Map at beginning. Mowed recently. Holes are in good shape.

Hole 9 is not correct on map. No maps at tees.

(2.896 Rating) An open lightly wooded course, that's indeed located on top of a hill.
- ELEVATION - I think the amount of elevation at Naval Hill is the best aspect. There are 3 or 4 down shots that eclipse a 30 foot grade differential. To me, that's always a fun characteristic.
- BASICS - The standard required elements of navigation, tees and baskets were done right. Big course map near tee (1). Tee signs are adequate, although missing on a couple holes. The tees are perfect sized and concrete. Baskets are DISCatchers.
- RECREATIONAL FRIENDLY - The challenges presented here IMO, are average. Meaning the guy who can chuck it 300 feet and plays a 2 or 3 times a week should finish around even par. Most of the challenge here will be distance off of the tee, but there are a couple technical plays. A 950 rated player will slay this course. A previous reviewer noted that the ideal player rating is 870, and I'd say that's about spot on.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Not a beginner's course, but its open enough and forgiving that a skilled player should be able to bring someone with them that's new to the game.
- QUICK PLAY - For a 19 hole course it plays fairly quick. Very little searching for discs and the hole transitions are typically under 150 feet.
- LOCATION - This is the closest course to downtown Nashville.

Good, just not great.
- UNIQUENESS - Naval Hill delivers a steady dose of Rec level park style shots mostly in the 250 to 350 foot range. Although the landscape has some great elevation change to it, the lightly wooded fairways just don't seem to pop well enough and many have already blended together in my memory. I was truly hoping for a cityscape view from one of the tees like I experienced at Zilker in Austin TX or Springfield in Jacksonville FL, but no such luck. Holes (6) and (12) were the only holes that really stood out to me.
- MAINTENANCE - The course seemed a touch run-down at my appearance. The fairways were shaggy in spots and the tee signs need an overhaul. There are only 3 wooded holes on the course and I could tell it had been awhile since the last good off-fairway thinning.
- DISCONTINUITY - Just one substantial gap in course flow between (12) and (13). These two are 450 feet apart.
- SPACING - A few of the holes border one another with no landscape buffer. Not really a big deal, but there will be times that players will throw into other fairways.

Naval Hill offers a solid disc golf experience. Players that max out at 350 and prefer to bomb shots, will like this one more than those that prefer technical woods play. Personally this is not my style. My three favorite holes here were the three wooded fairways. I think there are clearly some better courses in the Nashville area. For those visiting the Nashville area for the first time, I'd recommend playing Cedar Hill, Seven Oaks, Sharp Springs and Cane Ridge, before here.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - A nice pleasant park style course. Not much in the way of exotic features to spice up the holes, but overall the sum of the parts is a touch above average. I scored the course a 2.75 out of 5.

- Closest course to downtown Nashville so very accessible to visitors of the city or those who live in the immediate metro area
- Park is free entry and there is ample parking
- multiple practice baskets
- scenic location on a hill with great views of the area
- not too much vehicle traffic on the surrounding roads, kind of a sleepy neighborhood
- didn't get too crowded for me, most I saw there were a few a groups and was able to skip around them. Essentially completely empty on weekday mornings and early afternoon
- Holes 5-9 are the gems of the course--without them this would be a 2.5 from me. Very wooded, require flex shots and tight lines. All have a risk reward element where you can throw a straight shot and take your par or try to match the shape of the hole and park it / get stuck in the woods.
- Hole #6 is easily the signature hole. Tunnel shot that finishes hard left at the end over a creek to a heavily guarded green. Best I could manage on it was bogey. Even if you throw it straight ~260 ft and try to approach the green on your second shot you're still not guaranteed par. Hole #8 is a close second--a super tight downhill shot that requires a hard right turn at the beginning and soft fade to the left at the end to a wooded green.
- Didn't have an issue with any of the concrete tee boxes, grip was good.
- Signs that were there were informative and showed multiple basket locations (one basket per hole that rotates to different sockets).
- Baskets were in decent shape, sometimes the cage was a little lopsided but they caught just fine and no major rust or anything.
- Mostly normal height but a low basket on 15 and an elevated basket on 12 with OB right behind it.
- Greens were pretty tricky, only the first hole had a flat green and most have thick woods, OB or slopes around them. They do a good job of adding these elements on short holes that would otherwise be gimme birdies.
- Flow was decent, definitely did some searching the first time I came but didn't have to look too hard. There were a few "next tee" signs by some baskets but sometimes they had fallen off or had gotten rotated weirdly.
- Didn't encounter a single non-golfer in a fairway which was a first for me going to a course in a multi-use park. You're either there to do disc golf or sneak off into the woods and smoke a doobie... or probably both I guess?
- The ideal difficulty for me (870 something rated). Shot +5 my first few rounds then finally made it down to even. It's a course where you have to learn when to attack and when not to. There are plenty of wide open holes where you can attack without danger but if you go for it on the wooded holes you can walk away with a big number.

