-An 18-hole 4-layer course variety that starts with holes 1-5 along a lake thru light trees, light trees with no lake interference holes 6-10, 11-15 thru heavy woods, and 16-18 finish up thru lights woods. Holes 1-5 plays flat, the rest of the course a gentle slope. Most of the course is wind dominant. There are a few roller greens.

-If you've played here prior to 2018 the course has been realigned. Hole 18 no longer plays over the lake, only hole 5 still has a water carry offering a unique experience. Holes 7-11 have been re-aligned and re-numbered. It looked like the water carry on hole 16 has been eliminated by brush.

-Holes 1-5 rank in my top 15 for a stretch of difficulty where a tree deflection or fairway skip can put you in the water to the left or heavy brush to the right.

-Tee signs when present had hole number, par, distance, and simple map graphics.

-Navigation is counter-clockwise, you'll need UDisc to help with navigation. Hole transition will be smooth for repeat rounds.

-From the bag on the tee nice variety of putter's, fairways, and drivers.

-Beginners and Recreational will find difficulty on most of the course. Intermediate and Advanced will have some good challenges on some holes.

-On a below freezing Saturday morning I was stunned to find a couple of dozen walkers on or just off the fairway that I waited on. Then there were a few more dozen that I saw but didn't encounter. I waited at least 10 minutes on fairways to clear out, and quickly played to avoid the next swarm coming. They were coming across a bridge from a few subdivisions. And I thought I was going to be in the clear with the below freezing temps. Worse congestion I have seen on a course, and I was the only disc golfer. Holes 1-5 you are going to have walkers coming directly at you. The only respite you'll have from walkers will be holes 11 thru 15 nobody was walking into the heavy woods.

-Navigation from holes 6 thru 11, and hole 18 is horrible from the realignment. Baskets are still not numbered correctly from 4 years ago. Did a lot of UDisc checking, and I still played the wrong basket on 10, when I thought 15 was it on my approach.

-Hole number 8 basket is missing, and it looks like it's been missing for at least a few years. I was already aware, so I played hole 9 tee pad.

-Tee pads are dirt and rutted in some places. Some tee signs were missing. Looks like no course Maintenace is being performed?

-It's a 3-minute walk from parking to first tee, 9-minutes from 18 basket back to parking, and I walk briskly. On the way back to parking keep your eyes up for any incoming disc from hole 5 to hole 1.

-Lost disc potential is high holes 1 thru 5. I lost 2 discs skipping basket high hole 1, and a tree hit on 5 just short of basket, both into the water. Holes 11-15 offers heavy brush, trees, and lake.

Lake Wilson with the variety of golf, lake views, wind play, sloping hills, and the unique lakeside holes 1-5 should be rated at least a 4.0. But there are just too many cons, and my personnel con was the course congestion by non-players. I was either waiting or rushing shots, or quicking my pace to keep ahead of those behind me or those I saw off in the distance coming at me. I could only imagine what it's like on a warm weekend. It's a course where I wish I could have soaked it all in instead of rushing it, the layout is good enough for it. Even if I had played on a weekday, the navigation mess would have still kept my overall rating down.

My overall rating is anchored on the variety of the layout at a 4.5. The time to play with the delay's was 1 hour, knock off 10 minutes without the waiting 50 minutes, but add on 12 minutes to reach tee 1, and parking after 18 not included in my 1 hour.

Course Humor or Stalker?

-After I teed #1 to reach down to my bag I noticed about 30 feet behind me a lady in winter clothing, dark sunglasses doing yoga stretching, thought nothing of it. On the green turned around, there she was again behind me, a little creepy. She followed me all the way to the 5th basket, after a few holes it became amusing.

Notable Holes:

-No. 13 Par 3 at 204 feet a fairway that meanders left and a flat hole with heavy trees all the way down. Middle right halfway down is thick grass with shallow water soaking in from the lake. Gaps as small as 5 feet with the first just 40 feet down fairway. A few guardian trees around basket. Pulled out my Pig and hit a tree halfway down fairway.

-No. 15 Par 3 at 272 feet with more heavy trees on a gentle up slope, fairway meanders to the left. The tee is aimed right center at about 100 feet is a shelf rolling down to the thick grass and water all the way to basket. A few guardian tees around basket, right of basket a roller green to water and grass. Fairway is wide enough but hitting a tree on the right side would not be such a bad thing.

Signature Hole:

No. 5 Par 3 at 182 feet is the only lake carry hole. The tee has a little elevation with a tee gap in front of about 15 feet away, and 5 feet wide. The water was deep when I played and needed about 170 feet to clear, the basket sits on a roller green. There is a clump of trees just to the left of basket and just beyond the water. The hole is scenic, would be more scenic in the warmer months. I lost my second disc of the round hitting the first tree, watch it drop to the ground and rolled right in the water, I used to have 2 pigs. Still a fun throw!

