Fontana Dam, NC

Fontana Village Resort DGC

3.915(based on 35 reviews)
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18 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.8 years 694 played 680 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Tail Of The Dragon 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 3, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

(4.077 Rating) A fascinating private resort course in the heart of Appalachia.
- RAW BEAUTY - Fontana is among the most beautiful disc golf spots I've ever been to. I actually slotted it into my top 15 out of the 566 courses I've played as of this review posting. Several awesome elevation changes. Players will be able to claim some of their longest throws ever. The big downhill play on hole (11) is breathtaking with the Blue Ridge Mountains taking up the backdrop. There are several moderately wooded holes playing around big trees and dicing mini creeks filled with giant rocks. A few of the basket placements are perched on mini bluffs and so are a few of the tees. This is among the most exotic course terrain I've ever seen in the eastern U.S., and it's reason enough to actively seek this place out.
- GAME PLAY - Heart pumping gameplay is the theme here. There are numerous opportunities to launch-em here and watch-em sail seemingly forever. A couple of the holes on the course reminded me of Idlewild. I had so much adrenaline flowing here that I was chucking 20 to 30 feet farther than I should have been able to do. Skilled players are going to get giddy here from the tee numerous times.
- CHALLENGING - I threw from the back tees except on hole (2) where I accidentally played from the short tee. It felt like Intermediate level gameplay and perfect for me personally. The course is more of a bomber course than a technician course, but being smart on knowing where not to throw will be key on a handful of holes. The short tees looked to be Recreational level in my opinion, but should also appeal to many Novice level players.
- AMENITIES - I was surprised to be this far out in the sticks and have a course blessed with this many course related amenities. As noted, multiple tees are present. The course also has alternate basket placements on over half of the holes and a practice basket. There are places to sit at many of the tees, which is needed for this type of course.
- SIGNAGE AND NAVIGATION - Big course map posted near tee (1). The tee signage has been upgraded compared to the pictures on DGCR, but are aging again. I don't recall too many navigational aids at the basket and thus I had to refer to my map 3 or 4 times. I do wish that the signs had pin placement indicators on them as well. Decent to good navigation overall, but far from perfect.
- RESORT - The resort seemingly has over a hundred cabins to rent out. There's a huge pool with slides, a general store, tennis court, miniature golf course, a clubhouse, a restaurant and more. It's a fantastic combination of the outdoors and creature comforts.
- LOCATION - The location of this course is both a pro and a con. First of all, it's in the middle of nowhere. The closest big regional cities, such as Asheville and Knoxville, are 90 minutes away. That said, this course is also located on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. For those coming here from the Tennessee side, the best route in is to take the highway called "Tail of the Dragon". Fontana Dam is only 10 minutes away and Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is less than 45 minutes away. Every direction from this place is likely another jewel just waiting to be discovered.

Cons:

Diabolical Off fairway
- FORGIVENESS - Missing on some of these downhill plays could easily lead to a lost disc. I spent over 5 minutes searching on (8) after my disc decided to ricochet off a tree straight down and into to shoulder high weeds on a 45 degree slope. I saw some people looking for a disc on (11) where a disc could easily sail hundreds of feet off fairway due to downhill nature of the hole. The disc loss potential here is much higher than normal despite no pond elements in play. I would recommend packing a throw-away or two.
- AVAILABILITY - Unfortunately this awesome track is only available to those lodging at the resort and their guests. I would suggest calling way ahead to book a spot here on a summer weekend. The resort was full on my appearance here.
- MAINTENANCE - I spoke with a couple players while out on the course and they noted that the course is not always in great shape like I experienced on Independence Day weekend. Even when it is in great shape, a hole like (8) will still have a diabolical unkept fairway as its impossible to mow on 45 degree rocky slanted fairway.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - I believe one can rent discs from the clubhouse. I wonder how often a newb comes back with it. This course is not for the faint of heart. As noted, there are short tees here, but even from those, one is going to need at least novice level skills to not come away defeated.
- TIME PLAY - Plan for 90 minutes as a solo and 3 hours if in a big group.

Other Thoughts:

I favorited this course as soon as I finished my round. This is my new favorite course I've played in North Carolina. I've played twelve in the state as of this review, and it bumped Richmond Hill to second on my ledger. I would consider this one a regional destination course. Just about every veteran player I know is going to love this track. I haven't played too many courses like this one. It sort-of reminds me of courses like Cedar Hill in Nashville and Kudzu Cove in North Alabama. Definitely a must play to those that find themselves in this corner of North Carolina. Also, a must play to those in Knoxville and Asheville as well. Overall, a solid 4.0 course to me with 4.25 potential if they tweaked a few things and further upgraded the course amenities package.
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17 0
bdupree
Experience: 8.1 years 22 played 7 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Beautiful mountain course that will challenge you 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 6, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Decided to try this course during a 7-night stay in a Bryson City cabin. This was a real treat. It appears as though the course had recently gone through some upgrades, likely in the last 2-3 years. Tee pads looked like they had been there, along with baskets and flags on top. Based on older photos in here, they built a retaining wall in front of the #1 basket to make it a raised green. Nice touch!

This course is a really good workout, even if you play the short tees like we did. It only takes 2 holes before you start seeing the dramatic elevation changes from tee to basket. At least from the short tees, I'd say you can see the basket from about 80% of the tees even in summer. This beautiful piece of property has little streams criss-crossing everywhere, and they can come into play (especially if your partner throws it all over the place). The transition from basket 1 to tee 2 is weird, but after that the course flows really well without any guessing.

