Mountain Lake - Upper Course reviews
0
0
jordanferg92
Experience:
12.7 years
45 played
29 reviews
2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:May 17, 2012
Played the course:once
Pros:
Tees are distinct and visible
Plays fast
Variety of short holes and long holes
Requires player to be precise with their throws
Plays fast
Variety of short holes and long holes
Requires player to be precise with their throws
Cons:
Not well maintained
Not free
Fairways aren't cleared out well.
Not sure how you would find your way if you didn't have someone who had already played it before.
Not free
Fairways aren't cleared out well.
Not sure how you would find your way if you didn't have someone who had already played it before.
Other Thoughts:
This is a fun course. But it needs some work and TLC. If you are in the area it is definitely worth playing, however it's not worth taking a trip to just play this course.
2
0
2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Oct 3, 2011
Played the course:once
Pros:
Course has 9 holes with rubber tees and new Discatchers. I found alternate natural tees for holes 5-8, which provided a completely different angle to the basket. (Not sure if there are 9 alt. tees. They are harder to find and I only started to look for them once I stumbled across #5's.) The kiosk has a full color course map which you can print from this site. Each hole had a rock with hole # and basic hole shape drawn on it- not detailed, but it does emphasize the rocky terrain here. Navigation was easy and natural as the paths were worn in and lined with logs.
The variety here is pretty good for a 9-hole course. It is mostly in the woods, but there are varying degrees of tree density, and 1 tee shot out in the open. Elevation is not drastic, but there is enough to be a factor on a few holes. It requires straight, left, and right shaped shots off the tee and on approaches. There is a diverse variety of hole length as well ranging from 172' - 523'.
My favorite thing about this 9-hole course is that it plays through an isolated scenic section of rocky woods, what you would expect in the beautiful WV mountains- the kind of land you often find hiking trails (of which there are some here as well), so be sure to wear solid footwear. The drive up to the course was spectacular. This course is also not too far from Virginia Tech.
The variety here is pretty good for a 9-hole course. It is mostly in the woods, but there are varying degrees of tree density, and 1 tee shot out in the open. Elevation is not drastic, but there is enough to be a factor on a few holes. It requires straight, left, and right shaped shots off the tee and on approaches. There is a diverse variety of hole length as well ranging from 172' - 523'.
My favorite thing about this 9-hole course is that it plays through an isolated scenic section of rocky woods, what you would expect in the beautiful WV mountains- the kind of land you often find hiking trails (of which there are some here as well), so be sure to wear solid footwear. The drive up to the course was spectacular. This course is also not too far from Virginia Tech.
Cons:
The biggest negative were the rubber tee pads that were very slick, and with a little rain and autumn leaves on them, they were almost impossible to throw from. The rocks with hole # are cool, but I prefer actual tee signs. Again, I was unaware of the alt. tees until #5 as they are unmarked and are more difficult to find- good for locals I guess, but not for visitors. Also be advised that discs are sometimes hard to find as they have lots of places to hide between the rocks and under the ferns and leaves that are everywhere.
The natural mountain lake is pretty cool, but it is not in play on the course, and, you don't even get any good views of it from the course.
It is $3/day to park, hike, disc golf, etc. which is a little much if all you are going to do is play 9 holes.
It is too bad that there aren't 9 more holes of this caliber to make this a full 18-holer. (The other 9-hole course on site is just a beginner pitch and putt course.) Concrete tees and more permanent and obvious alternate tees would be a substantial bonus.
The natural mountain lake is pretty cool, but it is not in play on the course, and, you don't even get any good views of it from the course.
It is $3/day to park, hike, disc golf, etc. which is a little much if all you are going to do is play 9 holes.
It is too bad that there aren't 9 more holes of this caliber to make this a full 18-holer. (The other 9-hole course on site is just a beginner pitch and putt course.) Concrete tees and more permanent and obvious alternate tees would be a substantial bonus.
