- Good local disc golf community. If you want to play a tournament or a weekly at this course, or just find a local to show you around, it shouldn't be a problem.
- Dedicated disc golf property.
- Lots of chances to see your discs fly. It is a stark contrast to a lot of the 18 hole tournament courses that you get in east Tennessee.
- Several fun shots. You have a mix of downhill bomber shots, water shots, and a few more technical shots.

- I found navigation very confusing. There are multiple tees, but they aren't marked very well. I only saw one set of actual tee pads.
- There are multiple pin locations (which could be viewed as a pro), but generally only one basket, which adds to the navigation confusion.
- The distances on the signs don't appear to be very reliable at all.
- Tall grass in the fairways. This place is infrequently mowed. If you spend time on local facebook groups, there are memes about how often the place gets mowed and it is a noteworthy event when it does get mowed. It is also notorious for ticks.
- You need some distance to fully enjoy this courses. The tall grass in the fairways doesn't help this at all. You are going to need 400 feet of distance in the air to get to the pin that may be marked 310.

This place isn't marked very well at all. Driving along Tuskegee, you'll see some gravel off to the left. You'll most likely see a few stickered up Subarus and Tacomas and other vehicles that disc golfers tend to enjoy. That's really the only hint that you've arrived.

Then you walk thru a cut path in the trees to see a wide open field. There are 2 kiosks, but no Welcome to the Mounds or course map or anything. Just bland boards with a lonely advertisement for the Tuesday night dubs. There are also a group of tables and chairs off to the right. I suppose it is a "permanent setup", but it looks like abandoned tables from a recent event.

Further along, you see a single tall mound. Climb to the top and you'll see the pad to hole 1 and then it is time to start bombing drivers and hope you are throwing to the correct pin.

Also, of note, someone posted about the fence and neighbors that will shoot. This course borders the Y-12 National Security Complex. You likely won't get shot if you try to retrieve your disc, but you will get on the news.

A lot of people really love this course. And I can see that. But I have to ding it solely based on navigation. I think that makes it a tough course to fully enjoy if you are only playing it once or rarely playing it.

-Solely disc golf here. This course is on a part of a demolished golf course. It's an advantage for bigger arms because it's open with some shorter par fours that could be reached by pros. Plenty of birdie chances for newer players too such as #4 being under 150'.

-For an open course set in a grassy open area, this course does great with some of its greens. #4 is the shortest hole on the course, but plays entirely on a narrow ridge. Miss a putt and you might go down the ridge and be left with a brutal comeback putt. #8's pin position on the man made platform is excellent too as well as authentic. A couple of pin placements are within 30' of the pond, bringing a water hazard into play.

-Fair challenge. None of the holes are outlandishly hard. A few are very difficult (notably #7 and #13) but all have multiple ways to be birdied. I played the white pads and most of the pins were in the shorter pins. Par was 60 I believe and I shot a 51. The first two holes are both easier par fours. #1 is a long way downhill just over 500' to the second pin (only hole with two pins in play). #2 is just over 400' and slightly downhill with a lower ceiling. If you can throw reasonably far while keeping it below the limbs, you could have an eagle opportunity. Many newer players will be able to birdie this hole. Course gets tougher once you get to #5 with some easier holes coming in here and there.

-Some very fun tee shots. #9 is downhill off of the mound and facing the pond. Very fun hole. #10 is maybe 500' and over the pond. This is a par four with a real barrier. It's a pretty easy hole if you can throw at least 300' and comfortably over water, but if you don't have that distance, it'll be a very tough hole. #12 long and #13 are very fun and difficult back to back par fours. #12 is downhill leaving enough room to throw a long drive in the open with some trees to avoid. #13 is out of the woods and uphill. A very tough hole being over 600' and uphill with woods in play the entire right side.

-There are two pin positions on most holes if not all. I don't know how frequently they are moved, but this place seems to get a lot of love. I would think they move at least every now and then.

-You have the option of playing the original 18 or playing 27 holes. There's another nine in the woods after playing hole #9. That's the other course on site. Grove Park - The Woods. Very fun nine holer with tons of elevation change.

