Davidson, NC

Davidson College

1.855(based on 17 reviews)
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11 0
dndelli
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16.7 years 134 played 131 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Davidson College 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 15, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

Davidson College is an 18 hole course in a mostly wooded area of campus with single chained DISCatcher baskets and a mixture of brick and dirt tee pads. The course features a decent mixture of technical tee shots consisting of slight right-to-lefts, slight left-to-rights, and dead straight shots.

Despite having narrow fairways, the course is designed to be suitable for beginners and Rec level players due to an average hole length of less than 220', the course being relatively flat, and listed par being higher than one would expect. (DGCR has the course listed as a Par 54, but the tee signs have it adding up to Par 63.) Intermediate and Advanced players can/should increase the challenge by playing it as a Par 54.

If visitors park in the gravel lot noted in the Location Directions here on DGCR, the course can be played in two separate 9 hole loops. I started with holes 5 through 13, before crossing the parking lot to play 14 through 4. Davidson College has a lot of untapped potential, and is located almost entirely in a disc golf only section of the campus. (Holes 1, 18, and possibly 17 are the only holes that potentially interfere with other areas of campus.) The course has a few holes that really stand out as to what the course could be if given a bit of TLC. Hole 16 in particular was a lot of fun to play, with the basket up on top of a slight berm.

The baskets for hole 1 and 18 would both be perfect for students looking to get in some practice putting or play a putting game at the end of the day.

Cons:

Most of the issues with Davidson College is the general upkeep. Much of the course is overgrown, and the rough is fairly thick - making disc loss potential fairly high. The course would highly benefit from trimming the fairways back a bit, possibly clearing a bit of the rough out, and fine tuning some of the fairways. For instance: Hole 7 stood out as having way too many late guardian trees, in the attempt to turn what should have been a Par 3 into a Par 4. Hole 8's green was tucked away behind some plants, but a near perfect drive within 20' of the basket could end up with absolutely no way to birdie, outside of a lucky spike hyzer putt over said plants. I thought it was pretty, but others may find it a bit too gimmicky.

Some of the transitions between holes are a little overgrown, or crossed a street/parking lot, creating slight confusion, but the transition between 5 & 6 required some backtracking and felt quite odd.

The course would really benefit from new tee pads and tee signs. Many of the brick tees were either falling apart, missing, or too short. Some didn't seem to be placed very well. Hole 16's tee is offset at an odd angle, and Hole 6's brick tee literally made zero sense for where it was placed. Though there is an indicated area for where the tee was "meant" to be and the tee sign is next to that area. The tee signs were a mixture of engraved bricks that proved challenging to find and laminated paper on painter stakes.

Hole 17 is currently unplayable. It seems that space is either undergoing some sort of construction or is being used as an easement for construction vehicles. The basket is currently laying on its side on the ground. You can still throw the drive for fun, I guess - but the fairway is a muddy mess.

Located in the grassy field between the dorms, Greek houses, and what looked like the cafeteria - I imagine the fairways for holes 1 & 18 get pretty busy, and thus would be difficult to play on a typical busy school day. I'm honestly a bit surprised the glass on the lampost in the middle of hole 1's fairway wasn't cracked. These offer students exposure to the course, and are easily the holes kept in the best condition, but with how much space was in the woods I was a bit surprised the entire course wasn't kept self contained.

There seems to be enough room in the woods that two or three new holes could be designed, one or two in the space between Holes 9 & 12, and one in the transition between Holes 14 & 15 so that Holes 1, 18, & possibly 17 could be removed since they play around other aspects of the campus. Though that would in turn hinder the visibility of the sport among the students. It would also remove some variety from the course.

Hole 8 plays parallel a main road.

Other Thoughts:

Even though I am only giving Davidson College a 1.5 rating, I do not think that is indicative of how good this course could be. While it's awesome someone had the foresight to use this part of campus to install a course here back in the mid 2000's, the state it's in and how long it has been this way begs the question - does the college still view this as something worth having? I'd love to hear about a group of locals or students who begin working to revitalize this course, with permission of the school of course, because it could be a great compliment to the other courses in the area - providing another great Beginner/Recreation level course. Or in the very least a fun place for students to enjoy themselves on campus on a sunny day.

