New Melle Lakes Course is built on land which was a former golf course. This aspect means it has a very polished appearance with a lot of scenic views and well maintained fairways and greens.

The course is laid out with two teepads for every hole: a long and short - which theoretically could be good (see Cons) and no less than 3 pin positions for every hole. Course offers 2 practice baskets and a practice teepad which is great for getting warmed up.

There's a lot of variety in shot selection. Significant effort was put into the design to incorporate the heavily wooded areas of the park into the course, while keeping some of the more scenic aspects of an open air golf course. Some of the highlights:

Hole 1 - both pads - is one of the more scenic holes in metro. A downhill drive with some early tree obstructions opens up to a wide open field with multiple pin positions. Pads play similarly.

Hole 3 Short- The first of three holes with water in play, the short pad offers three completely different water shots - putter, mid, and driver.

Hole 5 Short - brings into play the unique golf course landscape with large bunkers blocking some pin positions while other pins spots risk discs rolling away.

Hole 6 - Both Pads - Open air golf style shot from one hillside to another over a creek. With 300' of power, you should clear the creek from either pad easily. Lots of trees guarding the three pin positions. Long pin is positioned on the back-side of the hill and does risk roll offs.

Hole 7 - Short - Hole 7 is a heavily wooded hole with pin positions which range from putter to distance driver distances. The putter position is in Ace range - but good luck getting to the driver spots. The tree trunks are thick - making layups the smart option.

Hole 9 - Both Pads - a similar shot from either pad , albeit with added distance, this wooded hole will require a 300' or 350' shot through a lot of trees to reach it's back pin positions.

Hole 10 - Both pads - A fun short elevation hole with water in play behind two of the three positions.

Hole 12 - Short - Perhaps the most scenic hole on the course, hole 12 short offers an elevated view across a small lake with views of it's multiple pin positions. The elevated position and across-the-lake shot will help avoid the dreaded disc graveyard below. Trees will come into play on 2 of the three positions. Again, advanced players will throw putter, mid, or driver depending on the pin.

Hole 12 - Long - offers a flatter position closer to water level. Clear the bank (and trees) and fairway plays the water's edge. An errant turnover will put you in the water. You need a disc to flip flat and fade. Long position is a beast of a pro-level hole.

Hole 17 - Both pads - Like hole 5, this BIG downhill utilizes golf course bunkers. Positions 2-3 are the highlights with scenic views of the farm and creek down below. The course should END with this hole.

St. Charles Co. has opted for short / long pads on most of it's courses. While in some cases this works, it's not financially effective because most players just play the shorts. New Melle has quite a few examples of holes where alot of money went into pouring 2nd teepads and purchasing tee signs - that aren't being used. Very few players play the long pads at New Melle - and It's too bad, because in some cases, the long pads are better - and in some cases - the shorts are better.

Each course has some less than stellar pad positions -

Short pads on 2, 4, 13
Long pads on 3, 4, 5, 7, 14

In most cases, the short pads in these locations are too short... while the long pads add either a layup shot - or just aren't that interesting compared to the short pad they pair with. Hole 7 long could have been 2 really good wooded holes (eliminating 18).

Two holes really lack interest for me:

15 - wide open hole with super short position, middle position on top of rocks (i'm never a fan of this), and bomber spot. I'm sure other people really like this hole.

18 - This hole would be fine somewhere in the middle, but it's a big downer tacked on to the end of the course. Erosion is already such a problem there's wood and mulch holding in the hillside.

New Melle is a perfect example of where the 2 pad, 1 pin approach may not be the best method for course design. This is a case where a a 2 basket, 1 pad approach to design is a better approach to providing a pro / am blended course. Yes, more baskets are expensive - but in this case, cost couldn't have been that big of an issue given the land that was purchased and dedicated to this course.

Overall, it's a good course - long or short (most will play the shorts). Hopefully over time the kinks get ironed out.

The latest addition to St. Charles County Parks! St. Charles County is really pushing disc golf forward in and around the St. Louis area. This place had some excellent funding behind it and more amenities are seemingly being added to the park spring/summer 2020 from what I can tell driving into the park.

