Disc Golf Course Review

- quality Prodigy baskets with green bands
- tee signs are a little older but have maps and are decent
- brick paver tees are mostly in good shape
- light to moderately wooded in a nice park
- some incorporation of small creek
- navigation is mostly straightforward
- some next tee indicators

- lots of poison ivy
- hole 9 is unplayable when pavilion area is being used
- green baskets aren't the best for visibility around leaves/grass
- mostly flat
- not a ton of hole length variety
- some safety hazards with other park activities nearby

Powell Station Park is a respectable course that currently seems a bit overrated. It is mostly well maintained, although there are some thicker patches of rough and lots of poison ivy. There just isn't anything special enough about this course to make it a 3, 3.5, or 4. It is solid enough as an average course, but has middling lengths on almost every hole, is almost entirely flat, and doesn't have a ton of obstacles to force any true shot shaping obstacles.

The equipment is pretty good; tee signs could be better but are decent, the baskets are very nice but would have been better in a color other than green, and the paver tees are solid. A few of them are starting to show their age and lean a bit on the edges, but mostly they are still in good shape.

There is a small creek that sort of comes into play between a few fairways but it was mostly dry at the end of April. Technically, one of the holes throws over it but it's not a real water hazard. There are mature trees on this course so you have to keep some drives relatively straight, but no particularly tight fairways. Usually, several types of shots would do the trick, and you can be near the basket with a decent drive.

There were a lot of kids in the park while I was playing and they were running all over the park exploring - which is great, but makes it hard to play disc golf. This is particularly bad for hole 9 which throws directly over the entire outdoor pavilion area where people were having a party. I had to skip this hole and I expect others may too. This was mid day on a Thursday so not exactly a busy time.

Overall, Powell Station Park is a nice park with a decent course but doesn't have anything of particular note to distinguish it from other municipal park niners. I wouldn't necessarily go out of your way to play here, but it's probably one of the more decent niners in the Knoxville area. I'd recommend Admiral Farragut Park over this one, but I think Powell Station is better than Secret City. I ended up looking for a disc for a long time, so I didn't get a great time estimate for this one, but I'd expect you could complete it solo in under 45 minutes.

One other note: Powell Station Park was at least partially funded by a tobacco cessation campaign and as such, the park is tobacco-free. As always, I'd encourage everyone to follow the rules of each individual property whether you support the stance or not. One interesting side effect of this is that while the baskets don't have hole numbers on them, they have a quiz on the effects of tobacco so the quiz question numbers on the baskets are effectively the same as having hole numbers.

- dual baskets on every hole
- newer Dynamic baskets are excellent
- one high quality concrete tee per hole
- solid tee signs with maps
- epic heavily wooded course with hilly terrain
- great vibe in the heart of the Tennessee forest
- next tee signs on the ground in many places
- hole numbers on baskets
- signs of ongoing trail improvements
- benches at every tee
- garbage cans at several tees
- navigation is straightforward
- course land is mostly devoted to disc golf
- rough is manageable throughout course

- next tee indicators are temporary signs; will not last forever
- a few mountain bike trail crossings to watch out for
- could be considered relatively short

I ended up at Winged Deer by accident and I'm so glad I did. I was going to start the day at Warrior's Path State Park but I got there annnnd... the gate was closed. This has yet to happen to me in over 20 years of disc golf. So, not needing to be at Sugaree until 9:30, I scrambled to find an alternative. Winged Deer was never on my radar planning my TN trip but it should be getting more attention. It's easy to overlook with Warrior's Path, Harmon Hills, and other courses nearby, but Winged Dear is a fantastic course in its own right and the best part is, despite the elevation change and technical fairways, you can play this course solo in around an hour if you're shooting well.

This course is not an epic challenge level or so hilly you'll be huffing and puffing, but the terrain adds immensely to the course. Fairways are almost all moderately to heavily wooded, many with trees in the fairway itself, but none of the holes felt unreasonable or like it didn't have a realistic line.