-Hole four to me is a little bit out of character and arguably gimmicky. 116' on a narrow ridge. Holes one through three are all over 300'. The first two are like 520' and 410' and hole three is maybe a bit over 300'. Then you play a 116' footer followed by several par threes that are all over 300'. The second shortest hole here is over a hundred feet longer than this hole. Just a weird distance spread between the par threes. Most of them are around 300' if I had to guess.

-Not much variety regarding fairways. Many of the holes here are either straight or slightly to the right side. No big turns or anything. Would've been nice to see a dogleg or two.

-The fence on #13. Don't cross it. I heard that the people on that side will shoot you even if you are just retrieving a disc. I know its their property but I lived right next to a park and someone were to set foot on my property just to retrieve something that belongs to them, I wouldn't shoot them. I wouldn't want someone to die or be severely wounded when they aren't actually putting my life in danger.

-Many of the old blue pads you see on the hole diagrams no longer exist.

-The Mounds is a fun open course. Isn't the best in Tennessee but it's worth the stop for sure. There isn't much to say about it aside from the fact that it can be played as 27 holes. It does have a good amount of elevation and is more challenging under unfavorable weather conditions. I enjoyed #10 over the water, and #14 was a fun uphill wooded hole perched on a small crest.

-Bit of a cookie cutter open course but still has some enjoyable holes that are fun to play. Nothing too mind blowing at the Mounds; you'll actually see more shock value on the nine holer at The Woods. Still a good course.

After playing disc golf here at The Mounds , I am left with more ??? Than !!! . There looks to have been a lot of effort to take this land and make it into a championship caliber course . Let me give you my pros first . There is easy access to the park from the main road ( Tuskegee ) , which is unmarked and gravel . Look for it closely on your left and the park is NOT marked . Once you enter the park , go over a small embankment and turn to your right , you will start to see the 18 hole course itself . Groves Park seems dedicated to disc golf only . I saw a few players on the course and no one else . The course utilizes a lot of land and makes good use of its basket placement and course design There is plenty of elevation , a water carry ( #10 ) , a basket with the same water directly behind it ( #5 ), and 2 holes where a creek is a possibility on #'s 3 and 6 . Some tight alleys . The course has cement tee pads on all of it's long tees many shorts . The baskets were in good shape and the signage was good , with pictures of the course , hole # and distance . I am not sure of the accuracy of the distance , though . The course flow is kind of in and out and strange . Good thing is that if you are only playing 9 , #9 drops you off right next to the start .. The first tee is from a hill to a long downhill bomb to the right , with a lot of brush guarding the basket . The pictures for the course don't help much , so you might not want to look at the media section , and be careful of the course map . It doesn't follow the course real well of the first 9 holes . The #2 tee is kind of in front of where you tee'd off on 1 a few hundred feet . It is yet another bomber hole almost 500' to a basket guarded by a couple of trees . #3 is kind of a door shot across a creek . Do not throw at the basket that sits visible to your left . It is actually sitting in the tree line of your rough over the creek and immediately to your right . It will make sense to you , because #4 tee pad is just up the incline and is a short hole that is set in the fringe of the woods .You actually have a choice to go up the steep hill at this time , to your right if you want to play The Woods part and start at hole #4 of the Woods and the course will drop you off at it's #3 basket , well into your view , so you can finish up the Mounds section ( I should have done this , butt there was nothing signifying it . The hill is to your right and there is a dropoff on your left . #5 throws around and to the right of a large fairway , with some woods that are on your right and pretty much out of play , Be careful when throwing to this basket because if you overshoot just a few feet , you are in the nasty small lake and will lose your disc . Now you have a choice . You can turn to your immediate right and follow down next to the lake line and past the small shed , and take the lower path to hole #1 of the Woods , or go to your immediate left and play the downhill window shot of #6 . #6 is a shot with lots of foliage , and a window , towards a large tree and to the basket that is visible to you on #3 . Cross the creek and throw upwards for the next couple of holes until you get to #9 , a top of the world shot to the basket , with the lake behind it . I won't describe the rest of the course but after the shot which ends crossing the lake on your second shot ( nice hole ) you start to throw up and down grades from now on . You can unload your power drive on many of these holes . The park is serene , with lots of wildlife and nothing to distract you . The fun factor comes and goes on this course , One thing that changes are whether you have to control your drive or just unleash it . The last hole is a long slightly downhill control bomber that runs between some trees to the basket with its brush in the back and a little to the side . The scorecards state that the long tees can carry almost 9000' of disc golf . I am not sure of that but this can give you a lot of variety .Park was clean when I was there .My signature hole was #12 , a long downhill drive that you will have to dip into a descending area on your left , that will level off to the basket 100' beyond and guarded by trees all over the green

