- I had hoped that the older reviews of this course would be outdated and wrong in 2023. The biggest pro is that you can believe every word of the reviews here before me, and they make a lot more sense after playing the course.

- It's an 18-hole course, and there isn't much of that in the area

- Nobody seems to be playing this course. Zero traffic the day I came. There were other people enjoying the park, but not on the disc golf course.

- Discatcher baskets have numbers on them, and each hole has a tee sign giving the number and distance. If "this course has signs at each hole" seems like an odd thing to list as a "pro", then I think you're ready for the experience that is Ellis Park.

- Course design is an abomination. Packed tightly into the existing park and then crossing the highway and meandering aimlessly through the land across the street. There's no flow, the 6 and 7 fairways still cross over each other, and 11 and 12 nearly do the same. There are some big walks between holes (7-8, 14-15, maybe even 4-5) where additional holes could have been placed instead of shoehorning them the way they did into the old park.

- Several front nine holes have TERRIBLE obstructions. Hole 1 is as advertised: a blind slight dogleg right along the edge of the property, which means that 6 feet left of the fairway is a 12-foot razorwire fence. SIX FEET LEFT. New players throwing RHBH NEVER finish left, right? Hole 4 goes through a series of old abandoned horseshoe pits. That means there are 4-6 old chunks of rebar sticking up out of the ground ready to mess you up. #5 goes across a volleyball court. It's the kind of safety issues that make you shake your head.

- No teepads. AKA "natural teepads". Sometimes there are small yellow stobs marking where you should throw from, but if you're playing in the rain like I did, you're in for a sloppy day.

The word that best describes this course is "uncomfortable". There are very few holes where you have a clear vision of where you're supposed to go without elements that pose a danger to you, your discs, or to other park patrons.

Hole 13 has a ton of potential to be the iconic hole, a bizarre C-shaped hole that--if thinned out significantly--could let players go for the pin with a thumber or other overhand. However it's not thinned out, and the risk of disc loss without a spotter is too high to try the shot.

Hole 7 is a 400-foot uphill par 4 that USED to have a 10-foot gap to hit to enter the trees 100 feet into the hole. Well, those trees have grown, and that gap to get into the woods is down to just 6 feet.

My favorite hole was #11. A straightforward 274ft downhill tunnel shot due to a large tree branch. If you can keep it low, it's a great grip-and-rip hole.

In conclusion, I would love to see what a modern course designer could do with the same space if they pulled all the baskets up and started completely fresh. I don't want to come back and play here again, and I probably won't. This course made me appreciate the higher quality courses farther north towards Winston-Salem.

-Salisbury is a pretty town. This is a nice park and the land across the street consists of nine holes. So I'm going to assume that there was plenty of money spent to make this course happen. Whether you enjoy this course or not (you won't), the walk from hole seven to fifteen is really nice. It's funner to walk this course than it is to play it.

-A couple of the locals were very friendly. A man and a woman. I think they might work here. They were really nice and we had a little bit of conversation. The woman told me where hole six as I was struggling just trying to find it.

-It's close to downtown. Spanky's Ice Cream and Deli is open during this quarantine! Seems like a great tourist attraction in Salisbury! I went there and it was great!

-There's a really good use of elevation on the part of the course across the road. My favorite hole was #10. I couldn't stand this course, but #10 is I think in all fairness a great hole. You tee off in the open and throw uphill through a gap in the woods and back out of it. Only 210' but has an elevation gain of about 18 feet. #14 was a fun steep uphill hole as well!

-Many ace opportunities. You get to air out a bigger drive on #12 as well.

-The whole "Woe is Me" feeling went away when I left!

-It is disappointing to give a course a low rating when there are some good holes here. But I want to get my opinion out there because I don't this place is suited for 18 holes unless there is a whole lot more land available across the street. None of the holes (holes #1-5, #16-18) around the park itself are fun or well thought out. The designs for some of the holes across the street are notoriously terrible. Like REALLY terrible! I think Daffy Duck in a drunken stupor could do a far better job than this.

-Everyone mentioned the barbed wire fence on #1. It's to the left side and past the basket. Making an "L Shape." I don't know if anyone mentioned the right side though. It's jail! Right off the bat you'll see that this course is not really kept up or cared for. I supposed you could throw a cliche and unoriginal bank shot off the fence if you wanted to.

