Pulling into Hillcrest Park, it's clear what is prioritized here. There are top-notch baseball fields and playground & splash area for the kids. And then there's the disc golf course.
- When this course get's proper attention, this can be a decent layout. When fairways are completely overgrown, it's not so much fun.
- There are plenty of open holes. In some ways, these are the best parts of the course. Granted, that's only because you can't notice the neglect. Yes, having clearly laid out fairways is a positive for this course.
- There were two holes that I thought were good, B+-level in terms of quality, design, and enjoyment - #2, an uphill 254-footer and #16, a 265-foot, slight downhill layout with a tree lined fairway. The latter was the only hole that had an actual, well-laid out fairway.
- There are at least a half-dozen holes that would be just as good if this course got proper attention. #9 could be the course's best hole with proper attention. Your approach shot is (in its present state) to a basket that has waste high, or taller, grass three feet to the right of the basket. Cut that height down, widen the green area, and clear out some of the underbrush, and you now have a legit risk/reward approach shot rather than a 'I hope I can find my disc and not a snake' throw, or a safe, 30-foot to the left, bailout throw.
- If you ever want to see the inner workings of a small-town park and rec department, a round here is really a behind-the-scenes tour to see how the sausage is made. Hole #3 plays behind storage sheds and piles of dirt and mulch. #8 plays along the fenced in yard where county vehicles are stored. The walk from #9 to 10 leads you past more P&R equipment. Then, if you're still on the fence about whether you want to work for the county, this recruiting tour's Coup de grâce is the walk through the waste collection center, complete with the opportunity to tee off on #14 right next to one of the dumpsters.
- I was able to spot the tee areas for 15 of 18 holes. In school, that's a solid B or B-. Between wooden posts and some tee signs, you too can play most holes. Add to that, I did spot all but one basket, and even most fairways. And most baskets were still completely upright and not leaning.

This park offers multiple amenities. All get more attention that disc golf.
- For everyone who says any disc golf course is better than no disc golf course, this will test your beliefs. The directions on the course's DGCR were spot on, even to the point the first tee is a couple steps from the back, right corner of the parking lot. I spot the first tee sign immediately. Solid first impression. Then I try to figure out where the actual tee area is. Don't see markers in the ground. Don't see a frame anywhere. I guess they want you to just throw from that exact spot. And that was one of the easier holes to play.
- Hole #5 is a hole in that it does have a tee marker and a basket, both of which have a #5 on them. What's in between said tee marker and basket is nothing that resembles a fairway. Go to your nearest cluster of trees, underbrush and wild growth. Great. Welcome back. Now tell me, what did it look like? Was it nicely manicured or was it a complete jungle that it'd be difficult to walk through or get a disc through? Chances are it's still easier to get to than it would be from #5's tee to basket.
- #6 & 7 were two open field holes that only served the purpose of giving this course 18 holes. You tee off on one side of the field, play 500 feet to the other side, walk 30 feet away, tee off on the far side, and play to a basket close to where you just were.
- If you go over the fence on #8, or possibly #12, I don't think you're retrieving your disc.
- For a simple course, there were a ton of blind tee shots. As already mentioned, it's not always easy even figuring out where the fairway is on every hole. So, it's not like you can just throw a disc down the fairway and hope for the best. You can throw down the widest area and hope that it is the actual fairway. I guessed wrong on where the fairway was on several holes on the back 9. Can't say I remember ever having to play 'guess the fairway' more than once on a course before. So, there's that.
- I'm sure I could complain about other issues, but I feel I would just be wasting brain cells.

Hillcrest was one of the most frustrating courses I've played. The course is clearly an afterthought. There are two good courses nearby so why pour resources into this sunk cost?
- The frustrations mostly stem from the realization that it wouldn't take that much effort to turn this into a better course. One solid weekend of fairway clearing and tee sign / next tee arrow installing, and this course would at least be playable. Just because this will never be an elite course doesn't mean it can't be a solid option for players.
- I really would have been interested in playing the wooded stretch of #9 - 16 were things in more optimal shape. The stretch of #9 - 13 should be the course's best section of holes. Instead, I'm happy I didn't have to search too long for a disc in tall grass, didn't twist an ankle, and only had to walk through two dozen spider webs. #10 and 12 really could be fun holes, and I was disappointed I didn't get a real taste of them.
- When you start playing a lot of courses, you're going to eventually play some bad courses. This course most closely resembles two others that were complete s-shows: Woodward Park in Camden, SC and Lowe Warner Park in nearby Troy. I'd rather see, and play, a course that tops out at a 2.5 rating than just see it completely ignored.
- In this layout, if everything were in good shape - tee pads, tee signs, clear fairways, easy navigation - this tops out in the 2.5 - (maybe) 3.0 range. Based on how the course played in July '19, I'm probably being generous with a 1.5 rating. Based on the fact the most recent course update from a year early, these flaws have been around for a long time. Until things are better, give me Pinehurst or Reservoir Park every time.

