- Unique features like the pro shop, triple mando
- OB
- par4s and a par5 from the golds

- poor tee signs for a "dedicated" pay to play dg course
- underwhelming holes
- hole 16 is a par 5 with a sloped fairway for nearly the entire hole. Any drive or second shot can pop up and roll 100 feet down. The proximity of 16 and 17 seem like a nightmare for tournament play.

Love the idea of pay to pay courses like this but the design falls flat and the quality is not there. Play Sawmill Veterans for a better course/experience.

Foothills Disc Golf (aka "The Bear") is what I *hope* is the future of disc golf: a *nearly* dedicated pay-to-play disc golf "country club." (There are 6 shared foot golf holes, otherwise it would be solely disc golf...and one of the club managers told me there are rarely any foot golfers.) If I lived near Hickory, I would most certainly buy a membership and play disc golf and hang at the club all the time. At $6 to play all day, it's well worth a visit.

+ What stands out most is just the atmosphere and feel of disc golf's version of a country club (pay-to-play, no other major activities, a club and pro shop). I've now been to a few of these: Foothills Disc Golf, The Rock at Stonewall (R.I.P.), The Blockhouse, and Trophy Lakes. All of them are among my favorite courses: 4.0+ across the board. If you've played any of these destination courses, The Bear most closely resembles The Rock at Stonewall, also in NC, 90 minutes away. The Rock is probably the most epic, tough, mega-elevation course I've ever played--right up there with Black Jack, except with golf carts. The Bear is like the younger brother version of that. The front 9 is open and has lots of great elevation; the back 9 is more wooded, but still with great elevation. (It's just not the killer elevation that requires a golf cart to navigate it, like The Rock at Stonewall.) I actually enjoyed playing The Bear a lot more than Stonewall and on par with The Blockhouse and Trophy Lakes. The Fun Factor is top notch.

+ Challenging, but not so much that it beats you down and makes you beg for mercy.

+ Awesome downhill holes where you can rip and watch the disc fly a long way. Hole 18 is a fantastic top-of-the-world hole and one of the best finishing holes you'll play.

+ LOTS of interesting greens with death putts and risk/reward decisions: baskets on hills and ridges and big roll-away gambles.

+ Hole 10 really encapsulates the risk/reward gamble and how important landing the disc with the proper speed and angle are so important. The basket is perched on top of a ridge with an extremely steep slope down to rough and OB. The very small strip of flat land to the left of the hole has the road and OB. So, if you play a RHBH hyzer to the basket, you are very likely to skip OB to the left or hit the hill with some velocity and roll backwards down the hill to the right. I played a RHFH skip off the road, trying to stay on that tiny strip of flat ground near the basket without rolling down the hill...then hitting the death put. Very simple, but fun and challenging little hole.

+ Variety here is top tier, with the mostly open front 9 and mostly wooded back 9. Distance and accuracy are needed to score well here. There are uphills, downhills, left-to-right, right-to-left, and dead-straight.

+ A couple of par 4's with landing zones to hit to setup the approach shot. The par 4's all have variety within the hole: open tee shots to set up technical upshots. Really fun.

+ Short and long tees. I'd say the shorts are in the white/intermediate (880-900 rating for par) range; the longs are in the blue/advanced (920-940 rating for par) range.

+ Great use of OB here with roads and marked and staked off streams and other areas. It increases the challenge and adds to the fun.

+ Nice new baskets.

+ Beautiful piece of property situated in the NC foothills (hence the name of the property). There is a neighborhood bordering the course. I would *love* to live in a "disc golf country club neighborhood" like this one day! Sounds like a good retirement.

+ Chillax after your round at the clubhouse! I had to rush through, so I didn't get to see everything the place had to offer, but in addition to a pro shop area where you can buy discs, clothes, and gear, there is also a grill area and seating. I'd love to grab a beer and a burger here after a round of golf!

There aren't many cons here that can't be fixed over time and with investment in the property. Hopefully, lots of people will continue playing the course, buying memberships, and playing in PDGA events here so the owners have some money to invest in making this course even better.

- The tees aren't the best. Several natural grass or dirt tee areas and others of carpet or rug. Some are concrete or brick, some on wooded structures with rubber pads. I would love to see big, flat, (mostly) concrete tee pads (for the longs and shorts).