-#2-4 are all good ace opportunities but......#2's pin is dangerously close to the ball field. Just an arm's length distance away from it. Won't be playable if there's a game going on but hey! That might leave you unscathed and safe from the terror of playing here!

-#3 and #4 are both really short and are the most aceable holes here and #3 is dangerously close to #2 and the only thing separating #3 and #4 from sharing a backtracking fairway is an old wooden fence. Not to mention #4's basket is also too close to the field too.

-After #5 (which is too close to the volleyball field now) you cross the road and stumble upon crossing fairways for holes #6 and #7, supporting an "X" shape. X marks the spot. At this point I probably should've stopped digging. I should've carried my spade shovel back to the car and floored it on the gas because I didn't find any treasure here. #7 however is a real treasure to all of the terrible holes I have played. I could write a rant about bad that hole is. That rant would maybe be longer than a fictional novel. You are starting off with six consecutive short holes. AND THEN. THERE IS..............SEVEN!

-That hole is dreadful. You start off in the open crossing hole six. Then there's a small and low gap with a yellow pole in the middle of it. This hole's tee shot is as close to a replica of the infamous "Clown Hole" from Happy Gilmore as I've seen it get. The remainder of the hole is just as horrid. You're throwing down a super tight trail slightly uphill with hell or high water surrounding you on both sides. The rough is really bad! I got a five on this par four and was proud of it.

-#8: Look at this! Lots of elevation here! Look at that wooded green! That's gorgeous! This hole has many great merits. It's downhill maybe 35' in elevation and the wooded green is the best one here. The fairway is down the same narrow trail and meathooks to the right side. Damn! Can't see the basket and if you don't turn at the right time, you'll either hit an early tree on the trail in the woods or go too long and skip off down the descending hill in the open full of kudzo if you don't go right enough. I got a six on this par three. Starts off as a birdie fest from #1-6 and the next two holes completely change the skill level of this course. Both holes would have an SSE well above par. The next hole (#9) is finally a good one.

-#13 has the same issue as #8. 248' of torture. Even though it utilizes the huge elevation change. It's very steeply downhill so loses a ton of its distance. The fairway is the problem. It has a "<" shape to it. Literally! That's the "less than" symbol shape. I didn't know math symbols were a thing in disc golf. Maybe there's a square root shaped fairway somewhere that I don't know about, or even an ampersand! But anyway, starts in the open and goes to the right into the woods down a trail much more narrow than #7's trail. I flicked a lucid x getaway and even that didn't turn quick enough. I heard that some players have better luck throwing a tomahawk over the trees. If you can't tomahawk, you'll have to start saying your prayers.

-The last three holes end near the starting point. I saw the picture of #17 on the media and didn't see the basketball court. But now you are throwing over a basketball court. Why??? What were they thinking? The course has become a danger again. #18's basket is very close to #2's.

-Other stuff: No tee pads. No tee diagrams of the fairways.

-Badly kept. The rough is really long and messy. And there is a good amount of poison ivy in the woods.

-#11 is a pretty solid hole and all. Gives a good view of the neighborhood and requires an anhyzer. But just a few feet past the basket, you see a no trespassing sign. Don't go long!

-The hardest part about this course is not hole seven or eight. The hardest part is not cursing. Why isn't there a censored button on my keyboard?

-They need to start over. Someone around here needs to say something. The "challenging" holes have your guts for garters. #10 was a great hole that was pretty challenging. #15 was another good challenging hole you'd likely see something similar to on a pro course. There are a few other good holes here but the steep downhill holes were very frustrating. Everybody loves steep downhill! But not when the fairway sets you up to fail. I think this course would be better off if it were redesigned and only nine holes.

-If you decide to play here, I'd recommend you walk through it first. Without your discs. I can almost assure you that you'll have more fun just walking through it than you will have playing here. The walkthrough is really nice. I will say that!

-There's a whole lot better in NC. I'm glad I got to play a few of the holes here but the rest of them I wish I didn't.

