Pros:
+ The whole course is very well upkept and plays within a calm township park. During my session I felt like I could catch my breath here.
+ All holes have solid and sturdy slabs of poured concrete for tee pads. They are on the smaller side but functional nonetheless.
+ All holes have consistent and reliable metal tee signs with pars, distances and clear illustrations on all 18. Quite a few courses out there could learn something from Moore Twp.
+ While it isn't my preferred method, all but two baskets (baskets 3 and 4) have "next tee tape" noticeably wrapped around one of the basket's top spokes accurately pointing the way to the next hole.
+ The course is brief! Even with the time I took to snap a picture of each hole and write down my thoughts about each fairway, my "review round" of all eighteen holes was done in an hour. But...
Cons:
- ...This course is brief. Golfers expecting a meatier challenge will feel dissatisfied here.
- There is no practice pin or lost disc box. The latter isn't so much of an issue because of the shorter distances and lack of pervasive undergrowth.
- Some of the fairways get really close to each other. The first four holes especially run the (slight) risk of hitting another player during a tournament or on an otherwise crowded day.
- Be aware of the many walking paths that criss-cross the course as well.
- A few of the tee signs display blatantly incorrect pars. The funniest example is hole 18 with its 690-foot par three! Considering how short the rest of the course is, this is a very strange thing to see.
Other Thoughts:
My favorite hole to look at here was hole 9. After a parade of mostly open holes with a peppering of trees from 1 to 8, it was gratifying to see not only a woodsy tunnel but a pin surrounded by two branches of the same peaceful stream. That's when the course started to come alive for me.
My favorite hole to play was hole 12 because it features the course's most constricting tunnel. In a mostly open course like this, it was a welcomed hole to play.
My least favorite hole was 18 because it was the plainest with the fewest obstacles and least interesting to play, despite it being the longest on the whole course.
And that brings me to this review's first major point. It is a short course. Fourteen of the holes are 300 feet or shorter, and six of those are even shorter than 200 feet. It makes for some very interesting ace runs are birdie looks, but the challenge seems to take a back seat here.
I'm not saying that's a bad thing: quite the opposite, in fact. Let me say this right now. Moore Township DGC is by no means a bad course. It does absolutely nothing wrong. The tee pads, while a bit short for my long legs, are pristine. The tee signs are consistent- even if some of their pars are incorrect. The baskets are undamaged and catch well. The grounds are remarkably well maintained. The scenery is calm and relaxing.
But nothing excites the player. It is lovely to look at but not very challenging. For a beginner's course, this is the perfect place because Moore introduces the player to trees and tunnels without throwing a forest at them. It introduces the new golfer to water features without costing them their discs. And it exposes beginners to elevation without sending them to a mountainside. The occasional crazy distance like at holes 13 and 18 seem out of place at a course like this, but they aren't deal breakers and give the new player something to strive for.
If it were earlier in my disc golf journey, I could see myself liking this course more than I do, so I acknowledge how that negatively skews my opinion. However, I know a good course when I play one, and Moore is a good course. It doesn't have the distance or iconic features that some other courses have, but if every course were tough, then there would be far fewer people enjoying our sport.
Bottom lines: It's probably best enjoyed with other people. You and your friends and/or family will have a good time here not worrying so much about the par but about the journey. The course's brevity encourages multiple playthroughs and accelerates confidence in beginners. The aim is not to dominate the course but to coexist with it. Solo and/or serious players might feel underwhelmed or disappointed. Just remember that it's not trying to be a firing range. So, don't treat it like one, and you'll have a good time with Moore Township DGC. Overall recommended.