+ Diverse shot selection demanded by the course. Long holes, short holes, straight shots, right and left turns, ace runs and par 4's.

+ Excellent tee pads, tee signs and baskets. Easy first timer navigation without referencing a map or guide at all.

+ Two water carry holes. Both are beautiful holes that only take a 250' straight shot at most to clear water from the longer tees.

+ Great use of the land.

+ While other park activities take place near many holes, I'd say half of them give me a pretty secluded feeling. Its pretty tucked away, no busy roads or anything nearby.

+ Beautiful location in a very safe feeling area, with various other amenities on site.

- Course is definitely on the flat side, aside from one or two exceptions like the bank on #1 and #2's pin placement.

- There isn't two full sets of tees. Just over half the course features this option.

- The ~300' RHFH hyzer tee shot is used too many times throughout the course.

- Would have been better balanced with one or two more longer holes. Only 5 holes 400' or more.

- On the easy side compared to some of Charlottes tougher 18 hole courses.

Looking at some of the past reviews I wonder if the time of year plays a big role in how much one will enjoy Goat Island. I've only played it in the Winter and Spring, and did not have any issues with water, bugs or bad rough.

The reviews here don't really match my experience. Every time I've come here, I've enjoyed a solid 18 holes of golf in a peaceful atmosphere. What negatives I can think of for this course are petty, and in most area of the country this would be a well respected course. I think being next to Charlotte, a disc golf mecca, might be skewing perspectives somewhat.

Does it stack up to Hornets Nest, Nevin or Renny Gold in terms of the areas premiere destination courses? No. But I think 3.3 is a lower score than a course like this deserves. Great location, perfect tees / signs / baskets, good mix of holes and not a complete walk in the park.

Doffers Canteen is walking distance from the course and offers a good selection of food and beer. I had steak tacos and some local craft brews after my last round at Goat Island.

Absolutely, IMHO, the most beautiful course around Charlotte, N.C.. The entire island is basically a disc golf course, with a playground in the middle and its surrounded by the river. The holes are well laid out with a mix of backhand, forehand and 2 holes where a roller is the only way to make birdie.
The river is almost always in view and the island is lush and green. Very flat except for the designed-in, raised baskets, so it doesn't beat you to death walking it (ala RL Smith Park)
The flow of the holes is well done except for finding 18. Once you find it, it takes you on a cross-the-river throw and your end up right at the parking lot.

Bugs, bugs and oh, did I mention bugs? But if I hadn't forgotten my bug spray, it would have been fine. My bogie
Not enough trash cans. People seem to forget the "pack it in / pack it out" courtesy rule in disc golf.
No concrete tee pads. Makes throws a little risky.
The white tees didn't have markers and that is a shame because they went to the trouble to put up the post next to the white tees. And you know it isn't a matter of not knowing how to make a sign because the rest of the signage is great. Except for hole 14... it's labled as hole 12.

This is surely going to become a go-to course for me not only because of the beauty and smooth play, but it's close to my home in Clover.
All I could ask is that you just give it a try. I'm sure you will love this course.

Great signage coming off the main road to let you know lark was nearby. Park is set in the back of a quiet neighborhood along the river. Good place to walk or disc golf.

Very nice course along a river. Many holes play near the rivers edge and make this a scenic course. Holes were very well layer out and for the most part had a good flow to them. This course from whites is very friendly to newer players as there are not a lot of long holes. Blues is a different story, it's well set up for experience players.

I felt this course has a good mix of shots for all players. Turnover backhand, forehand flicks, over hands, etc.. Baskets are discatchers and in great shape also as this doesn't appear to be a very old course

Biggest issue I had were there were no tee boxes besides on hole 1 and hole 6 (?) where you could use the sidewalk to tee from. Signs were at the blue pads and posts with nothing on them were on white pads.

Small "next hole" signs were near baskets on trees. Look hard or you may miss them. I didn't like how hole 3 has you finish then path takes you halfway down fairway of hole 4, this could be dangerous if this park had more DG traffic.

No benches and only one trash can that I saw. The trash an was near the hole 15/16/17 junction. Not having a lot of trash cans doesn't bother me a lot since I usually pack it in and pack it out.

Also hole 1 was kinda hard to find. Sign in near parking lot. You throw into the corner over the hill to the first pin, just a FYI (not a con)

This is a great little course in the area. I think this course will be even better in the near future when they get concrete pads and tee signs on all pads. I rate this course about a 3.3 due to it missing pads and some lack of signage. I would recommend it if you're in the area looking for a unique course to play

Design wise this course is great and has Amazing potential.

The use of the river is well done and there is rarely a dumb hole design.

18 is a great way to finish with a nice water carry

Holy cow is it rough! If you get off the fairway if/When you find your disc your only option most of the time is pitchout.

We played the longs and it turned into a long and grueling round that took away from the rest of the Gastonia road trip. This was mostly due to the roughness of the course and the amount of time we took searching for pads & discs

Pads are not well marked.