The new tee markers take a great "nature" approach in highlighting the history of the area and all of the great trees along the course. Some of the baskets have creative and somewhat dangerous locations. Holes 6, 7, and 11 are precarious with some good potential for roll-away on poor putts.

While the whole course has gorgeous views all throughout, the long tee on #11 is a view like you'd get on the Blue Ridge Parkway... see my photo. One other item is that we were just shocked at how well maintained the grounds were through the entire course. Grass (and there's a lot of it) was recently mowed, and there is definitely care taken with weed eater trimming all over the place.

Cons:

Fontana Village is truly in the middle of nowhere. There's not a lot of places to stop and gas up or buy food, either. Prepare yourself if you get carsick. The road leads out to the "Tail of the Dragon" which is famous for motorcycles and sports cars. That 11-mile stretch of road contains 318 continuous curves! The only other con is the danger of losing discs on this course. With all of the elevation drop from many tees, there are wide swaths of jungle out there that can just eat up some plastic. Keep your eye on it!

Other Thoughts:

I could not recommend playing this course more. It was pretty easy to find the starting point after a little reading here on the site. It was a great physical workout, but the short tees were fairly forgiving. If you're in this area, you can hike Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (first growth), you can boat on Fontana or Santeelah lake, or you can hike on a number of trails very close by in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Be sure to see my recent photos taken September 2020. Sorry I didn't get more of the course layout itself!
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14 0
New013
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.3 years 179 played 120 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Mountain Paradise 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 21, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Layout - Fontana is primarily what I call park style golf with the exception that the park is a beautiful mountain resort with almost no foot traffic throughout the area of the course.

2 pads on every hole and many holes had two possible pin positions. How the long pads change the shot, length and challenge of each hole is done superbly here. It's perfect for this place because you want to give more novice players at the resort something fun yet challenging to introduce them while also layering in a stiffer challenge for better players on top of it.

You could say this course is open and compared to most NC courses it is but the beauty of the design is how well the landscape is used to create variety and challenge. Each hole has a unique look as you go through and offers up the chance to be really creative with how you attack the hole.

It balances long/short holes nicely and also makes you focus on being precise over distance due to the elevation changes, slopes and OB provided the resort road. You do get a handful of holes to really let one rip which is always fun.

The greens here are designed nicely. When possible the basket is tucked in to some wooded areas that makes you consider placement and often you'll see the basket on a slope or near a drop off.

As I said earlier the rolling hills give you some great elevation changes and it's used very effectively to make you shape shots and consider what angle your landing in places. There's also some areas with huge drop offs and those are used well to keep you from attacking some of the holes super hard.

There's some par 4's mixed in and this also adds a nice element from the longs (I don't consider the short pads on those holes to be actual par 4's). A couple of these really make you place a shot while throwing over elevation changes and these are a solid challenge and good addition.

Course flows well through most of it, no super long walks or awkward transitions.

Equipment - Dual pads on every hole (mostly concrete, sometimes off the asphalt). Baskets in good shape. Tee signs on both pads that show a hole map, distance. Benches scattered throughout. Scorecards with course map are available at the recreation hut by the mini golf.

Atmosphere - Again, this is a resort in the mountains. It's a beautiful place comprised of mostly sparse cabins, a lodge, some stores and food options. The course utilizes a lot of area that doesn't seem to be used for anything else so you really do get the place to yourself it seems.

The course is maintained well and overall you almost feel like you're at a nice country club playing ball golf due to the amenities, beauty and space you're playing in.

Cons:

Layout - I do wish they could of utilized some of the forest on the property to create some true wooded holes. As is there's a few filler type holes that are a bit boring in comparison to some of the other holes. If they could of snuck in some wooded holes instead that would take it up a notch.

A couple of the par 4's are not the best in the world if you have big D. I get you want to cater to a wide demographic but that's what longs are for. 10, 11 and 18 are at weird distances to be true par 4s from the longs. 10 should back the basket up more and 11 I was on the green from the tee (long to long).

Where there is rough here is very rough. There's some thick brush and a ravine/creek running with a few holes you want no part of but could easily end up in if you're off. In a way it adds challenge and could almost be considered OB because you can lose your disc if you go in.

You do play near the resort road quite a bit but it should be noted that I saw very few people driving/walking on it and it was never a problem for us to wait and let them pass.

There's a couple spots where tees are near each other that can be confusing for a second, just remember to grab a map or look it up on here for reference.

Equipment - It would be nice if they could indicate which pin position is in on the tee sign because there's quite a few blind shots here where you're not really sure where to go.

Atmosphere - The thick rough is all I can really think of and honestly it's excusable when you consider how much maintenance it takes to keep this course open.

Other Thoughts:

This might be the best park style course I've ever played, right up there with Bryan Park in Richmond, VA. It's way out there but it's definitely worth the trip, not just for the dg but for everything else you can do while in this gorgeous part of the world. Fontana Lake is right there and is one of my favorite lakes in the world.

On top of all of that the course is just super fun and a really good place for people of any skill level to play disc golf. I brought my 7yo son on this trip with me and this is his favorite disc golf course so far. He loved throwing off the hills and having all the space to let discs fly in comparison to the wooded monsters we usually play in NC.

So treat yourself to a vacation and get out to this neck of woods and play this course. I didn't stay in the resort but it looks like a super cool place to stay.

