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Shorter University DGC reviews
17
0
On the Road to Extinction 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:May 7, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
A course with the potential to be beautiful and entertaining, but one that hasn't gotten the attention is needs.
-Amenities: Like every single pro I will list, it is only a half pro. Many holes here still have tee signs including maps. Some holes have aging carpet. 17 of the 18 Prodigy baskets are in very good shape.
-Natural Beauty: From (4) to (15), the course plays through lush woods and follows a river several times. It would be a lovely nature walk if it weren't for trash (see cons).
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Some of the holes still provide appropriate shaping challenges. (1) and (2), then (17)-(18), are solid holes that belong at any standard course. On the rest of the course, several holes are thought-provoking and fun. Several times there are short but steeply downhill putter runs requiring exquisite touch. (16) is a fun uphill to right pocket shot. I also liked (10), which is a RHBH hyzer that will have to spend some time over the river to get all the way to the basket. (18) is a cool multi-shot hole with a sharp right bend leading to a straight downhill approach - remarkably tricky. I think (3) and (12) are also reasonable holes with narrow but achievable straight lines setting up short, turning approaches. Were it not for maintenance issues, I think Shorter would score a 3.0 for a mix of run-of-the-mill and quirky holes, including a handful of short par-4s.
-Amenities: Like every single pro I will list, it is only a half pro. Many holes here still have tee signs including maps. Some holes have aging carpet. 17 of the 18 Prodigy baskets are in very good shape.
-Natural Beauty: From (4) to (15), the course plays through lush woods and follows a river several times. It would be a lovely nature walk if it weren't for trash (see cons).
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Some of the holes still provide appropriate shaping challenges. (1) and (2), then (17)-(18), are solid holes that belong at any standard course. On the rest of the course, several holes are thought-provoking and fun. Several times there are short but steeply downhill putter runs requiring exquisite touch. (16) is a fun uphill to right pocket shot. I also liked (10), which is a RHBH hyzer that will have to spend some time over the river to get all the way to the basket. (18) is a cool multi-shot hole with a sharp right bend leading to a straight downhill approach - remarkably tricky. I think (3) and (12) are also reasonable holes with narrow but achievable straight lines setting up short, turning approaches. Were it not for maintenance issues, I think Shorter would score a 3.0 for a mix of run-of-the-mill and quirky holes, including a handful of short par-4s.
Cons:
This course needs some serious TLC.
-Maintenance: Here's a short list of the many atrocious issues. 1) Pretty bad overgrowth through most of the course. Starting with (3), the fairways aren't trimmed. Some holes, like (10)-(11), were almost knee-high grass all the way. 2) Limbs down. This ranges from lots of little branches to entire trees blocking fairways on multiple occasions. 3) Encroaching trees. Many of the woods holes are growing in, and the lines are rapidly becoming unbelievable. Some of the transitions to next holes are prickly as well. 4) Trash. Ew. Lots of it, throughout the course. Not good stewardship of an otherwise beautiful property. 5) Amenities. Several tees are missing their signs. Several tees are also missing their tees, and the ones that remain are quickly biodegrading carpet.
-Tight Lines: Even disregarding the maintenance issues, some of the lines out here look to have always been too tight. Part of a course renewal effort would include taking down trees to widen the fairways a bit, especially for holes (6), (8), (9), (11), (13), and (15).
-Drainage: Some major issues. (11) was a swamp, but the entire (8)-(10) region was questionable when I visited.
-Transitions: Several long, unmarked transitions. They are mostly intuitive, following the walking trails, but nonetheless a bother, especially when maintenance isn't being kept up.
-Access: I'm not clear on who is or isn't allowed to visit campus. Right now, most guests aren't allowed on campus, but the gatehouse man let me in since I was by myself and staying outside (after taking my DL and plate numbers).
-Water Risk: Holes (7)-(10) all play right along a river, and with a course this tight anything can happen with a ricochet.
-Maintenance: Here's a short list of the many atrocious issues. 1) Pretty bad overgrowth through most of the course. Starting with (3), the fairways aren't trimmed. Some holes, like (10)-(11), were almost knee-high grass all the way. 2) Limbs down. This ranges from lots of little branches to entire trees blocking fairways on multiple occasions. 3) Encroaching trees. Many of the woods holes are growing in, and the lines are rapidly becoming unbelievable. Some of the transitions to next holes are prickly as well. 4) Trash. Ew. Lots of it, throughout the course. Not good stewardship of an otherwise beautiful property. 5) Amenities. Several tees are missing their signs. Several tees are also missing their tees, and the ones that remain are quickly biodegrading carpet.
-Tight Lines: Even disregarding the maintenance issues, some of the lines out here look to have always been too tight. Part of a course renewal effort would include taking down trees to widen the fairways a bit, especially for holes (6), (8), (9), (11), (13), and (15).
-Drainage: Some major issues. (11) was a swamp, but the entire (8)-(10) region was questionable when I visited.
-Transitions: Several long, unmarked transitions. They are mostly intuitive, following the walking trails, but nonetheless a bother, especially when maintenance isn't being kept up.
-Access: I'm not clear on who is or isn't allowed to visit campus. Right now, most guests aren't allowed on campus, but the gatehouse man let me in since I was by myself and staying outside (after taking my DL and plate numbers).
-Water Risk: Holes (7)-(10) all play right along a river, and with a course this tight anything can happen with a ricochet.
Other Thoughts:
The course at Shorter University is one of those that has potential to be Good but has severe maintenance issues, making it hard to rate. Further, even in peak condition it looks like some lines out here would cross the line of reasonable, more resembling a walking trail on some holes than a fairway. Still, it has a framework of variety with unique holes (I did rather love (18)), and there's hope for it if the grounds crew takes up its cause. Right now, though, it is a miserable slog to get through (4)-(15), and accordingly I've awarded it a Poor. PM me if conditions improve, and I will cheerfully up my rating to reflect the happy news.
