Charleston (John's Island), SC

Trophy Lakes

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3.975(based on 55 reviews)
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22 0
hanger129
Experience: 4.2 years 45 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

A must-play in Charleston drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 5, 2023 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Trophy Lakes is a great, well-rounded and well-designed course that will really challenge intermediate and advanced players from the Blues while offering an enjoyable round with plenty of scoring opportunities from the Whites. With water in play on more than half the holes, the need to throw a good shot is always top of mind.

The Property / Amenities: Trophy Lakes is a pay-to-play course ($8) and requires an electronic pass to get on the property. Unfortunately, the gate system is frequently a headache for first time and repeat customers alike. Once on the property, Trophy offers two sets of concrete tee pads for the White and Blue layouts, and a set of dirt tees for the Red layout. Nearly every hole offers a bench, and trash cans can be found about every 4th or 5th hole. The course playes around the man-made lake and once you've tee'd off from hole 5, you're past the point of 'no return' meaning there trip back to the parking lot and pro shop can be a bit of a hike. Unfortunately there are no portapotties until you've looped back around to about hole 16. Regretably, the signage for many of the holes on the course are dated and occasionally inaccurate, and navigating the course can be a challenge for first time visitors.

Design: Trophy Lakes is an exceptionally well designed course. Intermediate players can expect to throw every type of disc in their bag. A handful of holes allow for a putter off the tee, while the attackable par 4s ask for a driver often followed by a midrange. Trophy's defining feature, unsurprisingly, is the lake that the course plays around. Water comes into play on about 10 of the holes from White, and 11 of the holes from Blue. The Red tees allow players to navigate the course without having to throw directly over water.

This course presents plenty of risk/rewards decisions. Take hole 5 from the Blue tee for example: the player must clear a ~300ft carry with water continuing down the entire right side of the fairway. If you decide to play conservative and hyzer to the left early, you will likely be left with a difficult RHFH flex shot, or flip-up BH with difficult footing. If you choose to risk more of the water and push the disc straighter for longer, you will be rewarded with a wider fairway with more options to work the disc up to the basket.

The holes present good shot variety with both right-to-left, left-to-right, straight, long bombers, short par 3s, big hyzers, flex lines, etc. If there is one fault I can give Trophy Lakes, it's that certain holes can only be attacked with a RHBH/LHFH (4, 5, 8, 10 white, 11 blue, 16A, 16 blue). In general, the course is more friendly to right-handed throwers than left.

Difficulty: From the White tees, Trophy is not an overly difficult course for intermediate players. The par 3s average in the 270-310ft range, and the par 4s are very attackable with relatively little risk. While a 900-rated round is about -1, if you're throwing the disc well, -5 or lower can easily be in reach.

Trophy's full potential is realized when playing from the Blues. It is a pro-level layout that will not only test your ability to throw the disc, but your decision-making and resillience as well. Par 3s from the Blues average between 310-350ft, the par 4s become very challenging to attack, and there are very few "gimme" birdies. Hole 11, for example, requires a 340ft water carry to have any reasonable chance of birdie. +7 is a 900-rated round from the Blues and -5 is 1000-rated.

Other Thoughts:

While Trophy Lakes is often seen as the best course in Charleston (for good reason), the property owners have relatively little interest in the sport. Even though discs are frequently retrieved from the lake, getting them back proves to be a hassle due to infrequent and inconsistent pro shop hours. With the recent addition of the floating obstacle courses, disc golfers can expect to deal with loud children while playing holes 11, 16A, and white 16, and risk hitting parked cars lining the OB area of 17. The original hole 18 is frequently unavailable to play during the summer due to non-disc golf customers parking on it's fairway. Luckily the local club has been afforded the opportunity to modify the course during the peak times for these non-disc golf activities, and new holes have been created that aren't available year-round.
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6 0
Onailer
Experience: 4.3 years 3 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Average at best 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 4, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Challenging with water carries.Bathrooms easily accessible.

Cons:

Missing tee signs on multiple holesPoor signage from hole to holeMultiple tees and multiple basket locations can be confusing.Baskets are outdated and very difficult to see when teeing off and approaching.

