Pros:
Wintersun is the McRib Sandwich of disc golf. It's available for a limited time. If you miss that window, you're paying a lot to get your hands on it. Then, when you finally do, you ask yourself if it's as good as you imagined.
- The chase and opportunity to play. So, this course is open for a tournament one Saturday a year. If you don't play then, your options are to pay $300 a night to stay here, or to get in friendly with an employee. When a tournament was posted for March '21, I jumped at the chance to play.
- Scenery. Absolutely stunning course with fantastic backdrops throughout. As gorgeous as the course was in early March, it has to be stunning later in Spring when everything is in full bloom or in Fall as the leaves are changing colors. From an outstanding hole alongside the stream (#11) to holes playing on rolling hills (#1, 5, & 18), from gauntlet shots (#2 and (sort of) 14) to top of the world/downhill holes that'll make players throw multiple shots for fun (#4 & 16), this course has a ton to offer.
- Extremely varied layout. There are tight, tough, and/or grueling layouts (#2, 3, 11, & 15). There are shorter, birdie/ace run layouts (#8 & 9) along with open field layouts (#12 & 17). After a couple easier holes, you're in for a challenging stretch. After a grueling stretch, you'll find a stretch of holes to redeem yourself with a birdie or two.
- Spacious layout. This course is spread out across almost all parts of this ample resort. The course features several long walks between holes. Just walking this course alone would be a good workout for many people.
- There are two holes that rise above the rest - #5 & 11. #5 is the second longest hole on the course at 656 feet. It's an uphill tee shot to a densely wooded fairway. Avoid hitting one of the trees and you should have a good look at reaching the basket in two throws. This is the best of the multi-shot (par 4 or 5s) layouts on the course.
- Then there's #11. I haven't played many, if any holes like this one before. It's only 270 feet, but you're throwing to a narrow island green. Sure the driveway and beyond on the left side is an artificial OB, but the fast currents of the creek on the right side are anything but. The current is strong enough that I had to chase my disc further downstream to retrieve it. Thankfully, they have some long poles to get wet discs. If you land OB, there's a drop zone that still doesn't guarantee you'll land in bounds from there. I threw three discs off the tee. One was in the water, two were on the road, OB by maybe a combined 6 - 8 feet. This can be an easy birdie hole or a double bogey based on a couple of feet.
Cons:
Inconsistent tees. Some were on the pavement (#1 & 6), some had carpet tee pads (#13 amongst others), some were just in a field (#12). The more visible the hole is to guest, it seems these were the natural/grass tees.
- Signage could be better in spots. Some tees were easy to locate. Some required the UDisc or paper map. Some of the longer transitions could use more next tee signs to help with navigation.
- No amenities on the course itself save for a couple benches scattered throughout. If you're playing here and you're not a guest, there are no public restrooms or water fountains. You're less than 5 minutes from stores, so play accordingly.
- #2 is going to be a love/hate hole. It's an uphill, 625 foot par 5. The catch is that the fairway is the width of a regular walking path. How tough is this tee shot? The tourney had a longest tee shot or closest to the pin on every hole. By the time we played this hole, probably 2/3s of people had played this hole. I threw maybe 250 - 270 off the tee and I missed being the long drive by 15 feet. That tells me just about everyone smacked a tree off the tee. In our group of six, I was the only one to land on the fairway.
- Here's my controversial opinion. This course could and should be better. It doesn't fully take advantage of this terrain. There are too many open and/or short holes. The longest hole on the course (#12) is a wide-open field layout at 848 feet. The entire section of #8 - 10 should be removed from the Original layout, they should only appear on the short course. Add a couple more hilly/mountain feel layouts and this course becomes so much better.
- The lack of availability is a negative. I understand the property owners desire to keep the ground accessible to guests only. But, it seems to be such a waste to have a course this good sitting unused. Shoot, open the course on weekends only. Charge $20 per round, and increase your traffic and visibility.
Other Thoughts:
Driving into the course, you immediately see the rolling hills and the possibilities. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning spotting one basket after another, imagining how these holes would play.
- This is the type of course that needs to be experienced rather than simply played. I'm glad our round took three and a half hours. It gave me more time to soak in the scenery and the whole vibe. Eh, it may also have had to do with Wicked Weed serving drinks beginning at 9:30.
- #18 is an excellent, rolling hill closing hole. It's a great view from the tee pad. And, it's nice that the layout isn't as tough as it may look on the tee.
- #6 & 16 are enjoyable for different, yet similar reasons. We love downhill holes. We love a long downhill hole that has room to air one out. That's #6. As for #16, it's a more technical shot as you're weaving a tee shot around the trees to get close to the basket. A very makeable birdie 2 while also leading to a scramble for par if you do smack a branch.
- There are lawn ornament / statues throughout the property. Many are of children. Some look fun. Some, if you're not expecting to see one can creep up on you and seem a little odd. Overall, it's this course's flare.
- Can one really feel disappointed with a course you rate 4.0? I feel a course designer only has 18 chances to make a course what you want it to be. I feel several of those chances were wasted - cough, cough - on holes #8 & 9 especially. It was close to being great. Instead, it was just really good.
- There's not a lot of difference in overall quality between Wintersun and South Mountain in Bostic. There are lots of similarities between both courses.
- I'd say this is a must play. As long as you sign up for the tourney, it's a fun day of disc golf. Otherwise, you're waiting 364 days or just have way too much disposable income.