~Easily accessible
~Interesting terrain
~Good flow / simple to navigate
~Solid mix of hole layouts
~Abundance of benches
~Fun course for most skill levels

~Tee pads not long enough, some were uneven
~A few holes not accurately depicted on tee signs
~Fairly repetitive layout
~Little to no elevation change

Played an afternoon round with my family while visiting the Kure Beach area during our vacation. A hot and humid day, however the course provided some shelter from the sun. My first coastal terrain course, and I found the landscape wonderful. Very different from what this oHIo boy is used to. The trees are a unique feature, defining the borders of each hole and are punishing to errant shots. Low enough to fly over on a few shots, but the trees along with the sandy ground are what make this layout fun. I liked the tee pads overall, but they are a couple feet short for full X-steps, and a handful have become uneven. Not a deal breaker since many of the holes are short and precise enough to warrant a stand and deliver tee shot. The swirling breeze also influence you to keep your shots level and low. Course starts out with the first handful of holes favoring right hand back hand, and this lefty quickly grew concerned that the entire course may follow suit. Fortunately the layout soon opened up to a nice mix of tee shots favoring both lefty's and right handed players alike. Scattered throughout the course are shorter technical holes allowing birdie opportunities and ace runs. The course is relatively flat with a repetitive flow, but overall I found it well designed and extremely fun to throw. Not too long, not too short and suitable for most players. Would definitely play again if I find my way back down!

Joe Eakes Park is a fun and challenging course at Kure Beach. It's true beach disc golf: all sand terrain; scraggly, thick underbrush; pine trees; lots of insects; and all the heat and humidity you can stand! If you're making beach plans, go to Kure or Carolina Beach and have this course in your backyard. I did. It was worth it.

+ Very challenging, well laid out course. Lots of s-curve fairways, sharp hyzers and annies. Stay on the fairways though! Did I mention the beach underbrush? It's no joke.

+ Very unique setting. It's the only course I've played that I'd truly call a beach course.

+ This course will force you to use every shot in your bag. There are long holes where you really need to rip. There are all kinds of different lines and angles. There are risk/reward elements. For example, do you lay up in a landing zone on a par 4 or try to zig-zag or go over some brush and risk a big number...or a lost disc? I thought the course was really challenging and had me thinking the whole time.

+ Good baskets, navigation.

+ Other park amenities: tennis courts, baseball field, etc.

- Far and away the biggest con for me is the mix of numerous blind tee shots with short but thick brush. It's very easy to lose a disc here, especially without a spotter. If you do lose a disc, look on the ground *and* in the brush/trees. They're so thick, sometimes the disc doesn't make it to the ground. I made the mistake of throwing my favorite disc, which happened to be white, same color as the sand and the glaring beach sunlight, off the fairway and never saw it again. (If you find a Lucid Escape on hole 2, I'll pay you a reward for it!)

- Obviously, the biggest pro of this course is its uniqueness and proximity to the beach. This can be a con too. Why? Three words: Heat, humidity, and bugs.. I'm serious. It can be oppressive. I was on the beach in the morning -- a normal July day. It was low 90s, but very breezy. Felt fine on the beach. But get to the course, with thick brush blocking the breeze, trapping the heat, and it's like a sauna. The humidity was probably 99% when I played. Throw in some sand gnats, mosquitos, and ticks (there are actually warning signs about the ticks) and it's just beachy! Plan your round accordingly.

- Some of the rubber tees were uneven and/or had sand buildup on them.

- Minor nit-pick, but par 61 for this course is pretty generous. There are some tweaner holes that could be par 3 or 4. They went with par 4 (and even one 5) on all of them. I played this course blind the first time and shot 2 under, which *never* happens for me at a true white level (or intermediate) course.

Make plans to play this one. The disc golf scene in Wilmington is really strong. Castle Hayne is the crown jewel, but Joe Eakes is a great undercard course. Throw in the two beginner courses, including Trinity, which is 5 minutes away from Joe Eakes, and you have all the elements for a beach/DG vacay destination. Tip: play Trinity at the Good Hops Brewery as a warm-up or cool-down paired with Joe Eakes.

