An odd but overall enjoyable course crammed onto campus.

-Amenities: Very nice. Nice course kiosk, concrete tees, green baskets, full tee signs, and extra signs including disc golf explanations and tips from Nate Sexton himself. Some alternate pins as well. This isn't deluxe-level, but it's at the top of normal courses.

-Variety: The thing that really helps this course stand out. Hole variety is very good, ranging from open to woods with varying lengths, shapes, and elevation. The progression of this course through various environments is the kind of progression that earns courses Excellent ratings and better.

-Birdie Opportunities: This one is loaded with chances to pick up strokes. It's probably rec-level, but a fun ego booster for more advanced players that venture out.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: We'll ignore the bad until the cons section, but a lot of this course is very nicely done from a design perspective. (1) is a solid par-4, presenting a long downhill shot with trees on the left and a ballfield on the right that then curves right up a steep hill to the basket. This is succeeded by a shorter par-3, which has a clean and beautiful fairway through the pines. After a lot of woods shots, (9) opens up with a split fairway over a valley. Then, (12) is a perfect par-4 in miniature - a dead straight putter shot leading to a narrow dogleg right corridor. Overall, the design is very good, though a bit short. Add 20-40% of distance to most holes and Haywood could be scoring higher.

-Bad Lines: Some holes just don't have the line. (5) is a 340' par-4 that will be remarkably difficult to birdie due to the weirdly precise curves needed to thread a shot. (6) is 220', but travels more right than forwards, an impossible throw considering the line of trees defining the right movement. (14) is a treat in which the fairway narrows to a walking path past the short pin placement.

-Piecemeal Layout: The course is placed in whatever campus nooks it fits in. This results in awkward transitions after holes 7, 9, 10, and 12.

-Cramped: The holes are shortened a bit much sometimes. The shapes are good, but they need to be expanded to allow for a full disc flight.

-Hazards: Several other campus features come into play on occasion. The road is in play several times, and (8)-(9) have issues with buildings and what seems to be the popular lawn on campus (I had to skip (8) entirely due to hammocking students).

-Flooding: Hole (13) was unplayable on my visit, and (14) would have been a mess to reach.

After two holes, I was wondering if Haywood would be one of my favorites ever. Unfortunately, hole (3) is where the woods lines begin to get narrow and overgrown. From there, it's a hodgepodge of really enjoyable holes and shots that are too short and/or tight. On the other hand, the variety is excellent and the amenities are very cozy. All in all, it's a 2.5-3.0 tweener, so it rounds down.

Good tee pads and signs
There's a few good holes

Navigation around the turn. Even with a map I couldn't find a tee and found myself wandering around a few times looking.
Green banded baskets aren't the easiest to see
Seemed like too many filler holes in the 200 foot range. Didn't need a driver until hole 17.
I was hopeful that this would be a fun course, but I left there wanting a lot more. I think there's potential. Getting some of the short holes stretched out would help.
Multiple basket locations but nothing on tee telling you what position so I found myself walking half way to the basket to find them.

-The place is easy to find, it's right off exit 105. The first hole is super easy to get to. You'll see it as soon as you enter and the parking lot is right beside the first hole. There is a kiosk by hole 1.

-Definitely challenging for the short distances provided. It's not the course even can shoot like -12 on, most fairways are quite different and the rough can be pretty difficult to avoid. I actually shot a miserable 56 first round and then shot a 51, which was satisfying. It's harder than it seems.

-I think it starts off spectacular with a 470' par 3, being the longest hole on the course. This is a real pro par 3 because of its length and low ceiling. The OB road is also in play. Then you get to hole 2. It's a pretty tight steep uphill hole around 240-250'. It's not that difficult for me to birdie overall, but if I were to play this hole maybe ten times, I'm quite sure I would bogey it once or twice.

-Green baskets, I like them. Always cool to see something a little different. And they for the most part catch well enough.

-Course is very clean, not trashy, mostly because it's at a community college.

