A couple of Charlotte course questions.

[BionicRib]

Not sure what else you have going on those 3 days but you would be doing yourself and your buddy an incredible disservice if you didn't at least attempt to bag 3 or 4 of these great courses a day. You should leave Charlotte with your arms ready to fall off. Hands down the best disc golf scene I've ever seen. Play one great course, hop in the car, drive ten minutes and play another. And so on and so on.....

 

[robbrews]

When it's raining I'd say Bradford and Robbins. The drainage is awesome. Just you have to watch for the creek running up the middle of Robbins. I would definitely suggest rennaisance gray also for an intermediate player. Not quite the gold but you get the feel of renny too without the rediculousness that some of those holes can be.

 

[tom12003]

Winget drains pretty well; we have Sunday morning random draw doubles with a 10:15 draw. After that I'd hit up Hornet's Nest (closed on Sat. for a B-tier) which should have very good drainage.

 

[DiscJunkie]

I am an Intermediate player and I play Charlotte courses once or twice a year (but have not played them all), and here's my take:
My faves for fun if you are distance-challenged:
Kilborn, Reedy Creek, Sugaw, Mint Hill (short, fun 9-holer that is better than its reputation), Winget, Elon short

Faves for those that are not distance-challenged:
Eastway, Renske, Elon Long, Bradford.

Granted these are not all of Charlotte's best courses, but sometimes I want to play a great course and get punished.
Sometimes I just wanna have some fun.

 

[Spinthrift]

The 3-package of Eastway, Kilborne and Sugaw is very attractive. All are within 5 minutes of each other, with Another Round Disc Golf 5 minutes from Sugaw and Eastway. Each is a testy intermediate/advanced course - all used in tournament rotations. Kilborne is Charlotte 2nd oldest course (behind Reedy Creek). Eastway was one of the nine courses built to host 2012 Worlds. If you wanted to do four courses in a day, Reedy is <15 minutes from Eastway.

I'd echo Nevin, with whichever other course you have any remaining energy for. The reopening of Hornet's Nest is a certified-big-forkin-deal. Lots of players chomping at the bit for the starting gun on this. And HN is only 10 minutes from Nevin with the combo being really, really hard to beat. Quintessential Charlotte disc golf.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of the choices. If you'd like any detailed info or have other questions I'm on the CDGC board and you're welcomed to contact me. Enjoy your trip.

 

[MountainMan]

I guess I could have mentioned in my original post that we are both in our 50s, so everyone suggesting 3-4 courses a day - I do think our arms would fall off!

Thanks for all the tips. It does sound like we've got plenty of choices to make!

 

[DiscJunkie]

I guess I could have mentioned in my original post that we are both in our 50s, so everyone suggesting 3-4 courses a day - I do think our arms would fall off!

Thanks for all the tips. It does sound like we've got plenty of choices to make!

Same here, I'm 59, and I have to balance the "wow" factor with the fun factor and my ability to take in and enjoy the course.
Eastway is a bit hilly and long, as is Renny and Nevin and Smith and some others.
In the flat category are Sugaw and Kilborne.
Reedy Creek is hilly, but short, so it's never been a problem for me.
Bradford and Winget are in-between, a little hilly, but not that long, but they're also a bit out of the way.
Whatever courses you play, you'll have a blast.
Above all, have some fun.

 

[DavidSauls]

I've played about half the Charlotte courses, and they're excellent.

But if you're on the south side of Charlotte, you ought to at least consider Camp Canaan. Its hours are limited and perhaps tricky to schedule. But of all the Charlotte courses I love to play, it's the one I love the most.

 

[MonkeyGrass]

I guess I could have mentioned in my original post that we are both in our 50s, so everyone suggesting 3-4 courses a day - I do think our arms would fall off!

Thanks for all the tips. It does sound like we've got plenty of choices to make!

That being the case, I would question Nevin, and or possibly RL. Both are long, physically draining championship caliber courses. If you do either of them I think they will be all you do that day. People that aren't from this area don't always understand how much terrain and elevation there are in many of our local courses. You're worrying about your arm falling off, when the real concern is your cardio/core strength and conditioning will determine whether you can make it thru the day, not your arm! RL is the more forgiving of the these two, IMO.

Winget is a must play. Canaan is one of the coolest courses in the country, IMO. But only open Sat/Sun mornings.

Bradford/Robbins is a great combo. Elon (Eager + Angry) is a great park with two awesome courses. Renny grey is what you would play, NOT Renny Gold. Grey + RenSke makes a great day for intermediate players.

AVOID DRY CREEK in the rain. The name is VERY tongue in cheek - as that course is a swamp for 2-3 days after a decent rain. It's also kind of out by itself, hard to get another course close that one, other than Scrapyard or maybe Crooked Creek (which is a sub-300' beginner course).

Idlewild (Scrapyard) is one of my favorite courses in town. Similar in difficulty to Winget, but with water in play on 2 holes and a little more variety of shots. From there, you can hit Kilborne/Sugaw/Reedy Creek very easily.

Have fun!! You've got PLENTY of options!!

 

[MountainMan]

You guys are driving me crazy! So many good suggestions to add to a list that was already too long! Wish I could add a couple days to the trip.

The two recent mentions of Canaan made me look it up, and that looks amazing!

