Pros:
Scotland County is a nice, intermediate course. Hope you brought your accuracy because there are plenty of birdies to be made here.
- Nice little course in a great small-town park & sports complex. The course plays along the right and back sides of the park, only encountering other park aspects on holes #1, 2, 13, and 18.
- Course has a nice, straight forward flow. First tee is steps from the back of the parking lot. If you don't see the tee, you're in the wrong lot it's that obvious. From there the course basically follows a path outward for 11 holes, then loops back for the final 7. You then cross a soccer field or walk the lengths of #2 & 1 backwards to the parking lot.
- The course is a decent mix of open and wooded layouts. As one might suspect, the open portion is one section of park (hole #1 - 2 & 13 - 18) while you're in wooded portions for most of the remaining portion. The wooded holes vary from tight fairways, play-it-safer, to wider, sparser lined fairways that gives one ace runs.
- That said, for more experienced, better throwers, most of the course only requires mid-ranges or putters off the tee. If you can throw those discs straight, you're seeing LOTS of birdie putts. There are many wooded holes, but they are all essentially straight shots, with basics only slightly off the fairway. On the wooded portion of #6 - 12, if you're hole high and the center of the fairway, you're having easy birdie putts - nothing more than 25 - 30 feet, if even that long.
- Now don't get overconfident. There are enough trees on the wooded portion that one missed line and/or a bad bounce may result in a quick bogey. I had bogeys on #8 & 12 (with 3 tap-in birdies in between) from having a disc kick 40 feet into the rough and having to waste a stroke just to get back onto the fairway.
- Good course for casual and intermediate-level players. The course does not require length, just accuracy. I threw driver only on #1, 14, & 16 only, with shorter discs the rest of the round. As for first time players or kids, there's just enough rough on the course, that they may get frustrated smacking trees and/or climbing through said rough to retrieve a disc.
- Course does just enough with the wide-open layouts that I can say it's 'decent'. The island green on #13 is what it is; although, having a better-defined drop zone would at least pose a little more for players to think about. #14 & 15 have baskets close to rocks / drop-off portion near a retention pond / drainage area. Depending on conditions, being a little aggressive may lead to a lost or extremely muddy disc. And going back to #1, the old staple dogleg right, wide-open fairway that hugs the tree line is always a suitable early round hole. It allows players to warm up the arm without too much penalty for being off line.
Cons:
Perhaps the only gripe I had was throwing to the wrong basket on #2. The only basket you see on the tee is the one for #18. The problem is mainly due to the overly simplistic tee signs.
- Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like the walking trail and the fairways are one and the same. There's a trail that goes behind #1's basket and to the right of #2's fairway. If you follow said trail, it suddenly leads to #3's tee, and plays through the course, past the basket. The rest of the round, I never saw any other signage for the trail. So.......I suspect there may be other park goers who may think the fairway is a trail meaning......be on the lookout for park goers.
- There's a thin line between fun, ace-run holes to just plain simple ones. I had 8 birdies on my round and hit the top of the cage with birdie putts on three other holes, and I didn't think I played that good. Too many holes of throwing 200 feet, aim 20 feet right of the basket, and let the disc fade back to the basket.
- There is more room for some longer holes to add some level of difficulty. Maybe once the leaves are on the trees, this course plays tougher in spring and summer.
- If there was a bench or trashcan on the course, I missed it. Also, signage is non-existent. But if you can't follow a straight-line path, shame on you.
Other Thoughts:
Scotland County Park is good for what it is: a simple, intermediate level course. The problem is it's a little too challenging in parts for kids & beginners while being too easy & void of challenge for others.
- Only four holes are longer than 300 feet. The other 14 holes would make for a great ace-race layout. I scored better here than other shorter courses in the region.
- I really enjoyed the layout and look of holes #11, 6 & 7. #11 is a short, 200-foot hole over a slight valley. Ok, it's a retention pond. Still, it's a nice look watching your shot hug the ground approaching the basket. #6 has lost disc potential on the left, with the basket playing slightly uphill. #7 is a downhill 242-foot, tight fairway shot. My disc was able to find its away around some trees and end up close to the basket. These three holes give a sense of this course at its best.
- I'd have like this course if it had ended earlier, or at least on a different hole. #17 & 18 were two of the simplest, most boring holes on the course. Unfortunately, you have a long walk back to the parking lot so you might as well play a couple of holes along the way. Just make them longer or 'bonus' holes.
- If there were more courses around, I'd like this as a great change of pace course. If you're in the region, head to Hinson Lake, Albemarle, or Pinehurst.
- As it stands, it's a decent course. A couple nice parts. A couple basic parts. Overall, a perfectly suitable small town layout.