Map at beginning. Mowed recently. Holes are in good shape.

Hole 9 is not correct on map. No maps at tees.

1) Initial impression upon pulling into the course is a beautiful, well maintained course with lots of pavilions, port-o-potties, incredible views. Lots of parking space and appears to be a well utilized park.
2) There are multiple pin locations and most of the times I've visited, they are in different spots which I'm sure keeps the course fresh and adds to enjoyment of locals.
3) The course does have several roads running through it but there has rarely been any traffic that impacts play.
4) This course plays quickly even when it is packed with players (which is usually only for tournaments).
5) The course is recreational friendly, a little demanding for new players and something they could grow into, and very soft for better players. And I think this was the intention when they designed this course and it shows in the consistent way this course plays.
6) Major elevation changes on most holes that create fun and slightly challenging lines while not being too overbearing to walk. The walk from hole 6 to hole 7 is probably the worst.
7) Hole 6 will get a lot of love from woods fans, but I think hole #15 (as of the last time I played the course) the long Par 4 down the side slope of Naval Hill gets my vote for signature hole. It provides a decision on gap to hit off the tee to cut off distance to approach, stellar views of Nashville from the hill top, and really lets you open up and air one out down the hill.
8) Good concrete tees with grip (minus hole 4 tee pad which has a hump in the center and makes your run up awkward).
9) Good course signage showing the multiple pin locations and distances and arrows pointing to next tee.
10) Solid mix of elevated baskets that give shorter more wide open holes a little more challenge.
11) Pretty decent flow as the first 4 holes are lightly wooded and allow you to get dialed in before heading into the woods for 5 and 6, a brief break with an open hyzer on 7 before heading back into the woods for 8 and 9. The back 9 starts off with some short technical holes with elevated baskets before gradually easing you into longer open bomber holes then gradually winding down with shorter more technical holes to finish.

1) This course has been hit hard by storms over the recent months, bringing down multiple large mature trees that defined the identity of this course and some signature holes. The course is still great to play, but for those who have played it in the past, it is not nearly as picturesque or demanding as it used to be.
2) Fallen massive trees have destroyed original hole #9 and it is unplayable as of my latest visit. This course made up for that with using hole #19 as it's hole #18 and the course really doesn't suffer from losing #9 (despite being what I considered the hardest hole on the course).
3) Extremely thick rough. If you stray far off line you will get into some deep thick stuff with lost disc potential and usually only a pitch out to keep moving on.
4) There is no water available on the course, and with the elevation changes, you will be upset with yourself if you don't bring some with you.
5) There are a few holes that play alongside residential houses, protected by a fence and some thick brush, but there still is a chance to throw into their back yards making getting your disc back and adventure. As well as several fenced in Naval properties strewn throughout. It would take a terrible shot to land inside of, but it is still possible. And would probably be difficult to retrieve that disc as well.
6) Pretty long walk back to the parking lot from 18 compared to where you tee on hole #1
7) Minus a few of the longer holes on the back 9, you feel like you should be making birdie on every hole. This is a minor nit pick as this course appears to be designed for the recreational player.

If you want to take in some sights, get a mix of shot shapes and distances in, make some birdies, and not have to travel far off the interstate or from downtown Nashville, this course is a great one to stop in at. I won't wow you with it's difficulty or memorable holes, but it is definitely a solid course worth playing even if it has lost a lot of trees that once defined its identity.

A hilly course with plenty of opportunity to drive and occasional good patches.

-Elevation: The "hill" in the title of the course isn't misleading. Most of these holes play with significant up, down, or side-slopes. Keeps it fresh.

-Scenery: One or two holes have interesting views leading down towards the river. The couple of true woods holes are lush.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: A segmented mix of overly open, middle ground, and great woods challenge. I consider (1)-(5) and (18)-(19) to be the "middle ground", as they play through scattered mature hardwoods that aren't trivial but are extremely scrambleable. (6), (8)-(9) are the woods holes, which are all very fun par 3's requiring finesse in the shapes. (10)-(12) are quirky, with scattered trees in awkward spots and a fenced-off compound that gets in your mind. (7) and (13)-(17) are the open portion, which just really isn't very interesting. With more woods, Naval Hill could be a much better course.

-Ambience: For an urban park, Naval Hill feels very safe and inviting.

-Navigation: Pretty intuitive except the awkward (12)-(13) transition mentioned by several other reviewers.

-Open Holes: The (13)-(17) stretch are a letdown. No real challenge other than distance and wind. Even some of the middle ground holes are a bit dull.

-Exposure: Playing along the side of a hill, this course is very susceptible to strong wind. It's all fun and games until you throw into an enclosed area or thick rough.

-Rough: Mostly disc finding is no problem, but the (6)-(10) range is not well kept-up and can thoroughly hide a disc.

