wolfhaley to the Carolinas. And Georgia (barely)

[wolfhaley]

So Mrs. wolf and I are flying for the first time for a roadtrip. The plan is to fly into Chalotte and immediately head south for a few days before heading back up to Charlotte to bag as much as possible there. 8 days of course bagging, 2 days getting there and back so 10 total. Suggestions and insight welcomed and appreciated.

Day 1: Minneapolis to Charlotte.

Day 2: Drive to Columbia SC
Canaan Sand Hills-(20)
Canaan Riverbend-(18)
Boyd Hill-(18)

Canaan is only open weekends so this is the play here for sure. Boyd over Winthrop because Boyd looks like the more fun course. Winthrop doesn't look that fun watching USDGC. I imagine it's actually much less fun in the offseason.

Day 3: Drive to Augusta GA
Stoney Hill-(36)
Langley Pond DiscGolfPark-(18)

This is the play.

Day 4: Back to Columbia
IDGC-Jim Warner-(18)
IDGC WR Jackson-(18)
IDGC Steady Ed-(18)

Again, obviously the play. May try to play Patriots Park if time and energy allow. That's just bonus.

Day 5: Drive to Charlotte
All-Terrain Disc Golf-(18)
Chester State Park-Advanced-(18)
Chester State Park-Rec.-(9)
Plantation Ruins @ Winget-(18)

Suggestions welcome here. Plantation Ruins looks like my kind of course, but I could probably play it later if need be. The other 3 look really good, well, two of the other three.

Day 6: Charlotte
Hornet's Nest Park-(18)
Nevin Park-(18)
Reedy Creek-(18)
Eastway DGC-(18)

The first two for sure. Reedy Creek sounds sneaky good. Eastway is if there's still energy.

Day 7: Charlotte
Kilborne TPC-(18)
The Scrapyard-(18)
Elon Park-Angry Beaver-(18)
Elon Park-Eager Beaver-(18)

Good/Bad? Elon Park for sure.

Day 8: Charlotte

Renny Gold-(18)
Robert L. Smith Park-(18)
Rankin Lake-(18)
Bradley Center DGC-(18)

Thoughts? Renny Gold is a must/have to play. Not sure if I should bother with the other two there or be better off with what I have listed. This seems like the play. I can be swayed with a good suggestion or two though

Day 9: Charlotte
Brackett's Bluff-(18) *hopefully, maybe*
Bradford Park-(18)
Bailey Road Park-(21)
Robbins Park-(18)

Day 10- Home to rest

I'm pretty excited about this one. Whether we can play all of these is questionable at best. Lots of courses I've had my eye on for awhile though. Two new states and should get me over 800 played. Solid start to 2023.

 

[DavidSauls]

After reading that, I'm too tired to type. But I'll give it a shot.

I haven't played Boyd Hill, but still am sure you're right to choose it over Winthrop. Winthrop is only really Winthrop for a few weeks a year, when the ropes are up.

There are 3 driving routes from Charlotte/Rock Hill to Stoney Hill, 2 backroads and 1 interstate, and they're all within a few minutes of the same driving time. The full backroads route takes you right past the entrance to Chester State Park. I don't know if it's a consideration to swap Boyd Hill for Chester on Day 2, and then re-arrange your schedule at Day 5. (I'm guessing that would mean your first hotel room would be for only 1 night, instead of 2).

Double-check on All Terrain. I've heard various things about its maintenance, the baskets being pulled while the land was timbered, and/or the baskets being pulled, permanently or at least indefinitely. I don't know if any of those are true. If the course is still what it was 2 years ago, it's certainly worth playing. If it's been timbered, I don't know. If the baskets are gone, you'll have to reconsider. (It's a commercial property -- an ATV park -- but I don't think it gets much play, at all, due to its remoteness.)

 

[Monocacy]

Suggestions and insight welcomed and appreciated.

