I was pleasantly surprised by the UNCA course. Being only 6 holes, I expected something rinky dink. But, for the 6 holes it has, there's pretty good variety, great elevation, and the campus is picturesque. If there were 12 more holes similar to the 6 it has, this course would be a 2.0-2.5 for me.

+ Easy to navigate once you locate the first tee
+ Great elevation (#1 and #5 are fun downhills)
+ Baskets in good shape
+ Tiny area, but pretty course

This isn't a course to go out of your way to play, but if you're in Asheville, make a stop. Only a few cons:

- #1 con is the high risk for disc loss. Lots of leaves on the ground and some blind shots (or long walks from the tee where you can't see where your disc landed) equals disc loss danger. I lost discs on #1 and #5. Searched everywhere, but couldn't find them. Fortunately, I got two separate calls later from people who found them under the leaves.

- The rubber tee pads are slippery.
- Only 6 holes.

Worth a try. Very short, not too tricky, but fun.

This course is pleasantly surprising for a number of reasons. Yeah, it's only 6 holes, but they are actually pretty fun. Most courses like this are bad enough that you only feel like playing it once and walking away. I found myself actually playing this one 2-3 times through each time.

To be on such a small plot of land and only 6 holes, there are actually a few you probably need drivers on. It's not going to be a cakewalk out there.

Every shot is pretty much straight ahead, but they utilize elevation changes pretty effectively. 2-3 mostly flat, 2 uphill, 1 downhill.

Distance isn't overly long or short. A pretty average length on most holes, but the uphill shots play fairly long. Like I said, you'll need drivers for these shots.

Tee pads are actually pretty nice and in good shape. I'm surprised that a 6 hole course even went to the trouble of having tee pads, but it's a nice addition.

Hole 5 is actually pretty cool and probably the only thing you'll remember from the experience. It's a nice little downhill putter shot that would make a sweet little ace. In fact, you'll have several chances for aces out there.

There are way to many chances to lose discs. The undergrowth out here is pretty atrocious and will easily swallow a few. There is even a watery/marsh hazard on hole 2 to be wary of. Thick thick stuff.

Very little variety outside of up/down shots. No big dog legs, no tunnel shots, just a lot of underbrush in a mostly open atmosphere with a few large trees here or there.

There is a chance, since you'll likely need a driver, that you'll hit a car on hole 4 if you aren't careful. The basket is situated very close to the parking lot at the top of the hill and I've had my disc end up there on several occasions. Be aware of that.

Hole 5 tee pad is inside the parking lot. Typically students are kind enough to not park in the designated spot, however I have seen it occupied before and can't say I blame them (I was a student at UNCA and know how precious those parking spots are). You might find you'll have to shoot from in front of the spot on the grass.

Navigation is average. You may or may not have troubles, depending on how lucky you get. Depending on where you park, you'll want to walk to the opening of the park with a smoking circle designation. It's directly off of the main road on campus, not the parking lot where hole 5 is. From there, walk down the hill to the right to find hole 1. A few navigation signs would definitely help someone getting around for the first time.

The course could benefit a lot from expanding to the land across the road. In fact, I was part of that effort during my tenure on campus, however due to logistical issues the plan was scrapped. I sure hope they'd reconsider adding additional holes across the street in order to get a full 18 in.

If you have 20 minutes to kill and want to chuck some plastic, it's not a bad little course to be only 6 holes. Don't expect a lot of challenge, and half expect to lose a disc, but you should at least have a little fun.

UNC Asheville DGC is a 6 hole course nestled in in a valley in the middle of campus.

-Baskets are DISCatchers with double chains and are all in good shape.
-Short, scenic course with a couple of small ponds, bridges, a shelter, fire pit and a stone wall on the right side of hole 1's fairway.
-Elevation is very well used. You have down hill shots, uphill shots, and pins positioned on the side of a hill which prevents the course from being redundant or boring.
-Great fairways that are lightly to moderately wooded.
-Hole 5 is a very fun downhill shot that plays from a parking space with "Disc Golf" painted on it. Cars noticeably skipped parking in this space.

