-Owen High Nature Trail is a scenic piece of land on a hilly terrain. So that means it is great for a disc golf course. Every hole has at least a little bit of elevation. To make things better, there isn't a hole on this niner that isn't fun.

-Hole quality is great. I liked every hole here. It starts off with a 495' par 4 that maybe plays 530'. Hole is wide open, but plays along a small drop off that leads to the road. The next few holes are short fun ace runs. #2 is uphill, and #3 is back downhill. #4 is a great sidearm hole with plenty of danger at the green. If you skip too much, you might land on the road.

-The tee signs are very neat. They give great hole diagrams and make the course easy to navigate.

-DiscCatchers are in great shape still.

-My favorite hole was #5. It's slightly downhill next to a sloping hillside. Hole is 301' but very reachable with a mid-range (I went past it with a putter.) The woods are to the right so if you turn over too much, you might have to pitch out. Very cool hole. #8 was a close favorite. A very short and steep downhill ace run that'll get you down there with very little power. Hole is down a corridor so it's wise to throw low. However, there is a small window shot higher up.

-Very close to Pisgah Brewery and the course at Black Mountain. Although this course is far better than those two; one of them is actually an 18 holer.

-Not very many I can think of. The long walk from #4 to #5 is confusing. The first pad you'll see is hole #7's after you play #4. Walk toward the ball field and go to the right. You'll be walking to the other side of it so about a 180 degree. If the field is open, I'd just walk across it because it really shouldn't matter.

-While I really liked this hole, #7's drive is over the road and plays along it. The ticket booth (I think that's what it is) is 40' ahead and slightly right of the tee-pad so if you have a bad enough throw, you could break a window.

-The tee-sign on #9 is missing. But you can't miss it because it's right next to #8's basket.

-This is one of the best nine hole courses. It's a very unique layout that is rather simple but still has excellent hole quality. This course was well designed and well thought of. This is how newcomers get hooked on the game and it also satisfies all skill levels.

-You might not want to come here on school days. The parking lot is huge and I never found the visitor's parking lot. But if you've never played here, then by all means come on out.

Hilly course with nice open long shots.
Easy to get to from interstate.
Enjoyed playing while High school band was practicing

back 3 holes not very easy to find tees

Good for a quick practice round before playing Richmond Hill

What a great disc golf experience! The course is well-planned, set in a beautiful setting, requires a variety of shots, yet does not require a rocket arm to score well and have some serious fun. The school is located on a hilly setting, and the course reflects good use of that feature. Every tee has a Nature trail fact which is fun and informative. I never knew about the outside edges of the poison ivy leaves for example. The Seven Sisters mountains and the Blue Ridge are some fine sights, especially for a flatlander from South Louisiana. Discatcher baskets. 1 is 495' and a flat, hyzer hole. 2 goes up a hill and 3 goes down that hill. Not long holes but if you land wrong you will roll a long way. Did I mention I got my first ace ever on 3? Then the second time around I glided down the hill and ended up with a 4. The course can bite you in a heartbeat, as well as reward you. 4 comes back with a glide downhill if you fade too much. 5 is on the other side of the baseball field and a long walk. It has a steep hill to the left and another long roll potentially. 6 is around a small hill. 7 goes downhill a bit but straight. 8 is a tunnel through trees way downhill. Really fun. 9 is back up that hill, and is open. So for a RHBH it is mostly hyzers, with some annies and straight holes mixed in. Sometimes you have a risk-reward choice as well. You'll have to craft your shots because margins of error are sometimes not too big. Nice tee signs with the Nature tip on them. With the front gate open parking was a breeze. You'll be about 25 feet from #1 tee.

The tee boxes were overgrown a bit and uneven, but summer maintenance is going on at the school and I am certain they will get to them. They work fine. Print the map on DGCR so you can find #5. The gates were locked and we had to walk around the outfield side of the baseball field to get to the tee on 5. Walking down the slope to that tee is pretty steep. There is no water or rest rooms available that we saw. #1 is the only long hole. If you want some 500' tests, this is not your course.

