-Very pretty use of land. The lake looks perfect for fishing.
-Place was super fun years ago! Just look at how you can tee off on that hill on hole 9! The hole is sweet (If that is the real hole) you even get to throw over the creek too! I really hope this place gets shaped up because #9 would easily be one of the best hole I've seen if it wasn't overgrown.
-DisCatcher Sport baskets, not the best but you can move them I guess, and make up your own hole.

-Where do I begin?!?! How about the fact that this course is extremely overgrown. I played #1 and had a great shot, maybe 15' from the basket, my mid range is lost! Holes 4-6 are wide open field shots, they are overgrown as well, all of them. #7 is probably in the worst shape. The design is great, this is a fun looking hole, but it's overgrown in every possible way. The basket is into the woods over a small creek and you can't even see the opening, even worse there is kudzo all around the trees and it has gotten way out of hand, it's literally growing in the basket. #8 and #9 look the best, and they still need tons of work done.
-Tee markers are missing on every hole I could find. Where do I tee off at?!?! Oh, and I knew #2 by the media, I can't find the basket on this hole either. Since the baskets are pretty much portable, for all I know, someone could have stolen it. #9's basket is tilted at the fence beside the entrance.
-The entrance is very narrow. I drive an Acura and it's a coupe. It's a small car that barely fit through. I hope you can park beside the pro shop just up the hill because I didn't know if I could park there or not, but there was not a "Tow Zone" sign so I just parked there and walked off. It took me over 30 minutes to find the first tee. I walked and walked and eventually just walked back down the hill towards where the entrance was and found a basket in the woods that looked like #1 from what I saw on the media.
-No one was at the pro shop. There were only four people here including me. The other three were fishing and had no idea what to do or where to park either.
-The practice basket beside the pro shop is barely visible. Why?!?! Because of the extremely high grass with possible snakes all over this place.
-I couldn't find #3, this course is impossible to navigate, I just walked around and found #8 and walked down the fairway and found North Carolina's Changing Fairway of Overgrowth. AKA #7.
-$5 bucks to play here. I don't think so, I noticed at the entrance, it said on the slot where I did NOT pay "If you leave your $5 without putting your name on your envelope, you didn't pay." That's right, I didn't, I didn't give my $5. I did notice I'm on camera but if you think I will pay to lose a bunch of discs and have a hard time navigating this course, You've got another thing coming. I'm not in the mood to buy a bunch of discs for replacement, and I'm getting my birthday money early . So I mostly just walked the course.

-What a shame. I don't know if there is any hope to fix this course up. Navigation is impenetrable, grass is too high and consists of many thorns, maybe even a few missing baskets. This is just terrible, I came very excited and left very pissed off. I really think whoever reads this review should take my advice and call the number here (They probably won't pick up.) and ask how much they want for their probably not nine baskets. Chances are, not too much, it seems like it was a hassle for them just to maintain a fun course that I'd love to play. Based on how much I want this course back, I wouldn't mind at all helping fix up the course. I don't have a job yet but I probably will work at a golf course in Gastonia soon. It would be great if they would let me help fix it up by cutting grass, weed eating, trimming maybe even marking the tees back to where they were! I used to have my own Yard Work Service. "Benny's Mow and Go." I really hope this place won't be like this forever. It's neglected to a whole new level. Just look at #9, how fun that hole was and can still be, this hole is in the best shape on the course. At least the funnest hole is still playable while the others are not really at best.

*Friendly owner. The owner was very nice to let me play there on a day when the course wasn't even open. He was very friendly, and he also drove over from his business and talked for a while. I can tell that he really cares about the course.
*Scenery- the course plays near a small fishing lake. There are views of the lake, nice trees, a stream, nice woods.
*Water- I love water holes, so I always hope that courses next to lakes will have the water in play on many holes. That's not really the case here because they use the lake for fishing, but there is some water in play. There's a nice little stream on hole 1, and you drive over a finger of the lake on 9. You can see the lake on 7 & 8.
*2 sets of tees for different skill levels.
*Fairways- overall the fairways are nicely shaped. 6 Straight/ 2 Left/ 1 S curve, but no dogleg right. Straight holes predominate, but 3 of those are open field holes anyway.
*Elevation changes on most holes, but most are moderate. 2 Flat/ 5 Up/ 2 Down
*Terrain is well balanced with 3 Woods holes, 3 Open field, and 3 Mixed. Holes 4-6 are open field holes that don't really float my boat, but they do give you a chance to let the disc fly.
*Pro shop- they sell discs and snacks, and I think they loan floater discs too.
*Navigation- small arrows guide you, so that it's easy to find your way around. Nice touch.