Favorite Holes: 8, 9 & 16
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7 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 480 played 245 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Holey Moley, this course needs a lot of work! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 26, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Its got 18 Innova DISCatchers, not in the best shape, but you can see them.
Except for #1 and #18, all the holes are in a DG only area of the campus.
#18 is a good finishing hole, downhill, through some large trees, then uphill to the basket, longest hole on the course.
There are some good holes here, but most are overgrown.

Cons:

At least half the holes are overgrown with weeds and bushes if you leave the often narrow fairways. #5 and #6 are the worst, about a 6 foot wide fairway, with thick bushes at least that high on both sides, all the way down. Many downed trees also, across the fairways, in the rough, all over.
The holes that don't have 6 foot high bushes lining the fairway, generally have some large overgrown mess very near the fairway, usually right where the landing zone would be. At least a couple holes have grass growing through the basket and large bushes within a few feet of the basket.
There are tee pads on several holes, just bricks laying on the ground, many have started breaking up. There are also some tee markers (and a few next tee signs), but they are all in the ground, so you have to be right on top of them to see them.
Holes 5-13 are on the other side of a fenced in gravel parking lot, the only way across are through very narrow V shaped openings, NOT cart friendly.

Other Thoughts:

Somebody had a good idea to put a course here, at one time. You start and end right in the middle of a valley, surrounded by Greek housing (although that could create an issue with a lot of pedestrians walking by). Then you head into the woods, for a truly woods golf experience, including using the elevation that is available. These holes are in an area on campus that probably no one else ever goes to, especially the grounds crew.
There are some good holes in this area, #2 is slightly uphill, requires a flex shot, #4 has a downed tree in front of the basket, creating a true tunnel shot, #9 is fairly wide and straight away, #10 is very good, tee in the open, then downhill and a turn to the right, #16 goes across a small valley then up to the green, unfortunately, this one has an overgrown landing area, and overgrown green.
They could have a real decent course here if the huge bushes were taken out and the weeds knocked down. When I got to #5, I knew I would spend more time looking for my disc than playing the hole, so that's where I started just walking the hole. Turns out I walked about half the holes and played the others, got to see the whole course, but wasn't going to spend more than an hour there.
As I was crossing the parking lot between 4 and 5, I ran across a couple of young guys that had played the backside holes. They asked me where #14 was, and using the UDisc app, I was able to show them. I have no idea how they played those holes without a map!
This is one of those cases where someone had a good idea for a course, sold the school on the idea, then nothing has been done since it was put it.
Holey Moley, it would be nice if Steph Curry would take some of the money he invested in that mashup of Putt-Putt & Wipeout and pay someone to clean up this mess at his alma mater.
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4 0
fake_mikey_schroeder
Experience: 8 played 1 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Needs maintenance. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 13, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

--18 holes, mostly wooded, 1 and 18 in open with lines to let you rip a drive

--Very tight wooded holes demand technical lines and good touch

--Holes 8-10 are arguably best holes on the course in terms of layout and condition

--Opportunities for some ace runs, but just penalty awaits if too aggressive

--Trash cans in place around course about once every 4-5 holes

--Brick paths in place for some tee areas, some concrete signs on ground indicating hole number and distance (only one missing)

--Early generation Innova DiscCatcher baskets, permanent locations

--Has potential to be a good beginner course, with an extra skill-challenge factor to more experienced players

Cons:

Many and often, including (but not limited to):

--Signage is still very confusing when trying to get from hole to hole; Hole 5 to Hole 6 especially unclear (have to go back to hole 5 tee and then down crossing path to get to hole 6); Hard to find hole 18 tee (on grass behind building WH, or Warner Hall).

--Course twice crosses a fenced-in gravel parking lot, which can lead to confusion when trying to find opening on other side if there are a lot of cars parked (see map for clarification)

--Brick paths torn up or altogether missing in many places, particularly on holes 2, 7-9, 15

--Trash and litter left around, as some students do vandalize. Graffiti on baskets, but mostly pertaining to Disc Golf related incidents (e.g. Hole-in-one signatures are a tradition).