I have favorited this course because it was a lot of fun, even without an ace. Kudos to the guys who planned and built it, and to the school for having the vision to put it in right there in front where it is showcased. Nice shops in town on State and Cherry Streets. We also ate at, and recommend, My Father's Pizza, which has much more than pizza. We also liked Okie-Dokie's BBQ in Swannanoa a few miles back toward Asheville. A play, shop, and eat arrangement with the gals is a win-win deal. I am looking forward to getting back to Black Mountain.

- Well designed and executed 9 hole course.

- I love the tee boxes. It's awesome how they are open ended on the back side.

- It isn't immediately clear how to get from #4 to #5. Get a map and you should be good.

- Some steps or grading going down the hill to #5 would be nice.

- As of 12/26/11 most of the mulch has been washed out of the tee boxes. There is no mulch in the #6 tee box which has caused grass to grow up in it...this is not a con though. The rest of the boxes which are turning to mud is a con. Also, #5 has some roots which can mess with your footwork.

- The basket on #7 was bent and the pole on #9 was crooked. I guess that comes with the territory when you have bored teenagers around who get pleasure from messing up other peoples' property.

Parking at the 2nd gate (without blocking the gate) is a little tricky now that they've placed some rock landscaping on the sides of the gate. If you have a truck you would be fine (you'll see what I mean if you go there). Otherwise, if the gates are closed I'd park near the main gate off to the side and place #6 as #1.

Located in the beautiful Swananoa valley with long-range views of the surrounding mountains, this is the nature trail dg pilot.
Really nice informative tee signs and scorecards describe the local flora and fauna as well as identifying specific mountains as you weave around the course.
We were lucky to play the course with DSCJNKY who provided lots of background info on his brainchild, the nature trail dg concept. The layout is mostly open to park-like, but with lots of nooks and crannies around the high school to add challenge.
The quality of the layout was defintiely influenced by the extensive number of courses played by the designer.
New discatcher baskets.
Same exit as Black Mountain DGC and a great restaurant, My Father's Pizza.

Limited hours open. We arrived saturday morning and school was in session making up a snow day. Course is closed when school is open.

When we arrived later in the day, the course was being enjoyed by a group of students(new players) and a teacher. When we finished, a pro -level player was teeing off on #1. That gives you an idea about the job that James and Jason did designing the course, they nailed it. The nature trail concept is pure genius and could open the door for several more courses in WNC.

Fun little course at local high school. great use of available space. elevation changes and open landscape leave you wide open to the prevailng wind.

long walk to 5...no biggie. the challenge is great for those first learning the game.

many places try to cram a course in. this one is different. sure there are challenges space wise, but they did a great job of making it fun.

Great little 9 hole 'school' course playing mostly in open mown grass fairways. Good mix of short & long, up & down, left & right shots. Large, mature trees dot the landscape. Easy walk with beautiful mountain views surrounding you. Brand new Innova DisCatchers 7 out of 9 are set on a roll away hillside (testing your placement skills). To the left of #1 tee box is a large white horse statue. Very cool mascot!

Small, wood framed tee pads filled with mulch (I prefer cement). Long walk between hole #4 & #5. Parking: Plenty of parking inside but the last couple of times I've played the course (weekends) the front gate was locked. We had to park down the street. No benches. No bathrooms. No water. The tee signs were primitive but were to be replaced soon.

A ton of thanks has to go to Jason (DSCJNKY) who almost single-handedly got this course in the ground (& in record time!). If you have to park in the street, start at hole 9.
Course overview:
#1 starts you off with a good long open hole. OB parking lot to the right.
#2 is a short steep little uphill shot. Low hanging branches add challenge. Basket set on rollaway hill.
#3 is a short, slightly downhill shot. The hillside runs steeply right to left.
#4 is a picturesque shot shooting slightly downhill, medium length. Low hanging branches obscure the fairway. The basket is surrounded by trees.
#5 is a 300 foot blind shot that goes left around the hill. A thick tree line runs all all the way down the right side.
#6 is a medium length drive up a narrow fairway. OB on both sides the whole way!
#7 (my favorite) is another medium length drive across a road to a pin set on the side of a roll away hill with OB directly behind.
#8 is a short downhill shot through a gap in the trees.
#9 is a 300' open shot that drives uphill to a basket set on the flat.

