Buckhorn Best Park in NC

[That Chinger Guy]

Made a day trip to go play there yesterday. The best course I've played so far, hands down.

Are there any other courses that compare or come close to being better in NC?

 

[AdamCaudle]

Buckhorn is really really nice. Have you played Hornet's Nest or Renny yet?

 

[Dave242]

I graded a Buckhorn a solid B (grade of 85). I prefer all of these more than Buckhorn and all are really good courses:

[b]Grade		Course . . . . . . . .	--	City[/b]
98	--	Fox Chase . . . . . .	--	Albemarle
96	--	Yadkin County Park .	--	Yadkinville
94	--	Castle Hayne . . . .	--	Wilmington
93	--	Renaissance - Gold .	--	Charlotte
93	--	Renaissance - Orig .	--	Charlotte
92	--	Kilborne . . . . . . . 	--	Charlotte
92	--	UNC . . . . . . . . . .	--	Chapel Hill
92	--	Wellspring . . . . . . 	--	Burlington
91	--	Cedarock . . . . . . .	--	Burlington
91	--	Hornet's Nest - Orig .	--	Charlotte
91	--	Richmond Hill . . . . .	--	Asheville
90	--	Hornet's Nest - Web .	--	Charlotte
89	--	Reedy Creek . . . . . 	--	Charlotte
88	--	Stumpy Creek . . . .	--	Mooresville
88	--	Glenn Hilton . . . . . 	--	Hickory
88	--	Sugaw Creek . . . . .	--	Charlotte
87	--	Valley Springs . . . . 	--	Durham
87	--	Cedar Hills . . . . . .	--	Raleigh
87	--	Davidson University . .	--	Davidson
87	--	Johnson Street . . . .	--	High Point
86	--	Mars Hill College . . 	--	Mars Hill
86	--	Rankin Lake . . . . . 	--	Gastonia

To be fair, I rank all courses from the longest tees and Buckhorn from the longs is too much for me and my 300' arm (300' accurately, 360' max). Too many holes are impossible for me to birdie, but par is routine. Equals boring. Buckhorn does have shorter tees, and so if I played the best tees for me it would rate much higher.

My 2 biggest beefs for Buckhorn are:

1) It has a strange feel too it in that so many of the fairways simply go down existing logging trails and paths so it feels less like a "real" course. I realize that the course had to be installed only with hand tools, so huge kudos to Snoop and the others who busted their butts to get the course installed.
2) The 2 water holes over coves in the lake do not have realistic bail-out options. That is a big detriment when it is windy and is unfair to LHBH and RHFH players.

 

[JTacoma03]

I only got into DG in the last 4 months that I lived in NC, and boy was I spoiled to learn the game on some of the best courses in the US.

Buckhorn is a good one, frustrated the hell outta me at the time though. Besides the obvious ones (Renny, Hornet's Nest) my NC favorites are Glen Hilton and Middle Creek.

 

[jkdisc]

i do love some Buckhorn

 

[oddjob]

castle hayne is a sweet course

 

[biscoe]

imo buckhorn is the best in the raleigh area and better than about 2/3 of those dave lists higher- not nc's best though. renny.

i do agree with dave that it is lhbh unfriendly.

 

[hogleggbob]

never played it but you have my attention...

 

[sloppydisc]

My buddy and I have probably played Buckhorn about 75 times. He plays RHFH and does not have a big arm. Probably 250-275' max drive. He beats me about 75% of the time on that course and handles the water holes pretty well. Plus the RHFH or LHBH helps on many of the other holes there. Or, maybe I just suck and it isn't that hard to beat me. But all that being said, don't let anything scare you away from Buckhorn. Sure the wind and water can lose you some plastic, but it is a great course, and everyone should play it at least once.

 

[Tyson]

Buckhorn is top ten, NC has many great courses.

Courses not on Dave's list would be:
Lake Reidsville
W. Jefferson
Zebulon
Ramcat Ridge
etc.

 

[BrotherDave]

Buckhorn is nasty. Not my favorite, but I'm glad it's there. It's a pretty fun from the shorts but those longs can be brutal. Gorgeous park though. Don't know about top 10, probably top 15 though.

 

[Olorin]

Buckhorn is #3 on my enjoyment ratings of the 107 NC courses I've played. You can find my list at Olorin's NC Course Ratings.

Until I meet someone says otherwise, I'll continue to make the claim that I've played more NC courses (public and private) than anybody else.

I'd put Valley Springs in Durham as my #2 favorite in the Triangle.

 

[Olorin]

Blast that pesky 5 minute edit limit!! :wall:

I wrote that first post too fast and overlooked my own ranking system. Buckhorn is only in the #3 position because it starts with "B". In actuality, Buckhorn is rated the same as the other 9 courses I rated at 9. That's as precise as I can get.

 

[1978]

Nevin

Nevin might be outpacing Hornets Nest in the minds of a lot of people lately. Dave, I am suprised you haven't checked it out yet or that it isn't on your list. Stan designed and I built it as a "Pro" level course but there are birdies out there and lots of bogeys.

 

[BrotherDave]

Nevin might be outpacing Hornets Nest in the minds of a lot of people lately. Dave, I am suprised you haven't checked it out yet or that it isn't on your list. Stan designed and I built it as a "Pro" level course but there are birdies out there and lots of bogeys.

If you're referring to Dave242, it's probably b/c he's in Illinois AKA disc golf wasteland right now.

If me, I'm lazy and don't go to Charlotte as much as I'd like.

 

[Dave242]

Buckhorn is top ten, NC has many great courses.

Courses not on Dave's list would be:
Lake Reidsville
W. Jefferson
Zebulon
Ramcat Ridge
etc.

Ramcat Ridge is on my personal list with a score of 93 (tied for #4), but I left it off my post since it is not listed on this site. I have not played the new holes on the completed 18 at W.Jeff, but I have it at #1 in NC and #3 overall on my list of 9-holers. You know my thoughts on Lake Reidsville.....and by the looks of even some recent reviews there are others that agree with my take on it.

I do not get why so many think Zebulon is such a good course. Besides being an unattractive park, it is made up of 2 distinct types of holes (with a couple exceptions): For those big bombers that like the open long bomb holes, the wooded holes for the most part are too short. For those whose skills match the shorter wooded holes, the long open holes are plain boring. How can that equate to being a favorite course, or a highly rated course by many?

 

[sloppydisc]

Reidsville and Zebulon are good calls. I will have to check out Ramcat Ridge. Sounds cool.

 

[chain-addicted]

Where is Ramcat Ridge??? Can someone post a link please. I tried looking for it through course listings.

 

[JTacoma03]

No other love for Middle Creek?

I guess it is a rather new course. Even Olorin hasn't rated it.

 

[Dave242]

http://www.triaddiscgolf.com/