- There are a few missing tee signs which make it very difficult for a first timer. Hole #8 sign is gone but you just have to walk straight after hole #7.
- Holes 13-15 are duds. They're so long that they're completely unreachable. Unless you have the sidearm of Eagle McMahon I can't imagine how hole #13 can be birdied. It's a hard dogleg right that plays ~350ft but the turn is so sharp that you lose all your distance in the hyzer. I threw my disc over the barbed wire OB fence at least twice on #14 but was happy to see that someone punctured the fence so I could retrieve my disc.
- Hole #16 and Hole #7 are the same hole--wide open downhill shots where you just have a throw a huge hyzer and you're pretty much guaranteed a C2 look.
- The rough is SO THICK. It was a miracle I didn't lose a disc but I spent a good 90 minutes looking over the course of 5 rounds. Some of the rough has lanes through but most of it is filled with trash, broken glass, cobwebs, and other things you'd rather not wade through. I suppose it's too expected on a wooded course but that doesn't mean I had fun in it...
- The bathroom is a porta-potty that doesn't lock. Enough said.
- No water here so make sure you bring some.
- Holes #11 and #14 have barbed wire fences right next to them. You can get your disc from behind them but it's not fun.
- Holes 1 through 3 and 18 are probably the most boring.
- Decently long walks between some holes. #12 to #13 in particular. A lot more walking on #12 thru #18. And a very long walk from #18 back to the parking lot. I guess there was a #19 but it wasn't apparent where exactly that was?

For a SoCal disc golfer on vacation, this course was a pleasant change of scenery. Certainly lacking in amenities (like water or a decent bathroom) but made up for it with some signature wooded holes. Will definitely return here when I am back in town as the course was close to an ideal level of difficulty. I tend to love courses where the greens are reachable but there is trouble in the way and with the exception of 2, 13, 14, 15, and 18 that held true here. Would LOVE to play a tournament here as I can see how the local routes would give one a huge advantage. Birdies felt well earned and so did pars on a lot of holes. Was fortunate enough to go a bunch during weekday mornings and afternoons, can't imagine what it would be like in the evening or on the weekends... don't want to find out.

RATING: Would be a 2.5 without holes 4-8. Would be a 4 with more interesting field holes and better amenities.

If you like airing out your driver, this is the course for you! Most of the holes have lightly scattered trees that provide excellent driving lines without being extremely frustrating. Additionally, most of them are in the 300'-350' range, with some falling shorter and a couple extending out to almost 600'. On the other hand, there are about three holes that play into the woods a bit, calling for a more accurate strategy.

The course designer did an excellent job laying out this course. Although the course lies on one massive hill, all of the holes are designed to be either flat or downhill. This does lead to a few hikes uphill (6 to 7, 9 to 10, 14 to 15, 17 to 18), but as a player I would rather walk uphill and throw downhill instead of the opposite. Additionally, the scattered trees in the park were used well as obstacles, adding some difficulty to what would otherwise be a lot of repetitive throws. There are still some straight open holes (7 is the most clear example), but with how open this park is, the course is laid out to maximize the trees it has. It is also laid out pretty logically, and the flow from hole to hole is straightforward (besides 12 to 13, see the cons for how I feel about 12). If I had to choose a standout hole, I think I would go with 16. (10/21/19 UPDATE FOLLOWS) It is not the fault of the course, but over the last couple years some of the larger trees have been blown over in storms, leading to some holes now having completely open shots (looking at you, 17).

An extra plus for this course (and ultimately why I rounded up to 4 instead of rounding down to 3.5) is how "put-together" it is. The tee-pads are large concrete pads. Each hole has a sign giving a general layout (see below though...), and 7 has a much-needed bench. There are trash cans throughout the course. The baskets are fairly visible, and there is a practice basket by 1.

The last pro is its proximity to downtown Nashville. It is easily the closest course downtown, and if you are visiting without a car it would be a short uber or bus ride to get there.

Hole 12 needs to be fixed. The hole got the short end of the shaft by the additional Metro Water structure that went in where the original A location used to be, and they actually did a good job with moving the pin to a better location. However, IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVERS. The hole itself is less than 10' from a rock structure that sits about 3' high, with the greenway right behind it. If you overshoot this shot at all, you're hitting a car. If you miss about 15' to the left of the hole where the rock structure ends, you're hitting a car. Today when I played, I had a strong RHFH shot that was basket high and hit the rock structure; if my throw was 2' higher or 4' to the left, I would have maybe hit the side of either car that was driving on the road at the time. It looks nice having the hole backstopped by the rocks, but personally I would like to see it moved about 20'-30' closer to the tee before someone has a shattered car window from a just-missed ace run. It would take away some of the aesthetic and lead to a short hole around 180', but safety has to be paramount in this situation. (10/21/19 UPDATE FOLLOWS) After playing this location for a year or so now, I have only overthrown it twice and have never hit a car, so I guess my complaint isn't as warranted as I thought... I'm still not thrilled with the location, especially now when it has an elevated basket above the top of the wall, but it hasn't personally been an issue yet.

