Hildebran, NC

Hildebran Community Park DGC

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1.845(based on 16 reviews)
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7 0
dndelli
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16.7 years 134 played 131 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Hildebran Community Park 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 24, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Hildebran Community Park is a small rural town park with a playground, and it seems like a fun place to bring your family on the weekend if you live in the area. The course was designed as a small nine hole course - designed as a beginner friendly pitch-and-putt course. The course has tee signs for all of the holes and features DISCatcher baskets.

The course is on the side of a hill, so it gives a chance for beginners to quickly learn about playing with elevation. The use of the elevation was one of the better aspects of the course, because you had some uphill shots, downhill shots, and some across the hill with the potential for roll-aways. For players who are not beginners, it is a great place to practice your approach shots or jump putts depending on how far you putt from.

This course is very compact. I was able to grab two putters and blow through this course in less than 15 minutes, and I was taking my time.

Cons:

The park has clearly undergone some changes since the pictures were taken here. Many of the trees on this course have been cut, making it feel more crowded and small. This was somewhat upsetting, because the way the course was designed, it looked like beginners would actually have to shape their shots a little. Now, every hole was just a straight shot - where I just jump putted directly at the basket.

Hole 1 is missing. It looks like the basket was pulled because it was too close to the road?

With all the trees missing the course almost feels like 8 baskets strewn around a small hillside with some general flow between them. There really isn't much to the course at this point.

Other Thoughts:

I am going to give Hildebran Community a 0.5 rating because while there really isn't much here - it at least is a place where beginners and younger players could come and enjoy their time, or a putt putt course for experienced players. If the course still looked like it did in the pictures here on DGCR, before the vast majority of trees were removed, I think I could (and likely would) have made an argument for giving this course half a point higher score. But with all of them gone, even if Hole 1 was rebuilt, I don't think the course would warrant a higher score than I am giving it.

Favorite Hole: 4
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7 0
Bennybennybenny
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.1 years 305 played 287 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Another Upshot Course 2+ years

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

Pros:

-Nice small park on a pretty hilly terrain. Course is very short so it goes to show how disc golf can be very family friendly. I saw a man and woman with a young daughter and infant. Every one except the baby was playing the course.

-For a very short course, it gives a few lines to hit and has some good elevation change. Makes the holes play a good bit shorter or longer due to elevation.

Cons:

-Only eight baskets. The basket for #1 is gone since it was too close to the parking lot.

-For a very short course, it's kind of hard to navigate. There are many baskets and tee pads that are EXTREMELY close in proximity. #2 and #4 are beside each other. #7 and #9 are beside each other too.

-Some of the tee signs are facing the opposite direction from where the basket is. #4 is 108' and straight. I thought the basket for #7 or #9 was the basket for #4. Nope! It's the other direction. When you tee off, the tee sign should be visible. Not the case here

-Some hanging limbs touching the baskets and many the trees have poison ivy around them along with ankle high green leaves. #9 is a mess!

-All and all, pretty boring. Great for upshot warmups but none of the holes are that fun. You are just tossing putters generally speaking.

Other Thoughts:

-Many trees have been cut down, so it's more open than it used to be. Still some to avoid but I'd say it has a new purpose to it. Not only can you work on upshots here, you can introduce the game to your kids and it won't be frustrating since there aren't that many trees. Has a good amount of obstacles for starters to avoid.

-It's not that it isn't worth the stop for more competitive players because it gets really monotonous just practicing in the small backyard. It's fine for what it's made for. Wouldn't hurt to practice some short shots before a round at Glenn or The Bear. On the other hand, it's not worth more than maybe thirty minutes of your time if you aren't a beginner.
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1 3
Docxen
Experience: 5.8 years 8 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great for beginners 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 4, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great for beginners.
Great for practicing with new discs w/o worrying about loosing them.
Love hole 8 as a practice/warm up hole

Cons:

very short holes
gravel on the t-s is gone the plastic t-s move easily and some are gone/tore up
Hole 8 is very close to a area for kids to play on.

Other Thoughts:

I enjoy this park as a beginner it's fun.
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3 1
Mike C
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15 years 168 played 74 reviews
1.50 star(s)

True putt putt golf! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 26, 2017 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

+ 9 baskets in good shape.

+ 9 clearly marked tees with good signage.

+ 9 rubber teepads.

+ Elevation at play on most holes.

+ No completely open shots, trees involved on every hole to some degree.

+ Easy navigation.

Cons:

- Every hole is short enough to putt at.

- Seriously, every hole is short enough to putt at. Look at the lengths!

- No challenge at all. Its basically a challenge to see how many aces you can get, unless maybe you're still in the single digits when it comes to age.