- I played the course before anyone was at the club to give me a map or scorecard. There could have been navigation directions on the scorecard, so I apologize if that's the case. But I was a little confused at first as to which tee pads to play for which layout. The course layouts are properly labeled and mapped in UDisc as white and blue. But on the course, they used orange and pink. For consistency and to improve navigation and any information a player might need out on the course, I would mark and label each layout white and blue and have tee signs at each tee (or at the very least, at each hole).

As you can see, these are very fixable and somewhat nit-picky critiques to an otherwise near-perfect disc golf destination course!

What else is there to say? If you live in the area or are passing through on I-40, you have to play it. It's only minutes from the interstate, so you really have no choice but to play it. You won't be disappointed.

This course features a fantastic variety of holes, from wide open to partially wooded to completely wooded. Add to that plenty of elevation and you've got the makings of a fine course.

Hole lengths from the Blue tees vary from 160' out to 525', but if you eliminate the three shortest holes you're looking at mainly 300' - 500' holes. There are six alternate shorter tees that chop about 1000' off of the total course length and reduce some of the long uphill drives.

You start on a completely open but steeply uphill hole, continue to play across mostly open grass on a shared (foot?) golf course for the next several holes, but then head into the wooded area for most of the remainder of the round. There are some tight (but fair) lines to hit in the woods, with plenty of thick rough to penalize your misses.

Hole 4 is a 264' throw over grass, with a double-mando bamboo "gate" guarding the green. Kind of an homage to the Winthrop Gold Hole 7 triple mando.

Hole 12 is a challenging and complex hole, with an open downhill drive that needs to curve to the left of a mando and enter a specific gap in the woods. Add in a small creek in front of the basket and you've got something special.

Hole 18 is as much of an epic downhill as you'll encounter. You'll empty your bag and wish you'd brought more discs.

The wide variety of holes is accompanied by a wide variety of teepads. I played off of poured concrete, bricks, paving stones, wood with rubber mats, carpet and dirt. I'm not sure if they are working toward a standard teepad, but there are currently more different materials than I've ever seen on one course.

Lots of roots, stumps, and rocks make ground action highly unpredictable on the wooded holes. Seemingly perfect drives would land and richochet off into the rough.

Some early holes ( 2&3) were simply 300' shots over open ground, with artificial OB to restrict them. Not as good as the remainder of the course.

$6 to play all day is completely reasonable.

Nice pro shop/clubhouse with a surprising assortment of discs for sale, along with beverages and snacks.

Easy to begin on either hole 1 or 7. I arrived just after a small doubles tournament teed off on Hole 1, and was able to start on Hole 7 to avoid any conflict.

I really enjoyed this course and it is obviously a work in progress. With a bit more polish I can see a 4.5 in it's future.

The Bear is one of the best new courses to open in NC in 2017. It immediately became the go-to course between Charlotte and the mountains.
- Tough, long, and fun course, all in one. With rolling hills throughout the course, it plays much longer than its listed 6800 foot. Enjoy wearing yourself out on #4 - a 780-foot uphill hole. At least you've got 14 more holes to catch your breath.
- You're playing up and down the hills throughout the entire round. The front 9 only has two holes with no elevation factor - #2 & 8. On some of the uphill holes, just take your par and move on. You can make up strokes, and be aggressive with some of the downhill layouts.
- Lots of downhill holes that let you grip it and rip it. #5 & 6 are fun driver holes. #9, 11, 12 and 14 are all mid-range/fairway driver length downhill shots. Any of these will make you want to throw multiple discs off the tee.
- And then there's #18. Think a light version of #9 at Ashe County Park with an island green. At 380 feet, you get a chance to watch the disc sail over OB field, hoping the wind won't blow it off line. This was my best shot of the round, as I parked my tee shot 5 feet from the basket. It made that long walk down the hill that much sweeter, soaking in the tap-in birdie to end the round.
- Fantastic, creative hole layouts. #7 was my favorite designed hole in terms of challenge and flow. It's a 480-foot dogleg right to an uphill basket. Tee pad is guarded on the sides and ceiling by trees. Accuracy is more important than distance to give you the best angle to the basket. Play the hole as it's intended and take an easy 4, with a chance at 3.
- #6 is a solid risk/reward hole. The entire hole is downhill. Avoid the trees off the tee and you'll be in good shape to be on the green in 2. That said, aggressive approach shots can easily sail way past the basket 75 - 100 feet.
- You finally get a taste of wooded holes with the stretch of #14 - 17. One could argue their location in the round and/or the challenge (or lack thereof) they offer.
- The clubhouse. Good disc selection, a grill, and lounge area. Easy to see how this is a great place to hang out after a round. Or, just hang out with other disc golfers even if you're not throwing.
- Seats and trash cans throughout the course. This is a slow-paced round, especially in the summer. There are plenty of holes to sit down, relax, and enjoy some of the views.

