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

Beginner Friendly? not really: too long and wooded

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.

County Line Disc Golf Course at Chesnee Community Center in Chesnee, SC

Basic Information

Course Location: Chesnee Community Center

Geographic Location: Chesnee, SC (35.14238, -81.85547)

Date Visited: September 2023

Number of Holes: 9

Course Length: 2963/1957 feet, par 28/27

Cost to Play: free
Difficulty Level: recreational, high from the long tees; medium from the short tees

Carts: should be fine here

Beginner Friendly? yes, from the short tees

Potential to Lose Discs: medium due to dense woods 

Park Information: https://www.spartanburgparks.org/facilities/facility/details/Chesnee-Community-Center-110

DG Course Review Page: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/county-line-dgc.12913

UDisc Page: https://udisc.com/courses/county-line-dgc-YSMK

Course Walkabout Video: 

Driving Directions: On the north side of Spartanburg, take I-85 to US 221 (exit 78).  Exit and go north on US 221.  Drive US 221 north 9.7 miles to Manning Street in the town of Chesnee and turn right on Manning St.  Drive Manning St. east 0.2 miles to Union Street and turn right on Union St.  The dirt/gravel parking lot for the disc golf course is on the left in only a few hundred feet.  #1 tee is at the northwest corner of the parking lot near Union St.

Course Constructions:

Tees: 2 per hole, some astroturf and some concrete

Baskets: Veteran baskets, 1 per hole, looked brand new on my visit

Signage: hole sign at each tee; arrows inside basket point toward next tee

Amenities: a couple of benches

Summary Review: 4 Stars (out of 5)

The County Line Disc Golf Course at Chesnee Community Center is one of the best 9 hole courses in upstate South Carolina.  The short tees make this course rather beginner-friendly, while the long tees offer enough distance and tightness to challenge most players.  The tee signs are not color-coded, and twice I accidentally threw from the wrong tee.  I finally noticed some blue and white arrows in the bottom of the basket that point to the next long and short tee, respectively.  Most holes play through a densely wooded area, and while I have played tighter courses, the trees will definitely eat up your disc if you get off line.  The understory is fairly sparse, so you won't struggle to find your off-fairway disc in a thicket of honeysuckle, stinging nettle, or briars like you will at some other courses.  This land is solely devoted to disc golf; interference from vehicles and pedestrians should not be an issue.  The terrain is fairly flat with only gentle slopes.  Course maintenance was near perfect when I came here.  Despite the large parking lot, this course does not seem heavily used: there was one other group playing here when I came here on a Thursday afternoon.  Most 9 hole courses offer 1 or 2 interesting holes along with a bunch of "meh," but this course offers 9 quality holes.  Also, kudos to the designers for not trying to cram 18 holes into this plot of land, as I have seen other designers try to do in similar situations.  If you are in the area, possibly to play nearby Shoally Creek, this course makes a great add-on for a warm-up or cool-down.

Hole-by-Hole Review 

Distances taken from hole signs.  Picture sequence for each hole is 1) long tee, 2) approach, 3) basket to tee.

Hole #1: 385/250 feet, par 3

Comments: although the park boundary is tight on the left and the basket sits in the edge of the woods, the opening hole is one of the more open holes on this course.  Aim for the deepest gap in the trees straight ahead.  A single small tree sits right in front of the basket.  The parking lot to the right is out-of-bounds (OB), and while it would take a bad throw to land there, it is a little too close for total comfort.  #2 tee is to the left.

Hole #2: 300/170 feet, par 3

Comments: now the parade of technical heavily wooded holes begins.  A slight right-to-left disc flight is preferred, but that brings the property boundary to the left into play if you overhook it.  The low overhanging limbs force you to keep your disc low, and the tight fairway demands an accurate throw.  #3 long tee is behind the basket; #3 short tee is to the right.

Hole #3: 256/200 feet, par 3

Comments: the long and short tees here approach the basket from completely different angles.  From the long tee, this is a fairly straight hole with a relatively wide fairway.  From the short tee, this is a sharp dogleg right with a tighter line.  This hole design uses the 2 tees in a clever way.  #4 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #4: 456/286 feet, par 4/3

Comments: the longest hole on this course is also pretty tight, which makes it the hardest hole on this course.  The basket is located across a small swale, and the parking lot sits beyond the basket in case you overthrow.  #5 tee is to the left and back toward the tee.

Hole #5: 330/220 feet, par 3

Comments: this slightly downhill hole looks fairly open from the tee, but it gets tighter when you get closer to the basket.  The basket is surrounded by a veritable birdcage of small trees, so pick your approach line carefully.  #6 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #6: 240/170 feet, par 3

Comments: playing slightly uphill, this short straight hole has a surprisingly wide fairway except for a couple of small pine trees about 25 feet in front of the basket.  This is one of the least interesting holes on this course.  #7 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #7: 274/220 feet, par 3

Comments: the tightness returns with this hole, which plays right up against the rear property boundary.  Signs warn not to trespass private property across the tiny stream to the left.  The basket is located atop a finger-shaped dirt mound, which makes putting more interesting.  #8 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #8: 370/175 feet, par 3

Comments: the first half of this hole is fairly flat, while the approach to the basket features the steepest uphill on this course.  This would be a fairly open hole except for a row of trees in the middle of the fairway.  As is, this is a fairly challenging hole from the back tee.  #9 tee is behind the basket out in the clearing.

Hole #9: 352/266 feet, par 3

Comments: perhaps the most controversial hole on this course, both tees require forced carries over a stormwater collection basin, which is OB regardless of whether it contains any water.  The far edge of the basin is only about 40 feet in front of the basket, requiring a strong arm to clear the basin.  There is no easy layup area, so why not give it a go?  The parking lot is to the left.