Pros:
I've put off writing my review for Luther Britt. On one hand, this is a near-excellent, challenging & uncommon layout. It's also maddeningly frustrating. Prepare to be confused.
- At its peak, this course is as good as Trophy Lakes in Charleston, SC. One of the two courses to best incorporate water making for a challenging round.
- Water comes into play on 14 of 18 holes. A fair amount of holes, the water is more of a mental block than a realistic challenge. Unless you fishhook a tee shot 90 or 180 degrees off line. Of course, on a windy day, the water is in play on all of those holes.
- They get the worst hole out of the way immediately. Take your easy 3 / birdie run on a simple straight ahead layout. It gets tougher from here.
- #4 from the longs is a fun one to air out a tee shot. Wide open, 449 foot, slightly downhill shot over a nasty looking canal. Put it this way. My disc splashed down in the canal. A non-floater disc....and it did not sink. I could see it 20 feet away....and there was no way I would step foot in that canal. Lesson learned. Don't leave your golden retriever at home.
- #5's basket is picturesque, and challenging too. On a peninsula, it's the first of many shots that challenging one's willingness to be aggressive versus playing extremely safe. That 125 foot approach shot suddenly seems nerve-wracking, especially after having just lost a disc on the previous hole.
- The course weaves counterclockwise around the lakes. As such, a good many holes dogleg/fade off to the right. Extremely beneficial for LHBH or RHFH throwers.
- #11, and 14, and 15 are holes that seemingly have the hardest landing zones with either narrower landing zones, most exposure to the lake, or highest risk of wind coming into play.
- #17 is going to be a love it or hate it layout. You'll either want to throw multiple discs to the island green or you'll play the short tees, or skip it entirely. Nobody will play here and not remember the island hole.
- You like to gamble? This is the course for you. Tremendous risk/reward factor on many holes. Take the water out of the equation, and this is a ho-hum design. We'd all be taking dead aim at the baskets. Instead, you're left assessing how confident you are in your arm, your nerves, and the wind that may not be felt until your disc leaves your hand.
- There is a shorter/easier layout. This layout does take water out of play on additional holes, making this an easier, more enjoyable stroll around the lakes.
Cons:
This is not a beginner friendly course. This is not a good course for a quick round.
- Here's my thought about the course. You're a couple hundred feet from I-95 here. If you're travelling up or down 95, this is a great place (in theory) to stop and stretch your legs. As such, if you throw a disc in the water, you're not going to retrieve it. You're not coming back later to fish it out.
- There's no sense of a local disc golf club being involved with this course. Were this course as well maintained as Trophy Lakes, or a part of a big club, a la the Charlotte DGC, I know any disc in the water may find its way back to me. I had 3 discs land in the water. Two got blown off line by strong crosswinds. After the third (and best) disc ended in the lake, I finally had to go in and retrieve it. At least this one was in clean, clear water.
- I don't like playing courses where more than 75% of holes involve water and I know any disc in the water is gone unless I retrieve it myself. Shoutout to Trophy Lake and other courses that have dedicated divers.
- I tried to contact the Lumberton DGC and found out there seemingly isn't one. I found its FB page, left a message, and got a 'this page is not monitored' default message. Nearly a month later, I still haven't gotten a response. That's why I don't like the idea of losing a disc on potentially nearly half of my throws on the course.
- Water aside, navigation/signage could be better. In several spots, multiple holes cluster together. After #4, you walk past #7's tee to get to #5. After #11, it wouldn't be hard to go straight to #14 because the tee for #12 is a pain trying to spot.
- Tees need working on. Not the best.
Other Thoughts:
I think Luther Britt has a great layout. It's a great challenge that requires players to be on their game for nearly every single shot. I think the support, or lack thereof, going into this course is what hurts its appeal and overall quality.
- There is a lack of overall variety. The dogleg/fade right holes along the water all have a general common feel to them. Throw straight or slightly right 250 - 300 off the tee and you just avoided the water. Congrats! Take your par 3 and do it again. And again. And again.
- It's a long walk around the two lakes to play this course. Don't get to #16 and realize you left a disc back on #4 or 7. When you look at a map, it's impressive they were able to fit a full 18 in here with so little land actually available.
- That said, it would be nice to see another wooded/non-water hole or two, especially on the back nine.
- #18 is an odd closing hole. After longer and/or water holes, having a 249-foot open hole in a field is just....different. At least you're not going to lose a disc here.
- If I felt confident a lost disc was going to be returned, I'd bump my rating up at least a half point. This is close to being as good as Trophy Lakes in terms of the course itself, nothing more. This would be in the 3.5 - 4.0 range due to all its positives. Due to the negatives, I'm giving this a 3.0. And I suspect many who've played here will think it's far worse than that.