Holyoke, MA

HCC DGC

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2.455(based on 10 reviews)
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3 0
Claytone
Experience: 6.4 years 174 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Course Change 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 26, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- The new 4 is the old 6, flip-flopped tee and basket, without the rash causing Virginia-creeper growing around the basket
- The new 5 across the main entrance from new 4 is short but not without some challenge.
- Added more open fairway holes as 7, 8, & 9. Seven is half of the old 4 but we teed off from the side-walk up hill of the number 3 basket. Most experienced players will feel cheated with anything less than an ace. We teed off by the ball field back-stop to give number 8 some distance and challenge of playing under or around a tree. The 9 tee is painted on the sidewalk above 8's basket. It's a long drive across the outfield of the ball field to reach the shaded basket on the other side.
- No more worrying about miss-stepping of the mini cliff on the left side of old number 8 fairway. It seemed my sub conscious always directed my disk off that side.

Cons:

- Now if the ball field is in use number 9 is not playable and 7 & 8 would be risky at best.
- I'm not sure I like the concept of 4 shooting toward the main drive way.
- It's a fair hike from the new 9 basket across a parking lot past 1 to resume play at 10.
- There is more potential to disrupt other patrons of the campus and vise versa.

Other Thoughts:

The objective of this post was to document the change in the course. I found the following web site that helped explain why the changes, sounded like discord with the neighbors along old number 7, hccdiscgolf.karenandjay.com. They have a map of the new layout there. It was found at the PDGA site. The link listed as HCC home page has the new map.
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3 0
eakman5
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
2.50 star(s)

HCC 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 25, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Fun course with some terrain challenges. Innova baskets in excellent shape. Approach shots open for some good shot sites. The price is right. (No charge)

Cons:

Some of the woodsy fairways are growing in after the very rainy season. Some of the tee boxes are not easily located. Needs better markings.

Other Thoughts:

Saw no other players in the middle of the day. Overall, a fun course. Best part? It's free.
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4 1
obiwanjacobi
Experience: 15.4 years 53 played 4 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 6, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

•The baskets are innova DiscCatchers. They work well.
•The land is pretty interesting. I played when nobody else was around, just a few joggers. It is set in a valley, there were military fighter jets flying overhead so that was pretty cool

•Good parking (park at lot O, right side when entering near large athletic building)
•Good use of elevation. Not really many flat holes, no long uphill holes.

Cons:

•Few teepads, a numbered stone marks each tee location which can be hard to find
•Navigation. Use the course map found on this page
•A lot of the wooded holes had not much of a fairway. This is an issue to me, I'm thinking particularly about hole 7. There's just no line at all. The width of the "fairway" is probably 20' and it has an chicane within 60' of the tee. Poor design. I appreciate using the woods but cutting down a few select small trees would really change the rating.

•Holes 16,17,18 were very rough, treacherous off the fairway.

Other Thoughts:

I would play again once or twice. 2.0 rating = Reasonable, which I think is fair to give because given the space they worked with it's a reasonable course.
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4 0
Foreman2317
Experience: 12.6 years 5 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 17, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Free to play
Lawns (usually) cut
Not heavily trafficked
Fairly easy, once you play it
Lots of high risk putts
Good mix of open/wooded

Cons:

Limited to no signage (wouldn't have had a clue where 13 was on my first time playing without watching the youtube video)
Dense leaves on holes 7 and 14-18

Other Thoughts:

Definitely the better of the two 18 hole courses in the area. It's always in much better shape than the Northampton course and you (rarely) have to deal with dogs. Pretty good course for being on a college campus.

Hole 2 can be a pretty big challenge as it's up on a hill where the whips through and if your disc goes into a roll, there's a good chance you're going to land on the track forcing you to walk a long way to go get it.

