Update 7/15/2020:
After having played this course a second time, it would be a cold day in hell before I took a true beginner to this course. I would love for someone more experienced to walk this course and Cornwallis Rd and justify this as a Green course and Cornwallis as a Red. Cornwallis is much easier to play. But I did finally find the tee for #13 by following the secret trail to Peter Pan's hideout.
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There are a bunch of reviews that state this course is "good for beginners". This course is not actually good for true beginners. I think people have forgotten what it's like to be a beginner, or they have a different definition of beginner.

After reading other reviews of the course I was completely unprepared for what this course actually plays like. Tight lines without much in the way of layup opportunities.

I'm going to re-review this after I have played again, but as someone who has about 200 rounds under my belt at this point, if this was my introduction to disc golf ... I might not like disc golf.

Pros:
- The holes are fairly short.
- If you need to work on hitting your lines, this course will require a variety of different shapes. RHBH Turnovers that can't be forehands, forehands that can't be turnovers, tight low hyzer shots, tight straight shots, short high hyzer forehands, shots that need to clear a 3.5 foot obstacle 5 feet off the tee, working from awkward stances on the teebox, etc.
- If you want to practice your death putts, you'll actually have several on this course.
- If you need to learn to manage downhill rollaway risk into OB, this course has it.
- If you want to practice some pressure shots, this course has a few. Being forced to carry OB short, miss trees that will drop you into the OB, and avoid OB long (#12) isn't something you are going to get on most sub-rec level courses, nor is needing to throw a tight low hyzer with OB right (#8), nor is throwing a dead straight shot with OB left and right (#17), not is carrying an OB road the entire way to a green that slopes 30+ degrees away from you (#18).
- The rough is rough in many places. You will be punished if you find the thick stuff, so, again, it encourages you to hit your lines.

It sounded like I was listing cons above, but I do consider those to be pros. The course is certainly attackable by better players, but beginners needing to work on those skills can work on them here.

But all of the above could be considered cons if you are looking to play a less challenging round on a putative green level course.

Other cons:
- Maintenance seems to be hit and miss. #1 is going to be nearly impossible to throw from soon do to the mimosa starting to encroach on the tee shot. #3 has high weeds growing up nearly to the tee area, forcing a blind, high throw on a down sloping hole to a green sloping away.
- Comparing the pictures from the 2013 to what the course is like now, the holes may not be playing as designed. #1 is now playing as a tight turnover that would be tough forehand, with a tunnel of trees tight to the bridge. Compare that to the picture of #1 from 2013.
- Navigation is nearly non-existent, especially in the places that need it the most (holes that have been redone due to nearby construction). Be prepared to hunt around for the next tee and scout the basket. Be prepared to rethrow when you have thrown from an old tee and see the new one.
- On #17 green you need to double back away from the green, ignoring the clear path in front of you, to a nearly unmarked tee area next to a maintenance shed that looks directly at a road and then throw a tee shot over the road the entire way. It's very unclear that this is the shot you are supposed to throw.
- You may need to throw standstill on many tee shots, as frequently the tee areas are root and rock bound.
- I never found a tee for #13. I had guesses on where it might supposed to be, but it was muddy, uninviting and marked differently than all the other tees.
- The mosquitoes are as to be expected for a low lying course in NC that seems to see a fair amount of standing water at times. Bring your bug spray.
- Did I mention low-lying? Conditions were fairly good when I was there, but I wouldn't play it after a rain.
- The course possibly interweaves just a little more than normal with the walking trails. Potentially distracting, but probably not too dangerous unless you get unlucky and miss the rough and whiz into the walking path.

I think there is probably something to be said for playing this course until you can master it. The first 5 holes kind of lull you into thinking that you won't be challenged in a new way, but the tight flex forehand I was forced to throw on #6 was more indicative of the rest of the course. If you go in having been led to believe that its an easily scorable course for newbies, you may have a bad time.

I think there may be potential here for a much better experience, with better navigation and better tees, but I worry the low lying nature of the course means it won't get the love it would need to really fill the niche it should.

This is course is MADE for shaping shots and putters. I used a pig, p1x, p2 and buzz and was completely fine which was nice.

I think the entire course was par 3s, which was great for a change.

Plenty of birde opps.

Hanging basket?!..super cool

Lots of foliage and very difficult navigating through course.

I think one hole was 90ft....why?

Have been doing construction and has effected parts of back 9.

Would play in fall/winter...maybe, there are too many other better courses in the area.

This is a decent little pitch and putt course in the area that would be great for beginners or working on your approach game. There are some nice holes with some very tight gaps in places and the fairways make you shape some shots with your putter. The walk between most holes is fairly short and pretty well defined, but could use some next tee signs. There is a great use of the land elevation on this course making the play interesting. This course could be a very good beginner/junior course with some TLC.

