Arden, NC

Lake Julian NT DGC

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2.635(based on 15 reviews)
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3 0
mlstivender
Experience: 6.1 years 34 played 10 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Terrible Navigation 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 9, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Trash cans at each tee location. Benches at tee locations. A few intimidating shots over and near Lake Julian.

Cons:

No signage of any kind. There's no next tee pad directional signage. No scoring signage. You have no way of knowing if it's a Par 3/5 or the distance required to make a shot. Apparently baskets 13,14,15,16 are missing due to Duke Energy reclaiming land which was once apart of the course. This information was provided to me by a local.

Other Thoughts:

Grass was very high but I'm not going to fault the park maintenance for that because of being closed for Covid 19. It is a very picturesque setting playing disc golf on this course.
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5 0
Cerealman
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 15.7 years 572 played 173 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Navigational nightmare 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 26, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

The Lake Julian course offers incredible picturesque views. The first few holes are near the lake and the scenery is fantastic.

Excellent teepads. All the teepads are large, trapezoid-shaped slabs of concrete.

Hole #1 is one of the cooler holes on the course. While it's a challenging way to begin, the hole starts with a gap in between several trees, travels over a few small creeks and finally flirts with the edge of a pond.

The course offers good use of elevation without being strenuous. Plus, there's some well-done variety here -- from very narrow holes in the woods, to Hole #12, which is a longer par-4 that is fairly open and traverses over rolling hills.

Cons:

It seems a shame to criticize a course with such a spectacular setting, but unfortunately, the errors at Lake Julian are glaring and unforgivable.

First-time navigation is challenging. There are no tee signs for any of the holes. Also, there are no "Next Tee" signs to guide you on your route. In addition, there are many teepads scattered about, so it's difficult to know whether a teepad is short, long or unused. I played from the wrong tee or to the wrong basket a few times.

Holes #2 through 4 cover terrain that is full of trees, and with the reality of too-narrow fairways, an unlucky ricochet may drown your disc in the lake, which is perilously close to the right side of the fairway.

In several spots on the course, fairways run parallel to each other. The designers attempted to remedy this by putting small white stakes in the ground to randomly mark OB areas. Of course, the shoehorned "fairways" are really tight on several holes, so I recommend you ignore the out-of-bounds markings if you have the course to yourself.

Not every hole at Lake Julian offers heavenly views. Several holes on the back nine incorporate monstrous and ugly utility poles that interfere with play.

Hole #18 is a ridiculous finishing hole. The current basket location is just several feet from the lake's edge and with the entire hole being downhill, any reasonable attempt to birdie the 250-foot-plus hole may result in saying farewell to your disc. Plastic is precious. I chose to play for par and throw conservatively, which negates the potential awesomeness of the hole.

Other Thoughts:

Lake Julian is a beautiful but baffling course that needs more attention to the amenities. The recent expansion from nine holes to 18 is nice, but why invest in more holes and excellent teepads but not include tee signs and navigational aids? There's definitely some good disc golf here, but it's offset by the flaws. Lake Julian might be the first course where I stopped keeping score after several holes. A local guide is definitely recommended.

On UDisc, someone described the Lake Julian course as "one of the best courses in the Asheville area."

Nope. Not a chance.

In its current state, this course lags far behind several other nearby courses, including Richmond Hill and Jackson Park. However, with improved navigation and perhaps opening up a few fairways, Lake Julian has the potential to be much better.
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2 1
Geodisc25
Experience: 13 years 23 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

One of my new favorites 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 25, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course has become one of my new favorites, with water hazards in play on at least 3 holes, elevation changes throughout and a good variety of shots whether left hander or right. I am really in love with holes 5,7, 17 and 18. 5 is a fun difficulty shot across the " bayou" , choose your disc carefully. 18 ends the round with an awesome straight downhill shot with the lake behind it. There is a good mix of short and longer shots to keep the game interesting. This course now features a full 18 holes ( some earlier reviews only include 9). This course is a fun addition to the WNC disc scene along with Richmond hill , Sandhill and Jackson park.
Check this one out for fun throws and pretty views. This course is mostly wooded so you don't feel like you are playing at a big public park. The lake is beautiful.

Cons:

I have lost a few discs here due to water hazards and dense growth when OB. Got to walk a little bit from hole 18 back to your car.
Got confused with the layout first time I played, map on here is for the old 9 hole layout.
Hole 12 and 5 seem to be a disc eaters in the warmer months.
buy a floating disc, those tree ricochets can get ya.

