Beautiful 9,000 foot par 64 course on a former golf course. In a valley with lovely views of the mountains on either side.

Meticulously maintained with well-cut grass fairways, large tee-pads, and clear signage. A few holes play upon a bubbling brook providing some added stakes.

Incredibly demanding shots required. The course utilizes significant elevation masterfully and incorporates plenty of tricky but well-marked OB lines. Hole 8 is a brutal uphill any drive that sets you up for a second up hill approach that then fades down into a grove of trees. Hole 12 lets you try to break your distance PR with a huge elevation drop off the tee.

Two of the hardest holes I've ever played:
Hole 7, a 579' par 4: Throw 300' slightly downhill over OB to get into the narrow mouth of the woods. Hopefully you've got a clear lie to throw something moving left and then right uphill 280' through the woods that clears the massive boulders guarding the basket.

Hole 18, the 824' part 4 (par 5?) (in)famous from the Blue Ridge Championship. Throw 375+' out and across the river and the kudzu to hopefully land clear into the old golf green on the other side. Then throw something moving left to right that gets through the trees leaving you a short but tricky approach onto the island in the middle of the stream where the basket lies.

Despite it being a golf course, they do their best to give you some shot variety with Holes 3, 15, and 16 serving as particularly fun brain teasers.

Holes 3 and 15 are both classic par 4s with great risk/rewards calculations off the tee as you set yourself up to throw onto island greens. Hole 16 features a beautiful green alongside the creek, you can dare to go for it with the big shot over the bridge or lay up to the right of a grove of trees before pitching over to get as close as possible to a basket that's boosted at least 6' up in the air.

Given its ancestry as a former golf course, there are, for my taste, too many holes where the main challenge is solely distance and elevation.

That said, they do their best to add extra challenges as best as they can. Hole 5 has a tricky gap off the tee and an in-bounds fairway that slopes on either side into the OB. The baskets on Hole 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are all planted on sloping hills with plenty of opportunity for an errant putt to role out of bounds. However, it's the same trick every time and it feels a bit repetitive.

It's not a great course for a card with mixed skill-levels. There's no way of playing hole 18 if you can't comfortably throw 325', you're going to lose a disc no matter what. Some of my card-mates were jump-putting off the tee on Hole 2 and 15 to get into a safe place to play from. To be fair, there are two other courses on the property that are better tuned to Rec/Intermediate level players but I think this course in particular would benefit from an AM set of tee-pads.

The lost disc potential is high here (and on all three courses) due to the incredible amount of kudzu growth throughout. Hole 2 and Hole 18 are particularly treacherous. The ground staff does an admirable job keeping everything trimmed but there's only so much you can do against Mother Nature!

Hole 17 is a real snore of a design right at the time when you'd expect the course to be flashing its teeth. Just a basic park-style 671' par 4 with a road off to your right with a few trees and some OB near the basket.

There's two other similarly-cared for courses on the property, River Run, and Boulders. All are a blast to play and tiered to different skill-levels. Cost is $15 to play unlimited for the day.

There's a pro-shop (open Wednesday-Sunday) and a little cafe (open Thursday-Sunday) located on-site.

This course is a real challenge and not always a fun time. The elevation will take it out of anyone and if you're not landing your approaches safely you'll be cursing your luck! But the experience is totally worth it and the amount of care and creativity the designers and staff have put in is self-evident. Certainly worth your time more than their older brother down in Rock Hill. Come for a few days, bring some buddies and you'll have some great memories.

Tons of challenge
Beautiful setting
Great basket locations (dido for other two courses)
Large tee pads with excellent turf
Good navigation signs
Good tee signs
Good mix of shots required, many tees have options
Some great holes: Didn't feel like there were any filler holes. 1-5 is a great starting lineup. Pressure from the first throw with hazard, a little relief on 2 if you play it for par, hole 3 adds some pressure of hazard on both the tee throw and approach. Hole 4 forces you to hit a gap or risk bogey. Hole 5 decision time to go left or right, keep it out of the ob. Green is well guarded with OB not far behind basket. Now you can breath.

Kudzu, it's out of control in some areas.
Hole 18:
Should be a par 5, green is too well guarded and small for someone to execute a 400+ foot approach, for a person that can throw 350 max, this hole leaves 250+ for a third shot. Requires a 350 foot RH hyzer line to clear kudzu or a backhand flex through a gap. For the average player it's a search party for your disc even though it's in bounds center of fairway.

Hole 16: Basket on bridge? Free drop zone if you land short in the rocks. Otherwise you are most likely facing an outside the circle putt and risking bogey if you miss the putt. There's a small clearing just past bridge in the line with basket that would provide a better test and a good reward for getting the distance and line.