#1 The map and distance listed versus the actual ones . I think that the map serves as a semi helpful guide at times , but don't depend on it solely or you will waste a lot of time and the distance seemed off some .Some next tee signs and arrows would help #2 Course care . The grass was pretty high when I was there , and the branches might need some trimming . #3 No amenities whatsoever . I saw no port o let , no benches , save some tables and chairs and a picnic table out in the sun , downhill from the #1 tee . , no trash cans ( please carry out what you carry in ) no water , ,,,, #4 . Finding the park . I never saw a park where you have a little gravel area to park near the road and a small opening between some bushes that look like it goes to nowhere , since the embankment is just beyond the opening . The big disc golf sign that is supposed to help you navigate this anonymous opening was torn down and left on the ground when I was there . I blew right by this entrance when I first traveled here .

I left this course puzzled . I commend the Oak Ridge Parks and Recreation Department for allowing a park exclusively for disc golf and all of the work done on the course clearing and design . Water , elevation , hilltop throw , tight fairways , two tees , another 9 holes up on the hill length . This course has it all . It is still lacking . What you DO get here are some good quality looks off the tee , and your own course for several hours . Make a better entrance for your disc golf park , , spruce the immediate area leading to the course and make it THE feature of this park , maybe even make a driving range with putting area prior to the first hole , like Foundation Park . I would still play this course some if I lived anywhere near the Oak Ridge area . The word POTENTIAL needs to vanish from here . This park has now been open for 11 years . You can make it a comparable course like Schumpert or Victor Ashe , or make it the next course down . I am glad I played here . This course was on my radar for years . I just think it could be more . That said , I thank the Parks People for allowing me the opportunity to play their fine courses . My recommendation : Not a destination course by any stretch ,but still 27 total holes of play in a disc golf only park . PLAY IT ONLY IF YOU ARE IN THE OAK RIDGE AREA !!!

Beautiful scenery.
Well manicured fairways.
I think this used to be a ball golf course which would explain its lay.
One hole, I can't remember which one, the tee box is on top of a 30 ft mound. You get to really huk one from here and watching a disc in flight across this course is a pretty awesome thing.
Another hole that plays across a creek has a blackberry patch that was so loaded, we just stopped and basically had lunch. I know, I know, "careful what you eat from the land in Oak Ridge", but I'm okay, so I think it's safe to eat the black berries
A challenge that requires all the shots and discs in your bag as well as all the finess and power in your arm!
The course is easy to find.

Unless you have someone with you that has played the course a few times, you might need a map.
Need more trash cans. There were a few tee boxes that had left-over containers.
Need concrete tee pads.

I only get to play this course when I visit Knoxville, my home town. Unfortunately, this only happens a few times a year,
Be prepared to walk on this course. It is a long one.

Plenty of distances to throw from on each hole, the challenges are finding them. Usually having one or two clear Tee's marked. It is the biggest course I know of with 27 holes. 9 are in the woods near the pond. The entrance being at basket 8. Which is just awesome, but not marked very well, I am sure due to finances. There are plenty of restaurants near by to grab a bite to eat before or after the game.

You really need to go with someone who has thrown here before if you have not played it yet.
Course gets muddy due to terrain layout and the Tee's are mostly dirt so if it's rained for a day you might want to wait on this course till it dries out. It's a golf course, easy to lose some discs if you are an aggressive thrower like me, but that's part of the fun. I don't think one can complain about high grass and foliage, this is disk golf.

