I was pleasantly surprised by this course. I was expecting an easy, beginner course (this being a 9-holer on a church's property). Wrong. This is a legitimate, tight, wooded, technical course. If you are in Winston or just passing through, I recommend playing it (with a few caveats below in the cons section).

PROS

1. Navigation is easy and intuitive. First-time players can manage it without a map or another player.

2. New baskets. No issues here.

3. I really like the course design. There's a nice mix in just these 9 holes. Several tunnel shots, some uphill fairways, a few fun downhill ones, two par 4's.

4. If this were an 18-hole course, I'd put it right up there with a typical to above average wooded course. Very challenging and fun.

Despite the surprising pro's in this course, there are a few flaws that caused me to notch it a 2.0.

1. It's only 9 holes. For the challenge this course possesses, it's better suited to an intermediate player, not a beginner. (I would say most intermediate players, like me, would prefer 18 holes to 9). That said, if I lived in the neighborhood, I'd play here often.

2. The tees are a problem. I played after a few days of rain (although at least two days later) and the tees were an uneven, slick, muddy mess. I did s full banana-peel-slip on hole 2 and busted my ass. Not cool, man.

3. Other areas, mainly the fairways closest to the creek, were very muddy. Drainage seems to be a problem. Don't wear shoes you don't mind messing up.

4. Lots of thorns around the #2 fairway. Not a problem if you stay in the fairway, but if you slip and bust your ass while teeing off (see number 2 above), and you will end up in said thorn bushes.

5. High risk of disc loss with autumn leaves on the ground.

6. I didn't care much for hole #1. It's tree pinball around the basket with no clear line to go for the ace run.

If you're in the area, go check it out (preferably under dry conditions). Fun course.

Bethel Methodist Church's 9-hole course is an enjoyable layout. It's better than most school/church courses while being a great addition to Winston Salem's disc golf scene.
- This is a very solid course, offering a good mix of challenge, enjoyment and creative hole layouts. Too often 9-holers have that negative 'feel' or stigma of simply being a 9-hole course. Bethel actually felt like it should be an 18-hole course that I quit playing after the front 9.
- I enjoyed the wooded, isolated feel of this course. It is on church property, and relatively close to nearby houses, but you are pretty removed from everything else. Add to that, the holes have a good flow winding through the woods while offering some decent variety.
- #1 is a solid starting hole. It's a 280-foot, dogleg right that starts sloping downward towards the basket the final third. That's followed up by a similar layout on #2, with the difference being the hole slopes upward in the final third toward the basket that's set back among trees.
- My two favorite holes here are #4 & 7. #4 is a 341-footer that starts out as an open, slight dogleg left. The challenge here is the approach shot to a basket that's protected by trees and a small creek if you go left or long. My second shot was 15 feet from the basket, but I had several small trees between me and the basket making the putt more challenging than it should be.
- #7 is a fun, potential ace-run layout. It's a 247-foot downhill, slight dogleg right hole. There's heavy tree coverage on both sides of the fairway, adding a risk/reward element to your tee shot. From the tee, be aware the first basket you'll see is probably for #4, so make sure you pay attention before throwing. As it is, I personally thought that would be a great, alternative hole layout, but I'll more than gladly enjoy the layout as it is.
- Course is easy to navigate once you find the first tee. I was slightly disappointed there was no signage or indication of the course on the church property, or better directions on this site. The first basket I found was actually for #9, so I had to backtrack to find #1. Nonetheless, once you find the first tee (I've since updated the directions on this site to help everyone else), there's good signage - both tee signs and directional markers after each hole. It's especially helpful as you use the same walking trail going from #4 & 7 to #5 & 8 respectively.

My biggest con here would be the natural tees. I played after it rained so the ground was muddy and slick. It's difficult getting any sort of run-up on your tee shots in those conditions. The only other negative about the tees is that the tee 'area' for #2 is very short. I liked having the tee on the other side of the small creek; however, unless that area is cleared out a little more, the tee area is shorter than a regular sized tee pad area.
- I wasn't a big fan of the current layouts for holes #2 & 8. Both holes feel like they need a little more clearing to have a more natural flow from the tees to the basket. On #2, I felt the clearing into the woods, towards the 'green' needed to be widened. On #8, it feels like the fairway was simply an existing walking trail and needed a couple trees on the left side removed to allow players to throw a more natural left-to-right shot.
- In two spots, the holes were squeezed too close together. I thought the baskets/greens for #4 & 7 were too close, as I noted above. Also, the basket for #8 is basically on the fairway for #9. If there ever were a crowd here, players would have to be aware of discs sailing long on these holes and/or wait for others to putt out before throwing.
- Not an issue for me, but there aren't any benches or trashcans. Of course, nobody should have to sit down to rest while playing a 9-holer and people should be able to pack out their own trash. Somehow, this will be a problem for some player(s) so I'm just warning those players.

Bethel is a solid nine-hole course. Unfairly or not, I tend to judge 9-hole courses as to whether it feels like it could, or should, be an 18-holer. Does a 9-hole course feel like the stereotypical 9-holer (meaning beginner friendly) or does it feel like a 18-holer that was cut in half? Bethel definitely fits into the latter category.
- There are three courses in North Carolina called Bethel. I've played the Bethel trilogy and can easily avow that this is North Carolina's best Bethel course.
- The course had some similarities to Kilborne (Charlotte) and Crooked Creek (Chapin, SC) with some of the hole designs and general wooded layout.
- I'm giving this course a 2.0 rating. Give me an 18-hole version of this layout, and I could easily see that being a 3.5-level rated course. I don't normally recommend playing 9-holers, but this is a good place to play through twice, especially if you're in downtown Winston. With the nearest course at least 25 minutes away (Horizons), if you're wanting to get in a quick 18, I'd opt for playing through twice here rather than making the drive there.