Thursday June 21, 2007
The first day of my trip – I got on the road around 4 pm, and pretty much drove for 8 ½ hours straight til I was just outside of Ft. Benning, GA, the site of the first course on my trip. Nearing 1 am, and extremely tired from driving all night, I looked for a campground, but had no luck finding one. So, I got a crazy idea to camp out behind a church. Scoping out several churches in the area, I finally found one where it wouldn’t be obvious that my car was parked there. It just so happens there was a cemetery there, and not one to think twice about ghosts, I figured this may be the night that changes my mind about them. Luckily, no strange occurrences happened (other than a stray dog sniffing around my tent), and I survived to see the next morning.

Friday June 22, 2007
Being that Ft. Benning is a military base, I wasn’t sure I was even going to be able to get on the base. But I was able to get a military pass with no problem, and I got to the course around 8 am. A 9-hole course, I found the first four holes with no problem, and thought they were short but fun. Then I spent a good 20 minutes looking for hole 5. I finally found the basket for it, but wasn’t able to find the tee. I made up my own tee, and then found the next three holes with no problem. Again, though, I wasn’t able to find the last hole’s tee nor the basket. Overall, the course was fun and short, but the tee signs were in bad shape. I also got a disc stuck WAY up in a tree, and it took a while to get it down, using one of my flimsy tent poles to get it. The next course (another 9-holer) was at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. Going by the directions from the PDGA Disc Golf Course Directory, I had the hardest time finding the course. The street directions were fine, but the location of the course on campus was definitely off. After wandering the whole campus for half an hour, I finally found the course. I found the first tee pad, and even though there wasn’t a tee sign, I figured out where the basket was. Unfortunately, that would be the only tee pad I would find. The baskets dotted the perimeter of a big field that bordered a bunch of trees. I had to make up the rest of the tees, and even though the area itself was absolutely gorgeous, I was very disappointed with the course. Too bad because it has a lot of potential. Ridge Ferry Park in Rome was the next stop. A 18-holer, it had quite a few long holes. I was able to find all the holes (for a change), but unfortunately, there was a festival being set up at the park, and 4 of the holes were unplayable. Overall, though, a great course, and my first REAL round of the day. My next course was a short drive over to Mt. Berry, where there were two 9-hole courses on the campus of Berry College.  A beautiful campus, I was able to find only one of the courses. Even though there were no tee pads, I printed out a layout of the course, so I had a rough idea of where the tees were. There were quite a few deer roaming around the course, and there was some nice elevation changes too. This was a brand new course, so I wasn’t too disappointed about the lack of tee pads. I just figured they hadn’t put them in yet. Plus the beauty of the campus more than made up for it. Next up was the private pay-to-play Hawk’s Grove course in Summerville. Finally, a well-marked, easy-to-find-the-holes course. And fun too! Great holes, great scenery, a nice mix of wooded and open holes, and some great elevation changes. The grass was a bit high, and I kept checking for ticks (didn’t find any). But this was the funnest round I had so far, and was ready to play another one. It was starting to get late, though, so I decided to move on, and see what I was in for at Cloudland Canyon Park at Lookout Mountain. Great decision! The perfect follow-up to Hawk’s Grove, this was one of the nicest courses I’ve ever played. The course (heck, the whole park) was beautiful. Nice tee signs, challenging holes (some of the likes I’ve never seen before), great elevation changes, and many great risk-reward opportunities. I enjoyed it so much, I had to play two rounds. Definitely, a great way to end my first day. I ended camping out at the park, and that was an experience in itself. My campsite ended up being about 20 minutes away from my car. No real big deal, except that I had to walk through the woods on a small trail to get to my site. Easy to find during the day, not so easy at night…in the dark….with only a flashlight…and black bears around..