--Some foot traffic crosses holes 1 and 18, and can lead to wait-times. Also need to watch out for errant tee shots on Hole 1 (particularly lefty hyzer) as there is a fraternity porch close by. Long throwers beware the fraternity on the left side of 18

--Early generation disc golf baskets with only one row of chains can lead to odd chain-outs or bounce-outs off the pole. Some baskets not properly fastened and can slide down pole (jam-a-stick-in-the-missing-bolt-hole is a popular solution for this)

--Course par can be a little overkill for experienced players (too easy). Playing all holes as par 3 greatly alleviates this issue (and can lead to other challenges as well for more advanced players)

--Course is very overgrown and very poorly maintained. Some tee shots, like holes 5 and 6, are so obscured by overgrown bushes and trees that it is nearly impossible to hit the proper line. Downed trees have taken forever to be removed in the past, but all are currently cleared.

Other Thoughts:

Yes, it's not very good right now. Very out of shape and overgrown, a lot of trash and litter everywhere, vandalism from students, etc. There is, however, a growing contingent of students who play and a club is forming at the college in the upcoming academic year to accommodate student enthusiasts help fix up the course and bring it back to its former (if there ever was any?) glory. However, in the meantime, do not go out of your way to play this. I'd recommend Robbins Park or Bailey Road Park as a suitable nearby alternative (both within 5 min.)

UPDATE 8/20: Brush and trees have been cleared out on holes 2, 15, and 16. Holes much more playable now.
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5 0
superberry
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.9 years 336 played 95 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Good attempt, lacks full execution 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 8, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Some nice ace runs
18 holes
mostly wooded to escape the heat
with holes 1 and 18, they add open ripper hole variety to the relatively short wooded course

Cons:

probably not installed by a avid disc golfer or good designer
some ridiculous shaped fairways
pretty disjointed and spread across campus areas with almost no directional signage
no tee signs at all
thick and nasty rough

Other Thoughts:

played this as a break from the normal courses and to check one off the list. It wasn't bad, but definitely isn't good. There are no good flat tee areas, there are no tee signs, there are no directional signs between some of the long odd walks between holes. If you want to just meander around and play a decent little "tinker" course, you could have some fun here. You can throw multiple drives on the many ace run holes because there won't be anyone else playing.
Overall though if you are short on time, you can pass on this one, as there are many better options in the area.
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4 0
Notverygood
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.7 years 76 played 34 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Dissapointing 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 4, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

If I went to Davidson, this course would be awesome! A full 18 hole course on campus.

There are several longer (none over 300ft that I remember) more open holes, but mostly shorter, winding wooded holes.

The course plays through the woods next to the Davidson campus and athletic fields, and requires a lot of various shots. Straight, tight accuracy. Hyzer and Anhyzer lines, and a few winding shots. Patient, controlled shots will be rewarded here, and errant shots will be greatly punished due to the thick woods edging most fairways. If you're drive goes out of the fairway, keep an eye on it!

There is some great potential for a fun, shorter course here.

Cons:

The tee pads...or lack of. There are brick pads on some holes which are a nice improvement over the natural "pads" but they're still too short, and some not even pointing the right direction. The tees where there are no brick pads are just marked by a stone marker, often hard to see.

The up-keep. This course has some great potential to be somewhere between a short "beginner" course and a longer tournament caliber course....but it falls short. The fairways are overgrown, the baskets are covered in graffiti, and there is NO signage

Navigation. There is no signage of any kind directing you towards the first tee, and from there on, good luck! There is usually a semi worn path that leads to the next tee, so with some common sense I was able to navigate my way through the course

Hole #1 and #18 are in a common green, surrounded by campus buildings. There seems to be a good amount of foot traffic through this area, and could be a hazzard for pedestrians....Not to mention the grass was in desperate need of mowing. And the near by Greek life buildings contributed to the ambiance by having beer cans scattered about.

