Roan Mountain, TN

Roan Mountain DGC

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1.775(based on 13 reviews)
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5 0
Bennybennybenny
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.1 years 305 played 287 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Beware of That Backyard

Reviewed: Played on:May 14, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

-It's on the side of the country road off 19E. It's a pretty setting that offers a walking trail.

-#6 was a good hole. I like the uphill hyzer around the trees. Some interesting rock croppings by the green on this one as well.

-Grass was mostly mowed. I've driven past here plenty of times before I played it and it never looked overgrown. So it's taken care of pretty good.

Cons:

-Pretty long holes and some shorter raised tee pads......not a good mix. #7's tee pad is entirely too short and directly behind it are thick woods and thorns.

-Not so friendly message, more so of a not so friendly paragraph on the no trespassing sign. Beware of dog and gun. Lots of misspelling on the message too. Something you'd expect from the "Not in my backyard" squad.

-Just wide open without much distinctiveness. You could very well be sleepwalking by the time you are finished. Wake up fast! The winding roads in the mountains are tough to drive on when you're awake!

Other Thoughts:

-It's a good course to throw some drives and get warmed up but other than that, it's not really worth the stop after the first time.

-Thinking so hard to write something about a boring course burns calories! Believe me!
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8 0
MadGame32
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 7.2 years 69 played 69 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Quick Vacation Round 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 6, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Tee signs
-Welcome sign
-It was nearby
-Fairly easy to navigate with UDisc
-Some benches in place
-Concrete tee pads

Cons:

-Grass has been cut, but still quite tall.
-Grass around benches and tee signs is very tall.
-The par values for each hole are way off.
-Tee pads are very short.
-Very little in obstacles to work with/around.

Other Thoughts:

I don't want to be too harsh here. I am thankful this course was here. I wanted to play a Tennessee course, and this happened to be 2.3 miles from Roan State Park where we were camping. I will say the signage was better than I expected and the sign on the main road identifying it as a course helped a lot in locating it.

I was low on space as I carried my wife and three kids to camp, so I only brought about 6 discs, and that was 3 too many. This is a WIDE open course that is fairly straight forward.

Hole 1 is a long straight drive along the stream. Not a lot to see here. The stream can be seen in glimpses through the tall grass on the bank.

Hole 2 was a bit odd in being a 90 degree left turn. This is the only hole on the course that should even be considered as anything more than a par 3.

Hole 3 was a little froggy with two trees in the fairway, but there was plenty of room underneath to make the shot easily. The tall grass actually added a little difficulty due to lack of skip or roll.

Hole 4 was an easy hyzer to a basket behind a tree.

Hole 5 was an easy uphill straight and open shot.

Hole 6 was a short uphill shot. Once again, wide open.

On Hole 7, I enjoyed ripping a drive over the slightly downhill wide open fairway. I just wish the tee pad did not stop so abruptly on the backside. It made my walk up awkward at best.

Hole 8 plays a lot closer than the distance says. I ripped a thunderbird and was in the trees behind before it even hinted at fading out. Beware, the woods behind this hole are thick, and there is some kind of fox or other furry critter living in a hole in there that may enjoy ankle biting.

Hole 9 was once again a long wide open walk in the park.

Don't get me wrong. I was glad the course was here. It gave me a quick round in Tennessee so I could check the state off my places to play. But, I would never play here again. The previous reviews talk about how beautiful it is and they are right, but to get to this course, you drive through miles and miles, and miles of the same beautiful views. Therefore, the scenery is not necessarily something you have not already seen for hours. This is not a destination course, but if you are desperate for disc golf, it will do in a pinch.

8/24/21 Update:
Out of the 69 courses I have reviewed, this is where this course ranks along with similarly rated courses:
Rank-Course, Location
60-Black Mountain YMCA, Black Mountain, NC
61-Furman DGC, Greenville, SC
62-Noble E. Young DGC, Tyler, TX
63-Simpsonville City Park DGC, Simpsonville, SC
64-Gower Park, Greenville, SC
65-Hurricane Springs DGC, Piedmont, SC
66-Roan Mountain DGC, Roan Mountain, TN
67-Lake Murray Lodge, Lake Murray, OK
68-Jellystone Park DGC, Canyon Lake, TX
69-Dillon Park (Old), Sumter, SC
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1 1
Baysinger
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.8 years 93 played 55 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Roan Mountain DGC 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 26, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Hole distances on each tee sign. 2 Concrete tee pads per hole. Good for a quick round of 9 holes. Beautiful scenery on and around course.