Saturday June 23, 2007
I drove into Tennessee and spent the morning and early afternoon checking out some of the attractions of Lookout Mountain, namely Rock City, Ruby Falls, and the Inclined Train. The train was cool, but really liked Rock City and Ruby Falls. From there, I went to play the Sinks course in Chattanooga. Heavily wooded, it reminded a lot of the courses in the Raleigh-Durham-Burlington area. The next course on the agenda was at Fontana Dam Village in North Carolina. I wasn’t sure how far away it was from Chattanooga, but wasn’t counting on a 3-hour car ride. I guess I should have expected that, though, driving through the Smoky Mountains.  Great ride, but I got behind WAY too many slow drivers. It seemed like it took forever to get there, and even though it was WAY out of the way, it was definitely worth it. After the start I got off to yesterday, I felt like I was finally hitting a nice string of great courses. And this one was no exception. Another brand new course, it had a championship layout and some crazy tough holes. I played my best round of golf so far, and was amazed to finish under par. The next course was another 2 hours away, back through the Smoky Mountains, and back into Tennessee to Oak Ridge (guessing that’s where the Oak Ridge Boys are from…ELVIRA!) Unfortunately, I never made it to the course before dark, as I took a wrong turn and proceeded to go a good half hour the wrong way. By the time I figured it out, it was too late. So I decided to stay in Oak Ridge that night, and play the course the next morning.

Sunday June 24, 2007
I played the Oak Ridge course early in the morning. A fun short and technical 9 hole course, # 9 was one of the coolest holes I’ve ever played. A hanging basket hangs over a small wooden bridge that, essentially, if you don’t get it in on your putt, you’re up the creek, so to speak.. Onto Knoxville next, where I played 3 courses (one of which I’ve played before – Morningside Park). First up was Admiral Farragut Park. Another fun and short 9-holer, with alternate tees and a nice mix of open and wooded holes, and water lurking on a few of the holes. Then off to Victor Ashe Park. Another picturesque course, with maybe the most daunting first hole I’ve ever played - a 300 ft. shot over a lake. I barely made it over, throwing across the shorter portion of the lake, and leaving myself an incredibly tough second shot, where I had no choice but to go over the water again. Make sure you’re nice and warmed up! The course covered a large area, and there was definitely a lot of walking involved. I got lost a few times, but it was so beautiful, I actually didn’t mind meandering around aimlessly. This was also the toughest course I’ve played so far, and my worst round score-wise. Morningside was next. I was trying to remember it from playing there 11 years ago. Apparently, I forgot that it’s not in the best part of town, not well-marked, and there are still no tee signs (could only find about 12 of the holes). A big letdown, especially since I was really looking forward to playing it again. At least the local golfers were helpful. Morristown was next – I knew it had to be better than Morningside, and man, was it ever. Another fun, tough, challenging, well-marked course, I truly enjoyed this course. I can’t say the same about the next course – Nolichucky Bluffs in Greeneville. Situated at a Bed & Breakfast, it wasn’t that easy to find. And once I got on the course, I was still lost! The tee pads were full of gravel, and WAY too small. I had no choice but to drive behind the pad. Also, none of the pads actually pointed to the basket, and some even pointed at a completely different angle. And the tee signs? - a big red number. Easy to read, but no idea how long the hole was. Whoever designed this course has obviously never designed a course before. The worst course I’ve played so far. Couldn’t wait to move on to my next stop – Fossil Hill in Greene County. I was so intent on following the directions properly, I kinda forgot to read that I needed to call for permission to play. So as I parked my car by hole 1, and called to play, I didn’t make a very good impression on the owner of the course, John. But he came out to greet me, and we proceeded to play a round. I knew John was not too happy at first, but we had a great time playing, and I truly enjoyed the course, which flowed through giant cow pastures and tight woods. Oh yeah, there were also electric fences all around. Luckily, I didn’t get shocked! But I was hoping to shock John by playing a bogey-free round. Did so for the first six holes. The next 12 holes? Score doesn’t really matter, does it? Plus, I was just very thankful to play this great course. And it turned out to be course number 300 too! The skies were starting to turn stormy, and I was hoping to play the Jonesborough private course next, especially since it’s only 20 minutes away. But I wasn’t able to get in touch with its owner, and I headed over to Kingsport. Running out of daylight, I played a quick round at Borden Park. And it was definitely the perfect course for a quick round – very short, with birdies galore. 18 under is definitely possible (I could only do 12 under). I camped out at Warrior’s Path Park, and sure enough, it poured down rain all night long. I had some flooding in my tent, but not too badly.