-Enclosures: Fenced-in areas are a thing on (11)-(12) and (14). If on the former, your disc is gone. On the latter, I believe you can crawl through a hole in the fence if you're more adventurous.

-No Signature: Naval Hill doesn't have a signature hole. Sure, I like (5) and (6) and (16), but none of them are special enough to pull this course up that much. It's squarely typical-feeling.

-Signage: Has fallen into disrepair just in between the 3 times I've played it. This course doesn't look like it gets much love other than the basic mowing.

-Mud: I can say from experience that due to the slopes it can be treacherous to play after rain. I emerged from one round covered in mud due to a slip and fall near the tee of (4). If you're at risk for injury from a fall, definitely don't try to play while it's slick.

Naval Hill is one of those courses where you say, "Yeah, that's there." I'm sure it's great for residents of East Nashville, but it lacks sparkle to be broadly appealing, mainly due to the lack of intriguing design on the medium and open portions of the course. The elevation and three wooded holes are clearly the best portions, but on the whole it falls short and lands on the higher end of Typical.

(2.896 Rating) An open lightly wooded course, that's indeed located on top of a hill.
- ELEVATION - I think the amount of elevation at Naval Hill is the best aspect. There are 3 or 4 down shots that eclipse a 30 foot grade differential. To me, that's always a fun characteristic.
- BASICS - The standard required elements of navigation, tees and baskets were done right. Big course map near tee (1). Tee signs are adequate, although missing on a couple holes. The tees are perfect sized and concrete. Baskets are DISCatchers.
- RECREATIONAL FRIENDLY - The challenges presented here IMO, are average. Meaning the guy who can chuck it 300 feet and plays a 2 or 3 times a week should finish around even par. Most of the challenge here will be distance off of the tee, but there are a couple technical plays. A 950 rated player will slay this course. A previous reviewer noted that the ideal player rating is 870, and I'd say that's about spot on.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Not a beginner's course, but its open enough and forgiving that a skilled player should be able to bring someone with them that's new to the game.
- QUICK PLAY - For a 19 hole course it plays fairly quick. Very little searching for discs and the hole transitions are typically under 150 feet.
- LOCATION - This is the closest course to downtown Nashville.

Good, just not great.
- UNIQUENESS - Naval Hill delivers a steady dose of Rec level park style shots mostly in the 250 to 350 foot range. Although the landscape has some great elevation change to it, the lightly wooded fairways just don't seem to pop well enough and many have already blended together in my memory. I was truly hoping for a cityscape view from one of the tees like I experienced at Zilker in Austin TX or Springfield in Jacksonville FL, but no such luck. Holes (6) and (12) were the only holes that really stood out to me.
- MAINTENANCE - The course seemed a touch run-down at my appearance. The fairways were shaggy in spots and the tee signs need an overhaul. There are only 3 wooded holes on the course and I could tell it had been awhile since the last good off-fairway thinning.
- DISCONTINUITY - Just one substantial gap in course flow between (12) and (13). These two are 450 feet apart.
- SPACING - A few of the holes border one another with no landscape buffer. Not really a big deal, but there will be times that players will throw into other fairways.

Naval Hill offers a solid disc golf experience. Players that max out at 350 and prefer to bomb shots, will like this one more than those that prefer technical woods play. Personally this is not my style. My three favorite holes here were the three wooded fairways. I think there are clearly some better courses in the Nashville area. For those visiting the Nashville area for the first time, I'd recommend playing Cedar Hill, Seven Oaks, Sharp Springs and Cane Ridge, before here.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - A nice pleasant park style course. Not much in the way of exotic features to spice up the holes, but overall the sum of the parts is a touch above average. I scored the course a 2.75 out of 5.