-Baskets: Discatcher Sports aren't my favorite, but they catch OK. I realize that there are financial restraints on a private course, though.
-Tee Signs: very minimal. Just laminated paper with the length and par.
-Tees: natural, and the fronts weren't marked, but they still work OK.
-Safety: tee 8 is only about 20 ft past basket 7.

Long tees Course Level: Blue (most suited for Advanced players rated 950)

~Hole 9 has a basket position on a small peninsula on the lake. The looks really cool, but the day I played there it was in the more pedestrian field position.
~From the long tees the holes are all long, so you need a big arm to score well. 7 of 300-399 plus a 405 and a 480 footer.
~Practice basket. There is a practice basket up by the Pro shop, but so you'd have to get your putts in before heading down to the first tee. The Pro shop is several hundred yards from the 1st tee.
~There's no course map. A map often comes in handy, but again this is a rather new and private course.
~Tornado damage. At some point in the past a tornado ripped up lots of trees so there was damage to the property and there are still some trees that needed to be cut up. None of it affects any of the holes, though.

Overall, there are some nice holes out there, especially the 1st hole, but since it's only 9 holes it doesn't attract me back as much as an 18 holer would. If you happen to be driving by the area it would probably be worth stopping in for a quick round (if you don't mind paying the $5 greens fee). After seeing the owner's passion for the course, I think Maples Lake will only continue to get better and better over time.

<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my enjoyment of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the quality of the course. My ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.

~My more detailed "Overall Rating" notes and "Hole-by-hole Ratings" are available in the Files section.

Private course located next to a small lake. A little off the beaten path so it's not likely to be that crowded. Navigation was pretty easy even with no map or guide. Fairways were well defined and cleared, making for obvious lines to hit with drives. Baskets were all in good shape. Decent variety between wooded and open holes. Also a decent mix in hole lengths. Nothing felt overly repetitive or dull.

While flow between holes did have a few short walks, there was nothing confusing or long. There were also simple signs at most tees telling the hole number and length. There were also colored flags in the ground indicating tee positions.

Natural tee pads. In some areas footing was a little tricky, but it was not bad enough to ruin my round.

The wooded holes on this course show you why the side areas of the fairways are called rough. There is some thick, nasty brush and a decent amount of trees and fallen wood. Watch your disc carefully and make sure you know where it went in.

Holes 4, 5, and 6 were pretty dull. Just wide open field shots.

It is called Maples Lake and there is no shots around or over the lake. I guess it's a con if you like shots that must carry the water.

Basket positions and fairways were designed well on the wooded holes. Holes 2 and 3 were very nice. Hole #7 is a nice blend of throwing out in an open field and then threading your disc into the trees toward the basket. #8 is a tight fairway followed by a basket close to the edge of the hill. Throwing off the hill on #9 and bombing out into the field is a good time too. The basket must have been moved since previous reviews as there is no longer a shot near the lake.

Since this course is only a few miles off of I-85 I would certainly recommend it if you're in the area. $5 is a little steep for 9 holes, but if you've got time to play it twice it isn't a bad deal. It seems like the holes are pretty well thought out, and my guess would be that this course slowly gets better as the owner has time to work on tee pads and clearing some of the excess brush and trees away.

- Owner is very helpful and interested in the sport
- Course is going to be updated with some educated help
- Great location for a course
- Very secluded = no crowds
- Good to see something other than hunting and fishing in this rural area
- Bring a pole though and you could catch your dinner!

- A bit off the main roads but it's really not that far
- Still needs tee pads, but understandable since it's still in development

The course is now open Mon - Sat. from 8am till dark and it only costs $5 to play as much as you want. You can also rent a set of 3 discs + 1 marker for another $5. If you lose a floater rental don't worry if it's floating he won't charge you for it. Sinkers, well that will cost you. If the doors are locked and you have your own discs, just pay the fee in the box on the front porch of the Pro Shop.