Ellis Park has a few flashes of enjoyment with some decent holes. But they are overshadowed by the majority of holes that are below average.
- This review will focus on the newer 9-hole layout - holes #7 - 15 - that are across the street. For a complete recap of the original layout - holes #1 -6 & 16 - 18 - check out my review for old course layout.
- The first two holes across the street (#7 & 8) are poor. To my surprise, five of the next 6 holes were all relatively enjoyable, even featuring one really solid layout.
- #12 is hands down the best hole, and the only one that's truly an above level/advanced layout. It's a 440 foot, mostly open hole. There can be a debate about whether this is an easy par 4 or a really challenging par 3. You can safely throw a driver here, setting up a short to mid-range second shot. Two good shots will get you in putting range for your 3.
- In addition, I enjoyed holes #9 - 11 and 14. #9 is a good mid-range slightly uphill shot. #10 is a fun, 210 foot uphill shot with a narrow fairway, forcing you to shoot the gap. #11 is a downhill, 250 foot hole with a big tree blocking the right side and all high shots. A left-to-right throw will get you in birdie range. #14 is another tight, uphill hole. It's only 170 feet, so a putter or mid-range that you can throw straight will set you up nicely. I even enjoyed the concept of what's trying to be accomplished with 13 & 15. A lot of maintenance and/or relocating the tees will be needed. At least the concept of a decent hole is present here, more so with #13 than 15.
- There are enough birdie and or ace runs on this course that allow you to be aggressive. The problem goes back to the idea that the easy holes are seemingly too easy (or not challenging/boring), while the harder holes are either horrible layouts or ridiculously challenging, or unfair.
- Totally random sighting. To the left of #11 is a really nice looking horse riding arena and tower. Much of the park has been neglected - check out condition of the tennis courts if you need proof - yet somehow, there's an awesome looking ring for equestrian events. Go figure.

This is, for the most part, an uninspiring and uncreative, layout. It's very clear that there wasn't much input from disc golfers, or at least ones with course designing experience. The original 9 has its problems with atrocious layouts, and so does the 9 across the way. #7, 8, 13 & 15 have fairways that aren't much wider than a walking path. And actually, #13's fairway is a walking path down a hill. Narrow fairways are acceptable on a shorter hole (see #10 & 14), but not so much when the hole is 445 feet, as is #7. On that hole, you can either throw mid-range or putter, and sacrifice distance, or spend lots of time searching for discs in the woods. Even then, a shot slightly off-line, by only a couple feet, and you're in the woods.
- As bad as that is, I'd rather end up several feet into the woods, than have a shot sail deep into the kudzu, as is the case with #8. If there weren't kudzu, this hole layout might actually be fun. As it is, this is a dogleg right that will pretty much devour a disc if doesn't go right. If your disc sails straight, that kudzu is deep and thick. Who knows what else is in there, if you throw a disc in that stuff. Just glad I didn't have to find out.
- As much as I spoke (somewhat) kindly of the better holes above, if this were a good, above average course, most would quickly become some of the worst on a course of that quality. It's only by comparison do some of those holes seem good.
- There's just not a lot of flash here. Even during the four-hole stretch from #9 - 12, the stretch I called the best set of holes, I wasn't wowed. It was more of a sense that 'this isn't bad.' There aren't too many marketing slogans that center around the theme of a product not being too bad.
- Depending on other activities at the park, there will be times when parts of the course will be unplayable. It can range from ball games taking place, or something as simple as people playing horseshoes, with the pits being part of the fairway on #17.

I'm glad I played the complete 18 at Ellis Park. Now I know I didn't miss anything when the extra 9 holes were added.
- The standard verbiage of a course's front 9 and back 9 are somewhat different here. I referred to the original and new(er) 9 depending on what side of the road they were on. For many, I suspect the front 9 will be holes #1 - 6 & 16 - 18; with the back nine being holes #7 - 15 across the street.
- This course just feels neglected and depressing. It's less than 10 minutes from being in busy parts of Salisbury, but it's one of the most rural feeling courses of anywhere I've played. It's eerie playing on a weekend afternoon, and not hearing any sounds, whether it's cars, planes, birds, whatever.
- There are plenty of good practice holes here. There are also holes that have too much of a 'lost disc' element for a beginner/casual level targeted audience. If you plan accordingly, and live nearby, you can be efficient with your time here.
- I was overly generous with my 1.0 rating for the original 9. That layout was closer to a 0.75. The new layout would be in the ballpark of 1.25 - 1.5. Add them together, and you get a 1.0. At best, and with some work and redesigned holes, I could see this approaching a 2.0.
- As it is, anyone rating this course above average (meaning the five 3.0 ratings) needs to travel outside Salisbury to play disc golf. No way can someone try to convince others that this course is above average.
- I played the original layout once in 2011. Now, I played the entire 18-hole layout in 2014. Barring something unexpected, this will be my one and only visit to the course.