-There is trash everywhere and you can tell that the course is not high on the local maintenance list. Its a shame because the park itself is fairly interesting.
-No Tee Boxes after the redesign. Tees are marked with rocks and can be hard to distinguish. The tees are really muddy holes in the fairway on most holes.
-Hole 10 first 1/3 of the hole is a mudpit even days after a rain.
-Hole 3 needs the rough cut back at the tee box. There is a small walking path to the basket from the tee surrounded by 5 foot tall weeds and huge briars. These briars hang into the path as well.
-No real tee signs. The tee signs are a circle with the hole number stamped in it. Nothing more and nothing less.

This course has some decent potential and it looks like there is some work going on to bring the course into good shape, but it looks like the progress has either stalled or is going slowly. From design standpoint, I actually favor this course over the legendary Kentwood in Raleigh due to the tighter fairways. This course will definitely test the short game skills of beginner to intermediate players while still offering plenty of ace runs and a fun round. I hope to see this course live up to its potential. It will never be a 5 rated course, but it could definitely be a good, fun, course for casual rounds.

The only pros I can think of are that hole 1 and 18 are pretty interesting holes. Hole 1 drops down then back up, and the basket is actually a low basket which is something you don't see too often. Hole 18 drives from a bit of elevation, over a road and across the street.

1. Aside from a few holes, the course is extremely generic. "Throw 200 feet down a narrow fairway in the woods with no dog legs or elevation etc" seems to be the thought process behind about 90% of the holes on this course.

2. The overgrown vegetation on some of the holes should you stray 5 feet from the designated fairway is just careless. I forget exactly which hole it was, I think it was 12, but it was a hole with an elevated basket that had a creek running through it, probably the only other interesting hole on the course beside 1 & 18. If you venture off the fairway here forget about finding your disc.

3. Park isn't in the best area. Some unsavory folk around them parts.

If you live near the course, play it. If not, don't go out of your way to play it. Go to Valley Springs or Cornwallis instead.

Good short course for building confidence and working on medium length shots. Some fairways are pretty tight, but a birdie is not unreasonable on any hole
New hole number signs have been posted

Tee boxes are not padded
Can get really muddy, especially after heavy rains... wear your boots then! The creeks can be deep and muddy, making it tough to find discs if you hit the water.
You can definitely lose discs in the heavy brush once it starts growing in the late spring.
Watch out for poison ivy in the summer.

Close to home so we (my wife and I) play the course every day and enjoy it. It's not crowded so you can get in two rounds in about 1.5 hrs

The bridge is back in place on 12, so no more log balancing needed. At least until the next heavy rain. The local guys did a good job of putting in extra stability in the bridges and walking platforms that they replaced.

Benches recently added to most holes (Spring of 2018)!

We play almost every week here because it is close to home. Some mention that the neighborhood is unsavory, but we've never been bothered by any of the basketball players... Everyone is doing their own thing! BTW, the tennis courts are nice here! Covered and in great shape... at least what I can see.

Bethesda is a fun pitch-and-putt style course, great for beginners, but worth playing for intermediate players too:

+ The holes are all under 200 feet, making this a true "pitch and putt." This is not a course advanced or most intermediate players will find challenging, but it's great for beginners. Most players won't need more than a putter or a midrange on this course. Lots of ace runs!

+ I'm a fan of memorable holes, unique features, and risk/reward elements. Hole 12 delivers with a hanging, swinging basket. I almost aced it!

+ Lots of tight, technical holes to try out your midrange accuracy and go for aces.

+ For a green level course (yes, that's below red level), there's decent hole design variety. There are a couple downhill holes, a couple uphill ones, some left to right, some right to left, and some dead straight.

In the Triangle, you will find many courses that you may consider a better use of your time. But if you're in the Durham/Briar Creek area, this is a fun course and you may want to check it out. Here are the cons:

- Not a challenging course unless you're a beginner.

- The underbrush is a little out of control, at times. I'd recommend using a spotter on a couple holes, if possible, to reduce the risk of disc loss.

- The redesign makes the course a little confusing (random signs and tee pass from the old layout). Also, many tee areas are uneven with roots, rocks, etc.

In the area, Cornwallis is a similarly short course, but a notch better and much more popular with the local scene. I would say Cornwallis is a red level course -- or even white from the long tees. If you're looking for a slightly better challenge in Durham, try it out. If you want to step up even further, Cedar Hills, in Raleigh, and Valley Springs, also in Durham, are a good bit better. But for beginners or for a quick round or for ace runs, give Bethesda a go!

