Barber park is a sprawling DG course that while not having a very high level of difficulty does pose some interesting challenges. The first 8 holes are largely open holes played around the amphitheater and around to the back of the indoor sports arena. Though many of these holes tend to be very open, some crafty elevation changes and the use of terrain make them have a few interesting looks.

The back nine is a much more technical, and more enjoyable nine that plays through the woods near the back of the property. Most of these holes have amply cut fairways that require and reward good throws. Accurate tosses can yield a lot of birdies on this side.

The first hole is very well marked with a kiosk which includes very nice, professional scorecards with a course map. This is a huge plus at this course, because as below the navigation can be a mess.

There were a few holes that I really enjoyed. 9 is a fun RHBH anhyzer up and over a small ridge into the trees. It is the first of the wooded holes and was a great break after 8 largely open ones.

13 is another fun hole that plays down a hill into the trees on the right.

Finally 15, 16, and 17 are really pretty holes. 15 and 17 mirror each other as straight holes in a flatland by the creek, and 16 is a really fun, short downhill throw to a guarded basket.

Unfortunately, as the title of my review says, this course lacks a lot of the little things. These problems really take away from the enjoyment of the course.

The most glaring issue on this course is navigation which can be a nightmare. There are no hole signs (except for the kiosk on hole 1). The tee boxes are only marked by a 4-5 inch concrete cylinder which is difficult to see, and many holes require a significant amount of backtracking to get to the next tee. The back nine has a few very non-intuitive walks from green to the next tee. Bringing a course map is a must. Even with one, I was unable to find the 7th tee stone.

There is at least a small #9 sign directing players from hole 8 green over the pipeline to the 9th tee, but this is a pretty ugly trek and I could definitely see players having doubts as to if this was the correct direction.

The teeboxes themselves are a mess. They may have been cinders at some point, but now are dug-out dirt. Many are very uneven. As above, I could not find #7's even with a map. Also, holes 2 and 4 tees are very close and are a setup for confusion, as are holes 15 and 17 whose tees are also in close proximity. Some hole signs there would be a drastic improvement. The teebox for hole 13 has also been dug out by a large vehicle tire and was not really playable due to the disrepair and standing water. A lot of the teeboxes are gradually moving forward from the tee stones which is weird.

The course layout also sets itself up for some issues. Holes 1-8 are all basically wide open in a field and get monotonous. Holes 7 and 8 play behind the indoor facility building in a not very scenic location. 9 and 10 are good holes, but 11 is a narrow throw through the woods which really doesn't have a fairway. Hole 12 invites a throw to hyzer out over a parking lot towards the pin, and 14 plays over center field of an old baseball diamond which didn't seem necessary given all of the available terrain.

After the really pretty stretch of holes 15-17, the course emerges to hole 18 which plays around the side and to the back of another maintenance shed with barred windows - a rather ugly and anticlimactic finish, even though the design is ok.

Finally, the old chainstar baskets are a bit difficult to see. The course would greatly benefit for some coloration on the baskets to help visibility

This course, though far from perfect, is definitely playable. The combination of front and back actually do balance out to give a nice mix of open and wooded holes. It really does suffer from the lack of the little things - hole signs, tee boxes, navigational aids, visible baskets. The difficulty of navigation really does highlight the lack of the above amenities and significantly detracts from the course. I am giving the course a rating of 2. With some improvements, this course could be so much better and it feels like there is the potential for a good disc golf facility on this site if there is a bit more investment.

The most prominent pro to Barber Park is its proximity to the colleges of Greensboro. This is a great course for college students to first try their hands at Disc Golf. With a nice mixture of open and wooded holes, it is a great course for beginners to begin developing their skill.

Barber Park offers a lot of open holes, which I really enjoy. As someone who can throw extremely far with little effort, I really enjoyed the front half of Barber Park. There is also some decent elevation change to accompany many of the holes. Different kinds of elevation too. Ups, downs, up-and-downs, there seems to be a good mix here.

