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Earhart DGC reviews
11
0
Good design, but still not there 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Jun 30, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
Earhart features great variety in distance, elevation, fairway shape, and tee options. With multiple pins and tees, this course can be anywhere from a pitch-and-putt to a real bomber. It feels like it's off the beaten path, with nothing besides Disc Golf and nature anywhere around the course.
Assuming you play the blue or white tees, the ones that actually have concrete tees, there are a variety of different tee shots, especially considering the abundance of pin placements. The wooded holes, 3-11, force lots of different lines while still being open enough that you can get creative. Some of these are long enough that many players will need to disc up but still hit a fairly tight, but still reachable, gap in the middle of the fairway.
The lake provides a really nice challenge and adds to the scenery on 12-14. The long pin on 14, playing around the lake, gives some really challenging risk-reward potential, especially the difficult footing you might have on your second shot, playing on a downslope towards the lake. I would like to see 13 have a long pin closer to 14's tee, but that would have put it in the way of a picnic table or two.
In long positions, or playing from long tee pads, there's some opportunity for some really long and exciting par 4's. In addition to 14, hole 2 is a long downhill shot, as is 15, and hole 8 provides several options as you weave through some scattered trees.
Assuming you play the blue or white tees, the ones that actually have concrete tees, there are a variety of different tee shots, especially considering the abundance of pin placements. The wooded holes, 3-11, force lots of different lines while still being open enough that you can get creative. Some of these are long enough that many players will need to disc up but still hit a fairly tight, but still reachable, gap in the middle of the fairway.
The lake provides a really nice challenge and adds to the scenery on 12-14. The long pin on 14, playing around the lake, gives some really challenging risk-reward potential, especially the difficult footing you might have on your second shot, playing on a downslope towards the lake. I would like to see 13 have a long pin closer to 14's tee, but that would have put it in the way of a picnic table or two.
In long positions, or playing from long tee pads, there's some opportunity for some really long and exciting par 4's. In addition to 14, hole 2 is a long downhill shot, as is 15, and hole 8 provides several options as you weave through some scattered trees.
Cons:
No tee signs, and this is a problem here more than other places. Walking onto a teepad, I was never certain if I was on the right hole, since there are so many tees around. I never even tried to find the gold or red tees, since some of the posts that mark them seem to have disappeared. On some holes, I just played from the first tee pad I saw, and I didn't always find the other one. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, I'm just saying they may be hard to find.
The course starts and ends poorly. Holes 15-18 and 1-2 are rather open, and while they have some elevation, it's not extreme enough to produce good holes. A few trees around 16, 17, and 1 are desperately used to try to make the holes interesting, and while it was about as good as a result could be for that land, it's still not great.
The lake drains into a creek that runs near holes 3, 4, 7, and 11, and really dampens those holes, literally and figuratively. It's not a good challenge but will make discs annoying to retrieve. I'm sure some people have not realized how thick the grass and weeds there are and how much water is there until their disc went in. In addition, the ground around those holes can be rather soggy.
Some of the long tees seem to have been added purely for added distance and don't make the hole any better; in fact, they sometimes make the holes a lot worse by reducing the amount of skill per shot involved. But given how hard it is to find the gold tees (I'm judging based on the map), I'll assume it won't affect much. I quite like where I think the gold tees are on some holes, as they make the easier holes a good bit harder (6, 8, 9, 11), but on other holes, it's just distance for no reason (3, 15, 18, probably some more).
The geese seem to enjoy the tee pads around the lake. Fishermen seem to enjoy the fairways of 14 and 15.
The course starts and ends poorly. Holes 15-18 and 1-2 are rather open, and while they have some elevation, it's not extreme enough to produce good holes. A few trees around 16, 17, and 1 are desperately used to try to make the holes interesting, and while it was about as good as a result could be for that land, it's still not great.
The lake drains into a creek that runs near holes 3, 4, 7, and 11, and really dampens those holes, literally and figuratively. It's not a good challenge but will make discs annoying to retrieve. I'm sure some people have not realized how thick the grass and weeds there are and how much water is there until their disc went in. In addition, the ground around those holes can be rather soggy.
Some of the long tees seem to have been added purely for added distance and don't make the hole any better; in fact, they sometimes make the holes a lot worse by reducing the amount of skill per shot involved. But given how hard it is to find the gold tees (I'm judging based on the map), I'll assume it won't affect much. I quite like where I think the gold tees are on some holes, as they make the easier holes a good bit harder (6, 8, 9, 11), but on other holes, it's just distance for no reason (3, 15, 18, probably some more).
The geese seem to enjoy the tee pads around the lake. Fishermen seem to enjoy the fairways of 14 and 15.
Other Thoughts:
Signage is obviously what this course needs, and then better maintenance on a few holes. I think the design is good enough to be an excellent course, but the amenities just aren't there right now. Adding signage would also be a good opportunity to reevaluate the gold tee pads, and hopefully move some around or eliminate some. Making those concrete would help my rating for this course as well.
Several holes play around roads or paths. It's not a problem because there's not much traffic, but it is slightly annoying sometimes. However, it does produce some opportunity for some interesting OB lines and possibly a few island greens.
Even though I'm not giving this course a very high rating, it's still a good place to come play and certainly challenges a variety of skill sets. And with the tee pad options, it is accessible for a lot of people. I look forward to coming back when improvements have been made so I can up my rating a notch or two.
Several holes play around roads or paths. It's not a problem because there's not much traffic, but it is slightly annoying sometimes. However, it does produce some opportunity for some interesting OB lines and possibly a few island greens.
Even though I'm not giving this course a very high rating, it's still a good place to come play and certainly challenges a variety of skill sets. And with the tee pad options, it is accessible for a lot of people. I look forward to coming back when improvements have been made so I can up my rating a notch or two.