Monday June 25, 2007
Got up early, and played a morning round at Warrior’s Path. It was my first round there since 1998, but I remembered most of the holes, even though a few of them had been changed. I was also able to get in touch with Thomas, who ran the Jonesborough course, and drove over there next to play his course. It was a fun and heavily wooded 11-hole course, with some really unique holes and baskets too. Next course was Winged Deer Park in Johnson City. Another course I’ve played previously, when I lasted played it 11 years ago, it was only a 9-hole course. Now up to 18, this was one tough course, especially the extra nine. It’s pretty amazing I didn’t lose a disc, because I spent a lot of time looking for them. Next on the agenda was the Elizabethton private course, but it wasn’t to be, so I headed over to the Roan Mountain course. Thinking there would be a lot of elevation, it was completely flat. It turned out to be a rather boring 9-hole course, and I finished a quick round just before a thunderstorm struck. I headed into North Carolina, and over to Mars Hill next to play the course on the college there. And even though it rained the whole way over there, it stopped right when I got there – perfect timing. Another extremely tough (and beautiful) course, there were a few holes I had to just lay up on, for lack of a spotter and the risk of losing a disc. A nice (and tiring) way of ending another great day of disc golf. I ended up camping just outside of Asheville.

Tuesday June 26, 2007
Another early golf start on the newly-renovated Asheville course at Richmond Hill Park. I had heard the original layout was better that the new one, but I was extremely impressed with its current set-up. For the most part, heavily wooded, with some of the nicest teepads I’ve ever seen, and Tarheel blue DisCatchers. Great elevation changes, and some of the funnest holes I’ve played on my trip. Definitely one of my favorite courses so far. I even played a rare second round there. Waynesville was next. Another real fun and interesting course that covered quite a big area. I then headed over to Cullowhee to play a couple rounds at the beautiful 9-hole course on the campus of Western Carolina University. From there, off to play the very long and flat Fletcher course. I was going to play the Marion course next, but I decided to continue on to the Black Mountain course instead. Interesting course in that half the holes were no longer 150 ft., yet the tee signs seemed to be all mixed up, and didn’t make much sense. Overall, a decent little course, with a cool finishing hole, in which, if you’re crazy enough, you throw through a tunnel under a road. I chose to go over the road – boring, yes, but hey, I got a birdie! Being my last round of the day, I got a crazy idea to go a little out of the way, and play the course in Hickory the next morning, which I played half a round at (due to darkness) 9 years ago. So off I went, and not able to find any campgrounds or hidden churches, I got another hotel room.

Wednesday June 27, 2007
Played the Hickory course in the morning. I don’t remember too much about it from the first time I played it, but it was a real fun course, especially hole 18, in which you throw over a valley. I even took video of my tee shot, and just missed getting an ace. One problem though – I had developed a really nasty blister on the index finger of my throwing hand (too much disc golf, perhaps?). So I had to use a different grip to throw, and I didn’t have the same control as I normally have. As a consequence, I didn’t play as well as I would have liked, especially on a course like this, where accuracy is a must. I would have loved to play another round there, but the blister hurt too much, and I still had the Marion course to play. And Marion was the next, and last course for a week. Situated on a hillside, where every hole either plays up or down the hill, it was extremely overgrown, and the tee pads were a bit hard to find, but I managed to get through this short 9-holer without losing a disc or popping my fingernail-size blister. I then drove over to Lake Lure, where I met a good friend, and took some time off from disc golf for a good week.

Tuesday July 3, 2007
After spending a great week with my friend, in which we took a hot air balloon ride, and hiked all over western North Carolina, we parted ways, and I got back on the disc golf bandwagon. First course was in Plumtree at a campground. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the greatest directions, and got really lost on the way there, but I finally found it. And it was definitely worth the struggle. A very tough course, with crazy elevation changes and extremely heavy rough. I then drove north to Jefferson, where I played two rounds (last one in the dark) on a beautiful and fun 11-hole course. Hole 9 was one of the coolest holes I’ve ever played – a 551 ft. shot off a tall hillside, through tight trees and out into the open, where the basket stood upon another hill. After a great drive, I just missed the birdie shot by a couple of feet! By now, I was way ahead of schedule, so I decided to play a few courses I haven’t played in over 10 years. I headed down to Yadkinville, where I camped out just south of the city.