The course feels exceptionally well maintained - not wet or muddy, no excessively long grass, and all of the equipment in pretty pristine condition. As wolfhaley noted, it's a bit strange that from hole to hole it can depend whether the newer Dynamic baskets or the older Mach baskets are the long pin position. This is unusual, but not a huge issue. This course is a ton of fun and is challenging; you'll need to hit your line to score well, but it doesn't feel punishing.

Around sunrise on a Friday morning I only saw a few other people playing here. However, there were also a few dog walkers to watch out for. In terms of safety, there were also mountain bike trails crossing the course, though I didn't see anyone using them.

Almost every detail seemed accounted for here, with a huge parking lot, a nice course sign, benches and garbage cans, and ongoing trail maintenance to improve the utility of the course. I really didn't have many cons, but the next tee signs are clearly temporary and will deteriorate quickly (think laminated paper on wire stuck into the ground). Next tee indicators in the baskets is my gold standard and would be a great addition here. The newer Dynamic baskets are white banded and pretty easily visible in the woods, and have the course name and hole number on them as well, which was cool.

This is one of those courses where the vibe sticks with you; you feel deep in Appalachia, and can hear the sounds of the forest instead of the road noise - and hopefully, chains now and then. I'm not going to say play this before Harmon Hills, and obviously I didn't make it to Warrior's Path, but if you have the time I'd highly recommend giving Winged Deer a chance. There are a ton of good courses in this northeast corner of Tennessee.

- excellent, highly visible yellow DISCatcher Pro baskets
- a few holes have 2 baskets
- hole numbers on baskets
- two large, level turf tees per hole
- fantastic incorporation of elevation change
- mix of both uphill and downhill shots
- heavily wooded fairways for challenging, technical shots
- navigation is generally straightforward
- limited rough means no trouble finding discs
- quick play despite terrain if you have limited time
- flat holes are also mixed in for terrain variety
- area of park is entirely dedicated to disc golf
- practice basket
- loaner discs at course sign
- very well maintained/dry course
- porta potty in parking lot

- tee "signs" are just posts with hole number, par, distance
- a few more holes playing up and down would be nice
- a few holes with some distance would be an improvement

Norris DGC is the kind of niner I want to play every time I'm in the Appalachians or Smokies. It's huge elevation change on a heavily wooded slope disc golf. The holes are relatively short, but still technically challenging, with plenty of risk of rolling away if you make a bad shot. This course is a breath of fresh air compared to some of the mediocre niners in the Knoxville area.

I was debating between 3.0 and 3.5 on this one, but I struggled to come up with cons. They're mostly nits. I've never given a 9 hole course a 4, and I don't think it is warranted here without some more distance and some other special features. However, this course is a 3.5 all day for me. It is impeccably maintained, challenging despite being a little short, and so fun. I loved it, and it was unfortunate I raced through it because I needed to head to Harmon Hills with enough time before dark.

The middle of the course is a bit more flat and is more just "woods golf" but is still good. It starts off downhill and ends uphill. These are the most epic throws on the course, but all of it is good. The baskets are top notch and highly visible, and the last 3 holes each have 2 baskets. Dual turf tees give a couple of different ways to play, some of which give a bit of a different look at the hole. If you like technical golf and don't mind steep terrain, you will love it here. I'd recommend a good pair of boots.

This course was very dry despite recent rain, and the tees were in good shape. The biggest con was probably the tee "signs" which had no maps and were very basic. Everything else about this course is artfully done otherwise. The maintenance shows and despite some other activities in this park, disc golf is all on its own with no obvious safety hazards.

Navigation was intuitive and brought me back to the parking lot. The course was easy enough to play in 30 minutes despite the elevation change - it is short, after all. There's a nice course map and loaner discs in sleeves which is a rare touch without some sort of clubhouse. Hopefully people are respectful so they're useful for newcomers for years.

