Pros:
- on site restrooms and water fountain
- practice basket (notably marked white for clarity)
- phenomenal natural beauty and mountain terrain
- technical, wooded challenge without being unfair
- some of the best elevation change you'll ever see outside of Colorado or similar
- 2 pin locations per hole (only 1 populated at a time)
- nice alternating of yellow and blue discatcher baskets helps with navigation
- navigation generally straightforward
- benches at every hole
- well maintained course with limited rough on most holes
- very clean with no garbage issues
- very cool large woodpeckers were enjoying dead wood all over the forest
- area is mostly reserved for disc golf, although bike path in some areas needs to be noted
- numerous holes with excellent ravine shots, detailed below
- most steep holes have built in stairs as necessary and bridges over typically wet areas
- holes are generally well spread out to avoid interference, with one exception
Cons:
- turf tees were so-so and some in varying states of disrepair
- at least 2 sets of tee signs in varying states of disrepair, neither with hole maps
- no next tee signs at all
- no garbage cans throughout course, but clean anyway
- despite overall good layout, you have to cross 13's fairway to get to 14, which is a safety issue
- several holes (13, 17, maybe 18) state there's a mando but has zero explanation about what it is - on 18 I'm guessing as the hole signs were missing and deteriorated
Other Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this course and had a great experience with nature - as noted, the woodpeckers here, black and white with red heads, are pretty cool. This course honestly almost felt like a 4.5 to me, but a few things hold it back. I know it's hard to cart concrete into the middle of a mountainous forest, but there are plenty of courses that have done it. The turf tees don't really bother me, but when things are wet they leave a lot to be desired. However, a bigger issue is the abysmal state of tee signs on this course. Some are missing, some holes have 2 signs (but neither have maps of the hole), and some are just in bad shape. This is the #1 thing that could be improved, with next tee signs probably being #2. There was some rough with brambles on a few holes but usually this wasn't too bad. I did see one disc in the brambles and judged it not worth trying to retrieve - so there are some bad spots.
Now for the good: this course is breathtaking in it's natural beauty, and generally has open (though wooded and technically challenging) fairways. The elevation change is the biggest draw here, as you're really playing in the mountains and almost every hole has elevation come into play. Early on I started making notes about how a few holes could use the elevation better... and then noticed the entire rest of the course did just that. The course is definitely challenging, but is super fun and not unfair. I only noted one fairway pushing it, which was hole 3's fairway which expected you to hit a 5 ft gap between trees.
The course has some good amenities with the practice basket, restrooms, benches, etc. The only thing notably missing is garbage cans on the course. As a side note, hole 15 tees off right by the parking lot - a little late to grab something you forgot from the car, but it's an opportunity before the end to grab something.
There were several holes I really enjoyed as follows:
Hole 4 - great uphill shot that makes full use of the elevation
Hole 5 - cool down and up shot over a ravine, but be careful not to lose disc in rough off to the left
Hole 9 - another great shot over a ravine, with excellent built in stairs
Hole 11 - driving on a hillside with notable elevation change
Hole 15 - awesome downhill bomb into ravine between 2 of the hills
Hole 17 - forces a throw at the end up a huge hill the basket sits on which is high risk/high reward
All in all, I REALLY enjoyed this course and felt like it was indicative of what North Carolina has to offer the sport of disc golf. Being from Chicago, it was a really cool experience for me. With a few improvements, I really feel like this course would be pushing a 4.5. If you're in the Asheville area, I strongly recommend making an effort to come play here. I had no issues with bugs as some reviewers stated, but it was early April and still relatively cool, so I expect this could be a bigger issue in the summer.