Course rewards good shots but will punish you if you are off. I had a 20 throw difference between a great round and a horrible round. On a positive note, there's a bunch of hazard areas that could be OB, so you aren't punished both stroke and distance.

Bring an umbrella for shade and plenty of water. Course is long and a round can take 3.5-4 hours in a foresome.

Challenge wise this course to par will play at a different level compared to the other 2. Wind will add an easily +7 to score.

-The mean older half brother. Better not knock on his door. Better not hide any of his belongings. Better not remind him of his cheating ex. Better not touch his new red truck with 228,532 miles on it with a broken AC, a nearly dead battery and motor both with minds of their own, four tires about to blow out, and with many bad paint jobs that turn off the ladies because of the fifty shades of red. The Gorge is long, petty, and sometimes sadistic. Don't test his patience. There are a few holes that are accommodating to intermediate players, but the rest of them, well are not. This is a hybrid suited for pros that can throw over 400' and can throw over 300' comfortably and accurately without being far off of where they expected to land.

-Course is brutal, but don't let the opening statement I made throw you off. The Gorge is on the gorgeous piece of land at North Cove. It has its own slice of uniqueness and its own pie of specialties. It's just the mean big brother of River Run and Boulders. There's a good amount of elevation. Several unique wooded holes with outstanding rock work. Excellent greens (one of the baskets is on a bridge over water). The finishing hole is on a narrow peninsula surrounded by the river, which you tee off across on as well.

-Great use of woods. #4 and #7 are both excellent wooded holes. #4 gives a nice break from all the OB. It's a more traditional anhyzer that is uphill behind a boulder. #7 was incredibly fun being uphill over a ton of boulders in the middle of the fairway next to the creek. #13's tee shot was unique being uphill out of a small gap that turns sharply left in the open. Basket is in between some bushes on the right and the tree line to the left. This is the shortest hole on the course, but it's a tougher birdie than the next one....

-#14 was a nice straightforward 400' shot that pros can reach with a mid. It's a pretty long way downhill down a nice wide fairway edged by mature trees. I was able to throw a midrange and have it land under the basket. Beware of the pond 30' behind the pin. Go long and you'll likely be OB. #12 is probably the signature hole. It's off a large hill through a wide gap through two trees. The bottom of the hill consists of two bunkers that you want to land between or go past and the left and right sides are OB. Lots of OB on this one, but being just under 1000' and a par five off of a large hill, it is more generous than some of the holes here. I threw OB both times I played and still parred it both rounds. The fairway is probably 100' wide at first and it narrows out a little bit, but still many ways for pros or advanced players to attack this one.

-#16: Infamous bridge hole. Basket is on a bridge. The bridge is over water and you wouldn't dare drive your car through it because it is a narrow bridge. You miss your putt, you could land off the bridge and into the water. There are some rocks marked with white stakes on the edge of the path that connects to the bridge, so if you land in the rocks (which would be a good shot), you get to take casual relief on the cart path to have a straighter putt with less dangerous footing. #18's peninsula green surrounded by water makes for an epic finisher.

-#15's island green was unique too. This hole is only 449' but is a scary dogleg right. There is a median between the splitting cart path that is in bounds. It gets very narrow toward the end of it, which gives a good look for the second shot. If you miss, you have to play from where you lie with a penalty stroke. So if you miss the median, you are hoping to be in a nice spot that gives an easy approach, since you have to make the island in order to save par.

-Nice disc catcher baskets. Nice tee signs with accurate information. Informative on the OBs and hazards. Hole distances seem accurate for the most part.

-Pro shop consists of some discs. They usually have disc golf footage on the TV. Marc and the other staff members are very polite.

-The finishing hole is beautiful. Ends incredibly grand. I'd compare the ending hole at the Gorge to the ending song on Jewel's debut album "Pieces of You". Her song "Amen" was playing in my head the whole time I was on the hole. That is my favorite song on what is one of my all time favorite albums (yes I'm a huge fan of Jewel).

Onto the hole, it's over 800' and instantly over the river. You have the open of throw a wide hyzer around the group of trees or you can throw left of them and try to have an understable driver break to the right. The second shot is along the side of the river past some mature trees. A birdie is probably going to be rare on this one since it is tough to throw 400+ off the tee on a pure hyzer and is even tougher to throw 400 anhyzer and have it land perfectly on a narrow peninsula. I mean if you cross it and go OB you'll still be putting for par, which is an impressive score on this par four but it's really hard to reach on the second shot. You'd have to throw a very accurate long approach past many trees. Hole ends close to the entrance building. You'll want to take some pictures of this hole because it's a true gem. And was my favorite hole on the course.