Other Thoughts:

Based on prior reviews, I got what I expected. This course really has some potential with just some basic up-keep. Unfortunately, it looked like I was the first person to play the course in quite some time. Even the beginning and ending of the course in the common area of campus was in desperate need of mowing and trash clean up. I expected a lot more from such a historic school as Davidson College...

Unfortunately, until the course gets cleaned up, I wouldn't go out of my way to play this again.
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4 0
reposado
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.7 years 278 played 273 reviews
1.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 5, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

The good news is that brick tees are in the process of being installed. They were in at about two thirds of the holes with piles of bricks placed at a few others. The new tees are pretty small and not much that much better than natural surfaces (when said surface is flat) but they stand out, as opposed to the flat plaques which are impossible to see from more than a few feet away. Hopefully the new tees are the start and more maintenance will follow because there are some nice holes here. Good, solid distances, typically in the 200s and the pars are overly generous which should make new layers happy. Nice fairway shapes, with turns of various directions, tucked in baskets, even a little elevation. There is a solid wooded course here.

Cons:

Unfortunately, it needs a lot of maintenance. A lot of vegetation has crept in, making some of the shots silly for the experience player or inappropriate for an inexperienced player. Courses should aim to please at least one of those target groups. At present, this one appeals to neither, though with some work it could be great for the latter. Part of what needs to happen is next tee signs, unneeded in many places, as the paths between holes are mostly good, but there are several places where a beginner will have no idea where to go. (If I hadn't seen the 18 basket on the way to 1 and mindmapped where the course needed to go to get there in a few places, I probably would have quit.) Once that is done, some major trimming needs to take place. Maybe move a basket here and there, and you have a decent course right on campus.
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3 1
jared18
Experience: 11.2 years 30 played 6 reviews
2.00 star(s)

This course needs work 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 20, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Pretty fun the first few holes but they are short. It is a nice relaxing course you dont have to go crazy about it unless your looking for the tee box...

Cons:

The basket's have graffiti all over them! It is very hard to find the concrete brick. They do not have tee box's they have roots over where it should be. It took my friend and I about 15 minutes to find the 18th hole brick we had to look at the picture many times. The pars are way to longa 250ft hole is a par 4 in there book I was driving my putter then distance of the par 4's

Other Thoughts:

It was a good course it just needs to be worked on you can tell nobody goes picks up the trash and fixes the course. It was a fun course I plan on going and cleaning up the course though so it makes playing more enjoyable.
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4 1
BraveThrower43
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 14.1 years 729 played 59 reviews
1.00 star(s)

To bad it looks like crap 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 22, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Well uh hmmmmmmm.......In theory this course would be nice. The design is not too bad. Thats about it.

Cons:

So many things where do I begin?

First its hard to find the teepads to start out because they are just concrete bricks in the ground so it took some searching on a few holes

While the course flows decent there are no next tee signs or directional markers until you get to hole 17 where it tells you 18 is across the road. There are a few points where you cross what seems to be a completly fenced in road and nothing tells you where to go. While I figured it out most of the time it was still annoying.

Litter is rediculas with beercans, beer bottles, and just random garbage absolutly everywhere.

The biggest issue with this course however is that it looks as if there has been absolutly no maintenance has taken place on this course. There are multiple trees over the fairways and undergrowth that has taken over. There was even a tree down on 15's tee.

Several of the teepads are nothing but roots and also have no real way of defining where they are.

Graffiti on every basket.

No benches or Garbage cans





Other Thoughts:

Well I didnt expect much when I got there due to what I had been told and I was not suprised in any way. It was on my top 5 worst courses list mostly due to condition. It is interesting to me that a college that is as high class as Davidson has not taken care of this aspect of it's campus. This course is not worth your time unless you are a mega courses played junky.
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2 3
Tenniscoach
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Added length better 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 26, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Good range of shots. Very tight which adds challenge. Much tougher when everything is grown in. New long tee placement adds length and difficulty.