Groves Parks is a mixed bag course. There's potential for a solid course, but right now it's more of a conglomerate of confusion than anything else.
- The course is mainly wide open. If you want to swing your sword by showing off your big arm, this is the course for you. The course is on the grounds of an old golf course, and some of the hole layouts seem to follow the ball golf method.
- The course does a good job of using the terrain to provide a good challenge, taking an advantage of the limited obstacles that are prevalent. There are limited trees on the course, so you'll see a lot holes with baskets place behind them - holes #2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Are you noticing a theme? There's also use of water, from a creek on #4 & 5, to a pond in play on #8 & 10.
- The rolling hills (yes, they're more like mounds, or Mounds) provide a little more challenge. #7 is a great example of a tougher uphill shot. You'll also see baskets placed in between miniature mounds and/or rough - #9 & 18 are good examples here.
- Tee signs are great. A suggestion to improve their usefulness would be to place them at the same layout on each hole - i.e. the gold, long layout.
- And, this might be the best thing this course has to offer: this is a disc golf only piece of land. I haven't come across a public park that is nothing but disc golf. What a huge bonus, and a tremendous sign of support from the city. As an out-of-towner, I don't know if it will remain that way. But, for the time being, it's awesome to have this swath of land solely dedicate to disc golf.

This is where the confusion rears its ugly head. In essence, holes overlap each other, the signage is poor, hole distances are inaccurate, and there's a feel of repetitiveness. And that's just in the first five holes.
- The root of all these issues was the poor signage. Starting on hole #1, the listed distances are way off. My buddy and I teed off from the blue tee, which is listed at 471 feet. I threw a dud tee shot, and just cleared the red, short tee, which is listed 320 feet from the basket. I then landed my second shot, a Roc that I normally throw in the 225 foot range, 10 feet past the basket. Based on the listed distances, I threw my drive about 170 feet (from 471 ft tee to just past 320 ft tee), and my mid-range disc about 300 feet, or 75 feet longer than normal.
- On #2, we spot the tee sign, with no indication what layout it's located at, and then a blue tee about 40 feet behind it. We tee off from the blue tee, only to soon realize that was the blue tee for #4. We'd have known that if the signs were better marked. We finally found the blue, white and red tees, some of which were marked by with paper plates. Yes, on multiple holes, the tees are marked with numbered paper (or maybe they're Styrofoam) plates.
- On #3, the gold and blue tees are almost parallel to each other, but their distances are listed at 486 and 393 respectively. Hmmm.
- And issues like this kept creeping up throughout. When something like this comes up on almost every hole on the front nine, you quickly sour on your disc golf experience.
- The other 'negative' about the course itself is the thick grass. As soon as my disc hit the ground, it stopped right there. The lack of rolls/skips takes away extra distance, which makes some of these holes play even longer.
- When I say this is a disc golf only piece of land, I mean this is a disc golf only piece of land. There's a port-a-jon near the unmarked parking lot, and that's it for amenities here. No real bathrooms, water fountains, drink machines, etc. The parking is right off the side of the road, and if you're not careful, it'd be easy to miss the course.

Grove Park, in its current state, is an example of the parts being greater than the sum. I had high hopes for the course and was really disappointed. Knoxville's other
open course (Victor Ashe) does a great job of making an open course fun & challenging. Grove Park, on the other hand, comes up short.
- This seems to be a love/hate course. Some will love the wide open fields and the ability to let tee shots fly. Others will probably sour on the repetitiveness of the course, and the somewhat lack of variety here. Again, Victor Ashe succeeds in making similar, open holes feel different.
- This is the first course I've ever played where I walked off before finishing every hole. With nine extra holes, it now stands at 27. And with the frustration I was having here, I had gotten enough without playing all of those.
- Most of the problems I listed above can easily be fixed with a little work from the local DG club. Regular players tend to miss some of these issues because they're so familiar with the layout. Here in Charlotte, outsiders notice the poor signage at Renaissance, while most locals have never noticed the signs were wrong or missing altogether.
- As I said, a lot of holes, in and of themselves, are good. #1 is a fun starting hole; 2, 3 & 4 all offer some challenging layouts. But, when you're trying to sort through the clutter of finding tee pads and determining distances all the time, they lose their luster.
- #9 was a cool layout. Having the basket surrounded by mounds of tall grass gave a great risk/reward second shot.
- Despite all the issues, I can still recognize the positives this course has to offer. It probably speaks well of the course, that a low score for it is only a 3.0. That said, I feel this course should be closer to the 4.0 range. In due time, I hope it gets there.