-#2. Interesting hole for sure. There's no denying that. This hole plays on the edge of the river. You tee off inches from the river. Literally inches. The tee pad level is just a few inches higher than the water level on a regular day. Meaning after a rainfall, the tee pad could be underwater.

-#3. Premise of the hole is very odd to me. You tee off on the median where the cart path is OB on both sides. Well, the median is narrow and the basket is far to the left side in a bunker. Good news first, luckily the bunker is not OB. I can't stand it when close to the basket is OB. The bad news is that the ideal shot, throwing a putter straight ahead or a mid range on a hyzer and having it land straight from where the pad is makes for an incredibly difficult second shot. I mean, from the cart path to basket is maybe a little over 300' past some trees with low and wide limbspans. However if you land in the OB field, you are playing from your lie with a penalty stroke. It honestly seems like a much better idea to just rip one out in the open and land OB. You'll be throwing for three on what's likely an easier approach shot. You'll have a better chance saving par.

I mean think about it. If you land maybe 250' straight ahead, you'll still be facing a few trees and have a 300+ approach. You have to land in the bunker from there. I mean sure if you reach the bunker you all of a sudden have a possible birdie look, but if you miss the bunker by a few feet, you'll be shaking to save par since you missed the island on your second shot and you are putting for par from OB. This hole is incredibly hard and think the OB is a bit too excessive.

-The vegetation on the edge of the river gets REALLY rough in the summer.

-The Gorge is my favorite of the three courses. The wooded holes I thoroughly enjoyed. Many of the greens had me blown away either with the scenery of them or the interesting new ideas that were had. I thought the OBs were a bit egregious on the first three holes but it gets less crazy once you get to #4. You'll still have to play the game of throwing as far as you can accurately without going OB, so you will for sure need some discs that fly straight and accurate. #9 was a good example. This is a par four with OB on the right side and some serious rough to the left. It gives just enough room to be able to rip a driver, but if you do you are taking a big risk. The hole is less frightening after the tee shot. #5 was another hole. Over 600', uphill with OB on both sides. Again, fairway is wide enough to throw a rip on but not wide enough to not be a bit frightened. Safe play is encouraged on some of the long open holes, otherwise you may be playing with fire.

-A truly fun hybrid. Not sure if it's the hardest hybrid I've played since I have played Thornspring Golds in Pulaski, VA. Without a doubt, the challenge here is much more enjoyable. You are doing more than just constantly throwing drivers as far as you possibly can. You have some very unique holes with their own individuality. Some of them are more suited for big arms. If you can throw a long way straight and accurately, you may very well play well here at the Gorge. There are some interesting obstacles and meaningful tee shots that are picturesque. #8 is remarkable. It's one of those holes that isn't very tough to par (that is if you are an advanced player) but a birdie has you feeling really good. The tee shot is in the woods and immediately turns hard to the right once you are in the open. You all of a sudden are left with a huge approach shot up a hill into a wooded green that is wide enough and clear of trees but slopes downward to the left. If you were to throw a solid sidearm off the tee and throw a big backhand up the hill and into the woods, you could be anywhere from parked to 100' away from the pin down in the woods.

-I recommend for serious players. It's not for newer or casual players. I think some of the OBs would be very aggravating to players below 900 rated. I'm 960 rated and was annoyed by the OBs on the first three. My opinion of The Gorge changed quickly once I got to #7. That hole really stood out to me with the rock work and the narrow yet clear fairway in the woods. There's hardly any OB, but it's still a very hard par four that would average probably at least a quarter of a stroke over par in an open division with an average rating of 970. #18 is a true finisher, but I believe that many players will argue that it's a par five. It very well could be. I think pros would average a stroke over par on this one. I've played tournaments at Ashe County and the average score on #18 long in the pro divisions would sometimes be a whole stroke above par. #18 at the Gorge is unquestionably harder than #18 long at Ashe. I've birdied one of those two finishers more than once and it wasn't #18 at the Gorge.

-Can't wait to see how players will shoot here in tournaments. I think even would be 1005 rated. There is a lot of trouble to be had here. A birdie on any of the holes here would be at least somewhat impressive and will give a clear indication that you did something right. There's only three holes that I think pros would average under par on on a regular basis. Those holes are #6, #12, and #14. I think they'd average right around par on holes #4, #8, #11, #13, #15. As for the remaining ten holes, over par on a regular basis.