This course is great for beginners. You could get by with just a putter and have a lot of fun here.

#1 basket is on the ground, #3 is surrounded by large rocks, #12 has a hanging basket just before a creek. The course flow is pretty good and there a few signs to point you in the right direction.

The holes are short but provide nice variety. There are no tee signs showing layout, but most baskets are visible from the tee area. Most holes are straight but there are uphill and downhill throws and a few that have a small creek in play.

This is an excellent place for beginners or someone looking for a quick easy round. There was no one else out there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, so I don't think this course gets a lot of use.

In many cases, if you want an extra challenge you can tee off way behind the existing tee markers.

The tee areas are natural and marked by two rocks in most cases. If I hadn't read about the re-design, I may have wondered about the concrete pads that were still in place but not in play.

The rough can be rough this time of year. Errant shots may require some time spent searching.

I have played this course twice. My dad, who doesn't get much distance loved it as he had a birdie and many pars.

With some signage and tee pads, this could be a great pitch and putt. With the money that went into the ropes course and covered basketball courts in this park, sprucing up the DG course would be a drop in the bucket.

This course is always empty (no wait)
Great practice course for speciality shots. maintenance has been pretty consistent over the last year. Holes are opened up enough that players of all skill levels can play. Average and up players are shooting for a hole in one on just about every hole.

I only play here from fall to spring. It gets pretty overgrown and will eat your disc if you're not careful. No real tee pads and many of the boxes are not level and full of roots or rocks. Do not play after rain storms. This place needs at least two days to dry out.

Cool little local course 10 minuets from my house. There are a few very well thought out "picturesque" holes on this course. I can throw my entire bag on any hole I want whenever I want because nobody is ever there...ever

-This course is tight and technical with challenging shots
-For how long the holes are, I am impressed the course was made as difficult as it is
-The basket locations are fun and unique (there is a hanging basket and a basket essentially in the ground)
-You could play this course easily in 30-40 mins

-The signage here is pretty terrible, a decent amount of time was spent merely trying to find the next hole
-There are no concrete tees, only dirt
-I once found a handful of 9mm casings on this course
-The underbrush just off the fairway is so so awful. I spent just as much trying to find discs as playing.

This course has the potential to be a 4/5 with some heavy maintenance. At least signs and concrete tee pads.But right now, it is not close to that.

Great baskets, a number of them in creative placements. Wide variety of shots required, from doglegs to elevation to guarded pin placements.

Mostly dirt tee pads, which takes away from the experience a bit when you're trying to avoid slipping on mud. Can't really use a driver much, but the fairways are narrow enough that the shorter holes are still fun.

If this place got some tee pads (and better signage) it would be a really nice technical course.

Tests accuracy and the short game. The park is beautiful, and the course is easy enough to follow from signs. I like all the elevation changes. Natural tees don't bother me at all although real pads would be nice (I understand they are on the way.) I liked the interesting basket placements!

Really short course, but it didn't really detract from my playing experience. There does seem to be room to add distance to many holes without detracting from the skill of each one. Some baskets really punish you for missing long with steep drops behind them.

I played all 18 holes by myself shooting twice on the coldest day of the year and had a blast. Most pars I have ever shot!

I actually like this course quite a bit. There are some fun quirky holes here. There are some tough shots. And a round can be played very quickly.

The first hole is an ace run unlike any I've seen. The basket is buried on a hillside so that the lip of the basket is close to even with the ground level.

12 is the best hole here for me. Over a creek to a hanging basket with a second creek just past the goal, making going for it a risky proposition.

For a short course, in which every hole can be deuced for the most part, there is a decent amount of challenge. The fairways are narrow, and force controlled straight throws. There is surprising use of elevation as well, with some interesting downhill shots.

And with the light brush and the short nature of the holes, Bethesda is a course that welcomes the quick pop in, or multiple successive rounds. A lot of fun can be had here.

That said, there are also a few dull holes, which is bound to happen when they're all so short. And they are short. Only two holes surpass two hundred and two feet. There too many holes that require merely a straight shot of 100 feet and change.

But hey, that's par for a short, quick course. The bigger problem here is one that could be rectified. That's the tees. The tees are identified by two rocks and a small sign hung on a tree. That would be fine with me if the tees were flat. A lot of them are uneven with loose materials. In autumn, fallen leaves can make them seriously slick. There are small stumps in the way. (You will trip over the stump in the middle of the two tee.) The worst is hole nine, where you tee off from the sidewalk, which is raised, and too small to talk a step.

The stumps aren't limited to the tees. Walking down some of the fairways can have you looking like Mark Orlando. With leaves on the course, the small stumps are hazardous to your shoes.