This course has a lot of potential to be quite good, but its age is showing. This is actually something that I enjoy seeing. I love playing older courses because it allows you to witness the growth of the sport. None of the fairways are overly long, and most are either extremely open or fairly open.

One of my favorite things is you can play Holes 1-8 and then skip over to 18 if you want a short round on open holes. This also allows you to get some quick rounds of drive practice in.

As I said, this course is in desperate need of some repairs. It feels as if it was not meant to be permanent as the tees were just concrete cylinders placed in the ground to mark the edge of the tee. Most of these are seeing a lot of wear and tear due to years of play. Some even have tree roots and/or rocks on the "tees"- forcing people to move to the side.

There is a definite lack of signage that hinders this course (which already has a less than obvious layout at times). Only a few of the tees are marked with the hole number (and unfortunately it's not the ones that need it most).

The baskets can be quite difficult to see as the sun sets as they are old Chainstars. These should either be replaced or painted yellow near the top so that they are visible from the tees.

I think my biggest con is that the majority of the holes here seem to be forced. I love open, grassy fairways- but it gets repetitive throwing in a straight line over an open field to a basket. Some more minor obstacles obstructing your shots would have been a nice touch, and would add some scenery.

As a Charlotte native, I am going to admit I may be jaded to the course designs of Mecklenburg County, but Barber Park feels both dated, and in disrepair. But I do think it's a potential gem. I would love to see some nice additions to the course such as concrete tees, signage, a few benches, and some trash cans. If this course saw the addition of these things I would probably give it a rating closer to 3.0 or a 3.5! I doubt I would give it higher than that because very few of the holes have any flair and are very straight forward.

To be honest the time I have spent at school in Greensboro- I have played little Disc Golf because Barber Park hasn't been able to hold my interest. It however is a great course for teaching your friends how to play since there is a nice mix of open and wooded holes.

Favorite Holes: 4, 5, 11, & 15

1. Open elevation. I played Barber immediately after playing Springwood, just 20 minutes down I-40. I was struck by how similar the courses are. You don't find many completely wide open courses in North Carolina, but here are two just 20 minutes apart. Springwood is a superior course due to navigation, quality of tees and baskets, and upkeep. However, I actually enjoyed playing the open front 9 at Barber as much or more than Springwood. There's great elevation, including my favorite hole, #5. On this hole, you tee off from atop a pretty big hill down to a basket in the large field below. You can see that the basket is on the edge of another hill below, but you don't realize that the hill really guards the basket. If your tee shots lands far enough right of the pin, you can't even see the basket, despite being in a wide open field, because of the hill, which is bigger than it appears from the tee.

2. Two courses in one. The only other advantage over Springwood is the variety. The first half of the course makes you think the course is 100% wide open, like Springwood, but then you transition to the wooded half of the course. It reminded me of Cedarock/Wellspring. This isn't a perfect analogy, because the relatively nearby Cedarock and Wellspring are fantastic 3.5-4.0 level courses (and they are 36 holes, not 18), but Barber did remind me of Cedarock/Wellspring in that it's two courses in one: an open portion and a wooded one.

3. Old course with great potential. This is an old course that's showing its age. There are no tees, no signs, and below average baskets. The course needs some TLC or a full-fledged makeover. But the bones of this course are pretty good. A refresh would make all the difference. As is, I gave Barber a 2.0. I don't think this could be an *amazing* course, but I could easily see it moving up to a 2.5 or *maybe* a 3.0 with a few easy fixes, improvements, and general upkeep.

4. Easy to get to. As mentioned, Barber is right off of 40 and you can quickly hop on and off the interstate to play it if you're passing through Greensboro.

1. "Tees." There are no tees at Barber, other than a worn patch of dirt in the grass (for the open, front 9). Navigational signs are nonexistent (more on that in a second), so if you can't find the patch of dirt serving as the "tee," you just have to make up the hole you're on. The "tees" are actually unusable, as the ground is uneven and the area is too small for your run-up. On the open holes, you are forced to tee off from more level grass beside or in front of the dirt patches.

