Morristown, TN

Morristown Kiwanis DGC

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3.75(based on 41 reviews)
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Morristown Kiwanis DGC reviews

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13 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.9 years 482 played 245 reviews
3.00 star(s)

The shortest and friendliest of the Morristown courses 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 18, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Restrooms and a Pro Shop right at the start of the course. I was there early on a weekday morning, so didn't get to check out the Pro Shop.
Good concrete tees on every hole. Good tee signs on every hole, with all the info you need and a hole layout. Standard design used for all the Morristown courses.
Shorter and more beginner/intermediate friendly than the other courses in town. The longest hole is just 333', but just about every hole features a dogleg or elevation change to challenge you, some have both.
The DISCatchers were showing a little age, but still caught well.
Steep climb to the green on #9, so a rope is strung along the fairway to help out.
Pretty good mix of left and right turning holes.
Both 9s finish right back near #1.

Cons:

Several holes come together in a couple of spots that could be dangerous, #8 goes right behind #5 tee and #4 basket and #11 tee, and right at #9 tee before turning, #17 doglegs just before #12 fairway.
There are a couple of sinkholes on #5-#7 that could cause a tough disc retrieval, be careful to avoid those. Luckily, not much other chance of losing one.
A paved walking path circles/intersects the course. You have to be aware of any walkers before throwing on #3, #6, #18 and possibly #14. Also, behind the basket on #2.

Other Thoughts:

Kiwanis is the shortest of the 18 hole courses in Morristown, I used it to warmup before playing the others, and glad I did. This is a fun little layout that warmed me up without being to strenuous, except for the climb up #9.
Probably the signature hole here, #9 is the ultimate valley shot, just 220', but it rises 20-30' to the basket, which is hidden around the corner. Several large trees in the valley need to be missed to get close.
Large rock formations around #1,#10 and #17 greens and most of the fairway on #11, make for some interesting stances for those putts.
The walking path that intersects #6 makes for an interesting obstacle, the tee drops down 4-5' below, and outside, the path. So, once the way is clear, you have to clear that to reach the fairway. I wonder how many have skipped one off that path?
#5 and #16 were the most open holes on the course, plenty of room to throw on #5, gradually uphill, then narrower on #16, that followed an old roadbed.
You definitely need a variety of throws here, maybe not any long ones, but every hyzer, annie, and thread a needle shot you have. Currently ranked higher than Cherokee and Rotary, this is definitely one for the beginners and short throwers. Plus, the near constant tree cover would make this a favorite in the hotter months. Its good to have a course of this level in this Disc Golf Hotspot of Morristown.
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18 0
BrotherDave
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.8 years 192 played 189 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Throw Rocs over Rocks. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 28, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Okay, you know that guy that doesn't have the biggest arm, can't throw a forehand over 200', and probably has a sizeable beer gut and a trick knee but putts well and has a knack for throwing laser lines inches away from tree lines? You know the guy, right? Well that guy LOVES this course. He doesn't care that you're rated 100 pts higher than him and would beat his ass on most any other course. Because here, he knows every fairway like the back of his cheap beer glistened hand.

This is a very cool, technical wooded course. It reminds me a lot of old school NC courses like Wellspring, Valley Springs, etc. The holes are on the shorter side but precision is king here. Some holes are ace runs, some holes are tricky, bordering gimmicky lines, and some are just solid par 3 wooded holes. It's not very hilly, which is nice if you're exhausted from hiking nearby Panther Creek but it does have lots of crazy sink holes and huge stones all over the place. If the worms from Tremors or Dune ever manifest, this is a great course for avoiding them.

This is mostly a wooded course but there's a few holes where you can air out a putter or midrange just a wee bit. What I like most about this course (I think I played the normal layout, I saw alternate pins on some holes) is that there are a lot of Big Jerm special holes. The FH flip ups with a putter will reward you greatly here. Hole 11 is a great example of this. Flick an Envy on a bit of anhyzer and let it flex out around the corner to the basket.

This is mostly a putter and mids course. The driver isn't needed much except for some skips (good luck with all the rocks) or overhands you might need. Hole 15 for example does make sense to bust out a faster driver to hit the out-of-the-woods, back-into-the-woods hyzer line. So you might use your whole bag of tricks but for the most part, you just need to hit those technical putter lines.

Cons:

Well it is on the shorter side. Some of these holes are listed as par 4s but for at least white level and above, they're just par 3s. The baskets are older Innova Discatchers and don't catch as well as the new ones do. Occasionally you're tempted to throw to the wrong basket because there's not much rough between fairways.