Alright, lets talk about the good stuff at this park/course:
1. Parking, seems obvious but some parks miss this. some courses have little parking near hole 1 (Jefferson Barracks) Some courses have parking nowhere close to hole 1 (Clinton Hills) At New Melle it's just right. Nice sized lot close to Hole 1 and the bathroom. check

2. Scenic. Sometimes courses carved into former ball golf courses fail miserably here. Most closed golf course are, lets face it, ugly. They're full of dead grass, no elevation, mud patches and crumbling infrastructure. If they were beautiful with varied terrain, water features, lovely forests and great paths/infrastructure; they probably wouldn't have closed. Not sure what closed this course (I'd guess location from metro area/economics) but disc golfers, walkers, runners, and anglers can now rejoice in it's beauty. Several lakes on the property really makes this park stand out.

Let's start talking about the course itself.

1. Course design from the red pads is excellent. Hole 1 is a show stopper on a nice summer day as are holes 4,5,9,12. See pictures for reference. Really cannot fault the design much here. As the course ages lines in the woods are opening, the rough is less rough and the course is getting better and better. An inside line has finally opened on hole 13 making a 2 possible with an air shot at B pin.
2. course flow/navigation. No problems there. super easy to get around the course.
3. Signage, really nice. there is no main map that I can see but each sign lays out where to go.
4. benches at each hole

I really like this course. It has elevation changes, water carries, a heavily wooded paradise for over 1/3% of the course (or nightmare for some) It's a sold course

There is a ton of excellent 4.5 rated hole design and course maintenance stuff happening on this course and it's a bummer that a couple things draw the rating back to a 4.

I think everyone that has played this course has their own opinion of Hole 18. I get why this hole is where is it. The designer(s) wanted to get you back to the lot after hole 17. What is Hole 18..well after you just played the entire course your final hole is an basket perched atop a mulchy hill with teepads that are uphill run-ups. There's already logs in place to slow erosion but they went ahead and put a hole here anyway. 400+power can get you to the B placement with a very technical low drive hyzer. 450+ and you may be able to get a skip shot over to C. 90% of players are taking a 3 here. it really stinks having to trudge down that hill and back up knowing that you are almost certainly taking a par on your last hole of the round. I'll address my idea for how to fix this in my Other Thoughts.

The other big negative is the Blue pads. I feel this course was designed from the red pads and after they had a solid design they figured how how to sandwich in another set of pads to have 2 pads. You see this at some courses in the area where it seems the blue pads are an afterthought. (Quail Ridge, Konarcik spring to mind) IMO it's better to have 1 excellent set of pads that splits the difference. thats why you have multiple pins. to add difficulty/variety.

The course is playable from the blue pads but it's taking a lot of pars without huge distance or laying up in the woods bc the added distance makes them tweener holes from the blue pads. Add a couple "impossible dog-leg" shots where it's not possible to get a disc in the air to the basket on a par 3 and you have a frustrating experience.

Prodigy baskets... ergh. nothing like trying to hit a putt at an elevated Prodigy cross chained basket. Spitsville.

This is one of my favorite course and can really become the Gem in St. Louis and St. Charles with just a couple updates.

Hole 18
The thing about Hole 18 is that it's not necessary. The course could and in the future should end on Hole 17. It's a better ending hole. Sadly this means you'll have to walk right past where 18 was to get to your car (which is why I'm guessing they stuck that hole in)

Anyway, There is room on another section of the course to make a more interesting hole. where?!? Hole 3 becomes hole 2b and 3. Let me explain.

Hole 2B - The blue pad for current Hole 3 is now the blue pad for new hole 2b. How many people play the Blues (not many, detailed above) of those, how many are attempting to get across the lake from the pad...maybe 5%. I have yet to see a player even make the short pin from the blue pad for an in the circle putt. If 1000+ rated players are laying up that tells you something. Take that and use it to the course's advantage. Here's how.

The red pad would be about 100 ft left of the blue pad when standing on the blue pad and about 50ft closer to the lake
Basket locations:
A. Center fairway about just over the crest. easy shot from both pads. I'd plant some dogwood trees in this fairway to add difficulty in the future
B. down at the lake edge dead straight 15ft from water edge
C. hzyer left and closer to the sidewalk and the bunching of trees in the corner of the lake leaving room for the basket to be at least 50ft from the sidewalk.