This course has a few minor issues. It is very exposed, which makes it particularly windy. In the summer sun, it gets really warm with the lack of shade, and walking up the hills becomes miserable. The rough, although not much of it, is thick with a decent amount of thorns.

(10/21/19 UPDATE FOLLOWS): The tee signs are bad, so bad that I need to dock points from my initial review. They were originally wooden stages in the ground, a lot of which have been uprooted and are now missing. The hole locations have changed slightly on some holes, and based on my experience the distances seem to be off. The lack of signage also leads to confusion on the course, where people start skipping holes because they are not sure of the layout (going from 3 to 7 and from 12 to 17 are the most common).

If I could enter a custom number, I would give this course a (10/21/19 UPDATE) 3.24. To me, it falls below the best courses in the area. It is not a challenging course, which makes it great for a beginner who is learning to control his/her driver. It's also fun for a more skilled player who is looking to work on driver accuracy or just wants a relaxing, less difficult round. All in all, the course is good and one that any Nashville player should have in their rotation. My recommendation would be to avoid it when the weather is incredibly warm (80° and up) and the brush is thicker, and play it when you have an unseasonably warm day from November-March.

EDIT 3/15/24: Just played for the first time since the review. Dropped down from 4 start to 3. The course is still decent but has gone downhill (hopefully temporary). Signs are gone, tees have aged and the last 6-7 holes are more boring than I remember.

For me, the details here bump this course from a 3.5 to a 4. The maintenance is immaculate. The teepads are fantastic and probably grippy on a rainy day. Signs are aesthetically pleasing and informative. Navigation is simple, aided by "next tee" signs hooked on the bottom of each basket. Benches are top-notch and in all the right spots. The first four holes are classic city park: open with elevation but enough trees to shape lines to the baskets. Holes 5-6, 8-11 use elevation and tight lines through the trees to add difficulty. 14-16 let you air it out with open(ish) holes between 330 and 600ft. 17-19 bring you back to your typical city park design. Each hole has character.

Multiple pin positions are always a good thing, but when there are 2-4 on each hole with no marker of the current position on the sign, that's a con. It seems like Naval Hill has a good budget for disc golf and plenty of care from the locals. I'd hope that eventually they'd add a position marker to these great signs. Most of the time, you can easily guess which position the baskets are in but there are a few holes that required a short march down the fairway to verify the placement. (Update: just looked at pics posted a few years ago here and I see some screws on the signs designating the pin but I can't recall seeing those last week. Did I somehow miss that?!) Other than the trouble with finding pin positions, it's hard to complain here. The difficulty isn't too crazy with only one legit par 4 hole (600ft #15).

This was a great stop while visiting Nashville for a few days. It's minutes from downtown and surrounded by the hip East Nashville neighborhood. Add this to your list to play along with Cedar HiIll and Seven Oaks.

Though mostly city-park style with wide grassy areas dotted and large mature trees as obstacles, there are a few tighter technical holes mixed in, as well as some normal type o.b. like a creek, fences, and roads. I thought the designers did a nice job of balancing straight, left, and right holes, as well as many where you have options to choose your line. There is also a good deal of elevation, some up and down, but several sidehills providing good challenge on placing your upshots near the basket as well as possible rollaway putts. Most holes are your basic par 3 (drive, approach, putt), but there are several birdie chances if you can throw 320'-350', and even one hole at 600'. So overall, a decent mix of hole type.

Excellent concrete tees (the last of which were being poured the day I played.) Good size and grip, level, and easy to spot.

New Discatcher baskets, with clear hole numbers. Also, I think every hole had at least an A and B location- and these are placed are different distances as well as varying angles, so the possibility is there to keep the course fresh to regulars if the baskets are moved regularly.

Great putting practice area- has its own basket and several flush markers in the ground with distances marked (15', 25', 40' etc.)

Kiosk had lots of info, and a large color course map. Simple, but effective tee signs with hole info, distances, color map. Signs are placed near the front of tee pad but low to the ground, which I like so they are not in my way or view when throwing. Navigation was simple with the "next tee" sign at every basket (I wish every course would do this!)

Lots of parking/two picnic pavilions.

This is now the closest course to downtown Nashville, and is really close to it at that.