I'll also note that I'm not sure if this is still pay to play. I tried to pay but was told it wasn't necessary.
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3 7
spaul69
Experience: 26 played 1 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Fabulous Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 2, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Something for everyone. Long and short tees change the course nicely. Great condition, great scenery and tons of elevation changes.

Cons:

Nothing about the course itself. Tons of poison ivy around if you get off the paths, but that is to be expected on a mountain course. Did not effect the excellent rating.
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3 5
Nader77
Experience: 31.6 years 49 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great Mountain Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 17, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful scenery and a cool little mountain stream!! The drive from Gatlinburg is very windy. You will be taking a drive on Deal's Gap. It is a road race cars and motorcycles take.

Cons:

Chiggers/High grass wear long pants!!! You will need a extra bottle of water(s).

Other Thoughts:

We didn't know it was a pay course. Maybe a sign that states that and where to pay.
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11 0
projectpat
Experience: 16.8 years 142 played 9 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Dam 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 1, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-18 well designed holes. The course flow is good and fun factor very high.
-Great variety. The elevation changes are used on almost every hole. There are a number of awesome down hill bombs. There are long holes and short ace runs. The par 4s are fair but require two good shots for a bird. Some holes are wooded while others are very wide open.
-Risk vs Reward is what this course is about. Several holes feature large drop offs near the baskets which make you think twice about full on runs. There are more than a few pin positions that also have roll away potential.
-Short and Long pads. Very nice concrete pads for the majority of holes. The designers did a great job making the short pads very different and much easier than the longs. The long pads will challenge anyone while the shorts provide fun ace runs on almost every hole.
-Top notch tee signs. All the needed info.
-The maintenance is great. Regularly mowed since its located on resort grounds.
-A bonus is the great mountain view you get on hole 11s tee pad.

Cons:

-The location while awesome is in the middle of nowhere. Gas up and bring supplies.
-Some of the dropoffs here are very sketchy. The large ravine in the middle of 15 is prime example and pretty crazy. Risk vs Reward!

Other Thoughts:

Fontana is among the best courses I have played. There are so many fun and challenging holes. This course also challenges you physically. Lots of mountain climbing! If you have time check out the Dam. Its right down the road and pretty cool.

UPDATE (1 year)- The recent upgrades made to the course are amazing. New baskets, pads, pin positions, and retaining wall on hole 1 all are great additions. Tons of clearing has been done in needed areas. Best of all are the new tee signs. All the hard work has resulted in a truely awesome disc golf experience.
UPDATE (2 years)- The good work continues. A nice billboard with a course map was added near hole 1. Seating has been added to almost every hole.
UPDATE (5 years)- In the last couple years the resort has changed ownership. There was a fear that the new ownership may pull the course. Thankfully this did not happen.
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7 0
thisdoesfine
Experience: 24 played 11 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great course, glad we drove there 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 9, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

We played this course while on vacation in North Carolina. The drive was near an hour and a half from where we were staying. Let me just say, it was well worth it! If you are from out of town and want to see not only a good disc golf course but beautiful scenery on the way, make the day trip to this course! The roads are so fun to drive the trip flies by.

As far as the course itself, it has every shot you could want to throw. Short straight putter shots to long downhill anhyzers. You throw near small creeks that add to the tranquility of the course but won't lose your disc in the water. The grass was being cut as we played and it's on a resort's property so I imagine they keep up with it pretty often. My friend forgot to bring discs with him on the trip and he was able to use a set from the resort. I was slightly worried about it being at a resort but at no point were we throwing anywhere near people. I really don't want to type resort again. Resort.

Elevation. I'm from flat land so it was awesome to experience some elevation. I will say, my legs were cramping towards the end of the round.

There's a restaurant on site that has good local tap beer and decent food. We took a break at hole 12 and had a bite. If you aren't renting a room there you can pay a small fee to use their pool and other amenities. How nice to get all sweaty and take a nice dip afterwards! There were lots of bikers in the area so as we walked to our disc we often got to see some neat bikes and sports cars. Great disc golf course and great experience too.

A couple different times as you play you get back near some of the buildings. We used the facilities and enjoyed a quick hit of AC :)

Cons:

No mapping of the hole layout on the signs. Just distances. This led to a lot of figuring out where to throw and slowed us down considerably for our first round there.

I think we may have missed a couple long pads or the signs were missing, couldn't really tell.

Some baskets were looking beat up. (10 especially)

Some baskets are near other fairways. If it was a busy day it may be an issue. We were the only disc golfers when we played.

Other Thoughts:

If you parked your car by the check-in area, move it to the bottom of the hill by hole #1 before you play. Your legs will thank you when the course is over and you don't have to walk / crawl up that big ass hill to get back to your car. =]
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9 0
Bennybennybenny
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.7 years 321 played 303 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fontana Dam beautiful!! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 18, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Fontana is secluded! Far from civilization! But it's a gem. Both the course and the place. My family and I stayed there for a couple of nights. This is definitely a family place, particularly for vacation! About the course, it's awesome! It's very scenic! It's maintained well. It mostly has concrete pads, some are rubber but I'm fine with that too. There is a general store, a good dam restaurant, an outdoor store, and there is also a mini golf course that has scorecards and discs for the dg course.
-Benches on many holes, some trash cans which is good enough for me.
-Dual sets of tees. They are either marked by rocks or tee signs.
-The restaurant down the road past #1 is really good! The spicy dam burger is especially good. There is also a convenient store down the road past #16's fairway and to the left.
-Good variety and elevation. Course kicks off with a short #1. The hole is only 162' long and is a pretty simple putter toss, but the basket on the hill adds a bit of challenge but is still an easy birdie. A par can be frustrating but if you roll down the hill, you probably will settle for that. Things get awesome with #2! A big downhill drive onto a wooded green. It's 538' from the long, I have a big arm and I stayed in the hotel room literally beside the long pad so l had a blast bombing understable drivers and trying to make it to the green. Things get even more interesting throughout your round with the steep downhill on #4 and the dangerous green with the OB road 15' past the basket, the elevated rock green on #6, the major downhill flick on #8 and so on but then, the back nine comes and really gets tough....
-#10 is a huge uphill drive. It's barely over 400' from the long but it feels like a par 4! The short is like 230' and I could barely make it up with a mid. #11 is back downhill and turns left at the last 100' feet.
-#16 is a legit par 4! By distance, it seems like a doable 3 but there is OB on both sides. The hole is pretty wooded from both sets of tees but it isn't too difficult if you play safe.
-Tim. Guy who works here. Very cool guy, very friendly, also hosts disc golf lessons here. He works very hard around the course, keeping it well maintained. He is also planning on having a tournament here around fall.

Cons:

-Can't really do anything about this but this course attracts snakes in the summer! There was a snake on the mini golf course! I saw a few on the course, luckily they were all black snake but they all snuck up on me which was frightening.
-Construction could be somewhat better. Course is really steep in some places, #7 and #8 play on a very steep hill. I'm 18 and I'm really slim! Skinny by many standards so I didn't have trouble but if you are out of shape, you may slip!
-"Ravine of blood" The ravine on #2 and #11 is steep, thorny and dangerous! Don't take my advice on bombing a stalker down #2's fairway unless you can throw 400+ on flat ground! It's very deep and it comes to play on #15. #15 isn't a problem because of the ravine being close to the tee pads. But #2 and #11 take a bit of thinking. I don't think pain is part of the fun and I don't think it should be the consequence for being a bad throw.
-Some holes are too close to each other. #10 and #11 basically face each other! #3's long pad is also in front of #12's pad.

Other Thoughts:

-My cons are really just nit picks. This place rocks! The whole course rocks. It's just the ravine that should really bother you. Everything else isn't a big deal because it's secluded. I would recommend this course to anyone, at anytime. I would especially recommend staying here, sure it's a little pricey but it's totally worth it due to the scenery, food, arcade and how nice the lodges are. There are even guitar hero tournaments up here sometimes. I never could find it in the arcade but they did insist on having them. Which is always fun for me.
-I went here on a birthday vacation. There is a girl I'm very close with and that I hang out with all the time that is on a mission trip in Cherokee so my family and I stayed there on Thursday night. The Smoky Mountain area is awesome and if you were to have time, I would recommend you hang out around the whole area! Not to mention, I'm thinking about going to Western which is maybe an hour and fifteen minutes from Fontana.
-You can also camp out here for $15 and you don't really have to pay to play here. That is just if you want to rent a few discs.

Favorite hole: #2. Narrowly beating many others like #4, #8, #10, #11, and #16! I don't have a least favorite either. If the ravine was less rough, I'd give this course a 4.5! I wish there was a 4.25 rating.
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8 0
Jaysauls
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.3 years 129 played 71 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 1, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This is one of my all time favorite courses! Long, tight, open and short...bring a full complement of plastic. Oh, and you'll want to bring a spotter. There are several holes (the approach on 2, the drive on 8 and 17) that can save you from pulling your hair out searching for lost plastic

And you can't beat the drive in or views around the course. Just absolutely beautiful at times. You will also want to bring snacks. This course is serious up/down and across hills. Fatigue factor is a biggie on this one.

Course is fairly easy to Navigate and flows well. No real issues with finding yourself around. Though the transition from 1 to 2 is odd. 1 is by the Fontana Disc Golf sign, but 2 is way up the hill from it.

Hole 3 took us a few minutes to find, but after that it was easy.

Cons:

No real cons. Course can get really shaggy off the fairways with lots of gnats and other bugs. But if it's windy, that helps.

There is a major, major disc eating ravine between holes 2 & 11 (I think) that had devoured much of my plastic. The drop off is near straight down off of 11 with think foliage. Off hole 2 it was briars, briars, briars (as of June 2014). Use extreme care when searching in this ravine (and same off 16/17. Lots of slippy rocks that move and have gaps between them covered with leaves. I still have heavy scars from my last foray through the rocks - seriously.

Other Thoughts:

No easy way to Fontana dam (unless you stay in the village!) but worth the drive no matter how long/far you are away.
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12 0
nightwing
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.4 years 281 played 60 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Rounding into shape 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 6, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Setting. Wow factor. Hard to beat really.
-Facilities. Meals-Lodging-Bar-Pool etc.
-Gorgeous course in The Smokies...nice. .
-Improvements keep coming
-No 2 holes alike w/ Up-Down-Left-Right etc
-Many Risk vs Reward Birdie/Bogie holes.
-Brand new concrete pads- both Pro and Am.
-Lots of elevation without TOO much hiking.
-Quality Baskets, decent signs, benchs etc.

Cons:

-LOCATION. Really isolated. See below.
-Some pads too short for full run-up.
-Confusing Resort Map. Get the new map.
-Steep/tangled ravine in middle of course.
-Hard to play when wet. Bring real shoes.
-Not currently Beginner friendly...but soon?