Other Thoughts:
For me, this course was actually more challenging than it looked, I would enjoy playing here several times to try to improve my score. It is one of the better 9-hole courses you will find and worth a play if you are passing nearby. And it has the potential to be a fantastic course with some basic improvements.
To get to the parking area, pass all the buildings, pass the lake, and you will see an unmarked gravel lot on the right. This lot is for hikers and disc golfers.
Bonus (maybe?)- The movie Dirty Dancing was filmed at the lake and resort here. For all you fans out there (because I know so many of them will stumble upon this review), you can take a self-guided tour of the scene locations and the gift-shop has all the DD merchandise you could ever hope for! I was unaware of the "historical significance" of this place until we went in the hotel to use the restrooms and we saw all the memorabilia.
To get to the parking area, pass all the buildings, pass the lake, and you will see an unmarked gravel lot on the right. This lot is for hikers and disc golfers.
Bonus (maybe?)- The movie Dirty Dancing was filmed at the lake and resort here. For all you fans out there (because I know so many of them will stumble upon this review), you can take a self-guided tour of the scene locations and the gift-shop has all the DD merchandise you could ever hope for! I was unaware of the "historical significance" of this place until we went in the hotel to use the restrooms and we saw all the memorabilia.
6
0
Mountaintop Disc Golf 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Oct 1, 2011
Played the course:once
Pros:
Landscape and setting
Other Thoughts:
The disc golf course at Mountain Lake Conservancy is true mountaintop disc golf. To get there you go up, up, up; turn off the main highway and go up a gorgeous and winding mountain road for seven miles. Get to the beautiful Mountain Lake hotel, turn and leave the paved road and go up some more, until at a small gravel parking lot where some access roads and hiking trails all come together you find a sign for the disc golf course, well over 4,000 feet above sea level. So in terms of setting the mood, this course is great. Then in terms of setting itself, the course also stands apart compared to its Virginia peers. This is a rocky, undulating course playing through groves of large hardwoods and towering evergreens. Plus, considering how far off the beaten path it is, you'll probably have the course to yourself, so the serenity factor is as high as it gets. Taking it shot by shot though, it's still a nine hole course, only slightly longer than average, with sometimes challenging teepads, not a ton of variety from hole to hole, and, despite its idyllic location, no real views on the course itself.
Mountain Lake is a woods course, but the fairways are all completely reasonable. There is some call for your driver, with three par 4 holes, provided you can control that driver. Like many woods courses, Mountain Lake punishes mistakes, but rewards on target drives with a good look at par or birdie. As the course is truly set on the mountaintop itself, there are no big downhill chucks or uphill drives, but every hole features some bit of up and down. Most holes are straight or a long fade; there's no doglegs or hard curves to negotiate here. The rocky terrain and fallen trees do provide obstacles you may not find at many other courses, however. The course does feature a few truly memorable shots, down a slope into a grove of beautiful evergreens for instance.
While there is a great map on a signboard at the parking lot, the tees themselves only have rocks painted with the basket number and an arrow indicating the general direction. Thanks to yellow paint on the basket indicating the direction to the next tee, though, and obvious paths through the forest, finding your way around shouldn't be a problem. One potential negative is the teepads. The terrain is rough, and the rubber pads go a long ways toward smoothing out an area to throw from. But they're slick when wet or covered with leaves, slick enough to really affect your steps. Overall, the Mountain Lake Conservancy is a fantastic place to visit, and the course itself is worthy outing if you're in the area.
Mountain Lake is a woods course, but the fairways are all completely reasonable. There is some call for your driver, with three par 4 holes, provided you can control that driver. Like many woods courses, Mountain Lake punishes mistakes, but rewards on target drives with a good look at par or birdie. As the course is truly set on the mountaintop itself, there are no big downhill chucks or uphill drives, but every hole features some bit of up and down. Most holes are straight or a long fade; there's no doglegs or hard curves to negotiate here. The rocky terrain and fallen trees do provide obstacles you may not find at many other courses, however. The course does feature a few truly memorable shots, down a slope into a grove of beautiful evergreens for instance.
