Good DISCatcher baskets.
Good tee signs showing Par, distance and hole layout.
Pretty easy course to follow, next tee was usually in sight.
This very nice, large County park was well kept and clean. There are restrooms at the start of the course.
Good variety of holes as far as left, right, split fairway and good use of the only elevation on the course. I felt most of the lines to hit were fair, I remember only two holes where I struggled to find the fairway.

DG course is behind fencing with the climbing wall and ropes course. If those aren't open, the course is not open.
The entire course is heavily wooded, no type of variety in that aspect.
Natural tees. They were marked pretty well, but it would be nice to have a more consistent tee pad.
No benches, probably the only place in this park where you can't find benches!

As I mentioned above, this large County park has a ton of activities, walking and biking trails, multiple fishing spots, spray ground, dog park, cottages, campground and the Climbing wall and ropes course. Plus, when I was there in December, I got to see the Christmas lights setup. I don't know if the idea was build a completely wooded course, to compliment the mostly open Park Circle and risk/reward treasure of Trophy Lakes, but that is what they accomplished. It would have been nice if they had selected another area with some open space for a couple of holes, or routed the course to some nearby open space areas, instead of keeping it behind the fences.
You pay as you enter the park, but not at the Climbing wall and DG course area. They have you sign in and out when you play, so this may be the only public course I've played that is completely fenced in. I'm not sure if they are keeping us in, or others out!

Some of the lines may seem tight to some, but with the average hole length at 240' (minus the one Par 4), you have to have a challenge somewhere. There are a few longer holes, around 300' that are straighter, but most have a left or right turn to them, some tight, some more gradual. The number of left and right turning holes felt about equal.

There is a small pond in the middle of the course, the picture for #5 shows a partial carry over the water, but I think that has been eliminated with the hole shortened. #6 sits up on a mound, with the pond lurking behind, take an Ace run at that, at your own peril. Then #11, tees from the top of another section of that mound, through two large trees for a short, turning downhiller.

#9 is a very pretty hole, back side of the property, just 231' and turning right the whole way, ferns are prevelant down both sides and the view of the tidal marsh behind the basket is worth the walk.

I understand the course was closed for while last year, due to trees down from Hurricane damage, but everything was in great shape when I was there. The views around this park and that great shape it is in, make this a fun course to play. Just be sure to bring your technical game and get ready to be "locked up"!

Great baskets, moderately good flow, beautiful park and isolated. Just bring your extreme accuracy.

Concrete tee pads would have bumped my rating but the dirt tees were level and not a major problem.

A few more directional signs would have been appreciated.

Some additional trimming would have been nice but as a course director/maintainer, I know the level of dedication this needs in a fast growing environment.

Showed up at 10 AM only to find the course locked up on a weekday until noon; was able to return in the early afternoon.

As I am use to very tight fairways (Charlotte), James Island can be extreme. The fairways would be fair if they were a few feet wider (while maintaining the need for shot shaping and accuracy) and would reduce the "luck" factor.

I think I played this course 5-7 years ago when it was a 9-holer and may have been an object course. Right now, the current layout will bring me back (7 minutes from my uncle's house) but will definitely change my shot selection.

Course brings in a different disc golf experience than the "nearby" Trophy Lakes course. Recommend playing both in the same day for the variation.

- Tee signs and baskets are in great shape.

- The layout is easy to follow as there are well worn paths.

- Nice restroom at the climbing wall which is the start and end of the course

- Tee pads are just sand marked by flags. There are some roots, so just be careful when throwing. Wish they were marked better.

- The course is more of an out and back course, so make sure you have everything you need before starting.

- There is a cannel, pond, and marsh on which you can lose a disc, but this also adds a good element to the course. You are not allowed to enter the cannel for a disc and the pond is where disc go to die as it is never cleaned.

Great course overall, but it is lacking some in the maintenance area. The course rewards players who can hit their lines, but it is a lot of fun for a beginner. I personally love this course and have played it well over a dozen times.

