Knoxville, TN Roadtrip

[puck'n'disc5]

I just want to start out by saying, I will not be taking this trip anytime too soon. I certainly want to see things get at least halfway back to normal before I consider making this trip. But, with that being said, it is still never too early to start planning.

It takes about 7 hours to get from St. Louis to Knoxville, so keeping that in mind. If I miss anything along the way, please let me know. But the objective of the trip is just taking a couple of days off and venturing into Knoxville to play as much disc golf as possible, as well as checking out what other great things Knoxville has to offer.

Priority No.1 is obviously the disc golf. I was wondering if anyone out there could send me into the right direction of which courses to play. I am looking towards playing the 'top end courses'. I am not afraid of driving a little ways away; especially if it means playing a course I may never get a chance to play again. I am not at all familiar with the area, so any help on the disc golf side is helpful.

This might be more of a question directed to those who live in and near Knoxville. But the question is what would you suggest doing during the night? There is a 99.99999% chance I will be making this trip alone. Once again, any suggestions on tips for the night life in Knoxville is greatly appreciated. Even what part of town to stay in would be helpful.

Thank you for all of your help! I really appreciate any and all information. Hopefully we can get things back to normal sooner rather than later. And if anyone would like to join up for a round during this trip, that would be awesome.

J5

 

[puck'n'disc5]

Nashville, Austin, and Dallas are also on the table.

 

[wolfhaley]

Harmon Hills is a top 10 course on here. I have no clue how far it is from Knoxville but I've heard good things.

 

[Mando]

Harmon Hills is a top 10 course on here. I have no clue how far it is from Knoxville but I've heard good things.

My top favorite course, but currently closed.

 

[thrembo]

We did a Knoxville area multi-day trip last year. There is some very good disc golf there. Harmon Hills of course and I really liked Tommy Schumpert and Morristown Kiwanis. We also drifted over the border into Virginia to play the nice Sugar Hollow course. There are many nice courses in the area catering to all skill levels, too many to even consider playing them all in one trip. The locals seemed real polarized about which courses they like better than others and the reviews for some of the courses around there are all over the place. There would be the possibility to play some fantastic GA courses on the trip also. Hobbs Farm (top 25) Georgis Canopy Tours etc. We love taking road trips up into this country!

 

[thrembo]

We stayed in Sevierville and the whole area is geared for tourists with tons of nondg stuff to do (pre coronavirus). I pretty much only go to play DG and eat so I can't comment on anything else, but there was a lot of it.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

We did a Knoxville area multi-day trip last year. There is some very good disc golf there. Harmon Hills of course and I really liked Tommy Schumpert and Morristown Kiwanis. We also drifted over the border into Virginia to play the nice Sugar Hollow course. There are many nice courses in the area catering to all skill levels, too many to even consider playing them all in one trip. The locals seemed real polarized about which courses they like better than others and the reviews for some of the courses around there are all over the place. There would be the possibility to play some fantastic GA courses on the trip also. Hobbs Farm (top 25) Georgis Canopy Tours etc. We love taking road trips up into this country!

Totally agree with Thrembo on every course he mentioned.

The only thing I'll add, is Panther Creek in Morristown (less than an hour from Knoxville, depending on traffic), is a phenomenal course.

 

[autocrosscrx]

Long time Knoxville resident here.

There are obviously COVID impacts, but downtown Knoxville is great. All kinds of bars and restaurants and breweries. Market Square is a good spot to check out. There are also all kinds of bars and restaurants along Gay Street and Old City. Post what interests you and I can offer more specific suggestions. If you like BBQ, I think Calhouns on the River is a must.

As far as courses, Morningside is in downtown, so worth hitting if you are spending time there. It is a pretty rough part of town, so try to play there mid day to afternoon. If play early, you'll be throwing over sleeping people. If you play in the evening by yourself, you are taking a bit of a risk.

Shumpert is highly recommended. Victor Ashe is a good course (study the layout first, really easy to get very lost). The Mounds in Oak Ridge is highly recommended as well. There are about a dozen other courses in and around town if you are looking to fill a few hours.

 

[autocrosscrx]

Also, go buy a disc or twelve at Pluto Sports in West Knoxville. They do a ton for the community and will be a great resource as far as course recommendations, course maps, leagues, meets, tournaments, and so forth.

 

[sansho]

Used to live in Knox and learned to play disc there during college so I have some years of exp there.

Golf wise:
Morningside - Park + lots of trees. The redesign in 2012 (by Stan McDan who bascially built Charlotte disc golf) was amazing and made the course layout incredible compared to previous layout. I hear now that the course needs some maintenance and love, but would still suggest it. People have always said that part of town was bad even though its fine. Just homeless people. Play during daylight.

Victor Ashe - Wide open park style course. Best place in knox to air it out other an in Oak ridge (the mounds)

Tommy Schumpert - I played this course in its infancy and it was still fun. Super tight tree shots.

The Mounds - Technically Oak Ridge (~30 min from downtown Knox) but still a fun course. They added another 9 in the woods and were some tough holes when they were first built.

Outside(ish) of Knox:
Harmon Hills: Cannot stress this enough. Used to take a carload of golfers all the time in college to this paradise. This is a MUST PLAY if you are anywhere around it. Owners are amazing. Environment amazing. Course even better.

Roane County - Fun course to shoot pretty well. well maintained. West of Knox

Morristown Kiwanis - NE of knox if youre headed to harmon hills. Fun course.


Where to stay in knox?
Definitely downtown area!! Tons of eateries and bars. Market square. Theaters/venues for music. Can walk basically all of downtown and all the way into University of Tennessee campus which is adjacent. Definitely a younger crowd in this area of downtown/UT/fort sanders which leads to a good nightlife.

PM me if you have any other questions!