Other Thoughts:

I would say the course must've been fantastic when first built but over the years it's fallen into disrepair. There was no tee box for blues on 4. Missing tee signs on multiple holes definitely made the experience more confusing, especially with multiple baskets. There were holes where I had to Bushnell the distance to even figure out if we were playing to the correct basket or not. I guess for a pay to play course I expected better.
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10 0
KenanFlagler01
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14 years 195 played 190 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Best in Charleston 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 17, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Trophy Lakes is the best track in the Charleston area, as far as I can tell. I see that repeated in review after review. I've only played a limited number of Charleston courses, Sewee Outpost being the best, in my opinion, prior to playing Trophy Lakes, but I feel pretty confident in saying that you won't be disappointed if you choose to play this one instead of any or all others.

+ Trophy Lakes is a terrific, true water course. There are water carries and holes where the water comes into play on putts and/or hyzers out over the water. Obviously, there's a risk of disc loss here, but you know that going in and can plan accordingly. Bring some cheap plastic or floating discs. In my opinion, it's worth the risk to play a beautiful course like this. There's something awesome about watching a disc fly over water. Oh, and even if you do land in the water, you may eventually be able to get your disc back. They employ divers to retrieve discs and post pics on their website to give customers a chance to buy back their lost discs.

+ Terrific risk/reward elements throughout the course: baskets close to water, some with steep greens; par 4's with water in play, forcing you to decide how aggressive you want to be on your drive; a handful of elevated baskets; OB in play even on some of the non-water holes.

+ There's awesome variety here: short, technical holes; long holes to bomb drives (including par 4's and a par 5); straight, right, and left playing holes.

+ Challenging for all skill levels, with red, white, and blue tees. The red tees mostly limit the risk of going in the water. The white tees are perfect for intermediate players with no water carries a 250 to 300-foot thrower can't handle.

+ Pro shop and restrooms

+ Beautiful setting: the course and the property

+ Zero rough to speak of

+ Well maintained

+ Navigation wasn't an A+ (could use a few more directional signs), but it's pretty easy and intuitive. There are helpful and accurate tee signs on every hole.

+ Even being a challenging course, there are ace runs and birdies to be found. There is great scoring differential possibilities on many holes.

Cons:

This is a 4.0 course that borders on 4.5, for me, and would be with a few tweaks.

- You know this is a great course when I say that my biggest con is that it doesn't have new baskets. (That's pretty minor, in my book.) The all-metal baskets are tough to see from some of the tees. New, neon baskets here would just make the course a grand slam.

- The tees are OK, but not great. Bigger concrete tees are a nice-to-have, not a must-have.

Other Thoughts:

Trophy Lakes is well worth the $6 to play as long as you want. This is the future of disc golf (I hope): private, pay to play, country club like courses that are still very affordable. If you're in Charleston or just visiting, this is a must-play.
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5 3
Sparkles
Experience: 15.2 years 22 played 18 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Best Challenge for Charleston! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 26, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

*Baskets are all in excellent shape.
*Great Pro shop with a friendly staff.
*All concrete tee pads for the advanced and pro players.
*Great AM Tees for the beginner's and young players.
*Greens are in excellent shape with very good course up-keep.
*Many signature holes, with unique charm and high re-play value.
*Very nice layout with water shots and variety of distances.

Cons:

*Bugs could be an issue during the hot months, however in SC, good luck finding a course that doesn't have this issue.
*Weaker players can find the Advanced and Pro Tees too hard on making Water shots. (lots of lost disc)

Other Thoughts:

The best course in the Charleston Area. This is a must play course if you live in South Carolina. Great place to enjoy the game, this course raises the bar of what a course should be. A++++
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13 0
New013
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.7 years 179 played 120 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Your Discs are the Lake's Trophy 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 29, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Layout - It has the word Lake in its name for a reason and water is the name of the game on this course. There's only a few holes where the water isn't in play and that along with a stiff breeze creates some interesting disc golf.