2. Navigation. When you arrive at the first "tee," make sure you pick up a scorecard and course map at the info-board. Otherwise, you will have zero hints as to how to navigate the course. Even with the map, navigation is difficult. There are no tee or directional signs on the course. You are basically forced to guess which tee you're on and which basket you're trowing to. When the course transitions from the open, first half of the course to the wooded holes, there's a hole in a fence, then a drop down to a large pipe where you cross a creek. It looks like a rundown shortcut through the property rigged up by local kids. No, this is actually part of the course. This is the point at which you ask yourself, "Is it worth it to keep playing?"

Would I play Barber again? Mmmmaybe. It's so easy to get to, that I probably would, time permitting. But there are other courses in the area that are superior that are a little further off the beaten path that I would much prefer playing.

- Great atmosphere. A very big and really nice park. Its girth is fairly deceiving. Parking and amenities are plentiful. This is obviously a "big town" park. Greensboro did it right. While the course circumnavigates the entire park, most of the holes make you feel relatively secluded, giving it an air of privacy. I'll echo what reposado said: If you're a runner, this would be an excellent place for a jog -- the trails are choice. Add to that the fact that there was literally ZERO traffic on this day it made for a great round.

- Sweet variety. Lots of holes to showcase your big arm in the open field, but also many opportunities to practice your accuracy in the wooded fairways that comprise about half the course. It's a good mix and they blend it nicely.

- Top quality baskets. Chainstars have been well-cared for and are very forgiving.

- Elevation. Living in coastal Carolina makes one appreciate the value of elevation in disc golf courses since many in our area don't feature these niceties. #5 was especially fun: Standing on top a huge hill throwing down to a target partially hidden by another hill made me (for the first time) truly consider wind, distance, and altitude. Made me really appreciate how far I could actually throw. An eye-opener, to be sure. (Not in a good way.)

- NO SIGNAGE: My biggest gripe. The first hole lulls you into a false sense of security. The mailbox that houses copious amounts of well-designed scorecards makes you believe that the rest of the course echoes this. Newsflash: It doesn't. Do yourself a HUGE favor and grab one of those bad boys because you WILL need it to find the basket and/or where the next hole/tee might be. The lack of signage makes it darn-near impossible to find where you're going if you don't have a map. Some holes are fairly straightforward, but others - specifically 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, & 17 (to say nothing of 18, of which I could find no evidence, tee or basket) - will be more confusing than a quantum physics exam to a retarded monkey taking the ASVAB. #9 comes to mind specifically: You hole-out on 8 and are looking for the next tee. The course map on the scorecard provided on #1 seems to indicate you have to cross a creek. Okay, there's a gap in the fence to the left of the 8 fairway that leads you to an elevated, concrete pad crossing what appears to be a sewage run-off that smells like Big Foot's pee-pee. Across it you see a worn-out gravel area surrounded by man-hole covers that head into the woods. This is the #9 tee, which I coined "Pedophile Playground." It's not, of course, but it was a little creepy. Proper (any!) signage would cure that.

- Tees? Tees? Tees? Anyone? Beuhler? Don't bother looking....there are none. It's grass. Correction: It's dirt. Sometimes. Natural tees aren't terrible when they're defined, but these aren't. Sometimes there's a "white" rock that says where you're supposed to tee from, but sometimes there isn't. Very confusing for a course-virgin player throwing solo.

- Layout. The course offers a pretty wide variety, but it seems as if the designers sort of threw up their hands on a few holes and just said, "Alright, just put a basket there and a basket there. They'll figure it out." #6 immediately comes to mind. After a really cool #5 they didn't even put any logical progression as to where the next hole should be. Signage (again) would have helped. #12 is also a problem in that they make you essentially throw through a parking lot where cars are parked. Not good karma. Had to play extremely conservatively to avoid hitting the Ford F-350 parked to the right of the "fairway."

- No topless Hooters girls frolicking along the #8 fairway.

