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Tower Ridge Disc Golf reviews
16
0
Golf Course Conversions are Hard
Reviewed:
Played on:Oct 7, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
+ A lot of money has gone in here (great DisCatcher Pro baskets, three sets of excellent turf tees) complementing the old ball golf infrastructure: there'a pro shop, a co-located restaurant with a huge patio; they've added a pitch and putt "tiki course." They organize league nights and other events - they're really working to make this a disc golf destination
+ Lots of elevation changes with beautiful views. Long bombers downhill. Long throws uphill. A few holes with turns, but old fairways are so wide that you're not really playing doglegs
+ Even the white tees start off with some serious distance: 500' par 3, 600' par 4, 400' par 3; it settles down to the 300' par 3 range, until hole #7: 1175' par 5. The longest ones are helped with some downhill, but the course plays very long
+ Lots of elevation changes with beautiful views. Long bombers downhill. Long throws uphill. A few holes with turns, but old fairways are so wide that you're not really playing doglegs
+ Even the white tees start off with some serious distance: 500' par 3, 600' par 4, 400' par 3; it settles down to the 300' par 3 range, until hole #7: 1175' par 5. The longest ones are helped with some downhill, but the course plays very long
Cons:
- Signage was non-existent when I played in October 2022 (not even temporary paper signs). Given the high quality of the tee surfaces and baskets, I suspect really good signage is on the way
- The biggest drawback is the condition of the old golf fairways and bunkers. There's actually very little grass left. Overrun with weeds, the surface is rutted by erosion, there are lots of dry patches. Golf fairways lead pampered lives: constant campaigns of weed killer, seeding, rolling, irrigation, etc. And while you can't blame these guys for not having anywhere near the money necessary to keep up the grounds, the result is lumpy, weedy underfoot - and much less pleasant than playing a typical open public park course that can stand up to natural conditions and little more than routine mowing
- The biggest drawback is the condition of the old golf fairways and bunkers. There's actually very little grass left. Overrun with weeds, the surface is rutted by erosion, there are lots of dry patches. Golf fairways lead pampered lives: constant campaigns of weed killer, seeding, rolling, irrigation, etc. And while you can't blame these guys for not having anywhere near the money necessary to keep up the grounds, the result is lumpy, weedy underfoot - and much less pleasant than playing a typical open public park course that can stand up to natural conditions and little more than routine mowing
Other Thoughts:
~ Pay to play: $10 weekdays / $15 weekends. Whether you think it's worth it is up to you. Even though I didn't particularly like the course, I don't begrudge them trying to make a go of it
~ It's an old golf course full of open space. Sure, some of the baskets are placed in the trees bordering the old fairways - but you're never not aware that you're playing on an old golf course.
~ If you've got the arm to play 7600' white tees or 9418' blue tees, and you have no objection to paying greens fees or playing on wide open old golf courses, it's gonna be fine. It's a bit of a hike, takes a few hours, but there's a nice bar/restaurant on site when you're done. And with more time and more money, it may get better. But for right now, the amenities are better than the golf itself
~ It's an old golf course full of open space. Sure, some of the baskets are placed in the trees bordering the old fairways - but you're never not aware that you're playing on an old golf course.
~ If you've got the arm to play 7600' white tees or 9418' blue tees, and you have no objection to paying greens fees or playing on wide open old golf courses, it's gonna be fine. It's a bit of a hike, takes a few hours, but there's a nice bar/restaurant on site when you're done. And with more time and more money, it may get better. But for right now, the amenities are better than the golf itself
16
0
From the Rec Players Perspective
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Oct 6, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
UPDATE, July 27 2022:
Rating bumped a full star. The property looks great and it's amazing the progress that has been made in less than a year. Astroturf teepads are in place (3 tee boxes per hole). Signage is improved but still has a way to go, UDISC is accurate. The TIKI Course has been installed to the South of the Collective, an open fun short course that can be played quickly and expose new players to the game. I'll leave the original review un-edited below, though much is no longer relevant.
Let me preface this review by saying it's totally unfair to be reviewing this course before it's finished. This course has the potential to become a rare "Five Star" rating. I live within a 30-minute drive of this course and I plan on updating my review and rating as the course moves toward completion. This rating reflects my opinion as of my latest round and does not factor in "expected improvements".