Trouble Hole:

-No 3. Par 3 at 295 feet straight away lakeside hole with heavy bushes to the right, and just off the tee pushing you to the left. To the left of the tee just 20 feet is a lone tree narrowing your aspect down fairway. The lake is to your left, and from the tee your angle towards the water which is left center fairway. The basket sits left center, open, a roller green to the water just outside C1. There is a scattering of trees in the fairway some with canopy, a duo in the center about 150 out, to their left a lone tree by the water. Outside C2 another lone tree left by the water, and a trio of trees right center. The placement of trees, and canopy shut down elevated lines. You can hyzer low skip to the right with an early release into the bushes, and if you low skip left and miss the hyzer into the water about 210 feet out. After losing a disc on #1 eh! Managed to skip a Boatsman from the left which I use for these types of shots, and it work out well enough.

Lake Wilson DGC, along with a network of walking trails, winds around a scenic lake outside of Wilson, NC. There are some fun holes and the lake is nice to look at, but this course has some flaws that, in my mind, make it a "only play when there aren't other options" course.

+ Far and away the best pro for me was the beautiful setting. It's a peaceful, clean park with mature pine trees around a lake. I think disc golf should be relaxing and stress-relieving. Lake Wilson fits that billing. Beautiful piece of property.

+ It's also a relatively challenging intermediate-level course. There are some holes with decent distance. I'm a big fan of water courses and this one uses it positively on many holes. Decent hole design, in general. There are some technical lines and a mix of open vs. wooded and long, medium, and very short holes.

+ There's a good mix of shots needed off the tee: hyzer, anhyzer, flex, and flick. This course challenged me, an intermediate level player. I think beginners to advanced players would enjoy it as well.

+ There aren't many better finishing holes than #18: from one side of the lake to the other. UPDATE: unfortunately, after the redesign, the best hole on the course -- a picturesque water carry -- is now a pedestrian closing hole.

A few notable cons:

- I really enjoy water courses, but I sure wish that all of the water was in the lake and not on the fairways! The standing water, mud and slop were out of control. Drainage is a big problem.

- Navigation was also a problem. It shouldn't be that hard: the course takes you around the lake, then eventually you double-back along the water's edge and finish with 18 across the lake. However, many tees are missing signs. And some tees are so hard to spot, I had to double-back several times when I walked up to a basket that I hadn't teed off for. UPDATE: navigation is even worse after the redesign.

- Speaking of tees, they're just ground up concrete, dirt, and rocks. The drainage issue fits here too. I chose to tee off beside the pads on several holes.

- Safety and park sharing...it's a problem. Disc golfers must yield to the numerous park walkers. And with the course doubling back, there are shared fairways and more dangers to watch out for.

- Tons of thorns and underbrush. Combined with the water, there's a lot of disc loss potential.

- Tons of gnats

- Super long walk from 18 back to the parking lot.

- Some total throw away holes, like number 1. It's about 150 feet and wide open. The lake is in play, at least. In general, it seems like this course was just jammed into a space that was made for walking trails. The course is somewhat of an afterthought. Not enough space, too many dangers.

If you're near Wilson, give this one a shot, but be prepared for a long walk, interrupted...by lots of walkers.

First few holes are an ace run. New Basket placement on hole #8 (top of hill). Good Mix of water and fairway areas. Hole #11 no out-of-bounds play anymore (excluding water).

The course is very poorly designed. It's not even worth going to the course without other experienced players that have played it. There are at least 50 trees that need to be cut down before the course becomes reasonable. Hole # 13 are trees to the left and right with barely enough room to get your disc through a gap and there are even more trees in front of those trees. Easy to lose a disc. Hole # 14, there is no line. You have to get lucky enough to get a birdie without hitting a tree. Hole # 16 (678ft Par5), the tee-pad is facing the opposite direction. The idea of the tee facing over the water is to throw a 500ft back to the left in which the risk/reward is entirely to high. Hole #18, you throw over water and walk about half a mile before you get to the landing area, (five min walk). Lastly, most of the baskets have one set of chains which are old and rusted (need 2/3 sets of chains OR New Baskets).

Hole #5 can be a hassle because of branches, but very good place over the water! Very hard to call this your home course, considering that I live here. It takes about 2 hours to play this course, bring plenty of water.

Challenging long shots. Nice view across the lake.

I didn't like this course for my play style. Too many long shots, most running right along the shore of the lake. Stray to far or even a roller and your in the lake. Hole 5 tee's across the lake but the landing is tight. Hole 18 has a long tee across about 300 feet of lake. Lost plenty of discs here in the 2 days i played it. No tee boxes, just a single post to mark were they should be. lots of people fishing, especially the landing area on 5.

If you have a big arm with lots of distance and floating discs, this one could be fun. Really need some tee boxes.