UNC DGC is like a old house, built many years ago, with different rooms added and replaced over the years. Over time, as rooms get updated and added, before you know it, it's a new house. Eventually, the "old layout" at UNC had to get the RIP and a "new course" was created (at least as far as DGCR goes). In truth, if you've played this course prior to 2021, many of the holes will be ones you remember, some you will want to forget, and there are a few redesigned holes, along with some brand new ones. The holes are also renumbered, starting from the main parking lot at the softball field, which is a great change, as that's where people park to play this track 99% of the time.

#1 - Old hole #7, but the basket is moved down the hill and to the left, making this a short RHBH hyzer, only 240 feet from the blue tee.

#2 - Old hole #8, except the basket is moved forward, closer to the tee, and an easier, less "poke and hope" hole. It's only 230 feet, but uphill and heavily wooded.

#3 - Old hole #9, but the basket is moved about 25 feet to the left, making this hole less of a RHFH or flex hole and more straight with a hyzer finish. There is also a new alt tee pad from much further back (over 100 feet) for a more challenging option. From the short tee, it is 233 feet, slightly downhill.

#4 - Old hole #11, no changes. Listed as a par 4. Long, uphill, decently wide fairway. 467 feet and uphill from the tee. The approach shot is flat.

#5 - Old hole #12 with the basket in the right position, hugging the tree line to the right. Still a big valley shot, but slightly more technical than before since you'll either play a RHFH or a BH flex shot. 400 feet, steeply uphill approaching the basket if you don't carry most of the valley with your tee shot. I'd call this the signature open hole at UNC, at least aesthetically.

#6 - Old hole #13, no changes. Open downhill shot with thick trees and OB to the left. 344 feet.

#7 - Old hole #16, no changes. Very challenging hole with a narrow fairway and guardian trees and boulders near the basket. 380 feet.

#8 - Old hole #17, no changes. Uphill, left to right, 286 feet.

#9 - Old hole #18, no changes. Perhaps the signature wooded hole at UNC. It's a huge valley shot, with very narrow lines to hit. The greet is way up a steep hill on the other side of the valley from the green, perched on a tiny patch of flat ground with a rock wall.

#10 - This is a newish hole to UNC. Short, uphill, wooded on both sides of the fairway. 222 feet.

#11 - Brand new hole. Very tight, wooded hole with a short and a long tee. The short tee is 237, the long is 333. Nothing special about this one, just a flat elevation, run-of-the-mill wooded tunnel.

#12 - Another newish hole to the course, and my favorite on the course. It's 487 feet, par 4, playing slightly downhill to a very open fairway (but if you get off the fairway on either side, you're fighting underbrush and briars). Approaching the basket, the green is slightly elevated and guarded by large boulders. This is a great hole to rip and watch the full flight of the disc downhill on a fairly wide open fairway.

#13 - This is a redesigned hole with the tee pad to the left and in front of the pond that used to be a water hazard on a water carry hole. On this redesigned hole, the water is behind you and not in play. This is basically a wide open, slightly downhill hole. 343 feet.

#14 - This is the old hole #2. Flat, but wide open (again, if you do miss the wide open fairway, you're fighting some thick rough). 321 feet.

#15 - This is the old hole #3 and a fun one. 371 feet from the short tee. It's fairly open, but there is a gap to hit right in the middle of the flight of the disc. Hit that gap and you're on a very large, grassy field green.

#16 - This is the old hole #4. Wide fairway, flat, 321 feet.

#17 - This is the old hold #5 with the basket in the left, longer position. 233 foot RHBH hyzer, blind tee shot do to the woods.

#18 - This is the old hold #6, 280 feet RHBH flex or RHFH shot through an early gap to a wide open approach and green area.

PROS

- Nice variety of open and wooded shots.

- Challenging to Intermediate level players and below. Advanced players will still enjoy the variety and elevation.

- Really big elevation here, the most currently of any Triangle area course.

- With the redesign, the course designers and volunteers have done a great job mitigating erosion and drainage issues that existed here on the old layout.

- New concrete tee pads for most holes.

- This is a very fun course that throws something different at you than most courses in the area: a course that it equal parts wooded and park style, steep hills and valleys to deal with (and opportunities to watch the full flight of the disc) and a couple of interesting and challenging greens. Some of the holes that were pulled were fun and not all were replaced by equally fun or unique holes. That is unfortunate. But at least the course is sustainable now (hopefully) and can be enjoyed by locals and travelers for years to come. And some of the new holes (especially the par 4 #12) are really solid additions to the course.

UNC DGC still has some of the same cons on the new layout:

- Very punishing rough with high risk for disc loss. Several holes with lots of thick underbrush and thorns.

- Some of the new holes are pretty pedestrian and ordinary (e.g. #11).

- The tee signs need to be updated to reflect the redesign. Yardage and layouts are wrong on several tee signs.

- Very long walk in between many holes, especially from #12 to #13 (but that's not the only one).

UNC DGC is a solid track. It's not the upper echelon course in the Triangle that it once was, but that has more to do with the amazing additions to the area (e.g. Diavolo, Rock Ridge, Jones) than to a major decline in the quality at UNC. I put it in that next tier of very solid Triangle courses along with Zebulon and Cedar Hills.