While there is a great map on a signboard at the parking lot, the tees themselves only have rocks painted with the basket number and an arrow indicating the general direction. Thanks to yellow paint on the basket indicating the direction to the next tee, though, and obvious paths through the forest, finding your way around shouldn't be a problem. One potential negative is the teepads. The terrain is rough, and the rubber pads go a long ways toward smoothing out an area to throw from. But they're slick when wet or covered with leaves, slick enough to really affect your steps. Overall, the Mountain Lake Conservancy is a fantastic place to visit, and the course itself is worthy outing if you're in the area.
3
0
sirFrolfAlot
Experience:
1 played
1 reviews
summit 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:May 5, 2011
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
starting from the beginning:
-parking lot is 10 feet from the first hole
-large detailed information board for all the holes at the start
-was the sole disc golfer each time i went (didn't even see walkers or bikers on the trails)
-at the beginning of hole three, in the large open field to the right is a 9-hole marked putting practice course that could double as a "miniature frolf" course
-course is ergonomically designed, travels in a circle, rarely has parallel fairways, no real chance of hitting someone
-as of early may 2011, nearly brand-new baskets
-bottom of basket has one of the metal rods painted yellow to point the direction to the next hole. great simple idea that i haven't seen on other courses
-short walk between most holes. i played this 9-hole three times faster than a typical 18 one time.
-truly a great variety of holes. 8 of the 9 are wooded, and i would say 4 of those 8 are "heavily" wooded. i found it rather necessary to use every throw in my arsenal for this course. some holes only have one way to the basket, some have multiple, but include more dense foliage inducing a risk/reward scenario. there is one typical tree-tunnel as well, which i don't get to see very much.
-(not DG-related) on top of a mountain, trails nearby that lead to lookout points. bear cliffs has a view at 4k' looking back to v tech. pretty cool place overall.
-parking lot is 10 feet from the first hole
-large detailed information board for all the holes at the start
-was the sole disc golfer each time i went (didn't even see walkers or bikers on the trails)
-at the beginning of hole three, in the large open field to the right is a 9-hole marked putting practice course that could double as a "miniature frolf" course
-course is ergonomically designed, travels in a circle, rarely has parallel fairways, no real chance of hitting someone
-as of early may 2011, nearly brand-new baskets
-bottom of basket has one of the metal rods painted yellow to point the direction to the next hole. great simple idea that i haven't seen on other courses
-short walk between most holes. i played this 9-hole three times faster than a typical 18 one time.
-truly a great variety of holes. 8 of the 9 are wooded, and i would say 4 of those 8 are "heavily" wooded. i found it rather necessary to use every throw in my arsenal for this course. some holes only have one way to the basket, some have multiple, but include more dense foliage inducing a risk/reward scenario. there is one typical tree-tunnel as well, which i don't get to see very much.
-(not DG-related) on top of a mountain, trails nearby that lead to lookout points. bear cliffs has a view at 4k' looking back to v tech. pretty cool place overall.
Cons:
-long drive, 25+ minutes from virginia tech. last 6 miles is straight uphill on switchback-ish roads (great views on the way up though)
-$3 donation box (if you're a runner, biker or hiker, you can turn this $3 into a nice long day though)
-$3 donation box (if you're a runner, biker or hiker, you can turn this $3 into a nice long day though)
Other Thoughts:
if you go to virginia tech, it's worth the drive to check out but only if you plan on playing the course two or three times while you're there. not a destination course, but a gem nonetheless.
