Pros:
Squeezing in a quick round on a short course bagging trip, in a small, remote town, I wasn't expecting to play one of the best short courses I've played anywhere.
- Fisher River was shockingly excellent. The front 9 with its outstanding elevation factors was fantastic. The back nine, with less elevation, was 'just' good.
- If a sub-3600-foot, sub-200 foot per hole layout can be fun and challenging, this may be the best course I've played fitting those parameters.
- #1 is a perfect opening for this course. Short, uphiller, starting in the opening throwing to a basket in the woods. Rocks protect the basket. A good first throw on the course, hits a rock, rolls away, and I suddenly have zero chance for birdie. Fun hole.
- The stretch of #4 - 9 is the best part of this course. After playing #9, you walk right past #3's tee. One could make the argument to just play that loop again before moving on.
- This 6-hole stretch offers everything this course has: elevation with uphiller and downhillers; blind tee shots (the hidden basket on #8 actually works perfectly on this course); straight and doglegs; ace runs, and huge risk/reward holes.
- #6 was my favorite hole on the course. Downhill, 237 feet (longest hole on the course), slight dogleg left. Fun hole.
- The risk/reward factor on this course is outstanding. With some of the tight lines, a slight miss throw may result in a nasty kick off a tree. I even managed to hit the one dead branch overhanging a fairway, knocking my disc into the woods. Despite having a witness watching me park a tee shot on the previous hole, throwing an outstanding recovery shot on #15 was the best shot I threw my entire round.
- I liked the two tee shots closest to the road on #14 & 17. They really give you the small town, country-vibe. On #17, you're even teeing off next to the park sign pointing you to the disc golf course.
Cons:
Biggest issues are the lack of amenities for the course. There's a portable toilet next to #2's tee (way too close to the tee, IMO), and also no benches or trash cans (at least that I spotted). You are next to the recycling center, so I guess you can dispose of bottles and cans there. Also, the main park is just down the road, so you can stop there.
- There are A & B basket locations. Everything is in A. I didn't see any long basket sleeves so don't know what's up with that.
- A little more variety in maybe one long and/or tough hole: a true gauntlet hole, a steep uphill shot, or one longer hole (extend #17 or 18).
- On holes #7 & 8, there's a quasi-steep drop-off to the left. One bad kick off a tree and you could have a bit of a challenge getting down or back up.
- Otherwise, I thought this course was generally in outstanding shape. Glad to see the initial upkeep of a 3-month-old course is still intact.
Other Thoughts:
Every large city/disc golf community in the Carolinas would be happy to have a course of Fisher River's caliber in its rotation. Put it in Asheville, and it gets a cult following. Put it in Charlotte, and it'd be packed. Put it in upstate SC, and it'd get Timmons' level of love.
- This course had a scaled down vibe of Stumpy Creek in Mooresville. With the elevation factors in play, major Stumpy vibes. And, if you've read my review of Stumpy, that's an underrated gem in the outskirts of Charlotte.
- There are some good scenic vibes throughout. Even the basket on #17, with the slope downward is a nice look. The best views may be the walk from #6 to 7 overlooking the river.
- I wonder if the course would play better swapping #2 through 9 with #10 through 17. That'd mean you have more elevation and variety now on the back 9.
- You can throw average and not see any bogeys. But, on enough holes, you must throw high quality tee shots to see birdie putts. Enough holes have enough trees in play that a couple feet is the difference between a clear birdie putt, and having to settle for par. Holes like #4, 9, 13, and 16 all capture this.
- I hate that this course is out of the way simply because not enough people will get to play here. A true hidden gem.
- I'm giving the course a 3.5 rating. We'll see in the coming years if the course is maintained to continue earning its high rating. Still, easily one of the best short courses I've ever played.