After kayaking the Upper Gauley River, I decided to play a quick round at Ravens Ridge before driving home. Just a couple of minutes off of the interstate, located at Adventures on the Gorge, Ravens Ridge is very accessible! The course is a fun 9 hole layout with tight, technical fairways that will test your ability to throw your disc on line. For the amount of space the designers had to work with, I think they did about as well as they could have.

The course makes excellent use of elevation. Not only are there some excellent uphill and downhill holes, but there are also holes that utilize the ridge as a fairway - where if you miss the fairway, or take an unfortunate kick, you are probably going to sail/roll far down the hill. Hole 6 is easily the signature hole on this course, it is a sharp uphill shot that slightly bends right, but the tee is located on a tiny little ridge, that creates a death putt from almost any angle as it is sharp downhill in both directions.

Even though you'll never really need anything faster than a midrange here, the course packs enough variety into every tee shot that it never manages to feel repetitive. With the added benefit of featuring a breathtaking overlook of the New River Gorge with an outstanding view of the bridge.

Despite the heavy emphasis on accuracy, with a lot of risk/reward shots available, the course never feels unfair. This is exemplified in Hole 5, a par 4 that is less than 300' long. When you see the fairway you'll understand. It has some of the tightest lines I have ever seen, and there is no real way to regularly drive the pin every round. I did manage to have a long look at an Eagle, but hit off the basket.

The course features tee signs that include the hole number, par, and distance. Each basket is numbered (and there is a practice basket) and each hole has a rubber tee mat. The course was likely designed to cause a minimal amount of environmental impact; I noticed a trash can lid lashed to a fairway tree that I imagine is meant to guard it from taking disc damage.

Located at Adventures on the Gorge, the course has plenty of amenities, and camping available right there. If you end up camping there, there is a pool with its own beautiful view of the gorge! Honestly, thanks to seeing what AotG has to offer when visiting this course, I've decided to try to camp there on one my next paddling trips to West Virginia!

It is a shame that the course is only 9 holes, because it is a blast to play! Having said that, I imagine that for the casual players who choose to play here while camping, I imagine a fair amount of frustration is had by players taking bad kicks/rolls here.

One of the biggest issues this course suffers from, is signage. Even following the directions on DGCR, I struggled to find the course. There were signs for everything else and only a sticker on a post for the disc golf course, and I felt awkward randomly walking around the edge of the woods looking for walking paths. I ended up spending just as much time looking for the course, as I did playing it. I decided to add a little to directions to the course, hoping it provides some help to others in the future.

I wish the tee signs were a little more noticeable (I didn't realize they were there until a few holes in) and featured a map of the hole. I wasn't aware of the landscape around Hole 6's basket, so was extremely thankful when my birdie bid hit the post and settled below the basket. If I had missed just a few inches left or right (or had taken a bad roll) I would have been left with a second death putt to save par.

The last three holes, Hole 7 in particular, play parallel to the road. A very unfortunate tree kick could send a disc into our across the road.

While all of my drives were standstill, I did notice that some of the tees were very uneven. Players who need to make use of them might trip during their drives.

I really enjoyed this course! It is a really good place you can stretch your legs if traveling down I-77 while fitting in a quick round and a nice view of the Gorge. As it stands, I plan to give it a 2.0 rating. Which feels fair for a slightly above average 9 hole course. I think that the course would need better tee signs, flatter tee pads, and signage that makes it easier to locate for me to give it a higher rating. Especially since there doesn't seem to be any room for an additional 9 holes, or even second, longer tee pads.

Favorite Holes: 4 & 6

Ravens Ridge is a quirky little nine-holer that makes you work surprisingly hard to earn every inch of its 1745 feet. The course makes a short U across a heavily wooded hill, and features narrow fairways and tight windows. Though the majority of holes are 200 feet or less it's hardly a pitch and putt: a skillful short game and perhaps a bit of luck is needed to shoot well. Line shaping and the ability to hit tight windows are both well-tested. The course features well-designed and utilized obstacles such as tree-dotted fairways, tough looks off the tee, and guarded pins. It manages to avoid being gimmicky in the way that short courses that make an effort to be challenging often come across as; the shots and challenges are all legitimate, just on a smaller scale than is usual.

The short holes and accessibility off the highway make this an excellent course to stop and stretch your legs at. Fairways are quite well-worn and the course is easy to navigate.

Not much to critique beyond the obvious: at 9 holes and 1745 feet, Ravens Ridge definitely makes for a short round. The combination of short and tight isn't going to be for everyone, and although I found the technical challenges to be well-conceived, some may feel otherwise. There are some tight windows here that some may be critical of. This is not the course to play if you're not in the mood to shape lines primarily with putters.

Underbrush wasn't an issue when I visited in June, but I could see it getting bad as the summer progresses. One bad tree kick could unpleasantly extend your pitstop as you go searching for your disc.

Ravens Ridge was a pleasant surprise during our drive from SW Pennsylvania to Charlotte. It was a great opportunity to stop, stretch our legs, and get a quick round in. My brother and I were both impressed with how well RR was designed; it offers a lot beyond just the novelty of a technical short course. It's a great option to break up a drive.

#1 Pro of Ravens Ridge is the spectacular view of the New River Gorge Bridge behind hole 3's tee. This is the reason I decided to play here and made it worth it. I probably spent more time perched upon the Pallas bust above thy Gorge basking in the serenity, than it took to play the course.

Now to the disc golf... 9 holes, decent rubber tees, ok tee signs providing ominous hole nicknames and distance, and bright yellow DisCatcher baskets. Covered bench and tire swing by hole 7 tee.

Good use of the available elevation and space provided. Some fun ace runs and variety of technical lines to shape in the woods.

Easy to navigate and quick to play. Seems to be decently maintained for the most part, not much underbrush to lose a disc.

Great free beginner course at an adventure resort with all kinds of other activities and lodging. Quick and easy to get to from highway. Fayette County DGC is not far away.

Only one tee and basket position. Not much elevation change, and definitely no holes to crank a distance shot on, no water holes. Holes play a little close together, so there's not much seclusion unless you have the place to yourself.

Course seems to be a little rubbishy by design and by people littering. Some poison ivy to beware of.

There are no signs for the course there, so I had to go in to the front desk check in to ask where the course is at. Park at the very bottom of that parking lot next to the road and you will see a trail leading into the woods, this takes you to hole 1.

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only that one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing farther then he uttered, not a feather then he fluttered, Till I scarcely more than muttered "Other friends have flown before. On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said "Nevermore."

-Well thought hole placement. Has uphill, downhill, hyzer, and anhyzer.
-Solid, visible Innova baskets.
-Some slightly difficult wooded fairways.
-Rubber teepads provide good traction in the dry (haven't experienced in wet conditions).
-Easy to follow path.
-In a cool location. (New River Gorge rocks!)

-Not much room for big open drives.
-A couple tees didn't have much room for a run-up.
-Rubber teepads may get slippery when wet. Not sure on that one.

I was really close to giving this a 3, but variation is really important to me. The holes do vary some, but they're all wooded, and mostly pretty short. I know that's the land they have and there's not much they can do about that, but it still matters. If they put another 9 in, and especially if there were some longer shots, I would definitely give it a 3 or 3.5.

Also, there used to be a course across the street from this one called The Flying Squirrel. They tore it down (I believe to install something else) and rebuilt it here. While it is sad to see one course die, it has been reborn as an equally good course. If you're in the area, play a round, have a beer, and enjoy the view of the gorge.