Other Thoughts:

Fontana is a huge, full service 3-4 season resort. Disc Golfers will seldom be in the majority here at this Christian Family Retreat, but with the pool, the lake, the hiking, the Smokies, and so much more, it is hard to believe that players won't find something to fill the rest of the day here after a round.

Fontana resides near the imfamous 'Dragon', simply one of the most thrilling stretches of road in the world. Pictures 100s of turns on quality pavement in the woods and you'll understand why Harleys and Corvettes often frequent the area. But get real directions and figure on an hour longer than it looks and it looks like a long way from anywhere.

I really loved this course. LOTS of changes have been made, including especially the concrete pads on both Pro and Am. They're not as long as you'd like for a 5 step run-up. However, having just played a round with 'The Course Bros' JP and Rob, they assure me they will have a run-up area behind the pads that need one soon. They had lots of ideas for other changes and this sort of hands on 'Love' means a lot to me. They are looking at BOTH some longer pins up in the woods AND some beginner friendly third teepads. This will be a 4.5 star course pretty soon if they get that done.

GETTING AROUND: Don't bother with the old map found on the resort site. It is obsolete. Hole 1 has been moved to a better location. While JP and Rob just park at a central point near #12, 15, and 3, guests need to know that you can just walk out the Lodge Room's Hallway directly to the #2 Pro tee. This alone would make me think about the lodge rooms instead of the dozens of cabins. Remember...this place is huge. Can't describe how cool it was to play a round.... grab a shower... have a gourmet lunch.... crash.... and play round 2 totally rested.

Seasons: I here there are skeeters of course, and summer days must get pretty hot with all the climbing around here. But for me, early November was a little too late. Lots of slick leaves and the Lodge was kept pretty chilly considering how few people were around. I'll aim for October next year.

I believe in the Wow Factor. There are at least 6 great holes here and only 3 or 4 'whatevers'. Throw in a unique and beautiful setting and this place is worth the considerable 'Destination Drive'.



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3 3
AUfantastic
Premium Member
Experience: 29.4 years 176 played 17 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun in the mountains 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 31, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice course. Laid out well with lots of variety....Long and short holes, up and down. Enjoyed the challenge of it a lot and would love to go back.

Cons:

IF by some chance you think you want to play there because they rent golf carts, forget it. The entire resort only has 4 and they rent them to people for their kids to drive around so good luck ever getting one. Anyway, this course would not lent itself to driving one on several of the holes. The rubber mats on the tee boxes are covered with mossy slime from being under trees and can be very slippery. They could use some cleaning.

Other Thoughts:

It had rained a lot the night before we played there. That made footing on the slopes of the fairways very tough. Also, the grass had not been mowed for quite a while...it was about 4-5 inches high. I will go back though. I would love to play this course after freshly mowed and dry. It would be wonderful. I did not realize until signed on today that we were supposed to pay to play but that would not stop us from going back. Lastly, the map is critical to help you navigate because signage lacks some.
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5 0
Tuckerman
Experience: 11.1 years 4 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Well worth the drive 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 2, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Reading about this, I found it hard to believe that a resort dedicated in large part to motorcyclists and driving enthusiasts has such a wonderful disc golf course. Yet, there it is. It is a challenging course with beautiful scenery and relatively well-kept grounds.

The course is long. With the exception of hole #1, which is the disc golf equivalent of mini golf, the are many long holes with mostly open fairways. However, there are also medium to long holes with decorative trees or tree clusters in the middle of things. Holes 2 and 16 are good examples. You are driving over a landscaped area with dogwoods dotting an otherwise open lawn.

The course designers took advantage of the elevation changes. Hole #4 was a love/hate sort thing. You are throwing off the edge of a very steep hill, through the trees, and down to level ground at the basket. Hole #8 has a wonderful long drive down a hill with a right turn out of the trees into the open. I birdied that one and was thrilled to have done so.

No two holes are alike. Most all of them represent a challenge, yet nothing that should scare away new players.

Cons:

Whatever you do, stay on the fairway. Maybe it's because I'm a yankee and not familiar with the vegetation in the south, but I lost one driver and we were lucky to find a few others. The "fairway" under hole #8 is a narrow bike path cut from a slope covered in waist-high briers, vines, and ferns. Any disc that fades too hard and lands in the woods may also fall down into a 40 ft deep ravine.

Footing can be treacherous. If it has rained within the last 24 hours, slopes will be muddy and your feet will slip out from under you.

Signs on the course itself are weak. Take a course map with you and you will have no problem. My group forgot the map and walked a few extra miles going in the wrong direction.

Other Thoughts:

The tees are reasonably well maintained. Most have a rubber mat covering either a crushed stone base or a plywood platform. The only exception that I can recall is #8, which is bare earth and in the middle of a bike path.

The road leading to the course (US129) is nicknamed The Tail of the Dragon. It is famous for tight curves and switchbacks. If you have a choice between taking the Camry or the WRX, drive the WRX. Just stay between the painted lines, please.
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1 12
hondaguy85
Experience: 12.4 years 113 played 5 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Beautiful mountain course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 18, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Scenic course in a mountain setting with great course design! Friendly staff and golf carts fof rent! This course truly will leave you telling stories over the years!

Cons:

Weather is unpredictable and is very difficult to get to and locate. Tucked away in the mountains away from Everything!

