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Kutter Park DGC reviews
3
4
TooCloseToTell
Experience:
1 played
1 reviews
It Breaks My Heart to Say It… 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Apr 2, 2016
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
1. Some very creative and demanding holes that show a lot of love for challenge. I love the spirit and vibe of the intent for this course, especially the couple of shots that have 3 or 4 creek crossings along one single fairway. It's ingenious and diabolical.
2. Very inventive use of available space. The designers managed to capture the very best potential this land had to offer in every way.
3. Fun terrain changes abound here at Kutter Park. The topography of the park plays an excellent and integral role on at least 11 of the 18 holes.
4. Plenty of fun shots. At Kutter, it's not always about how far you threw... or how technical you were. It's a mixed bag of varied fun that can be enjoyed by players of many distance abilities and provides opportunities to 'do it your way'.
5. Several times where you get to enjoy a challenge or shot mix you don't get on many other courses.
2. Very inventive use of available space. The designers managed to capture the very best potential this land had to offer in every way.
3. Fun terrain changes abound here at Kutter Park. The topography of the park plays an excellent and integral role on at least 11 of the 18 holes.
4. Plenty of fun shots. At Kutter, it's not always about how far you threw... or how technical you were. It's a mixed bag of varied fun that can be enjoyed by players of many distance abilities and provides opportunities to 'do it your way'.
5. Several times where you get to enjoy a challenge or shot mix you don't get on many other courses.
Cons:
1. Public Safety (This is a big one):
There are times when holes are set up in a way where throws WILL end up in public use areas - such as playgrounds, picnic areas, roads and parking spaces. This is specifically notable on Hole 17, where any shot that goes high left or ricochets off a tree WILL be heading straight into a playground and shelter. This is a major safety concern and should never have been allowed. It is only a matter of time before there is an incident or injury. Holes 14 and 15 are such that it is also way too easy and common for fast driven discs to end up in the park's main road and some parking spaces.
2. Player Safety: Holes 9 through 14, in the open field at the north of the park, are fun... and the field has nice open visibility... but let's face it, we're all guilty of the occasional bad throw or having the wind get a hold of a shot and carry it where we never intended. These holes, while they do the best they can to allow this park of limited size to house an 18 hole course, are just too close together... and someone is going to get their head split open.
3. From yet another "Player Risk" perspective, this course is simply unsafe to navigate. Holes 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 16 constantly require players to traverse steep, slick, muddy slopes and try to figure out how to cross the steep, washed out banks of creeks. There are literally 16 times that you will have to cross a creek as part of a hole or on your way to the next hole - and only two of these currently have a functioning bridge to use. The rest of the time, you are left searching for what you hope is the safest place to try to leap for a fallen tree branch, crooked cinder block or old tire to "Frogger" your way across. The banks of the creeks are tall, steep, muddy and washed out, and, unless you are relatively nimble (which I thankfully am), you simply aren't going to be able to play some of these holes... might even have to give up on a disc that went across where you cannot. And there are many places, most notably on holes 4, 7 and 16, where trying to tackle the steep, muddy slopes of the fairway is just begging for a bad slip and fall, especially if it has rained in the last several days. I am surprised I've been able to avoid a twisted ankle or ruined pants.
ALSO: There are a lot of large, tall, dead trees along the course throughout 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, 17 and 18. While taking my putt on 4 the last time I played Kutter, a 20 foot long branch came falling out of the tree above the basket and slammed into the ground about 10' from the basket. It missed me by about 15'... but I could have easily been killed had I thrown and been walking away a few seconds earlier. And this could have happened at several places along the mentioned holes. These are called "hazard trees" by parks depts. and should be cut down around any area where people may be.
4. These plastic grate tee pads are awful. They have quickly become so messed up that it is both easier and safer to just throw from the grass next to them. They are unusable, way too short... and the size that has been allowed for possible concrete pads in the future is insufficient.
5. The biggest problem with the course at Kutter Park might be SUSTAINABILITY. When I talk, above, about the problems with treacherous slopes, challenging navigation and almost uncrossable creeks, keep in mind that this course is brand new. It is bad NOW. Along with disc golf comes trampling and erosion - it's a fact of the sport and it takes lots of hard work to keep many seasoned courses from becoming unplayable. I just don't see how this course is going to last - if it's this bad now, the constant foot-traffic is going to just amplify the existing problems and create an exponential erosion issue that will, in my opinion, be unmanageable within a couple of years. They have struggled to raise funds and find the time to build 2 and a half bridges in a year's time... but this course needs a minimum of 11 bridges, 4 permanent staircases and a lot of creative planting to even make it safe for players. How on earth will it work with a budget and time that won't see that accomplished for another 9 years or so? And even if all that were there now, I still think the course would suffer badly from erosion.