Cons:

Overgrown due to lack of play. No concrete tees. Single chains. Garbage

Other Thoughts:

Longer tees add difficulty and length. Check for white marker on the ground. Hopefully better markers soon
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10 2
chain-addicted
Experience: 15.2 years 43 played 9 reviews
1.50 star(s)

It is what it is.... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 1, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

There isnt alot much to say about pros but I will give it a shot....

*Tee markers - this course basically has the par as well as the hole # engraved in these stone blocks which are buried in the ground (See cons on teesigns).
* Tight lines - even though the course is short, it gets pretty technical on a few holes.
* Elevation - there wasnt alot of it but the college made pretty good use of what elevated land they could.
* Seclusion - I only saw 2 other guys out there when I went out there on a friday afternoon. Someone said before that this course can get crowded but I didnt see it: I guess the students just straight up get tired of playing it. (Or was it the fact it was a Friday evening?)
* Innova Baskets - Hey.... at least they aint tone-poles or cheesy homemade bamboo baskets for that matter (See cons on baskets).
* Trashcans - there are only two from what I remember (Sigh.... see cons on this one as well).
* It's SOMETHING! - ...for all those college kids that have nothing else to do but drink and spend Daddy's money at an expensive liberal arts college.

Cons:

Several Cons on this one:

A MESS! - I am quite positive there has been NO course maintenance on this course since the 1st time I played it back in 2009. There are huge fallen trees and branches on every hole as well as empty beer cans and bottles from the night before frat parties I'm guessin'. The trashcans were flowing over and there was trash throughout the course: that is a definite CON in my book. Also; the undergrowth is now mostly OVERgrowth. Thorns can lurk around here as well.
*Baskets - the baskets are only single chain discatchers and I had a couple of spitouts: and I aint talkin' about the college chicks. ;-) Several have rust on them as well. I felt like I ran into the TinMan back in those woods sayin', "Oil..ME..." Oh, and some kid wrote, "Kyle - PAR" on the side of #4 basket.
* Teepads??? - What teepads? The "tee" is just a worn out spot in the mud that in some spots has gnarly roots impeding your modified "run-up". I am guessing that these worn-out mudspots are just a general consensus on where everyone throws. What do you call that: natural? I call it bunk!
*Tee-signs - There are no tee signs here which would be so helpful so that you actually know where you are throwing to instead of having to walk up 250 feet to check out the hole..... but I'm just bein' picky.
*The CAMPUS COP! - I was about to tee off on one of the holes when he came mobbin' through on his mountain bike; no doubt lookin' for some misbehavin' student stoners and those co-ed students who would likely use the woods for their little alcohol induced tryst. I have heard you can get kicked off of this course if you are not a student but he didnt say a thing and just rode right on by.
* Too $hort - And no I aint talkin' about that Bay Area Hustla: I think every hole was under 300 feet. I basically used my Star Rancho and my Pro Rhyno on this one. That's all you will need on this course. You can keep the drivers in the bag.

Other Thoughts:

Like I said in the title... It is what it is. Davidson College is a fairly technical course for the most part though and you definitely dont want your disc to end up off of the fairway. It has pretty tight fairways on most holes but dont be surprised when you end up with only a par (or maybe even a bogey) on some of those short holes. Your drives have to be pretty spot-on, on most of the holes. I will admit that for how short it is, there is a little variety mixed in with it such as lefty and righty shots, as well as blind holes and up and down elevation on a few. There are plenty of other courses in the North Mecklenberg County area that blow this one out of the woods, and I would recommend passing this course up if you are only in the area for a hot minute. The closest one to this is Bailey's (Mmmmm... Creamy) which is south down the road in Cornelius. If you only have the time for one round in this area; skip Davidson College and go to Bailey Road. You will thank me later.

I think it's great that there is something there for them [students] to be introduced to DG. I mean, I dont know.... they could probably care less about the course (and it shows!) and they just want to move on to more important things: keg-stands, beer-pong and those easy freshman chicks.... Who could blame them? I wouldnt!

*NOTICE!: YOU DAVIDSON COLLEGE FOLK NEED TO STEP IT UP A NOTCH AND CLEAN UP YOUR HOME COURSE.
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6 0
JD Heel
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.1 years 88 played 18 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 5, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Davidson is certainly what you would call a technical course. It's short, but there are trees aplenty to keep it (mostly) interesting. This is NOT a course where you want to end up in the woods. It has the potential to be an easy course, but it can punish you in a heartbeat if you get off the fairways.

