+ Tees, baskets, signage all check out

+ Navigation isn't difficult (7 -> 8 is a bit confusing, check the map here out)

+ Plays a loop, more or less; no crossing fairways to worry about

+ Seemed well-maintained the day I played, no ridiculous rough to contend with, the course was dry and quite scenic at certain holes

+ Elevation is used wonderfully from the start, downhills, uphills, a little sidehill action

+ Distance variety isn't bad, course favors RHBH but it's not the only shot you take by any means, and there's a nice mix of open shots vs. wooded

+ Dedicated parking lot, plenty of spots (if that lot is ever full I'd imagine the course is too crowded to play)

+ Beginner-friendly, a quick bag close to I-81 that'll let you stretch (and work) your legs

- I don't normally consider this a con necessarily but there aren't any benches that I recall, and with the elevation in play throughout the course, I'd imagine they'd be welcome, especially if you played more than one round. Also no restrooms that I'm aware of, so I guess amenities are a little thin on the ground (it's a college niner, though).

- The course runs a little on the short side, and I feel like that could've been remedied with a little more thought - there seems to be plenty of space for it. In particular, the walk back to the parking lot from #9 seems unnecessarily long. You could easily increase the distance of 9 quite a bit, add a stroke to the par, and make that "long walk back" a lot shorter while giving the course a nice bookend to the par 4 #1.

VHCC has got a solid niner here and, what I've come to realize, is basically all I'm looking for in a quick-bag roadtrip leg-stretch: Close to the highway, well maintained, skewing shorter, and fun.

Hole 1 is actually a pretty memorable shot. 375' downhill to the basket set amongst a small stand of nice, big pines. Very scenic. In fact the entire lawn at the front of the course has an oddly scenic feel to it. Once you're down the hill and the buildings are out of view, if you have clear blue skies it can feel like you're in that Windows background from like 20 years ago.

Shadrach3's opening line - "A strange mix of good holes and putting runs." - still sums it up well for me. It's a fun course that has its flaws, but it's beginner friendly, bagger friendly, and, if I went to school here, I imagine I'd enjoy mastering it. I felt it was a solid 2.0 soon after playing it but, now that I've had a few weeks to process and reflect, I have to admit that the word that keeps coming to mind is decent. Solidly Decent.

Set on a section of this pretty campus with no other activities or facilities.
Good tee signs on each hole, the route to the hole may not be the best route, but they have all the necessary information.
Concrete tee pads, they are small, but since they are flush to the ground, a run up is possible.
The baskets are in good shape, showing a little age but they are fine, except for #7.
A very hilly section of the campus, so you have elevation on every hole (it is the VA Highlands CC), #3 is the smallest amount, but it is still slightly downhill.
A pretty good mix of left and right holes, the elevation mostly equals out also, except you did end up a little lower then where you start.

#7 basket has been damaged, it is leaning pretty bad, probably from a mower hit. It can be played, but needs some repair.
As mentioned above, the concrete tee pads are pretty small, if the grass is wet at all, any runups could get tricky.
#9 plays uphill, then into a valley. A pole mounted on the basket would give you a good sense of where it is.
If you like short, tight courses, this is not the one for you. Only #6 and #7 have any wooded obstacles, most of the challenge here is distance and judging the elevation change.

I've wanted to play this course since it opened, we took a family trip to the Va Creeper Trail a few years before it opened, so I was familiar with the area. In fact, we stayed at one of the hotels you drive past to enter the campus.
Its very easy to get to off I-81 if you are headed to or from the Tri-Cities of TN. In fact, you can see the wonderfully manicured campus and buildings from the highway, it sure would be cool to have another 9 holes on that side of the campus.
Not a lot of obstacles on the course to frustrate new or infrequent players and the thrill of throwing either downhill, or a valley shot, happens on 4 holes.
#1 starts just off the parking lot, downhill then up a rise to a level area with several large pine trees, this Par 4 will loosen you up right away.
The most unique hole on the course is probably #5, you tee below the hillside of a water retention pond, to the basket up on the pond edge. I don't think there was any water in the pond when I was there, so a pretty safe throw.
#8 is another wide open valley shot, with the basket on a ridge, protected by trees and some large rocks.
All things considered, this is a good chance for students and new players to hone their skills. #6 and #7 do have trees to negotiate, so they do get some woods thrown in. It's a good, college campus/beginner course, and so fun to watch your discs fly on the mainly wide, open holes.
Plus, if you are in the Tri-Cities playing the great courses there, and want to bag a VA course, Sugar Hollow is another one used for the 2021 Pro Worlds Masters, but It is a long course with significant hill climbs, so this makes a nice quicker alternative.