If you land in a sinkhole, that would certainly suck. You can see most of these off the tee but I remember on one hole a sinkhole is completely blind. I think the rocky terrain is neat but it's also unpredictable. If you play with base plastic discs you might want to skip this course if you don't want your discs getting banged up. And although it's not as hilly as nearby courses, it is not without its hikes and the rocks can be rough on the tender footed.

Other Thoughts:

This course doesn't take nearly as long to play as the other Morristown courses. It makes for a nice warm-up for the others or as a nice cool-down. There's nothing terribly special or noteworthy about Kiwanis; certainly not a "must-play" by most standards. It's just a fun wooded course to play some old school disc golf. The cool terrain definitely helps you look past the mediocrity of the course.
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7 0
jjtwinnova
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 8.8 years 246 played 97 reviews
3.00 star(s)

This Course Rocks! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 31, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

I pull into this park at 9 in the morning after driving through the Smoky Mountain fog, getting ready to warm up my arm for what will be a marathon day of 81 holes of disc golf. After practicing my putting for a few minutes I walk to the first hole, and I realize that this place is special.

The rocky terrain, the clay soil, the dense woods, all combine to make a beautiful scene, and it feels like you exited the park you pulled into and switched into the seclusion of the forest.

The tee signs were all nice and colorful, with a map, distance and par included. The baskets were slightly older Discatchers, but they caught well and were visible from all angles. Tee pads were long and grippy cement, allowing for complete control from the waist down.

Navigation was easy, and there were no long walks between holes. The course loops back to the parking lot after nine and eighteen. This course would make a great quick stop before or after work, or in between playing the other courses in the area.

There was a good combination of left turning holes, right turning holes, straight shots, uphill, downhill, over a ravine, and everything in between.

Some holes tat stick out to me include, but not limited to:
Hole 2- One of the longest holes on the course at 327 feet, but plays downhill. Twisting down a tight corridor, the drive requires a good bit of accuracy and line shaping. However, if you do make it all the way down the fairway, there is a OB walking path only 5 feet behind the basket, adding strokes if you go long on a drive, or a longer upshot.

Hole 18 is a great finishing hole for a course like this, a nice "bomb" at 323 feet, with a good amount of trees to navigate around, including a well guarded basket that can provide a tough approach if you were to get knocked down early.

I can't help but mention, again, the beauty of the terrain of this course. There were many great rock/boulder features, and combined with the reddish brown soil and the foliage, there were a lot of great photo opportunities, and some of it was quite breathtaking.

Cons:

While the course is designed incredibly well, and the park is beautiful, it is still a par 3 course. While there are some holes marked as par fours, the longest hole is 333 feet. To play well at this course you need to have great accuracy with your fairway drivers, midranges and putters, plus a good putt when you get inside the circle, as every hole has the potential to be two-ed with a great shot.

The course does a nice job of staying secluded from other park activities, but plays near a walking trail on a few holes. The course is also tucked into an area that isn't the largest, and some of the holes play close together, or even cross fairways. Safety is paramount, so please check your surroundings before you throw!

A few shots are repetitive, with a hard hyzer being the most common shot, whether it be of the backhand or forehand variety. I get that it makes the course more challenging, and with the short distance it definitely does, but there were a few greens I felt were a bit too extreme.

Other Thoughts:

The course is definitely well loved by local players and travelers alike. There is a lot to love, and I would certainly recommend this course to everybody.

The course is definitely falling into the older course category, with the short distances and tight lines, but the course is very enjoyable to play, and next time I am in the area I will plan to play it again!
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2 2
DGLobo999
Experience: 11.9 years 13 played 13 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Good Short Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 1, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Overall a good layout for beginners. A pretty good design considering the limited area to work with. Fairly short course with some technical challenges. Nice park with facilities. Good signage. Good benches. Easy to navigate.

Cons:

A couple of holes did not really have routes (throw and hope). Did not go in them but a couple of sink holes were HUGE! Would not be able to recover a disc in them if you went all the way to the bottom. Lots of rocks to bang up discs.
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3 1
Nashvillian
Experience: 17.1 years 32 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Technical Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 4, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Good work on your short range and midrange skills. Almost all the holes are duecable with good drives, but is through a lot of obstacles. Good use of elevation on the longer holes make them play shorter that they are. Easy course to go under at if you play by signs. I used a Star Tern on almost every hole and ended up in good shape on a majority of the holes.

Hole are easy to navigate and you can get a round in in little over an hour.

