Augusta, GA to Blowing Rock, NC October 3-14

[Peter S]

I am planning to play some courses that I have only played once or twice each plus some all new ones (*=new). Any one who calls any of these lovely courses home or a favorite (especially *) and wants to show some tourists the local lines, reply or PM.

Due to proximity I have put a + next to two course combos I hope to play on the same day.

Besides playing Holston Creek on 10/5 on the way up to N.C. I am flexible on which day to play the others.

Augusta, GA area 10/3–10/4 & 10/13-10/14 *Langley Pond + *Boyd Pond, IDGC, Hippo, Lake O, P.K.

10/5 *Holston Creek, SC

Cabin in Blowing Rock, NC Oct 6 – 11 Highland Hills + Rolling Pines, Ashe, Glen C + *Sawmills, Richmond Hill.

We may have time for more in N.C. Am I missing anything great? I would like to keep the drive around 2 hours at most from Blowing Rock but I could be convinced to go further for something special.

 

[bhadella]

Sugaree. Fort Hamby instead of Highland Hills.

 

[Peter S]

Sugaree looks too hard for my wife & I. Me around 900 rated, my wife a bit less. Need to save some energy for a long vacation.

Course Conditions @ Ft. Hamby unplayable. can someone update if that is not the case. I have played Ft Hamby once, it was a bit new and rough. Has it improved or from the conditions update, gotten worse?

Highland Hills is one of my favorites so don't try to talk me out of that I see the conditions have not been updated for H.H. since a bad update in July. Can someone please update that as well.

I have only played Rolling Pines once so I see going back that direction more than once during this trip as we loved the course. I can see doing Rolling Pines + Ft H one day and an encore for R.P. + H.H. another day.

 

[bhadella]

Sugaree looks too hard for my wife & I. Me around 900 rated, my wife a bit less. Need to save some energy for a long vacation.

Course Conditions @ Ft. Hamby unplayable. can someone update if that is not the case. I have played Ft Hamby once, it was a bit new and rough. Has it improved or from the conditions update, gotten worse?

Highland Hills is one of my favorites so don't try to talk me out of that I see the conditions have not been updated for H.H. since a bad update in July. Can someone please update that as well.

I have only played Rolling Pines once so I see going back that direction more than once during this trip as we loved the course. I can see doing Rolling Pines + Ft H one day and an encore for R.P. + H.H. another day.

Ft Hamby is back open but I can't confirm the current conditions, they got hit with a very windy storm that brought down a bunch of trees.

 

[Pbmercil]

I'd be more then happy to show you the ropes on any or all of the courses in the Augusta region.

 

[Peter S]

^ sent you a P.M.

 

[hellbound]

Holston Creek can get a little hot and you will have to play all 20 some holes before you get back to the car. ToddL could fill you in on this one. Central SC has a great par 62 course if you haven't played it that's on your way up 85 (just south of Greenville) No plans on stopping and seeing the USDGC?

 

[F.Luke]

Holston Creek can get a little hot and you will have to play all 20 some holes before you get back to the car. ToddL could fill you in on this one. Central SC has a great par 62 course if you haven't played it that's on your way up 85 (just south of Greenville) No plans on stopping and seeing the USDGC?

It may be that the course has changed but I couldn't give Central, SC over par 60. Has it changed Hellbound?

OP, if you want a well manicured, fun, sufficiently challenging, and accesible to all players course in the upstate SC: Sertoma Field Walhalla, SC. Probably out of your way but sometimes I get "home"sick.:\

 

[Peter S]

It is tempting to stop by USDGC again but this time I think we will just use the day to play somewhere new.

If Grand Central Station was the other course, yes it is in my wish list.

 

[Peter S]

Added Sertoma Field Walhalla, SC to the wish list. The wooded holes look very nice on the pix.

 

[Peter S]

I see conditions at Holston recently updated as only Decent, grass in need of a cut. With an over 4 hour drive from Thomson, GA to Blowing Rock I am on the fence with Holston.

I read the reviews and they are very split, it seems like a love it or meh it. I watched the videos on Youtube and I am not blown away.

With the long day we will be playing the short tees, where available. Other than that with the "grass in need of a cut" does this mean I will burn much extra time looking for discs in the grass or just getting my ankles tickled a bit?

 

[ToddL]

I'm a Greenville resident and a Blowing Rock native, so I might be the world's #1 expert for your particular road trip. (really I'm not -- I don't get out to play very often and haven't seen some of the new courses)

The drive from BR to Asheville is just too much of a pain to make a day trip out of it. Any Asheville course you want to play should be reserved for the travel days.

I only played Holston once (went in for ACL surgery the day after it opened and haven't played anything since then) and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. There are a handful of exceptionally good holes out there, but it's also long and rough. I'm sure in October the weather will be fine, but I swore to never play it during a summer day. Trees are too short, grass is too prickly, dirt is too ... dirty. For my particular skill level (950-960), it fell right between easy and hard. There are a lot of 400' par 3s that I would never birdie but aren't hard enough to ever bogey. 27 holes, playing it blind, and I hit 3 trees all day. Again, there are a handful of holes that are extremely good, but stopping to play those 27 holes in the middle of a 4 hour drive might be a bit much.

I'm a big fan of Grand Central Station, but that would add an hour to your driving time. I would highly recommend Shoally Creek (Va du Mar) in Boiling Springs (just outside Spartanburg). That course is criminally underrated on this site and is one of the best in the state. Pipeline is also extremely good, and October would be a great time to play it (although it's heavily wooded, it's hot and muggy during summer).

In Augusta, my favorites are Patriots, Olmstead, and IDGC. I haven't played the new Langley course but have heard extremely good things. PK and Hippo do nothing for me. Played them once or twice, never have the need to play them again.

In Asheville ... well, Richmond Hills is overrated. That's about all I have. The new Jackson course seems to get good reviews.

In BR, it's mostly a shame that there aren't more courses nearby. Ashe County is spectacular. Glenn Hilton in Hickory is pretty fun even if a little goofy at times. Harmon Hills is across the border in TN, and while you're over there you could also hit Warriors Path (although it's been about 15 years since I've played there). And the trio of Wilkesboro courses are close enough. For the first/second week in October, there will be a lot of color in the trees, but hopefully most of the leaves will still be attached. Once the leaves start to fall, it can be extremely tough to find your disc in the woods.
http://biology.appstate.edu/fall-color-report/fall-color-map-north-carolina It looks like Jefferson will get peak leaf color around Oct 7, and the leaves will start to fall very quickly after peak. Those red and orange discs that stand out so well during the summer will turn invisible under a layer of freshly fallen leaves.

 

[Peter S]

Thanks for the info Todd. I was on the fence with Holston & may try Shoally Creek on that travel day now.

As far as Blowing Rock to Asheville, that will be a scenic drive on the Blue Ridge day. A little less about throwing that day and as much about the drive. I guess I can expect about a 3-4 hour drive to Asheville via the Blue Ridge? I have only played Richmond Hill once but seem to recall liking it very much so I think I am set on that plan.

I have played Harmon Hills & Warriors Path so I don't think we will go that way again.

I have never played Patriots park so I may try to fit that one in as well. Would you like to guide us?