6
0
wish you could see the lake from the course 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Nov 7, 2010
Played the course:once
Pros:
- Nice course map with all hole info behind first tee
- Rubber mats and nicely leveled
- fairly define fairways and paths for a woods course
- Discatcher in the woods always helps
- Fairly easy navigation with a painted rung that points to next tee area
- Good amount of parking for the course slash trail
- Practice 9 hole instep field course located in the field that the course plays around
- Loops back to the parking lot after 9
- Rubber mats and nicely leveled
- fairly define fairways and paths for a woods course
- Discatcher in the woods always helps
- Fairly easy navigation with a painted rung that points to next tee area
- Good amount of parking for the course slash trail
- Practice 9 hole instep field course located in the field that the course plays around
- Loops back to the parking lot after 9
Cons:
- Some long tee not that easy to spot
- No par or distance listed at the tees
- No take with maps/scorecards
- $3 fee for day parking
- Mats get icy
- No par or distance listed at the tees
- No take with maps/scorecards
- $3 fee for day parking
- Mats get icy
Other Thoughts:
I woke up early due to the time change and started on this course a little earlier than I would have liked so it was quite cold the morning I played, there was even snow on the ground. This didn't really effect the course to much I just played like crap.
Its a very scenic drive up the mountain, through the resort and past the lake to get to this course. There is a good amount of parking at the lot and I think depending on the season there is a place to pay a $3 parking fee. The first tee is just off to the right of the lot and the long tee is at the back corner. Take a good look at the map and distances as there are no take withs at this time and the info is not listed at the tee. The tees are nice sized rubber mats that are pretty well leveled. There are two sets of tees but some of the alt/longer tees can be hard to locate. I felt the fairways were indeed fair and pretty well defined. It was hard to tell exactly because of the snow on the ground but it seemed there was some effort made to line fairways and paths with downed trees to aid in navigation. The baskets were visible from some angle on almost holes and were numbered once you got there. There was a painted rung to point you in the direction of the next hole and the course ends up bring you full circle back to the parking lot. There were no benches, trash cans, or bathrooms located near the course that I remember, but the resort is just a mile down the road.
The course plays almost completely in the woods except for hole 3 that plays into the open then back into the woods, so more tight shots and accuracy then bombs here. It has a good mix of shots and hole distances and claims to be a par 30. Most of the alt tees even add a different angle to the hole so you can almost play it twice as 18. The course plays around the edge of a field and in the field is a 9 hole practice course with insteps. The tee for each is a larger numbered sign and the basket is located next to the smaller matching numbered sign. Thought about adding it but it doesn't look like it will be kept up with and it doesn't have any distance info.
I enjoyed this course, I just wish it was warmer so I could have thrown better. Supply some maps/scorecards or paint the distance on the rocks at the tees and this could get bumped up a little. Wish it had a view of the lake.
Its a very scenic drive up the mountain, through the resort and past the lake to get to this course. There is a good amount of parking at the lot and I think depending on the season there is a place to pay a $3 parking fee. The first tee is just off to the right of the lot and the long tee is at the back corner. Take a good look at the map and distances as there are no take withs at this time and the info is not listed at the tee. The tees are nice sized rubber mats that are pretty well leveled. There are two sets of tees but some of the alt/longer tees can be hard to locate. I felt the fairways were indeed fair and pretty well defined. It was hard to tell exactly because of the snow on the ground but it seemed there was some effort made to line fairways and paths with downed trees to aid in navigation. The baskets were visible from some angle on almost holes and were numbered once you got there. There was a painted rung to point you in the direction of the next hole and the course ends up bring you full circle back to the parking lot. There were no benches, trash cans, or bathrooms located near the course that I remember, but the resort is just a mile down the road.
The course plays almost completely in the woods except for hole 3 that plays into the open then back into the woods, so more tight shots and accuracy then bombs here. It has a good mix of shots and hole distances and claims to be a par 30. Most of the alt tees even add a different angle to the hole so you can almost play it twice as 18. The course plays around the edge of a field and in the field is a 9 hole practice course with insteps. The tee for each is a larger numbered sign and the basket is located next to the smaller matching numbered sign. Thought about adding it but it doesn't look like it will be kept up with and it doesn't have any distance info.
I enjoyed this course, I just wish it was warmer so I could have thrown better. Supply some maps/scorecards or paint the distance on the rocks at the tees and this could get bumped up a little. Wish it had a view of the lake.