This is a private course that plays around a large commercial fishing lake and has some outstanding holes. Fairway one plays through a small valley at the foot of a mountain, the fairway has a small clear water running stream winding through the middle of it, outstanding hole. Holes two & three are tight heavily wooded shots before the course opens up again. The finishing holes, 7,8 & the inredible hole 9 are an absolute blast to play. 9 plays from atop the mountain back down past the parking area to pins either on a peninsula in the lake or all the way back up to the entrance of the park. Fantastic hole. The club house has discs and bags for sale and rent, nice touch!

It's only a 9 hole course, though the guy in the pro shop (Ricky) mentioned plans for a complete 18. It's pay to play. The course is pretty rugged, hasn't seen much play & is a bit of a hike. The tee pads are earth only and are often not even close to being level, making it tough to get a good shot off the tee. While the design is a blast to play there are some holes crossing each other, 9 throws over hole 1. Both are great fairways but it's not a good idea for holes to cross each other, but as this course isn't often played I doubt it will cause any problems.

Ricky told me I could play 18 holes for $5 but it was cash only, I had none & he let me play for free, even drew me a map of the course. Great guy. When you drive up to it you'll see it's fenced in at the entrance, you'll see Innova signs on the fence, drive to the right of the lake and you'll see the club house on a hill on the right. To play you'll want to park at the front of the park just to the left of the lake, there's a marked off area in the grass for parking right beside hole one and hole 9 finishes back beside your car, always nice. I hope they add to it and I will play it again the first time I'm back in the area. A little work and an extra 9 holes and this could be a great course. I just uploaded some photos I took, played like a dog but had a great day!

- Pin Position. The pin positions for several holes (1, 3, 7, 8, 9) were really well done, with Hole 9's pin being out-of-control great (on a 20' "island" on the edge of the lake, 3' from the waters edge).
- Gorgeous Scenery. The property is surrounded by a farm-like setting (although in a neighborhood) with rolling green hills and some stands of really big trees... plus a small lake.
- Beautiful Shots. Holes 1, 7, and 9 are beautiful shots and worth the price of entry alone. And the other holes, although not as aesthetically pleasing, were good shots.
- Private Property. I love private property DG courses. They just have an atmosphere that park courses can't compete with.
- Working with Innova. The owner is working with the Innova design team to design the course... as well as work with them on getting course equipment and the future pro-shop. This place is going to get better!

- Only Open Saturdays... (for now). Although I played this course on a Wednesday afternoon, the hours are supposed to be only Saturdays from 8-sunset.
- 75 Cents per Hole. Although a few of the holes may be worth that much, in general $7 rounds are best reserved for immaculate courses. I can only hope the money goes back into the course and the construction of some...
- Tee-Pads. The tees are natural and uneven and marked by little Innova construction flags. Not only are they slippery when muddy; but, if you're going to charge money, you need to have good tee-pads.
- Unrealistic Fairways. Two of the holes had unFAIRways. 15' wide, 300' long, sidearm "S"-turn fairways. Probably not the most realistic shots (Holes 3 and 8).
- Walk to Hole 1. Hole 1 is far from the pro-shop. Actually, the whole course is far from the pro-shop. However, there are future plans to redesign the layout to start and stop at the pro-shop.
- Missing Stuff. Hole 6 was missing the tee-sign and tee-pad flags. And, seeing as to how the other holes utilize temporary equipment, it is possible those signs and flags could disappear too.

- Order of Operations. When you pull in, drive down the driveway with the houses and pay your money at the back door of the brick house (little locked mailbox), then open gate, drive in, close gate, and drive to "pro-shop" building and park. Walk back toward road and around lake past Hole 9's pin (on island) to find Hole 1.
- The Owner... was a really cool guy. Not only did he not kick me out for being there during off hours (non-Saturday), but he gave me a floater disc to use on the last hole (which I gave back when I threw it in the water). He also gave me some insider information about the course like the history, the tornado, expansion plans, pro-shop plans, etc...
- The Future. There are plans to install a new back 9 and practically re-design the entire layout of the course. And, with tons of land for expansion, Innova helping with equipment and design, and a Pro-Shop being built... the future of Maples Lake looks sweet.
- Downed Wood. Some of the holes have downed trees all over them... at first I was going to list this as a con... however, upon speaking with the owner I was informed that a tornado came through the course and made a mess of the place. And, apparently they have done a good job cleaning it up thus-far.
- My Score: -2