The layout can be confusing if you don't have a map and/or don't have good directional sense. There's a major lack of tee signs right now.
- In stretches, there are also additional tee markers; wrong numbered tee signs; or paths that don't directly lead to the next hole. The areas I noticed as issues are: from #2' basket to #3 tee; #3 basket to #4 tee; #6 basket to #7 tee. Even with a map in hand (technically on my smartphone), I wasn't sure if I was teeing off at #3 tee. Clearly this is a work-in-progress matter, and only an issue for a first-time player.
- The three-hole stretch of #15 - 17 seemed out of place. In the closing stretch of a round, you expect to see the course's hardest holes. Instead, you get the course's two shortest holes on #16 & 17. Make them holes #6 - 8, for example, and it's an afterthought.
- Natural tee pads. Probably not a long-term issue. Until they're poured, it will be an issue.
- I'd like to see the front 9 wrap up at the clubhouse. As it is, you're back at the clubhouse after #6. If one wants to only play 9 holes, or only has time for 9 holes, it's not very practical right now. Guess everyone will have to settle for the entire 18.

The Bear has become the area's signature course. Between its own excellence, and the unexpected demise of Hilton, Hickory's top course went from being a wooded, technical course, to a big-arm, higher-caliber design.
- This location seems like it will become a destination for tourneys/players. It's convenient to Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville and it's got plenty of space to accommodate a large field.
- The course seems close to being great. It felt like there's still some room for growth. There's enough room in the woods to improve upon some current layouts.
- The first three holes seemingly only exist to warm your arm up. If they wanted to be cruel, #4 would be at the end of the round. Just sayin'. It could be worse.
- The course is a blast. There's much to like about the Bear. The course is tough at times, but it's always fair. Great shot making will always win out.
- This is a definite must-play. The course is only going to continue getting better. Can't wait to come back and play again.

The Bear is located at a former ball golf facility. The clubhouse has been transformed into an awesome disc store with a great variety, and the course has been converted into a DG and Foot golf course. I can't think of a better use of a retired golf course.

The clubhouse and carts are a nice touch and add to the quality feel of this course. The grounds are well taken care of and it shows that the owners take pride in their course.

Toby, the owner (I believe), was great. Took the time to walk us through the layout and scorecard. Just an overall nice guy.

The front nine are long. But fun. Really making you feel The Bear.

The wooded holes are a nice change of pace. More "North Carolina" golf, but the mixture of open long bombs and tight wooded fairways make this course a blast.

These are small "Cons" and I foresee them all getting better with time.

The last stretch of wooded holes seemed almost too tight and wooded. Very few lines available, kind of a hope and pray shot from the tee. (Minor con)

The tee pads, although for now natural, were never a hindrance. If anything they were more grip than a slick concrete pad. The only time the tee pad was an issue was hole #18.
#18 is an awesome downhill long bomb, straight back towards the clubhouse. Really a neat shot. But....the tee pad was just too short for such a bomb. Leading right up to the edge of the hill, there's not much room to throw.

With concrete tee pads on the way (I think...) I don't foresee #18 being an issue anymore.

Really just a few minor cons keeping this from being a really really great course.

The old ball golf clubhouse is a great space for tournament HQ, events, etc. Also makes for a great disc store with a great selection!

A few more trees taken out on the last few finishing holes, and a longer tee pad on #18 would complete this course for me.

If you're in the area to play Sawmills or Glenn C. HIlton, you'll have to play a round here! I will be back for sure.

Cliff notes:
Fun fun course with a nice mix of long open and tight wooded. Course will get better in time.
Play here

This is the best overall ball/disc golf hybrid course I've played in my limited experience so far. I say limited experience b/c the only other DG on BG course I've played is The Rock @ Stonewall, which is overall technically a better course and more unique experience but it's so unique that it almost feels like a different game. The Bear feels a lot more naturally like a round of disc golf, especially the option of walking which is not allowed at The Rock (cart is kind of a necessity, it's that hilly). But the holes are generally not at super gonzo distances, every other hole doesn't feel like a top of the world tee, and the wooded holes are very NC woods snug. The Rock is an adventure, The Bear is like comfort food.