Natural pads that are still rough and not well defined. It was also hard to find some of the long tees with very little "Next tee" markers.

Some holes do not have transitions to the long pad yet.

no trashcans or Benches.

part of the course transitions past a playground which always bugs me cause we all know people are drinking and not all are discreet. All it takes is one bad complaint and the course is in jeopardy.

Lots of trippers.

I know my pros section was short but this course really is a potential gem and championship course. However it is going to take a hell of a lot of work to get it there. The course has all the potential to become a 4* but until a lot of work is done to improve it I cant give it near that much. my 3 is generous in the courses current condition in my opinion but I am banking on the potential to grow.

If you come here to play the Blues be ready for a long tough round. The Whites looked much more forgiving, fun, and had less of a lost disc factor. Give this course some time and it will be great!

Fun somewhat shady. On an Island you can just in your kayak right after a round.

Super tight lines. Lost a disc (glo nuke). No water fountain. Signage could be a little better I had no problems however the maps have stright lines when the hole goes competely left or right before the strightaway.

STAY IN THE FAIRWAY.

Goat Island is one of the most interesting courses I've played. The idea of being on an island (albeit a small one), and having some great views of the river is awesome. And the disc golf is good, too!
- Right off the bat, I have a sense this is going to be a 'love it' or 'hate it' course for a lot of people. If you throw straight and keep it in the fairways, you're going to do well here. If you miss the fairways, and sometimes only by a few feet, you're going to be in for an adventure - either in some (at times) extremely thick rough, or possibly in the river - which in turn leads to the 'hate it' aspect.
- There are some very cool hole layouts here. It starts right off the bat with hole #1 - one of the toughest, coolest opening holes in the area. You've got to shoot the gap for your tee shot, meaning you could be scrambling for bogey right off the bat. From there, you've got a couple chances to throw over the river - #3 long & 18, both tees - as well as several holes that run alongside the river. I also enjoy #10 long, which incorporates a large, downed tree as an obstacle. Keep your tee shot too low and you smack the tree. Throw too high and you sail into the woods.
- There are risk/reward holes/courses, and then there are RISK/REWARD holes/courses. This is the latter. The course really forces you to play smart shots. We all want to throw driver on every long hole, but that isn't the smart shot on a lot of holes. Using #1 as an example, a smart shot is throw a mid-range disc short of the opening into the woods, setting up a relatively easy second shot over the hill. Sure, you're sacrificing distance, but you're taking a high score/shot in the woods/time searching for a disc in the woods out of the equation. Same thing on #8. It's 400 feet from the short tees, and throwing two 200-foot straight shots leave you a short putt. It reminds me of Nevin in the way some of the holes are laid out. Patience is a must here.
- Course is fun, with plenty of birdie chances, from the short tees. From the long tee - at least for an average player, like me - I felt like I was just hanging on, trying to salvage my pars.
- Course is almost completely isolated from the rest of the park. Biggest concern areas would be the tee shots on #1 & 10, as well as the occasional walker who will (inevitably) treat the fairways as walking trails.
- Great scenery throughout. I'm impressed with how much has been cleared out since the course originally opened. It had been more than 3 years since I last played and this update in 2017. You now see the river throughout the round, adding to that island feel.

Biggest issue this course will face is the bug issue for part of the year. There's really no way to avoid the mosquitoes in the summer. That said, this course is a perfect place to play in the winter, as I did.
- Other big concern is just how thick the rough is, at times. There are places throughout the course, where a disc can land 10 feet off the fairway and it's virtually hidden. Or, you might be able to see your disc in the rough; you've just got a challenge getting there as you navigate the rough.
- There's an above average 'lost disc' factor. Between the rough and the water holes, and the fact this is a 'family-friendly' park, you're going to see new/casual players throwing here, which can lead to lost discs. Even for more experienced players, it takes one fluke bounce off a tree for your disc to sail off line and into the woods/water.
- I didn't see a bench or trash can on the course proper. There are places for that throughout the park, however.

The course is somewhere between being a goat and being the GOAT. (Yes, I used the GOAT term back in 2012 before it became commonplace in the sports vernacular.)
- I was pleasantly surprised how challenging the course was. Even with some of the rough being thinned out over the past 5 years, it's still tough.
- The way the course is currently construed, it reminds me a lot of a U.S. (ball) golf tournament. They both require pin-point accuracy, smart shot-making and penalize over-aggressiveness. I've scored much better throwing mid-range discs off the tee, sacrificing distance for accuracy.
- The course seems slightly off-target from its intended audience. As stated, this is a family-friendly park, but the course isn't. Even from the short tees, I wouldn't bring a first-time thrower here. You don't want to see a new player getting discouraged by the rough, water and lost-disc possibility to be turned off by the game after playing here. Perhaps they could highlight a true, beginner 9-hole loop of the easiest holes for players.
- The course has improved since it opened in 2012. Either dodge the mosquito in the summer or play in the Winter. It's a solid part of the Gaston County disc golf scene and one worth checking out.