Other Thoughts:

one of my new favorites., great location near arden/ south Asheville, plenty of good food/ drink choices near by. Course is in the section of the park that is smaller and less crowded. access of hwy 25 not long shoals rd.
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2 3
goodeness
Experience: 6.9 years 6 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

New 9 added! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 27, 2017 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Only played twice. Challenging course with tight holes, holes over water (choose your disc wisely!) and wide open longer holes.

-all 18 holes have newly layed concrete tee boxes.
-hole 18 is a beautiful downhill hole to the lake. Great photo op.

Cons:

The poison ivy on this course literally wants to eat your soul. Wear pants. Maybe even 3 pairs of pants and layers of socks.

Other Thoughts:

Great course, best played early on the weekend to avoid crowds. Wednesday nights it hosts a local league. I'd assume playing that night is a bad idea unless you are in the league.

This website should update the stats. It has 18 stand alone holes now.
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2 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 480 played 245 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Nice Location, needs some Work 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 14, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice nine hole layout in an otherwise unused part of this park.
Good new Discatcher baskets.
Good mix of wooded holes and open holes.
Multiple tees on most holes and multiple basket postions on several holes.
Restrooms at parking area.

Cons:

Natural surface tees, some of these were a little rough. Better tees needed for the open holes.
Very little signage on the tees and a couple of tough navigations (especially from #3 to #4 tee, and I had a map!).
For the most part, the roughs were pretty rough, so could use some more clearing.

Other Thoughts:

Not a bad course for this side of town. A ways from Richmond Hill so it would give you a chance to get some holes in if you are limited on time.
The wooded holes are mostly cleared but the fairways can be a little tight. The open holes play mainly in powerline ROWs.
Nice nail biter of a finishing hole, rather short, but the approach is downhill with a small section of the lake directly behind the basket. Could make an interesting finishing hole during competition.
A little more clearing as the course breaks in, and possibly another nine, near the signature Lake Julian and this would be a really good course.

Looks like Lake Julian is the home of the Asheville Rowing Club. A chance to watch some strokes, after getting yours in.
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5 0
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 585 played 539 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Disc Golf Julienne 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 1, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Lake Julian NT is an enjoyable, challenging 9-hole layout. If you overlook, or get used to, the confusing layout and navigation, you'll be in for a treat here.
- Excellent nine-hole course with good variety. This is not your typical family-friendly, neighborhood park nine-holer. This is a man's 9-hole course. I finished playing #9, having played with conservatively and avoided the water, and was wanting to move on to the back 9. Some nine-holers feel like they should only be nine holes, others feel like they're an 18-hole layout cut in half. This feels like the latter.
- There's a good variety in the degree of challenges this course offers. The first two holes are heavily wooded, mid-range layouts - 283 feet for #1, 250 feet for #2. That's followed by my favorite hole on the course, the long, dogleg right, par 4 - 519 feet from the longs, 470 from the shorts. Land your tee shot in the grass around the bend and you'll have a short to mid-range approach shot. Two solid shots and you'll be putting for an easy three. The hole slopes down towards the road, so if you sail long you bring penalty strokes into play.
- This course offers some good risk/reward layouts. The four heavily wooded holes (#1, 2, 5 & 6) all offer birdie chances while also bringing in higher scores if you hit a tree or get into the thicker rough. #5 & 6 really give you a chance to park your disc close to the basket. Any of these four holes can be an easy 2 or a frustrating 4 if you avoid or smack a tree.
- The biggest risk/reward hole on the course is the closing hole, #9. The hole is 221 feet from the longs, 170 from the short tee, playing downhill with the basket less than 30 feet from the lake. Oh, and there's nothing (trees, shrubs, etc.) between the basket and the water so anything that sails long is getting wet. Take the water out of play and this hole will be an easy 2. With the water, players like me, who aren't wanting to risk a lost disc, will play tee shots 30 feet short to ensure an easy 3 at the worst.
- This is a mid-level to advanced nine-hole layout. Most nine-holers are beginner layouts so it is a nice change of pace. There are plenty of easy courses in the Asheville area that casual players can play (Enka, Black Mountain, etc.), so it's nice to have another solid layout, even if it is only nine holes.