- If you play in the summer or when school is out, you should have no problem with getting kicked off the course. It's actually kind of nice then because the course is deserted and you have it all to yourself anyway.

- I played this course after playing Brackett's Bluff, which isn't too far away. While it paled in comparison to Brackett's - and what course wouldn't? - it was nice to have a couple of courses nearby to play in that area. I would actually recommend playing this course first and then playing Brackett's. If you do that, it should be a good warmup course.

Cons:

- My biggest beef with the course was the lack of defined tee boxes. It wasn't that there were no concrete pads - there weren't even adequate dirt areas to throw from. On many holes, you couldn't tell where the tee actually was. You could see on numerous holes multiple worn-in areas where players teed off. I suspect that folks probably just tee off wherever is most convenient within a 5-10 foot radius of the tee marker, and that obviously allows for a lot of variables.

- Along those same lines, the tee markers were confusing because they often didn't even point in the direction of the basket. That's understandable on some holes because of doglegs and such, but others didn't even make any sense because they were straight-line holes from tee to basket and the marker was still pointed at an odd angle.

- Holes 1 and 18 are what they are - they are basically baskets in the middle of the fraternity lawn. Those holes are probably great for the frats or for students that just want to throw the disc around between classes, but it's not good for anyone actually trying to play the entire course when school is in (student or otherwise). Plus, the walk from #1 to #2 is long enough that I'm not sure playing #1 is worthwhile anyway. It almost makes more sense to just play 2-17 and call it a day.

- The course was not in great shape when I played it. There were downed trees throughout and the brush got a little out of hand on some holes. I get the feeling it isn't maintained as well as most public courses, but that is to be expected.

Other Thoughts:

- The main thing you have to realize with this course is that it is a college course, obviously designed and intended for the casual player. A casual disc golfer probably doesn't care about the accuracy of the tee box or course design or some of the other qualms that serious players would have. So, keep that in mind when playing this course.

- Again, I have to imagine that this is a great course for the casual Davidson College student. It must be nice to be able to roll out of bed and throw a few discs and/or practice some putting in the front lawn. For their sake, I can appreciate this course.
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11 3
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 585 played 539 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Davidson 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 11, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Challenging, mostly wooded course. It's all about accuracy here. Throwing a driver could do more harm than good.
- Plenty of birdie chances, as long as you keep it in the fairway.
- Higher amount of LHBH holes than most courses. Good change of pace for an often ignored/disliked throw for most players.
- Great scene having it on a college campus. Nice wooded scenery, yet walking distance from campus. It's a great small town, complete with all of the college atmosphere.
- Other than #1 & 18, the rest of the course is isolated from the rest of the campus. It's great being so close to the campus, yet not being disturbed by students.
- Course starts and stops at the same spot. It takes you on a long loop, but it does finish up right where it started. #10 is on the far back of that loop, so no way of just getting in a quick 9 without a long walk.

Cons:

- Course needs a lot of the underbrush trimmed back or cleared away. The underbrush was growing over on some paths. On some holes, it's extremely thick, narrowing the fairways. It will grab discs, leaving margin for error.
- Poor signage/direction between some holes. As mentioned #1 & 18 are in the grassy area between the frat houses, across the street from the rest of the course. There's not a true path from #9 to #10. After finishing #9, you're walking along the road, until you finally see an opening in the woods again for #10. Several other holes like this as well.
- Tee areas are only marked by small tee signs in ground. On several holes, these markers were mostly covered by dirt, making them hard to find. Also, without true tee pads, or tee areas, you can take liberties with interpreting where the tee pad actually is. See the photo for #6 to get a sense of how teeing off 10 feet to the left of the tee sign gives you a straighter/easier shot than if you teed off right on top of the marker.
- Too many straight, unimaginative holes. #9 was the quintessential example of this.
- Hole #8 runs alongside town's main road. Any shot that sails too far left may find itself in the road. Throw with extreme caution on the hole.