I just want to start with that there are tight courses. Then there are tiiiight courses. Then there is James Island tight. I hope you haven't eaten a big meal before you play 'cause you might not fit down what are comically described as 'fairways'. Actually I refer to what is here as 'almost unfair ways'. Honestly, a bit of an exaggeration. But these 18 links are narrow.

I also feel that on person with a chain saw and about an hour to kill could open this course just a wee bit and make it a stone-cold blast to play. As it is, its fun and not fun. I'm a strong player and can wind my way down the tightest of fairways, but the newer player going to get frustrated. Several holes out here could have a mime cursing.

Let's get to some specifics...

#1 has a weak line to the basket with a clump of trees right where you want to throw. Hardly an angle at all for lefties and I only saw a few righties park it with high hyzer shots around the trees.

#2 is a good hole, totally dig it. but Anhyzer/forehand shot finishing left.

#3 is 296' tight shot that if you hit anything and kick right, its at best trouble. At worst 'see ya later, hello alligators' as you are 10' down in a canal.

#4 is hole three but finish right.. Oh, they leave a nice fat tree right where you want to throw, and not that far off the tee.

#5 is a good hole, short with a BLACK water pond before the basket, Throwing the 229' shot it is easy. Not hitting the trees by the pond and splashing in is not easy. I throw an 'S' curve shot around with a stable fairway driver to stay out of danger

#6 is a cool hole. Some how they found a hill and put basket on top. It backs up to the pond on #5 Throw too hard and it's history. Land on top and roll and you're fighting the gator for your putter...oh yeah, short enough for a putter.

#7 really not a fan favorite. Tight shot off a small knoll to a basket finishing right. I haven't seen it parked - ever.

#8 a good, midrange shot with a tough of hyzer

#9 straight at it with a midrange

#10 is your first crank. 462' feet dogleg left. But hit ANYTHING for first 275' and you have nothing but trouble. Lots of 5-6-7's

#11 where this hole came from I have no idea! But a decent down hill shot finishing slightly right. But can't go at it due to some massive pines that almost make you 'S' turn to it.

#12 is a fairly straight hole but with a phalanx of guardian trees around the basket. Almost a poke and hope at 220' feet!

13# is fairly straight shot, just got to throw very straight!

14# is a cool 'lefty hating' shot. HARD left turn, but not a tough hole

15# is a short par 4 - for me that is. A clump of trees 100' down range take up 90% of the fairway. Gotta to right/left and not hit ANYTHING. Otherwise you're kicked into never never land. Not a big fan of the hole.

16#...can't remember much except it being tight ;-)

#17 is a repeat of #15. More freaking trees in the middle of the fairway, but this time almost 300 feet.

#18 is a lazer beam 266' (seems longer) shot. Hit anything earlier and...do I need to go on?? Sigh.

i really dislike sandy tee pads and that's ALL you get here. For me to throw with the accuracy needed on this course, I need concrete, something my feet won't slip on. If you're a stand-still thrower, or have little movement, you'll probably be okay.

Also...no benches...period. Would like a place to sit after I've spent 20 minutes looking for an errant shot.

Now, I criticized this course for being tight, but I tell you this, if you can play here, you can play anywhere! These lines can be merciless, but if you want to play a course that will truly make you a better player, James Island will.

I gave this course a '3' on the hope that one day it will have concrete tees.

The sign posts are excellent shape and clearly identify the typical path. A challenging course where you shots must be controlled. Easy to follow the course thanks to "Tee" signs which point you to the next tee.

Lots of stubs and roots so you have to watch your step and skips are hard to come by.

After reading the reviews, didn't really want to go play this course but my daughter wanted to play in the JI League so I agreed. Very glad I did as it is a very fun yet technical course. Even when you have a bad shot and get off the course into the woods, it is usually easy to find a line at least back out.

