Heading to Charlotte North Carolina

[EarthRocker]

Bumping this as we are just under two weeks from our 3 day trip. I think we are playing course based on the highest reviews. Couple questions.

1. Is there anything we need to know to avoid at certain times? Like is any course one to avoid on a Friday afternoon? Saturday morning?

2. I am used to playing courses with lots of open spaces and par 4s. Looking at pictures, these courses look kinda tight. Should I focus on mids and fairways more than DDs?

1. I'd probably stay away from Reedy Creek in general, just because it always seems to be crowded these days. And Kilborne gets that way unless you're there fairly early on weekends.

2. Most area courses are wooded to one degree or another. Hornets Nest has some nice open holes on the front side, and several par 4's sprinkled in. No matter where you play, placement (or just accuracy off the tee) is paramount.
Down in Rock Hill is a fun park track at Boyd Hill. Not too long, good bit of open shots. It's a blast to play, but I'd be lying if I said it was tough in any way. No par 4's, I don't think.

 

[PMantle]

Got back last night. Rain and a two day tournament altered our plans a great deal. We were able to get Hornet's Nest Friday afternoon. Loved it. Had to drive South to avoid the rain Saturday morning and played Chester State Park. I liked it enough. Then headed to Canaan which was mixed for me. Loved some of it, didn't care for other aspects. Sunday morning we played Renaissance Park. Having had enough long tracks earlier in the trip we attempted to play the Gold layout but from up tees. I never figured out if that was an actual layout. There's a recent review of the course and my thoughts are summed up by that reviewer's cons. Bottom line-I actually hated it and could not wait for it to be over.

 

[bhadella]

Got back last night. Rain and a two day tournament altered our plans a great deal. We were able to get Hornet's Nest Friday afternoon. Loved it. Had to drive South to avoid the rain Saturday morning and played Chester State Park. I liked it enough. Then headed to Canaan which was mixed for me. Loved some of it, didn't care for other aspects. Sunday morning we played Renaissance Park. Having had enough long tracks earlier in the trip we attempted to play the Gold layout but from up tees. I never figured out if that was an actual layout. There's a recent review of the course and my thoughts are summed up by that reviewer's cons. Bottom line-I actually hated it and could not wait for it to be over.

I can see how it was such a brutal time.

Renaissance is setup as 3 distinct courses that sometimes use common infrastructure (teepads and baskets). None of them follow the same flow and routing as the other layouts like more traditionally designed courses that have multiple teepads flowing to the same basket. You have to commit to one layout and stick with it.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

@PMantke: sorry the trip didn't work out like you'd hopef.

Renaissance is setup as 3 distinct courses that sometimes use common infrastructure (teepads and baskets). None of them follow the same flow and routing as the other layouts like more traditionally designed courses that have multiple teepads flowing to the same basket. You have to commit to one layout and stick with it.

Sounds like something that takes a bit of getting used to, and isn't necessarily "friendly" to the first time visitor.

I've seen a few places that have different layouts (or even courses) that overlap, often in clever/creative ways which make sense once you understand what's really going on, but arent necessarily obvious to the uninitiated.

I think it really comes down to creating a logical flow, and simple (yet effective) signage.

Maple Hills is probably the best executed example of overlapping multiple layouts I've ever seen. They've done a great job of color coding everything so even first timers shouldn't get confused.

 

[ray1970]

It seems like a lot of the courses out east have weird, multiple layouts.

The vast majority of the courses around me typically have one tee pad and one basket. There may be multiple positions where the basket could be but there aren't multiple baskets.

I suppose if a course wants to have short and long layouts then either have single baskets with short and long pads or have single pads with short and long baskets. Having multiple baskets and pads for every hole gets confusing AF.

I tried playing a course once that even Udisc couldn't help me navigate. Just gave up after hole 5 and left. I went to play, not spend endless amounts of my time hiking around looking at Udisc maps and trying to decipher poor signage.

 

[bhadella]

At least in the case of Charlotte, multiple layouts on same piece of land was a function of not having as much land to use for courses as we had motivated people wanting to build courses. The historically overlapping courses (original design of Hornets Nest and Renaissance) were back when the Club only have fives parks available for courses. The Club (well, really it was Stan) maximized the use of the land to the maximum which created the overlapping courses. More modern designs typically included multiple pads to the same baskets making foot traffic and flow common.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Stan McDaniel.. now there's a guy who likes to make players think before running at the basket.

 

[ray1970]

Ok. I need to know if there are any plants or animals that I need to watch out for when playing in North Carolina.

Anything that is pokey or scratchy or that bites or stings or that will have me finishing a round with a new scar?

 

[Monocacy]

Ok. I need to know if there are any plants or animals that I need to watch out for when playing in North Carolina.

There are a few venomous snakes but you are highly unlikely to encounter them.