In a nice, easily accessible park. Excellent score cards, without which I'd have probably never made my way through, despite my natural talent for navigation.
A good mix of open and wooded holes. The two Par 4's (6 and 7) will let you let it fly through wide open air. #9 will let you sail it as well, but not as worry free. #8 is a beautifully designed hole, flying through a long tree tunnel, similar to, but longer than #13 on the coming soon Springwood Players' Course.

Some of the natural tees are hard to find, even with the good map on the back of the scorecard. I never did find #4 and had to make a best guess as to its intended location. Many of the tee signs have evidently been vandalized and are missing from the tall posts on which they were mounted. But hole numbers have been put on most of the signless posts.
Despite its design flaws of crossing a fence and a road, #2 is still a pretty cool hole, making good use of upward elevation. #5 can be misread, as the basket is pretty well hidden in the trees and is much shorter than the card listed distance of 170'. Even with its shortness, it's no gimme, featuring a very narrow gap entering the tree line from the tee, which is in the open.
As noted by other reviewers, some back nine wooded fairways aren't very fair, but are largely discernible and navigable. #16 is probably the worst, but can be easily cured by simply moving the tee about 20' to the left to utilize the beautifully grassy, reasonably wide lane between the two tree stands.
I'll assume that the fallen pine partially blocking #15's green will soon be removed, as the bush and tree on #18 will be trimmed.

The sandiness of the soil in the Carthage area should keep the natural tees from turning to mud in the rain. All in all, an enjoyable DG experience. I look forward to playing it again, perhaps on a leisurely Sunday afternoon, along with the other two nearby courses

18 baskets, yea!

Welp, that's about it. After the park took out the best holes for overflow parking for baseball, you get some less than stellar field holes. Still, it's disc golf and worth a stumble around.

There is a bit of odd character to this course, like the little graveyard in play at the end of hole 2. That and the multiple little storage buildings around give a weird vibe to the course.

No tees but the dirt is okay and you can find most of the tees thanks to wooden posts. Some even have signs on them!

The worst part of this course is that so much of the course plays around fences. The first 5 or so holes have a fence along the right that borders a neighborhood. Then hole 8 is a crepe myrtle type lined fairway of goofiness with a daunting fence on the right, complete with barbedwire. Then there more than enough tees and holes right next to baseball fences, not ideal.

Some of the new basket locations for the holes taken out by the parking lot are just inside little pockets in the tree line, not awe inspiring design.

Still a lot of broken glass and trash here and there that looks like it's been there for awhile.

Holes #12-14 stink, literally, they're right beside a big dumpster.

Holes #17-18 are just awful. 17 has a good mando to keep you from throwing out into the main park road but there isn't much of a fairway actually. Then 18 is a goofy walk back down the road where you basically have to use the same main park road as the fairway. Just bad.

This used to be a solid if not spectacular course that had some challenging in a good way pine tree tunnels of doom holes. Now, those holes are gone. What's left is basically a tour around the baseball field and some filler holes. The good holes here are very reminiscent of OT Sloan, it's that kind of poking around the woods. They did a fair job replacing the lost holes and with a little tweaking here and there they could be fun holes but for the most part they're just wide open field holes.

Wooded course with some challenging technical holes. New, visible baskets. Natural tee pads seem to be level and are holding up OK.

Looks like a newer course that is still in progress. Most holes don't have signs. You need to walk up the fairway to find the basket, and then go back and throw. A few holes have what I would call WTF fairways. If they take down a couple more trees it will make those holes play fair. Not any holes that are real fun to play, or unique. A few long walks between holes, and some poor course layout.

This is a newer course so I assume it will improve over time. Right now it's not great, but is playable if you somehow find yourself in Carthage. There is a kennel of some kind next door, and people were walking dogs along several of the holes. There is also a walking trail that doubles as the fairway on some shots.

-Good piece of land, in an area that needs disc golf (not necessarily Carthage, but Moore County).
-Baskets are Discatchers I believe, great condition.
-Course layout (walk from hole to hole) is reasonable.
-Great course for recovery shots and inventive putting
-Has potential to be a quality course

-Many holes do not have a discernible fairway (seven springs to mind)
-Many holes "fairways" are extremely tight, with luck being the deciding factor off the tee.
-Although not a problem for me per se, crushed gravel tees.
-Where's the next hole? It will come with time, but a simple wooden arrow with a "7" would do the trick.
-Four signs in total on my count, that will be resolved with sponsorship.
-Road on 17 and 18, fence on some holes.