*Update- I was informed by a local that this course has been reduced to 9 holes due to residential development, but there are plans to put in 9 holes in the woods. The following review is for the 18 hole course I played. Back to the original review...

Groves Park is a unique disc golf course that plays on land once occupied by a ball golf course. (They don't put ball golf courses on useless land like is often the case with disc golf courses.) This fact makes the setting really nice, and the whole area is very spacious, yet the land is dedicated only to disc golf. It is also out of town on a road not often traveled, with much of the course bordered by government property, so when you are here you get the out-in-nature feel, even though it is not too far from town.

Each hole has 4 sets of tees. It is a lot of openness, but there are trees to avoid, small creek/ditch, a pond, some elevation you would expect on a ball golf course like mounds and sloping fairways. There are a couple of holes that are in the woods to mix it up just a bit. I liked the back 9 more than the front, so I appreciate that the course gets better as it progresses. Hole #10 with the pond offers a nice risk/reward situation.

This course is long and fairly wide open, so if this is a pro if this is to your liking. There are 4 sets of tees, and the distances between the shortest and longest is quite large, so you do have options.

The overall layout. There are unnaturally long walks to #1 and from #18 back to the parking lot. There was also a lot of time walking between holes, along with some backtracking, and searching around for the many sets of tees. The tees are all natural and marked with the ground tee markers that appeared to be left over from the ball golf course that had 4 tee areas per hole. This type of tee marker can easily be moved, thrown, broken, removed, etc. and that was the case for a few when I played.

This course comes nowhere near the parking lot at any point in the round (including #1 and #18!), so if you are playing here in the middle of a TN summer, be sure to carry lots of water with you as shade is limited. (Not a con, but I remember thinking at one point when there were only 3 holes left, yet it seemed we were still playing away from the car!)

Playing disc golf on a ball golf course sounds fun at first, until you play and realize that ball golf courses are terrible places for disc golf courses if you just play the fairways and greens (super long and wide open, with few obstacles that factor in.) Much of the front 9 was like this and was somewhat repetitive- just throw it really far and avoid the single tree and then throw it really far again... And then there is hole 6, which is an attempt to add some woods variety, but it is really out of character from the rest of the course, and, frankly, the hole itself is not a good one- really short, super tight, blind, need some luck, and it is almost hidden on the hillside and difficult to find because you would not expect a hole to be there after playing the first 5.

It is unfortunate that land with this much potential has a course with many major cons. This is a course that is still relatively new, and it seems as improvements are still in the works, so hopefully it will only get better with the locals' help.

There is a lot of more space here. The course appeared to play on only half of the original golf course, and I was thinking the whole time that could easily put in 18 or more holes here, and it looks like that is now in the works.

This course is difficult to rate. Big arms are going to love it because as it gives them a chance to really air it out.
There is a lot of potential here because the land is really nice, with a chance to have a disc golf course that could rival the look and style of a ball golf course. But there are so many cons here it really detracts from the overall experience. Add to that, if your driving distance is limited, you may just hate playing here. All these things would explain the wide spectrum of the given ratings.

Recommendation- read all the reviews before deciding to play here. These seems obvious, but I think it really applies for this course- if it sounds like your style then you will probably love it, but if not, then go play elsewhere. I admit that when I read this used to be a ball golf course I wanted to play here more than anything, but was disappointed once I realized the negatives of this. Be sure to have realistic expectations, as this is still a decent course that has a lot of things going for it.