A strange mix of good holes and putting runs.

-Amenities: Basics are there. Pretty good tee signs with personality, concrete tees, decent baskets.

-Elevation: Some serious hills to be played on, as makes sense for a "Highlands" community college. (1) and (2) are both substantially downhill runs, (9) is a sharp uphill, and (8) benefits from the use of sidehill.

-Setting Expectations: Hole (1) is one of my favorite starting holes I've played. Almost 400 feet, it probably drops by at least 50 feet as it gently hyzers into a gentle stand of trees. Really fun.

-Other Noteworthy Shots: I also thought (2), (6), and (8) were good holes that used elevation and trees to great effect. The baskets are also often situated so as to create tough putting decisions.

-Navigation: Pretty straightforward other than the (7) to (8) transition. The next tee is readily apparent.

-Disc Loss: Low probability. There are plenty of trees used, but nothing that will obscure an errant shot too much.

The quality of holes varies widely.

-Dinky Holes: After two holes I thought I might be playing a brilliant 9er. Then, hole (3) appeared at under 150 feet, practically a jump putt. Holes (4) and (7) were similarly disappointing.

-Meh Holes: The remaining holes (5) and (9) were okay but boring, stock 9ers.

-Walks: The walk from (7) to (8) is long and uphill. Not a pleasant interruption. Similarly, after (9) it'll be a steeply uphill climb to return to the parking lot. Be ready for lots of trudging on steep terrain.

-Rough: Hole (2) has some seriously thick rough to the left. I underestimated the amount of power I'd need to clear it and took a very thorny bogey.

VHCC has a perfectly pleasant nine holes here. (1) is spectacular, and (6) and (8) are stimulating as well. Unfortunately, the course designer tarnished these holes with boring putter runs. The result is a pretty typical nine holer, which based on my experience lands it a solid Reasonable.

Nice hilly setting with a pretty nice view
Well maintained facility
Concrete teepads, a little small in general but more than enough for the holes on this course
Nicely done signs with distance and random educational sayings
Orange cages on the baskets, for some reason I thought these were really neat.

Not much to knock on this course, lot of the holes are dogleg left, a lot are short and the pars seem to be a little high but if you think about the target player they had in mind then it all make sense.

Had an hour or so to kill on a recent trip so I stopped here to check out the course. Standing on the first tee pad it's a really nice view and setting to start the course.

I could tell from the beginning that someone had put a good amount of thought into this place, not just to keep the holes simple for beginners but not to make just a plain-jane starter course and to make it visually appealing. There is something about the way the holes flow through the course that just make it very pleasant, heck I was still trying to shake a hangover and pleasant usually doesn't come to mind in that state.

First 3 holes are dogleg left, 2 of them are reachable with a putter from an int level player, the course then works in and out of area that's a mix of grass and trees then back in the open to the parking lot. Everything was well kept in the "wooded" sections, rough was trimmed back and things were clean.

Seems there's a quite a bit of land at the college that's not being used, would be nice to see if eventually they would expand to 18 or maybe add some teepads and baskets to this 9 for more of a challenge, seems to be laid out in a manner that would allow it.

A good little course to hit if you're traveling 81 and and want to stretch your legs and arm. A championship course it is not, but definitely a pleasant use of an hour.

The course at VHCC is a beautiful 9 hole course, set on what seems to be a nice campus in the quiet Virginia town of Abingdon. I came here during non-school hours, and there were no students, so I had the course mostly to myself.

To start, the tee pads are nice, concrete pads, allowing for full throws on the longer holes, and a controlled stance. The tee signs are beautiful and very descriptive. I really wish they were the standard for all courses.

There were a few fantastic holes, such as hole one, a 375 foot valley shot playing into some pine trees, or hole 8, another valley drive playing for a lefty hyzer down into the hillside.

The course loops back to the parking lot after nine, and sets up for a quick round or two whenever you are able.

There are a couple short ace runs, during my two rounds of nine, with two player, (so 36 drives), we had three metal hits, plus a cubby ace.

While there are a few great holes, the short holes are duds. Three holes play under 150 feet, and are easy for even the less skilled player. While one of these holes is not bad, 1/3 of the course being a short ace run definitely isn't ideal.