Cons:

Even though this is a Nature Trail course, there is none of the NT trademarks at this course. You don't get the informative tee signs, big kiosk or NT-themed scorecards. Instead, this just feels like a rugged course built by locals who stopped working on it once the baskets were in.
- Course is a pain to navigate for first timers. Once you park, there's a path that leads immediately to a tee pad. One problem. That's the tee for #3. Even if you follow the directions listed on this site, as I did, when you do get to the tee for #1, there's no way of knowing because there are no tee signs and/or arrows pointing you in the right direction. The only clear indication you are on #1 is if you walk to the basket, you'll see the #1 on it. After that, the next hardest transition is going from #3's basket to #4 tee. It's a counter-intuitive transition as you walk partially back up #3's fairway to get to a very narrow path through the rough to get to #4's tee.
- Adding to the lack of tee signs is the lack of consistent tee pads. Some holes have clear tee pads - frames, colored markers or carpet tees - others just appear to be where the grass has faded. On some holes the blue and white markers are both visible (for long and short tees); others only one or none. Then you've got holes where the long and short layouts share the tee, but you're throwing to different baskets - 5A & 5B; 7A & 7B. On several holes I never knew if I was throwing from the long or short tee, I was just throwing from the dirt patch. I also couldn't find many of the short tees, as I try to get a sense of the different layouts/looks you get from the different tees.
- No trashcans or benches on this course. And as such, there was some trash throughout the course. It's obviously frustrating that people can't pack out there trash during a 45-minute (at most round) round. There are trash cans back in the parking lot so there is no excuse for littering.

Other Thoughts:

Once I figured out what was going on with this layout, I enjoyed Lake Julian a lot. The strategy was basically to look for something that appeared to be the tee area, and throw from there, all logic aside.
- This would make a great 18-hole layout. Were this a full 18, it'd give Asheville an awesome compliment to Richmond Hill. The area is lacking a great secondary 18-hole layout unless you want to drive up to Mars Hill or out towards Waynesville.
- I thought there was a good mix of challenging, 'be satisfied with a 3' holes and be aggressive, birdie-able ones. I carded a couple birdies and had a couple more birdie putts during my round, taking advantage of the easier layouts.
- It was a little surprising how ordinary this entire park was considering the amazing scenery and potential being on Lake Julian. I would have thought this park would be much more appreciated and offer more amenities, but it was very pedestrian. Maybe that means the disc golf course can take over more of the land and add 9 more holes.
- This was an above average 9-holer for me. It's a very good layout. Fine tune some of the problems - tee pads and signage - and this course will be even better. As it stands, unless you're wanting to drive 20 - 30 minutes to Mars Hill, Brevard College or Waynesville, this is probably the second best challenge you'll get in the Asheville area.
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5 1
Bennybennybenny
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.1 years 305 played 287 reviews
2.00 star(s)

I don't like it as much as of 2017 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 16, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Well, lookie here. There was enough land all along to create an 18 holer. Lake Julian was augmented into an18 holer, and ten of the holes are new.

-Concrete pads on most holes, last time I was up here they were carpet, so great work on the pads here. Navigation isn't too difficult either since most transitions from hole to hole are short.

-The volunteers did a good job planning dual pin positions as well. The pins were in the longs when I played here.

-There were two of the new holes that I really liked. #5 is a great hole. It's only like 240', but it's very difficult. You have the option of going through a small gap and over the lake with a mid or putter. Or you could throw a big spike hyzer over a few trees. This hole needs some work done, as there are drag piles and the less risky option has some over head branches that need to be cut. But this hole has the potential to be the best. Another new hole I loved was #12. It's a straight longish hole (like 500') that plays primarily in the woods but allows a huge drive. I think it's a par 4, but a three is pretty simple to get on this one.

-Ends well with a great downhill putter shot. Gives a great view of the lake. The first three holes are great too as well as the last three.

Cons:

-It's REALLY rough. And some of the new holes are just mediocre at best. The first three holes are all good and the new fourth and fifth hole is good as well. But then you get to hole 6..........

#6 plays next to the lake the whole way. It's to the right and the fairway is less than 10' wide. So practically if you hit a tree and go right, you are in the drink. Now this is where it gets really bad. The designers thought it would be a brilliant idea to put an OB rope that cannot be seen from the pad. So I was like "Okay! I'll just aim for that tree on the right and throw at the hyzer line." Annnnnnddd, I'm OB.

I think the designers were listening to Alesana on their ipods and were inspired by sadistic and cruel ideas. "Oh Annabel! I shall seek revenge! How does the dagger feel now when I design a terrible hole?"