Other Thoughts:

This was a fun course. I treated it as putt putt golf for the most part, only throwing a putter instead of putting it on 2 or 3 holes.

This is absolutely not a destination course, somewhere you come for anything remotely resembling a challenge, or a course you should go out of the way to play. I was visiting family nearby otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.

What would be really cool is seeing a course like this next to an 18 hole course, so you could do a 9 hole round of putt putt to warm up for the real course. As a stand-alone course its pointless to come out here unless you're one of those people that's played 15 years without ever getting an ace. One round here will fix that!

As an actual disc golf course I would rate this a 0 star. As a putt putt course I give it 2/5 stars, hence my rating.
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6 0
KenanFlagler01
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14 years 195 played 190 reviews
0.50 star(s)

For Ace Baggers! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 24, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is what it is. It's not designed to be for advanced players, or intermediate ones, and maybe not even beginners. It's not a pitch-and-putt, it's a putt-and-putt. But it's at a community center and park and I imagine it was designed for kids to introduce them to the game. In that sense, it succeeds. I could take my 3 boys there, who all like to play, and they would have fun. But even they would get bored on this course pretty quickly.

+ You get 9 solid chances at getting aces.

+ You can play the whole course with a putter, so play fast, put pressure on yourself to make putts, etc.

+ The baskets were good quality.

Cons:

Like I said, this course is what it is. It's not going to be a challenge to 90% of the folks playing disc golf.

- One of if not THE easiest course I've played (142 courses and counting).

- It's 9 putts off the tee; no variety.

- Each hole is par 3, but I'd call that the kids par. Even for beginners to intermediate, each hole should probably be par 2.

- Sometimes the upkeep can lapse a little in the summer. Watch for poison ivy and snakes.

Other Thoughts:

I was on an 8-hour drive home and wanted to break up the trip, so I stopped here to play. I wanted to play fast and get back on the road, so I carried one disc (all that's needed anyway) and jogged each hole. I finished in 6 minutes. SIX minutes! So, yeah, it's not a challenge, but it's a safe course, well maintained, and if you want to practice putting, notch another course, or introduce the game to your kids, try this one out.
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2 0
Harpo1989
Experience: 48 played 8 reviews
2.00 star(s)

All you need is a putter! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 16, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This is a good course for beginners because all you need is a putter. The longest hole is some 130 feet. The are tee signs for all the holes and it is pretty easy to figure out where to shoot from, etc. It does look like it is attached to a nice community park with a very clean bathroom facility as of when I played.

Cons:

It does seem like this is still a work in progress. There really didn't seem to be a tee pad for hole #5 so we made do from right next to the tee sign. Also, it looks like you tee it up for hole #7 from a walking path at the top of the hill but it isn't readily apparent.

Other Thoughts:

With a little work (cleaning up some underbrush, more appropriately sized tee pads, etc) this would make for a really nice little short-game course.

I would totally upgrade my rating if the course was clear of weeds and underbrush and maybe had pine needles covering the entire course, which for this little area would give it unbelievable eye appeal and increase the overall playing experience at a very minimal cost.
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3 1
LeeLK
Experience: 15.8 years 68 played 52 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Short course that's in good shape. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 30, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great for practicing midrange/putter shots. Good use of elevation. Can be played very quickly. Nice baskets, decent pads.

Cons:

Not a huge variety of shots here. They placed the baskets around some trees, so avoiding those is the major challenge in most cases, as otherwise they're generally straight shots. Pads are a bit small.

Other Thoughts:

It looks like they've made some improvements to the course, as they now have full signage/baskets/pads. The fairways/walkways are in nice shape as well. If you're looking to air out some discs, this is not a course for you, but if you want to play a quick round and try to get an ace, it's a fun course.
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4 8
Warthog
Experience: 11 years 9 played 7 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Nice for a quickie 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 26, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Everyone is giving this new course bad grades but for what it is intended to be I like it. I can play a round here when I only have 20 min to play. Beginners like myself don't feel overwhelmed and I can bring friends who have never played and introduce them to disc golf. The course it's self is very short but plays well and is lots of fun which is why I play.

Cons:

Being new I think it is still a work in progress. Not all the tees (#7) are well marked. There could be a problem with walkers and children interfering with flow of game.

Other Thoughts:

There is also a Bocce court right next to the course. This is a plus in my book.
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3 3
TomClark
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Newbie Review 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 5, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Small course layout allows you to use finesse, getting around trees and such. I've only been playing for less than 6 months so I don't know how much my review is worth. It's almost like Glenn C. Hilton Jr.

Cons:

Tee pads are absent, when on the drive shot, I've tripped over roots and stumps throwing off my throw.