Other Thoughts:

Truly remarkable course from start to finish.
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14 0
bjreagh
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 28.2 years 353 played 321 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Scenic with Variety 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 9, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Overall hole design is Fontana's greatest strength- I would use words like variety, scenic, challenging, and fun to summarize it. Look at the pics, they will make you want to play here, and you won't be disappointed!

It offers a great mix in the following: hole length, required shot shape, and degrees of elevation. There are no two holes the same. It is challenging without being frustratingly impossible to non-pros, which is how it should be since this course is part of a family style resort. Some of the challenges include length, elevation, strategically placed baskets, single trees, dense trees, thick rough, ravines, creeks, roads, and even a storage building. The grounds were well-kept, no trash, and the grassy fairways appeared to be regularly mowed. And who doesn't love a course with several elevated tee-shots!

It is located in a beautiful setting in the Appalachian mountains (but not completely out in nature as many of the buildings are nearby and rarely out of sight.) Despite this, the course still has several peaceful scenic holes. I would also theorize that this course rarely gets crowded, being so far away from any dense populated area. The course itself is nicely spread out, each hole gets its own space, so even a lot of people were playing you won't feel crowded.

Along with the course is the really nice Fontana Village facility- offering cabins, an inn, mini golf, game room, restaurant, etc. Large and beautiful Fontana Lake is just across the street for boating, skiing, and fishing. And of course nearby in the App. Mtns you are close to hiking, camping, rafting, etc. Fontana Village is a great place to take the whole family or have a group retreat as there is plenty to do, the disc golf is only 1 activity. And I would encourage anyone coming to this area to definitely do more than disc golf.

Cons:

Rubber pads are ok, but I prefer concrete- for footing and a more professional and permanent look. Website and scorecard said there were 2 tees, but they were not there- there were a couple of Innova ground markers on a couple holes, but most of the time they were at the concrete tee. So it would seem that the "2nd tees" are temp natural tees, probably only set-up for tournaments.

The 1st hole is weak- a super short shot straight into a hill/cliff covered in overgrowth, this hole is out of place, and does not fit the style of the rest of the course. (Good news is you get the worst hole out the way first.) But then the best hole is #2- great hole, but it stinks to get it over with this early- would love to see this hole much later in the round.

#8 is a unique challenge- sharp downhill C-shape moving from woods to open and blind- takes a specific well played shot to hit the required line, but it was so overgrown in mid-summer that the tee was practically blocked by super tall (over my head) plants taking away from the desired shot shape- I was forced to throw it really high making it impossible to play the hole as intended. Would like to see a little bit of regular fairway maintenance here.

Roads are in play on several holes, always a danger there with cars, walkers, and golf carts.

Other Thoughts:

The best course in a very wide radius.

Pretty exhausting. I am in decent shape and the elevation is not insanely steep, just a lot of it.

Offer golf carts- not for the course, but for the whole complex, but they can be, and are often, used for disc golf. I was pretty tired after 1 round, could be worth to split the cost of one if planning on playing the whole day.

Supposedly pay the play. The workers that day said that since I had my own discs and did not need to rent, then just go play.

Allow for more time than usual both driving here and playing. Curvy mountain roads always take way more time than it looks on a map. The course is spread out and hilly and takes longer to play than most standard 18 hole courses.
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9 0
Upshawt1979
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 21.4 years 562 played 429 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fontana Village People! D-G-C-R! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 28, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very fun course at Fontana Village Resort. I stopped at the desk to sign in, they were very nice offering frisbees without charging or signing in. The disc golf shots are magnificent on several holes. Elevation is significant on every hole. Started with an easy birdie on one, and got another longer birdie on nine. Had chances for a few others, could not convert. Hole two is a doozy, three and four are nice also. Distance is longer on the majority of holes. Six is a shorter hole, and seven was longer but reachable, both uphill. Not a lot of gimme deuces. Woods are prevalent on a few holes, but way more open than I was expecting. Eight is a fun RHBH anhyzer steep downhill out of the trees. Nice baskets, and signage. Solid rubber mats mounted on plywood. Made a good par save on ten, and eleven is another real toughie. Maps are printed on the scorecards available at the desk. Fifteen is a short one that got me for a lost disc, mountain style. Sixteen is epic, long and downhill with trees in the middle, road left and water right. Benches on most holes. Seventeen and eighteen are both solid back up the other side of the road.

Cons:

Footing was extremely slick on slopes, grass was consistently boggy, and tee boxes were covered with slippery condensation in freezing cold conditions of the season. Concrete might have been preferable. Wind was there but not terrible. I went out of bounds in the water 3 times. I also lost a double ace TeeBird with a low drive that bounced into the boulders on the 15th fairway. Water was sadly very low in the lake, but high on the course. I think it may have snowed the previous day there. I think hole two would have made a better opening hole, and finish up on number one instead. Maybe better still, start at three, finish two The lay out crosses itself and roads many times, and is not to hard to follow, but maps are available.

Other Thoughts:

I loved it. In nicer conditions, and with upgraded tees, I could argue for a 4.5 rating. Lengthy but not super technical. Shot a 61, and was pretty happy with it. The drive there is slow and curvy mountain roads, and worth making the trip to me. The resort personnel was friendly, and disc golf was terrific. Reminiscent of Mars Hill, or Meeks Park but less wooded. Good birthday road trip, and Sunshine noted the small, pretty flowers on the scorecard.
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2 3
Fleet
Experience: 14.6 years 35 played 10 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Not bad overall 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 24, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Quite a few long holes, with just enough obstacles in the way to balance making it fun and giving you fits.

No heavy crowds, depending on vacation season, I guess.