There's three sets of tees (R,W,B) which offer up different challenges. The reds are family/novice friendly and usually take as much water out of play as they can. The whites and blues are much closer in difficulty and you still have plenty of danger playing from the whites. The blues up the ante by tucking tees back in to early gaps or adding considerable length. If you don't throw 400+ I'd suggest playing the whites or skipping a few of the blues.

Overall this course has a really nice balance in how it uses the trees and water. You'll need a plethora of shots to go through this course and a good command on placement to avoid getting wet or going OB. I love how they vary how the water comes in to play throughout.

The width of the lines varies right along with the length of the holes. I really enjoyed getting to each tee and having a new challenge or a new look as you go through, that's something many courses have a hard time achieving. Many holes give you options on how to play it with multiple gaps.

The multi-shot holes are simply fantastic. I found myself standing on the tee several times thinking about how I wanted to attack the hole. You really have to decide how much you want to bite off or which route you want to take.

There's a ton of risk/reward here and the greens are usually very dangerous if you're trying to go right at them. I'll say it again that you really have to game plan each hole and consider where you're trying to end up.

Equipment - Concrete tees on the blue and whites. The reds have natural which is fine for that level. Each tee has a sign which is a huge plus. Baskets are in good shape. One sunken/raised basket combo on one hole. There's a course map at the beginning and a pro shop selling discs and such.

Atmosphere - It's a really cool park that is also used for towed wakeboarding. It's not a huge lake but it has some very good looking holes and nice scenery. I played early so it wasn't busy but even with more people it just seems like a chill place.

Cons:

Layout - A few of the holes could be considered filler. I think they're all fine holes but to me 2 and 18 just don't mesh well with the rest of the course. 18 especially is not the finishing hole you'd like after playing such a great course. A couple others are maybe not up to the level as most of the holes but there's only so many places you can stick a hole in the area with all the water.

The flow of the course is kinda weird at points. You do some backtracking so make sure you grab a map or take a pic of the course map outside the pro shop.

The course is almost completely flat; outside of a couple hills created to stick baskets on.

Overall the course does favor players who throw RHBH/LHFH dominantly. I think the course does a good job of giving you other options on some of the water holes but the advantage is definitely there.

Equipment - The baskets can be hard to see on some of the holes.

Atmosphere - It's a lake near the beach so yeah expect it to be buggy. There's some spots with standing water (outside the lake) and mushy ground. You are sharing this course with people who aren't playing disc golf so keep that in mind. There's also a few houses/campers situated on the course very close to holes.

Other Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed Trophy Lakes and highly recommend people checking it out if you're in town. It's definitely worth the $5 to play and if you're worried about losing discs just bring some DX plastic to throw over the water. I lost two discs on hole 6 due to some strong morning gusts and I just laughed it off and had a great time.
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4 1
reezyF
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.4 years 277 played 40 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Trophy Lakes 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 20, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

My three pros:

+ Another beuatiful course in SC! The lakes and river around the course are well maintained and make for several pretty holes
+As a pay-2-play course this one has all the expected stuff- good signage, easy navigation, nice tee-pads, good baskets even some random but nicelooking discraft banners here and there. I bought 2 discs at the proshop from a very cool, very cute employee and didnt have to pay the 6$ fee. I like buying discs and i like not paying greenfees and i like cute girls so this was a triple plus for me.
+one of the only true championship courses ive played where the blue tees looked tough and intimidating but not just added fluff so once i get better i hope to play those. I stuck to the white tess and had a great time and was challenged thourghout. The red tees looked pretty short throughout but the water in play on many holes make evenm the red tees interesting. This course has probably done the best of any ive visited with making three unique tees for each basket ranging from confident beginner to Mcpro!

