I played these new courses in 2012...
...
2011
Course at Wildlife West Nature Park - Edgewood, New Mexico
2010
Brent Baca Memorial - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Roosevelt Park - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Vista Hills Park - Rio Rancho, New Mexico
FAU - MacArthur Campus - Jupiter, Florida - March 20, 2010
2009
Baker High School - Mobile, Alabama
Burnt Corn Creek - Brewton, Alabama
Citronelle Municipal Park - Citronelle, Alabama
Dublin Park - Madison, Alabama
Lake Point Park - Heflin, Alabama
Jacksonville Community DGC - Jacksonville, Alabama
Athens State University - Athens, Alabama
Sportsplex - Athens, Alabama
Indian Creek Disc Golf Course - Huntsville, Alabama
Monte Sano State Park - Huntsville, Alabama
The Tiger Trail at the University of West Alabama - Livingston, Alabama
Roosevelt Park - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Vista Hills Park - Rio Rancho, New Mexico
The Path - Saraland, Alabama
Pinnacle - Newport, New Hampshire - May 12, 2009
Overall Rating - 7.5 out of 10
Technical Rating - 8 out of 10 - lots of challenging wooded holes - just my style!
Course Quality - 8 out of 10 - good directional signs, tees need improvement (I messed my knee up one),
tee signs could do a better job communicating where the baskets are located, a mixture of basket
styles (all decent baskets), three tees per hole
Balance - 7 out of 10 - this rating would be higher if there were some open holes
I really loved this course. I don't get a chance to play courses with hills/mountains like this. It was a really fun course design with brilliant and exciting use of topography. Don't visit this course if you can't climb some hills.
At the first tee, there were lots of kids and activities going on around me. I was concerned that my round might experience some interference like my two previous rounds, but I managed to play 18 holes without any interruption. That's because this course went straight into the woods and never came out. On the first tee, there was a map of the course with significant landmarks denoted. The first thing I noticed was an ice rink (which was directly behind me as I was looking at this sign) and the second thing that stood out was the ski jump (pictured below). Yeah... we don't have those features in Alabama.
There were some holes on some fairly wide trails, but there were lots more that were tight, technical holes. Some had plenty of distance, but still demanded accuracy. The front nine was a good balance of easy and medium-difficulty holes. The back nine got tougher. I flirted with landing in a babbling brook several times on the back nine, but managed to stay dry. As the sun was dropping, I had to fight my way through clouds of mosquitoes on the last couple of holes. I might try to hit this one again before I leave.
Oxbow Disc Golf - Bradford, Vermont - May 11, 2009
Overall Rating - 6 out of 10
Technical Rating - 7 out of 10 - I have to applaud this course for some tough wooded shots (even if most of
them were short)
Course Quality - 5 out of 10 - poor signage, sad tees, distance in yards
Balance - 7 out of 10 - too many short "par 2" holes, good use of the topography on holes 6 to 13
At my second disc golf course in New England, I was bummed when I stepped up to the first tee to find that high school softball was going to interfere with my game. There were spectators sitting within 15 feet of a pretty short hole. The was a baseball game and accompanying spectators to interfere on the second hole. Oh, and I was playing in the middle of track and field practice. In addition to holes 1 and 2, there were vehicle parked in the way on 15 and 16, so I skipped these four holes (they all happened to be the most open and boring holes, so I'm not complaining). There were a several holes that came into contact with the high school campus, but the rest of the holes made up for it.
Special mentions... The hill from the number 6 tee to the number 7 tee was ruthless. "Ski Jump", a shot from a peak that goes way downhill, was awesome. Lichen Alley was beautiful. The Bradford Diner, the Diner's holistic waitress, Anna, and their meatloaf get a special mention as well.
