Shaver Recreation Complex, Original Course, in Seneca, SC

Basic Information

Course Location: Shaver Recreation Complex

Geographic Location: Seneca, SC (34.67898, -82.96552)

Date Visited: October 2023

Number of Holes: 18

Course Length: 5125 feet, par 55

Cost to Play: free
Difficulty Level: recreational, medium

Carts: would be difficult to use due to roots, logs, and a few steep areas

Potential to Lose Discs: medium due to dense woods

Park Information: https://seneca.sc.us/recreation-department-home

DG Course Review Page: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/shaver-rec-center-original.1807

UDisc Page: https://udisc.com/courses/shaver-recreation-center-og-course-YWIO

Course Walkabout Video, Front 9:

Course Walkabout Video, Back 9:

Driving Directions: From downtown Seneca, go south 4 blocks to 4th Street and turn right on 4th St.  Drive 4th St. west 7 blocks to the entrance for Shaver Recreation Complex on your right.  Turn right to enter the complex, then drive around the right side of the gymnasium building.  Park in the back right corner of the parking lot behind the gymnasium building.  The course map sign and #1 tee are just beyond a paved walking trail behind (north of) this parking lot.

Course Constructions:

Tees: concrete, 1 per hole

Baskets: Discatcher, 1 per hole, older but in good shape on my visit

Signage: hole sign on each tee, course map near parking lot, some signs pointing to next tee

Amenities: additional 18 hole course on site, several practice baskets, benches on most tees, ballfields, trash cans, restrooms in the nearby gymnasium building

Summary Review: 2.5 Stars (out of 5)

Shaver Recreation Complex has 2 distinct 18 hole courses: the original course and the championship course.  Both courses use the same parking lot, and the two #1 tees sit 50 feet apart.  The original course is older and designed for recreational play, while the championship course is designed for competitive play.  This review considers only the original course.  The championship course will be featured in a future review.

The original course sits in a compact plot of land that straddles a heavily wooded pair of ravines.  Many of the fairways are quite generous for a heavily wooded course, and at times this course borders on being too open with not enough obstacles to make the player pick and execute a throw.  There are no truly open holes, and it would be nice to break out of the woods occasionally.  Most holes are under 300 feet long, although there are a few longer holes.  While not super-steep, there is enough elevation to keep you interested.  This course dates to the 1990's, and some of the steeper areas are starting to show some erosion problems.  I have read that mud can be a problem here, but conditions were fine when I came here during a dry spell.  The course and complex are fairly popular: there was a convention going on in the gymnasium and 2 or 3 other groups playing this course when I came here on a Tuesday morning in early October.  Overall, this course alternates between interesting stretches and boring stretches, and it is not the most memorable round of disc golf.  The original course is a solid course for casual rounds but not much more.

Hole-by-Hole Review 

Distances taken from hole signs.  Picture sequence for each hole is 1) tee, 2) approach, 3) basket to tee.  Note that the pars on the tee sign and information kiosk disagreed on occasion.  Below I give the pars from the kiosk because they seemed more realistic to me.

Hole #1: 165 feet, par 3

Comments: very short, mostly open, slightly downhill, and easily the most boring hole on this course.  I guess this is a good hole for starting your round with a birdie before taking on some more serious holes.  #2 tee is to the left.

Hole #2: 295 feet, par 3

Comments: a slightly downhill dogleg right, the fairway is somewhat tight but clear and well-defined.  You will need an accurate left-to-right throw to have a chance at birdie.  #3 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #3: 555 feet, par 4

Comments: the longest hole on this course is a double dogleg, first gradually left and then sharply right.  The large number of small trees makes it very hard to cut either dogleg, but a couple of well-shaped throws will still set you up with a birdie opportunity.  This is my favorite hole on this course.  #4 tee is to the right and back toward the tee.

Hole #4: 340 feet, par 3

Comments: another dogleg right, similar to hole #2 but longer and with a sharper dogleg.  #5 tee is to the right.