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[BraveThrower43]

Hornet's Nest will be back that weekend and I would go there no doubt. There will be a pdga there on saturday but otherwise it will be playable

 

[BrotherDave]

Scrapyard would be a great play for the older folks. Studly wooded golf in a suitable for all ages package right there. I'd probably pass on Nevin, RL Smith, Renny, Stumpy, and maybe Eastway if you don't want a workout (which pains me to say b/c Nevin is probably my favorite course in CLT).

 

[MountainMan]

Scrapyard would be a great play for the older folks. Studly wooded golf in a suitable for all ages package right there. I'd probably pass on Nevin, RL Smith, Renny, Stumpy, and maybe Eastway if you don't want a workout (which pains me to say b/c Nevin is probably my favorite course in CLT).

Well, we're not decrepit or anything! :\

I play mountain courses all the time. It's just two rounds a day is a lot more reasonable than 3-4 for our arms.

In any case, thanks for all the tips on this thread. I guess my takeaway is to enjoy the heck out of the courses we play rather than regret the ones we miss.

 

[MountainMan]

Goat Island. I've only played here once but it was a very ideal disc golf experience. Moderately wooded, well defined fairways in a picturesque park setting. Good mix of length and lines, with a moderate challenge throughout the entire course. If you play Winget or RL, its close to both.

If you go to my youtube channel I have videos of a lot of charlotte courses. If you type in a course it should pop up. www.youtube.com/thediscgolfvids I don't think photos always give you enough perspective on how a hole plays.

Your video of Goat Island moved it onto my list. Looks like a fun shot shaping course, and the trees looked very cool.

Sure wish I had your putting stroke!

 

[Mike C]

Its a really nice course. I'm surprised at the lack of attention it receives. I'm guessing because the mosquitoes get really bad in the summer. Also just posted one for Sugaw.

 

[MountainMan]

Figured I might as well post how the trip went, in case anyone follows in our footsteps.

We played -

Camp Catalpa - Richmond, KY - I rate it as a 3. Nice fun, short course in a pretty park. One set of 9 tees with two baskets on each.

Richmond Hill - Asheville, NC - I rate it as a 4. It was a misty morning and the course was pretty wet, but we had a good time. I'd have rated it even higher, but too many holes across the ravine felt similar. A few tee boxes were pretty sketchy too. Very fun and fair course for intermediate players.

Sandhill NT - Asheville, NC - I rate it as a 3. Very nice, level tee boxes. Lots of forehand friendly holes and several ace runs towards the end. A few holes are too close to soccer fields and roads though. Good variety of holes.

Catawba Meadows - Morganton, NC - I rate as a 3.5. Very nice, new tee boxes. This course was our halfway stop on the drive from Asheville to Charlotte. After playing wooded courses the last two days, this open, park course was fun to throw bombs on.

Charlotte Area Courses -

Bradley Center - I rate as 3. Signage needs to be repaired, but this was another fun wooded course. Nice use of elevation and a fun finishing hole.

Robert L. Smith - I rate as 4.5. Very nice course in a big park. Lots of memorable holes - 3, 9, 12, 17, 18 and nice variety. I loved this course!

Goat Island - I won't rate this one as I'd been having a bit too much fun with Charlotte Beer Week, and my memory of the course isn't the best! The park was also really busy with walkers, picnickers, etc. on a beautiful sunny day, and that interrupted the flow on a few holes. This is also the only course I lost any discs on as I had two wind up in the river.

Hornet's Nest - I rate as 3.5. We played this the day after the tournament, so there was pretty good signage up that helped us with navigation. Nice enough wooded course, but I really missed the elevation changes most of the other courses offered. If you don't want to hike up and down hills, though, that might be a plus.

Rolling Pines - Wilkesboro, NC - I rate 4.5. Nice new course with top notch amenities and an excellent mix of open and wooded holes. It's a toss-up between this and RL Smith for my favorite course of the trip. Just a great place to play a round.

Warrior's Path - Kingsport, TN - I rate a 3.5. We didn't have time for the full 27 holes, but the 19 we played were mostly tight, wooded holes. Lots of mid-range tee shots as the course is mostly fairly short. Picked up several birdies, so this was a good way to end the trip.

And those are the 10 courses we played in four days. I was also super impressed with the local beers. Green Man, Wicked Weed, Red Clay Ciders, Wedge, etc. Many really excellent beers were consumed!

Thanks for all the suggestions in this thread. I wish we'd had a few more days!

 

[DavidSauls]

Thanks for the summary.

Nice that you enjoyed R.L. Smith. I rate it high in "fun factor".

 

[Mike C]

Nice write up. Glad you enjoyed yourself!

I plan to get up to Rolling Pines soon myself.

 

[DiscGolfCraig]

Figured I might as well post how the trip went, in case anyone follows in our footsteps.

That's a pretty interesting collection of courses. I doubt too many people plan on playing Goat Island, Catawba Meadows, and Bradley Center instead of Nevin, Renny, and Glenn Hilton. Glad you got to play Rolling Pines. That became an instant classic, elite-level course the second it opened.

That said, you got a much better feel of courses from decent layouts to great ones in this area. You could spend a week in Charlotte and still not have enough time to play all the great courses within an hour of here.

 

[MountainMan]

Nice write up. Glad you enjoyed yourself!

I plan to get up to Rolling Pines soon myself.

Your videos were great in helping us get a feel for what some of the courses look like, even though we tended to wind up in very different places off the tee than you do! Thanks for doing that. I even decided to give Axiom a try after seeing how well they flew for you, and so far I'm loving the Inspire.