Cons:

My three cons:

-I play RHFH most drives so when theres a RHBH bias i notice pretty quick. that was definitley the case here as it seemed every over-water shot needed a good backhand hyzer shot so i was consistenmtly hitting sketchy anhyzer FH shots over the water. I get it that most people want RHBH favored holes but i felt like every over the water shot was a big risk as the water is almost always to the right of the hole...
-this is lost disc type water. they may have divers, and you may have drivers but youll be weary to bust em out since the big water crossings are guarded by lots of trees. it didnt happen to me, but i played conservative throughout bc if you get a good throw that tips a twig then bye bye disc in the deep wakeboarding lake. a couple times like on 15 and 18 i wanted to try the blue and throw around an island but this isnt wii dg so a brief tree tap means a lost ~15$ disc...
-the wakeboarding in the lake is a bit of a distraction. there was one couple wakeboarding while i was there and they were makin some noise but it wasnt overwhelming..

Other Thoughts:

This course was pretty memorable for me and I hope to play it again if im in charleston. This one had several shots over the water that were fun from the white tees and wouldve been extreme from the blue tees. I wish I had a set of floating discs and a person in a boat to follow me around so i could play the blue tees all out. Between this course an the fire swamp, if im in the area again and only have time for one i'd come here. plus the Angel Oak is righty down the road and its pretty cool too.
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4 5
J_slowe
Experience: 8.7 years 67 played 1 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Water! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 13, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course is different than what I have seen.
Three different tee locations

Cons:

Hole 3 basket was in water. Standing water 10 feet around the basket
Hole 4 was unplayable due to the same water from 3.
Red tee had no pad or concrete.
Staff was unwilling to open the pro shop for us to buy disc. While manager was over near the wakeboarding people.


Other Thoughts:

Overall I think this course needs some drainage to help with water. After that, it could be a 4star as this website says.
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5 3
jamesdevin
Experience: 19.8 years 85 played 22 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Clear the water and you will be fine 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 30, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

3 different sets of tee pads
Lots of water in play
some longer holes
some pins very close to water
hanging/buried basket hole is pretty cool
risk/reward shots on many holes

Cons:

very flat
6$ a day to play with no annual pass available
may have to wait for zip liners

Other Thoughts:

Overall it is a nice course but I couldn't give it 4 stars because of the fee to play is too high. I guess you get a free round after you pay for 10 rounds but that's 60$ which is well more than any park pass I've ever heard of. In Michigan there are many different parks in which you have to pay to enter the park, but nothing near that much. I love the holes where you have to clear 300+ feet of water to find the fairway, and there are more than a couple. I recommend playing this course if you don't mind paying every time you play.
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7 0
Jiggy202
Experience: 13.8 years 63 played 25 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Lives up to the Name 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 25, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Three sets of tees designed perfectly to challenge the beginner, intermediate, and advanced players respectively.
-Tee signs at every teebox with all possible of information you would need for the hole.
-Pretty easy to navigate even without a map. If you can find any teebox for the next hole, the info to find the correct teebox is on every sign.
-Decent disc golf shop with a pretty good selection of new discs.
-The risk/reward factor was mixed in really well, offering a wide variety of challenges for players of all skill levels and throwing styles.

Cons:

-Course is pretty flat, but that's just the way it is around this area.
-A ton of water hazards in play... 10/18 holes. Some baskets were very close to the water. This course lives up to its name for sure. Very high chance your disc will end up in the water at some point.
-Holes 11-13 had some overlap that could cause issues on busy days.
-#16 plays a blind shot over the main entrance road, it's not a busy road but it could cause problems

Other Thoughts:

This course is absolutely worth the $5 dollar fee to play. I would definitely come back and play this course again if I am in the area. I found it a really enjoyable round. The course kept me wondering what possibly could be coming up next. Yep, it truly lives up to its name. The course offers a challenge to all players and tests your skills and decision making with many risk/reward shots. I really enjoyed the sunken and hanging basket on 13. The flow between holes was a little funky in a few spots but it was manageable. This course has quite a few positives and only a few negatives. In my opinion it's the best course in the Charleston area.
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3 6
SpatialT
Experience: 38.1 years 12 played 12 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Underwhelmed 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 20, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Multiple tees for each hole
Relatively Easy to navigate
Disc golf shop on site
Good mix of power and accuracy needed, especially from the long tees
Funky holes (elevated and sunken baskets)

Cons:

If it is windy, which it was when I played, it can be tough, especially the holes with baskets near the lake.
Pay to play
discs in the lake are likely to occur.
Some shots cross the entrance road. That could be reworked..