I would plant some shrub near the sidewalk to catch skipping discs

The short pad for hole 3 is the same and a new long pad can be placed about 30-50ft back and a little closer to the field forcing a challenging forehand or turnover with a much more substantial water carry. Then you just play the rest of the course and you don't even need to make new signs. This change would cost about $100 in concrete, a day of labor to dig holes for baskets and plant trees and tall grasses/mini clover near the waters edge to prevent a muddy green in the future

I would also add some natural grass OB down the fairway on Hole 14. Just don't mow a section and make it a prairie (like Dunegant or ICC). This would help with moisture control and force a more technical shot.

It may seem like a lot changing a hole and removing a hole but look at Quail Ridge right down the road. It is inevitable that erosion will eventually be the demise of hole 18. Let's make the adjustment now as I laid out or if anyone else has ideas I'm sure the parks would listen as long and you provide cost /time-frame / safety explanations.

Wonderful property for disc golf. A former golf course, the area is purely rolling, wooded hills with large lake and several smaller ponds. Elevation changes of 40ft and several water shots.
Great teepads
Lots of benches
Plenty of trash cans
Good signage
Mulched pathways and fairways
Pathed paths between some holes
Great course for a cart

Lots of ticks
Some not so fair fairways
Poison ivy

Interesting course design on an A+ piece of property. I think the short tees are extremely fun. The long tees are interesting. Needs some trees taken out to make true fairways. Hole 13... what?
Great effort...

_Orange Prodigy Baskets
_Nice informative tee signs
_Kiosk with aerial course map
_Directional signs all over the place!
_2 Huge, textured triangular tees on every hole with a red stained follow through area to prevent erosion
_36 wood benches
_Beautifully done rock work around multiple tee pads and baskets
_Multiple elevated baskets (con if you're not into this)
_Water in play on a few holes
_Beautiful park setting
_Championship* quality from the long tees
_Great use of elevation
_Mix of open and wooded holes
_Huge variety between shorts/long tees
_Multiple pin placements on every hole with a ton of variety
_Excellent flow with some nicely done trails in spots they are needed

_Some holes with small diameter trees directly in the middle of the fairway that create some randomness/luck well down the fairway
_13 and 16 are ehhhh as they stand from the longs
_Some of the Par 3s from the longs are sub 400 feet but have shot shapes that really play like short Par 4s (it was mostly short placements when I played, so this is context dependent

OK, so my overall thought on New Melle Lakes is it's far and away the best course in St. Charles County and the volunteers did some amazing work. I played the grand opening and was astonished at how "finished" this course was with the tees, benches, signs, mulch, trails, etc. It was seriously impressive. There are so many great holes and the fun factor is through the roof. Make no mistake, I LOVE IT. I also enjoy a good day of scrambling, and New Melle Lakes gives you that if you play the longs.

My reviews are always in the context of how a course plays in a competitive format. Because I like to compete, and I want this area to have a course that could host an NT/Major/DGPT even down the road. This means I'm a purist when it comes to reducing luck by way of distinct fairways. I love difficult. I especially love difficult in the woods, but I don't want the difficulty to come from randomness. For me, the only thing keeping this course from a 4.5-5 is the luck factor on a handful of holes/spots. It's a bit disappointing because the holes themselves - the shot shapes, and vision from the designer are excellent. It's just a few trees here and there, that IMO, obviously create randomness. As a general example, there are instances when a perfect shot shape has to be thrown through a beautifully tight tunnel through the woods and then 200-300 feet up the fairway, in that beautiful tunnel stands 1, or a few trees that simply cannot be accounted for off the tee. It's a matter of luck in spots, pure and simple.

Please don't misunderstand this review. I'm being extremely nitpicky because clean fairways are at the top of my review hierarchy. I realize that is not the same for everyone. In fact, every single person I have heard from while playing and after has had nothing but excellent things to say about it.

The course designers did say that the course is brand new and it needs some time to "break in" and I did get the feeling that they were open to some minor changes, but I was personally told by the main man that it would likely stay as is for at least a year, which is perfectly fine. "breaking in" is a term used when referring to underbrush and what not on a new course. Trees don't break in. They get cut down, or maybe die after a decade or so of getting hammered by discs (small ones). Because this course is soooooo close to elite, I really hope the chainsaw comes out. No disrespect to the trees of course. We all need firewood.