Pye Brook Park DGC - Topsfield, Massachusetts - May 10, 2009
Overall Rating - 5 out of 10
Technical Rating - 7 out of 10 - creative use of topography was this course's savior
Course Quality - 4 out of 10 - some missing tee signs, no directional/next tee signs, poor quality tees, but
two tees per hole
Balance - N/A - I wasn't able to play all of the holes, good balance of uphill and downhill shots
This was my first trip to New England (for some CFD software training in Lebanon, NH) and was determined to hit some new courses. I got off of the plane in Boston, picked up my rental car, and headed straight for Topsfield. Having flown from Birmingham to Cincinnati to Boston without any food since a very early breakfast, I sought out a bite to eat in downtown Topsfield and found the House of Pizza. The meatball sub gets a 9 out of 10.
On to Pye Brook Park - The course was pretty decent in a nice little community park. I happened to arrive during some heavy children athletics traffic. There is also an equestrian area in the middle of the course and there were cars, horse trailers, and horses in the middle of a couple of the holes (which I skipped). I also had to skip one hole because there was a big truck parked less than 10 feet from a basket. It was poorly marked, which made it tough on me since I was only playing it once. If I had I played it again, it would have been much easier to play and have a good time.
My round started off on hole one where there was a huge drop-off just behind the basket. I wasn't aware of this drop-off and I overthrew it. I hunted for awhile before I found my disc and during my search I nearly stepped on a two to three foot long ribbon snake at the edge of the woods. There were some fun little wooded holes on the back nine where I saw a little fox pup hanging out in a hole in the base of a tree (pictured below). There were several shots that were pretty open but benefited in a big way by the designer's use of the topography. All in all, it was a good time on a fine course.
Central Park - Cumming, GA - March 21, 2009
Overall Rating - 7 out of 10
Technical Rating - 7 out of 10 - some holes were too open/boring and some just completely lack a fairway
Course Quality - 7 out of 10 - multiple tees per hole but lousy tees, in need of directional signs
Balance - 8 out of 10 - good variety, too many holes with topography and/or distance as the only obstacles
This is a good course, but it was frustrating to find my way around for the first time. I am not a big fan of throwing from a tee to a basket sitting out in an open area, and this course had a few of those holes. It also had several very interesting holes and some holes that were just lacking much of a gap for a fairway. I will definitely play this course again.
Special mention... I first played this course a week before I caddied for Jay Woodroof in the Atlanta Open, a tournament in which he played in lots of rain at East Roswell and lots of wind at this course. He competed against several big time players - Ken Climo, Barry Schultz, Avery Jenkins - and he qualified for the 2009 USDGC. It was a very cool disc golf experience.
Wall Doxey State Park - The Jungle and Turkey Hollow - February 8, 2009
Wall Doxey Ice Bowl Survivors Doubles
Overall Rating - 6 out of 10
Technical Rating - 7 out of 10 - very technical, maybe too technical, lacked many open fairways
Course Quality - 7 out of 10 - decent signs, pretty easy to find your way
Balance - 5 out of 10 - too many tightly wooded holes, too many short pitch-n-putts
I played this doubles tournament with Jeff Scrimsher as my doubles partner. We played well together and were competitive, but I didn't help much in the second round on the Hollow. All in all, these were forty holes of fun. We had played 9 or 10 holes on the Jungle on Feb. 6, but it was getting dark and we didn't get to have a legitimate experience. It was much more fun in the daylight.
Central Park - Southaven, MS - February 7, 2009
Overall Rating - 7 out of 10
Technical Rating - 7 out of 10 - good layout, some distance, but too many short, open holes
Course Quality - 7 out of 10 - this course is in good shape, needs better signs
Balance - 8 out of 10 - pretty well balanced, but lacking a lot of variety
Jay Woodroof, Drew Patton, Jeff Scrimsher, and I were going to play Wall Doxey on this day, but both courses were being used for the Ice Bowl. It was a silly format in which you could buy birdies, so we decided to go to another course. We drove up to Southaven and played a couple of rounds of doubles. It was a pretty nice course. It was fairly open, but had some good obstacles and used the topography well.
Special mention... Don't throw in the creek on 16 through 18. We had a couple of discs which completely disappeared into the water. The creek was not too wide, but it was fairly deep and murky. A local helped us retrieve our discs, but it resulted in the last few holes of the first round lasting 40 minutes or so.