This course has virtually no undergrowth to speak of thanks to the tree canopy and finding discs is a breeze. It's hard to describe how fun an experience this course was. As an added bonus, as I was leaving one of the city employees mowing the grass next to the course asked if I lost a towel. He had found a gray disc golf towel in the grass and was going to throw it away, but asked if I wanted to keep it so it didn't end up in the trash. While I'd rather get it back to the rightful owner, with no way to do that I appreciate this guy keeping it out of the landfill.

- nice tee signs with full maps
- two baskets per hole
- multiple tees per hole
- long baskets are newer with multiple layers of chains; short baskets are older and just ok
- navigation is straightforward excluding start/end locations
- lightly to moderately wooded with good tree hazards
- some limited shot shaping needs
- nice built-in bridge over the creek
- practice basket
- last couple of holes have some cool water hazard incorporation

- very poor layout; starts and ends at opposite ends of the park
- paver tees are not very level
- holes are pretty short and not especially varied in length
- some alternate tees are natural and poorly marked
- entirely flat
- very overgrown in the rough; decent lost disc potential
- some alternate baskets overgrown with weeds and poison ivy
- not very well maintained
- a lot of equipment, including tee signs, in disrepair

This course in its prime may have been at least a 2.0, but despite the cool name, it has seen better days. Perhaps I should have gone to see some of the more historic aspects of Oak Ridge, but the pictures on this course looked promising.

Secret City does have some decent fairways with enough mature trees to challenge you a bit, along with some cool water hazards at the end. However, the layout is terrible; you have to cross the entire park, effectively, from the parking area to get from hole 9's basket on one end to hole 1's tee on the other. The multiple baskets and tees are nice, but some of the paver tees need re-leveling and the alternate tees are often natural, rutted, and poorly marked. The tee signs have a fair amount of abuse too.

Despite multiple tees and baskets on every hole, they aren't a ton different in terms of play. I never really understand this extra investment only to have shots with only 10-20 ft deltas. Time and money would have been better spent on maintaining the course, minimizing rough, and having 9 pristine single tee/single basket holes.

On that note - the rough can be thick off the fairway. I spent over half an hour searching for a disc I eventually found because around the middle of the course you can barely break in to some of the thickets, and if you do, there's tons of poison ivy. Maintenance is not getting enough attention here.

The course is pretty short and entirely flat, but the holes would be fun enough if not for the frustration of the rough, the mediocre equipment, and the extra walking. Holes 8 and 9 are pretty cool throwing near the creek on the property, although again the rough gets very thick here.

A couple of holes play near the baseball field and you'll have to watch that you don't throw over the fence onto the field. This may be an issue when games are going on. Outside of those times, I can't imagine this park gets too crowded. It was deserted while I was playing.

There are no holes I would characterize as "wide open" here so it is more of a wooded course. If you don't lose discs, I expect you could blow through these holes in just over 30 minutes solo, but I wouldn't necessarily make the trek up to this course. It's a bit out of the way if you're in Knoxville, but Norris DGC a bit to the north is far superior to this one.

Looking at the older reviews of this course, it has significantly improved in recent years. Probably most notably, the course has baskets now (and very nice Mach VIIs at that). The tee pads seem to have been updated, they are now turf pads but still in a "carpet on the ground" installation. Tee signs have been updated from what's shown in the old pictures.

Very pleasant course, nice views of the lake and surrounding hills, just a short drive from Ashland proper. It's got a decent amount of challenge with a fair amount of elevation in play. Pretty easy to navigate.

Some people may find the tees problematic, not being concrete or leveled turf, but I didn't have any issue with them. The ground may have been a bit lumpy, but totally usable IMO.

There didn't seem to be a whole lot of hole shape variety. Most of the holes seemed to be mainly an open shot towards a basket nestled in trees, with different opportunities to access the basket. Some shots are blind, a spotter may be helpful on some holes. As far as I can tell, there's only 1 pin position per hole, and 1 set of tee pads.

