Pros:
**DO NOT JUDGE THIS COURSE BY THE PICS! These are older pics -- many before teepads were installed, and before the course had matured and worn in to the sharp condition it is in now**
Bradford is a near ideal disc golf course in my opinion.
WHOAH. That's a BIG statement. Especially in the disc mecca that IS Charlotte. Allow me to explain.
The park itself is new and clean. Park is very safe, Huntersville is a nice area. Big restrooms with good soap and Vortex air hand dryers. Vending machines stock Coke products and Powerade. Also nice to have restroom in the middle of the course rather than at the beginning or end(hole 11 plays right up to one). Ample parking so long as there's not a base/softball tournament.
As for the course itself ---
My ideal course design can be summed up in three simple words: "challenging, but fair." Bradford is exactly that. The course is not easy by any stretch, but birdies are possible on every hole with a good shot, which is how I feel a course should be scored.
As for "fair" -- This course does not have any "luck" trees, meaning if you pure a drive down the center of the fairway, you're not going to hit a tree that's smack in the middle of the perfect line. The same can NOT be said about many courses in the area.
One of my favorite design features that largely goes unnoticed at Bradford is that it has more BALANCE than an Olympic gymnast. Evenly matched for straight, left-, and right-turning holes, uphill vs downhill, and blended very well --- the longest holes are separated by shorter ones, no back-to-back hard turns in either direction off the tee, etc.
Knowing Charlotte has very little elevation, the use of the land by Stan and Schlep MUST be appreciated.
For such a young course, Bradford feels well worn-in. This is largely due to the relentless, near daily upkeep by Schleppy. For instance, hole 8 -- a beautiful shot through the cedars -- but just two short years ago anything that didn't land on the green required a search party through briars surrounding the cedars. Hard to imagine if you see it now. Even harder to believe it's in such incredible shape after just two years of installation.
Benches -- nice, new, cedar, and on every. single. hole.
Innova Discatcher baskets.
Signage is excellent, distances are accurate.
Navigation is great as well -- there is some signage, but even without it, you should be able to find the next tee with ease.
I also love to feel alone in the woods when I'm playing disc golf, and Bradford delivers on that as well. Very little noise here, save for the soccer/baseball fields when in use, but these never come into play with the disc golf course. Feels very much like a private course. We've seen a few small lizards and snakes, some deer, even heard some coyotes howling in the distance one night in the spring during a glow event.
BEAUTIFUL. Some very memorable tee shots and pin placements here. Growing cedars line the fairways through the middle of the course, with a fantastic set of gap shops on holes 8 through 11.
Hole 12 is easily one of the best holes in Charlotte. (Again, I appreciate full well the weight of such a statement.) From either the short or long tee, your drive is a placement shot of 325-350'. To the left is OB road; to the right is punishingly dense woods that assures an extra stroke. The second shot turns right and plays between 200-260' to a pin perched atop a small crest of a sloping hill -- to the left, an OB retention pond -- to the right, more dense woods. The hill makes for tough putts from most anywhere -- if you're near the pond, you're putting slightly uphill, and a missed putt will send you down the hill toward the woods. If you're near the woods, you're putting uphill about 10', and a missed putt could put you in the pond. Birdies are common with both a good drive and an accurate upshot, but only with both.
Concrete teepads = good pooridge(not too big, not too small). Always a big plus to have two teepads at any course. Some of them here make for longer shots, but many do make for a much different golf experience, especially #8.
Course was used for 2012 Worlds, and is part of tourneys such as The Carolina Clash, Powerade State Games, and more. The Bradford Open will see its second year this fall.
Cons:
Not a knock on the course itself, but when there's a base/softball tourney, parking near #1 can be tight, and sometimes a soccer mom will park too close to #18's basket.
Also, if there is a soccer tourney, some cars may come into play on the drive for hole #12, but it takes a big event to get them overflowing off the parking lot, which is OB anyway.
Other Thoughts:
One of if not THE best maintained course in Charlotte. Schleppy is working his disc golf baby nearly every day, even carries a pair of hand shears in his bag to trim briars and branches off as need be.
To sum it up, my highest-rated courses are:
-- challenging but fair,
-- clean,
-- private by feel of play, and
have that little something extra, so you REMEMBER the course instead of just logging on to DGCR and checking it off your list.
I've played well over 50 rounds here, and I play it more than any course in Charlotte despite being 40 minutes away.
There's a reason for that.
In fact, there are 18 of them.
Schedule a round and see what the Bradford fuzz is all about. You'll likely find Schleppy out there, mowing/weed eating/pulling/picking/playing/loving his little slice of disc golf heaven.