-The course being only 6 holes is a definite con. This course could be upgraded significantly if expanded to 18 holes and crossing the road to incorporate more land.
-When I was there it appeared that it had recently been bush hogged, therefore the grass was cut low, but I could definitely see how this course could quickly become overgrown and be a nightmare in the Summer.
-The rubber pads nailed to plywood were very slick. Hole 2's rubber pad was missing (you teed off from the plywood) and Hole 4's tee pad was missing altogether.
-Several fairways were very muddy.
-This course did not have that secluded feel that I really wanted it to have. It's sandwiched in a valley between two campus roads and therefore there are always people around.
-No real opportunities to open up and throw a long drive, but the tee pads were so slick that I threw everything from a standstill anyway.

UNC Asheville is probably the best course I have played with less than 9 holes. All pins were very well placed and the small space that the course is placed on was incredibly well-utilized. It's probably good that there are only 6 holes because I feel that 9 holes would be overly crowded unless other tracts of land were used.

*Elevation changes on every hole. Three holes have significant differentials of 22 to 30 ft. (4 Up/ 2 Down)
*Baskets on slopes. This adds challenge because of the potential for roll aways.
*Fairways are well shaped
*Map. Online. It's average but essential for finding your way.
*The course will draw more college students into this great sport.

-Navigation! Do NOT attempt to play here without the map or a guide because you'd have a lot of trouble finding the tees.
-No tee signs! This makes it hard to navigate.
-Lots of poison oak
-Terrain feels kind of scruffy. This is probably because of lots of thick scraggly shule in many places, but even the grass is patchy.
-Fairway variety is low. Too many straight holes. (4 Straight/ 1 Left to right/ 1 Right to left.)
-Length variety is low. The length of the holes were all pretty similar
-Tees were just a bit too short.
-Few amenities. The course is still new, but other than the map there are no restrooms, no score card, no warm up basket, no benches, no trashcans.

Course Level: White (most suited for Intermediate players rated 900.)

My favorite hole- 5. A down then back up shot over a valley that had an elevation drop of 24 ft. (It took me a while to find the tee, though. It's one of the parking spaces in the parking lot.)

If you see tee 5 in the parking lot then it would probably be easier to just start there.

For more information about navigating the course go to "UNC-A course navigation".

I usually feel dissatisfied after playing 6 hole courses, and UNC-A was no exception. It's like going to a restaurant and being served a plate with only 1/3 of a normal portion. Just as you're getting into it you've finished. I wanted more. I know there are limitations, but, like Oliver Twist, I'd like to ask the designers, "May I have some more please?"

A note about my rating: My rating is a subjective measure of my enjoyment of the course it is NOT intended to be a measure of the quality of the course. My ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.

To have my reviews delivered to your Inbox join the Yahoo group "DG Course Reviews" . More detailed "Overall Rating" notes and "Hole-by-hole Ratings" are also available there in the Files section.

Good variety of holes, very nice rubber tee pads. Tight fairway shots that will definitely punish a bad drive.

No signage, Hole no. 1 hard to find but from there the course flows naturally. All the holes are fairly short.

There is massive underbrush EVERYWHERE! I lost two discs in six holes to the jungle just off the fairway on nearly every hole (although 1 and 6 were the worst, and incidentally where I lost my discs).

This is a very new course, and in time I hope it will get better. There are plans for a full 18. Before adding new holes I think they need to spend some time doing something about the underbrush. It's hard to like a course that eats two of your discs over the course of six holes, but the hole layouts themselves weren't bad, although hole #2 should definitely be longer. There's a lot of underutilized room behind the pin. Still, for this course to compete with its almost-next-door neighbor Richmond Hill, it's going to take a lot of work.

As the rest of the holes are put in and more work is done to the course I'll update my review, but for right now, just go to Richmond Hill instead.