I've been very impressed with how much this place has improved in just a few weeks. It's carved out of an old abandoned and seriously neglected ball golf course and it takes many manhours of hard work to get the course into playable shape.
-Terrific beauty of the location sandwiched between the west side of Talcott Mountain and the Farmington River. Especially in the autumn, the views are breathtaking. Love seeing the Heublein Tower looming over the property. Wildlife is abundant, recent bear sightings on the course and rumors of big cats coming out of the state park. I had a red-tail hawk enjoying the updrafts on the ridge while I played the back nine.
-Location near downtown Hartford and fairly easy to get to from just about anywhere in Connecticut
-Partnership with the Talcott Mountain Collective brings "country club" style amenities to the course, including fire pits, food & drink options and even locker rooms. I look forward to sitting out on the deck sometime soon with my family, enjoying a cold drink and a lobster roll, listening to live music, and trash talking about all the putts I almost made.
-DiscCatcher Pro baskets on every hole, catch well, well mounted. The greens are free of gimmicks, though some of the shorter holes have some trees to shape putt approaches. The par five basket is mounted on a tree stump to good effect. Gives you a "risk the birdie?" decision because a miss will be down the hill.
-There are multiple layouts to handle a wide variety of skill levels. The layouts line up with the PDGA course par guidelines pretty well (See: https://www.pdga.com/document...r-guidelines)
-I played the RED Layout only. There currently is one par five and no par fours on the 4,838' layout. Other layouts have more of a mix of par 4's and par 5's. There is potential for some layout revision to bring in many more risk/reward opportunities on the property.
-This course is unique for southern New England, very much an open "ball golf" style track. A nice compliment to all of the nearby "New England Woods Golf" courses in the area.
-This course is blessed with great elevation and takes advantage of it. Some big uphill shots, plus a few downhill bombs. Players better be in shape, especially on the back nine, you'll be getting your cardio workout. Think hiking boots and not flip-flops for this course.
-Terrific ownership that show a passion for the game and a vision for how to take it to the next level.
-Two basket putting green.
Rating bumped a full star. The property looks great and it's amazing the progress that has been made in less than a year. Astroturf teepads are in place (3 tee boxes per hole). Signage is improved but still has a way to go, UDISC is accurate. The TIKI Course has been installed to the South of the Collective, an open fun short course that can be played quickly and expose new players to the game. I'll leave the original review un-edited below, though much is no longer relevant.
Let me preface this review by saying it's totally unfair to be reviewing this course before it's finished. This course has the potential to become a rare "Five Star" rating. I live within a 30-minute drive of this course and I plan on updating my review and rating as the course moves toward completion. This rating reflects my opinion as of my latest round and does not factor in "expected improvements".
I've been very impressed with how much this place has improved in just a few weeks. It's carved out of an old abandoned and seriously neglected ball golf course and it takes many manhours of hard work to get the course into playable shape.
-Terrific beauty of the location sandwiched between the west side of Talcott Mountain and the Farmington River. Especially in the autumn, the views are breathtaking. Love seeing the Heublein Tower looming over the property. Wildlife is abundant, recent bear sightings on the course and rumors of big cats coming out of the state park. I had a red-tail hawk enjoying the updrafts on the ridge while I played the back nine.
-Location near downtown Hartford and fairly easy to get to from just about anywhere in Connecticut
-Partnership with the Talcott Mountain Collective brings "country club" style amenities to the course, including fire pits, food & drink options and even locker rooms. I look forward to sitting out on the deck sometime soon with my family, enjoying a cold drink and a lobster roll, listening to live music, and trash talking about all the putts I almost made.
-DiscCatcher Pro baskets on every hole, catch well, well mounted. The greens are free of gimmicks, though some of the shorter holes have some trees to shape putt approaches. The par five basket is mounted on a tree stump to good effect. Gives you a "risk the birdie?" decision because a miss will be down the hill.
-There are multiple layouts to handle a wide variety of skill levels. The layouts line up with the PDGA course par guidelines pretty well (See: https://www.pdga.com/document...r-guidelines)
-I played the RED Layout only. There currently is one par five and no par fours on the 4,838' layout. Other layouts have more of a mix of par 4's and par 5's. There is potential for some layout revision to bring in many more risk/reward opportunities on the property.