Other Thoughts:

I am surprised by the high rating. i felt the course was more of an after thought to the water sports on the lake. The funky holes and disc golf shop on site make it a nice place to play but it was a bit boring, to be honest. I played three courses on a recent visit (fire swamp and park circle) and this was the best, but not by much. I am used to hilly, forested courses so the flat courses tend to be less interesting for me..but I was lucky enough to have someone practicing their wakeboarding using the automated pully system rigged over the lake..now, where else can you get video of that while getting prepped to drop a deuce on the lake's edge?
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4 5
devil2RVA
Experience: 7 played 7 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Top Notch course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 19, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course offered a solid variety of shots. Some over water (very difficult water), yet some just long, some with a funny mando, and even a sunk basket! THe best part is with three tee pads, it is really designed with the level of player in mind. Red is really for a beginner, and takes the water aspect out of it. White is for an intermediate player who is ready to start testing the water shots. And Blue is for advanced / tournament.

Cons:

It ate three of my discs. I'll miss you guys!
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11 0
DougCrawford
Experience: 9.8 years 55 played 2 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Surprisingly Good! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 13, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Well maintained, grass and trees/bushes were well trimmed

Excellent signage, detailed distances that helped judge the water carries and landing zones for drives

Great use of water. 7 shots over the water, and several more risky baskets next to it.

Multiple teepads that offered a pretty big variety in difficulty. I only had time to play the longs(blue), but could see that reds were still appropriate for beginners, as they eliminated most of the water carries, and were usually significantly shorter.

Good risk vs. reward on many shots. I felt like this was a course where you could decide how difficult it was going to be. On the holes that played along the water you could choose how much of the fairway you wanted to bite off, and on the water carries it was pretty easy to see if you had to lay up or try to clear it.

Variety of fairway shapes. right to left, left to right, straight- a little bit of everything.

I putted with a roller. :)

Cons:

Flat. theres some artificial elevation with baskets on hills, but all the fairways are flat, but it is the beach, theres not really much to work with.

Automatic wakeboard machine runs in between several holes. Didnt bother me much, but if you are the type that needs quiet during your throw, the sound of the machine and the people enjoying the wakeboard could be pretty distracting.

Other Thoughts:

After seeing the rating of this course, I was pleasantly surprised. I usually play in/around Charlotte on courses that have higher ratings and would take this over a couple of them easily.

This course is one you could play over time and improve, and it would still be interesting. Gaining accuracy and distance open up opportunities that arent just maybe making it a little farther down the fairway. 10 and 11 are good examples- on 11 its about 185 to the edge of the water, but 330 to clear the water, and few options for a flat shot. 330 is my average long controlled drive, but a 330 ft. hyzer over the water in the wind was a tad uncomfortable at that time for me.

This could be a pro for some and a con for some- other than the water, bad throws werent punished too much. Recovery from hitting a tree or shanking your drive was fairly easy. I saved par on several holes by making a not too difficult upshot after a bad drive.
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10 0
Timeetyo
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10 years 41 played 33 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Well worth the $5 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 7, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- Concrete tee pads on long & mid (blue & white) in good shape.
- Nice tee signs showing not only the normal info - but also info such as water carry - distance to water, etc as needed.
- 3 sets of well marked tees with varying difficulty and water risk. Blue has lots of water in play and some longer carries (250 is longest if you lay up on a hole or 2). White has a few shorter carries. Red has no carries but a few with water close by.
- Nice pro shop on site with a great selection.
- They pond dive for your discs and you can buy them back for a few $
- Good variety of golf shots required (outside of the water). Some are fairly tight - a few quite open - and one long bomber (over 1000' par 5).
- Hole 13. Tight double mando off the tee - and it opens up to either ~295 raised haning basket (blue) or 282' to a sunken basket (white). Bonus as I managed to ace the sunken basket with a nice hyzer flip. :)

Cons:

- Not really a con to me - but $5 to play is worth the mention. (note - it was well worth the $5)
- Hole 16 crosses the road (twice). Although the road is not busy you can't see anything coming as you throw from the blue tee.
- Course flow got a bit awkward in a few spots and had me wandering a bit to find the next tee.

