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All-Terrain Disc Golf reviews
9
1
The Cross-Fit of Disc Golf 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 22, 2014
Played the course:once
Pros:
- Sweet location. Set in the hills of South Carolina, this course offers some great views on many of the holes. Not only that, but it's an easy drive to Charlotte if you're camping there and find yourself jonesing for some real disc golf.
- Awesome workout. If you're an out-of-shape fat guy (and only YOU know) and are tempted to try this course, pack copious amounts of water and be prepared to spend the better part of the day resting. If you're used to playing a round in an hour or two, think again; this course will test your mettle. It challenges both your game and your physical abilities. Very few holes are of the standard "throw, walk to your disc, throw again, hole out" variety. Most are "throw, struggle up the hill, forget where you threw, look, rest, remember, trek to the suspected LZ, look some more, call in reinforcements, rest, look some more, find it, throw again, (echo the previous instructions), hole out." Then you have to play the next one! (Rinse, repeat.) In short, this course is not for the faint of heart. Fill your Camelback to capacity before teeing off on #1...if your body can hang, I mean. Not to be crass, but if you get winded walking up two flights of stairs, don't even try this course. It's not one to take your old man to after a double-bypass to get his blood pumping...it's DEFCON 3 on your cardiovascular system. I played in the course in July and was sweating like R-Kelly at a playground. I'd wager that even seasoned runners will need some time to recover after a round at All-Terrain DGC. But then, I'm a fatty by Ethiopian standards, so maybe I'm over-estimating the difficulty of it. That's me...your mileage may vary.
- Great amenities. The location of the course offers a RIDICULOUS number of activities besides disc golf. There are camp grounds - which are primitive, to say the least - but because of the other leisure interests available are understandable; you're there to partake in the adrenaline rush and All-Terrain does not disappoint. Four-wheeling, dirt-biking, hiking...it's got it all and more. The chalet has everything you need, too: food, drinks, clothing, extra discs in case you lose some (which is entirely possible), and girls working who aren't bad on the eyes. (Okay, they're not going to be recruited by Victoria Secret anytime soon, but they're cute in an interstate-offramp kind of way.)
- Awesome workout. If you're an out-of-shape fat guy (and only YOU know) and are tempted to try this course, pack copious amounts of water and be prepared to spend the better part of the day resting. If you're used to playing a round in an hour or two, think again; this course will test your mettle. It challenges both your game and your physical abilities. Very few holes are of the standard "throw, walk to your disc, throw again, hole out" variety. Most are "throw, struggle up the hill, forget where you threw, look, rest, remember, trek to the suspected LZ, look some more, call in reinforcements, rest, look some more, find it, throw again, (echo the previous instructions), hole out." Then you have to play the next one! (Rinse, repeat.) In short, this course is not for the faint of heart. Fill your Camelback to capacity before teeing off on #1...if your body can hang, I mean. Not to be crass, but if you get winded walking up two flights of stairs, don't even try this course. It's not one to take your old man to after a double-bypass to get his blood pumping...it's DEFCON 3 on your cardiovascular system. I played in the course in July and was sweating like R-Kelly at a playground. I'd wager that even seasoned runners will need some time to recover after a round at All-Terrain DGC. But then, I'm a fatty by Ethiopian standards, so maybe I'm over-estimating the difficulty of it. That's me...your mileage may vary.
- Great amenities. The location of the course offers a RIDICULOUS number of activities besides disc golf. There are camp grounds - which are primitive, to say the least - but because of the other leisure interests available are understandable; you're there to partake in the adrenaline rush and All-Terrain does not disappoint. Four-wheeling, dirt-biking, hiking...it's got it all and more. The chalet has everything you need, too: food, drinks, clothing, extra discs in case you lose some (which is entirely possible), and girls working who aren't bad on the eyes. (Okay, they're not going to be recruited by Victoria Secret anytime soon, but they're cute in an interstate-offramp kind of way.)