Wednesday July 4, 2007
Hit the Yadkinville course early in the morning, and just like the last time I played it, got completely soaked with dew. Yet this time, the tone tube baskets had been replaced with real baskets. I remembered what a beautiful and fun course it was, and it did not disappoint. Even with sopping wet shoes! The next course was a pleasant surprise. I just happened to check the internet a few days earlier, and saw that a new course popped up in Statesville. So off I went to play the brand new 18-hole course. The front nine was great, but I couldn’t find the back nine. Apparently, it was down the street a ways, but I didn’t have the right directions. I headed down to Charlotte next, and hit the tough 9-hole course in Mooresville on the way. Next up was Reedy Creek Park, which I haven’t played since 1996, and always wanted to play again. My memory was a bit foggy on a few of the holes, but what a fun course! I was very impressed with it, which, unfortunately, I can’t say about Kilborne, which I played next. Whereas Reedy Creek was well-marked and easy to find the holes, I kept getting lost on the oft-missing-signed Kilborne course. Still a great course as I remember it, but the upkeep really disappointed me. The next course was in Tigerville, South Carolina at Greenville University. As I was driving there, I had a funny feeling about this course. My instincts were right – after arriving at the school’s athletic center, I spent a good half hour looking for the course, but to no avail. So I decided to check across the street on the school’s campus. I couldn’t believe my eyes – in front of me were three original plastic DisCatcher baskets. So I start looking for tee signs or tee pads. Nothing. I’m totally let down, and played one hole (made up my own tee pad), and had enough and left. One of the worst courses I’ve ever played. Eager to get back on a real course, I hit a couple courses in Greenville (Holmes and Timmons Parks) that I played four years earlier. I proceeded to get lost in Greenville, and barely made it in time to play a quick round at the fun 9-holer in Anderson. Afterwards, I set up an evening tee time for Thursday at Stoney Hill course in Prosperity, and stayed the night at a super-cool 100-year-old inn in quaint Abbeville.

Thursday July 5, 2007
Drove over to Columbia in the morning to play a couple rounds at the always-fun Earlewood Park. Then 2 more fun rounds at Crooked Creek Park in Chapin. While there, I learned of a new 9-hole course in Chapin at a ball golf course just down the road. So, there to next for a couple quick rounds, and then a quick round at Hunter Park in Newberry, and off to play Stoney Hill Park in Prosperity. I’ve been reading about the progress of this course on the PDGA discussion board, so I was really excited about playing it. David Saul was kind enough to show me his fantastic course, and it was another great ending round to the day. I camped out in Aiken.

Friday July 6, 2007
After eating breakfast in downtown Aiken, hit the flat and long course there. Then played the North Augusta course for the first time in 11 years, and didn’t remember it at all, but liked the course a lot. Then drove into Georgia, where I played the very challenging Patriot’s Park in Grovetown (another 11-year anniversary, but I did remember a few holes).  I stopped by the Laurel and Hardy Museum for a while, then headed over to the PDGA Headquarters in Appling. After checking out the newly-opened facility (very nice), I played the new W.R. Jackson course. Had to be one of the toughest (and longest) courses I’ve ever played – the fairway was just as mean as the rough, and I shot my highest round of the trip (22 over). But at least I didn’t lose a disc. I also played the Steady Ed course, which I had first played over the Christmas holidays last year. Compared to the Jackson course, this course felt like a pitch-and-putt course. I still shot way over par, but kept it to single digits. I headed towards Savannah, where I camped out near Pooler.

Saturday July 7, 2007
Played a morning round at the new layout of Triplett Park in Pooler, and then headed south back into Florida, where I played a round in Jacksonville, and then checked out the new course just east of Jacksonville at Hanna Park in Atlantic Beach. There was a small tourney going on, so I played a real quick round on the extremely short 9-holer. It seemed like every hole was 190 feet long. Next up was one of my favorite Florida courses at Daytona Beach.  After a round there, I played the new South Daytona course, which I first played a few months back, where I wasn’t able to play all the holes due a festival and no tee signs. But this time I was able to find all 18 tee pads, and quite enjoyed the relatively easy course. The next course I was hoping to hit was F. Burton Smith Park in Cocoa, but the course was flooded due to torrential rains, so I headed over to Wickham in Melbourne. Also flooded but not as bad as the Cocoa course, I was able to play 14 of the holes. Got home around 10.