Other Thoughts:

I have played both the blue & white tees and enjoyed them both (even though blue handed me my lunch...and stole my bandit RIP). I also brought along a beginner who had a good day with no lost discs from the reds. It is well worth the $5 to play and is the best of the courses that I was able to bag while in Charleston for a few days. This course has so much going for it with very few drawbacks. I just wish it was close to home so I could play it more often.

Great course!
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5 6
Blazemedown
Experience: 11.6 years 12 played 3 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 24, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Beautifully kept tees/course with extraordinarily unique looks/holes. Great pro shop (great selection) with helpful staff (I recovered a disc I didn't even know I lost thanks to them).
Challenging course with crystal clear salt water coming into play on many holes.
Good mix of long open droves with some technical shots.

Cons:

There's a lot of water- i could see how others might be frustrated after a bad round at this course and misrepresent the incredibly unique merits of this course with reviews

Other Thoughts:

After 2 consecutive days at this course I managed to only lose 2 discs. From what my friends have told me, that was an accomplishment- many of those I've talked to faired much worse.
Regardless, it's a beautifully kept + totally unique course that is as challenging as it is spectacular.
Don't be fooled by the 4.x rating; it is one ofmthe best courses I've ever played
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9 1
Apsey
Experience: 66 played 11 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Love, Love, LOVE this course! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 25, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Challenging
-Well maintained
-great tee pads
-Blue, White, and Red Tees
-Pro shop on location
-low traffic / pedestrian interference

Cons:

- it's 35 minutes from my house
- it's $5 pay to play (with frequent players card you get 10th round free though)

Other Thoughts:

If you couldn't tell by the subject line, I LOVE this course. I love courses that can kick my butt and have me return home with my tail between my legs, and from the Blue tee's, Trophy Lakes can do that. There is a lot of water on the course, but fortunately it is on private property and there are divers that go out and retrieve discs periodically. When you go in the pro shop to pay for your round there is a book at the counter that will list by name (provided you put your name on your disc) and the type of disc found. You can pay either $2 or $3 to get your disc back.

The thing that I really like about the Blue tees is that the water trouble isn't always right in front of you. It could be 3/4 of the way down the fairway which calls for a well thrown placement shot. Lots of risk reward shots out there. There is also a hole that breaks the 1,000 foot barrier. It's a par 5, but even that can be tough if you end up anywhere on the left side of the fairway.

The White tees are much easier, but still really fun to play. The water is still in play from the whites, but it's a lot less likely you'll find water compared to the blues. Some of the par 4's and 5's are fairly easy to pick up birdies on from the whites as well.

The property is a Wake boarding and Disc golf facility, so from time to time you will have to wait on your tee shot for a wakeboarder to go by on the cable pull, but that's generally really fast and not bothersome at all. I actually enjoy watching them while playing.

In my opinion, this course is a must play if you're in the Charleston area!
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10 0
thecoasterman589
Experience: 10.7 years 33 played 6 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Course For All Skill Levels! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 9, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course will fit pretty much any player's skill level depending on which tee they play from because of the increasing amount of water from each tee (red tees don't really have many water hazards, while the blue tees have many water hazards). In addition, there was a ton of variation in hole design. For example, About half of the holes had some kind of water to worry about and half didn't. Also, some holes were heavily wooded and some were relatively open. The signage was good too. Each tee sign had the distances from each tee and a map of the hole. The course is well maintained and manicured and all of the tee pads, baskets, and signs seem in top-notch condition. There is also a great pro shop that sells many discs.

Cons:

There is a $5 fee to play which can be a pain, but it is well worth the price! Also, on nice days, there will be wakeboarders practicing on the lakes right next to the holes. They are very loud and might even splash you a bit while you are putting (if you are close enough to the water). There is a ton of water, so losing a disc is very possible, but you could always purchase a new disc in the pro shop.

