After a great time playing Richmond Hill Disc Golf Course in Asheville, we decided to play another course the next day. We picked Sand Hill Nature Trail Disc Golf Course at Buncombe County Sports Park. The course plays throughout the park, around the soccer fields.

The first hole is at the edge of the parking lot near the restrooms. It plays across a narrow strip of grass with the road and stream on each side out of bounds. The out-of-bounds road and stream also cross the fairway, adding an extra challenge. What seemed to be a relatively easy shot found all of us throwing out of bounds. We agreed to restart the game and call the first shots practice.

The second hole plays over the road, then around or over a line of trees and bushes. While it is tempting to play over the bushes, you cannot see the basket from the tee side. The safer move is to throw to the opening, where you have a better visual.

The third hole is long and straight. The road around the hole is out of bounds. While it appears to be an easy hole, an errant shot could cost some strokes.

As we walked around the edge of the soccer field, we saw what appeared to be a group of people picnicking on the next tee. As we drew closer, we realized they were not on the tee, but instead, it was in the woods at the edge of the field. While it is a straight shot, there is a low ceiling and a narrow passage to the basket, dotted with trees. Too far to either side, and you are in the woods.

The fifth tee is slightly elevated, with the basket at the end of a narrow passageway through the woods and then to the right. Unfortunately, one of our discs took a hard left turn, ending up deep in the high, thick vegetation. The group in front of us on the next hole lost one in the same area. After a bit of time tromping around, we managed to find both lost discs. Fortunately, we were playing captain’s choice, so we did not have to play from that spot.

The sixth hole seems simple enough, playing back parallel to the fifth. With the thick vegetation on the left and a steep out-of-bounds hill on the right, it is trickier than it looks on the first impression. My throw was not far, but it was in the middle of the fairway. Chris decided to go big to put it under the basket, but alas, it made a deep right turn into the out-of-bounds field below.

Getting to the seventh tee from the sixth basket requires some caution, as the path to the tee is also the fairway. It is somewhat of a blind turn, with the possibility that someone may be throwing right at you as you round the bend. There is a narrow passage off the tee and then a steep uphill shot to the basket.

Holes eight and nine play through the woods, with the ninth basket near the out-of-bounds road behind a group of trees, blocking any straight shots to the basket. We played well on the eighth hole, with pars all around.

Ten plays uphill and back into the woods, with three possible paths through the trees. The steep uphill incline with the trees in the way makes it a tricky shot, with several of our discs rolling down the hill back to the tee. Again, captain’s choice saved the day for some of us.

The next three holes kept us in the woods with some crazy hills that could easily result in disaster. However, we all played thirteen well, with Chris and I and Kevin and Theresa getting birdies, and Nick and Jordan finishing with a par.

Caution is needed heading to the fourteenth tee, as once again, the path leading to the tee is the fairway. The tee is at the bottom of a steep hill. The shot is tricky as everything between the tee and the base of the hill is out of bounds. If you don’t throw far enough, you are out of bounds, but if you throw too far, there is a good chance that you might roll back down the hill into the OB area.

Just as we were about to throw, a man and his young son started down the hill. We heard the man tell the boy to stay with him at the top, but he came bounding down the hill right in front of us. We were happy that we anticipated what he was going to do and waited to throw. Unfortunately, the child had no sense of golf etiquette, even yelling in the middle of Jordan’s shot that he didn’t think she should throw a tomahawk shot.

The fifteenth hole was a lot of fun, playing from an elevated position across the road. At only 182 feet, it was an ace opportunity for the guys. Landing in the road, however, is out of bounds. As we finished out the hole, we suddenly heard a disc fly right by us. I guess we weren’t moving fast enough for the little boy behind us. Instead of waiting, he threw right at us, laughing hysterically. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to realize the potential harm from hitting someone with a disc, and his father didn’t make any attempt to control him.

We intended to let them play through on the next hole, but we decided against it, not wanting to reward the atrocious behavior. Unfortunately, the boy’s rude behavior tainted the rest of our game. Out-of-bounds areas again surrounded the sixteenth hole, but we all played it without mistakes.

The seventeenth hole plays through a narrow path down a steep with the basket in the meadow below. The trickier than it looks downhill play cost each team a stroke.

The eighteenth hole, like the first, was deceiving. Once again, the out-of-bounds road and stream surrounded the hole, with the stream also traversing the fairway. Once again, we all threw out of bounds, adding strokes to what looked like an easy hole.

This course was gorgeous, with fantastic mountain views. It was rigorous and challenging but not as taxing as Richmond Hill. With the beautiful weather, we had a wonderful day. Chris and I ended up at ten over par, with Kevin and Theresa right behind us at 11. Nick and Jordan played very well, but a few unfortunate mistakes left them with a 25 over.

I am happy to say that after two days on the course, Nick and Kevin now have a renewed enthusiasm for the game, and Theresa and Jordan have fallen in love with it as well. What more could a parent ask for?