- Closest course to downtown Nashville so very accessible to visitors of the city or those who live in the immediate metro area
- Park is free entry and there is ample parking
- multiple practice baskets
- scenic location on a hill with great views of the area
- not too much vehicle traffic on the surrounding roads, kind of a sleepy neighborhood
- didn't get too crowded for me, most I saw there were a few a groups and was able to skip around them. Essentially completely empty on weekday mornings and early afternoon
- Holes 5-9 are the gems of the course--without them this would be a 2.5 from me. Very wooded, require flex shots and tight lines. All have a risk reward element where you can throw a straight shot and take your par or try to match the shape of the hole and park it / get stuck in the woods.
- Hole #6 is easily the signature hole. Tunnel shot that finishes hard left at the end over a creek to a heavily guarded green. Best I could manage on it was bogey. Even if you throw it straight ~260 ft and try to approach the green on your second shot you're still not guaranteed par. Hole #8 is a close second--a super tight downhill shot that requires a hard right turn at the beginning and soft fade to the left at the end to a wooded green.
- Didn't have an issue with any of the concrete tee boxes, grip was good.
- Signs that were there were informative and showed multiple basket locations (one basket per hole that rotates to different sockets).
- Baskets were in decent shape, sometimes the cage was a little lopsided but they caught just fine and no major rust or anything.
- Mostly normal height but a low basket on 15 and an elevated basket on 12 with OB right behind it.
- Greens were pretty tricky, only the first hole had a flat green and most have thick woods, OB or slopes around them. They do a good job of adding these elements on short holes that would otherwise be gimme birdies.
- Flow was decent, definitely did some searching the first time I came but didn't have to look too hard. There were a few "next tee" signs by some baskets but sometimes they had fallen off or had gotten rotated weirdly.
- Didn't encounter a single non-golfer in a fairway which was a first for me going to a course in a multi-use park. You're either there to do disc golf or sneak off into the woods and smoke a doobie... or probably both I guess?
- The ideal difficulty for me (870 something rated). Shot +5 my first few rounds then finally made it down to even. It's a course where you have to learn when to attack and when not to. There are plenty of wide open holes where you can attack without danger but if you go for it on the wooded holes you can walk away with a big number.

- There are a few missing tee signs which make it very difficult for a first timer. Hole #8 sign is gone but you just have to walk straight after hole #7.
- Holes 13-15 are duds. They're so long that they're completely unreachable. Unless you have the sidearm of Eagle McMahon I can't imagine how hole #13 can be birdied. It's a hard dogleg right that plays ~350ft but the turn is so sharp that you lose all your distance in the hyzer. I threw my disc over the barbed wire OB fence at least twice on #14 but was happy to see that someone punctured the fence so I could retrieve my disc.
- Hole #16 and Hole #7 are the same hole--wide open downhill shots where you just have a throw a huge hyzer and you're pretty much guaranteed a C2 look.
- The rough is SO THICK. It was a miracle I didn't lose a disc but I spent a good 90 minutes looking over the course of 5 rounds. Some of the rough has lanes through but most of it is filled with trash, broken glass, cobwebs, and other things you'd rather not wade through. I suppose it's too expected on a wooded course but that doesn't mean I had fun in it...
- The bathroom is a porta-potty that doesn't lock. Enough said.
- No water here so make sure you bring some.
- Holes #11 and #14 have barbed wire fences right next to them. You can get your disc from behind them but it's not fun.
- Holes 1 through 3 and 18 are probably the most boring.
- Decently long walks between some holes. #12 to #13 in particular. A lot more walking on #12 thru #18. And a very long walk from #18 back to the parking lot. I guess there was a #19 but it wasn't apparent where exactly that was?

For a SoCal disc golfer on vacation, this course was a pleasant change of scenery. Certainly lacking in amenities (like water or a decent bathroom) but made up for it with some signature wooded holes. Will definitely return here when I am back in town as the course was close to an ideal level of difficulty. I tend to love courses where the greens are reachable but there is trouble in the way and with the exception of 2, 13, 14, 15, and 18 that held true here. Would LOVE to play a tournament here as I can see how the local routes would give one a huge advantage. Birdies felt well earned and so did pars on a lot of holes. Was fortunate enough to go a bunch during weekday mornings and afternoons, can't imagine what it would be like in the evening or on the weekends... don't want to find out.

RATING: Would be a 2.5 without holes 4-8. Would be a 4 with more interesting field holes and better amenities.

- Set in a clean and tidy multiuse park.
- Five and six were a nice change of pace from the first four holes. Five was an almost top of the world type shot that works great with an OS disc on a RHBH. Six was a fun little hole with a REALLY deep ravine with a small creek in the middle. The creek seems like where you'd want to land a drive with a OS disc.
- I like that porous concrete was used on a lot of the tee pads. I've never played on anything like that and honestly it was just like playing on normal concrete. Well constructed, flat, level and grippy.
- While many of the signs were kinda trashed or missing the ones that were there looked pretty good. Unfortunately, the frames holding the signs really need to be replaced.
- The multiple pin options were great for the most part.
- 8 had an elevated basket which was a nice touch on a short left to right hole.
- The park has an interesting view of the river and the industrial area on the other side. Others may not like that but I found it interesting.
- 16 was a way cool downhill shot. Maybe I liked it because I parked a hyzer-flipped Heat.