A lot of the holes are fairly easy, especially once you play the course a few times, but their difficulty level is increased due to the fact that there are a lot of situations where a missed putt will roll down a hill. Wind is also a big challenge on the front 5 as you are out in the of the campus
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4 0
nfraz
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Mediocre 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 26, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Some interesting lines and longer holes
Good parking
Average signage
Average baskets
Free

Cons:

Not well kept
Holes 1 and 2 have a cliff in play that will lead you to having to walk way around a fence to get to your disc
Steep slopes in woods with poor signage
Hole 7 has no fairway
Some DUMB holes
So much road crossing

Other Thoughts:

This course is pretty mediocre, some holes have no line, a lot have roads in play. Overall this course is strange vibes, walking around the edges of the community college playing holes that are randomly stuffed into minimal space. Hole 11 I believe is off a cliff, really cool hole, almost enough to make the round enjoyable if you throw a bunch of plastic trying to figure out the right angle.
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4 0
Hector Chain
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.4 years 222 played 191 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 5, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

There is a pretty good mix of open vs wooded holes here, and elevation comes into play on nearly every hole. The early holes are mostly open, playing around the hilly, grassy area near the college entrance. Later they transition to wooded holes as you wind your way around the back parking lots.

Hole 11 is the best, a cliff shot through the woods to the fairway below.

The wooded holes were thankfully not overgrown, and I didn't have trouble finding my disc. A few of the more open holes do have thick undergrowth off to the sides (#1 being the best example with thick weeds just feet from the basket). The yellow Disccatchers are pretty visible on most holes.

Cons:

The tees on the front half are all natural and none are in good shape. The tees are tough to find, and without the map you stand very little chance of finding your way around, even with the next tee signs on most holes.

Mostly, the holes here just aren't that memorable. Few are bad holes, but not many are really fun. Even hole 11 with its great drive has the basket tucked behind a jail of trees, virtually ruling out any ace possibilities. Hole 2 has road to the left and the sunken running track to the right. I turned over into the track and had to backtrack a long way to get to the entrance. A lot of the early holes have the potential to throw onto roads or sidewalks. It was 4th of July weekend when I played so there weren't a lot of people around, but these holes might be dicey when classes are in session.

Other Thoughts:

The property has some potential with all the elevation, but the entire place feels neglected. The parking lots are full of weeds and cracked pavement. The walk to 11's tee and 14's tee took you through some desolate lots. And the natural tee pads are annoying. All in all, it was just an okay course.
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2 1
sasscers7
Experience: 16.4 years 57 played 17 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Difficult to Navigate 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 15, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fun, challenging holes with lots of trees and good use of elevation.
Most baskets were within my 300' range, but I scored only a couple of deuces due to the narrow corridors between trees.

Cons:

Navigation would have been impossible without my iPhone and the uDisc app with GPS and course map--then my battery ran down, since I was using it so much. The tee boxes do not have vertical markers, typically just small bricks laying flat on the ground with the number on them...have to be right on top of the tees to see them most of the time.
Several of the fairways cross roads or paths--fortunately the vehicular and pedestrian traffic was not heavy.
Several fairways go through hilly woods with very rocky surface covered with leaves...requires quite a bit of agility and still exposes the average walker to potentially hard falls and possible twisted ankles.

Other Thoughts:

Now that I know my way through the course I would play it again, but only on warm, dry days to avoid slipping on the rocks.
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5 0
gabereif
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.6 years 59 played 39 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great start, weak finish 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 19, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-18 holes in an area without much disc golf around
-Free
-Easy parking
-Hole 11 is awesome. You throw off a giant ledge. I felt compelled to empty my bag on such an awesome shot.
-The course is well maintained. It's easy to find poorly thrown discs and there's hardly any poison ivy on the course.
-Lots of the holes are challenging and fair (1, 3, 4, 10, and 11 in particular).
-Very close to I-91
-Lots of the holes are well-designed and fun to play.
-The baskets are old, but they catch just fine.

Cons:

-There are a few crumby holes on this course. The first 11 are great (except for 7), but things go downhill after that. 7 does not have a fairway. 14, 16, and 17 don't have real fairways either. And 12, 13 and 18 are just so-so.
-Navigation isn't great. You need a map. There are some signs, which are somewhat helpful, but you need a map to find your way around. Adding signs at the tees would make them easier to find.