Cons:

Course par's are way too forgiving. Mostly just open with minimal difficulty.

Other Thoughts:

Roan Mountain DGC is a short 9 Hole course in East Tennessee. While this course doesn't have a lot to offer as far as difficulty, it is decently fun to play. Each hole has 2 tee pads so you are able to choose between the short layout or the long layout. Tee pads are concrete which is a positive and while tee signs don't show a description of the hole layout, they do have the distances for each hole. Not showing the layout of the hole is not a big problem however because I am pretty sure every basket is visible from the tee pads. If you play this course, you may not want to follow the "course par" (unless you are a beginner" because the pars are VERY forgiving. Overall this is a fairly fun course to play, just mostly open. There are a couple good elevation changes which I was happy to see them use when designing the course. And as far as the scenery, this course is on a beautiful piece of land with some very scenic views on the way to it. If you want to see this course on video, check out my crew playing this course in the video below...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iU9E3G834U
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7 0
Mike C
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15 years 168 played 74 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Gorgeous views, forgettable golf 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 16, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

+ Gorgeous mountain views. This was my favorite part of my round.

+ Elevated tee on #7.

+ Two sets of tees, many of which do more than simply add length, they change the angle of the hole and incorporate obstacles in different ways. This one one of the most redeeming qualities the course offered.

+ Some decent length for a pitch and putt 9 hole course. The long tee for #9 is just over 500' and plays along a fast moving stream on the left. Reminded me of Tirzah ARP in North Carolina, it also ends with a 500' straight shot. This one was more interesting with the water in play and the (I'm assuming OB) road on the right.

+ Good attempt at variety. They used the obstacles the land offered to try to force different lines, and the length varies by a good bit hole to hole. There wasn't much else they could have done within the confines of the land, except maybe incorporate the woods next to 7 long tee if they aren't private.

Cons:

- Very easy, very open, what few trees there are I found effortless to avoid.

- Most holes are straight shots in an open field. #1, 400' open field shot. #5, #7 and #8 are all ~350' straight open shots. Definitely got a little repetitive, even only being 9 holes.

- Incorrect hole distances. #8 is listed as ~360' from either tee and they're 40-50' apart. Obviously one is wrong. The long tee felt about 385-390 to me.

- Baskets are a little rough. They caught fine, mainly just looked old.

Other Thoughts:

I stopped by this course after throwing Catawba Meadows and Sugaree. I wanted an easy 9 hole to play while the sun set.

I enjoyed myself. If I happened to pass by while traveling to other courses, I'd hop out and play a quick 15 minute round if I weren't pressed for time. It's not a great course but it was kind of fun.

No reason to go out of your way to come here, but if you're already in the area it can be a nice way to stretch your legs. Just don't expect much. The views are easily the best part.
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10 0
jjtwinnova
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 8.7 years 246 played 97 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Roan Empty Field 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 15, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Well, it's a course... kindof.
Here I am, driving back from Sugaree, an absolutely fantastic gem not far from here, when out of the corner of my eye, I spot what looks like a disc golf basket. I couldn't remember seeing another course worth hitting in the area, but when I see a course on the side of a road, I guess I'll play. I look to DGCR, and decide, why not? And play it as fast as possible.

To my surprise, this is definitely not a putter only course, which is my main reason for not giving it less than what I did. There were a few holes longer than 300 feet, giving me an opportunity to throw a driver, especially since there wasn't anything to hit with the disc.

It's not everyday you see concrete teepads at a 9 hole course in the middle of nowhere, but each hole had two! They were nice too. A little short, but doable. I've seen worse on 5 star courses.

The teesigns had distances, par, and an arrow pointing to the basket. No map though, but you could always see the basket.

Every hole was accessible for a new player, a toddler, an infant, even your 127 year old great-grandmother! However, I think this course would be fun to play with a Discraft mini buzzz chally undertaker or nuke.

Baskets were older, but in fine shape. Caught well.

Cons:

Roan Mountain DGC is not a mountain at all. Not even a hill. It's a large grass field. With baskets. And concrete slabs.

The holes had no variety other than distance at all. All flat, wide open shots. You can't really do anything with it. It's kind of sad.