The Bear itself is high quality golf. I'd say that roughly 3/4 of the course is more or less open, especially the front 9 which shares space with foot golf holes (these look like how golf holes would look if you ate one of those shrinking mushrooms from Super Mario Bros.) Well-groomed fairways of neat grass roll along before you like a rumpled green blanket. There aren't any terribly unique terrain features of these holes but they're solid and not repetitive. You've got your steep uphill hole, your hole with the basket on a knoll (former elevated ball golf tee), your uber long, uphill slog par 5, your split fairway, various downhill bombers, etc. There's OB in effect on a few of these open holes but they don't suffocate you like Winthrop Gold or anything, just keep you honest so you don't spray rollers across fairways or something. The elevation isn't super extreme for the most part but it changes more often than not and creates a lot of shape to the fairways.

After the first 6 quite open holes, you transition into some open holes with some wooded elements and some wooded holes. Hole 7 for example starts you in a tight tunnel of pines and curves left to right along a slope in the wide open, then sharply uphill to a tree guarded green in the woods. Angles, elevation, wind, and trees present a rare smorgasbord of challenges not often enjoyed (or endured if you rather).

The completely wooded holes are classic NC golf holes, <300' and abundantly treed. There's not a lot to write home about these but they're solid and charming (the nice rock wall on hole 8, the tricky valley shot through trees on hole 9, etc). The back 9 opens it up again until hole 14 and finishes with a trio of consecutive, all woods holes. These have tight fairways that could stand to be thinned up a bit but they're possibly deuced if not plausibly and require different lines.

Hole 18 is a fantastic finishing hole, a big downhill bomb outta the woods and over a shrubby, weedy meadow to a well-defined green of mulch and stones. It looks great, it's exhilarating to play and puts you right at the clubhouse to end the round, which is a nicer clubhouse than most of the golf courses I've seen in my neck of the sticks.

I played my round without a scorecard b/c I got there before the clubhouse was open and after I got a hold of one, the pars were basically exactly what I thought they were (the tee signs aren't there yet). It's incredibly rare for me to play a course that seems appropriately parred so that's a huge "job well-done" from me. I played the Gold tees and I could see how some of them might be set a bit high for proper Gold players (like touring pros) but par seems right to my naked eye, awesome.

Amenities galore! The clubhouse has bathrooms, drinks, great disc selection (yes, they sell some MVP/Axiom, AS ANY REPUTABLE RETAILER SHOULD, lol) and similar merch, carts, etc. It legitimately would be a nice place to hang out, chill between/after rounds and enjoy a beautiful day, it's that nice of a property. DG is played from the orange tees and whilst natural, they are flat and functional. Also super easy to get to off the highway.

There aren't many and most are temporary. Proper tees and tee signage sound like they're coming, I'd be shocked if they weren't. You can get a little confused figuring out the 6-8 section of holes but the map is accurate and you'll figure it out quickly. The course flows really well other than those and you shouldn't need a map once the tee signs are in.

My only other critique is that the course lacks some long, wooded beasts of tunnel holes that are so characteristic of the 4 star+ rated courses. If you could trade some open holes here with some wooded par 4s from Angry Beaver it would boost each greatly.

I'm really looking forward to coming back. $5 to play all day is something this frugal frolfer has zero problems paying. I fully expect to bump up my rating to a 4 once the tees and signs are installed. I don't see it going much higher than that but regardless this is a splendid course. Combined with the very potentially promising Jacob's Fork going in around the corner, Sawmills and the classic Glenn C. Hilton, this will be a corner of the NC DG world that begs to be reckoned with.

Good use of ball golf land. Elevation plays a big part of this course, the start of the round had a few uphill shots that you can unleash. 4th hole is in the 750 foot range, but being uphill makes it play all of 850 or longer. The back 9 has some more technical shots and good use of elevation again. Clubhouse has a good disc selection. I think I saw every brand but MVP/Axiom, but who would throw those anyway. Lol

Scorecard could show how OB works. With greens, bunkers, and cart paths we weren't sure what should be OB. That's all that was missing really. Great course.

Legs will feel the hills. I used a delta cart and made it through the course, but there were some challenging areas for the cart. Definitely worth a round if you are in the area. It was worth the trip up from Spartanburg.

-It's 2019 and the course has undergone many changes. I didn't think it could've gotten much better than it was. I initially gave this course a 4.5 when it was a 4 at best. Now it's really a 4.5. The layout now makes the original layout (great course) look like an inferior good that no one will purchase anymore. This review is going to be a rant, but it's a happy rant.