- The first 4 holes are your typical and bland multiuse holes on mowed grass with big trees scattered throughout. Blah.
- I hate to admit this but I skipped 17. The fairway is a hard right to left slope and there is a rather busy roadway on the left hand side below the hill. It would be real easy for a disc to stand up and roll down to the roadway. Plus, RH newb-hyzers are going to be a real problem here with this kind of traffic.
- I appreciate whoever is putting the next tee signs on the baskets but a lot are missing and #2 was pointing the wrong way. Get the map from this site or plan on wandering the course for a while.
- 10 throws next to the busy road that bisects the course.
- 11 plays pretty close to some sort of sewage treatment station with very tall fencing around it and some very angry looking barbed wire on it. Hucker, you are not jumping that fence.
- 12 throws up toward the roadway and the basket is tucked inside a U shaped brick wall. Not sure how I feel about that one being so close to the roadway. Noticed that one of the other pin positions is literally 5' from the edge of the road. This does not seem like a great idea.
- 14 has another tall fence with more angry barbed wire on top. This fence is on the downhill side of the fairway on the right. Fortunately there is a lot of fairway to work with on the left.
- 16 has a crazy drop off in front of the tee. Be super careful teeing off here. Thats a broken leg waiting to happen. Yikes.
- Then there's hole 19...Where exactly am I throwing to? To that basket by the porta jon with all the cars parked around it? Yeah, pass.

Not a con or a pro..but a little mystifying: Thirteen has a mando. Who exactly is throwing to the right side of that tree so close to the tee pad??

So I guess I am not as enamoured with this course as others have been. And before you mark this review as "not helpful" remember that a 2.0 rating means "reasonable." It's not terrible but it certainly isn't great either. Also, while I would love to rate this course higher I am having a hard time justifying doing so when I feel like one of the holes really needs to be pulled (17). The wooded holes were a cool little break from the wide open bland holes and I wish there was more woods for this course to work with. It appears this course gets a BUNCH of disc golf traffic in this busy city. Frankly, with all those players in this area there really is no reason for the signage and benches to be in that shape. This is not a bad course that most any disc golf community would be happy to have so Nashville DG scene get out there and take care of this place. Seriously.

The Naval Hill Disc Golf Course, tucked inside the City of Nashville's Shelby Park, is a great layout. It's played across and throughout a mostly open area featuring rolling grassy hills with a few wooded holes included in the design. Shelby Park has mature trees dotting the scenic landscape and lending themselves as willing obstacles to help shape the shots along the course. Views of the Cumberland River and glimpses of the Nashville skyline help set the tone to another of the area's many nice courses.

While many dramatic elevation shots could have been incorporated in the layout, the designer seemed to opt for more subtle changes by playing across the hills rather than strait up and down. Here the design paid off. There is a great mix of different less drastic elevation changes to keep it interesting without overusing a barrage of up/down down/up holes. With that said, there are some holes that take advantage of the hills. Perhaps the most fun was hole five which was a particularly good downhill shot bringing in a good use of elevation change. Although it could be considered a righty backhand friendly shot, there's hole eleven that is a conciliator with its right turning downhill shot with a punishing (and possibly irretrievable fence area) OB on the left.

Besides some artificial OB paths, roads, or the before mentioned fenced area, thoughtful uses of large mature trees and other natural features draw the course together nicely. Those who prefer a more wooded course will appreciate a time or where they can wet their whistle in the heart of the course with some tighter holes.

Plentiful parking is conveniently found near the beginning of the course. A course map kiosk, a practice basket, and a generous warm up area welcome you to the course while other amenities add to the overall enjoyment of the course. Typical tee signs lead the way around the course from the roomy concrete tees. Next tee indicators made managing navigation a snap. The always familiar DISCatcher baskets are employed and as usual, do the job. There is not a lot of places to take a bathroom break, but the parking lot did have a couple portable toilets available.

There is really not a lot to complain about here. It's a nice park, has above average equipment and features, and if mainly open/park style golf appeals to you, you will probably like this course. Anything else will be individual qualms and preferences.

For me personally, the course is on the bland side. There are a few holes with long positions (and this is purely a personal thing) that seemed long just for the sake of being long. I get the attraction of being able to "air it out" but sometimes I think holes like this are overrated. In my opinion, they should be reserved for landscapes that call for them by some dramatic landscape features or wow factors. And for me, being a wooded hole fan, the longer open holes had a yawn factor. The consolation is that long throwers will enjoy the holes, but the distance needed to profit on a couple of them is only obtainable by probably 20% of players leaving the other 80% bored or relatively unchallenged by the holes. But understandably, given the land available, these kinds of holes are necessary to create a diversified hole type throughout the course if not more importantly, the Nashville area. Again, this is purely a personal thing coming from a wooded course lover. Others will surly disagree and that's what makes having an area with diversified courses like Nashville so great.

Given the land available, there is a great use of resources here. As mentioned earlier I may not love open courses, but there are certainly folks who do and for them this will likely leave them well pleased. The park is in fantastic shape with what appears to be managed grass and general good maintenance. There are big and beautiful hardwood trees and just a general pleasant landscape.

Except for those who may not handle physical exertion or stand the heat on the hottest of days, this is a great disc golf course that should be enjoyed by all. For a little extra challenge, give it a shot on a windy day!