Cool feature- a sign on the kiosk said you could borrow discs for FREE at the park office. I did not go the office to get more details (wasn't sure where it was), but this is great for growing the sport, especially to kids in the area who may want to try it out.

The biggest notice in elevation happens, not while throwing, but 3 times during longer walks uphill from one hole to the next- no big deal though, disc golf is supposed to be exercise, and I think there were benches each time if one needs a little breather.

The road/greenway does come in to play frequently. No big deal, just use some common sense and yield to cars, bikes, and walkers. The first 3-4 holes do play closely parallel to one another. I played on a weekday and had no issues, but on nice weekends it might be busy.

The course is close to the Cumberland River, too bad it only comes in view on one or two holes, and never is in play. The only water hazards then are a small creek, which I would guess to be very low most of the time except for in the spring.

The was a minor odor on holes 8 and 9, either from the creek, or the small water treatment looking facility you play around. Nothing too horrible or long-lasting.

For being a park, there were no permanent restrooms nearby that I saw, only a port-a-pottie.

The course is called Naval Hill, but is located in Shelby Bottoms Park. As soon as you enter the park, take an immediate left (you will see baskets everywhere) then park at the top of the hill near the kiosk and picnic pavilions.

Some might be hesitant to play here based on the surrounding areas reputation, but other than having to drive through some low-income housing and an industrial park, once in the park it seems safe enough, especially with the greenway running along side, and the disc golf course backing up to the ball golf course.

I have never been a big fan of the nearby Two Rivers course. Though there are some similarities in style, I would choose to play Naval Hill over Two Rivers any day. (and for you super outdoors people, the two courses are actually connected by about 5 miles of greenway if you want to bike or jog from one course to the next!)

Of course if you want a bigger disc golf challenge then stick to Seven Oaks and Cedar Hill. If visiting from out of town, and can't make it all the way to Sharp Springs and/or Crockett, but want more to play, then this is not a bad choice to add as a warm-up or evening chill-out round.

Overall, I am glad Nashville now has a course like this one that can cater to all skill levels of disc golf and be enjoyed by all. And I really appreciated the design and attention to detail of this new course. Great job by the locals in charge and keep up the good work!

Nice practice basket with distance markers on the ground. The concrete pads are nice. Good signage w/ course map.
#6 -- It's a fun tunnel shot with a hard fade across the creek. A lot of great work was done. Steps leading up the hill from the bridge across the creek were recently added.
A path has been cut out from 8 basket to 9 tee, fixing a previous flow issue
#9 bench in the tree is very cool.
I like the new #19 running back to the parking lot.

#1 tends to have the most park goers. I've seen everything from people sleeping in hammocks to group yoga on that hole.
First 5 holes are a little close to each other.
1,2,5,10,12,13,17,18 all pose potential road hazards.
Elevation -- the worst spots are the hike from 6 to 7 and from 14 to 15 and 15 (placement at the bottom of the hill) to 16.
Only benches on 2,6,7,9 and maybe 15.
Half the pads are still carpet

I think the area was used well, although it does get tight in areas.The flow is easy to follow except for crossing the road from 12, one might walk to the 17 pad to the left by mistake. #13 pad is by the dead looking tree. The layout also makes it easy to skip around if its crowded, which it rarely is.
When the wind is over 10mph, the back 9 can get tough being so wide open on the face of a hill by the river. I also don't remember ever smelling bad odors.
It's a fun course that could be described as flick friendly. The crew has done a lot of great work and they're constantly making improvements.

I really liked the front nine. Right when I thought it was going to be the same "shoot around some trees in a field" theme for everything, we came to hole 5, which along with 6, 8, and 9, made for some very interesting shots.

There's a neat bench cut into a fallen tree on hole 9.

The back nine isn't terrible, one 641-foot hole, but otherwise nothing memorable.

Signage is nice, took me a while to notice that the pin placements are actually marked on them.

Practice basket at the beginning has markers up to 45-feet (at least) so you can see how far away you are. The writing on them is already fading so you kind have to guess which is which.

Hills. Oh my God, hills. The walk from 6 to 7 is atrocious. You play kind of sideways on a good number of holes.

18 doesn't finish by the parking lot, so you have to foot it back to your car. Uphill, just a little bit, but it's noticeable.

It smells *horrible* around 11, 12, and 17.

Could use some more benches. There are a few around but they aren't really where they're needed - like, towards the end when you're tired from all that hill work.

There's currently clover all over the place. Watch your disc because it's easy to lose it in a wide-open field.

A few holes play close to the road, but any cars we saw had slowed down around us, there was never any danger of hitting any body.

The first hole you see after hole 12 is hole 17 across the street. You have to keep walking past that to find hole 13.

Mind the fences on 11,12, and 14.