Road trip to Charlotte... courses...

[shimmishim]

Hello! So a group of us are taking a road trip and wanted to know the must-play courses of the Charlotte area. Looking at a map... it's a bit overwhelming to see the number of courses there are.

The plan is to try and play about 3 courses on one day and 2 courses the following before driving back. It's a short trip but was wondering what courses to play.

Requirements:
18+ holes (we could play a 9-hole course twice as well)
Free (unless there's an amazing one we should pay to play)
Courses that don't have a ton of long drives (since we are trying to play 3 courses in a day)
Mix of wooded and wide open holes (again unless there's an amazing one that's all wooded or all open, that's okay too)

I know that Charlotte is an amazing area for disc golf and part of the reason why we are road tripping it out there.

Thanks!

 

[tbird888]

I did a Charlotte trip three years ago. These would be the ones I'd definitely play again:
Renny
RL Smith
Bradford
Nevin (didn't play this, and I regret it)

There are replay worthy as well
Winget - contact tom12003 here. He was a great guide.
Scrapyard (Idlewild)
Elon Park (both the Beavers were fun and would make for a fun two course day)

Also had fun at:
Kilborne
Reedy Creek
Sugaw Creek

 

[BraveThrower43]

I did a Charlotte trip three years ago. These would be the ones I'd definitely play again:
Renny
RL Smith
Bradford
Nevin (didn't play this, and I regret it)

There are replay worthy as well
Winget - contact tom12003 here. He was a great guide.
Scrapyard (Idlewild)
Elon Park (both the Beavers were fun and would make for a fun two course day)

Also had fun at:
Kilborne
Reedy Creek
Sugaw Creek

I think this is a solid ranking. Pretty much all the 18 holes in mecklenburg county are nice. Elon angry has undergone some changes and is a little tricky to navigate.

I'd add camp cannan in rock hill to the short list. That's a very nice course just outside charlotte. But you need a reservation on dgu.

Also Stumpy Creek north of town is a very underated design if you feel like making the drive north.

Hope you have a good time in town

 

[shimmishim]

Renny = Renaissance Park?
RL Smith = Robert L Smith?

Just want to double check. Thanks!

 

[BrotherDave]

^ You got it.

 

[shimmishim]

Thanks guys. Lots of good recommendation... now we have to decide!

 

[1978]

You all forget Robbins, in tip top shape just off the Charlotte Masters event. Robbins, Bradford, Nevin, Eastway, Sugaw, RL Smith, Stumpy, Hornets Nest(when re-opened), Renny maybe one of the best most diverse DG clusters in the country. From exit 16 off 77 they are all within 10-15 miles (basically).

 

[1978]

4 day Charlotte Trip - if flying in. This is my recommendation I give to friends visiting Charlotte.

Arrival Day 1 -
Kilborne, Eastway, Sugaw, Reedy Creek
Drive up to Mooresville and Stay
Day 2
Stumpy Creek , Robbins , Bradford Short, Nevin long or shorts is both good, have you skipping by Bailey which is a 22 hole shorter course next to Robbins, this gonna be a long day for you.

Day 3
Idlewild, Elon Angry Beaver, Elon Eager Beaver(short course), Winget

Day 4
Renny Gold, (Renske on the same property plays in 40 minutes) Robert L.Smith

 

[DougCrawford]

Top 5 for me would be

Renny
RL Smith
Nevin

And just outside of town-

Robbins
Dry Creek

 

[tbird888]

Honestly, if I were to do the trip over again, I'd play less Charlotte and more northern NC. Ashe County and Sugaree were better than everything I played in Charlotte.

 

[DavidSauls]

Honestly, if I were to do the trip over again, I'd play less Charlotte and more northern NC. Ashe County and Sugaree were better than everything I played in Charlotte.

Blasphemer!

OK, it may be true, but it's still blasphemy.

