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Boyd Pond Park DGC reviews
7
0
Langley's Mellow Cousin
Reviewed:
Played on:Jun 12, 2022
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
-Boyd is a lot more friendly than his blond headed "pretty boy" cousin Langley. He's very mellow, the hippie type, with his shorter layout and more inviting fairways. Most par threes are under 300' and offer several different ways to reach the green. It's unknown whether hole five is a par three or four. It played as a par three in previous tournaments but is listed as a par four. Considering the rest of the course to be pretty simple, I'd say it's a par four for Boyd Pond.
-The par fours, well they are obviously longer. Assuming #5 is a par four, there are three of them. When I played here, holes #11 and #12 were in the long pins. They are 533' and 451' respectively. #5 is the one in the woods and is only 390'. This was probably the best one of the three. It's over two valleys (or better yet, over a hump with two dips in between. #11 is the longest one and probably the toughest. In tournaments, the tall grass on the right side plays as OB. About 300' ahead, there is an orchard of trees just slightly left. So if you try to throw a bomb, you'll likely land to the left in the orchard or OB right in the tall grass. The fairway in between is narrow. I threw a midrange straight down the fairway short of the orchard and threw a putter on my second shot. #12 is a little bit longer than #5, but it's the most inviting. It's pretty open. The wood line is to the left and the tall grass is on the right. I was able to land 45' from the pin and have an eagle look. I threw an overstable driver from the right side and had it hook left.
-I really like the green turf tee pads. I feel that they blend in very well for a course in this part of SC. They are long enough too, without being raised. Many of the 250-300' par threes are reachable for me with a putter if I throw it hard enough with a longer run up. So it was a real convenience for them to be easy to run up on from behind.
-There's a course kiosk and practice basket. There's an entrance exclusively for the disc golf course too. So be on the look out for that.
-Elevation: I need to say, there isn't as much as some may say. There's a solid amount though. #15 has the best of it. That was my favorite hole. After #14, you take a left turn and walk up a pretty tall and steep hill. The elevation drop is probably about 25'. Could potentially be 30'. This was a very enjoyable putter toss down the elevated pad. #4 was a gem too. Uphill with the basket perched on a small plateau around a small gulley. A birdie look can turn into a bogey very quick. #17 and #18 end on a good note with the elevation change too. #17 being pretty significantly uphill and #18 being nicely downhill over a large patch of tall grass and through a gate of trees.
-Rewarding. Few good ace opportunities. If you are reasonably accurate with good placement, you won't have to worry about not making birdies. Some holes are tougher of course, but more of them than not are pretty simple birdies for pros. Intermediates with an average rating of 890 should expect to shoot maybe two under. Advanced players can expect to shoot five under. Pros should shoot for eight under or better on a sunny day without much wind. I saw in one of the previous tournaments that a 56 was 917 rated. I'm going to assume it was windy that day.
-Nice tee signs with hole diagrams and hole info for each pin position. Brings me to say, many holes at Boyd Pond have dual pin positions.
-The par fours, well they are obviously longer. Assuming #5 is a par four, there are three of them. When I played here, holes #11 and #12 were in the long pins. They are 533' and 451' respectively. #5 is the one in the woods and is only 390'. This was probably the best one of the three. It's over two valleys (or better yet, over a hump with two dips in between. #11 is the longest one and probably the toughest. In tournaments, the tall grass on the right side plays as OB. About 300' ahead, there is an orchard of trees just slightly left. So if you try to throw a bomb, you'll likely land to the left in the orchard or OB right in the tall grass. The fairway in between is narrow. I threw a midrange straight down the fairway short of the orchard and threw a putter on my second shot. #12 is a little bit longer than #5, but it's the most inviting. It's pretty open. The wood line is to the left and the tall grass is on the right. I was able to land 45' from the pin and have an eagle look. I threw an overstable driver from the right side and had it hook left.
-I really like the green turf tee pads. I feel that they blend in very well for a course in this part of SC. They are long enough too, without being raised. Many of the 250-300' par threes are reachable for me with a putter if I throw it hard enough with a longer run up. So it was a real convenience for them to be easy to run up on from behind.
-There's a course kiosk and practice basket. There's an entrance exclusively for the disc golf course too. So be on the look out for that.
