Lander University has a quality disc golf course; HOWEVER, it's the most dysfunctional layout I've ever seen that it takes away from the enjoyment. Unless you're interested in having a quick round take 3 hours.
-**QUICK UPDATED AS OF 1/22: I was back in town to play the final six holes. It only took three years, but I have now played a complete round and have no intention to play here again. Play Greenwood instead. Back to original review**
- I don't know how to properly rate, review, or feel about this course. On one hand, the actual quality of the holes is seemingly good, especially for a short course. You have a fantastic stroll through the campus with some great views, such as playing behind the amphitheater on #6 & 7, and the view from the top of the hill on #10. The course is so segmented and disjointed that you're going to get frustrated trying to figure out where to go next.
- Course takes advantage of the terrain. #2 is a fun, tight downhill layout. #3 is fun for throwing over the creek (once you find the tee sign hidden behind overgrown shrubs). Holes #6 - 10 are in an open portion section of campus, and the final stretch feels a little more wooden & secluded from campus.
- Tee signs are descriptive and very helpful. For some holes, this is your only saving grace as you're on a scavenger hunt for where to go to next. I would recommend next tee signs, but for them to be helpful would require the campus to be littered with arrows. Students would revolt at the site of thousands of arrows every which way they look. It would lead to annoyance and anger. Looting would ensue. Disc golfers would be blamed. And the course would be pulled. Won't somebody think about the children? As a result, there are no next tee signs.
- If you're looking for a slow, casual round, you probably would enjoy the course. If you're in no hurry the multiple 10-minute walks between holes won't be a problem. You'll focus on the quality of good holes here.

Imagine someone passive-aggressively approving the installation of a disc golf course. They decide to make it as inconvenient as possible. Then they decide to have some baskets pulled (stolen/walked off?) and a lack of tee signs. You're just getting a taste of how bad the design is here.
- Hole #1 shouldn't exist. A blind tee shot between campus buildings over sidewalks? And it's in the center of campus so it's not like there's not of foot traffic here. At least it's missing a basket. Or is that #5's basket that's missing?
- Maintenance on holes #3 and 4 is non-existent. It took me several minutes to find the tee sign for #3. It took me longer to find the semblance of a fairway on #4. I tried to throw high over the overgrowth. Didn't' get high enough as my disc got knocked into the rough. Alas I wasn't alone as I found two other discs there. Heard back from one guy!
- I never found a tee area for #5, so I guessed one. Also, had the issue with a possible missing basket.
- I like the vague arrows for next holes on the tee signs. It's helpful when the next tee is close by. It's not so helpful when you have a 10-minute walk. Pointing left doesn't help.
- A bunch of baskets are missing. I'm guessing the basket for #11 hasn't existed for years. You're telling me in the middle of the beautiful, manicured main entrance in front of the main campus building the school wants a disc golf basket?
- I think I found the area where #12 should have been located. I wandered around then gave up. For all I know I was supposed to walk another five minutes.

The parts are greater than the sum at Lander. This shouldn't exist as an 18-hole design. On the far right side of campus, near holes #6 - 10, or the far left of campus, near holes #14 - 18, should be one 9-hole layout. Heck, make 9-hole layouts in both areas and have a split 18. Then it's just one car ride, or long walk, between the holes.
- I ended up driving between the hole clusters. After driving around 10 minutes, I finally determined the cluster of holes for #1 - 5. Then I drove to the section for #6 - 7, then the cluster of #8 - 10. I drove back to the area for #11, determined it was gone, had a fruitless drive searching for #12, before finally driving by #13 - 18. So, if you want to drive the course, prepare to hop in the car six times assuming all baskets are in the ground.
- I don't even know where one would park most of the time. Many lots are permitted. On Thanksgiving I drove where I wanted and parked where I wanted.
- I see the bones for a good course. That said, the course needs to be compressed. Even if you sacrifice a couple of fun holes, you need to have a logical, compact 9-hole course.
- What is it with spread out courses in mid and upstate SC? This course, Fleet Links, Laurens County Park, and Easley HS are all sprawled out with extremely long walks throughout the course.
- This course could be played in 45 - 60 minutes if it were laid out like most courses. You're walking more than that between holes with the long transitions. I might even be more accepting of the walks if this were an elite level course? For a course that would top out at a 3.0? No way.
- I did a quick measurement of the course and the transitions between holes. It came out to about 2.2 miles. You're walking as much between holes as you are the holes themselves - 5900 feet.
- Take something prior to playing to take the edges off your round and visit. This is going to test your patience and navigational skills. Such a shame because there's a lot to like here. A more concise laid-out course would be a 3.0. In this amalgamation, it's a 2.0.