Firstly, this sounds like a fabulous trip. I hope you and Mrs. Wolf have a great time! :hfive:

Caveat: The only Charlotte area course I have played is Bradford Park, which I think you will enjoy. Otherwise I came up with a similar list of courses when planning a trip to this area.

The only suggestion I will add is Torma Town, which looks like a fun spin and is located not far from Hornets Nest and RL Smith.

Have fun!

 

[elmexdela]

plantation is completely up your (and mine) alley i was goin to suggest that

day 6 looks the best

looks sick enjoy

 

[DavidSauls]

Supplemental on All Terrain. DGCR shows a post in August, that it was temporarily closed. UDisc has this status, updated early this morning:

Baskets have been pulled due to logging Course should reopen in two months (Aug 16) CAW may be permanently closed (Nov 7) Still closed 12/31
Today at 1:09 AM

Not sure what that portends for March, but I suggest some contingency planning.

 

[ru4por]

Having recently bagged in the Charlotte area.....I can try to slip in my two cents. David has said that Charlotte is an area with a quantity of quality courses. Many of these courses are pretty similar with Plantation and Scrapyard as a couple standouts, providing for a bit of uniqueness, in a blur of wooded, technicality. I loved Nevin and Renny Gold. I do advise playing Gold, it is a beast, but worth it. Hornets Nest is a must. I would not miss the Beaver complex either. Robbins/Bradford/Bailey/Bradley/Eastway/Reedy all seemed like one large wonderful wooded track. Most are in this regional park system that is terrific.

IDGC is fantastic. Pack a lunch, park the car and have a day of it!!

Are you hoteling/Airbnb?

 

[ray1970]

I also recently played courses in the Charlotte area.

Honestly, a lot of the courses kind of had the same vibe and felt like you were kind of playing the same course over and over.

Hornets Nest was high on my list of "must plays" having watched the pros play it on tour but it was honestly the most disappointing course I played.

Reedy Creek and Bradford were enjoyable.

I probably missed some of the better courses because I was kind of limited to one course a day and was only there for a week.

 

[wolfhaley]

I haven't played Boyd Hill, but still am sure you're right to choose it over Winthrop. Winthrop is only really Winthrop for a few weeks a year, when the ropes are up.

Double-check on All Terrain. I've heard various things about its maintenance, the baskets being pulled while the land was timbered, and/or the baskets being pulled, permanently or at least indefinitely. I don't know if any of those are true. If the course is still what it was 2 years ago, it's certainly worth playing. If it's been timbered, I don't know. If the baskets are gone, you'll have to reconsider. (It's a commercial property -- an ATV park -- but I don't think it gets much play, at all, due to its remoteness.)

That's what I was thinking as far as Boyd Hill over Winthrop. It'd be cool to say I "played" Winthrop Gold. But are you really playing Winthrop Gold in early April? Everything I've heard and read says no. If that's not the case I'd rather just play an actual, permanent course. Plus Boyd Hill looks shorter and more my style anyway. No need to wreck the arm right off the bat.

I was curious about All-Terrain as well. Thanks for the heads up as I hadn't looked at Udisc's current conditions yet. I'll have to give them a call to find out from the source what is going on there. It looked promising though, so I penciled it in. Luckily there's so many other options if that one falls through. And holy school courses in Rock Hill .

 

[wolfhaley]

The only suggestion I will add is Torma Town, which looks like a fun spin and is located not far from Hornets Nest and RL Smith.

Torma Town was originally on the agenda before my eyes started wandering south of Stoney Hill. It looked like a pretty intersting course. Still on the radar, just not sure if time will allow. Funny thing is I was originally planning on flying to Augusta or Columbia before setttling on Charlotte. With us having never flown before we wanted a straight flight. Alyssa's never flown and the last, and only time, I did I was in third grade . So kind of a trial run so to speak, but with tons of great options. Win/Win.