Cons:

It is repetitive and if you are hitting every tree under gods green creation like my partner you will not like this course.

Zero Distance Drives.

Other Thoughts:

Looking at this course from the courses I frequent in Nashville this course reminds me of Cedars of Lebanon in the style of play. I shot 4 under playing everything as a three and that was fantastic game for me. I hit two 80+ putts and 3 30+.

First time playing here since we are working in the area and just completed the local 3 courses and this one was just ok. I prefer the Rotary Park over this one with Cherokee being a second for me because it is so long.

For those of you with friends that have a big arm you can beat up on them here :D
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6 0
lammersk
Experience: 10.9 years 37 played 12 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Very Fun 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 6, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course takes some technical skill to play, but it isn't ridiculously hard. It's just a lot of fun. You're going to hit some trees, but generally there isn't a lot of underbrush, so you won't be searching forever or climbing through brambles to get your disc. You'll vary which disc you use. Some pins you'll use the one which flies straight, on others there's enough room to use your distance disc, and then you'll need the one which you can get to break at just the right distance to match a hook in the fairway (the Buzzz for me). While this course isn't hard enough to scare beginners away it is definitely one that you need to play a few times to really get a handle on.

Cons:

Minor: The Pits: A number of pins played around big pits in the ground. It would have taken a very bad throw to have a disc land in there, but I've made plenty of very bad throws before. While I'm pretty sure I could have gotten down there to retrieve the disc, I'm not sure I'd make it back up. Consider it the equivalent of a water hazard.

Minor: A number of the pins felt short. This didn't bother me terribly since the short ones always seemed to have some skill required to play.

Other Thoughts:

I made a trip to Morristown to play Cherokee Park, the Rotary course, and the Kiwanis course. This was the best of the three, hands down. If I lived closer to it I would work it into my regularly played courses with Winged Deer and Warrior's Path, although it's not quite at their level.

I suspect that I will every so often be making the trip to Morristown to play Kiwanis and Cherokee Park in tandem. Playing the two of them will make the hour+ trip worth it.
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3 0
byebyebirdie
Experience: 12.2 years 29 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Nice short wooded course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 28, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice short 18 hole course on an neat landscape. Beautiful rock formations and sink holes bordered by a mix of cedar and old oak forest. Most of the fairways are well defined unlike some comparable technical/wooded courses. Has a nice mix of pin placements that require a variety of shots. Amateurs will love this course because you don't need a strong arm to have fun. More advanced players will appreciate the challenge of the technical shots required.

Cons:

Not many cons to mention. If you're the player that enjoys a course with long open fairways ('grip & rip'), this is probably not the course for you. Even though there is good signage some of the holes require you to walk a good ways down the fairway to locate the basket (this is to be expected). Restrooms on site but were locked when we played (not sure if this is the case every weekend)

Other Thoughts:

Overall a nice course designed by H.B. Clark. The landscape of the course really is something to appreciate. If you're the player that enjoys the challenge of a short wooded course then you can't miss this one. If you like longer more open fairways make sure to visit H.B.'s other course: Cherokee Park--which is not too far away.
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9 0
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.9 years 596 played 543 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Morristown: home of the white rocks

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 20, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Morristown Kiwanis is a unique course to say the least. The course can be summed up by three things: trees, valleys and rocks. If you avoid those, you'll be in good shape.
- Very interesting piece of land. Looking at the online pictures, I always envisioned this course to be in a hilly, more mountainous region. Nope. You pull into the parking lot, and it looks like a regular, run-of-the-mill park with no visible elevation. You walk to hole #1, and you feel like you've crossed over into somewhere else.
- Due in part to the terrain, there are some very interesting hole layouts here. There aren't any overly difficult or long holes on the course, rather a bunch of solid to above average holes.
- This course belongs to the dog(legs). On the front nine alone, #2, 3, 4, 6, 7 & 8 are doglegs. On one hand it gives you plenty of practice, on the other, it can get old pretty quickly.
- The other major obstacle the course uses is heavy tree coverage. The four hole stretch of #9 - 12 are on the extreme end of being challenging, teetering on the edge of being unfair. #11, especially might have too much luck factor in it. At least it's a short hole, so If you hit a tree, you should still have a good chance to salvage par.
- The course places all of its emphasis on accuracy. Only six holes are longer than 300 feet, the longest is the downhill 333 foot #8, so if you can control your shots, you will be seeing a lot of birdie putts. The front nine generally is a little more open with wider fairways than the back nine. So, you better get your birdies early because they're a lot harder to get on the back nine.
- Very good tee signs and tee pads. Course also has a great flow to it, with short walks between holes. As a first-time player, I had printed out a map, but never needed it. The only slightly confusing part would be the quagmire where the tees for #8 & 13 are right next to each other, so if you can't/don't read the signs, you could easily go from #7 to 13 without noticing it. Also, the front nine and back nine both wind up back at the parking lot, so you can start on either #1 or 10, or only play nine holes if desired.
- The rock formations are pretty cool. On some holes they take up a big chunk of the fairway, so be careful about scraping up your discs. Also, a couple of the valleys are pretty cool. There's a huge hole on the right side of #7, which might be 20 feet deep. My tee shot landed on a rock ledge in this hole, which is about 50 - 75 feet from the basket, and I was below ground throwing my second shot.