*

Anyway, perhaps are Charlotte friends will sort out their Top 5 into geographical groupings. Charlotte can be a nuisance to criss-cross town bagging courses.

Myself, I've only played half of Charlotte, but I'd say Renny & Nevin are sure-things. Renny has the mix of open and wooded, and classic pin placements. Nevin is the all-wooded course that is amazing enough to meet the O.P.'s specifications. Both are beasts, so unless you're marathoning, one other course in the same day as one of these might be plenty.

 

[BrotherDave]

You all forget Robbins, in tip top shape just off the Charlotte Masters event.

Yeah, Robbins is a great course. It fits the OP's criteria well, particularly the mixed open/wooded criterion. :thmbup:

 

[grodney]

The plan is to try and play about 3 courses on one day and 2 courses the following before driving back. It's a short trip but was wondering what courses to play.

Requirements:
18+ holes (we could play a 9-hole course twice as well)
Free (unless there's an amazing one we should pay to play)
Courses that don't have a ton of long drives (since we are trying to play 3 courses in a day)
Mix of wooded and wide open holes (again unless there's an amazing one that's all wooded or all open, that's okay too)

Day 1:
Renny, RLSmith, Winget

Day 2:
Nevin, Bradford (assuming Hornets is unavailable)

Requirement analysis:
- Yes, 18 holes.
- Yes, free.
- These courses are (comparatively) arduous, but you can still knock them out.
- These courses are much more wooded than open.

This plan gets you the top 4 DGCR-rated free courses, along with Winget which is a solid Charlotte-y experience while being less turbo than the others.

 

[Toro71]

Day 1:
Renny, RLSmith, Winget

Day 2:
Nevin, Bradford (assuming Hornets is unavailable).

I like the look of this.

Renny also has multiple overlapping layouts that can be a handful to navigate for out-of-towners. It's better now with the tee signs out there for sure, but a local to tag along wouldn't be a terrible idea.

They're awesome, though. Since they canned the 'grey' layout, and now have Gold, Pro-Players, and Renske, it makes a real spread of difficulty. Gold--pro, Pro Players--Intermediate/Advanced (ironically,) and Renske--noob/intermediate. (Renske's probably the shortest, but no pushover fo sho.)

You could in theory spend the day there, but obviously limit yourself to the rest of our embarrassment of riches.

 

[grodney]

I was thinking end at Winget at the end of a long day.....but maybe you start there to warm up, then hit RLSmith, then spend the rest of the day at Renny. You can play the various layouts there until you drop.

But yeah what Toro said about the overlapping layouts at Renny.....can be very confusing.

 

[tbird888]

I'm grateful that I had a guide when I played there, and even he was a little confused at points.

 

[Toro71]

Since the US Masters last year, the tee signs are pretty good, and if iirc now the baskets have the tops painted gold/white when shared, etc. Gold and Pro Players overlap pretty heavily (Share a lot of tees/baskets, not quite as much as gold/grey when grey was the 'shorter' alt) whereas Renske really only overlaps with Gold 11-13.

But still, golf with buddies can make careful scrutiny of tee signs a hassle sometimes.

 

[Chef_b_discn]

My first course I ever played, 8 years ago, was Winthrop in Rock Hill. The USDGC is played there. I would highly recommend adding this course to the list.

My playing partner and I are planning a trip to this course and the IDGC courses this summer.

 

[tom12003]

Since the US Masters last year, the tee signs are pretty good, and if iirc now the baskets have the tops painted gold/white when shared, etc. Gold and Pro Players overlap pretty heavily whereas Renske only overlaps with Gold 11-13.

The baskets are NOT painted, they are color vinyl wrapped--yellow for gold, white for pro-players and red for Renske; if shared will have 2 colors.

 

[Toro71]

The baskets are NOT painted, they are color vinyl wrapped--yellow for gold, white for pro-players and red for Renske; if shared will have 2 colors.

Oh, OK. I couldn't remember for sure, but I thought I'd notice some color-coding last time.