-This is a nice course in a solid neighborhood. I really enjoyed the crazy elevation changes that the course has to offer. Course is gimmicky as well, but in a kind of fun way, such as the elevated baskets and the one basket upside down.
-Some of the really cool gimmicks also include the bamboo wall on #14, the OB rule outside on the logs to the left on #15, the power tower in play on #17, and #18 playing as a jump putt from the regular position.
-Three sets of tees on every hole. Also alternate pin positions on several holes. The club apparently does well switching the positions.
-The elevation changes that stood out to me the most were the extreme downhill holes 1 and 4. Course starts off with a crazy steep downhill ace run like 80 feet down and onto a trecherous green with a 20' drop off left. Hole 4 is even more crazy! The elevation drop on this one is at least 30' greater than hole 1's! To make things better, you have an awesome view of the river past the basket! Hole is 280' from the white but I barely threw a putter and it went 30 ft. past the basket! This hole is awesome! By far my favorite hole here!!
-Some steep up hills too, such as #3, #10 and #13. All are up a good ways up there but there elevation changes are not as drastic as the downhills!
-I didn't have a problem with the tee pads here. I played the whites, however, not every hole on the reds or blues here has tee pads (see cons below). I thought the whites were appropriate length.
-I also enjoyed the holes with the river in play. I mentioned hole 4 but hole 5 is also interesting because the river is completely in play to the left on this hole. This is one the the harder holes on the course because of the lost disc potential in the river and how it plays down a narrow fairway and along a mountain to the right side. You can try to go right and sit on the mountain but with something that won't roll left.
-#7 is also fun because of it playing up a small waterfall. Water is in the fairway 90% of the way on this ace run. It would be irritating to get a 4 on a hole like this because of it being 145' but it takes a clean shot down the gap.
-I love how this place isn't a park. Along with Rolling Pines, it's mostly known for the disc golf course. Only other things I saw out here were a basketball goal and a pavilion. Parking lot is still very big for tournaments and club events!
-Nice tee signs with great diagrams.
-Definitely its own course! Most holes here are short but I shot even the shorts! The fairways are either tight, curvy, and couple maybe imaginary. Also some tricky basket locations! One I haven't mentioned was #8. The hole is a super tight dogleg left that's only 185' and goes across the creek at the bend! #20 is also really scary because of the island green marked by logs and the basket being raised on some pipe! I wouldn't ever want to miss a short putt on this hole because you could just roll off the green and be left with another dangerous putt. Still a cool finishing hole!
-Rolling Pines is just a mile away and I swear that just may now be my favorite course! If you play here, you better play Rolling Pines!

-It's blistering! It's painful! Some of the transitions to the next holes are just steep! Especially from hole 2 to 3! You walk up like 50' up a steep hill just to get to #3's tee! It's not just that either! It's a short course but constantly walking up and down those hills makes it feel longer!
-Some of you might love #14, but I just thought it was too goofy and irritating. There are two mandos pointing right, one on a tree forcing you to go right along a rather undefined lane and another on the bamboo wall. It's just too silly. It's one of those holes that is just poorly designed because it's short (<200') and is just forced and unnatural! Same goes for hole 8, 13, and 19. Holes under 200 ft. should be birdied a good bit more easily than these.
-Thorny in some areas. Especially #16! It's so bad to the right of the basket that I would rather be OB left past the road than to be right and lose a disc and get stuck in thorns. People listen up! Thorns are not fun!
-A couple holes are too close to the parking lot. I personally think #19's design is dreadful. You literally tee off across the parking lot and have a mando to go right of to protect the pavilion. There is room for a much better design. #18 isn't much better. Unless you are a righty with a clear flick, you don't have much of a chance in avoiding the parking lot. I typically like danger holes but this plays as a jump putt and on a crowded day, such as in a tournament, I guarantee, some cars will be hit!
-I would lookout for snakes! There could be copperheads from March to fall but I'm not sure though.