Other Thoughts:

I had marked down this course back in '09 because overall maintance was severely lacking. Playing there again in the summer of '10, most of those problem have been fixed, leading me to improve my rating by a 1/2 point.
- Course didn't have anything really good, or memorable, that stood out about it. Even though there was a decent variety of holes, they all felt the same - throw a mid-range disc in the fairway, maybe have a birdie chance, if not, an easy up and down for par. I just felt the course was missing a true, signature hole; something that would stand out and leave DGers coming back for more.
- My favorite hole was #16. 240 foot shot with 2 paths- a shorter, direct line or longer path that allows your disc to curve back close to the hole. Very good risk/reward hole. Depending on how bad you need a birdie, or how confident you're feeling, probably will determine which path you choose.
It's a college course, obviously not meant for the serious players. I enjoyed the course. It teases you in that if it weren't a private, college course, some of the holes could be lengthened making them truly special.
- I've only played when school wasn't in (summer or spring break), so I've never had a problem with parking and/or anyone questioning me about playing. The best place to park is out of the way of students where you're less likely to be questioned. Before getting to the frat houses (they'll be on your right), there's a small parking lot on the left (it's almost straight ahead because the road curves) that has a bunch of 18-wheeler trailers parked in it. If you park there, you're next to #2, so you can avoid students altogether if you don't play #1 or #18.
- When school is in, there are probably times when you'll have to avoid #1 & 18 because of students being in the grass. You're actually not missing a whole lot on those holes, so you can be fairly confident in giving yourself 3s on them.
- The course is worth checking out to give your mid-range game a good workout. It reminded me of a shorter version of the wooded holes at Sugaw or a flatter version of Reedy.
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4 0
honeycu4
Experience: 27.9 years 53 played 9 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 27, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Decent layout and much accuracy needed. Many ace runs. All holes driveable off tee except 18.

Cons:

Short course with some very out of place holes for filler to complete 18 holes.

Other Thoughts:

Cool that Davidson College (beautiful campus) has an on-campus course but it is private to students only. I've heard campus security will ask you to leave but I've never had any problems.
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6 7
Dave242
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 29.8 years 393 played 271 reviews
3.50 star(s)

B+ = Interesting and addicting 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 20, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- B+
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- B
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- A-
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- B+
5) Multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- NA

Other Thoughts:

I ranked this course subjectively based on my own personal enjoyment factor...more accurately my "personal addiction factor". Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they chose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I say adds anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me. See my profile for my rating philosophy.
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2 11
tspeedb
Experience: 8 played 6 reviews
0.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 5, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

kinda fun, a lil approach and putt. beginners course. chance for some aces

Cons:

students only, you do get told to leave by security, and its not that challengeing with no concrete tees.

Other Thoughts:

dont waste your time. kinda pointless.
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14 1
_.-Dut-._
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.3 years 111 played 32 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Short 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 25, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Enjoyable technical (though short) course. Very well manicured fairways go thru and around the woods of Davidsons Campus. There is only one hole that will require a distance drive, but the other 17 make up for it by demanding good accurate throws. There is no hole on the course that cant be deuced but several could humble you with taking a bogey on a 250' hole.

Cons:

Could use better teesigns and arrows pointing toward next hole. Also, as listed on this site I hear its currently student only.

Other Thoughts:

At the time I went I wasnt aware that it was students only, however I wasn't questioned or asked to leave while playing it. I would reccommend playing this course, though I would suggest checking with Davidson or playing with the knowledge that you may be asked to leave.
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5 9
willstradamus
Experience: 25.5 years 32 played 8 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Students Only :( 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 19, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

18 hole course. Some open holes but mostly wooded. Verity of lines. technical course where big distance isn't needed. Good for beginners

Cons:

Course is for Students Only (however, I wasnt questioned when I played). Dirt tee pads make it difficult to find your way. Sorority girls are often in the way of holes 1, 2, and 18.

Other Thoughts:

I enjoyed the course but I am not in a hurry to drive 45 minutes to play again.
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