I played in late May, grass was getting tall in some areas, but I didn't have an issue locating my disc. It could become an issue if the grass gets taller. Some of the scrub brush in the rough is a total disc eater.

Very nice course that is better than the rating implies. It has significantly improved since the earlier reviews. Well worth a play if you're in the area.

Fun little course that plays 10 holes twice with different pad locations. Mostly wooded and not terribly long but with good variety and some interesting shot shapes.

Concrete pads with decent signs and benches on about half the holes, generally on the longer pad.

It's relatively pretty out there as well and has a bit of elevation/rolling hills. Some open holes and a few with very sharp angles.

A little pinched in spots and some holes play close to one another. On a few holes they have one pad that is a clearly superior design than the other location and probably people don't play the other one much.

Pretty fun breezy play nice for a unwind round, not really a competition track.

Bear Swamp shouldn't be good. The layout has problems everywhere you look. Yet somehow, I still had fun.

- Front 9 plays deep in the wooded portion of the property. Back 9 moves to the front of the grounds and is mostly open. The contrast works, but it also exposes the layout issues.

- Front 9 has one shared basket, but the back 9 funnels four baskets into a much tighter space, which creates constant overlap.

- Hole #2 is a solid downhill shot, tight and heavily wooded. #3 is a shorter dogleg with the basket sitting right on the edge of underbrush. Go long and the recovery gets messy fast.

- Hole #5 is the signature hole here. A 251-foot downhill shot to a full hanging basket, pole and all. Odd, creative, and easily the most memorable hole on the course.

- Hole #12 is a triple mando that forces you under the large front sign. Without it, it is a straight 172-foot shot. The mando turns a routine birdie into a satisfying one.

- Hole #17 is the island hole. You will see this basket three times during the round, but this is the only time the island circle matters.

This course feels pieced together from whatever was available.

– Baskets are a collection of portable models, which makes the full hanging basket on #5 even stranger.

– Signage and navigation are rough. The same tee may serve multiple holes, and some tees sit side by side for different holes. Without the UDisc map, the course would be extremely difficult to follow.

– Finding the tee pad is usually simple. Figuring out the correct basket is the hard part.

– The course map shows a basket for #9, but I couldn't find one. I played #7's basket, and based on the cleared fairway, that seems intentional.

– Overlapping fairways are everywhere. Even with only two other groups on the course, you have to stay alert the entire round.

Bear Swamp is an atypical course. It leans into its quirks, and it does not pretend to be polished.

– One of the best touches is the chalk-style hole numbers and distances written on mini sandwich boards. If a coffee shop or garden ever built a course, this is the signage they should use.

– Hole by hole, most of the shots are fine. Remove the overlapping chaos and the course jumps a full tier in quality.

– The back 9 runs out of steam fast. You feel like you are throwing the same few shots over and over, and it wears thin.

– With the land available, this really wants to be a 12 to 14-hole course. Stretching it to 18 forces too much repetition.

– A better flow might be: play the four front baskets once to start, run a ten-hole loop in the woods (#5 to #14), then finish with the four front baskets again. Anything to break the monotony.

– It is far from polished and nowhere near great, but there is enough charm and chaos here to make one round worth your time.

It uses the woods really good. Has 2 pads. Close are fun and good far would be fun for a realy good player. Uses lots of good trees and woods and some elevation

Signs and numbers are now missing for the most part

Needs a few signs to be put back up but other than that no complaints.

It has signs and baskets and uses lots of the hill

It uses yards on signs. For a small town it plays really long. No pads. Needs to be shorter or add more baskets. Lots of elevation but not much fun even on those. Can get flooded. MOst just straight boring shots

Would not play again.

The campus and the course are really awesome. The signs and the use of trees are good and easy to follow. Some OB on small hills?

Its really flat and 9 is super long. 9 ends by 1 but not by parking. Can be boring.

Start behind pickleball. I wouldnt play it again