-Has decent elevation. Since it's in the mountains, you would expect at least some and there was enough for me to be satisfied. If you look on the media, it may not seem hilly but it's got a little bit more than it appears to on the site. The first two holes and a few others utilize a significant amount.

-I love the last two holes. #17 is probably the signature hole on the course. It's a 262' hyzer. The pond is about 25' to the left of the basket so it plays as a factor. I parked it first round and I hyzered too much second round and went straight into the water. #18 is simply a great finisher! It's a 300+ that plays slightly downhill and the creek is about 25' past the basket. This was a mid-range/putter bomber hole for me. It's a straightforward hole as long as you don't go too long.

-I personally really enjoyed the front nine. It had that unique "college campus course" asset to it.

-It's not that difficult to navigate, but it's not entirely easy to either. I played with a friend. Holes 10 and 12 were a little difficult to find because they are a little bit spaced from each other. Nothing too bad, you'll find them eventually. 10 is beside the small building in the woods just straight ahead of hole 9's basket. #12 is across the road.

-Aside from three holes, I'm not at all fond of the back nine. It's just somewhat gimmicky in my opinion. Holes 10 and 11 barely have fairways. The rough on hole 10, which you are bound to enter is really irritating and very thick in places. If you kick left, you better watch your disc drop to the side of the hill closely. #11 is just a weird upshot through a 4' gape. If you hit the gape cleanly, you'll probably birdie, if you don't hit it, you'll probably bogey. At 129', it feels like it should be really simple to birdie. Good luck!

#12 is a very poorly designed hole. It's only 155' long but it's a forced dogleg left and has no fairway for the first 100'. Just like #11, should be easier because of the short distance. #11 can be birdied a good bit, but this one requires a LOT of luck. At 155', it's just gimmicky because you are playing a legit pinball game. Luckily, the next hole is relatively pleasing.

-Tee pads are composed of gravel, which I am not fond of. Most of it isn't an issue but it is on the more open holes. You could trip and shank a drive on an open hole.

-Lots of exposed roots by now and hanging branches. #16 could be another signature hole if there was no low ceiling. It's a 270' footer with a lot of potential that forces you to throw through a kinda small gap. The slightly sloping fairway makes this a cool hole but the branches make it hard to enjoy.

-Haywood is an okay course on a very pretty campus. I think this course would be a 3 if holes 10-12 were a little more pleasing and if there weren't as many overhead branches. I'm definitely going to come back and take a few of my college buddies up here soon, my friend across the hall plays a lot in Charlotte and my roommate grew up in Ashe County so he got to play there quite a few times so I think they will really enjoy this course. It's very rewarding if you have a just a decent backhand and flick.

-This is a nice opposite to my new home course Catamount Links because I play Waynesville a good bit and it's pretty much the same. This course is somewhat wooded. It's definitely not lightly wooded. There are a few open holes here and there but most of them are tight.

-My favorite hole is #1. It's just a great LONG downhill that allows me to just crush a drive. It'll get you going for the rest of the round if you just rip it on this hole or in the field in play beside it. Close calls would be hole 2, 9, and 18.

-Logic behind designing hole 12:

"Heyyyyyyyyyy bruhhhhhhh!!!!! Let's make something really annoying and challenging maaaaaannn!!! That's part of the funnnnnnn! I mean right? I mean right, mannnnnn?"

Pretty walk through campus. The course offers lots of technical shots through trees and is great for tightening up your short game.

Natural tee boxes have tree roots and other obstructions. Some holes don't have paths carved out for specific shots. It just looks like pins were tossed in the middle of heavily wooded areas. As a result, even a seasoned player is throwing a crapshoot with fingers crossed on some holes.

There are only a couple holes where you are able to really let loose and bomb a drive. If you are looking for a course to work on your short game and technical shots, check it out.

Decent course for the size of the campus. Very well signed, good tee boxes...thats about it.

The course navigates through the campus so there are the possibilities of students being in the way; mostly short putt and approach shots in heavily wooded areas.

Underbrush in the wooded areas is very thin. Gives you practice with both hyzers and anhyzers on drives and approaches. Moderate creativity used in designing this course. Great practice course for Richmond Hills in Asheville.