Anything that is pokey or scratchy or that bites or stings or that will have me finishing a round with a new scar?

Might be some thorny underbrush in the unlikely event that you land off the generous North Carolina fairways.

Learn to recognize poison ivy, which is common on woods edges and can give you a nasty rash after repeated exposure.

The main threats are Blue Devils, Demon Deacons, and Tarheels.

 

[PMantle]

We saw some swarming yellow jackets on Renny and even saw the queen. Other than that, the courses in that area had WAY fewer natural hazards than what we deal with in La. on a daily basis. My legs stay cut, scabbed and scarred.

 

[ray1970]

Learn to recognize poison ivy, which is common on woods edges and can give you a nasty rash after repeated exposure.

I'll have to google it. I don't think we have any poison ivy or poison oak or poison sumac or anything else like that in Colorado. That's why I was asking. Didn't want to be stomping through the brush all willy nilly like I do around here and get into something that burns or itches.

 

[Rastnav]

I'll have to google it. I don't think we have any poison ivy or poison oak or poison sumac or anything else like that in Colorado. That's why I was asking. Didn't want to be stomping through the brush all willy nilly like I do around here and get into something that burns or itches.

Simple rule is "Leaves of three, let it be." It's a vine, but frequently just looks like your average woods undergrowth. It has clusters of 3 leaves. It likes shade much more than direct sunshine, but you may see it anywhere.

Be extra careful when you see a vine like this snaking up a tree trunk. That can be just as irritating as the leaves, or more:

Make sure you can distinguish it from Virginia creeper as well, as people tend to confuse them. Creeper has a more distinct sawtooth leaf edge and 5 leaves per cluster.

 

[Rastnav]

Also, on the snake front, the only ones you should have to worry about in Charlotte are copperheads. They don't want to mess with you. Just take heavy footsteps when going through brush and they'll most likely clear off. You aren't actually likely to see any of them.

If it gets colder, you may end up seeing one sunning itself, though.

They can kind of blend in. Especially if you haven't seen one before:

 

[ray1970]

I'll just tell my wife there aren't any snakes.

I learned a while back that when I see one not to point it out to her. I didn't know snakes could get scared from the scream of a woman but I've seen it.

 

[DavidSauls]

What they said. You're sure to see poison ivy, usually as thick ground cover, sometimes as vines.

Copperheads are possible. I haven't seen one in a couple of years, but that doesn't keep me from watching out for them. Particularly in fallen leaves, where their camouflage is amazing.

Oh, and the ants. Fire ants. You don't want to stand or set your bag down on a nest. Won't kill you, but may render your language unfit for public consumption.

Homo sapiens are the real danger, but you've probably encountered them in Colorado.

 

[EarthRocker]

Lots of Black snakes and Kings, but of course those are the good ones. I've seen Copperheads at Renaissance, Plantation Ruins, and RL Smith. But I'm sure they're friggin' everywhere. As has been mentioned, though: you only have to worry about one if you step on it, pretty much. If you see one, give it a wide berth. If you're bringing a disc hound, he or she might get themselves into trouble by being curious...

No one would have to worry about poison ivy or oak if I were with you - I'm always finding it and getting totally eaten up by it. Even in my own back yard..

PMAntle, I'm sorry you had a bad time at Renaissance. We locals have been playing it for so long, through all the iterations, that it feels like second nature to navigate it. I totally get how frustrating it can be if you've never been there. Some really great golf to be had out there, but...I get it.

 

[PMantle]

PMAntle, I'm sorry you had a bad time at Renaissance. We locals have been playing it for so long, through all the iterations, that it feels like second nature to navigate it. I totally get how frustrating it can be if you've never been there. Some really great golf to be had out there, but...I get it.

Some of it is purely subjective, as I prefer openish courses. I would give it one more go though if playing with a local group. Really hate that we could not play Nevin.

 

[ray1970]

Looking for a somewhat easy, hopefully not overly crowded course to play in the Charlotte area tomorrow (Sunday).

My wife hasn't thrown in a week and will have to knock the rust off and I need to get a feel for what a 4500+' elevation change is going to do for my discs before we tackle some real courses throughout the week.

Thanks.

 

[ray1970]

Ugh. Now I know what Nate Sexton meant with his "why are trees?" comment.

Just finished +2 at possibly the easiest course in the state. And that was with six birdies.

I looked like a pro. You know, when they throw what appears to be an almost perfect shot and it clips the very last tree you need to beat to be parked and the disc kicks eighty feet off the fairway leaving you with nothing for your next shot.

 

[discNDav]

Ugh. Now I know what Nate Sexton meant with his "why are trees?" comment.

Just finished +2 at possibly the easiest course in the state. And that was with six birdies.

Bailey? I shot -2 while missing 4 birdie putts on the front 9 but my excuse was it was my 5th course in 3 days.