Secret City DGC at Carl Yearwood Park is a 9 hole disc golf course set in a nice city park in Oak Ridge .The park looks pretty well manicured . After looking at the previous reviews and determining by now that the rating given this course ( 2.97 ) , and knowing long by now that Knoxville rates its courses too high , I wasn't sure what I would see . After pulling in the park , you feel compelled to park next to a nice picnic shelter at the end . There are bathrooms here . There is a kiosk there , but no real direction as to where the course starts . You may want to print a map on this one . The course will eventually follow itself and you may be able to navigate it without one , but your map will point you to hole #1 , which is across the parking lot and behind the skate park toward the trees .The course runs clockwise around most of the perimeter of the park , I notice right away that although the wood tee boxes are basically dirt ( they must have been mulch at one time ) , there are several lengths or positions , blue , which is shorter , white is intermediate and red is the longer . Not meant to confuse you , but I don't think that the longest hole on the course seemed 300' . Still , the course also has different pin positions . which is a plus , especially for the locals . I don't know how often they change the pins , but I like the thought . The baskets are the old Lightnings , typical for a small park setting where you would otherwise have trouble picking up seeing the basket in a woods or at twilight . The signage looked a little worn , but still informative , with hole # , distance , and a picture of the fairway. All of what little woods there are in this small park is utilized , and park users will probably not interfere with the course after hole 3 or 4 . #1 is a short flick shot through a tree line bearing right to left with the basket being guarded by a set of trees . You will notice that trees come into play on every hole . You will have to walk through bushes to your right and back about 100' to get to the next tee . #2 is a short drive down a fairway with trees here and there to the basket in front . #3 will take you towards a fence line breaking right to left . . The basket is set kind of wedged in to the the front of the brush . #4 is a throw across a fairly dry creek to a basket sitting on a tiny hill grade . There is no real alley to throw to , just keep your disc low so a ricochet doesn't go into the thick rough . #5 was a tight fairway shot , ( pin position was on the left for me today ) guarded by brush and trees . #6 had the tee pad in the beginning of the wooded area and throwing out into the open . #7 was an interesting hole . You kind of throw from the open into the trees slightly uphill , to the pin which could sit a little down and to the left , or on the level and into the open on the right , providing you don't clip a tree . #8 is a + 250' drive into a tight nook in some bush , with the pin sitting either in front of the creek or just behind it . Nice pin placement . The last tee pad ( #9 ) is back and to the right of #8's basket . It is a short downhill toss , breaking right to left to one of 2 baskets on this hole . They have the short basket set just beyond the creek , and 30' further down , they have a foot bridge with a hanging basket over the creek next to it . I thought that this was a colorful finishing hole . The course is a short play , under 30 minutes for me , and easy on the body since there is little elevation . There is some fun factor here in these holes . A great starter course for newbies , good for casuals and families , and okay for better players to work on their short game and putting , This course praises accuracy and punishes lack of control . I had a lot of fun during my round . I don't know if there was anything I would call a signature hole , but I liked the downhill #9 , with the hanging basket over the small creek .

The course does a good job & doesn't present itself to be something it is not but it has some cons . #1 . Tee boxes . I like that it has multiple tees , but most don't make much of a difference and are dirt . #2 Mud factor . It would be a non play if it rains . A decent piece of this course is dirt , along with the tee pads , which could fill up with water . #3 maybe park users wandering around the first few holes . Be careful . When in doubt , wait or skip the hole . #4 navigation ? It would be hard to park and find the first tee right off , sometimes even with a map . #5 some holes which have no real path to the basket . This might also be twisted into a pro . Be accurate ( or lucky ) . #6 . The rough can be rough in some areas and a ricochet off the many trees dotting the fairways can turn off the travelers and especially the local casuals and newbies if they spend a lot of time looking for or even losing a disc . Not necessarily a con since the park can't help it , but the course is pretty flat . The design uses what they can , but ,,,,,, .