Cons:

The biggest issue I noticed here is that the course is very repetitive. The trees, valleys and rocks can be a good thing, but it also gets very redundant by the time you're on the back nine.
- The lack of variety goes beyond the terrain. The hole lengths are all between 200 and 333 feet, with an average length of 270. Throw in the amount of doglegs, and yes, you do feel like you're throwing the same shot the whole time.
- There could be some safety concerns with all the rocks. The walk downhill on #9 is kind of steep and rock-laden, and the only aid you have is a rope. It doesn't seem like that's enough of a precaution to prevent injuries. All, the rocks appear like they could be very slick when the course is wet. There should be better signage in some of the valleys/holes, especially the deep hole I mentioned above on #7.
- On the Sunday afternoon I played this course, there were three groups of people using the course as a walking trail. There is also a walking path that comes into play on some holes on the back nine, so be alert to that.

Other Thoughts:

Seeing this piece of land, one thought came to my mind. I could just see the Parks & Rec department trying to decide what to do with this piece of land, seeing the potential safety concerns (we can't have walkers/kids on here, they'll get hurt), and deciding to put a disc golf on the land (DGers don't care, they'll play anywhere). So, yes, even though you're right in the middle of the park, you're almost isolated from everyone else.
- The repetitiveness of the course is a definite love/hate aspect of the course. A little more variety would have made the course even better. By hole #15, I was wishing for something different. At least you end with a tight, rock-free hole on #18.
- I could see this course appealing to beginners to experienced players. Newcomers and regular players will like the challenge. Pros, on the other hand, will probably have a field day.
- Unique courses always are appealing to me. It's part of the draw that will bring players back for more.
- This is a solid course within the Knoxville area. If you've only got time for one or two courses in the area, there are better ones to play. If you live in the area, or have the time, you'll like the variety this course has to offer.
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6 3
bjreagh
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.7 years 350 played 321 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 17, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a very well-designed 18-hole course. The holes are mostly wooded with rocky terrain that will test the technical aspects of your game. There is also elevation incorporated on several holes, as well as a couple of large sink holes you have to avoid. The nice concrete tee pads, informative color signs, and baskets are all in excellent shape. All the holes are interesting, non-repetitive, and flow well from one to the next with easy navigation. There are a couple of very memorable holes here- #5 over the large brush-filled sink hole and #9 straight across a steep rocky ravine.

Cons:

Many parts of the course are on ugly land, but this is not the courses fault, that is just what was given. There are power lines running through a clearing in the middle of it. There is a lot of red clay here, which is a special kind of mud if you play here when it is wet- very thick, hard to get off your shoes, and gets on everything else like your pants, socks, car seats, etc.

Other Thoughts:

Overall the average hole length is 270', not real long, but not a pitch and putt either. Long distance throwers may get bored, but this a great place to work on the technical side of your game. It is also a fantastic course for players of all skill levels as it will challenge, but not destroy you. There are many birdie opportunities here for everyone, but there are plenty of trees on most holes that can deflect your disc into a bogey as well.

I have played here a couple of times and really enjoy it. It is nice for a fun, leisurely round whenever I am here. It is close to scenic Cherokee Lake if you are looking for something else to do while here like swimming, fishing, boating, camping, etc. It is also not too far from the I-81 and the only good 18-hole course for miles.
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1 3
stitt32009
Experience: 20.9 years 5 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

unique course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 2, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

good mix of holes left and right. like that the course demands accuracy and different types of shots to get close to basket. love the tee pads

Cons:

can get muddy. course doesn't offer much distance or any grip it and rip it holes, but well built with the amount of land available

Other Thoughts:

funny story...on hole 6 or 7 i think (dogleg right) some how i hit a tree off to the right and ended up at the bottom of the entrace to a cave
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