For me, navigation was difficult-ish. All the teepads said the hole and distance, but since they were all really close together, I walked to the wrong tee a few times. Also, with no map, I threw to the wrong basket because, as said before, everything is close together.

Pars were off, a 400 foot open all the way par 5? Nah...

It's not like the course was super crowded, or super muddy, or impossible to navigate, it just shouldn't be there. No real chance to show creative design, or even a fairway. It was just, open.

Other Thoughts:

I was glad to throw discs in an open field after navigating the woods and hills at Sugaree. However, it shouldn't have been here. There are so many fantastic courses within a 2 hour drive that playing here for fun would not be smart. It's a nice 20-30 minute pitstop if you are just driving through, but if you have time, please play one of the more appreciated courses. Please.


TL;DR- Open field, no variety, boring. Go somewhere else.
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6 0
KenanFlagler01
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14 years 195 played 190 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Poor Course, Beautiful Surroundings 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 4, 2020 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The Roan Mountain DGC is mostly back and forth across a wide open field (now with two sets of tees). This course is geared to novice players and kids, but Intermediate to Advanced players can enjoy the practice of ripping unobstructed drives and the nice surroundings of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

+ Far and away, the best pro here is that the surroundings are just beautiful. The course is at the foot of Roan Mountain, close to the state park and all of its amenities. If you are staying at Roan Mountain, which I HIGHLY recommend as a family getaway (not because of the disc golf, but because of everything else the park and the mountains have to offer), then it's well worth your time to spend an hour or two practicing on the disc golf course or playing a kid-friendly round. While the course is set at a rather boring, flat field, it's still beautiful, with a nice mountain stream bordering the course.

+ Good place to get in real field work: practice throws, especially drives, and testing out anything you need to work on for your game. You could keep score here, if you want, but I think the best use of this course is for practice or playing with kids who won't mind the obstacle-free layout.

+ Hole 7 from the A tee is a lot of fun. It's the only downhill hole, with the tee atop a hill, throwing back down to the flat field. This is definitely the most fun and only real standout hole on the track.

UPDATE: An alternate set of tees was added to the course. On a few holes, the B tees are much shorter than the A's (or approach the basket from a different angle). Always nice to have options and different ways to make courses fun and interesting.

Cons:

Others have mentioned the cons, so I won't beat a dead horse. This isn't a challenging course. It's just a wide open field. If you're looking for an above average course in this area, there are other alternatives. But if you are in Roan Mountain for any other reason, and you've just gotta get out and throw your discs, might as well go here.

Other Thoughts:

I can't overstate how amazing Roan Mountain State Park is. I've been going here with my family since I was a kid. And now I've taken my own kids here a few times. It's a terrific state park and get-away from the rat race. I highly recommend this as a family vacay. The disc golf course? Meh. It's worth bagging it though. And if you stay at the state park, you're only 30 minutes from Sugaree, 45 minutes from Black Jack, and an hour from Harmon Hills -- all exclusive, top-notch, private, pay-to-play courses. Roan Mountain can be your hub location to play those three destination courses (and you can throw in the Roan Mountain 9-holer too).
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8 0
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 585 played 538 reviews
1.50 star(s)

This mountain course is too flat and open course.

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 28, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Roan Mountain is the ultimate course for a casual disc golfer. Hey, I'm trying to be positive.
- Nice, clean park. It actually seems less like a park and more like a big greenway area. There's also a nice creek that runs alongside #1 & 9.
- Holes have dual tee pads and tee signs.
- This is a great course to practice throwing. There's plenty of room for unleashing some serious drives.
- One downhill hole and one uphill hole. Both are decent, and present the most fun on the course.
- Course is conveniently located along main road (19E) in Roan Mountain. You're also close to the North Carolina border.

Cons:

This isn't the fault of the course designers, but there's just nothing to work with to create a fun, challenging course. When you have a flat piece of land, and minimal trees, or any other obstacles, you get too many wide-open, boring holes.
- Seven holes are flat. Most are wide open and straight. The exceptions are: #2 - dogleg left, 3 & 4 - both have basket near a tree.
- Tee pads are too short. Not a problem on the flat holes, but a serious issue on #7, the downhill hole. The tee pad is cut out of the hill, so you can't start your run-up behind the tee. I saw a near slip-up due to the short tee pad.

