fire mountain disc golf sanctuary

“Look around. This is paradise here,” Jeremy Hyatt, secretary of operations for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, told the small crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting celebration Tuesday, May 10. “You have this beautiful river, you have these wonderful woods. This is what it means to me to be Cherokee.”

The 31-acre Fire Mountain Disc Golf Sanctuary sits between Cherokee Central School and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a lofty canopy shading it from summer heat and a mountain creek offering respite for swimmers, anglers and waders. A gravel walking path stretches the length of the property, and a network of trails offer woodland paths between baskets. 

Disc golf courses typically need about two years to mature, said Justin Menickelli, a member of the team from Disc Golf Design Group  that planned the course. That’s usually enough time for leaves to fall and decompose on newly cut paths and for vegetation to be more carefully trimmed to the course’s contours. 

“Then it will be perfect,” Menickelli said. 

Ryan Pickens, one of the course’s designers, tees off while giving a tour of the property. 

Connected to culture 

The swath of land beside Raven Fork is a tranquil setting suitable for a broad spectrum of ages and ability levels. But make no mistake — the course is labeled “championship-caliber” for a reason. 

“When I say championship-level, it kind of is the same thing ‘as hard as hell,’” said Hyatt. “This is a very difficult course, but it is one of a kind and it is truly a gem.”

The first hole, advertised as a par 3, extends 348 feet, and while that particular hole is a straightaway, such is not the case as the course continues. Many holes contain tricky turns over long distances, with the longest…