Holes #3, 4, 9 and 10 are well designed

Basket #1 and 2 have no tee. Hole #5 is non-existent. #6 has no tee. #7 basket is close to #6 basket and the tee is farther away near the road. # 8 has no basket, used #10 basket instead
Could not find holes 11-18. I think the reconstruction of this college took over many of the places where holes used to be.

I managed to play a modified 8 holes on this course as follows #1 I made up a tee. #2 I guessed where the tee should be from the course map. #3 tee is just right of the bridge down by the creek. It is fairly hidden. #4 is over the creek and the trees are very high you need to throw over. #6 tee I made up from the corner of the amphitheater. #7 basket is by the road. #8 basket is clear around the building to the left of it. # 9 and 10 are within sight of #8 tee and right next to one another. It's a shame they let this course go as it could be quite a nice course if someone who actually played disc gold would redesign it.

General: This would not be a bad course if it were maintained better. Some new buildings have been constructed ,which interfere with the original layout of the course. Nevertheless, it is good course to play on a Sunday when the campus is not crowded.

1. Only course in Greenwood, SC area
2. Course is on a college campus, so grounds are well maintained.
3. Nice variety of open and wooded shots (holes 13-18).
4. Course has a good layout with some elevation changes.
5. Tee signs are very nice and provide a good graphic of the desired line.

1. Holes 1, 5, 8, 11, and 12 are unplayable. Basket five is present, but is broken and unplayable.
2. Ongoing construction projects near holes 7 and 10 makes these holes very muddy to play after it rains and serve as obstacles on the course.
3. Course is extremely hard to navigate the first time without a map. However, once you walk the course one time, a map is no longer needed.

You have to walk a 1/4 way around campus to get from hole 7 to hole 9. You than have to walk another 1/4 way around campus to get to hole 13 from hole 10.

4. Tee-pads and baskets are not maintained at all. Chains on some of the baskets are rusty and some of the tee pads have trees roots coming out of the ground.

this is how we played the missing baskets on holes 1,5,8,11,and 12:

Hole 1 - We played Hole 2 twice.
Hole 5 - We threw to basket 3 from behind the basket of hole 4, which is actually a nice shot.
Hole 8 - We played basket 7 again, but from a different tee location. Playing from Tee-pad 6 again to basket 7 is also an option.
Hole 11 and 12: Played Basket 10, from tee pad 8.

Discatchers in good repair, still catch well
Holes 13-18 are fun golf
There's plenty of space for some good Safari holes
Some fun throws and quality holes
Good use of limited elevation; some fun greens on hillsides and a nice elevated tee on hole 10.
They made good use of some areas of campus
Tee signs, and a course map that shows the rough walking areas between holes

Safety issues are number one: Hole 3 plays across a walking path from a dorm to the dining hall; please be aware of pedestrians! There are also a few other areas where you need to be mindful of others.
Some holes are still unplayable/not reinstalled.
A few natural tee areas are filled with roots and make teeing off difficult; a couple others are encroached on by trees.
Hugeeee walk from Hole 10 to Hole 13, and can be confusing the first time playing since 11 and 12 aren't playable
A few missing/demolished baskets

I was pleasantly surprised on my first trip to play Lander's disc golf course; while it wasn't what I envisioned, with one and two unplayable, it was still a fun round of disc golf.

The Round
When you pull up, you have to walk over by the basketball arena and then up towards the student center to get to the map and hole one. I found hole one and two to be unplayable, so I moved on to hole three. It took a little time to find the tee; it's down the hill from the bridge to the right. This was a big hyzer bomb out over a sidewalk; please be aware of pedestrians. I then played four across the retention pond, and then played back to three's basket from behind four's basket, and then back to four's basket from three's. I skipped hole five and walked to holes 6 and 7. You have to pass through the student center and around the back of the library.
Hole 6's tee is under the magnolia trees. It's difficult to tee off here because of the tree and some roots in the tee area, but the green is on a hillside, which makes it a fun hole. Hole 7 is a beautiful tee shot with a couple trees in the middle of the fairway which define your path to the basket. From here, you have to walk up the seats of the amphitheater behind the basket and to the left of the building behind it to get to holes 8-10. Hole 8's basket was removed for a gazebo; I skipped this hole, but the tee is still there. Really, if they flipped this hole and placed the tee by the gazebo, there would be better flow through the course and the hole would coexist well with the gazebo. Holes 9 and 10 were my two favorite on the course. Hole 9 plays around a magnolia tree and then to the left up a steep hill. I tried to thread the needle between the magnolia tree and some others rather than throwing a huge hyzer; I was only moderately successful but really enjoyed putting. Hole 10's teepad is right behind the basket, and has a large root in the middle of the tee area. However, this is a 290' shot off the tee and down to a pin underneath a huge tree; it's a really fun shot. From here, I struggled to find the thirteenth tee. What you need to do is walk down the left side of the main road, and you'll eventually see the thirteenth tee. Holes 13 to 18, to me, feel the most like an actually course. Most of these holes are short with really tight gaps, but play the most like an actual course. Several holes are bordered by a creek, and a few others have tight fairways through some Southern Pines; I played these like an actual course.

