 2012 before it became commonplace in the sports vernacular.)
- I was pleasantly surprised how challenging the course was. Even with some of the rough being thinned out over the past 5 years, it's still tough.
- The way the course is currently construed, it reminds me a lot of a U.S. (ball) golf tournament. They both require pin-point accuracy, smart shot-making and penalize over-aggressiveness. I've scored much better throwing mid-range discs off the tee, sacrificing distance for accuracy.
- The course seems slightly off-target from its intended audience. As stated, this is a family-friendly park, but the course isn't. Even from the short tees, I wouldn't bring a first-time thrower here. You don't want to see a new player getting discouraged by the rough, water and lost-disc possibility to be turned off by the game after playing here. Perhaps they could highlight a true, beginner 9-hole loop of the easiest holes for players.
- The course has improved since it opened in 2012. Either dodge the mosquito in the summer or play in the Winter. It's a solid part of the Gaston County disc golf scene and one worth checking out.