Nice topography and lots of potential.

Don't be fooled by the nicely mowed first few holes, the next 14 have had ZERO maintenance done. There is waste to head high brush and grass everywhere that makes finding discs and even baskets nearly impossible at times. There is a very deep ravine that runs through the course that has not one set of steps for retrieving stray discs. Possibly the longest walk from 18 to 1 that I've ever seen.

Great land, lots of potential, Very scenic. lots great of challenge on the holes that are finished.

Whoever is in charge of building the course did a bad job with about half the holes, massive piles of wood left all over the course to rot (snake hazards) including one that was in the middle of one of the few fairways. Another big problem is all the barbwire on the course, it's a a hazard if you don't watch where you're walking every minute of the round.

Holes 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 14 have no reasonable rout to make par on the hole with the exception that hole 8 is one of the shortest holes on the course. Hole 11 is one of the worst I've ever seen, no fairway no approach just a tee box and a basket separated by hundreds of trees and a ravine.

And no benches after hole 3? Why would you put benches on the easy part of the course then leave the other holes like that?

Never thought I'd say this but this course needs to be either gutted or have baskets moved. There are no fairways on some holes but the holes with fairways are great.

- Nice oversized tee pads

- Nice new signage, although it needs to mark OB boundaries

- Unique land and elevation throughout the course

- Course potential for a 4 out of 5 rating

- Too many trees left in "Fairways" results in the course becoming frustrating since it relies more on luck than skill.

- OB needs to be clearly marked throughout the course.

- The land that the course is on is under-utilized for its unique features. It seems like they just filled in the back nine with a bunch of uphill/downhill holes.

- Course needs "Next Tee" arrows at the baskets since some of the basket-to-tee transitions are counter-intuitive and often times require backtracking along the previous hole. (Flaws in course design on these, specifically between 12 and 13 if I remember correctly.)

- Style of the course becomes repetitive once you enter the woods. Creek always plays on the left side, fairways are too littered with trees, lanes require luck,even when you hit the right line. "Look, another "Split" fairway!"

- Get the barbed wire off of the course ASAP! As if the ravines weren't sketchy enough without proper steps and ladders in yet, the barbed wire is just asking for an injury.

- Beginner course tease! If I saw the first three holes of this course from the park, I'd want to try out a round of disc. I'd then find out that every hole after #3 is a bit more brutal, unforgiving, and completely frustrating to beginners. I play 2-5 rounds a week and was upset for most of my round. Although the course is supposed to be "Challenging", that doesn't mean that it needs to be a bad experience for beginners.

This is the second time that I have written this review, so, believe it or not, it's a much shorter version this time since all of my last review was lost upon submittal.

Overall, this course has the potential to be both fun and challenging. Unfortunately, they both get lost in the designer's decision to leave so many trees in the fairways. There is a difference between a challenging line and one that is required to be perfect with a side of lucky. I, personally, get really upset with courses that don't follow that idea. So clearly, I was frustrated for most of my round here. Even when I could get a good line off of the tee, I was often times "Punished" by some tree that was still sitting in the middle of the correct throwing route. What's the point? It becomes a toss and pray. This is true for nearly every hole on the course. Instead of having a few stylized holes that require avoiding a center group of tress by choosing the left or right route, it seems like you're always just trying to find a small window off of each tee.

This course doesn't do the best job of utilizing the amazing land features that it plays around, but I still believe that it will become a more enjoyable round with some work. I appreciate the hard work that has gone into the course thus far, and I would likely be really excited about this one if I lived in a city with only a few courses. Unfortunately, this course is located just outside of Charlotte, which means that it doesn't live up to its neighbors, while the potential was certainly there. When courses like "RL Smith" and "Bradford" make such great use of land features and layout, it's hard to see "Cornelius" fall a bit short in comparison.

Removing 50% of the fairway trees would give the course plenty of wood to use for more needed bridges, steps, and ladders around the ravines, which would help.

I intend to play this course again within the year in order to update my review. I don't like my low scores to have a long term bearing on courses that are still being worked in, and I can only hope that the right work will get done here in order to ensure a more enjoyable round the next time I visit. (Fingers crossed)


Take It or Leave It Suggestion:

Since the course begins to suffer from repetition and some minor layout design flaws between holes on the back nine, I would really suggest thinking about making two holes a hybrid, or simply a more effective single hole that adds something different to the course. By doing so, you'll free up #18 to become #17 instead. From there, make #17 stay down by the creek and not work up the hill blindly towards a park patron walking path. It would make for a nice RHBH anheizer hole that follows the line of the creek and fades back left, with the basket and green near the bridge. The bridge would then already be in place for the transitional walk up to #18s Tee pad, which should be out in the open field next to the path. Doing so would result in a safer walkway for other park-goers since you'll be able to spot people from the tee. It would also add variety to the course as a whole by offering a nice long open drive that can fade nicely into where the green is now, or penalize someone that goes too far left by having to approach through the treeline.

Thanks for the hard work and good luck out there! I really hope to see some much needed adjustments the next time that I'm out.