Unique
Fun
Challenging
Close to nice beach
Baskets in good shape
Clean
Drainage excellent

Needs more clearing in a few areas
Concrete tees would be nice, existing tees decent
A few minor safety hazards should be addressed
Ticks abundant in warm weather
Fairway lines on signs not accurate. 1st time through you should walk ahead and spot the basket on the many blind shots.

This course is definitely worth playing if you're in the area.

Easy to navigate from hole to hole

Technical course

A lot of the little details makes this course fun/exciting (stone pathways and outlining!)

Sitting area/bench at each tee box *Major Kudos*

*FREE* to play

Majority of the holes/pathways are in the sand

*Don't feed the TICKS*

Very narrow approach shots on a majority of the holes

Overall I enjoyed my experience at Kure Beach and would recommend others to play at this course. (If you've got enough time take the ferry across and play at Bill Smith Park in Oak Island, NC)

nice course right near the beach, tee pads were plastic but worked really well for the course. all brand new baskets.the terrain was flat but the winding fairways made for challenging lines. if you can throw a decent thumber, you will need it. clean park , a few benches, tee signs at every hole

all though there were signs, i felt like a few were off on distance and fairway shapes were a little off. no big deal really.

i liked this course and drove from holden beach about a hour away. its not as good as castle hayne but still worth checking out. good work....

The course is, aesthetically, very appealing and sharply done. Nice entry/gazebo area with a large course map. Clear and informative signs. Really enjoyed the course "barriers", mando flags - very sharp and a nice dark green motif - and stonework around the course. It just has cleaner and slicker feel then most NC courses. The teepads are gravel with rubber insets - they work very well.

There just doesn't seem to be a great variety to the course - tons of long swtichback fairways - which actually gets monotonous. The course is challenging, but for the wrong reasons - small gaps, tree branches interfere with normal flight paths, too many "protected" holes. It is very buggy (liked the tick signs though), but it is the beach, so cannot be avoided.

This is much different than your typical NC wooded course. You have the ability to actually throw over the trees (since they are short beach trees), which I found myself doing on a few holes to get a good line. If you have a good OH throw in your arsenal, it will probably benefit you greatly. This is disc golf on a beach, so there is no shade. Also, the fairways are sand, so skips are minimal. It could be a little tricky to determine where the park is without the temporary-looking "Disc Golf Course" sign, since there is no sign for the actual park. I would give this course a 2.75 rating if it were an option - a solid course, no real memorable holes or "wow" factor to the actual course itself. If you are vacationing in the Carolina Beach/Kure Beach area - then this is one to try. From a Raleigh perspective, it's one to play if you are hitting Castle Hayne already, but not worth the trip solely. FYI, the police station is right across the street - hence the police presence.

Amended my review rating slightly - since it was better than other courses that I have rated 2.5 as well. That said, I still believe it is a solid 2.75.

The course officially opened on Feb 20th and it is as finished a course as you will find. Great signage, benches and unique but functional tee pads on every hole. Huge course map and welcoming patio lead you to the first hole .

For a first time designer, Mike Jones & crew did a great job on this course for the amount of land provided @ 15 acres. Good variety of shots and challenging. Different ways to score good and bad here.

Unique landscape and proximity to the beach are what make this course special. Mike made great use of the scrub oaks on the short holes to guard the baskets.

I don't like to see the same shot on consecutive holes & 7 & 8 are near identical. Update: Hole 8 now has an alternate basket with a straight shot.
Bugs and chiggers will most likely be an issue during the summer, I hope to be proven wrong on this.

The local govt is very supportive of the course & excited about the sport but I hope they don't get too EVENT happy. This is a good course but it's not a championship course.

The local police will be strictly enforcing open container & leash laws...please don't give them a reason to pull this course.

If I may amend the directions given for this course. After crossing the bridge and passing the shopping center, turn right onto Dow Rd. just before the CVS pharmacy. Roughly 3 miles will be a sharp left turn. Look for the Kure Beach sign and Joe Eakes Park will be the next right turn. This will keep you from driving thru the busy section of Carolina Beach.