-Elevation: I need to say, there isn't as much as some may say. There's a solid amount though. #15 has the best of it. That was my favorite hole. After #14, you take a left turn and walk up a pretty tall and steep hill. The elevation drop is probably about 25'. Could potentially be 30'. This was a very enjoyable putter toss down the elevated pad. #4 was a gem too. Uphill with the basket perched on a small plateau around a small gulley. A birdie look can turn into a bogey very quick. #17 and #18 end on a good note with the elevation change too. #17 being pretty significantly uphill and #18 being nicely downhill over a large patch of tall grass and through a gate of trees.
-Rewarding. Few good ace opportunities. If you are reasonably accurate with good placement, you won't have to worry about not making birdies. Some holes are tougher of course, but more of them than not are pretty simple birdies for pros. Intermediates with an average rating of 890 should expect to shoot maybe two under. Advanced players can expect to shoot five under. Pros should shoot for eight under or better on a sunny day without much wind. I saw in one of the previous tournaments that a 56 was 917 rated. I'm going to assume it was windy that day.
-Nice tee signs with hole diagrams and hole info for each pin position. Brings me to say, many holes at Boyd Pond have dual pin positions.
Cons:
-This part of South Carolina consists of different species of snakes. If you land in the rough, be wary of snakes. A previous review mentioned a hornet. There are hornets too.
-I'll repeat what several others had said. There's a bit of a walk back to the parking lot from #18. You have to walk back down #9's fairway and down a trail through the woods.
-There is a nasty bush just 20' from #2's basket in the rough. I get that it is the rough, but I think when you are 20' from the pin, you should at least have a way to make the putt. Land in that bush, and you won't make the putt. It's full of limbs and the space between the trees in the rough and the bush is not wide enough to have a line from.
-Some blandness to be seen. #10 sticks out the most. It's a boring wide open putter/midrange shot. #13 was a short putter toss down a small hill. #3 was a pretty weak hole in the short pin. The long pin looks a little bit funner. The short is just a 180' straight shot over a hump. #6 in the short wasn't very fun either, despite being downhill. It's just a putter toss. BTW, there's no freaking way this hole is 303' in the short and 382' in the long. It's probably 245' from the short and probably just over 300' in the long. DON'T ALWAYS TRUST THE SIGN!!!!!
Memory from 2008: My family and I were on vacation at the beach. The swimming pool across the street was said to have a deep end of 8 feet. I could nearly reach the surface on my tip toes from the drain. Mind you, I wasn't yet 11. It was probably a whole foot less. There was a kid that was couple years younger than I was that went into the deep end of the pool and his parents got concerned because, well the pool was eight feet deep according to the sign. It took less than a second for my head to reach the surface from the bottom. I told the kid's mom and grandad that it was probably a foot less than that and all his granddad said "It's eight feet. Look at the sign!" As if I was blind or had no clue what the number eight look like. I'm a number person, so sometimes I just get skeptical. Don't always trust the sign old man!
BTW, the kid was a good swimmer. So I had no idea why his mom and grandpa were so concerned when they were watching him tread water without any trouble.
-I'll repeat what several others had said. There's a bit of a walk back to the parking lot from #18. You have to walk back down #9's fairway and down a trail through the woods.
-There is a nasty bush just 20' from #2's basket in the rough. I get that it is the rough, but I think when you are 20' from the pin, you should at least have a way to make the putt. Land in that bush, and you won't make the putt. It's full of limbs and the space between the trees in the rough and the bush is not wide enough to have a line from.
-Some blandness to be seen. #10 sticks out the most. It's a boring wide open putter/midrange shot. #13 was a short putter toss down a small hill. #3 was a pretty weak hole in the short pin. The long pin looks a little bit funner. The short is just a 180' straight shot over a hump. #6 in the short wasn't very fun either, despite being downhill. It's just a putter toss. BTW, there's no freaking way this hole is 303' in the short and 382' in the long. It's probably 245' from the short and probably just over 300' in the long. DON'T ALWAYS TRUST THE SIGN!!!!!
Memory from 2008: My family and I were on vacation at the beach. The swimming pool across the street was said to have a deep end of 8 feet. I could nearly reach the surface on my tip toes from the drain. Mind you, I wasn't yet 11. It was probably a whole foot less. There was a kid that was couple years younger than I was that went into the deep end of the pool and his parents got concerned because, well the pool was eight feet deep according to the sign. It took less than a second for my head to reach the surface from the bottom. I told the kid's mom and grandad that it was probably a foot less than that and all his granddad said "It's eight feet. Look at the sign!" As if I was blind or had no clue what the number eight look like. I'm a number person, so sometimes I just get skeptical. Don't always trust the sign old man!