Cons:

There may have been *one* hole where I saw the alternate short tee pad (#4, I think). Aside from that, I couldn't tell if they were all supposed to have alternates, or if the distance was dependent on the pin placement.

The signage on the tee pads doesn't have a hole layout, just the distance. Especially on holes like #11 you'll be walking around trying to figure out where the pin is.

The walk from #1 to #2 is ridiculous. Not a good way to start the flow of the course. Afterwards, some holes aren't clearly marked, though if you walk in the direction you think the teepad *should* be you're likely to find it.

Some holes play really close to each other, such as #3 and #4, #9 and #11.

Holes #16 and #17 play down and back up the main driveway, so depending on the time of year, you may have to deal with a lot of cars coming and going.

Other Thoughts:

So apparently the way to get to the course is called "the Dragon" and is one of the more famous roads for motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts. News to me. The last 10 miles of my trip took about 45 minutes, between going 15-20 mph around the mountain and pulling off to the side constantly to let groups of bikers go through. Be prepared.

Also, you don't have to pay the $5 if you bring your own discs.
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3 10
Bub2010
Experience: 151 played 13 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Nice course, but..... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 29, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice terrain, well maintained, and baskets in good shape.

Cons:

NO short tee pad markers that I could find except on hole 2 and that was really hard t see where the placement was next to a bush. I think I found another short tee marker somewhere.

There are no basket position indicators and no visible wear on the short tee areas where ever they are..... So the course is really long playing from the marked long pads.

Other Thoughts:

The problem I see here is a nice course that rarely gets played and Those factors make the course harder than necessary to navigate and play. You would think an innova sponsored course would do a nicer job on the signs and install short tee pads. It truly is in the middle of nowhere with very limited routes to get there. I'll never go back mainly because from gat
I burg it takes about TWO hours to get to despite only being 30 miles by air.
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13 0
McFer
Experience: 13.3 years 23 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Experience 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 17, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This was an all-day disc golf resort experience. Early round of disc golf (with carts!), lunch at the wonderful and reasonably priced on-site restaurant (they had Asheville Brewing Company's Shiva IPA, my personal favorite beer, on tap, and we got a free pitcher to boot), and then a long afternoon of swimming at the big pool/lazy river. The prices were more affordable than advertised. We rented 2 carts at $7 an hour each, and they didn't charge us extra when we brought them back half an hour into the 3rd hour. The advertised fee was $5 a round, $10 a day, but instead we paid about $8 a person (adults) for an all-day recreation pass that included disc golf, the pool, the game room, putt putt and whatever else we wanted to do. Great deal.

Onto the course. Truly beautiful, challenging and a great mix of hole types, from totally wide open longer holes to far more technical holes. Even on some of the more open holes, the designer was careful to make use of whatever guard trees were available. So many great holes on this one, from the long and obstacle-laden #2 hole that ends over a stream/dam to #14 that winds around a mound and island of trees. Tee boxes are great, and the course is clearly marked where it needs to be with guide signs. Holes find some way in each case (less #1) of challenging the player, either with distance or risk or obstacles. No pedestrian or vehicle interactions, though a few holes run along side the roads, though those are not much in use except for light resort traffic.

Oh, and did I mention that the course is absolutely gorgeous, meticulously manicured and in the middle of one of the country's most beautiful areas? Worth the drive. Get a room or cabin. Eat. Drink. Play DG.

Cons:

Fontana is out in the middle of nowhere, but luckily I live just a little east of the middle of nowhere. If you're coming from another state or say, Charlotte, get a room, it's a long drive and the miles belie the time if you get caught behind slow traffic on the one lane portions of 28.

The course itself is a little too open in some places. Holes 9, 12 and 13 are a little too simple, and prevent this course from a rating higher, along with #1, which I agree with another poster as far as that hole not fitting in. The only decent rationale is that a hole where visitors to the lodge can see tee to basket (it's the closest hole to the lodge) could stir some interest.

Other Thoughts:

Despite a small minority of lackluster holes, this course was a joy to play. Carts were a major bonus (I don't mind walking, but the novelty was worth it), and the amenities at the resort were affordable, high quality and lots of fun. For me, this was the first time that I was successfully able to integrate my family (wife and two younger kids) and my disc golfing passion in a way that everyone had a blast. The family loved riding on carts, loved the restaurant and my kids loved the pool. It was awesome to be able to enjoy one of my favorite hobbies with my family in this way, which was the truly one of a kind service that Fontana DGC and Resort provided.
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15 0
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.4 years 622 played 569 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fontana Dam good course

