Review of Southern Village DGC

View Larger Map

While purchasing the Innova Star TeeRex and Star Max distance drivers from Play-It-Again Sports in Durham, NC - I had the opportunity of speaking with their resident Disc Golf enthusiast, Damien. He mentioned that there were a few new courses in the Triangle area that just opened up this year. After going to PDGA.com and DGCourseReview.com, I realized that Southern Village is a brand new course that opened up just a few weeks ago.

I visited the Southern Village Disc Golf Course in Chapel Hill, NC yesterday afternoon, right after I got off work (Thank you Daylight Savings Time!) . Weather conditions were approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny, and with calm wind conditions.

Course Established: 2009
Holes: 18 Par 3 holes
Course Par: 54
Tee Type: Unfinished/Undetermined
Hole Type: Mach 3
Course Length: Unknown

It is important to note that the Southern Village DGC has not officially been completed. The baskets have been installed, but the tee pads and fairways have yet to be fully completed. In fact, the tees are marked only by a rectangular patch of open dirt, and two small orange marker flags. This review will be extremely detailed, only because there is no signage, no maps, and there are various paths that run through the course. I spend much of my time yesterday lost on the course. My hope, is that this review will help you navigate this unfinished course...

Please use caution, as the heavy leaf coverage, downed trees, and cleared trees have been left as is, and this makes this course quite dangerous for those whom don't pay attention to where they are going. I personally finished this course with a injured ankle, a bloddy wrist, and the frustration of not knowing where the next tee was... Please play this course with caution!

When you first arrive at Southern Village, you'll be turning into Dogwood Acres Road from 15-501. You'll want to park in the parking lot on your immediate RIGHT, otherwise the road continues into a neighborhood, and you'll no longer be in the park.

Tee #1 is to the left toward the dog park, and you'll see the first basket just inside of the wooded area to the right of the furthest part of the dog park. Again, remember that the tees are simple dirt patches with two small orange construction marker flags.

After hole #6, follow the path to the left of the "Oak Datum" an indention of Earth surrounded by cut wood logs, arranged in a circular pattern.

Hole #7 is heavily wooded, and only allows for a 6' wide window of a fairway, with a sharp drop off to the right. After Hole #7, the path hits an abrupt T-intersection, you'll want to go right.

Hole #9 is the only open field hole on the entire course, and is right near the parking lot, opposite of where Tee #1 is located. After you finish Hole #9, you'll need to follow the sidewalk path across Dogwood Acres Road. Follow the sidewalk to the left, and look for a dirt path on the right for Tee #10.

After Hole #13, don't cross the street. Stay on the path to the right to find the next Tee.

After Hole #15, follow the path to the right.

After Hole #16, the path hits a fork and you'll need to go right at the fork.

After Hole #17, follow the path behind the basket to the right which parallels the bottom of the tennis courts to find the Tee for Hole #18.

Overall, I think that the Southern Villahe Disc Golf Course has the potential to be Chapel Hill's version of Buckhorn DGC (New Hill, NC). The terrain is well mixed, but with no water hazards like Buckhorn DGC has. Therefore, the scenery is much more like Cornwallis DGC in Durham, NC or Kentwood DGC in Raleigh, NC - just on much more land, and segmented.

There are currently no benches on the course, I would assume they simply haven't been purchased yet. This makes sense, as the fairways have barely been outlined by the cutting of trees, but not the removal of them.

I would definitelty not classify this course as a beginner's course, regardless of what state the course is in. The heavy woods will have a tendancy to eat up discs, while the heavy leaf coverage will also conceal your discs, so keep a keen eye on them. You'll also want to bring comfortable shoes that will support your feet on rought terrain, as part of the course require going up and down fairly graded hills.

Overall Rating: 5.50/10
Difficulty: 6
Easy to Navigate: 2
Terrain: 5
Hazards: 2
Thrower Traffic: N/A

Pros:
- Park features plenty of amenities
(Tennis, Fields, Dog Park, etc...)
- Extra long holes on the back nine.

Cons:
- Unfinished Course
- Heavily Wooded Course
- No Signage (as of currently)
- No Benches (as of currently)
- Difficult to find markers/tees.
- Too many paths which don't always lead to the next tee.
- Tees have not been poured
(assuming they plan to have concrete tees)


*Reviewed By James Wong, Course Played On: 3/10/2009


Check out www.CarolinaDGC.com for more local Carolina Disc Golf reviews and info!