-I think the greatest thing that happened to the Bear was the fact that there are more wooded holes. It initially had a few holes that are fully wooded. A couple of those holes remain, a couple were transformed into better holes, a couple were added. This course is a true beast from the long pads and you'll have the privilege of playing one of the greatest challenges you've ever played if you play the longs. The shorts are well, shorter. But they are still difficult. Unfair? Heck no! It's definitely doable to shoot under, but if you're game is off then you'll have to make the best of it.

-Great clubhouse! Toby and Chris are awesome, laid back hosts. A wide variety of discs are sold here and there are shirts sold too. And if you like, you can ride a golf cart. Wow!

-Too many signature holes here. It would take me forever to describe how great each and every hole is here. The first three holes are open, but have a lot of OB flags that make this course tougher. Placement is crucial. Hole 4 is now a 264' putter/midrange throw through a bamboo gate. #10 is a crazy downhill par 4 into the woods that makes you want to do cartwheels and not give af if you can't do them right. This hole is actually reachable for big arm throwers, but there are so many trees to avoid. Hit one, and you suddenly have to think about your next shot. Basket is on a drop off and it's pretty daunting past it. But I've seen eagles on this hole. #11 is a fun island hole. Stay inside of it cause if you don't, then you have to play your next shot as a hazard (play where it lies with a penalty stroke). #12 is the old #14. They made it more intimidating. This hole has you teeing off on a large hill (even larger from the long). You have to throw through the mouth of the woods and over an OB ditch. My best round on the longs (-4) involved a 7 on this hole because of two rollers into the ditch. Scary! But it's an epic hole.

-Challenge has been added, I already said that but I really gotta get my point across! The last six holes are almost fully wooded. #13 is a challenging par 4 that's tight the whole way. #14 is a gem of a hole. 320' and steep downhill. Pretty tight hole and you don't want to throw a driver unless you throw a tomahawk. The right side is death because it's back in the open and you'll find to find another entrance in the woods. #15 is a make or break ace run. 160' flex forehand or soft hyzer backhand. Then you play two back to back par 4's that are BRUTAL. #16 has two pin positions. The first one is challenging. It's like 486' down a sloping fairway that goes left. The long pin is only about 80' past the short. Who knew 80' could make such a drastic difference? This pin position makes this hole a monster to say at the least. I've seen eights and nines on this hole. #17 is terrifying too! This hole is a snake. Literally. It has a tight and slightly bending fairway the whole way. The short pad is a 278' gentle anhyzer. Not as hard, but it's still a hard hole.

-The finishing hole is awesome! 380' downhill shot toward the clubhouse. It's a bag emptier.

-Construction is getting better and better. There are stairs being added on the hilly holes. And there are teesigns. There are concrete pads and a couple of decks on most of the holes.

-If you haven't played the current layout but have been here before, come back. There were a few holes here that weren't great, and now they are gone. Many people weren't fond of the old 16, the super tight "C-shape" fairway. Now you get to play what's now #14. You tee-off what is to the left and uphill from the old hole and you have a great downhill throw at the basket. The old #15 was a very tight, 318' par 3 that was almost a tweener. The pin was pushed back and now you have a great par 4. A couple of "lemon holes" were squeezed and poured into a tall frickin pitcher of lemonade.

-The only real con I can think of is that there could be a little more variety in hole length. There was a third pin position on 16 that was like 650' long and I never got to play it. Hole 8 could have a long pin straighter ahead further down into the woods (where the old 8 was) and be a real monster of a par 4.

-Not every hole has concrete pads, but I'm sure they'll come eventually.

-What a true joy. I always try and find time to play here when I'm not at school. This course is 35 miles away from my home and I call it my home course. What a privilege to be able to play this course. It's well worth the $5 a day or $20 per month. The Bear is a challenge but it's all a fun challenge that rewards.

-Golf carts, a wide shipment of disc golf inventory, epic holes, putting league. Layout is just about maximized, but I'm sure the designers are coming up with even better ideas.

-You won't regret playing here if you love the game. Every hole is reachable and can be birdied, but a few of them are quite difficult to even make par on. Even when you screw up, you'll still love this place. You start off getting to smash a big drive up a huge hill. Then you have to play cautiously in the open and avoid the OB grass. Then you throw thru a bamboo wall. It's all a fun adventure, and afterwards you can get yourself a beer or a gatorade in the clubhouse. There is not a hole here that isn't a pleasure to play.