If you like airing out your driver, this is the course for you! Most of the holes have lightly scattered trees that provide excellent driving lines without being extremely frustrating. Additionally, most of them are in the 300'-350' range, with some falling shorter and a couple extending out to almost 600'. On the other hand, there are about three holes that play into the woods a bit, calling for a more accurate strategy.

The course designer did an excellent job laying out this course. Although the course lies on one massive hill, all of the holes are designed to be either flat or downhill. This does lead to a few hikes uphill (6 to 7, 9 to 10, 14 to 15, 17 to 18), but as a player I would rather walk uphill and throw downhill instead of the opposite. Additionally, the scattered trees in the park were used well as obstacles, adding some difficulty to what would otherwise be a lot of repetitive throws. There are still some straight open holes (7 is the most clear example), but with how open this park is, the course is laid out to maximize the trees it has. It is also laid out pretty logically, and the flow from hole to hole is straightforward (besides 12 to 13, see the cons for how I feel about 12). If I had to choose a standout hole, I think I would go with 16. (10/21/19 UPDATE FOLLOWS) It is not the fault of the course, but over the last couple years some of the larger trees have been blown over in storms, leading to some holes now having completely open shots (looking at you, 17).

An extra plus for this course (and ultimately why I rounded up to 4 instead of rounding down to 3.5) is how "put-together" it is. The tee-pads are large concrete pads. Each hole has a sign giving a general layout (see below though...), and 7 has a much-needed bench. There are trash cans throughout the course. The baskets are fairly visible, and there is a practice basket by 1.

The last pro is its proximity to downtown Nashville. It is easily the closest course downtown, and if you are visiting without a car it would be a short uber or bus ride to get there.

Hole 12 needs to be fixed. The hole got the short end of the shaft by the additional Metro Water structure that went in where the original A location used to be, and they actually did a good job with moving the pin to a better location. However, IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVERS. The hole itself is less than 10' from a rock structure that sits about 3' high, with the greenway right behind it. If you overshoot this shot at all, you're hitting a car. If you miss about 15' to the left of the hole where the rock structure ends, you're hitting a car. Today when I played, I had a strong RHFH shot that was basket high and hit the rock structure; if my throw was 2' higher or 4' to the left, I would have maybe hit the side of either car that was driving on the road at the time. It looks nice having the hole backstopped by the rocks, but personally I would like to see it moved about 20'-30' closer to the tee before someone has a shattered car window from a just-missed ace run. It would take away some of the aesthetic and lead to a short hole around 180', but safety has to be paramount in this situation. (10/21/19 UPDATE FOLLOWS) After playing this location for a year or so now, I have only overthrown it twice and have never hit a car, so I guess my complaint isn't as warranted as I thought... I'm still not thrilled with the location, especially now when it has an elevated basket above the top of the wall, but it hasn't personally been an issue yet.

This course has a few minor issues. It is very exposed, which makes it particularly windy. In the summer sun, it gets really warm with the lack of shade, and walking up the hills becomes miserable. The rough, although not much of it, is thick with a decent amount of thorns.

(10/21/19 UPDATE FOLLOWS): The tee signs are bad, so bad that I need to dock points from my initial review. They were originally wooden stages in the ground, a lot of which have been uprooted and are now missing. The hole locations have changed slightly on some holes, and based on my experience the distances seem to be off. The lack of signage also leads to confusion on the course, where people start skipping holes because they are not sure of the layout (going from 3 to 7 and from 12 to 17 are the most common).

If I could enter a custom number, I would give this course a (10/21/19 UPDATE) 3.24. To me, it falls below the best courses in the area. It is not a challenging course, which makes it great for a beginner who is learning to control his/her driver. It's also fun for a more skilled player who is looking to work on driver accuracy or just wants a relaxing, less difficult round. All in all, the course is good and one that any Nashville player should have in their rotation. My recommendation would be to avoid it when the weather is incredibly warm (80° and up) and the brush is thicker, and play it when you have an unseasonably warm day from November-March.

Great course with awesome views of the city
There are different pen placements for variety
Weekly event Saturday morning singles
Good use of elevation changes

Very hilly will be tired after round if not in shape
Sometimes random people in the way but it is a park
Not much shade hot in summer
Always windy

EDIT 3/15/24: Just played for the first time since the review. Dropped down from 4 start to 3. The course is still decent but has gone downhill (hopefully temporary). Signs are gone, tees have aged and the last 6-7 holes are more boring than I remember.