Other Thoughts:

Some people use the playground and walking trail, so be careful when throwing. Most have never seen anyone play disc golf so you may get some spectators.
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2 8
Travisglenn1
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Nice course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 5, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

For the size, the holes are very good.
The course brings trees into play on every hole
I aced number 5 but I still don't know how

Cons:

Need to update tee boxes and signs
To close to private property
Too small and tight to have a tournament

Other Thoughts:

I nice course to play
Be mindful of park walkers and kids playing
I great way to practice multiple short shots
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11 1
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 585 played 539 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Good for beginners and kids, everyone else play Glenn Hilton 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 13, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Hildebran is a beginner friendly, pitch-n-putt nine hole course. For those looking for a challenge, the good news is that Glenn Hilton is only 10 minutes away.
- This is pretty simple layout, meaning what you see is what you get. For such a small piece of land, you do get a decent variety of holes: a couple uphillers (#2 & 6), a good downhill hole (#7 - the best hole on the course), a couple of dog legs and straight ones as well. As is this case with most simple courses, the biggest obstacle is to place a basket behind, or close to, trees, which you see on #4, 7 & 8.
- Nice, brand new baskets.
- Very beginner and kid-friendly. With no holes longer than 131 feet (although #6 at 125 plays longer because it's uphill), even if someone has never thrown a disc before, length will not be an issue. Even beginners should see some 2s and 3s on their scorecards.
- Good practice course for more seasoned players. I don't see this course getting a lot of traffic, so it would probably be pretty easy to pick any spot on the course and throw to almost any hole you want.
- Nice, clean neighborhood park. There isn't a lot here - playground, picnic area and restrooms - but it's all new. There is also a course map next to the main parking lot; however, there's a small lot with a couple spots by hole #1, so you might not see it. Not that you really need a course map.

Cons:

There aren't many cons at this course, at weird as that may seem.
- Course needs to be cleaned up and, well, finished. There are a lot of small shrubs, roots, plants that need to be cleared away. On #4 &6, especially, these plants are all around the baskets, so if you land in it, you might spend an extra 30 seconds searching for a disc. It also and perhaps more importantly, limits possible skip shots.
- Navigation needs to be improved. Yes, there are arrows pointing to the next tee; however, there aren't clearly defined tee areas. So, if you're a perfectionist, and need to find the precise tee spot based on hole length, it'll drive you crazy. If you see an area around where the tee should be, and decide that's good enough, you'll be fine. Even simple flags or brick markers would solve this problem.
- Along the lines of navigation, some holes play on top of each other. You pass #4's basket to get to (the general area) of #3's tee. On other holes a stray shot is going to land in a different hole's fairway. And as others have mentioned, #2's basket is way too close to someone's yard.

Other Thoughts:

To its credit, Hildebran manages to squeeze 9 holes in a tiny piece of land. Even if they tried, I don't see how any hole could be more than 200 feet at this course. So for that, they did a decent job. To see a bad version of squeezing 9 holes into no land, visit Marion DGC, 40 minutes to the west.
- As mentioned already, yes, this course was clearly aimed at beginners and the most casual of players. If you come to this course carrying more than two discs, you're bringing too many.
- The course is less than 3 minutes from I-40, so you can stop here for a quick round. If you're here alone, you should be able to play through twice in about 25 - 30 minutes.
- If I was rating this course in a vacuum, it did a good job in achieving its goal, so I might give it a B or C grade. But, comparing it to all courses, this course is essentially a mini-golf version of a real course. If I lived across the street, I'd practice here all the time. It reminds me a little of Fewell Park in Rock Hill (around the corner from Winthrop), in that they offer some fun in the pitch-n-putt, one or two disc needed variety. You'll enjoy the ace chances, and that's the extent of it.
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13 4
New013
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.7 years 179 played 120 reviews
0.50 star(s)

One for your kids 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Layout - If you need a place to practice approach shots in the 80-130ft range with a bit of elevation changes and a few trees in your way here you go; because this course is just 9 holes in that range and most are straight on and open.

If you like to put all of your aces in your sig here you go, rack em up.

If you've got a kid you want to teach the game here you go, this course has got to be designed for small kids.

If you like to hit little kids with discs while they're learning DG or exercising on little gyms here you go.... wait.....

Atmosphere - Looks like a nice little park area for kids.

Equipment - Brand spanking new baskets and no tee pads, yeah tee pads are completely unnecessary here.

Cons:

Layout - This course is obviously designed for kids so I hate to rip in to it but...

They put tee pad areas really close to baskets.. and they had to because there are 9 holes on about an acre of property which is on a hillside. Not to mention that #9 plays with the basket 15' in front of a exercise gym built for kids.

For a course that looks to be for kids they sure did make it dangerous. They should literally take at least 3 baskets out to use the space in a more interesting and safe manner.