BTW, the kid was a good swimmer. So I had no idea why his mom and grandpa were so concerned when they were watching him tread water without any trouble.
Other Thoughts:
-Boyd Pond is a more pleasant atmosphere for a wider audience. As a lower rated pro/higher rated advanced player, I like Langley Pond better. Many players will enjoy Boyd Pond better since it is forgiving, while still having some challenges to face. There are parts where pitching out can be hard at Boyd, so it may be a good idea to walk some of the fairways on the wooded holes. #2, #5, and #14 have woods that are very tough to play out of. There are other challenges that you'll face. #18 being maybe the hardest hole on the course. The line is clear, but is dangerous since you throw through a gap, a wide gap from the wood line to another tree in the tall grass, but you have to comfortably throw a left to right anhyzer through the gap over the tall stuff, or somehow squeeze a flip up down the right side and have it go barely left though the final gap just shy of the basket. Very unique challenge. Great finishing hole!
-It's great practice for a course like Langley. It can boost your confidence and help you warm up. I liked this course.
-It's great practice for a course like Langley. It can boost your confidence and help you warm up. I liked this course.
3
1
Aiken County open 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Feb 23, 2019
Played the course:once
Pros:
-Accurate tee signs on every hole
-Easy navigation without a map
-Probably my favorite tee box surfaces
-Wooded holes are tight in places, but fair.
-Easy navigation without a map
-Probably my favorite tee box surfaces
-Wooded holes are tight in places, but fair.
Cons:
-Really only one hole where a driver should come into play.
-There are some wide open holes that provide very little challenge without any painted OB.
-There are some wide open holes that provide very little challenge without any painted OB.
Other Thoughts:
I would have to say this was a very well cared for public park. Hats off to the local P&R department for the work done here.
I loved the wooded holes. They provide enough challenge to be interesting, but nothing stupid hard. The tee boxes are made of a synthetic grass mat and they had me worried. But, they held up fine through variable rain conditions. I did not slip once.
The wide open holes provide no challenge on their own. there were painted OB lines for the tourney (because they were needed) but I judge courses on how they stand with permanent hazards. The lack of challenge on the open holes holds it back. I would suggest build permanent obstructions. Maybe azaleas in front of wide open holes or a bamboo fence like they have at Winthrop for the USDGC. I have seen these put to good use at other courses, and they would be a good low cost option to spice up this course a bit.
For these reasons, I am leaving it at a 3 for now. I may come back and update it as I have more courses to compare it to.
3/29/21 Update:
Out of the 68 courses I have reviewed, this is where this course ranks along with similarly rated courses:
Rank-Course, Location
23-Duncan Lake - East, Duncan, OK
24-Lindsey Park - Red Course, Tyler, TX
25-Veteran's Park, Arlington, TX
26-Griffin Park, Norman, OK
27-Boyd Pond Park, Beech Island, SC
28-Golden Grove Farm & Brew DGC, Piedmont, SC
29-Riverview Park, North Augusta, SC
30-The Firecracker, Fountain Inn, SC
31-Granbury City DGC, Granbury, TX
32-Owens Field Park, Columbia, SC
I loved the wooded holes. They provide enough challenge to be interesting, but nothing stupid hard. The tee boxes are made of a synthetic grass mat and they had me worried. But, they held up fine through variable rain conditions. I did not slip once.
The wide open holes provide no challenge on their own. there were painted OB lines for the tourney (because they were needed) but I judge courses on how they stand with permanent hazards. The lack of challenge on the open holes holds it back. I would suggest build permanent obstructions. Maybe azaleas in front of wide open holes or a bamboo fence like they have at Winthrop for the USDGC. I have seen these put to good use at other courses, and they would be a good low cost option to spice up this course a bit.
For these reasons, I am leaving it at a 3 for now. I may come back and update it as I have more courses to compare it to.
3/29/21 Update:
Out of the 68 courses I have reviewed, this is where this course ranks along with similarly rated courses:
Rank-Course, Location
23-Duncan Lake - East, Duncan, OK
24-Lindsey Park - Red Course, Tyler, TX
25-Veteran's Park, Arlington, TX
26-Griffin Park, Norman, OK
27-Boyd Pond Park, Beech Island, SC
28-Golden Grove Farm & Brew DGC, Piedmont, SC
29-Riverview Park, North Augusta, SC
30-The Firecracker, Fountain Inn, SC
31-Granbury City DGC, Granbury, TX
32-Owens Field Park, Columbia, SC