-Nature Trail Disc Golf. As far as I know, this is the first ever purposely designed Nature Trail Disc Golf Course in the world where the tee-signs and scorecards have been designed to help connect people with the resource - what a concept.
- Fun Golf. For what we had to work with, the course turned out great. Considering the terrain is fairly wide open, and that it's not overly long, it's pretty challenging. There's lots of OB to keep you honest... and simply put, you have to throw a few golf shots to earn your birds.
- The Swannanoa River Valley. The scenery of the surrounding mountains and valley below are phenomenal. This is what Dave242 talks about when he says "Appalachian Beauty". From one tee-pad, you can see the Blue Ridge Parkway (the most visited unit of the National Park Service) cutting across the shoulder of Mount Mitchell (the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River). Awesome views.
- The Students. We put the course in the ground, and within a few days the students were playing. Now they have a club with more than 30 kids.

It's hard to come up with a list of cons for a concept (Nature Trail Disc Golf Courses) you conceived and a course that you designed and installed yourself (with help from some friends)... but, I'm fair, so here goes:
- Fairly Wide Open. There weren't a whole lot of trees on the school's property to work with. We did what we could to make them come into play (because after all, it is a Nature Trail Disc Golf Course and trees are an important part of nature), but still... It's not a Woods Course.
- Long Walks. After Hole 4 there is a 800' walk to the tee-pad for Hole 5 (to get there, walk between the baseball and softball diamonds. Tee 5 is behind home-plate). And then, after Hole 5 there is a semi-long walk to Hole 6's tee (walk to the other side of the driveway and up the hill).

- Keep Your Shirt On. This course is installed at a High School, so keep your shirt on. No smoking, drinking, cursing, etc... Let's keep the course in the ground.
- Course Hours: The course is open during non-school hours. 3:30-Sunset Weekdays. 8:00 - Sunset Weekends. Closed during school and major sporting events.
- My First Course. This is the first course I have ever designed from scratch. I wrote the grant, met with the school staff, coordinated the removal of a mountain of debris, designed the tee-signs and scorecards... and designed and installed the course. Putting courses in the ground is hard work, this experience will definitely change the way I view courses.
- Why Nature Trail Disc Golf? Seeing a trend in families spending more time indoors connected to electronic media, and less time in the great outdoors connected to nature... and seeing a relationship with childhood obesity (1 in 4 kids in NC is overweight /obese)... the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation created a program called Kids in Parks, of which I became the Director. Seeing a need to reach out to the teenage population to try to attract them to the outdoors, I decided to try to build Nature Trail Disc Golf Courses at three of the areas local high schools.
- Shout Outs. I have to give a "Shout Out" to the people who worked with me to make this possible: Buncombe County Parks, Greenways and Recreation Services for giving us the grant funds; James Nichols for helping with the design and installation of the course; Don Johnson and Darin Chaplin of Owen High School for seeing the vision; Asheville Arborists, Landmark Landscapes, GDS Waste Management and the Buncombe County Landfill for helping dispose of the mountain of debris at no cost to the project; my boss for letting me explore this new concept in outdoor recreation; my girlfriend for putting up with it; and everyone else who volunteered time: Nate Kellar, Kevin Vinez, Thom Williams, Paul Smith, Brett Moore, Mike Rush, Lee Reading, Craig Fender, JohnThelen, Don Wallace, and Alan Ward.
- On a side note, if anyone wants to convert their course into a NTDGC, please contact me... I'd love to be involved.