Other Thoughts:

If you want a great day of fun, go to Trophy Lakes and bring $5, a golden retriever and some discs. It is one of the best DG experiences you can get in SC!
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1 7
EWSdiscgolf
Experience: 10.6 years 89 played 28 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Wow. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 9, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Three different tee pads
-Awesome Tee signs
-Pro shop to buy discs
-Very well maintained
-Practice basket
-On hole thirteen, there is a funnel basket and a hanging basket
-A nice challenge for people

Cons:

-Some holes are too hard for starters; they can lose a disc
- Red tees have no tee boxes
-Hole 16 crosses a road

Other Thoughts:

It is definitely worth $5 and I would come back to play here if I could.
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3 7
Chainsgoching
Experience: 22 years 183 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Good times 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Dec 4, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I thought they used the lay of the land very well, the course was very well manicured and had a great mix of long, challenging and short holes with multiple tees on each hole, making it challenging for all skill levels. I see a lot of reviewers complaing about water hazards, but I also enjoyed them as well. It made things exciting. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone

Cons:

The $5 to play, while worth the price, is a little steep. If I lived in the area it would suck to have to pay $5 everytime I wanted to play, as I typically play 2-4 times a week. Other than that....no gripes

Other Thoughts:

Keep it up Trophy Lakes.
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1 8
JLloydlongputt
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great course for Charleston area! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 28, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This is a pro styled course, that offers a lot of variety and difficulty. With that being said the beginner or "Rec" tees are perfect for those still in their learning curve. There's plenty of water hazards to keep you on your toes as you make your way around the lakes. The layout caters to every skill level, and its very well maintained.

Cons:

Overlapping of some holes on the back nine would be the main complaint here. Water hazards can be a headache but more concerned players can avoid it from the red tees. Dodging the wakeboard cable on tee 12 can be frustrating as well.

Other Thoughts:

This is a great all around course and is well worth the trip. Anyone who lives in the area has to feel lucky to have TL near by, I sure do!
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14 2
reposado
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.8 years 278 played 273 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Water, Water, Everywhere 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 28, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

I think it was around hole thirteen when I found myself questioning the existence of dry land. From six on, there will not be a hole in which water is not impacting your toss. There are many crossings, though only a couple of significant length. When you aren't throwing over water, you are usually throwing parallel to it.

I like courses that have an identity and Trophy Lakes certainly has that. It's not perfect but the exploring fingers of water create several memorable holes. Holes like eight, which backs you up into the woods, to throw onto a narrow stretch of land between an extremity of the lake and row of planted trees. The green is on a cairn with water on two sides. Or twelve, which allows a long layup before the crossing, unless you dare to try and make the 400 feet from tee to the far side of the water in one go.

It's a course you will have to let go to play. You will hit water at some point. Accept it. Throw floaters because you will likely get them back. The water at Trophy Lakes is better than on most courses. If you're there in the summer, you will see people swimming in it just around the bend.

There are three tee locations, and they provide a wide variety of difficulties. The short tees are almost too easy, with some very short holes, and none of the water crossings that make this course worth playing. The far tees are very difficult, often adding length before a crossing. The middles are the best designed though, and those are the ones that give the purest vision of Trophy Lakes.

Cons:

You'll get to make a some interesting throws here, yes, but you won't throw much is anything going right. This will likely be a frustrating course for most RHFH or LHBH players. There are many situations will realize that their favored style throw will put them in the water.

You will also find quite a few uninspired holes, in particular the first few. With zero elevation, its hard to make that many distinct holes, and when Trophy Lakes ventures away from the water, that shows. Hole one throws at a tent area. Hole eighteen throws along the parking area: row of cars is not an interesting obstacle. Another hole requires you to throw over an area of water where people will be wakeboarding.

The worst part of Trophy Lakes, by far, is the flowage. The navigation between holes is terrible, even for the standard tees. There's a lot of backtracking and wandering about looking for tees. The signs are good, so the basket can be easily found from the tee. It's just that the tee is often in a terrible location considering the position of the previous pin.

Other Thoughts:

Good solid course, that I'd go back to when in Charleston, but it's neither a course that I would want to play a lot, or a true destination course.
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