Other Thoughts:

For anyone who has read any of my reviews, you know I try to be as thorough as possible, listing as much as I can about the course. That's virtually impossible with this course because there's simply nothing here to talk about. 7 flat holes, 1 uphill, 1 downhill + lack of challenge and obstacles = ultimate blandness. It's like trying to describe the flavor of a rice cake.
- The reality is that there's really no way to improve the course. Sure, you could possibly move a basket or two closer to the rough, or behind a tree, to add some challenge, but that wouldn't change the big picture.
- I wouldn't recommend people going of of their out of my way to play here, meaning unless you're on 19E, it's not worth the visit. You can play the 9 holes in 20 - 25 minutes, so at least you're not wasting too much time stopping here.
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1 2
coolhand
Experience: 23 played 23 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 6, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

not bad for a 9 hole and the land they had to work with. great beginner course. a couple of long holes. used to take my son up there because you can easily navigate with a stroller.

Cons:

it is what it is. a short 9 hole course.
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0 3
dano92
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

fun course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a great well kept course that's located next to the road. The majority of it is located in a large field next to the river but there are some hills and trees to keep things interesting. If you are in the area it is well worth stopping by and playing the 9 holes once or twice.

Cons:

Majority of holes are in a large field so there is a lack of hazards.
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6 0
bjreagh
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.6 years 350 played 317 reviews
1.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 18, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Roan Mountain is a nice, well-kept 9-hole course in a small park right off the highway. There are concrete tees, excellent signs, and solid baskets. (However, the previous reviewer has mentioned some vandalism of the signs that occurred just after I played it.) The course offers 2 sets of tees (but these are basically a long and a short, they do not provide and alternate angles to the hole.)

The course has 7 holes that are very flat, 1 steep uphill hole that is challenging, and 1 elevated tee back downhill that is fun to air one out on. There is a small river along 8 and 9, which adds beauty without being too much of a hazard.

This is an excellent course for beginners, families, or if want to have a quick, relaxing round with the chance to score very low. It is relatively open and mowed with a handful of trees as obstacles, so there is little chance to lose a disc.

Cons:

This course will be really simple for most experienced players and pros as there are few hazards or obstacles. The alternate tees are nice, but they only add a little length, not any other challenge.

Other Thoughts:

This is not a bad course, I enjoyed playing it despite its simplicity. There was nobody else playing it that day making for a nice peaceful round. It is perfect for beginner level players. However, it is probably not worth the drive from Kingsport which does have some excellent courses. If you are driving by or are in the area then go ahead and check it out.
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1 5
JimDK27
Experience: 14.8 years 35 played 11 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Course has been vandalized 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 11, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Good tee pads, really flat and open

Cons:

Some of the signs are unreadable now due to vandalism, it took me a while to figure out which hole was hole number 1

Other Thoughts:

I didn't get to play the back nine because it started to rain, but I will try to go back and play it again.
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5 2
swatso
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.7 years 755 played 414 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Where Mountain Means Flat 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 1, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Two tee positions per hole, both with very nice signs, long-n-wide concrete teepads, many with benches.

Minimal chance to lose a disc - unless you overthrow #6 to the right, which I did. :-(

Cons:

Singe basket position, almost completely flat.

Most alternate tee positions merely added distance because, other than a row of trees on #2 and a couple large but mostly easily avoidable large trees on #3-4, the course is WIDE open.

Other Thoughts:

Average distance is 250' from the shorts, 325' from the longs.

Beginner friendly course in a nice location.
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11 1
Mando
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.3 years 120 played 27 reviews
1.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 20, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Located just a few miles from Roan Mountain State Park, this is a nice, easy, beginner-friendly course on the way to Bob's Dairyland. Open course with a few scattered trees. Nice concrete T-pads great baskets and signage. Not crowded and easy to find.
The local community did a good job of pulling this course together with hole sponsorship.

Cons:

Not a very challenging layout, but you can only do so much with a small, flat piece of ground and a few trees.
The dual tees don't change things much, since the holes are open and straight.
It's a 9 holer.

Other Thoughts:

Don't be fooled by the name, this course is flat as a pancake. Roan Mountain is a destination state park for a family vacation, but the nearby DG course is not, for a serious player. It is however a really nice introductory course for new players. Since disc golf does not have much of an experienced player base in this area, the course serves it's purpose.
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