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Darlington School DGC reviews
11
0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
10.3 years
659 played
639 reviews
Nearby 1.20 Rated Ridge Ferry Is A Better Option. 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Mar 21, 2018
Played the course:once
Pros:
(0.633 Rating) A horrible layout using horrible baskets. No wonder it took over a year for this course to find its way onto DGCR.
- ACEABILITY - A few holes are so short that aces seem inevitable. Although, I'm not sure the shallow baskets and light chains will hold the disc very well when the chains are smashed.
- FORGIVENESS - An open too lightly wooded layout with no overgrowth and no hazards. Losing a disc here would be next to impossible. The course is very beginner friendly.
- QUICK PLAY - Anyone who can find all the tees should have no problem playing in under 30 minutes. Which is good, because they will want to leave as soon as possible.
- ACEABILITY - A few holes are so short that aces seem inevitable. Although, I'm not sure the shallow baskets and light chains will hold the disc very well when the chains are smashed.
- FORGIVENESS - An open too lightly wooded layout with no overgrowth and no hazards. Losing a disc here would be next to impossible. The course is very beginner friendly.
- QUICK PLAY - Anyone who can find all the tees should have no problem playing in under 30 minutes. Which is good, because they will want to leave as soon as possible.
Cons:
Substantial issues with Darlington.
- LAYOUT FLOW - Think of the worst layout flow you've seen on a course. This one is twice as bad as that one. 3 tees play to each basket and there is no rhyme or reason to go from one tee or another other than to just keep it sequential. The tee order in this case would be 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B and 3C. This layout would require constant double backing, several 200 foot walks, and crossing fairways.
- TEES - Most of the tees are natural without a defined line. Thankfully, but not surprising, there is no tee pitting. A few tees had a 4 foot by 4 foot turf pad in place.
- CHAINS - They are playable but horrible. I believe they are "Instep". They don't make that nice ching noise that you'd expect of the Mach's, DISCatchers or Chainstars. In addition, the chains are very light. On a positive note, the baskets are numbered.
- CHARACTER - The course lacks just about every course character item found at an older established course. No community board or course map on site. The hole signage is just hole flimsy laminated letter sized sheets of paper taped to an aluminum metal prongs. I would not be surprised if they were all blown away by the next time one visits out here. Also no seating, practice basket, trash cans, alternate tees or alternate pin placements.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - The course challenge felt like a tweener between Novice and Rec level. The grounds are similar to the lightly wooded park set-up. A few tees were positioned to force shorts to attack from a certain angle but, the lane was always fairly wide or open on one side. There is one 400 foot play but four tees were under 200 feet in length.
- MULTI USE HAZARDS - The field that encompasses the tees and baskets also has a volleyball court, walking paths and ball golf pitching areas.
- NAVIGATION - Download the course map on DGCR or be prepared to wonder around aimlessly.
- UNIQUENESS - The second least variety for a course I've scored in Georgia (21 Georgia courses played as of this review). Darlington is mostly an open layout with a spattering of trees. Baskets are lightly guarded or not at all. All par 3s and the longest hole, (2A), is 414 feet. No water features in play, doglegs or twisting holes either.
- ELEVATION - Maybe a couple holes vary by 6 to 8 feet in elevation, tee to basket. Great for a disc golf cart however.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Although a touch below average, it was good enough to bring my overall rating of the course up a bit. A nice diversity of tree species and a small lake in the backdrop. However way too many openish plays to please the minds of many veteran players. An adjacent school building that overlooks the course looks somewhat in disrepair.
- PARKING - If the gate is closed, there is no parking on the outside. If the gate is open, it's probably because school is in session and players outside the school won't be able to play. So, it's an issue.
- LAYOUT FLOW - Think of the worst layout flow you've seen on a course. This one is twice as bad as that one. 3 tees play to each basket and there is no rhyme or reason to go from one tee or another other than to just keep it sequential. The tee order in this case would be 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B and 3C. This layout would require constant double backing, several 200 foot walks, and crossing fairways.
- TEES - Most of the tees are natural without a defined line. Thankfully, but not surprising, there is no tee pitting. A few tees had a 4 foot by 4 foot turf pad in place.
- CHAINS - They are playable but horrible. I believe they are "Instep". They don't make that nice ching noise that you'd expect of the Mach's, DISCatchers or Chainstars. In addition, the chains are very light. On a positive note, the baskets are numbered.
- CHARACTER - The course lacks just about every course character item found at an older established course. No community board or course map on site. The hole signage is just hole flimsy laminated letter sized sheets of paper taped to an aluminum metal prongs. I would not be surprised if they were all blown away by the next time one visits out here. Also no seating, practice basket, trash cans, alternate tees or alternate pin placements.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - The course challenge felt like a tweener between Novice and Rec level. The grounds are similar to the lightly wooded park set-up. A few tees were positioned to force shorts to attack from a certain angle but, the lane was always fairly wide or open on one side. There is one 400 foot play but four tees were under 200 feet in length.
- MULTI USE HAZARDS - The field that encompasses the tees and baskets also has a volleyball court, walking paths and ball golf pitching areas.
- NAVIGATION - Download the course map on DGCR or be prepared to wonder around aimlessly.
- UNIQUENESS - The second least variety for a course I've scored in Georgia (21 Georgia courses played as of this review). Darlington is mostly an open layout with a spattering of trees. Baskets are lightly guarded or not at all. All par 3s and the longest hole, (2A), is 414 feet. No water features in play, doglegs or twisting holes either.
- ELEVATION - Maybe a couple holes vary by 6 to 8 feet in elevation, tee to basket. Great for a disc golf cart however.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Although a touch below average, it was good enough to bring my overall rating of the course up a bit. A nice diversity of tree species and a small lake in the backdrop. However way too many openish plays to please the minds of many veteran players. An adjacent school building that overlooks the course looks somewhat in disrepair.
- PARKING - If the gate is closed, there is no parking on the outside. If the gate is open, it's probably because school is in session and players outside the school won't be able to play. So, it's an issue.
Other Thoughts:
Darlington is a very sub-par course. It has a really small footprint, lies in a multi-use area and has all the typical issues associated with a school course of this make-up. Other than small kids attending school here, I'm not sure who else would play here. Well... I guess a bagger like me might, but only once.
