Diavolo will probably skyrocket into the top of NC disc golfers' favorite courses list and it's well deserved. Not since Rolling Pines has a course of this caliber debuted with so much polish and quality design. There are little to no "new course" issues that usually accompany a course like vicious rough, etc.

The design is good enough to merit in-depth discussion. From the Whites and Blues that I played, the course is 22 quality holes with well-defined fairways. Most courses struggle to have 18 decent to good holes and Diavolo has that plus 4 more. The only holes that can be subjectively considered ho-hum are maybe the shorter par 3 holes used to combine with the fusion holes for the 18 hole layout. But there was little to no "par 2" stench on them. Legitimate holes all.

The design has broad spectrum appeal. It's open enough and the rough forgivable enough to please everyone from noobs to chuckers. And the holes are long and technical enough to satisfy the more advanced players. As a player that throws every speed of disc frequently and practically a 50/50 BH vs FH thrower I was happy to find shots for all my discs. Distance drivers to putters all saw plenty of use. This is not one of those courses where you'd necessarily be safe to go without mids or fairway drivers, etc.

Pulling all these shots out of my bag means that the hole shapes had a great mix of variety. For sure there are plenty of holes asking for flip ups, flexes, sweepers, etc. Practically every conventional disc golf line is needed to score well here. Most of the holes offer multiple options to attack. Hole 8 in the A position (over the fence) was the only hole with a bit of an extreme line needed to reach the green comfortably. There's a great variety of distance also, from 230' hole 14 that's probably the most get-able (despite the slightly raised basket) to 939' hole 16 (entirely wooded!).

This is also a very balanced course in terms of open vs wooded. The most open hole is #9 with the pond to clear and plenty of field to land in. But even this hole isn't necessarily a mindless grip it and rip it affair. Between the fairway shape, length in relation to par, and the moderate amount of trees you always have to consider next shot placement.

Part of the reason this course looks so clean already is because it is almost entirely pine forest. Pines make great disc golf course trees because their limbs rarely grow low enough to affect shots, they don't bury discs in leaves, they're easy to keep clear of underbrush, and they're great obstacles. Diavolo is easy enough to navigate thanks to the fantastic signs and the two-tiered benches available at the tees are easy to spot in addition to their main job accommodating bags and rear ends. The baskets are new DisCatchers which can't be knocked really.

The multiple tee layouts also do a nice job of providing more variety rather than one being a shorter version of the other for the same hole.

There's not much. The only major issue is something the course can't really do anything about and that's the lack of elevation change. Diavolo is fairly flat, like a course closer to the coast (part of the reason it reminds me a lot of Castle Hayne). There is a bit of up and downhill though occasionally and the tee locations do a good job of making use of what elevation there is.

If you like to throw more extreme or unconventional lines like big flexes or flick rollers or hard-turning flares you might get a little bored. The holes are generally straight or curve very graciously in respect to how discs fly. There are plenty of trees though if you want to get creative. Also seemed to be maybe a little lefty biased.

Hole 12 has a tee sign info error. I think it says "white" on both signs at the white tee and the blue tee. I feel like I should get a reward for noticing the only goof-up.

Holes 12, 17 and 18 play along a popular gravel road. On a nice day, you'll probably have to be patient with dog walkers and joggers (especially 12). Some of the holes get a little close to each other, like hole 7's tees in hole 6's fairway, hole 10 and 22's tees are right next each other, and it's easy to accidentally walk into 9's fairway when leaving 8. On a busy day or during a tournament it might cause issues.

I'm not crazy about these kinds of tees (porous rubber mats over compacted gravel). The far ends of the course are a LONG way away from the bathrooms. A portable bathroom around that hole 13 to 21 stretch would not be a bad idea.

UPDATE: After playing the Fusion Blue layout, I have upgraded this to a 4.5. The Fusion holes makes this course feel like a legitimate championship course and I don't throw that term around lightly. They are challenging and fair holes that are a blast to play (if you like wooded golf).