Truth be told, this is a nice place for a course - and the course that's there has outstanding potential. The 2.0 I give it has nothing to do with its playability, so much as it does its lack of clarity. With a few hundred bucks spent on signage (no teepads required!) and a little TLC, Barber Park could be a really exceptional course. It's sort of like a really hot girl with a colostomy bag. You know what you WANT to do and you know what you're SUPPOSED to do, but you're not exactly sure "how" to proceed with the deed given the gauche medical limitations. In short, it's awkward but worth playing.

The most positive pro about this course is its close proximity to my farm and to my primary playing partner's house. Beyond that, Barber has the vista viewing, expansively open green grass fairways that I most appreciate and enjoy. It also has some very well designed and defined wooded holes for variety. #14 is perhaps the best conceived hole I've ever played, though it could and should be better, making better use of the available land, so as to be a magnificent par 4, or maybe even 5.

The cons are so numerous, in terms of design flaws. 1 and 4 need to be altogether eliminated, as they fly over the audience area of the amphitheatre at either side, with #4 also crossing through two picnic spots. Not necessarily a design flaw as much as an aesthetic error, #5' s basket should have been placed on top of the hill, rather than behind it. And to have only two holes in that grandly expansive open area behind the amphitheatre is beyond flawed to the point of sinfulness. The traverse between 8 and 9 is perhaps the worst, most dangerous design flaw I've ever encountered. I am amazed that no one has gotten hurt or even killed making that trip. Unlike the course's other wooded holes, #11's fairway is anything but fair. In 15 years of playing Barber, I've managed to hit the green once. #12's basket is poorly placed, so that you are pretty much forced to navigate the ball field's parking lot and a walkway into/out of the park. #16 is overly short, out of character with the rest of the course. It is isolated and almost unfindable and shoots over a paved sidewalk. It is the hole where I scored perhaps my oddest ace; the double ricochet, blind, silent ace. It is eliminated in my redesign of the course as part of my proposed master plan for the park.
The tees. what can be said of the tees except that they suck. This site lists them as grass, but they are, at best, dirt ruts and exposed roots. They are mostly mud slicks. I think that I'll edit that as soon as I finish this. And there's only one tee per hole, making this layout geared toward pro and advanced level players. Those pitiable little cylinders should be painted blue, rather than white.
The biggest con about Greensboro's only course is the city's disdain, disregard and disrespect for our sport. This course has experienced no improvements, changes or upgrades, except for new #18, which was moved in deference to other park activities. Oh yeah; there were those ridiculous little plastic numbered signs that were about as prominent as the cylinders that lasted about a week and a half. And the only reason that this course exists is the local players, who spent the time, effort and money to make it a reality.
Despite its specific negatives, I still rate Barber as generally a good course, rather than typical, because it is not typical to find a course with such open air through which to let them fly.

7 or so years ago, city voters approved a $10 million dollar bond referendum for Barber Park improvements, which included $39,900 for the disc golf course. How could that much money be spent on a course that already has its baskets, you ask? We asked the same question then. By spending millions on a new community center/memorial museum and putting it where it will destroy holes 13 and 14 and the baseball practice field, not to mention so many tremendous trees. By spending millions more building a highfalutin new office/maintenance building where 2 and 3 are, so a handful of park employees can have fancy new digs in which to hang out. That is the area where the community center/memorial museum should be placed. Modest modernization of the presently located office building/maintenance area is completely in line, but what they're planning to do with way too many taxpayer dollars is waaaay out of line and will be an overt eyesore right at the park's main entrance/exit. I have recently learned that the reason for all of that is due to dumb mass Dummycrap flood plane rules and regs, governing much of the park's land, as it falls into what is referred to as a 100 year flood plane, meaning that Buffalo Creek will spill over it banks once every century or so. Against those expenditures, $39,900 is butt wiping money.
So, the course will be thrown into and relegated to the swampy stench filled forest bordering the cesspool that is Buffalo Creek, Greensboro's septic tank, so to speak, killing untold numbers of majestic, mature, old growth trees. while killing what character Barber Park DGC has with its beautiful, green grass open fairways. Of course many more trees than that are going to be felled to make room for a new YMCA with soccer pitches and parking lot slated for the woods next to the lawn where 2 & 3 are now. Or maybe, they'll do with it as they did with their Bryan Park DGC some thirty years ago....bulldoze the Chainstars right up out of the ground and push them over the bank of Buffalo Creek, since there isn't a cliff over which to push them as there was at Bryan Park. .