Secret City is never going to be a destination course , but I don't think it was ever intended for it to be . You can spend a whole day going up Hwy 95 and play 2 9 hole courses , then The Mounds and Woods ( only 3 miles away ) , and finish your day here . A picnic area sits at the end of this course so make the overall loser drive over and grab an early dinner before playing this final course , or right after . The course looks like it wants to appeal to everyone , making the lines to the basket tight or even non existent for the better players , but mixing fun short holes and multiple tees and pin positions for casuals or newbies . Whatever the case , the course still resonates fun , and looks like it is never crowded . If I lived in Oak Ridge , this would be a good after dinner round for me . The Recreation Dept at Oak Ridge looks like they try to make it work here , and it works for me . Thank You , Oak Ridge , for allowing me to play Carl Yearwood and keeping an interest in disc golf . My recommendation : GROUP THIS FUN COURSE AND COMBINE IT WITH OTHER COURSES AND PLAY IT IF IN OAK RIDGE , AND A MUST PLAY IF A RESIDENT , NEWBIE OR CASUAL .

Carl Yearwood is a typical, city park, 9-hole course. It serves as an appetizer course, giving you a little taste of everything, so you want to go play one of the city's 18 hole courses.
- This is a more wooded than average nine-hole course. It ranges from some trees on holes #1, 2 & 6 to heavily wooded, tight layouts on #4, 5 & 9.
- There are several fun hole layouts on the course. The two most notable for me were #6 & 7. #6 tees off in the woods to a fairway and tee that's much more open. There are four basket layouts for this hole, and the one I played set up nicely for one to be aggressive for a birdie chance. #7 is a wooded hole throughout, with thick tree coverage on the right side. The basket is on a slight mound, protected by trees. There's a thin line between great tee shot and a tee shot that leaves you fighting for par.
- Good tee signs. They clearly show you the multiple hole tee & basket locations. Most tees are clearly marked by colored, wooden markers. A couple holes were missing them however, but you usually could see where the grass was worn.
- This course definitely puts the emphasis on accuracy. If you can throw straight, you'll save yourself a lot of headaches by staying in the fairway, and in turn, not having to search for discs in the thick rough on most holes.
- For such a relatively small park, the course is almost completely isolated from everything else. About the only thing you'll have to deal with are walkers, plus close proximity to two different roads on #1 & 8.
- This was a smaller park with not a lot of facilities - ball field, skate park, picnic tables and restrooms. That should also help DGers not have to deal with many people.

There was a couple confusing layouts. Some holes had two baskets on them (what's the deal with one regular basket and one hanging basket 25 feet apart on #9), some had poorly marked tees, and some really could use arrows helping you find both tees (#5 comes to mind).
- The rough on some of these holes was really thick, that you could really spend some time searching for a disc if you get a bad bounce off a tree.
- #4 is a poorly designed hole. The 'fairway' is a cluster of trees. The luck factor seems to play as much, if not more, of a factor as skill. At least, there's enough spacing for putts/short shots, that you should be able to save par. #9 was similar, but that one at least had narrow paths around the trees, making the hole tough but fair.
- I'm listing this as a con, but some might argue it's a positive. The course seems a little confusing in terms of who it's trying to appeal to. It's short like a beginner-friendly course, but it's also heavily wooded, and has narrow fairways, which would seem to be aiming for a more experienced player.
- The course is lacking in basic amenities. I only noticed seats on #7, and don't recall seeing trash cans. But I do recall seeing trash.

If all nine holes were as tough, and decently-laid out as the last 5, this would be a pretty decent, and fun, course. Instead, you feel like you want to rush through the beginning just to get to the good part.
- There wasn't enough variety in the holes in terms of distances or even overall feel. From the short tees and baskets, holes ranged from 160 to 249 feet, from the longs they ranged from 216 to 303.
- To its credit, Yearwood had a much bigger risk/reward factor than what you'd see at most nine-holers. Good, aggressive shots will get rewarded with birdie putts, while bad ones will leave you scrambling for par or worse.
- It'd be nice if the basket positions were clearly marked at the beginning, or consistent. My buddy and I had to walk the fairways on several holes to determine which layout we were throwing to.
- #6 & 7 was the best stretch of holes. These holes are isolated from the rest of the park, giving a good disc golf feel. And with a couple of good shots, you should be seeing two birdie putts.
- Overall, a decent nine-hole course. There's nothing really bad or good here, just a lot of consistency. It's not as good as Admiral Farragut, but still alright.