Other Thoughts:

The front 9 were tweaked in 2019. The modifications have very little affect on the quality of the course. Here are updated video links to the front and back 9:

Front: https://www.youtube.com/watch...l=JayDucharme

Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch...l=JayDucharme

After the first 11 holes, I was loving this course. If all 18 holes had been of this caliber, I'd give the course a 4 rating. But the last 7 holes left me with a bad taste in my mouth. If all 18 holes had been of this caliber, I'd have given it a 2 rating. Nevertheless, this is a great community resource for those of us in Western MA. I'm glad I played the course and I'll take the 30 minute drive again. It's a nice change of pace from Amherst and Northampton, which get tough to play in the summer due to aggressive thorns, poison ivy, and grasses.
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5 0
TBabb
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 19.3 years 65 played 56 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Good pit-stop on 91 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 30, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course plays around the Holyoke Community College Campus. There are eighteen challenging holes here. All baskets and tees are numbered. Baskets are also in great condition. Next tee signage helped to facilitate course navigation a bit. The course seems to be well maintained and litter is few and far between. Foliage can get rough in the woods but the lawn holes are very well groomed. I would imagine that one could use restrooms and/or running water in the CC buildings provided that they are open, but I didn't have the need to go inside. Elevation is used and optimized on just about every hole here. There are sharp elevation changes and many baskets are placed on steep slopes that can easily add a few strokes to your round if your putt doesn't rest in the chains or flat on the ground. Other challenges are presented by mature trees, tight shots through the woods, well protected baskets, and OB, provided you choose to play roads and parking lots OB. There's a nice mix of open shots and wooded shots, as well as a variety of distances; though the course is a little shorter than average. The course also demands a variety of different curves as well. Hole 11 is the highlight here as it throws off a cliff through the woods. It's probably one of my top five holes in the game; and I've played over 40 courses. There is plenty of parking here, though it could be tougher when classes are in session. The course is also a very convenient stop off of I-91 making it a great road trip stop. The locals who I ran into were helpful in aiding me navigate the course on my first time.

Cons:

I wish there were rubber tee pads on every hole here. I mostly only saw them on the back 9. The layout is a little wonky; the course takes you in a big loop and it's often tough to find the next tee. Bringing a map is highly recommended. The map however, is not the easiest to read. I could imagine some holes may be perilous or unplayable when classes are in session. Some holes throw over the road, park benches, or parking lots, which could pose safety concerns for motorists and pedestrians. It's probably best to try to play during evenings or weekends to minimize the amount of interference you could receive from pedestrians and motorists. It could also be pretty easy to lose a disc in the woods.

Other Thoughts:

Keep in mind that the topography here is pretty challenging. Close toed shoes are highly recommended and it's easy to lose your footing on the steep slopes. I played here the Friday before Labor Day weekend so I had no problem with lots of campus traffic, but I could imagine it could be tough to play here during classes. Take care for pedestrians and motorists and watch out for the roll-away putts and you'll likely have a nice time on this course.
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8 0
Jbb817
Experience: 13.7 years 30 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 20, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Has a lot of tight woods shots to focus on technique and accuracy. The course goes from pretty open shots in the front 9 to being in the woods in the back which gives a nice balance and gradual ramp up in difficulty of shots. Since it's on the HCC campus there isn't any trouble with overgrowth taking over the course (except maybe the tall grass by hole one). Hole 1 plays great for flicks or turnover shots and is a nice start to the course. The next few are open shots with a couple trees in the way but nothing incredibly hard. Once you get to 7 though the course decides it wants to really punish you. If you miss your line in 7/8 you'll have some work to do which makes scoring well on them feel even more rewarding. Hole 11 is a nice little shot downhill straight towards the green.

UPDATE: Hole 12 and 13 have been changed. The new hole 12 is much fairer now. Playing up the hill then curving left instead of continuing straight up. Clearer fairway but still can get in trouble. Hole 13 is much easier since it no longer plays over the road/OB.

Cons:

Some parts in the woods are tricky to walk through with loose rocks and fallen trees. Hole 1 is right over a parking lot / footpath and sometimes it gets annoying waiting for people to walk past and clear out of the way. No really big long distance holes, even the open holes in the front 9 are rather short. Not a fan of hole 12, straight uphill with a huge pile of sticks and wood off to the left and if your disc ends up in there have fun getting it out / having a reasonable shot. Also, don't miss your putt on hole 17 unless you want to roll about 30 feet downhill.

Other Thoughts:

This is probably the course I'd call my home course and definitely the one I've played the most. There is a nice big field right next to the first hole where you can warm up with some drives. Since the course isn't really ever too crowded you can also get some warm up putts in on hole one since there is no practice basket.
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