Pros:
City Lake Park redux is an impressive sight. With a mixture of some of the older, open, scenic holes and a bunch of new wooded layouts, you now have a better taste of what this park has to offer. That said, there's an elite-level layout still in hiding here.
- This course has a tremendous amount of variety, from short and wide open holes, to long, heavily wooded layouts. One of the underappreciated aspects of the course is that the course constantly weaves easier and tougher holes throughout the round. You go from back-to-back birdie chances on #8 & 9 to shoe-leather-tough layouts on #10 & 11. My scores on this four-hole stretch: 2, 2, 4, 5.
- Another great aspect of this course: hole length and hole difficulty don't correspond. One of the shortest holes on the course, #15 (170 feet) might be the biggest risk reward holes on the course. It's a tough, tight downhill shot. My 20-foot downhill birdie putt led to a 20-foot uphill par putt. Contrast that to #18 (600 feet from the shorts; 750 from the long tee), which is a wide open (after the initial 100 feet on the long layout), downhill hole. Many players are going to get a lower score on the hole that's four times longer.
- Even the harder holes are enjoyable. On many courses, more challenging holes can be frustrating due to being too tough, gimmicky, poorly designed, you name it. You can tell a lot of thought was put into the layouts to make them tough but fair.
- Excellent use of the elevation. The elevation factor is used to varying degrees from impacting the entire hole (#14 & 15), a portion of the hole (#5, 11, 13) or even just as a detriment for errant shots (#4), where the fairway slopes away if you go too far left and/or long.
- Tee signs are solid. With the course still having many new course 'problems' no course map, signage issues, having clear, accurate tee signs is crucial. A lot of my enjoyment for the course is because each hole was easy to play for a first-timer player thanks to good signage.
- From the short tees, course is tough, but fair for beginners through rec-level players. You're going to be challenged, being forced to through well. Having the variety of harder and easier layouts interspersed throughout the course will also help many players catch their breath after the tough stretches.
Cons:
My biggest problem here is the signage, specifically transitioning between holes. For 17 of the 18 holes, the course itself is solid. For the transitions between many holes, especially on longer walks, and or transitions that overlap the walking trails, there's a lot of room for improvement. Two of the biggest 'problem' transitions are from #4's basket to #5 tee - where I first found the tees for #12 & 18 (which should show you how much the course overlaps) - and from #7 to 8 (where you cross over walking trails multiple times. If the walking trails can continually have navigational markers on trees, the disc golf course should follow that lead and have more than one (or at best, two) white arrow markers on the long walks.
- The other navigational issue is the lack of signage or any markers for #5's tees. It's the only hole where there isn't a tee sign or a clear long or short tee area. I saw one of the course's staple wood boards in the open field, which I assume was one of the tees. If it was, it was the only hole on the course where the online hole length didn't match the distance. Perhaps this hole is a work in progress? Also, it takes a compact course layout to have holes #4, 5, 12 & 18 so close together.
- As much as this course has improved, there are still a couple of 'weak' holes. #1 is wide open, 225-305 feet and uphill. It's the course's worst hole, and not the best first impression this course could offer. #9 isn't much better. It does at least have a raised basket - and I parked my tee shot three feet away - so it's more tolerable. That said, I'd like to see both pulled - use #9's raised basket for #18 - and make two better holes in the woods. And figure out something better for #5. I love the area around the basket, set back in the woods; just not a fan of the wide open fairway.
Other Thoughts:
City Lake Park's 18-hole layout is a stark contrast to the old, pitch-n-putt 9-hole layout. I was really concerned the course hadn't improved after the first hole (see my Cons note), so it was a great surprise that the course is as good as it is.
- I'll reiterate that there are some work-in-progress problems still with the course (as of June '16). That said, my positive feelings for the course are based solely on the 18-holes from tee to basket.
- There's a calming presence of teeing off right by the dam on #13. The sound of the flowing water and seeing the dam wall is a great backdrop. Two other smaller, similar aspects on this course are the walk past the wooden amphitheater next to #8's fairway, and the small rock walls on #14's fairway. Oh, and the tee signs show a historical photo of the dam from 1923. It's the little things like this that give a course its distinct personality.
- One of the subtle things that made this course so enjoyable for me: three of the shortest holes on the course are holes #14 - 17. It's a great move to not feel like a course needs to end with one gut-punch after another to close out a round. Have tough holes throughout the course, and allow for birdie chances at the end of the round. What a novel concept!
- This course won't be confused with Fox Chase. That's this area's centerpiece, and deservedly so. This course might not even be as good as Goose Landing - that's a good debate. That said, Stanly County now has three excellent courses - I rated all 4.0 or higher - and City Lake is a solid part of that trio.