There are times when holes are set up in a way where throws WILL end up in public use areas - such as playgrounds, picnic areas, roads and parking spaces. This is specifically notable on Hole 17, where any shot that goes high left or ricochets off a tree WILL be heading straight into a playground and shelter. This is a major safety concern and should never have been allowed. It is only a matter of time before there is an incident or injury. Holes 14 and 15 are such that it is also way too easy and common for fast driven discs to end up in the park's main road and some parking spaces.
2. Player Safety: Holes 9 through 14, in the open field at the north of the park, are fun... and the field has nice open visibility... but let's face it, we're all guilty of the occasional bad throw or having the wind get a hold of a shot and carry it where we never intended. These holes, while they do the best they can to allow this park of limited size to house an 18 hole course, are just too close together... and someone is going to get their head split open.
3. From yet another "Player Risk" perspective, this course is simply unsafe to navigate. Holes 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 16 constantly require players to traverse steep, slick, muddy slopes and try to figure out how to cross the steep, washed out banks of creeks. There are literally 16 times that you will have to cross a creek as part of a hole or on your way to the next hole - and only two of these currently have a functioning bridge to use. The rest of the time, you are left searching for what you hope is the safest place to try to leap for a fallen tree branch, crooked cinder block or old tire to "Frogger" your way across. The banks of the creeks are tall, steep, muddy and washed out, and, unless you are relatively nimble (which I thankfully am), you simply aren't going to be able to play some of these holes... might even have to give up on a disc that went across where you cannot. And there are many places, most notably on holes 4, 7 and 16, where trying to tackle the steep, muddy slopes of the fairway is just begging for a bad slip and fall, especially if it has rained in the last several days. I am surprised I've been able to avoid a twisted ankle or ruined pants.
ALSO: There are a lot of large, tall, dead trees along the course throughout 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, 17 and 18. While taking my putt on 4 the last time I played Kutter, a 20 foot long branch came falling out of the tree above the basket and slammed into the ground about 10' from the basket. It missed me by about 15'... but I could have easily been killed had I thrown and been walking away a few seconds earlier. And this could have happened at several places along the mentioned holes. These are called "hazard trees" by parks depts. and should be cut down around any area where people may be.
4. These plastic grate tee pads are awful. They have quickly become so messed up that it is both easier and safer to just throw from the grass next to them. They are unusable, way too short... and the size that has been allowed for possible concrete pads in the future is insufficient.
5. The biggest problem with the course at Kutter Park might be SUSTAINABILITY. When I talk, above, about the problems with treacherous slopes, challenging navigation and almost uncrossable creeks, keep in mind that this course is brand new. It is bad NOW. Along with disc golf comes trampling and erosion - it's a fact of the sport and it takes lots of hard work to keep many seasoned courses from becoming unplayable. I just don't see how this course is going to last - if it's this bad now, the constant foot-traffic is going to just amplify the existing problems and create an exponential erosion issue that will, in my opinion, be unmanageable within a couple of years. They have struggled to raise funds and find the time to build 2 and a half bridges in a year's time... but this course needs a minimum of 11 bridges, 4 permanent staircases and a lot of creative planting to even make it safe for players. How on earth will it work with a budget and time that won't see that accomplished for another 9 years or so? And even if all that were there now, I still think the course would suffer badly from erosion.
Other Thoughts:
This review is very hard for me to publish. I personally know the great guys who designed and have done all of the hard, labor of love to make this course happen. And their hearts and spirit are so very much in the right place. The course is fun and unique and really makes me want to love it, but these problems... It's why it "breaks my heart".
I so wish that I could even begin to offer some suggestions for how the problems at Kutter Park DGC can be addressed. But I don't really have any. They've used all the room possible, and done so with amazing creativity and gumption. I would give some of the individual holes, by themselves, really high marks for being some of the most fun and challenging I've ever played - but for every positive, there's a negative which seems to outweigh it.
In the meantime, I will simply have to hope that I am wrong, that the course can be sustained... and that nobody gets hurt, players or public. I really want this course to work out.
I so wish that I could even begin to offer some suggestions for how the problems at Kutter Park DGC can be addressed. But I don't really have any. They've used all the room possible, and done so with amazing creativity and gumption. I would give some of the individual holes, by themselves, really high marks for being some of the most fun and challenging I've ever played - but for every positive, there's a negative which seems to outweigh it.
In the meantime, I will simply have to hope that I am wrong, that the course can be sustained... and that nobody gets hurt, players or public. I really want this course to work out.