Overall Rating - 9 out of 10
Technical Rating - 9 out of 10 - very challenging
Course Quality - 9 out of 10 - course was in great shape, beautiful, needs better signs and tees
Balance - 9 out of 10 - long holes, shorter holes, several water holes, some not to drastic elevation change
This is the best course I have played in the southeast. Jay Woodroof, Drew Patton, Jeff Scrimsher, and I started out our disc golf weekend at "The Trace". The wind was vicious and led to three of our discs finding their ways into the lakes.
2008
Lenora Park - Snellville, GA - May 3, 2008
Solstice C-Tour Series
Overall Rating - 5 out of 10
Technical Rating - 4 out of 10 - too open
Course Quality - 7 out of 10 - well maintained, decent tees
Balance - 4 out of 10 - most holes were not well defined as left, right, straignt (you could throw any disc
forehand, backhand, whatever)
This was an okay course, but it was kind of boring. Its expensive to build a course, so I struggle to understand why you would just put a single basket out in the middle of an open field (much less a whole bunch of baskets).
Shelby Farms - Memphis, TN - April 11, 2008
Overall Rating - 8 out of 10
Technical Rating - 7 out of 10
Course Quality - 8 out of 10
Balance - 8 out of 10
All of the courses I have played, by state
Alabama
Bowers Park - Tuscaloosa, AL
George Ward Park - Birmingham, AL
Civitan Park - Trussville, AL
University of Montevallo - Montevallo, AL
Cottage Hill Park - Mobile, AL
Springhill Hobbit DGC - Mobile, AL
University of South Alabama - Mobile, AL
Langan Municipal Park - Mobile, AL
Chickasaw Community Park - Mobile/Chickasaw, AL
Chickasabouge County Park - Mobile/Palmetto, AL
Fairhope Municipal Park - Fairhope, AL
Rainbow City DGC - Rainbow City, AL
Auburn University of Montgomery - Montgomery, AL
Ida Belle Young Park - Montgomery, AL
Brahan Springs Park- Huntsvillle, AL
Mastin Lake - Huntsvillle, AL
Redstone Arsenal - Huntsvillle, AL
University of Alabama Huntsville - Huntsvillle, AL
Sparkman Park - Hartselle, AL
Veterans Memorial Park - Florence, AL
Mississippi
Lake Lowndes State Park - Columbus, MS
The Rez - Reservoir DGC - Brandon, MS
Wall Doxey State Park/The Jungle/Turkey Hollow - Holly Springs, MS
Lefleurs Bluff State Park - Jackson, MS
Central Park - Southaven, MS
Tombigbee State Park - Tupelo, MS
Veteran's Park DGC - Tupelo, MS
Shepard State Park - Gautier, MS
Tennessee
Crockett Park - Brentwood, TN
Seven Oaks Disc Golf Course - Nashville, TN
Two Rivers Park - Nashville, TN
Morningside Park - Knoxville, TN
Shelby Farms - Memphis, TN
Meeman-Shelby State Park - Memphis/Millington, TN
Georgia
The Hippodrome - Augusta, GA
East Roswell Park - Roswell, GA
Wills Park - Alpharetta, GA
Lenora Park - Snellville, GA
Central Park - Cumming, GA
Florida
Tom Brown Park - Tallahassee, FL
University of Central Florida - Orlando, FL
FAU - MacArthur Campus - Jupiter, FL
Louisiana
Highland Road Park - Baton Rouge, LA
Arkansas
Burns Park - North Little Rock, AR
Illinois
The Oaks - Mokena, IL
Margreth Riemer Reservoir - Palatine, IL
Michigan
Grand Woods Park - Lansing, MI
Massachusetts
Pye Brook Park - Topsfield, MA
New Hampshire
Pinnacle - Newport, NH
New Mexico
Roosevelt Park - Albuquerque, NM
Vista Hills Park - Rio Rancho, NM
Vermont
Oxbow Disc Golf Course - Bradford, VT
North Carolina
Texas
University of Texas Dallas - Richardson, TX
Kentucky
Idlewild - Burlington, KY