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 18, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fontana Village is an awesome mountain course. It's right up there with the best mountain courses in the region (Sugaree, High Country in Jefferson, etc.).rn- True feel of playing in the mountains. Lots of elevation throughout gives you a great mix of uphill, downhill and level holes. There are enough chances for you to let your disc fly on downhill open holes (3 & 11), while also giving you downhill holes that force you to throw accurate, or face some serious punishment (#2 - road/cars on left & thick rough on right; #12 - rough & serious drop-off behind basket).rn- There are some great hole layouts on this course. You have some solid doglegs, wooded holes and other challenging basket placements, and it just gets magnified with the elevation. The two I'm going to point out here are #8 & 15. #8 starts out in the woods, and is a dogleg right, 315 foot hole. You have to clear through the opening in the trees to a downhill shot to the basket. With a little skill/luck or a bad bounce off a tree, anything from a birdie to double-bogey seems likely on this hole. On #15, it a 256 foot, slight dogleg right basket. You throw over a rock-laden drop-off to a basket protected by trees. A buddy had a bad bounce off the trees and into the rocks. It was a journey getting down to his disc. Again, a birdie seems just as probable as a high score. My favorite hole, however, was #2, but I'll get to that later. rn- Good variety in length - from the long tees, six holes under 300 feet, five from 300-399, seven at more than 400 feet. Of course the elevation changes make some holes play longer or shorter than their listed lengths. The only slight blip about this is that there isn't one truly epic, long hole, in the 600 - 700 foot range.rn- Good tee signs and scorecards. It's easy to navigate your way through the course with a map.rn- I'm usually a fan of concrete tee pads, but in this case, I really like the rubber ones used here. They're in very good shape and they blend in better with the natural feel of the entire course. Concrete ones would have stuck out like a sore thumb.rn- Amazing scenery throughout. In terms of pure views, both the views throughout the course/resort, and the drive in, this is even better than Sugaree & High Country. You're really out in nature in Fontana/the resort/the course - pure beauty throughout.

Cons:

Both tee pads weren't clearly visible on every hole that has dual tees. Also, it wasn't always clear with basket locations the cages were in - long or short. It was pretty self explanatory on most holes; however, on at least one hole, it was hard to tell because of the depth perception. On #12, it's 222 for short vs. 332 for long. Throwing into an open, downhill basket throws off your depth perception. With woods and a deep slope behind the basket, you don't want to be wrong on your guess.rn- Also, the distances on the tee signs and scorecards didn't match. Most were relatively close, so not a major problem. Again, on some holes, a 40-50 foot difference could pose a problem if you're aiming for one distance over the other.rn- There's a disc valley of death to the right of #14, and to a lesser degree, the left of #16. On #14, it's a steep drop to thick, thick, thick underbrush. My buddy had a disc land in there. We didn't find his disc, but I found two others and some angry yellow jackets, so it was a mixed bag.rn- This is a slow playing course. The holes are spread out (though no major walks between holes) and you're going up and down hills. With that said, prepare for a longer than normal round.rn- This has nothing to do with the course itself, but it has to be mentioned. This course is in the middle of nowhere. Yes, that puts you out in nature, as stated above; but, it also means it's a long drive to get here. It's about 1:30 from both Asheville and Knoxville, the two closest major cities. Along those lines, the Knoxville route includes a a long stretch of winding roads. If you get car sick, this is a rough stretch, and even if you don't normally, you'll feel 20 miles of hairpin turns.

Other Thoughts:

Fontana Village is a special course. The resort itself seems to have a lot to offer, so you could easily spend a fair amount of time here. It also doesn't hurt that the gal at the front desk let us play for free.rn- As I mentioned above, it would be nice to see a truly epic hole. There's enough room to extend some of the holes to add distance. Either #10 or 11 could be pushed further up the mountain - basket for #10, tee for #11.rn- I really like the flow of holes here. There aren't many lazy transitions, meaning you don't go uphill for one hole, and turn around and go downhill the next. It's easy for some courses to do the back and forth flow way too much. #10 & 11 was the only back-to-back like this.rn- My favorite hole was #2. The longest hole on the course - 538 feet - is a tight, downhill shot with danger on both sides (as state above, road on left and thick rough/dropoff on left). If you took away the elevation for this hole, making it flat, you'd have #7 at Hornets Nest in Charlotte. rn- #11 was a close second in terms of the best holes, especially because of the tough approach shot. It's a slight drop-off for the first 80 - 90% of the hole, until there's a steep drop-off down to the basket. If you're more than 100 feet out, it's a blind second shot. It's very easy to have your approach shot sail long.rn- I loved every part of the course. There wasn't a bad hole here - a couple of average ones, but not a dud in the bunch. rn- This is a notch below Sugaree and a slight, slight notch below High Country. So, to differentiate, I'm giving this a lower rating than both of those. Still, this course should be getting a 4.25, if that rating were available.
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5 2
swatso
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.3 years 776 played 417 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Let 'er Fly! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 3, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Length and elevation changes.

Cons:

Some baskets near other baskets, tees, roads; some fairways close to roads.

Other Thoughts:

Course plays up, down, and across sections of open space defined by various roads that compose the Fontana Village complex. Elevation changes are in abundance as nearly half the holes play downhill, some quite significantly, and nearly half also play upslope - flat holes are quite rare here. Because of all the elevation changes, your legs and lungs, in addition to your arm, will receive a workout.

The holes are definitely on the open side - about 2/3rds could be described as wide open, or with only a large tree or two to avoid, typically near the basket. Other groups of large trees provide obstacles for the remaining holes, although no hole could be described as tight.

Long, continuous right-turning, downslope number-16 offers the toughest challenge, with scattered trees to avoid the entire ~500', the road a constant companion on the left, and a small stream near the basket. The easiest hole has to be toss-across ~140' number-1.

Tees: 6x12 rubber mats on plywood for the long tees, could only find short tee-4. The sign for tee-11 was missing the day I played, but was easy enough to identify. Signs list distances to basket, but does not identify in which pin position the basket is.

The map is quite good, showing the tee/basket locations relative to the roads winding about the village, and various buildings - navigation was fairly simple.

A bit off the beaten track - a pro, or con, depending upon your tolerance for driving on windy roads.

If playing a course which is offers plenty of length, openness, and elevation changes is your preference, you should enjoy this course.
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