First of all, I'm glad that Moore County has a dg course. Kudos to all the hard work and effort that went into the course, the design, and the whole process. Although the course was somewhat enjoyable, it does have some problems. The design seems forced, as in they placed the tee somewhere and figured out the best place to put the teepad without having to cut down any trees or maintain some kind of fairway. I understand that one of the allures of dg is not clearcutting forests, you have to remove some trees to make the course playable. Considering Moore County's amount of ball golf courses (and all the side effects that result) I'm sure cutting down a few trees won't hurt. Hole 9 has a gap probably 4 discs wide off the tee. Take down those small trees that make the hole unplayable and voila, you have yourself a nice hole. I understand that it takes time, work, and resources to achieve this, however, it is possible and it will be done in time I'm sure.

Overall, I would recommend this course to those in the area as a show of support. If you live in the area and enjoy dg, then get out and help. Make some calls and see what can be done to improve this course that could be much better than it is currently. Since its the only course in Moore County, I'm sure it will receive the right amount of attention in the coming years.

I have to preface this review by saying that this course is brand new. It has not been 100% completed yet so it is a little hard to follow. It will get better with time and play. The locals are working hard on it and it's changing rapidly.

This course has potential to be pretty good. There are some nice tight wooded shots here. Most of the holes here are in the woods and require a great deal of accuracy. Those aspects of your game will improve by playing here. You're scrambling to get out of trouble will improve here as well. I threw a number of forehand and straddle putts while playing this course because there are trees everywhere. The first 3 holes have very nice tee signs. When the rest are purchased and installed the course will be marked very well. The baskets are brand new and in great shape. They're also installed with sleeves so it looks like there might be a chance for multiple pin positions in the future. The course is not super long so beginners will be ok here but they might get a little frustrated with how tight it is. Big arms will not have an advantage here either.

The course designers mentioned that there are course maps in the park office. I didn't know that when I played the course but they would definitely be helpful.

There are restrooms in this park and there was also a concession stand that looks like it is used occasionally. It was not open when I played the course.

There are aspects of the design that could be a little better in my opinion. I think the course will get better as it matures but there are some holes that didn't seem to have a discernible fairway. In some cases there is plenty of room to place the tee where there would be a fairway. It would be a very hard shot but at least there would be a fairway.

Holes 17 and 18 run along the entrance road to the park and I believe there will be cars hit here. When I played the course there was not a marking for a mando on either hole so I chose to throw over the road because it was the easiest shot and guaranteed a chance at a 2 or an easy 3. I have since been informed that there is a mando on 17 that keeps you from throwing over the road. Hole 17's pin is within 10 feet of the entrance road on one side and a parking lot on the other. I think that cars will get hit here because of it's placement. It's placement makes the hole harder but I think there is too much chance for hitting cars or people. While I was playing it took me quite a while to play holes 17 and 18 because of the amount of traffic coming in and out of the park.

There is also a hole that throws up towards the concession stand. My opinion is that this hole is dangerous because there were a lot of people up in the area where I was throwing my drive. The best shot on that hole is to throw and anhyzer, out in the open, towards the ball fields and concession stand. This hole might have a mando that wasn't marked at the time I played the course. According to the course designers the concession stand is being relocated to a position closer to the ball fields. This will be good because it will take the danger of hitting someone out of that hole.

The tee pads are made of a crushed rock and are in good condition but I think they are a bit too short and some are placed in bad positions. The reason I say that is because there were some holes that I felt like there were trees or bushes in the way of the run up area or too close to the right hand corner of the tee pad. I found myself shortening my arm swing because I was afraid to bang my hand on the tree that was next to the tee box. I'm not sure if I actually would have hit my hand but it was a definitely a concern with myself and the other person I was playing with at the time. The crushed rock tee pads are in good condition but I am personally not a fan of that type of tee pad because your feet stick in them and it creates a lot of strain on the knees. My right knee was very sore after playing at this course because of the tee pads.

There are only 3 tee signs and it is a bit hard to navigate around the course. It would be really nice to have the rest of the tee signs and little arrows on the pins telling you which way to go for the next tee. At the time I originally wrote this review there were not arrows on the pins helping you with where to go for the next hole but the course designers say that those have been installed.

You will not become a good distance thrower if this is the only place you get to play. That could be considered a con if you really are looking to work on your distance. There are a couple holes that are of decent length but you can't really open up and throw hard because of how tight the fairway's are. This course will, however, help you a lot with your accuracy, scrambling and different styles of putting.

At the time I played the course the tees were still marked with orange ribbons. There was also a couple bricks at the front of the tee boxes that had a hole number on them.

A comment regarding my evaluation of courses. I am not trying to insult or hurt any ones feelings when I review a course. I'm just trying to evaluate the course on what I feel are important characteristics of a good course. Disc golf has become a large enough sport that I feel we should strive for better than we have now. Just putting 18 holes in a park isn't enough. 18 pole holes does not make a disc golf course. It requires tee's, signs, maps, solid course design and constant maintenance. Any less than that and we will never advance the sport to a reputable level.