#8: No fairway. None at all. This is the shortest hole on the course but it will never be aced. I can pretty much guarantee that. The tee-pad is a double so it gives the option of throwing a backhand roller or a forehand roller that will be sabotaged by a tree. It's undeniably stupid. Needs to open up.

#10: This one has potential. To the short pin, this hole is straight and more manageable. The long pin basically requires your disc to follow the fairway so perfectly or you catch a bad kick and fly straight off the fairway. Reminded me of rainbow road on Mario Kart Wii. That course where it's practically impossible to not fall off on. But on this hole, Lakitu won't be rescuing you when you get knocked off the fairway.

-#11: Not only is the tee-pad not marked, but it plays on a sloping hill that may be a result of mass wasting I dunno. But the line to the basket is extremely tight and if you don't hit it perfectly, you'll roll down the hill and onto another fairway.

#13: The fairway is an "S-Curve." Another hole that isn't BAD, just needs to be opened up. Cause you can't throw an S curve without some space.

-Few drag piles and some overgrowth here and there. And in most spots you can't pitch out and save par like you can at most courses.

Other Thoughts:

-I hope it'll get better from here because with the layout, this course has what it takes to be a tourney course. I'm glad it was extended to 18 holes, but I'm sorely disappointed with a few of the newly added holes. They are designed to where your disc must follow the fairway, and the fairway is designed where discs do not fly at that line. But holes such as #3, #5, #12, #17 and #18 cross out the bad holes, making this an okay course. But it could be much better than this.

-The ideas for OB are just unnatural and weird, like the other courses in the area. They just don't make any sense. I loved the design for #5 so much to where I made the "island green" but I hope that's not serious. Establish some drop zones and stop making it a penalty when you go to the left of a fairway (ahem #6.) After playing hole 6 I was like "Oh great, WNC screwed this up AGAIN." But playing hole 7, I had some hope renewed only for it to be struck down again on hole 8. Then it came back a little on hole 9. But after 11 I was ready to quit and luckily it got significantly better.

-If you have only played the old layout, then holes 1-3 are the same. The old holes 4-7 are now #14-17, and the old #9 is now #18.
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2 0
Zepfanman
Experience: 9.8 years 24 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Enjoyable course, but confusing documentation 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 29, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nicely maintained. Challenging shots, mostly wooded, well designed. Holes 3 and 7 appear to be the longest, both are mostly open (along a large power line alley). Had good weather the one time I played (11/29/14) and the course looked beautiful. Two tees on almost every hole and a few with multiple pins.

Cons:

This course is only about a year old and it appears to be going through early growing pains. I'd give the course itself at least a 3.5 if the signage, map, and par info (no distances listed anywhere) were updated. Apparently, there are 12 HOLES NOW, although I did not have a chance to explore after playing the first 9.

This part of the park is a little scary - large graffiti on outer walls of (locked) bathrooms the Saturday we played. Park entrance hut looked like someone had crashed into it. The course itself, though, is very pretty.

Other Thoughts:

Played all par 3's (only hole 3 is listed as 4), but impossible to determine proper pars without signage. Not sure which pin placements DGCR website distances are referring to. I was visiting from out of town, so it was difficult to read the course on a first-visit; seems like a great place to play if you're more familiar with the layout and course construction progress (new pins and holes).
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0 4
Jackattack828
Experience: 9.7 years 3 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Its fine for being close by... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 7, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Its nearby my house and school. Its short. Has a good mix of trees and woodland to fields. I like hole #9 with the lake behind it. Good course for beginners. Dont lose discs easily. Easily find the next hole.

Cons:

With it was an 18 holer. Crappy tee-boxes. Gets really really muddy quickly. Feel like stuff would be robbed. Feel like they tried to just put a course in there to get more people to use that side of Lake Julian. More Cons than Pros. No signs or maps/ pars/ distance. Hard to find the teebox for 4 (have to walk backwards), also 7 is a weird hole with 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D. Have to walk backwards to get to the #8 hole tee.

Other Thoughts:

I like going there to practice but its not a good course. Its good for beginners.
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0 2
Patton82
Experience: 10.8 years 11 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great use of land 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 29, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very nice course with extensive pressure to be more accurate! Tight, wooded throws on half, nice rolling open throws on half. Great pin placement on each basket.