-I thought Highland Hills was an okay course at first, but now I really like it. Hole quality ranges from mediocre to extremely fun. I would advise every one of you that reads this review to go to the gas station on Wilkesboro road nearby maybe 2 miles from here or bring something to drink from home because it's extremely hilly and the hike is even more hilly! With two courses being very close to each other up here, I would definitely play both! I played three rounds on the 29th! Two at rolling pines and one here.
-Quite a few signature holes here such as the waterfall hole 7! Not only is it unique and memorable, it's beautiful! The EXTREME downhill hole 4 was my favorite. If the river was less dangerous to go in, I would've thrown every putter in my bag for sure! #16 is also a fun valley shot, could easily be the best if the underbrush wasn't so bad on the rightside.

This course is one of the more eccentric I've seen. It hearkens me back to holes from Brackets bluff in Davidson, NC. I knew the course would be fun the moment I walked up to the first tee. "Wait, the hole is way down there?...sweet!"

"Way down there" or "way up there" I found myself thinking the whole round. This course has some of, if not THE, most elevation change I've ever played. I felt like I needed a hiking stick in several spots, which could be a pro or a con, depending on how you look at it. Be careful out there because you could slip. Some rubber cleats would be an asset to have while playing here.

I mentioned eccentricities but never expanded, allow me to do so. I'll start by mentioning the basket colors. They have a bright orange color scheme. Many courses don't steer from the traditional yellow DISCatchers or similar. The orange baskets are easy to see and fit in well in the atmosphere of the course. One hole is perched atop 3 tractor tires, one is hanging from an artificial tree branch and a third is behind a bamboo wall (someone has been to Winthrop). My favorite hole, however, was hole 7. It looks like you're standing in the middle of a creek and shooting straight up the middle. The basket is actually in the creek. That hole is something I'll remember for a long time, more so than the somewhat gimmicky basket tricks.

The amenities were great on this course. Every hole had benches (that I remember) and usually a well constructed tee pad with retainer walls.

There are lots of ace opportunities out here, which would be one of the things keeping me coming back. I have no doubt nearly every hole out there has been aced at some point.

Most of the holes are extremely short but allow the elevation changes to create the distance. I found myself playing the majority of the holes with a putter. For what it's worth, that doesn't make a course excellent in my book.

I mentioned gimmicky baskets in the pros. I think some of the basket placements were unnecessary and take a little away from the experience. Not that they aren't cool, it just felt too intentional. If it were me, I'd get rid of the bamboo wall, and choose either the hanging basket or the tire basket and get rid of the other.

Hole 20 was actually pretty cool and probably the other hole I'll remember from the course, but it was brought down by hole 19. Hole 19 felt like a connector hole, not really having it's own character but merely serving the purpose of getting you to hole 20. And in the case of 19, if the parking lot is in use it is unplayable. Hole 5 also felt like a connector hole, utilizing the road that is cut out near the river as the fairway. One of the only flat holes on the course and it felt out of place.

Sometimes the elevation changes lead to blind shots/ non-golf shots/ lost discs. Playing for the first time by myself, I found myself wincing at the thought of throwing some of the holes, not knowing where my disc will end up. Hole 4 is unplayable in my opinion. First, you can't see the pin from the tee box, in fact you have to walk all the way to the stairs at the bottom before seeing it, then walk back up the steep hill to "throw" the shot. Really you're just dropping the disc off the cliff and hoping you don't hit anyone on hole 5.

Navigation wasn't a huge issue in terms of finding the next basket, but there were spots where you have to cross over fairways to get to the next hole, and I always consider that a flaw.

Be prepared to walk the course twice if this is your first time playing. Many of the holes are blind shots and you'll need to walk the hole to find the basket. Slightly takes away from the experience. For the locals, this wouldn't matter at all.

There are ample opportunities to lose a disc, in fact I lost one myself on hole 1. The mountain swallowed it whole it seems and trying to hike around on the steep slope to find it was difficult.

