Pros:
Morristown Kiwanis is a unique course to say the least. The course can be summed up by three things: trees, valleys and rocks. If you avoid those, you'll be in good shape.
- Very interesting piece of land. Looking at the online pictures, I always envisioned this course to be in a hilly, more mountainous region. Nope. You pull into the parking lot, and it looks like a regular, run-of-the-mill park with no visible elevation. You walk to hole #1, and you feel like you've crossed over into somewhere else.
- Due in part to the terrain, there are some very interesting hole layouts here. There aren't any overly difficult or long holes on the course, rather a bunch of solid to above average holes.
- This course belongs to the dog(legs). On the front nine alone, #2, 3, 4, 6, 7 & 8 are doglegs. On one hand it gives you plenty of practice, on the other, it can get old pretty quickly.
- The other major obstacle the course uses is heavy tree coverage. The four hole stretch of #9 - 12 are on the extreme end of being challenging, teetering on the edge of being unfair. #11, especially might have too much luck factor in it. At least it's a short hole, so If you hit a tree, you should still have a good chance to salvage par.
- The course places all of its emphasis on accuracy. Only six holes are longer than 300 feet, the longest is the downhill 333 foot #8, so if you can control your shots, you will be seeing a lot of birdie putts. The front nine generally is a little more open with wider fairways than the back nine. So, you better get your birdies early because they're a lot harder to get on the back nine.
- Very good tee signs and tee pads. Course also has a great flow to it, with short walks between holes. As a first-time player, I had printed out a map, but never needed it. The only slightly confusing part would be the quagmire where the tees for #8 & 13 are right next to each other, so if you can't/don't read the signs, you could easily go from #7 to 13 without noticing it. Also, the front nine and back nine both wind up back at the parking lot, so you can start on either #1 or 10, or only play nine holes if desired.
- The rock formations are pretty cool. On some holes they take up a big chunk of the fairway, so be careful about scraping up your discs. Also, a couple of the valleys are pretty cool. There's a huge hole on the right side of #7, which might be 20 feet deep. My tee shot landed on a rock ledge in this hole, which is about 50 - 75 feet from the basket, and I was below ground throwing my second shot.
Cons:
The biggest issue I noticed here is that the course is very repetitive. The trees, valleys and rocks can be a good thing, but it also gets very redundant by the time you're on the back nine.
- The lack of variety goes beyond the terrain. The hole lengths are all between 200 and 333 feet, with an average length of 270. Throw in the amount of doglegs, and yes, you do feel like you're throwing the same shot the whole time.
- There could be some safety concerns with all the rocks. The walk downhill on #9 is kind of steep and rock-laden, and the only aid you have is a rope. It doesn't seem like that's enough of a precaution to prevent injuries. All, the rocks appear like they could be very slick when the course is wet. There should be better signage in some of the valleys/holes, especially the deep hole I mentioned above on #7.
- On the Sunday afternoon I played this course, there were three groups of people using the course as a walking trail. There is also a walking path that comes into play on some holes on the back nine, so be alert to that.
Other Thoughts:
Seeing this piece of land, one thought came to my mind. I could just see the Parks & Rec department trying to decide what to do with this piece of land, seeing the potential safety concerns (we can't have walkers/kids on here, they'll get hurt), and deciding to put a disc golf on the land (DGers don't care, they'll play anywhere). So, yes, even though you're right in the middle of the park, you're almost isolated from everyone else.
- The repetitiveness of the course is a definite love/hate aspect of the course. A little more variety would have made the course even better. By hole #15, I was wishing for something different. At least you end with a tight, rock-free hole on #18.
- I could see this course appealing to beginners to experienced players. Newcomers and regular players will like the challenge. Pros, on the other hand, will probably have a field day.
- Unique courses always are appealing to me. It's part of the draw that will bring players back for more.
- This is a solid course within the Knoxville area. If you've only got time for one or two courses in the area, there are better ones to play. If you live in the area, or have the time, you'll like the variety this course has to offer.