For me, the details here bump this course from a 3.5 to a 4. The maintenance is immaculate. The teepads are fantastic and probably grippy on a rainy day. Signs are aesthetically pleasing and informative. Navigation is simple, aided by "next tee" signs hooked on the bottom of each basket. Benches are top-notch and in all the right spots. The first four holes are classic city park: open with elevation but enough trees to shape lines to the baskets. Holes 5-6, 8-11 use elevation and tight lines through the trees to add difficulty. 14-16 let you air it out with open(ish) holes between 330 and 600ft. 17-19 bring you back to your typical city park design. Each hole has character.

Multiple pin positions are always a good thing, but when there are 2-4 on each hole with no marker of the current position on the sign, that's a con. It seems like Naval Hill has a good budget for disc golf and plenty of care from the locals. I'd hope that eventually they'd add a position marker to these great signs. Most of the time, you can easily guess which position the baskets are in but there are a few holes that required a short march down the fairway to verify the placement. (Update: just looked at pics posted a few years ago here and I see some screws on the signs designating the pin but I can't recall seeing those last week. Did I somehow miss that?!) Other than the trouble with finding pin positions, it's hard to complain here. The difficulty isn't too crazy with only one legit par 4 hole (600ft #15).

This was a great stop while visiting Nashville for a few days. It's minutes from downtown and surrounded by the hip East Nashville neighborhood. Add this to your list to play along with Cedar HiIll and Seven Oaks.

Naval Hill DGC is a nice course near downtown Nashville. It's situated on a large, mostly open hill above the Cumberland River, with views to the shipping yard across the river and to downtown Nashville's skyline. It one of the best urban park courses I've ever played. I also realized that my dream neighborhood surrounds the course. I don't know the name of the neighborhood, but they're building some mansions and you can walk to the disc golf course from your front door. If I win the lottery, I'm moving there.

+ The course is beautiful and well maintained -- and the views to the river and downtown Nashville are awesome. It's a gorgeous setting.

+ This is a fair, but challenging course that will test all skill levels. The variety is great, with all kinds of holes and obstacles to contend with: downhills, uphills, open, wooded, hyzers, anhyzers, an elevated basket, fast greens, long holes...it has it all.

+ The layout and use of land are top notch. The hill is huge and steep, but they managed to design holes crisscrossing two slopes, one towards the woods and neighborhood and the other bigger slope towards the river. The elevation is great -- a big plus for me.

+ Navigation was simple and intuitive and there are arrows on each basket pointing to the next tee.

+ The tee pads were big enough and in good shape.

+ This is an urban city park, yet I did not see any trash or vandalism anywhere. It's in perfect condition.

+ That extra hole! Why stop at 18 when you're on a great course?

I do have one big con: two holes are bordered by OB that could result in lost discs.

Hole 6 - This is a more wooded hole, with the basket across a small creek, 320 feet down the fairway and to the left (in the B pin position), or slightly to the right, on the same side of the creek, 230 feet away. When I played it, it was in the B position, so I just tried to groove a drive up the middle on the same side of the creek. When I walked down to my disc, I saw a house right on the edge of the fairway, near where the A pin placement would have been, with a big No Trespassing sign on it. I'm sure lots of discs fly into that backyard.

Hole 14 - This is a long hole (391' or 423', depending on the pin placement) playing across the side of the hill with a large OB area to the immediate right. As long and open as this hole is, it's very easy to flip your drive over and land OB. That's not the problem. The problem is, it's an abandoned naval facility behind a barbed wire fence. I did just that on my drive and assumed my brand new disc was gone. After I finished the round, I drove down to the road on the river bank where the front entrance to the naval facility is. I walked around and found a big gap in the fence that someone had cut. I was able to slip in and retrieve my disc. There's a sign that says that the facility is under surveillance, so do this at your own risk. It probably would be better to move this basket placement a little further up the hill (there's space to do this), so that the risk of flipping it over and landing behind the fence wasn't so great.

- Most of the course is very open. It's a nice change of pace from the heavily wooded North Carolina courses I'm used to, but a few too many unobstructed holes for my taste.

This course is a must-play if you're in Nashville.

- Bulletin board with course map
- Mature trees in a well maintained park
- Tee signs indicate pin position (most holes)
- Next tee signs aid in navigation
- Well textured concrete tee pads
- Good use of elevation
- Good use of available park land

These are all minor and don't really detract from course play
- Several tee pads elevated
- Several tee pads have cracked broken edges
- Some tee signs/next tee signs damaged

A great course for recreational to advanced play. Enough length and difficulty to keep good players occupied but not too much trouble for the rest of us to get into. A great course for a casual round.

Most of the issues with this course are minor and cosmetic. The lack of real "rough" means the course probably won't ever be challenging for top level pros but that doesn't detract from how enjoyable the course is.

That being said the use of the land is terrific. They took what from the surface looks like a few open acres in a metro park and managed to manufacture interesting lines and placement shots with the minimal trees available. Kudos to the local club/designer.