They did try to add some variety in terms of hole design but most are just straight on open shots.

I wouldn't even bring new players here that are older, they'll think disc golf is a joke.

Equipment - Tee pads aren't needed but signs are. It's not exactly clear where all of the tees are.

Other Thoughts:

It's a course built for kids.. how many times can I say that? I'd like to say well it's intended for a certain skill level and with that in mind it's a solid course but it's not. I honestly wouldn't bring my kid here to learn with the way it's set up.
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2 3
gvdg jake
Experience: 14.2 years 73 played 12 reviews
2.00 star(s)

first time players course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 7, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

short course, no need for much more than a mid range disc or putter.

Cons:

short, no tee boxes or signs. alot of holes almost overlap with each other. can be kind of confusing on where to tee from.

Other Thoughts:

fun little course with the area they had to work with.
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7 1
DSCJNKY
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.6 years 682 played 129 reviews
1.00 star(s)

"Cubby" Aces and Putter Upshot Practice 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 15, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- That it's There. Hildebran is a small community on the outskirts of Hickory, NC. The park the course is in is just as small as the community it is in. It's a "pro" when disc golf reaches small communities and courses are installed... even if they are extremely short putter courses.
- Great for Beginners and Advanced Putter Practice. Hildebran would be a great place for a beginner to learn to throw some shots... and a decent enough place for an advanced player to practice their approach game.
- "Cubby Aces" and "Birdies" All Day. With holes ranging from 80'-130', you could have 10,000 "aces" if you played here all the time. I played the course with 4 Aviars... throwing each of them off the tee-pads, trying to get "Cubby" aces and park jobs. I got one "Cubby" ace (Hole 5)... and of the 36 drives I threw, I think only 3 of them would not have yielded me a 2.

Cons:

- Ridiculously Short. I realize the course is for beginners, but this course was ridiculously short... You could easily use a jump-putt on several of the holes as your "drive". But, then again, the designers did what they could with the land that was available (the entire park is extremely tiny... maybe 6 acres). And, if you simply look at the course as a putter-upshot-practice course, the shortness is forgivable. Just pretend that the tee-pad is where your first shot landed on a regular course... and try to get up and down to save Par.
- Extremely Raw. This course has only been in the ground for a few months and therefore is still extremely raw. The fairways haven't fully healed from the clearing, tee-pads have not been officially installed (there were some construction flags on some of them, but not all).

Other Thoughts:

- Overall. Hildebran is an extremely short 9-hole course that is in a small community. It is a great place for extreme beginners to learn to throw a disc, or for more advanced players to practice upshots. Being right off the I-40, it's a decent little stretch your legs stop if you're making a long drive (i.e. on your way from Raleigh to Asheville, but without enough time to stop at Hickory or one of the other courses). Hopefully this course will introduce lots of beginners to the game and give them a place to learn before having to go to Hickory and other harder courses. I will stop by here again, as I drive the I-40 corridor a lot for work and often want to stretch my legs - looking for "Cubby" aces.
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5 1
WreckDirector
Experience: 13 years 7 played 7 reviews
2.00 star(s)

A warm-up for Glenn Hilton. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 7, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

New (just built and opened June 2nd 2012), very nice baskets, easy to find, it was in the woods so some trees to navigate round, quick play/warm-up if you are headed to Glenn Hilton in Hickory which is nearby.

Cons:

VERY short, played more like a Par 2 course (nothing states what Par is for this course), no tee pads or designated start points (as of this review), one hole was right next to a house that had a large NO TRESPASSING sign to scare off would-be disc retrievers.

Other Thoughts:

I realize it's still very new and there may still be some work to be done in the future but as of this update this course is no more than either a warm-up for Glenn Hilton or a time filler if you took your kids to play at the park. It's too short to do much else with it, so even with the addition of tee pads the distance will remain the same. I consider myself a scratch player and the first time through (calling each hole a Par 3) I shot a 6 under. We played through twice and I finished with a 9 under.
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3 2
doink32
Experience: 21.9 years 112 played 2 reviews
1.50 star(s)

putter course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 8, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

brand spanking new baskets in a new park.Very aceable holes.Designed with the beginner in mind.Small tee pads and new distance signs have been added which help the athstetics of the course,alo this track can be played in 20minute if you are crunched for time.

Cons:

Compact design.Limited space in a multi -use park.Beware of pedestrians as the walking path surrounds the course.

Other Thoughts:

All I can say is "heads up" if there is more than one group playing the course.Favorite holes 4,6,7.Hardest holes 4,7,9.The course has enough room that you could pik your own spots to lengthen some holes.I recomend this course as a good place to practice putting,a few of the pins are nice and shaded and there is some elevation to work on uphill and downhill situations.
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