The lines are mostly too tough for beginners but more advanced players will find most of the holes much too short. Still, fix the tee situation and remove some of the stumps and this will be a solid course.

Layout - It's deuce or die here; everything is short, tight and begging for a run.

Some nifty shots are carved in to the woods that'll make you consider disc selection. Most holes are on the straightish side but little bends and movement left or right at the basket helps keep it interesting. Some double fairways.

Lots of elevation changes help spice up this short course. A creek system that runs throughout also adds in some challenge making you think about placement.

Some interesting greens placed along the creeks, dropoffs, boulders...

Atmosphere - Very interesting modern but rugged type park. It has covered basketball/tennis courts with lights. A huge ropes course and now this sweet little course.

The area used by the course is mostly away from the rest of the park. I havent seen anyone else walking through that part but there is a walking trail.

Equipment - New tee signs have replaced the not so great rocks. All but one pad is natural. Nice new discatchers. Some directional signs.

Layout - Everything is in about the same length and mostly straight. It gets a bit monotonous and could of been mixed up more.

Some weird transitions in parts that can make it confusing.

Atmosphere - Lots of mosquitos and ticks out here, I was getting ambushed which is not unusual this time of year but here it was amplified. It gets muddy/swampy in a few parts.

Equipment - The tees could use some more work on the leveling front.

Not enough directional signs telling you where to go at points. Did a lot of walking back and forth my first time.

No benches/trashcans throughout the course.

I like it in a way, I think I prefer it over some of the other short dinker courses around. The elevation changes helps with that.

#12 is a nice signature hole; and it even uses an old concrete pad. It's a more open shot with a creek about midway and then another creek right behind the hanging basket.

(Note: this course was redesigned and built on top of an older 9 hole layout. if you see concrete pads those are for the old layout and not the new one, except on hole 12.)

Baskets in place. Mostly dry. Lots of bridges and walkways going in. Decent log lined paths to guide you. Interesting hole locations. Great elevation changes. Lots of chances for aces. This course is coming along nicely.

Still needs tee pads on 80% of the course. More blazes or arrows to guide you in the longer hole-to-hole walks needed. Short, extremely tight holes are a bit much. I think if they moved them back, and there is plenty of room in most places, and cut down some more trees, this could have been a real beauty. Hoping for some Pro tees and cut trees to come.

Some cool pin placements keep you guessing. Hanging basket, buried basket.
Tees are marked by rocks where no pads exist yet.
Good job and thanks to the DORDA team for getting funding and hard work.

Hole 1 was very interesting. It's buried up to the basket on the side of a hill, so if you throw past, you're aiming for the ground. Different, but I liked it.

None of the holes are extremely long, but there's enough variety to keep the course interesting.

The ground doesn't seem to be irrigating very well. It hadn't rained for a couple of days, and the course had some elevation changes, but even on the hills the ground was still very wet, muddy and slick. Hopefully more foot traffic and some dry weather will clear it up.

No pads are in place yet, and if the ground is wet, it can make for some sketchy footing.

We met Carl while playing. He's working on getting the new course set up and brush cleared. Hopefully they get the pads installed and the ground dries out. After hat, it should be a great course not too far from work.

- great design. Never played the old course, but really like this one. I think the layout is thoughtful. It is an easy course for a moderately experienced player. The great thing is that the basket location of each is just tucked away. You can see the line, you just have to execute it. If you execute it, you have an ace run for an easy birdie. If you don't, you are fighting for par.
- the map and guide in the links section are top-notch. I used the map and was able to navigate easily.
- the use of elevation is pretty good. They hide pins over the crest of the hills. Good mix of uphill and downhill shots.

- I played this course after several days below freezing. I am concerned that it may be soft. Ir really hope not - I will update this review when I know.
- its a work in process. The lack tees, signs, etc could make it difficult if you come unprepared. I know this will improve.
- its short. The pin placements make it not boring, but it's short. More in other thoughts.
- I am concerned that I think I saw poison ivy in several places (in the middle of winter). I am concerned about what the growth will be like in the summer. Let's get some traffic.

- with regards to the title, this would be a great course for a beginner to learn. Straight throws are rewarded. You could play with a putter, throw it straight twice and have a very makeable par-3 putt.
- this course has a ton of potential. I believe that you could add "pro" tees to most holes - there is space. You could add 50' - it would probably require "sharing" of the walking paths.
- I would put this course ahead of Cornwallis and Kentwood. Close to Leigh Farms Rec. once the course gets completed (and lengthened please!), it may be close to Middle Creek.
- I like 18, with the hyzer coming back towards to OB, the wall was interesting. Didn't like the flick hole on 15.
- tons of potential, I will be playing on a regular basis. Big thanks for those who are making this course happen.
- this is