Course Reviews

Rated
2
 by Baysinger on Apr 19, 2019 at 1:47pm

This review hurts to write. Mills Park DGC in Gatlinburg, TN has always been one of my favorite short little 9 hole courses to play in East Tennessee. I first played the course possibly close to 8-10 years ago and have tried my best to get back to the course at least once per year since then. It was never a big long challenging course, rather more of a short just absolutely fun little layout to play. Just straight up fun! In 2021, Mills Park DGC had a course redesign and for me, it absolutely ruined the course. Two of the original holes are still in play but are now different numbers on the course. Old Hole 3 is now Hole 7. Old Hole 4 is now Hole 8. I do like the fact that these 2 original holes are still in play, however now you have to walk behind Hole 8's basket (that players could be throwing towards) to get to Hole 7's tee. Even if you never played the original layout here you would be able to notice that this is a flow of play issue. In addition to this, possibly the most fun hole on the og layout (Hole 9) which was practically a jump putt of the tee with a huge elevation drop and basket on the other side of a creek, is gone. This is a hole that everyone around the area knew and loved. This was just super fun and short shot that made you want to empty your bag on ace runs and it definitely kept this course in your mind after you left. I will forever miss this hole. From what I have heard, this hole was taken out due to safety concerns because of how steep the hill was. However, you still have to walk that hill because Hole 9 now plays up the hill instead of down it. This is silly. In my opinion, there are now more safety concerns on the course than there ever was due there being 18 baskets tightly packed in such a small area. Not only do we have the issues I mentioned with Holes 7 and 8, now Hole 1's "long pin" plays directly towards Hole 2's tee pad. Furthermore, after you finish your round on Hole 9, you now have to walk directly up and through Hole 2's fairway to get back to where you started the course. If safety was the reason for some of the course being changed, the mark was missed. The positives on this course are that it is still on that same gorgeous property that Mills Park DGC has always been on so you still get to experience the Great Smoky Mountains while throwing discs. This is obviously a huge plus. Another plus is that with there being a "short and long" basket on each hole, you can pick whichever layout you want to play, or even throw two off the tee to play both layouts in one loop. In short, if you have played this course before, please forget everything you know about it and think of it as a brand new course that was just put in. That is pretty much the only way you are going to enjoy this course. This short, fun little near-annual trip for me will no longer happen. If I am ever in the area and have free time and absolutely need a disc golf fix, I will play it again. But I will likely never travel to specifically play this course again. This hurts to say. If you want to see this new layout on video, check out the videos below where I feature both the Short Pins and Long Pins.

Short Pins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi8qYIv_ao8
Long Pins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frBw7XvEDTA&t=199s

Check out this playlist to see both the OG Layout and both of the new layouts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW_PphhAUBjUb--uCzmPk_aeHAq8MIVbX

Rated
4
 by gilpin51 on Mar 28, 2017 at 11:14am

Nice Par 3 course. Holes are a bit spaced out.

Hole #1 tee box is right in front of parking lot. #1 fairway is up the hill to the left, and NOT the basket in the clearing in front of the playground (that's a practice basket).

Tee box #2 is in the woods and goes through the woods right below the cemetery.

A long walk to #3 on the other side of the track.

#4 is right next to #3.

#5 is easy to find too.

#6 tee box is on the top of the hill - basket is dogleg left.

Short walk to #7.

#8 tee box has you tee off over a valley into the forest - basket is dogleg left in the trees.

#9 is the jewel of the course. Tee pad is on top of the hill, basket is 115ft away but 150 ft vertically down.

Overall a nice course!!!

Rated
2
 by beetdigger on Jun 16, 2013 at 12:53pm

A nice little course set in a nice location. You need to walk quite a ways to get from hole 2 to hole 3. It is set in a nice park with a playground for the kiddies. We enjoyed playing it but it is certainly nothing special.

Rated
3
 by Grungedude42 on Oct 29, 2010 at 7:54pm

A neat course to play while in the area. Course is well maintained, eight holes have concrete pads. Hole nine has a shortened wooden tee. The three wooded holes are indeed very wooded. Hole two is basically in the woods, very tough to play conventionally. Only two or three holes require a driver, expect a lot of midrange drives. All in all, entertaining course; could use some refinement.

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