The baskets were Mach II's I think, which caught most putts well, but I did have a 200 foot shot spit out, so I'm putting it in the cons because I still haven't emotionally gotten over it, and I'm allowed to make it a con because I'm salty about it, even if it wasn't the basket's fault.

Off the fairway, there was a good bit of poison ivy, which I'm sure would suck for people who can get it. If I were you, I would send a buddy in to receive your disc from the woods.

While this is a great 9 hole course, there is a lot of untapped potential. According to the tee sign, there are 100 acres of land on campus, not including buildings. With a smart redesign of a couple holes, and the addition of a back nine, this can truly be something special, but right now it is a good nine hole course with a few dud holes.

This is an excellent 9-hole course on the campus of Virginia Highlands Community College in SW Virginia, right off Interstate 81. If you live in the area or are passing through on I-81, I highly recommend bagging this course.

1. The biggest pro for me, by far, is the amazing scenery of the course and the surrounding mountains. The course begins at the top of a steep hill with breathtaking views of the course and campus. It's a great setting.

2. Being in the mountains, the elevation on the course is off the charts. Hole 1 is a big valley shot. My favorite hole, #8, is also a valley shot. There's also a ridge shot, #9, playing to a blind pin placement. The elevation -- and being able to watch the flight of the disc across valleys and down hills -- is awesome.

3. I like the blind basket locations. Amazingly, on a 9-hole course, five of them play to baskets you can't see from the tee: 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9. I like this challenge.

4. Several holes are extremely short (also a con), but they make for easy ace runs: holes 3, 4, and 7, especially. The distance on these holes is 147, 144, and 153, respectively.

5. Navigation is intuitive and simple.

6. The rough is fair. This is mostly an open, park style course, but there are trees and shrubs lining a few fairways. Not hard to find your disc if you make it into the rough, but not easy to get out either.

7. The proximity to Interstate 81 makes this an easy course to play if you're just passing through. I love playing 9-hole courses, particularly, and just being able to pull of the interstate to stretch my legs and throw discs.

1. My main con for this course is that a few of the holes are exceptionally easy (the aforementioned holes 3, 4, and 7). Going for aces is fun, but the ease and length of these holes fit better with a kids' pitch-and-putt (or putt-and-putt) style course. Other holes offer a good challenge for intermediate level players, but not these.

2. It's only 9 holes! Another 9 like the 6 more challenging holes and this course would be in the 3.0 to 3.5 range for me.

3. There are two par 4's on the course. This is a minor quibble, but they both should probably be par 3's, especially #8. The best data point on this is that I had eagle putts on both. (I'm not good enough to have a lot of eagle putts.)

Excellent 9-hole course (I've only played one 9-holer that I rate higher). Try it!

This course is located a stone's throw from I-81 so you won't have to meander long back roads to get there. It is also located on a college campus, allowing it to be very well maintained.

You'll pull up directly at hole 1 in the sizable parking lot. Hole 1 is probably my favorite on the whole course. It's the only hole you'd likely find on a championship caliber course, as one of the open holes. The whole place is picturesque, in fact one of the holes was feature in Innova's 2014 calendar.

The tee pads are all concrete and are plenty big enough for the size of the holes. Water is somewhat in play, depending on the time of year I'm assuming, but nothing that makes you over-think the holes.

Apart from hole 1 though (and maybe hole 2), the layout is kinda lacking. Every hole is in the open, usually with some sparse trees near the basket. Hole 1 and 9 are the only two holes where you can even remotely test the limits of your arm.

Play the course a few times and you'll likely have a few ace runs or even some legitimate splashes, however only a few of the holes would be worthy of sharing that accomplishment (Hole 2 would be pretty cool).

The signs are among the best I've ever seen on a disc golf course. They really are country club quality CNC'd wooden signs of which attention was paid to the details. More disc golf courses should aspire to provide signs like these.

Due to the short nature of the course, you likely won't have a tough time navigating. The only long walk between holes is from 7-8 (which should have been a cool wooded up-the-hill hole in itself, but I digress), but you will see another well made sign pointing you in the right direction.

Many of the holes are far too short to be taken seriously, namely 3 and 4. Sure, 3 may be a tight dog leg, but it can easily be overthrown with a putter. As others have pointed out, you'll want to throw at 5's basket when you arrive on 3's teepad. It's not straight ahead, it's behind the bush on your left!

Hole 4, as I alluded to previously, might as well be putting practice. Someone could reasonably jump putt or turbo putt from the tee pad and park it. Yea you might hit an ace, but will you be proud of it?