Cons:
- Mad overgrowth. I guess you can't expect flawlessly manicured fairways on a veritable mountainside course, but I seriously expected to see Laura Ingalls-Wilder gamboling in the weeds on her way to get Paw some feed, rock candy, and plug tobacco on her way to the General Store on more than one occasion. This made finding my disc extremely difficult. I'm sure my erratic form and inconsistent release had something to do with it, but that's not what SHE said.
- Few benches. There were a couple resting spots on the course, but nowhere near enough of them because the physical tax this course takes on your body makes their absence almost inexcusable. The benches that were there were made of nice wrought iron, but you'd be a fool to make that black widow or brown recluse give up their seat while you watched your card-mate tee off into the nest of the copperhead 250-feet down the "fairway."
- Ambiguous navigation. Some holes made it fairly obvious where you needed to go next, but some were downright confusing. The back nine was particularly puzzling. For example, after we played #15 (the most picturesque hole on the course, albeit a gradual uphill shot), there was no real indication as to where we were to go next. Looked around a while and finally made our way up the hill to the next obvious tee-pad. Come to find out it was #18, the straight down-hill shot. Wasn't a total bummer because we were wiped after those 15 holes, but we skipped 16 and 17 because of the complete lack of signage.
- Poor use of elevation. This design flaw is my biggest gripe. All-Terrain DGC has a plethora of useful land to make an outstanding course, but the person who devised the layout didn't do their homework. Maybe they didn't know how elevation impacts a courses playability, but this is a big problem. There are more uphill shots than downhill shots and the extreme #18 doesn't make up for the rest. It almost seems difficult for the sake of being difficult with no regard for the idea that maybe, just maybe, it'd be more fun to throw a disc DOWN a hill than up it.
- No topless Hooters girls frolicking along the #8 fairway.
- Few benches. There were a couple resting spots on the course, but nowhere near enough of them because the physical tax this course takes on your body makes their absence almost inexcusable. The benches that were there were made of nice wrought iron, but you'd be a fool to make that black widow or brown recluse give up their seat while you watched your card-mate tee off into the nest of the copperhead 250-feet down the "fairway."
- Ambiguous navigation. Some holes made it fairly obvious where you needed to go next, but some were downright confusing. The back nine was particularly puzzling. For example, after we played #15 (the most picturesque hole on the course, albeit a gradual uphill shot), there was no real indication as to where we were to go next. Looked around a while and finally made our way up the hill to the next obvious tee-pad. Come to find out it was #18, the straight down-hill shot. Wasn't a total bummer because we were wiped after those 15 holes, but we skipped 16 and 17 because of the complete lack of signage.
- Poor use of elevation. This design flaw is my biggest gripe. All-Terrain DGC has a plethora of useful land to make an outstanding course, but the person who devised the layout didn't do their homework. Maybe they didn't know how elevation impacts a courses playability, but this is a big problem. There are more uphill shots than downhill shots and the extreme #18 doesn't make up for the rest. It almost seems difficult for the sake of being difficult with no regard for the idea that maybe, just maybe, it'd be more fun to throw a disc DOWN a hill than up it.
- No topless Hooters girls frolicking along the #8 fairway.
Other Thoughts:
All-Terrain DGC came highly recommended and it looked phenomenal online. So when we made the trek to Columbia for the penultimate disc golf expedition of 2014 we had high hopes. I won't go so far as to say it was disappointing, but I don't mind telling you that the experience of playing All-Terrain DGC was anti-climactic at best. It has a lot to recommend it, but taken as-is would be a disservice to those looking for a truly challenging and rewarding disc golf experience. If a work out is what you want, this is the course for you. And if disc golf is an afterthought because you're an adrenaline junky who's looking for an intense experience on a motorized vehicle, this course is your man. But if you're a purist like me who's looking for a challenge and a unique course to tame, head south to Crooked Creek or north to Chester State Park. All-Terrain DGC has a boat load of potential, but currently boasts too many flaws to come as highly recommended that it is on DGCR. I give it a 3.0 based on my experience, but again, your mileage will undoubtedly vary.