If you're in the area and have already hit up Seven Oaks and Cedar Hill definitely give Naval Hill a try! Great group of courses in metro Nashville.

I've waited forever for this course and it did not disappoint. Exactly the high quality I expected from Shelby Park. As soon as I parked and walked up I knew it was going to be nice. Pretty little putting practice circle with a bulletin board for local events. Concrete tee pads and signs are all brand new and nice. I like how the tee signs are low and out of the way but very descriptive. Baskets are suhweet and catch discs nicely. Each hole has a sign on the bottom that tells you where the next tee is located, which I found to be of great help the first time I played through. As a matter of fact the whole course flows very nicely and I never found myself really wondering where to go next. The open holes are gorgeous. True "disc golf" holes. Multiple shot lines and multiple pin positions for each hole. Excellent use of the elevation and terrain. Roads determine OB on a lot of the front nine and there are a few fences to contend with on the back nine.

The wooded holes are a great challenge as they tend to be shorter but much more control is necessary for that birdie shot.

There are multiple pin positions for each basket and just about every time I come out here something is different but it's always marked on the sign and easy to follow, which is nice. A few benches are scattered throughout right where you need them most.

Well, it's a new course so the rough is ROUGH. And I mean rough. I mean don't even throw anywhere near the woods on any hole or you will regret it. There also tends to be lots of garbage due to lack of garbage cans, though I believe a lot of it is from drive through traffic as well. And at Hole 11/12 there is a Turd Research Facility that stinks to high heaven and almost makes me throw up in my mouth. It was really hot out there the other day and I felt like I could taste it.

Naval Hill is Nashville's newest disc golf course. Located in East Nashville's Shelby Park, this course is extremely close to both downtown and East Nashville's excellent 5 Points area. Keep that in mind if you're in the mood for some pizza and beers after the round! I've seen other reviewers complain about the area but believe me, I've lived here for 8+ years, it's been gentrified 10 times over. If you want to completely avoid driving through the ghetto you can just take Shelby down to 17th and take a right. Takes you directly to Hole 1. If your still scared you should probably just go hide in a cave somewhere.

Though mostly city-park style with wide grassy areas dotted and large mature trees as obstacles, there are a few tighter technical holes mixed in, as well as some normal type o.b. like a creek, fences, and roads. I thought the designers did a nice job of balancing straight, left, and right holes, as well as many where you have options to choose your line. There is also a good deal of elevation, some up and down, but several sidehills providing good challenge on placing your upshots near the basket as well as possible rollaway putts. Most holes are your basic par 3 (drive, approach, putt), but there are several birdie chances if you can throw 320'-350', and even one hole at 600'. So overall, a decent mix of hole type.

Excellent concrete tees (the last of which were being poured the day I played.) Good size and grip, level, and easy to spot.

New Discatcher baskets, with clear hole numbers. Also, I think every hole had at least an A and B location- and these are placed are different distances as well as varying angles, so the possibility is there to keep the course fresh to regulars if the baskets are moved regularly.

Great putting practice area- has its own basket and several flush markers in the ground with distances marked (15', 25', 40' etc.)

Kiosk had lots of info, and a large color course map. Simple, but effective tee signs with hole info, distances, color map. Signs are placed near the front of tee pad but low to the ground, which I like so they are not in my way or view when throwing. Navigation was simple with the "next tee" sign at every basket (I wish every course would do this!)

Lots of parking/two picnic pavilions.

This is now the closest course to downtown Nashville, and is really close to it at that.

Cool feature- a sign on the kiosk said you could borrow discs for FREE at the park office. I did not go the office to get more details (wasn't sure where it was), but this is great for growing the sport, especially to kids in the area who may want to try it out.

The biggest notice in elevation happens, not while throwing, but 3 times during longer walks uphill from one hole to the next- no big deal though, disc golf is supposed to be exercise, and I think there were benches each time if one needs a little breather.

The road/greenway does come in to play frequently. No big deal, just use some common sense and yield to cars, bikes, and walkers. The first 3-4 holes do play closely parallel to one another. I played on a weekday and had no issues, but on nice weekends it might be busy.

The course is close to the Cumberland River, too bad it only comes in view on one or two holes, and never is in play. The only water hazards then are a small creek, which I would guess to be very low most of the time except for in the spring.

The was a minor odor on holes 8 and 9, either from the creek, or the small water treatment looking facility you play around. Nothing too horrible or long-lasting.

For being a park, there were no permanent restrooms nearby that I saw, only a port-a-pottie.

The course is called Naval Hill, but is located in Shelby Bottoms Park. As soon as you enter the park, take an immediate left (you will see baskets everywhere) then park at the top of the hill near the kiosk and picnic pavilions.

Some might be hesitant to play here based on the surrounding areas reputation, but other than having to drive through some low-income housing and an industrial park, once in the park it seems safe enough, especially with the greenway running along side, and the disc golf course backing up to the ball golf course.