This course was a bit of North Carolina tucked down south in Charleston. I walked aways from the parking lot back past a small climbing establishment and down a trail to find the first tee. The vegetation was different, a lot more scrub palms, but I was struck immediately by how tight I was. At the same time, the line immediately presented itself. I played fast, needing to make up the time I spent finding the place(see below) but it was fine, because no time was lost looking for discs or standing at tees puzzled about what I was supposed to do. These are some tight, tree-lined fairways, but the lines are there, with some straight shots and some well-crafted doglegs.

The flow of the course is very well done. Navigation aids are present when needed and the paths that lead from hole to hole are obvious and pleasant. I don't think there was a single head-scratching moment and that really makes for a fast and fun round.

There are even a few memorable holes. 6 doglegs left to find the basket on a large embankment, offering a steeply upwards putt. The 11 tee sees discers climbing a curving ramp to an elevated tee that sticks out over the surrounding landscape like an all-too-welcome thumb.

What the course does need is tee signs. The small posts that mark the tees are wood-covered, which makes them tough to spot. The flow keeps you headed right for them, but something more visible would be good. It's possible that in summer they would be even tougher to spot.

There is also a complete lack of information about the hole. Most holes I deduced where to throw based on the fairway, but sometimes I was wrong. It's a nice course and it deserves tee signs. Knowing the distance and fairway curvature would be very helpful here as most baskets are not visible from the tee. Again, this didn't affect my round but this is a problem that will likely be worse in summer.

I would also say that this course is on the easier side of the balance. There's not a ton of distance and the lines are all hittable. I'd also admit that it possible that this course swings too far the other way in the summer months. With a ton of growth, those lines could be swallowed up. With a bunch of underbrush, the speed and ease of the course could disappear.

I found a course that was in great condition but this is Charleston and I'm aware of what Charleston vegetation looks like in the summer. So my pristine November experience has to be balanced somewhat with what it will look like in the other half of the year.

I'll make no claims for how this course plays in the summer, but I couldn't recommend it enough in the winter.

The worst part of my experience at James Island had nothing to do with the course but with finding the course within the massive park. I understand that disc golf is not their most popular activity, but neither it nor the climbing wall were easily found. (and more than one employee was unaware of the course's existence. I'd say that the directions here could be more specific as well. (I'd rewrite them myself but at this point I have no idea what I did, and "drive around aimlessly asking everyone you see" would probably not be too helpful.)

The property where the course is located has awesome potential.
The flow is pretty decent.
18 New Disc Catchers.
Course is technical in nature and accuracy is at a premium.
Numbers 6 and 11 have fun factor and are unique to Low Country environment.
Navigation was fairly easy from hole to hole, not always intuitive, but there were signs.
Beautiful surrounding park.
The course is set behind the climbing wall area and is well separated from other park activities providing a unique feel of solitude in the woods.

Tee pads are natural and could be improved. As play increases they will erode.

Many baskets not visible from tee and no signs indicating location of basket

Update Jan 2014: Wow! The improvements are huge. I realize that winter helps, but there has been a massive cleanup. 18 shiny new baskets and it hardly resembles the course i originally reviewed.


This course is similar to Tidal Creek in West Ashley. I realize that the course is new, but it makes me sad to see the wasted potential of such a dynamic piece of land. I understand not mowing down the forest, but some strategic cleanup would improve things dramatically. In the hands of a competent designer this course has the potential to be really good. It would be money well spent to bring in a competent design firm to create a technical challenging course. Maybe it is just my preference but a course can require technical shots without being an overgrown mess. I hope that the reviews given here might spur some action.