This course is immediately the crown jewel of disc golf in the Triangle area. You could rate it higher than my beloved Rock Ridge b/c RR's last hole sucks, and higher than Buckhorn/UNC/Valley Springs etc b/c the design is more modern. This is basically the Rolling Pines of the Triangle.

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-Great mix of open and wooded holes
-Really made use of the elevation and slight rolling hills. This is made even better by the tee signs, which include an indication of the elevation change from tee to pin.
-Essentially 4 courses that service the full spectrum from beginner (red tees), to intermediate (white tees), to professionals (blue tees or fusion layout).
-Signage is top notch. I mentioned tee signs with elevation already, but the do a great job with signs to next hole, as well as depicting various line options on the tee signs.
-Great variety of shot shaping, but not in a way that you need to get lucky. Every tree hit, or bad kick I got, was because I missed my line in some way. I never felt like I threw a good shot that got 'unlucky'.

-The only type of hole that the course is missing is the long par 3. I had originally rated this as a 5, but after thinking back through the rounds I played, I felt like in order to get that perfect rating (for me) it would need a couple of those longer par 3 holes.
-I personally would like the water to come more into play on hole 8, but that's more personal preference. *They do have a pin placement closer to the water (position C), but the basket was not there when I played and this might lead to safety issues with the blue tee on the next hole having to throw over/near the pin of 8.
-There are a couple of holes that use a single tee for Blue/Red/White. On these holes, the teesign only shows the color Blue, so it may be a bit confusing your first playthrough. Just know that UDisc had it mapped perfectly, so you can be confident you are teeing in the right spot if you follow UDisc.

I had a blast at this course, and can't wait to go back. If you are thinking about playing this course, do it!
FWIW: My distance maxes at 450ish, probably closer to just over 400 on golf shots. I think something close to that distance is needed in order to score from the Blue tees, especially on some of the par 4's and 5's. (Holes 9 and 16, I'm looking at you...)

The course opened today so the family went and played the "front 11." We absolutely loved it. Here are the pros
- Signs by the blue and white tee pads are the best I've ever seen. They show a detailed map with the trees where they are. They also show the elevation changes along the holes. I've never seen that before, but it is very cool.
- The course will likely be a pro-level course, but we played the red tee locations since I had the wife and kids with me. This is a very playable course for recreational players from the red tees. We were worried that it would be too hard for us, but it was very playable for beginners from the red tees.
- The blue and white tee pads are, of course, brand new and are in great shape.
- The course is extremely fair. Some of the holes are quite wooded, but they all give lanes you can hit if you throw well. We didn't encounter any unfair holes on the from 11.
- Number 8 is a very short par 3, but forces all players to throw over water. From the red tee, it's only like 100-120 feet to clear the water. The wife and kids didn't make that throw, but it was an easy traversal of the water for me.
- There's a mixture of short, tight North Carolina holes and long, open holes. It's nice to have the variety. Not many courses in the area offer that.
- There are THREE different practice baskets spread around. One is by the smaller course parking lot. The other two are across the street near the larger parking lot.
- There are very nice bathroom facilities right across the street from the course.
- Very cool having some of the combined holes to make the course more difficult.

Not much for cons. This is an awesome course. The cons will likely be fixed over time.
- Red tee pads are missing on most holes. I expect they'll be coming soon.
- It will take some time for the fairways to be beaten down. They're still a bit of an adventure to traverse in some places.
- The parking lot right beside the course is not paved and is quite small. It was completely full today, but it's very easy to park in the lot across the street.
- Paths are not quite beaten down either. The transition from hole 6 to hold 7 was confusing. It felt like we were supposed to either walk back up the 6th fairway or to switch over to the 7th fairway and walk up it.

Diavolo is now the closest course to where we live. It is a fantastic course. I'm sure it will mature and evolve into one of the best courses in North Carolina. Very happy to have it nearby. Kudos to CADL for all the work to make this happen.