There is only 2 holes I would consider "open". Out of 20, that is far too few to consider this a well rounded course, thus the lower rating.(remember guys, I'm judging this against every other course I've played). There was plenty of every shot type other than that, but nearly 0 holes that required a driver. As I stated, I used my putter on what seemed like 80% of holes.

Don't let my cons get you down. I have to judge every course I play with any other course in the nation. This course is certainly fun and unique, but doesn't offer many of the things I look for in a world class course. That doesn't mean you shouldn't play it, you should indeed! It's certainly a fun time and has holes you'll remember for a long time, but if you're looking for a course to challenge every aspect of your game, this one isn't it. Tight and precise putter shots, rinse wash and repeat with a little bit of spice added in the form of basket placements. I hope the locals understand I'm not trying to tear the course apart, it was very fun and I'll be back!

Elevation! this course uses it very well and often and it rairly if ever feels like its overdone or an impossible shot. And with all of the elevation there has been a lot of work put in to make sure that transitions are safe and well groomed.

I dont get to say this often but I did not see much trash at all.

There was a solid mix of left right and straight shots overall and the course flowed really well. There were a few times we scratched out heads a little but for the most part it was easy for first timers to navigate.

The baskets are awesome! I have never seen those bright orange (kingpins?) baskets before.

While there were many fun and beautiful holes or greens hole 7 with the creek down the middle stands out in my mind.

I like the idea of using logs as ob lines on holes and the rule of the red tee being a drop zone all the time made the course play tough if you got in trouble.

For the most part the natural pads were not to bad(see cons)

I felt like the teesigns were well located so thatpeople playing any tee could see them without much issue and the nice scorecards provided was definatly a plus.

Some of the Natural pads were boxedin which always irritates me because you cannot safely follow through. there were only a few however.

even though the locals have done a hell of a job making sliping and tripping issues a minimum it can still be an issue. Be careful.

Smelled a little near the sewer.

there were very few benches or trashcans.

Overall this is a great course for a small community and is well worth a road trip to play. I really enjoyed playing this course and plan on going back in the near future. Kudos to the locals who have put in the time and hard work to build a great course!

This one is well worth a road trip to play!

This course is a wonderful, overall course. Most complain about the treacherous walking but if you aren't dumb and you take your time you will have fun and enjoy the hike on this course. That is one of my favorite things about this course; the hike. The scenery is great and now that it is spring time things are looking even better. This course is full of potential ace shots. Getting my first ace on hole 7 a week ago, I am looking forward for other ace runs on many of the other holes. The baskets are amazing here, along with the hooks to hold the bags and the man made bridges are a must!

Some of the holes do not complement this course. Hole 18 is a terrible way to end a round. An ace is possible (as with almost any hole) but I think 18 takes the fun away from the rest of the course. I don't know if it is other players but i'm getting tired of finding beer bottles and trash being left in the park and out on the course.

Aside from the few cons that I listed this course is awesome to play. I have played this course over 20 times and with each time out I keep getting better. Hope you enjoy!

The Wilkes County Disc Golf Club has picked up the torch again to make Highland Hills shine. Tons of work has been done all over the course during the last few months. Several of the fairways have been opened up and polished.

#1 has had a few trees taken out to open up a much better lane.
#2 has been widened tremendously. Straight view to the pin now
#4 The left side of the tree near the concrete slab has been thinned down. The disc stopping canopy is gone.
#5's alt pin location up the hill totally polished up. A very nice anhyzer route has been opened up.
#10 Right side of the tree next to the steps has been cut away.Wide open from both tees now.

All the fairways gave been picked up and free of debris. Several club members and the Eckerd Camp youth have worked very hard to get H!H! looking great again.

Lots of terrain changes at H!H! It can give you a serious workout. Thats really now a con I guess if thats what your looking for.

Be sure to wear shoes with some traction as you will need it on several ares of the course. This course offers a little bit for everyone. You'll get to use all the shots in your arsenal here. The club has made a renewed dedication to really keep H!H! looking sharp. Come out and enjoy the challenge of H!H!