Hole #5: 400 feet, par 3

Comments: a long gradual dogleg left, this hole plays downhill before playing uphill to the basket.  This hole is very long for a heavily wooded par 3.  Even though the fairway is rather generous for a heavily wooded hole, 3 is still a good score.  #6 tee is to the right.

Hole #6: 255 feet, par 3

Comments: the series of 300+ foot holes mercifully comes to an end, but this dogleg right plays moderately uphill plus the fairway is rather tight.  Thus, you still need an accurate throw with good distance to have a birdie chance.  #7 tee is to the left.

Hole #7: 240 feet, par 3

Comments: similar to the previous hole but slightly more open and a dogleg left.  The basket on this hole has the wrong number: this is #7 basket, not #3 basket.  #8 tee is to the left.

Hole #8: 170 feet, par 3

Comments: yet another uphill hole, short and a gradual dogleg left.  Again, the fairway is quite generous for a short heavily wooded hole.  #9 tee is to the right.

Hole #9: 180 feet, par 3

Comments: another short uphill hole, but the fairway is not as obvious.  A right-to-left disc flight with high curvature gives you the widest line.  While I don't like cutting down trees, removing some of the smaller trees would open up more reasonable lines of attack on this hole.  As is, this hole concludes the uninspiring sequence of holes that concludes the front 9.  The parking lot is across the road behind the basket; #10 tee is a couple hundred feet downhill to the left near the blacktop walking path and stream.

Hole #10: 325 feet, par 3

Comments: finally something a little different.  A small stream crosses right in front of the tee and continues up the left side of the hole, but it will take a bad ricochet or throw for it to come into play.  More challenging are the tight fairway and hole length.  This fairly flat hole is a fun challenge.  #11 tee is to the right.

Hole #11: 225 feet, par 3

Comments: the generous fairway starts fairly flat but drops off the edge of the world to get down to the basket.  A small stream and dense woods behind the basket will swallow your disc if you overthrow, which is easy to do due to the steep downgrade.  This hole is another fun challenge, but it is a more technical one than the previous hole.  #12 tee is to the left.

Hole #12: 335 feet, par 3

Comments: the tee is located near the stream from the previous hole, and this hole plays steeply uphill through a somewhat tight gap in the trees before leveling out and opening up.  This course never really breaks out into the open, but this basket area is as close to open as it ever gets.  The length, hill, and low branches near the tee make 3 a good score.  #13 tee is to the left and back toward the tee.

Hole #13: 330 feet, par 3

Comments: another long, uphill, heavily wooded hole, but this hill is not as steep as the previous one.  The dogleg is also more severe on this hole.  #14 tee is to the right near #10 basket.

Hole #14: 305 feet, par 3

Comments: the last 300+ foot hole, this is a straight but fairly tight hole that plays down and up across a ravine.  The approach to the basket is quite steep.  I like this hole as much as I liked #10 and #11.  #15 tee is downhill to the right.

Hole #15: 250 feet, par 3

Comments: a gradual dogleg left that plays up and over a low ridge.  This hole is more open than some holes on this course, but there are still plenty of trees and dense woods on the inside of the dogleg to contend with.  This hole concludes the final sequence of interesting holes.  #16 tee is uphill to the left.

Hole #16: 285 feet, par 3

Comments: moderately tight, uphill, and a gradual dogleg right, this hole is very similar to others on this course, in particular hole #6.  #17 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #17: 230 feet, par 3

Comments: the opposite of the previous hole: tight, moderately downhill, and a slight dogleg left.  The basket is 20 feet from a small stream on the left, which could definitely come into play.  #18 tee is to the right.

Hole #18: 240 feet, par 3

Comments: moderately uphill, tight, and a dogleg right, this is an unmemorable finishing hole to a solid course that is memorable only in stretches.  The parking lot is uphill and to the right.