I have never been a big fan of the nearby Two Rivers course. Though there are some similarities in style, I would choose to play Naval Hill over Two Rivers any day. (and for you super outdoors people, the two courses are actually connected by about 5 miles of greenway if you want to bike or jog from one course to the next!)

Of course if you want a bigger disc golf challenge then stick to Seven Oaks and Cedar Hill. If visiting from out of town, and can't make it all the way to Sharp Springs and/or Crockett, but want more to play, then this is not a bad choice to add as a warm-up or evening chill-out round.

Overall, I am glad Nashville now has a course like this one that can cater to all skill levels of disc golf and be enjoyed by all. And I really appreciated the design and attention to detail of this new course. Great job by the locals in charge and keep up the good work!

Nice practice basket with distance markers on the ground. The concrete pads are nice. Good signage w/ course map.
#6 -- It's a fun tunnel shot with a hard fade across the creek. A lot of great work was done. Steps leading up the hill from the bridge across the creek were recently added.
A path has been cut out from 8 basket to 9 tee, fixing a previous flow issue
#9 bench in the tree is very cool.
I like the new #19 running back to the parking lot.

#1 tends to have the most park goers. I've seen everything from people sleeping in hammocks to group yoga on that hole.
First 5 holes are a little close to each other.
1,2,5,10,12,13,17,18 all pose potential road hazards.
Elevation -- the worst spots are the hike from 6 to 7 and from 14 to 15 and 15 (placement at the bottom of the hill) to 16.
Only benches on 2,6,7,9 and maybe 15.
Half the pads are still carpet

I think the area was used well, although it does get tight in areas.The flow is easy to follow except for crossing the road from 12, one might walk to the 17 pad to the left by mistake. #13 pad is by the dead looking tree. The layout also makes it easy to skip around if its crowded, which it rarely is.
When the wind is over 10mph, the back 9 can get tough being so wide open on the face of a hill by the river. I also don't remember ever smelling bad odors.
It's a fun course that could be described as flick friendly. The crew has done a lot of great work and they're constantly making improvements.

Front nine as mentioned before is great. Holes 5/6/8 are by far my favorite on the course.

So far, I haven't ran into a bunch of traffic which is nice, but I'm sure it will pick up as more are made aware of the course.

As mentioned before, there are some brutal hills. But, it makes for a great workout!

This is the closest course to me now, which is great. I would call it my favorite local course. Its fun, semi technical on a number of holes and at this time really clean with some nice views.

I really liked the front nine. Right when I thought it was going to be the same "shoot around some trees in a field" theme for everything, we came to hole 5, which along with 6, 8, and 9, made for some very interesting shots.

There's a neat bench cut into a fallen tree on hole 9.

The back nine isn't terrible, one 641-foot hole, but otherwise nothing memorable.

Signage is nice, took me a while to notice that the pin placements are actually marked on them.

Practice basket at the beginning has markers up to 45-feet (at least) so you can see how far away you are. The writing on them is already fading so you kind have to guess which is which.

Hills. Oh my God, hills. The walk from 6 to 7 is atrocious. You play kind of sideways on a good number of holes.

18 doesn't finish by the parking lot, so you have to foot it back to your car. Uphill, just a little bit, but it's noticeable.

It smells *horrible* around 11, 12, and 17.

Could use some more benches. There are a few around but they aren't really where they're needed - like, towards the end when you're tired from all that hill work.

There's currently clover all over the place. Watch your disc because it's easy to lose it in a wide-open field.

A few holes play close to the road, but any cars we saw had slowed down around us, there was never any danger of hitting any body.

The first hole you see after hole 12 is hole 17 across the street. You have to keep walking past that to find hole 13.

Mind the fences on 11,12, and 14.

This course utilizes the land its built on perfectly. The views of the Nashville skyline are awesome! Despite being a rather open course, the layout makes it feel much more challenging and interesting. There are many holes that take advantage of the elevation changes the landscape offers. The pads and signage that are installed are high quality and all the baskets are brand new.

There's a lot of walking up and down large hills. The pathway from 8's basket plops you right into 9's fairway.

The course feels predominately left to right. Holes 11-18 are currently temp. with carpet tees and hand drawn signs.

For the space given by the city of Nashville, I would say this is an extremely well conceived course. Several holes cause you to sweat- several high risk/reward type shots.

I also enjoyed walking up to a tee-box and thinking, "that's a great pin placement".

For a rather "open" type park, they really managed to create diversity in difficulty and shot placement.

Great baskets, great concrete tee boxes, good signage.

Not all the teeboxes are finished.

A few times, I found myself walking way up or across a hill, to get to the next tee.

I think this course has great promise and potential.