Layout - It's a whole lot of open with a wee bit of trees in your way.. sometimes.

If you like open the first 8 are completely open with the exception of 4, it has a few trees saying excuse me. If you need a place to practice distance accuracy this is a good one.

A few holes do use the minimal elevation changes to make interesting basket/tee locations.

The back nine gives you a somewhat of a mixture between open and tree lined but wide fairways.

Atmosphere - It's a really nice park considering the other things in it. 15 & 17 are in a nice part of the park with a covered but open canopy.

Equipment - The baskets are in good shape. There's a map at #1, use it or wander the desert for 40 years.

Layout - There's no positive flow here; it gives you a ton of open at the beginning in the 330-400 range and it will bore you to death.

The wooded holes on the back aren't very well designed, most are left to right shots that aren't very difficult or just a straight shot down a huge fairway. Well there is one hole with a bunch of trees, to many trees. It just never gives you a feeling of fun, the design is uninspired.

There's basically no real elevation changes here, there is a bit of small hills and baskets near hills but mostly flatness.

You play near ball fields, a building, roads and a parking lot. I take that back, you play over a parking lot. I threw over a car and parked it, the disc not the car.

If you don't look at the map at #1 you're probably screwed. Even with the map it was a bit confusing. 15-16 walk is long.

Did I mention how boring 1-8 was? If you can't throw past 350' you're going to loathe the designer

Atmosphere - The open holes would look better if they weren't all in a big stretch and around an ugly building. You play around some fields that aren't very aesthetic...and the parking lot thing again.

On top of all that it's really wet here, this place holds water super bad. Some of the wooded holes feel really swampy and are not very pleasant on the eye.

Equipment - No legit signs, just little stones on the ground that are almost unreadable. No signs helping with navigation along the way, well there is a sticker for 9 that seems to let you know you need to go through a fence, over a sewer system contraption and in to the woods.

The natural tee pads are very natural. I naturally stepped to the side and used a better area not full of roots two or five times.

No benches or trashcans or any of that stuff that might make me think better of this place.

I really like #14. You throw out of the woods off a 15' cliff out in to the open where a basket sits semi guarded by two tall trees.. really fun shot.

The course is right off of I-40 and is a good one to catch while making a trip down the interstate. Other than I would never go here unless I lived down the road and wanted some driving practice; Or if you have kids it's a good place to drop them off with mom while you throw discs... but just play with your kids it'll be funner.

I wouldn't even recommend newer players to go here because the open holes have so much length.

18 baskets place around some fields and woods in North Carolina. That alone makes it worth a stop.

Front 9 plays almost all wide open with no obstacles or issues. Just let 'em rip. It is vastly different than most Carolina courses so I consider it a positive. It is a good course to practice, learn or work on your game.

I counted 14 holes that basically required straight shots. That's kind of dull in my book. NO real creative holes here.

Natural tee pads. I would immediately put these in the Top 10 Worst tee pad list. In some areas people have started creating their own natural pad to avoid tripping over roots.

Navigation isn't good. No signs, and on the open holes you can usually see multiple baskets from the pad. A few times I wasn't sure where to throw. No signs on the wooded holes either. The walk between 14 and 15 is long. Luckily I had brotherdave guiding me, otherwise I would have wandered a little.

Almost no fun factor here. If you're trying to build up your courses played list it is worth a stop, otherwise head on down the road. Creekside was considerably better, and if you're looking for wide up holes, Cedarock isn't that far away.

For practice rounds, or desparation golf I'd use Barber Park, but for any serious DG outing it really isn't worth the time. Hopefully someday the opportunity will arise when they can do some work on the course and give it a little facelift. It has lots of room, and with new pads, and some basket re-positioning it could probably be vastly improved.

