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BASICS:
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>Teepads--Concrete, new for this season, great condition, decent length as well. About half the holes do have shorter teepads as well, I hesitate to call them am pads, maybe blue and gold pads is the best description. DGCR says they are the 'red' and 'blue' teepads. Hah. Don't believe it. None of the shorter pads have tee signs, you almost have to play the course once and look around to see some of them.
>Wooded/open--most holes are fairly open, though trees come into play on many holes. New holes 5 and 6 are very wooded, but offer fair lines. A couple holes have small gaps to hit, but for the most part, one's challenge on every hole is dealing with the large elevation changes.
>Baskets--New red chainstars
># holes--18
>Setting, type of course, fee?--Kensington Park, fee to enter park, a separate fee to play disc golf. But worth every penny. In addition to Toboggan, there are two other 18 hole courses (significantly more wooded), a ball golf course, a very large lake with boating, rentals, fishing, a large splash park, swimming beaches, and riverboat style tours of the lake. There is also biking, camping, hiking, tobogganing, ice skating, and cross country skiing in the winter, picnicking, playgrounds, ball fields, birding, a farm center, and a nature center. All in one park.
>Elevation--This isn't a course in the Rocky Mountains, where there are certainly holes with far larger elevation changes. But every single hole here does have significant elevation changes. You will throw epic downhill shots and uphill shots that make you say: "Is that all the farther I went, seriously?"
>Distance of holes--No gimmes here. Every birdie is VERY well earned. From the long tees, holes range from a severe uphill 315' to the new hole 15 at 960'. There are NO par 5's. But there are nine par 4's. Total distance from the long pads is 10,100 or so feet.
>Ease of getting to--Very easy, just a few minutes off I-96.
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AMENITIES:
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>Parking--This can get tight when busy. I have never played on a weekend, but have heard stories. I have never seen the course overly busy the six times I have played, but those were all week days. Get there early if you play on the weekend, since the course is only open about 2 months each year, weekends get super busy from what I have heard.
>Bathrooms--A nice permanent one by hole 1/18, and also a port-a-john on hole 13. Great feature.
>Water/food nearby--Water fountain (didn't try) and soda machine by hole 1 bathroom. Else, plenty of food within 5 minutes of the park.
>Clubhouse/disc shop--No, but a small selection of discs at a nearby deli.
>Benches--Yes, on most holes
>Trash cans--Yes, not every hole, but enough, as I recall.
>Bag holders--No.
>Tee signs--Surprisingly, no, and that is one big negative. Since it is a temp course,
>Next tee direction/signs--No, but many holes have well-worn trails leading to next teepad, but a map is HIGHLY recommended.
>Wheelchair/cart friendly--No, and no, mostly because pulling a cart up so many big hills is probably more tiring than using a bag. But terrain-wise, yes mostly friendly for carts.
COURSE PLAY:
>Shot variety--Most drives are candidly more concerned with playing the elevation change than huge turns or hyzers. There are a few holes where there is significant shot-shaping in addition to the elevation (like 1, 6, 8, 11, 13, and 18). One notable shot type missing is rollers from the teepad--cannot see many roller plays.
>Layout, long walks (inc back to car), loops--One very long loop, no real opportunity to 'just play 9' without significant backtracking. No long walks between holes though, just a very long course overall.
>Total distance walked--Average over 3 rounds last week there was 3.65 miles. With the hills involved, and the inevitable searching for discs in the impenetrable rough, this course will WEAR. YOU. OUT.
>Ease of finding next tee--You definitely should get a map.
>General difficulty--The long tees (only ones I have played) are a top level professional layout, meant to challenge even 1050 rated players. No hole is easy. Pars are good on every hole. Best advice is to STAY IN THE FAIRWAYS. Hacking through the rough in 90 degree skeeter weather is no fun. I'll trade a few extra strokes to not play hide and seek out there. Always seem to anyway...
>Mud/water issues--These seem minimal, but never played after heavy rains.
>Water or O/B to contend with--No water comes into play at all, but if playing the DGLO layout, there is O/B on mostly the downhill bomber holes like 1, 3, 17. For most of the rest of the course, the rough is the O/B. If you land in it, you wish you could have just taken an O/B stroke. Because...
>Difficult rough/lost disc risk--Extreme. This is quite literally the worst rough I have seen in my life. It can be very thorny as well as being incredibly thick. One round, my son's approach shot on hole 8 went just past the green. Just barely slid off from what we could see. We spent 15 minutes looking before we found it--9 inches off the green, right in the general area we thought it had to be too. And if you go high and right on hole 3, just consider that a donation to nature. It's gone. Nearly every hole has this impervious rough. If you play aggressive, you will very likely lose some plastic.
>Scrape/scratch risk--Very high, mostly from looking for errant throws.
>How busy was course/park--Not very on the weekdays I have played, but word on the street is it gets super busy on weekends.
OVERALL:
>Fun/enjoyment factor, would I play again? As long as my body can take it. Top 5 personal favorite.
>Who will this course challenge? Every person in the world not named McBeth.
>Is it worth a drive? It is worth a trans-oceanic flight.
>Anything unique? The elevation. Many signature epic holes that the elevation creates.
>Would be a half star higher with--Tee signs, being open more than 8 weeks, and some trimming back of at least some of the rough. If not for the elevation, these cons would likely render this a 4.0 course, but the elevation really does add a LOT to this course.
I am in my 50s, 100 or so courses played, 875ish.