Pros:
Minutes from the beach, you'll find Bill Smith Park. A nice, simple 9-hole layout that feels like many other Carolina coastal courses.
- From Charleston to Myrtle Beach to the Outer Banks, this course felt like many a coastal course. Think Four Poles & Tidal Creek (Fire Swamp) in Charleston or Ace Run in Manteo.
- This is a wooded course. For a course that averages 183 feet per hole, there is a fair amount of variety. Holes #2 & 3 are 'open' by this course's standards. But you still have to carve shots around trees to have a look at birdie.
- #4 & 6 are the fun wooded holes. Pick a line around trees on #4. You have multiple options to get close to the basket on this hole. On #6, it's a tighter line to the basket. Plus, you have marsh/water to the left of the fairway. Hit a tree and get a bad kick, and good luck with your disc.
- #7 is the prettiest, and probably, the course's signature hole. 185-foot shot over water. Avoid the one tree next to the water, and the pond doesn't come into play. However, when I played, and based on reviews in the past, be careful of the gator. It's a smaller gator (3-4-foot range) that's not going to cause you much of an issue unless you get too close to the water/try to retrieve a disc. This is a hole you'll be throwing a second disc for fun.
- Course is pretty easy to navigate. Tees are framed and have wooden signs at them. There's a nice, carved directional sign from #6 to 7.
- For a short-to-mid-range layout, it's a perfectly enjoyable layout.
- Course is close to a lot of local activities. The park is tucked away, however, that on an August Saturday evening, it was nearly deserted.
Cons:
Some people aren't going to be a fan of seeing a gator in the water right in front of the tee on #7. It does make this otherwise simple tee shot a little more nerve-wracking.
- Biggest issue I saw was the dual tees on holes. Without an interactive map on a disc golf app, it wouldn't have always been clear which one to throw from on certain holes. Granted, if you play through twice, making it an 18-hole round, the point is moot.
- Course is in a very compacted portion of the park. If others are playing, you will need to keep an eye out for stray discs - #1 - 3; 4 & 9, and #8 & 9 all have overlapping potential.
- Tees are crushed gravel. They haven't been filled in a long time, and are in desperate need of a little more attention. That said, when you're throwing putter and mid, you can be throwing most tee shots flat footed.
- Despite being a shorter course, I wouldn't call this beginner-friendly. A higher-than-normal lost disc factor on #5 - 7, especially for those who don't have distance and accuracy yet. For the other six holes, yes, great for beginners.
Other Thoughts:
Bill Smith Park is a perfectly decent course. It just seems like I've played this exact same course every time I've played a coastal course.
- So, it's all about perception. If this is one of your first coastal courses, you'll hold it in higher regard when playing comparable courses later on.
- By the time I got to #8 & 9, I'd lost interest. A couple of simple flicks, holding my drink in my off hand, and I sped through these final two holes without any issue.
- It's deflating for any course when you end on a flat note. Maybe make the water/gator hole your closing hole and make current #8 & 9 your first two holes. Get the bad out of the way first, and end with a memorable layout. Or, find a way to add a different hole and eliminate #8.
- In some ways, this has all the feel of a touristy course. After having just come from a garbage, run-down, tourist trap mini golf course, you see the 'if you build it, they will come' mentality in full effect. Having an ice cream and fudge shop on seemingly every corner, you're used to a whole lot of mediocrity. The only thing that separates Smith from those places is that this is free.
- Good for a quick round if you're here in Southport, Oak Island, or Holden Beach. Otherwise, focus on the better courses this area has to offer.