Sometimes you feel like a nut. When you play a course primarily to add it to your 'played list' and it ends up being better than expected, well, the joke's on you.
- Darrell Almond was a solid, varied layout. Many small towns looking to build (or hopefully redesign existing) 9-hole courses should look here as an example of what a good one looks and plays like. The course had enough appeal that a long-time hack like me can enjoy while a newbie can also get a feel for the game without being overwhelmed.
- This is a reverse-sandwich course with the substance being the bookend holes - #1-3 and 7-9, with the middle holes (#4-6) being substance-less. Any one of those three holes could (should?) be replaced by something better. Perhaps a closing hole throwing over the water instead?
- The only elevation on the course is found in the first three holes. Each hole offers a varying degree of enjoyment and challenge with its respective elevation. The highlight is clearly #3. It's a dogleg right, 311-foot from the long tee, 150-foot straight downhill throw from the shorts. There's a small chance if your disc sails too long, you might sail the fence and end up wet. In the end, you've got to finesse your way around a tree to the basket. Then you've got to put up with a Salient basket that's already unable to remain upright.
- Hole #9 is an under-the-radar fun layout, even from the short tees. It's a dogleg right, 250-foot (340 from the longs) tee shot that forces you to keep your shot low to stay below the branches and/or far right, sweeping back to a basket that's located on the other side of a creek. If this hole implemented some OB (make the walking trails and creek OB) you'd be force to play safe to the left or have enough power to clear the creek. As it stands, this is an excellent closing hole.
- There are plenty of birdie chances here. Good risk/reward element as the course allows you to be aggressive, making runs at the baskets, while potentially penalizing overly aggressive shots.
- Course is easy to navigate. It also has great tee signs. This makes it easy for anyone to make their way through their round.

I'm not a fan of the long walk around the lake from #9 back to the parking lot. The nine holes make their way around two-thirds of the lake, then you've got to walk the remaining one-third to get back to your car. Seems like you could do something with that - like adding a hole over the edge of the water - especially when considering your filler holes.
- A couple basket placements teetered on gimmicky/poorly planned. #2 is placed between trees, which block putting angles from many sides. #4's basket is less than 15 feet from thick rough long, left and right. Basically the basket was put in a corner, as close to the rough as possible. I had a 20-foot birdie putt, it just happened I had 5-10 feet of rough between my disc and the basket. You would never see a basket placed there on a pro-level course, so why do it on a beginner-friendly course?
- Level of pettiness towards certain courses in the region continues. Look at who downvoted my review if you need to know who. Still going on after all these years.
- The baskets are in rough shape. After several holes in a row of bent and/or severely leaning and under-chained baskets, my buddy and I were wondering how a course less than 1-year-old could have baskets in such bad shape. I checked the basket on the next hole, and to my surprise....it was a Salient basket. Now I understand the anger against the company. These baskets were already looking and acting as if they were a decade (or more) old. Frustrating and discouraging.

All told, Darrell Almond is a very impressive nine-hole course. By nine-hole standards, it was an above average layout.
- For a course that has very few trees or other obvious obstacles, the designer did an outstanding job of creating a good variety of challenging layouts. The flip side means that there's not going to be (m)any chances for redesigning layouts. Unless you incorporate one playing over the water. Look at Jack Marley Park as an example.
- Holes #3 and 9 are both solid layouts. They deserve their due recognition. Plenty of other people will enjoy the challenges that hole #2 & 8 offer.
- I came to this course with no expectations, not knowing what to expect due to no reviews. My thinking was that was probably a bad sign. Instead, I discovered the course was simply overlooked as it was due to being out of the way, and not convenient for anyone.
- I had to make a detour from Charlotte to get here. It would definitely get more traffic if it were closer to Albemarle and Fox Chase. It's a shame this course never got the traffic it probably deserved.