 

[wolfhaley]

Having recently bagged in the Charlotte area.....I can try to slip in my two cents. David has said that Charlotte is an area with a quantity of quality courses. Many of these courses are pretty similar with Plantation and Scrapyard as a couple standouts, providing for a bit of uniqueness, in a blur of wooded, technicality. I loved Nevin and Renny Gold. I do advise playing Gold, it is a beast, but worth it. Hornets Nest is a must. I would not miss the Beaver complex either. Robbins/Bradford/Bailey/Bradley/Eastway/Reedy all seemed like one large wonderful wooded track. Most are in this regional park system that is terrific.

IDGC is fantastic. Pack a lunch, park the car and have a day of it!!

Are you hoteling/Airbnb?

Appreciate the insight. IDGC was one of the top places on my wishlist. Looks fantastic. I'm a HUGE fan of woods golf so Charlotte should be my cup of tea.

Hotels too. Never done an Airbnb. I honestly didn't even know what that meant until a couple years ago when talking to elmex.

 

[wolfhaley]

plantation is completely up your (and mine) alley i was goin to suggest that

day 6 looks the best

looks sick enjoy

We can't wait, thanks. I expect lots of pics for your upcoming monster of a trip. Are you planning on hitting up IDGC on that trip? I forgot what you were all playing.

I also recently played courses in the Charlotte area.

Honestly, a lot of the courses kind of had the same vibe and felt like you were kind of playing the same course over and over.

Hornets Nest was high on my list of "must plays" having watched the pros play it on tour but it was honestly the most disappointing course I played.

Reedy Creek and Bradford were enjoyable.

I probably missed some of the better courses because I was kind of limited to one course a day and was only there for a week.

Good intel. Surprised about Hornet's Nest but I do get it. Not being a dick or anything, but did they feel the same because they're all tightly wooded? That seems to be the thing you hear about for Charlotte. The reason I ask is I know you're from Denver, which coincidentally, is where I'm planning for my late summer trip, the mountain courses though. But looking at the one's in Denver, they're pretty wide open in comparison.

 

[ru4por]

Appreciate the insight. IDGC was one of the top places on my wishlist. Looks fantastic. I'm a HUGE fan of woods golf so Charlotte should be my cup of tea.

Hotels too. Never done an Airbnb. I honestly didn't even know what that meant until a couple years ago when talking to elmex.

COVID kind of pushed us into checking out Airbnb. I am using Airbnb, to mean most of these type housing rental services. I was pretty hesitant. It presented a pretty good computer challenge and I had some trepidation about living in someone else's house. After a handful of rentals, I am not sure we will go back to hotels. We travel with our dog at this point and a house presents vacation options we don't get all the time in a hotel. We generally head someplace, get a home base and bag courses from there. That allows us a kitchen and the ability to cook and shop. We still don't really go out to eat much. Everyone's routine for vacationing obviously varies. We can make some breakfast, pack a lunch and get home to cook some dinner. A yard for the dog and no real distractions for the dog, like we have encountered at hotels occasionally.

You have to be kind of flexible. There always seems to be a few things in an Airbnb that are not quite what you want. Maybe a small shower, not as clean as a hotel, crappy pots and pans, gas stove (electric at home), sketchy neighborhood.....

The upside is you can pick the location, really finding a central spot to the courses you want to play. You can pick your amenities,. You want a pool, pay for a pool, you want a pool table, pick a pool table, you want a nice yard, BBQ grill, hot tub, lake, hiking trails.....

If you are willing to do the research, they are not much more costly than a decent hotel room.

Not really trying to convince you, just putting my experiences out there for all the baggers.

 

[Monocacy]

. . . After a handful of rentals, I am not sure we will go back to hotels. We travel with our dog at this point and a house presents vacation options we don't get all the time in a hotel.

Brief sidetrack: Is it difficult to find an Airbnb that allows dogs, or did you find that you had plenty of choices? Thanks!

Sidetrack over, back to planning the Wolfhaley's Charlotte extravaganza.

 

[ru4por]

Brief sidetrack: Is it difficult to find an Airbnb that allows dogs, or did you find that you had plenty of choices? Thanks!