Too wooded for beginners with maybe 3 or 4 holes having a field to drive into. Very awkward and uneven tee boxes that are a nightmare after a rain. On a tobacco free campus for you smokers out there that enjoy a cig every few holes. A lot of construction on the campus this past year, making for a lot of noisy dump trucks and tractors (excess noise and a pain on the holes that are near construction area or roads).

If you plan on playing Richmond Hills, go here first for a tune up. You can expel the same amount of energy in two rounds here as you would in one round there. It's fun to play a round here then a round 5 minutes away at the Waynesville rec park to give you 36 holes with no repeats in a short amount of time. If you are in the area on a hot day, play here, as there is ample shade in the woods.

Nice, mostly short, mostly wooded course layed throughout HCC.
- Course is mostly wooded. #1, 16 - 18 are the only true open holes; #9 is a tweener. Accuracy is at a premium here.
- Great course for shorter throwers or to practice mid-range shots. Average hole length is 220 ft from long tees, less than 200 ft from shorts. The 4 longest holes, including only 2 more than 300 ft, are the open holes.
- With so many shorter holes (9 under 200 ft from longs), plenty of birdie opportunities. Plenty of risk/reward holes on the course with birdie/ace chances, but bogeys also real options if you hit trees/bounce into woods.
- Beautiful scenery throughout course. Great views of mountains all around. Great looking college throughout course (or vice versa), including the cool waterwheel on #17.
- Very good use of terrain throughout the course. Very few flat holes. Almost every hole is an uphill or downhill shot, meaning they either play longer (uphill) or you have risk of discs flying long (downhill). Even though its so short, you'll get a good workout just walking the course.

Course is very spread out. Lots of long walks between holes.
- Course could use better signage. I had to walk down the fairway to find the basket on too many holes, to the point it was frustrating. Also, course could use better signage between holes that require long walks. Transition from #9 to 10, and again from #15 to 16 stand out as most in need of signage.
- Course could use some a little TLC. On some of the wooded holes, the rough was extremely thick, or branches were dragged, only several feet behind the basket, or just right off the fairway.
- Dirt tee pads. Not a huge issue on shorter holes, but somewhat problematic on 2 longer holes.
- Building all appeared closed during off hours, so no water fountains or restrooms available at those times.

At times, the course seemed a paradox. On one hand, it seems it was given plenty of attention at times, resulting in some very good holes. At other times, it seems it was an afterthought, and built with limited to no space. Hole #4, with rusty, wire fence along the entire left side is a tetanus shot waiting to happen. That is, unless you know there's an opening in it, just past the basket.
- I don't know how much other space was available for this course, but at times, it felt too many holes were crammed in an area too small.
- I felt like the course left me wanting more, that it was lacking something. Maybe a true, standout signature wooded hole, maybe a few more longer (300 or 400 ft+ holes). To me, it says something that every wooded hole, after #2, felt all the same to me - all in the 150 - 200 ft range, with some dogleg.
- This is such a nice, spread out campus. Seems like you could learn almost any specialty or trade here.
- #17 stood out to me as the course's signature hole. The layout playing around the water, instead of over, wasn't overly difficult, but you add in the scenery, and it's solid. The layout over the water has to be a nerve-wracking throw.

At first glance, a lot of the holes on this course look super tight and narrow, and can give you a "Can they be serious? Where's the fairway?" kind of a vibe... However, if you have the aim and precision, there's almost always a super small window to hit and get a great shot in. I call this a Pro only because when you do hit it, it feels great! Too many courses are very forgiving, and this one makes you earn your Pars and the occasional Birdie.

This is not a course where you'll be at a disadvantage if you have a short arm (only two holes, 1 and 18) will require a great deal of distance. So if you're more the technical player, you'll probably really enjoy this course if you're on your game that day.

UPDATE: This course has just installed new signs at each hole that display the length of short and long pins! Huge step to making this course more enjoyable, especially for first timers who don't know where to look for the next hole.