Hole 6 contains thick underbrush on both sides of the fairway. Throw something you're very confident with, otherwise you're likely to be digging through ivy. Hole 8 is a little of the same, with thick bushes surrounding the basket that could easily swallow a disc.

I feel like more could be done with hole 9. It's a blind shot and honestly feels like a connector, even though it only serves to connect you back to the parking lot[almost]. Maybe start it up the hill from 8 and shoot down, allow for a big arm to open up perhaps?

There isn't any benches or other amenities, but you really won't need them, so just a minor con.

I didn't drive around the campus to be sure, but I feel like it's plenty large enough to make a legitimate 18 hole course, or at least a longer 9. If they were to do this, it would definitely step up the rating for the place. It's a fun little course, but too short to be competitive. Put the same effort into making the course longer that you put into making the signs and pads and you'll have yourselves a little dandy!

You should definitely check this course out if you're driving through on the interstate. It's extremely close to the exit and should only take you 45 minutes (if that) to complete, barring you don't lose a disc.

This was a fun course to stop and play on Vacation - Here are my pros
1.) Near the interstate for an easy stop in
2.) Enough elevation change to make you stop and think about your disc selection
3.) Variety of hole lengths - range from 144 to 375
4.) Not too far on to campus so you can play when classes are in session
5.) It has its own parking lot
6.) Easy to navigate; good signage

No Serious Con's but here they are:
1.) Tee pads are concrete but short - about 6 feet long
2.) Hole 3's tee pad makes you want to throw at hole 5 - this has been mentioned before but I still almost made the mistake. Hole 3 is a sharp hook left.

It was a good 9 hole course. I would hope that if the course see's enough traffic that they would expand to an 18 holer, there is enough space from what I saw.

This course had its picture in the Innova 2014 Calendar. It was a picture of hole 8 for the month of June

When I played the course the course conditions said the course needed to be mowed, this was on 6/28. When I played the course on 9/24 the grass still needed mowing but it was still just ankle high

Concrete tee pads, easily followed layout, good mix of elevation changes and hole length, very little under brush in the trees

Some poison ivy but it is avoidable, the tee pads seemed a little short, some of the holes were very short and hole 4 was exceptionally bland

Hole 3 is misleading. The basket you see from the tee pad is for hole 5. Hole 3's basket is tucked up to the left about halfway between the tee ad and the basket you can see. I would recommend this course to anyone passing through the area that needs to get out and stretch their legs as it is right off Virginia exit 14 on I-81 and plays fairly quickly if are consistent with your drives.

- Great variety of holes! Although I am predominately RHB, I had to throw RHF and the Hammer/Tomahawk a couple times each.
- Excellent signage; All holes are displayed well and it is easy to navigate from hole to hole.
- All concrete tees and baskets are in excellent condition.
- VHCC is a course for all levels of players who are seeking a challenge in addition to a fun course.
- Holes are a fair distance apart, and although a crowded round might be rare, needing to keep a lookout for others' discs is unnecessary.

- Although playing for aces may be a "Pro" to some, the simplicity of a couple holes may become a bore.
- The grass needs to be cut, badly, the foliage can be dense. A disc shouldn't be lost, but be weary.
- There is only one tee for all holes and it seems as though the current pins will not be moved from their positions.

As this is a 9-hole course, I must compare it to other 9-hole courses, and frankly VHCC is a must. This course can be rather easy for the professional (I consider myself a beginner and scored -2), but undoubtedly this course provides plenty of variety that will keep all players on their toes. Behind Steele Creek Park, this is one of the best 9-hole courses in the area and I would certainly recommend it to all players.

very well maintained. has a mixture of short and long holes. semi technical on a few holes. all holes have a concrete tee with a sign displaying info

only 9 holes. I could see the course getting crowded easily.

Awesome, fairly quick 9 hole course that is close to home. Well groomed and you are not likely to lose a disc. Nice view of mountains from several holes. Course is well marked out so no getting lost looking for the next tee. Even have permanent signs along the few wooded paths pointing you were to go. Well groomed and great tee pads perfectly placed with no drop offs at ends of concrete pad like some places. Tees and baskets close to trees so a lot of nice shade for playing in the summer.

There are few cool paths through the pines that may have offered an opportunity for a wooded hole. Not the biggest challenge but not really a negative.

Quickly becoming my favorite course. Hole 7 could be changed to a have a left mando around the pine directly in front of the tee. Otherwise, pretty easy birdie (as long as you don't hit one of the trees in the lane to the hole).