Sidetrack over, back to planning the Wolfhaley's Charlotte extravaganza.

Yeah, I guess I should have found a more appropriate thread for that belch.

I do find a pretty decent list of choices for dogs. We are pretty lucky, our pooch is not a couch or bed dog and is crate trained. But, as a two year old lab, she does need a place to be walked or a yard to run. She does go disc golfing most days.

 

[ray1970]

Good intel. Surprised about Hornet's Nest but I do get it. Not being a dick or anything, but did they feel the same because they're all tightly wooded? That seems to be the thing you hear about for Charlotte. The reason I ask is I know you're from Denver, which coincidentally, is where I'm planning for my late summer trip, the mountain courses though. But looking at the one's in Denver, they're pretty wide open in comparison.

First, don't let my disappointment with Hornet's Nest disused you. I think maybe my expectations were just a little too high going into it.

And as far as why I felt many of the courses felt pretty similar probably was because they are all pretty much wooded courses. I guess when you step up on just about every tee pad and you're throwing through a tunnel or gap and bending something left or right and typically slightly up or down hill the holes just all seem familiar from one course to the next. It also seemed like there was an overwhelming number of holes that were in that 280-350' range. Maybe I'm spoiled but the courses I'm used to playing at least have a decent variety of distance between holes so I'm not throwing the same two discs off of nearly every tee.

 

[ray1970]

Looking at it, it could be the distances that were making holes feel repetitive and very similar from course to course.

Here's one of the Charlotte area courses.

Ten holes under 300'. Five in a row to start the round.

Five holes 300-400'.

Three holes over 400'.

A lot of the courses felt similar as far as stacking holes back to back where every shot was similar distance.

Here's what I'm used to playing on:

Three holes under 300'

Six holes 300-400'

Three holes 400-500'

Three holes 500-600'

Three holes over 600'

And there aren't any long stretches of holes where the distance is similar.

 

[ru4por]

Most of Charlotte's courses are in the same park system. Similar parking lots, bathrooms, playground equipment.... The courses have the same tee pads, benches, signs.... The courses are all pretty tight, wooded, limited elevation and distance. This is not a knock, I would be glad to play them endlessly. They are just a group of pretty similar setups.

 

[elmexdela]

We can't wait, thanks. I expect lots of pics for your upcoming monster of a trip. Are you planning on hitting up IDGC on that trip? I forgot what you were all playing.



Good intel. Surprised about Hornet's Nest but I do get it. Not being a dick or anything, but did they feel the same because they're all tightly wooded? That seems to be the thing you hear about for Charlotte. The reason I ask is I know you're from Denver, which coincidentally, is where I'm planning for my late summer trip, the mountain courses though. But looking at the one's in Denver, they're pretty wide open in comparison.

oh yah ill text pics for sure

i am doin idgc and langley over by ga/sc border (thats why i told david s that he was stuck in the middle of idgc and charlotte and why even tho ill be in the area twice i unfortunately wont be stoppin)

its my furthest east point before i start to loop back towards mn

i should be knocking some big names off the list

back to your trip personally i wouldnt put much stock into making it to bracketts bluff it was 3/5 ish and probably gets some inflated stats/love due to it being a backyard course (and apparently lost a few "great" holes due to a redesign/neighboring land issues)

im concerned your day 9 will feel like a filler day but you seem to stomach open holes/courses better than i do

since no one else said it renny gold plays concurrently with renny silver and it overlaps a ton so even if you dont "play" one or the other you will see it and play from same teepads and whatever else it is a clusterf (renski or whatever is a separate course) (renny gold is like what kaposia would be if it was hella run down and neglected and eroded)

 

[elmexdela]

a lot of charlotte courses do feel the same

none had a sledgehammer finishing hole

lots of erosion

but consistently wonderful wooded golf

super easy navigation to get from course to course with minimal traffic even at "rush hour"

its def a must visit city for dg

 

[elmexdela]

also what was up with those fake rocks at hornets nest

that is some chump level chit