That above being said, when the shots don't go your way, you start to see the downside to the tricky and tight fairways with the thick forest off to the sides. You'll find a few holes (2, 10, and 12) where you'll be asking yourself why they don't make discs that can take a drastic 90+ angle, but that just means you have plan out your shots accordingly or get creative with some tomahawks

The green baskets. I see where they were going, but honestly, they may as well have been camouflaged. They got a little easier to see last time I was there when the leaves had started to fall off the trees, but they're nearly invisible in the summer time.

Navigation is tricky if you haven't been there before. The flow is good for the most part, but there are a few times where you have a pretty long walk to the next tee and the direction isn't really obvious to newcomers. My advice, play with someone familiar to the course the first time if at all possible. If not, plan accordingly with extra time to hole hunt.

This course has a ton of potential. Throw in a few signs, some occasional benches, and a map of the course near the parking lot and you start to have a pretty good experience. Also, knocking down a tree or two along the way to make some of the "fair"ways a little more fair couldn't hurt either!

This course has grown on me as I've played it more. There's a good variety of holes, though most of them are fairly short.

There are some really cool holes. #6-#10 are all good holes with fair lines. #17 is beautiful, right next to a large pond with a working waterwheel.

Many holes concentrate more on tight, technical shots. You find yourself having to hit some very hard lines.

Sometimes you show up only to find the gate locked. I'm not really sure what the schedule is but I've seen it closed on weekends a few times.

Some holes have no real shot at the pin. #13 and #15 stick out in my mind here. That's not to say you can't get it there but it essentially comes down to luck on both of those holes.

#17 should be redesigned. There are better ways to incorporate the pond. Shooting to the island would be awesome.

And please repaint the tops of the baskets before spring.

Note: The course has changed so I have revised my original review.

- This course is going to introduce a lot of people to the game of disc golf. I mean... how can it not? It winds around and through a beautiful college campus, with the most "visible" holes being really well designed.
- This course is short enough to where you can easily shoot a good number, but not so easy as to give everything to you. You have to work for what you get - good drives are rewarded, bad drives are punished.
- The navigable parts are relatively easy to navigate. Look for the trails leading to the next basket, or think about what the next most appropriate shot would be... and you'll find your way. However, there are a few unituitive walks... see cons.
- You can tell that a lot of work went into getting this course up and in. I also imagine that as the course ages it will become better... with signage, concrete tees, multiple positions, etc... (since the first time I played here, they have added NEW TEE-SIGNS as well as a few navigational arrows which should make navigation much easier).
- The course seems to have been designed so that there would be minimal interference between the disc golfers and the school, and vice versa.

- Navigation. There are New Signs that help you spot the tee-pads from afar... However, there are still some difficult transitions for first timers. As a rule of thumb... if in doubt swing to the outside, away from the campus buildings and you'll find the next tee-pad.
- Tee Pads. The tee-pads are natural. This would be acceptable, however many are unlevel, uphill, tree-rooted, and small.
- Green may be the school color... but who decided that painting the tops of the baskets green would be a good idea? Everything out there is green! They do look sharp though.

- A few long walks where the next tee-pad isn't always intuitive. Directions to find the tee-pad of:
- #8 walk left up the road (50 yards) to tee-pad on the other side.
- # 10 is difficult... walk left up the road, through parking lot and around to the right, down the stairs... toward the green buliding, then look left.
- # 12 walk out of the woods to the left, then around to the right and down the road, then look down to the left in the trees.
- # 16 cross the street and get on the gravel path that crosses in front of the horticulture building... it will deliver you to the tee of 16.

- The campus was closed and I had to park on the street and walk in. This was fine with me but it took a while to find the first tee. If you would have drove in... the first parking lot on the left has a nature trail head sign... behind the sign is hole 1's tee-pad.
- This course was fun... I had a good time. It was better than the rumors I had heard made it out to be. It might be short, but it's longer than the other Asheville area short courses... and harder too.
- Congratulations to the campus for installing a cool course. I hope people take advantage of it... giving reason for the college to put a little more money into its development.
- My Best Score: -8