Cons:

No signs of footage/par; poor tee-boxes

Other Thoughts:

Love playing this course, don't play it well, but the callenge of getting more accurate with my drives keeps me coming back to this one!
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2 0
ijohnj
Experience: 16 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great local 9 hole course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 26, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice simple layout
Mix of wooded and open shots
Convenience

Cons:

Tee pads not installed
No signs or distances yet

Other Thoughts:

I heard about this new course recently and wanted to check it out. Moving to Hendersonville from Charlotte, I was surprised by the lack of course options in the Asheville area. Richmond Hill is stellar but there are no other legit courses nearby. This little 9 hole course was a breath of fresh air. 4 holes are very open and 5 are heavily wooded. This combined with the mixture of shots provide a nice quick round. No holes are extremely long but a few are probably pushing 300.' The finish throwing right at the lake is a nice touch. Park near the bathrooms and the first hole hugs the road you just drove in on. Park only open 8am-8pm

Give this one a try, especially if you live south of Asheville.
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1 2
madcow
Experience: 14.4 years 28 played 10 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Under Construction (i hope) 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 16, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Baskets are nice
Some neat shots
lake
fairways seem to be woodchipped

Cons:

no next tee signs
course does not follow map
hard to find tees/nonexistent

Other Thoughts:

Honestly, im not even sure how to rate this course. Holes 4 thru 12 arent even correct on the map. You have to kinda walk all over to find anything. When its finished im sure it will be a nice 2.5/3 rated course to hit up when bored. Till them i want to give it a 0 - 1, so ill be fair and give it a 1.5.... pending.

Im hoping this is because the course is under construction. I ended up giving up trying to find hole 10 and just went home.

Hole 1 is NOT by a gazeboo. It is by a PAVILLION haha. We drove around 3 times trying to find this gazeboo... maybe the south has a different definition of one than us northerners... i dunno.
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4 0
S.Cann
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.9 years 156 played 82 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Fun, but Rough 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 7, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Mostly wooded holes with a few open holes to break it up.
-Variety of shots required
-Several holes are tight, but not overly difficult.
-Nice, new DISCatchers
-Bathrooms on site and some holes had benches.
-A lot of work has gone into this course already and it seems to be still under construction.
-Easy to get in a quick round once you know the course.

Cons:

-Navigation is VERY difficult at the moment. If I had not ran into a local I would have had a tough time finding tees, baskets, etc. This course is in desperate need of some signage. Next tee signs are a must!
-This course is listed as 12 holes, but they recently took out 3.
-Most of the tee pads were mulch, but some were dirt with roots growing through them.
-There are still thick areas of schule located in and around fairways.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, this is a fun course with some great holes. Unfortunately, it is still pretty rough and nearly unplayable if you don't know where you going. This course is still under construction and will only get better. I plan to come out again after the course is more established and update my review.
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2 1
reposado
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.7 years 278 played 273 reviews
2.00 star(s)

hopefully still in progress 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 26, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

There are some good holes here, with some solid variation. A few down fairly wide woods channels. others are nice and open. Nothing special, just a fun 9-12 holes that let you throw most of your bag.

Cons:

Nothing is marked. I had a hard time finding several of the holes. Three big reasons for this. No tees. No signs. No clear paths between some of the holes. Often was guessing that the cage I was throwing towards was the right one.

I could not find holes 10-12 at all and just left.

Other Thoughts:

It looked like they might still be doing construction, so if the problems I addressed are fixed, consider my rating to be understating the course.
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2 0
DiscChainBasket18
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 19.8 years 98 played 60 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Secluded shorty 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 17, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Course is in a nice park setting next to beautiful Lake Julian. This course was designed by a professional player so each hole offers a unique challenge. The flow is good with elevation coming into play. Wooded & open holes. Straight shots with some lefts & rights mixed in. Large benches on holes #5 through #9 & #11. Clean bathrooms & water available. Lots of parking. Friendly park staff. Large gazebo with picnic benches. Fairly easy to navigate but take a map the first time. Only 12 holes means a pretty quick round. Some OB & Mandos in play.

Cons:

Dirt tee pads are rough & uneven. No tee signs. Loose branches & tree limbs are stacked up along the sides of some fairways. Next tee signs are needed on certain holes to ease navigation. ***Most of these 'cons' will probably be fixed later as this is a brand new course.

Other Thoughts:

Alternate tee pads on holes 1, 5, 6, 9, 10 & 11. Alternate pin locations on holes 3, 8, 10 & 12. With the lake behind the basket on the downhill #12 makes a beautiful yet menacing finishing hole! It's great to have another course in between Asheville & Hendersonville. This will become my new 'local' course.
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