James Island County Park features an interesting course. It's very similar to Tidal Creek, but has potential to be even better than that course.
- There are some fun and/or challenging hole layouts here. The course has some shorter holes that offer a chance to be more aggressive (#5, 6, 11 & 12 are good examples), while there are some challenging ones that require pinpoint accuracy. #10 is the only long hole on the course (462 feet), and it's pretty close to being a really good hole. Make the fairway a little wider so people can be aggressive off the tee, and this hole will be really good.
- The course offered a first for me in the Charleston area: a true hole with elevation. #11 has a drop-off of around 20 feet from the tee down to the basket. The basket is on a raised hill (apparently they do exist in the low country), down to a basket deep in the woods. The hole could be even better if a little more length was involved, requiring more than just a putter or mid-range disc off the tee.
- Course does an adequate job of flowing easily through the woods. There are some next tee signs, which help. After several holes, I discovered that the course map didn't provide much help. But, if you follow the walking path (which sometimes doubles as a fairway, but more on that later) and the next tee signs, it's pretty easy to navigate your way through the course. Things could be better, mainly having better tee signs, and more next tee signs, especially on the long walks.
- The course is isolate from the rest of the park activities. You start behind climbing wall, but after that, the course has the land all to itself. There's also some great scenery throughout the course, with water to the left of #5, the hills on #6 &11, and the water behind #9. #10 had the best nature/wooded feel of any hole on the course. I wished there some more holes like that on the course.
- The course has a better natural environment than Tidal Creek. By that, there were less swampy areas than Tidal Creek; although; mud is still an issue days after a rain. That's still better than the standing water you get at TC. There were also less spider webs, large spiders, and less wildlife (mainly snakes). I'm guessing a lot of that has to do with being further from water than TC, but it's still an advantage.

The course still appears to be a work in progress, so some of these problems should be fixed. They're what are separating a so-so course from being a pretty good one.
- There's a definite lack of true fairways throughout the course. It's one of the same problems that have hampered Tidal Creek. Too many holes were built based on existing paths, making the fairways as wide the walking trail. You can tell there's a resistance to cutting down trees, but it results in an unnatural feel. That also poses another major problem:
- A lack of variety of shot-making is required to play the course. The first time I played, I threw a used, mid-range disc I found years ago for 80% of the round. I didn't want to search for discs in the woods, so I played something I could throw straight. Basically, I was throwing 180 - 220 off the tee on most holes. And regardless of the hole layout, if I stayed in the fairway, I was ensured of an easy 3. The only hole I needed more disc was on #10.
- Because of the narrow/unnatural fairways, there's way too much luck involved in this course. On too many holes, you cannot see the basket from the tee. After hole #6, I quick walking the hole, searching for the basket. My goal was just to throw it straight down the fairway. Well, the rest of the round, I had 4 blind shots (two tee shots, two long approach shots) land within 6 - 8 feet of the basket. There's something unsettling when you get tap-in birdies without ever seeing the basket.
- Of all the narrow/'not really a fairway' fairways, #16 was by far the worst. It's a straight fairway for the first 100 feet, makes a sharp right for the next 40 feet through a 10 foot opening, and then straightens out/goes back to the left the last 50 - 60 feet to the basket. I'm far from a pro, but I don't know how many people are going to make that shot on a consistent basis.
- In addition to the narrow fairways, some holes have low ceilings because of the trees/branches. After a bunch of narrow fairways, getting to a relatively open fairway on #5, throwing a straight shot, only to have it knocked down because of the low ceiling. So basically, on every hole, you're either having to make sure not to go left or right, or too high, or both. Oh, and keep an eye on the ground so you don't trip on roots/stumps, or step in mud.

The James Island course grew on me as the round went on. I think it's because I saw all the possibilities this course could offer is the designers were given the opportunity.
- The course starts out frustrating with bad/no fairway holes, and ends with a couple holes like that (#16 & 18); but, from #5 - 15, I really enjoyed the round.
- It's not like I'm even calling for a ton of trees to be knocked down. For example, if only two or three were cleared on #6, you'd have a real fairway and the makings of a great hole. It's a dogleg left, to a basket on a slight (maybe 8 - 10 feet tall) hill. There's too much luck involved to clear the trees. Or just a whole lot of skill, which the average player at this course probably doesn't have.
- Also, by making the fairways, well, actually fair, you increase the risk/reward factor. Throwing a mid-range tee shot on every hole isn't the answer for making a good course. You want to give players a reason to be aggressive.
- All that said, if given the opportunity, this could be one of the better courses in the Charleston area. Instead, you're presently left with just a slightly better version of Tidal Creek. Oh, but the possibilities of what could be.