This is a nice place to take a walk and work on different parts of your game in a pretty little park. It has a mix of wide open and wooded holes.

The course maps provided on hole #1 are helpful (actually NEEDED) to find your way around and provide hole lengths.

Unique holes:
#4- the only hole out in the open that has some trees in the fairway that makes you shape your throw and has a hill sloping off to the right side.
#11- the most challenging of the wooded holes - heavily treed dogleg right. Tough to par if you smack a tree early.

The basic design is rather uninspired. The first half of the course plays out in the open and 7 of the 8 holes are WIDE open - not a tree to be found in the fairways. Some use elevation (actually #5 is fun as it places a pin below a small hill which can make your putt interesting), but they are mostly flat and at about the same distance of 336'-398'. If you don't throw over 300'- you will have a drive, a long birdie putt, then a tap in. This got really repetitive and dull. Five of the non-open wooded holes were dogleg rights, the others were straight. The only left turning hole on the course was badly flawed- hole #12 goes over the edge of a parking lot (a car was parked right in my flight path).

Tee pads are scuffed dirt with a little cement marker with a number. The map will help you find these because they are invisible from a distance.

If you are learning the game this would be a great place to get your feet wet, but it's not a place that would improve ones game. I'd you really want challenges I would recommend playing holes 9-17, as these are more fun and are in the shade!

*Design: There are a few nice holes. Hole 4 comes to mind-- with scattered foliage and especially tricky with the drop off down the hill on the right side. Hole 11 is a nice woods shot with a tight, challenging fairway and a challenging green.
*Elevation changes: On the front 9 there are some hills that provide good ups and downs, even though 7 holes are flat. (7 Flat/ 4 Up/ 7 Down)
*Amenities: There's a basic map on the scorecard, and there are usually scorecards at the first tee. There's also a good message board.

-There are no tee signs and no real tee pads! The only thing marking the tees are just the tops of round white concrete cylinders almost flush to the ground, so the tees are very poorly marked and can be really hard to find. Since the tees are natural, you find them by hunting for the worn spots. Some tees are uneven. First timers had better take a map or they may never find the tees. As it is, even though I've played the course several times, I never found tees 15 & 17 because the area had been dug up.
-There are too many straight holes for my taste. The open straight holes are especially lackluster. 13 St/ 1 Left/ 4 Right
-I don't really like holes with buildings nearby because it takes away from the natural beauty, and Barber has several of these since the large park Rec center is in the middle of the course.

Course Level: Blue (most suited for Advanced players rated 950). It's Blue level mainly because of it's length, albeit an easier Blue.

-There is decent terrain variety, but a few too many wide open grass holes for my taste. (6 Woods/ 5 Open/ 7 Mixed.)
-Length variety is below average with 16 holes are in the 200-399 ft range. (1 of 195/ 7 of 200-299/ 9 of 300-399/ 1 of 400). The front nine is much longer than the back (3105 ft. vs. 2555 ft). To expand on this a little more, the longer front has 7 holes of 330-375 ft. plus 1 of 400 ft., while the shorter back has 7 holes of 195-295 ft. plus 1 of 300.
-On hole 14 I don't feel totally safe. You drive over a field in the vicinity of some sketch housing, and sometimes there are shifty looking urban males wandering around. Also, kids have been known to run out and steal your disc here.

Over the years Barber has gone downhill. When the park added some facilities this took out a few holes, and they were replaced with holes that are too open and bland. The course is only a few minutes off of I-40, if you happen to be driving by, but I wouldn't recommend making a special trip to play here.

<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my enjoyment of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the quality of the course. My ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.
-More detailed "Overall Rating" notes and "Hole-by-hole Ratings" are available in the Files section.

Nice and challenging. First 8 holes are open and pretty easy to find the hole.

Poor Signage, Dirt and gravel tees make it easier to slip and hurt yourself, lots of poison ivy around the wooded holes, construction stuff makes obstacles. It was hard finding the tee on some holes.

Very challenging course. Not a course for beginners. Most hole lengths are in the 200's and 300's.