Overall, for what it is, this is a fun course. It's a campus course, so it plays second fiddle to most of the rest of campus, but has some fun shots. There is also plenty of room to play some safari golf for longer and different shots, both with new tees or playing from one tee to a different basket. Holes 3 and 4, 6 and 7, 9 and 10, and 13 and 14 specifically spring to mind as good safari areas. If this course was maintained a bit better, and the missing and broken baskets were replaced, I would rate it a bit higher. However, it is still definitely a worthwhile course to play, although it is not really a destination course. If you were playing the Upstate and then headed to the IDGC, it would be a good side trip to get out and stretch your legs.

-layout wraps around a beautiful campus
-most holes are short but challenging
-great variety, some open, some woods, some water, some elevation
-beautiful new tee signs
-grounds are well kept, no trash

-two holes missing due to construction, #11 and #12
-#5 tee sign missing and the basket is badly damaged
-#8 basket missing
-long walk between "groups" of holes

In spite of the "cons", we had a lot of fun and will be back. You may need to do a little improvising if you play this course in it's present condition. Here's what we did:

#5
We were able to estimate the tee location for #5 and played the damaged basket as a target object. The other option would be to play the #1 basket.

#8
Looks like they removed the basket when they built the gazebo. Therefore, we played the gazebo as the basket (if no one was sitting there). Disc comes to rest in the gazebo, it's good. Hopefully a new basket will be added soon.

#11 and #12
Nothing you can do but skip.

Another thing you might want to consider is to break the round up. We played 1 -10, went to lunch, then played 13-18. Otherwise it's a major hike from 10 to 13.

One final thought-it always bothers me to see damaged or missing equipment on college disc golf courses. I know the #5 basket has been in it's present condition for well over a year. If the University is short on funds they could ask for donations. I know most of us avid dg'ers would be happy to contribute a few dollars.

-The course plays through a gorgeous campus with well-manicured grass and beautiful brick buildings.

-Elevation is well used on many holes. Hole 10 is an amazingly well-done top-of-the-world shot.

-The course is semi-wooded and forces you to hit your line.

-The rough at Lander is not overly punishing.

-There's a creek that runs through the course giving you the added challenge of OB.

-The biggest issue is that navigation is nearly impossible without a guide. A map is a MUST as it is not clear where the next tee is in most cases. Lander plays in 4 distinct hole groupings (Holes 1-5, 6-7, 8-10, 11-13, and 14-18).

-Hole 5 was hit by a tree. The bent cage and pole are still present, but you are forced to play to hole 1's basket instead. Hole 8's basket was taken out 4-5 months ago to put in a gazebo, but never replaced either in front or behind the gazebo. Hole 13 tee and basket were both removed due to construction on campus.

-There is more unnecessary walking on this course than any course I have played. Lots of tees are several hundred feet from the previous hole. The course seems to meander around campus randomly.

-Most tees are natural and covered with roots.

-Holes are not well-maintained (other than short grass). Many lines are obscured by branches and several tees are impossible to play due branches hanging over them forcing you to play off to the side.

Lander is a fun course with great elevation that unfortunately left me disappointed due to the navigation issues, the long walks between holes, and the fact that 3 baskets and one hole were missing.

The course is well maintained and provides a beautiful view of the campus. There's a good mix of hole types and they made a good use of the terrain.
There are several holes that you'll remember and the elevation changes are well used. Finally, there's very little underbrush and (with one exception) it seems almost impossible to lose a disc.

The course plays right through campus (in fact the first hole you throw between two buildings). We played on a Saturday morning and it was fine but I'm not sure you can play mid day during the week.
Additionally, the course is very short and there are a higher than normal number of open holes. If you're looking for "challenging" this wouldn't be my choice.

The course designers were somewhat constrained by the university (no throwing toward the roads) so there's some unnecessary walking as a result of that. Additionally, if you're playing the course without a guide you MUST get a map before playing. There are several walks in which the next hole is not visible from the previous and you'd never be able to find it without help.

On campus, so watch for coeds. Several great/memorable holes. Of a decent difficulty to appease a pro, but good for learning and rec play.
Clean, well maintained. Map available. Baskets blue instead of yellow.

-WITHOUT MAP NO WAY TO NAVIGATE REASONABLY.
- Many long walks and detached clumps of holes means it takes a long time to play (due to land constraints).
- On campus so watch for people, cars, buildings.

Get the map online and take it with you, more than a couple 500+ foot random walks across campus and around buildings with no signs.