-This course is unique for southern New England, very much an open "ball golf" style track. A nice compliment to all of the nearby "New England Woods Golf" courses in the area.
-This course is blessed with great elevation and takes advantage of it. Some big uphill shots, plus a few downhill bombs. Players better be in shape, especially on the back nine, you'll be getting your cardio workout. Think hiking boots and not flip-flops for this course.
-Terrific ownership that show a passion for the game and a vision for how to take it to the next level.
-Two basket putting green.
Cons:
-At the moment, wayfaring and signage is non-existent. The layouts are up on UDISC, but even with the app I felt like I was Geocaching for the red tee markers. Dr. David himself came out to show me where one tee was that I had walked past. I understand this will be addressed very soon, but at the moment this is a pretty big knock on my rating. I suspect next time I play things will be much better.
-No tee boxes yet. There are a few places you can tee off from old cart paths, but for the moment you'll be teeing off in the grass... and from the red layout occasionally you'll have an uneven runup. Again, a pretty big knock on my course rating, but I know the installation of good tee boxes are a priority for the owners. I suspect complete installation of all tee boxes will need to wait until the design is closer to "final" layout. I'm not sure if Tower Ridge is planning on AstroTurf or brushed cement, but I know they are committed to going first-class.
-No benches or trashcans on course. Did I mention this course is brand new and in a "soft open" phase? Give 'em time, I'm sure they are coming.
-Some areas of the course are very wet. Waterproof boots are a good recommendation here. The Farmington River has been known to flood in the spring and the course might not be approachable from the north end of Nod Road in the spring freshet.
-There are two gun ranges within ear-shot of the course, including the State Police Firearms Training Center. I found after a few minutes I was "used" to the sounds and it didn't bother me. Both ranges are far enough down the street to not be a risk of ricochet or mis-fire. (NOTE that was not the case in one course I played near the MA/VT line, where a ricochet ripped through the leaves over my head!)
-For my skill level, the red layout didn't have the variety I'd like to see in a great course. I threw the same fairway driver on nearly every hole (my drives top out at about 200' on level ground), then was left with a 50' to 100' upshot and often a tap-in putt for par. Didn't stress over many bogies, but didn't have a lot of birdie opportunities either. There are some shorter holes that should have given me more birdie chances, though it seemed like there were low branches in the way (hole 16) or just an awkward line to the basket. I suspect this can be easily tweaked with minor tee adjustments or a little more work with a pole saw. For the red layout, I'd like to see some of the holes lengthened to par fours. This can add to those "risk - reward" shot selections that can make for a more compelling round.
-Many holes are "wide open" at the moment. Some of the old ball golf sand traps will become disc golf hazards and there may be some out of bounds lines drawn (or maybe a mando on hole 11?) that can add some challenge and variety to the course. For those of us used to "woods courses" wide open is great but the challenges have to come in more creative hazards, even in the mowing patterns. I'm confident that Tower Ridge will get there.
-No tee boxes yet. There are a few places you can tee off from old cart paths, but for the moment you'll be teeing off in the grass... and from the red layout occasionally you'll have an uneven runup. Again, a pretty big knock on my course rating, but I know the installation of good tee boxes are a priority for the owners. I suspect complete installation of all tee boxes will need to wait until the design is closer to "final" layout. I'm not sure if Tower Ridge is planning on AstroTurf or brushed cement, but I know they are committed to going first-class.
-No benches or trashcans on course. Did I mention this course is brand new and in a "soft open" phase? Give 'em time, I'm sure they are coming.
-Some areas of the course are very wet. Waterproof boots are a good recommendation here. The Farmington River has been known to flood in the spring and the course might not be approachable from the north end of Nod Road in the spring freshet.
-There are two gun ranges within ear-shot of the course, including the State Police Firearms Training Center. I found after a few minutes I was "used" to the sounds and it didn't bother me. Both ranges are far enough down the street to not be a risk of ricochet or mis-fire. (NOTE that was not the case in one course I played near the MA/VT line, where a ricochet ripped through the leaves over my head!)
-For my skill level, the red layout didn't have the variety I'd like to see in a great course. I threw the same fairway driver on nearly every hole (my drives top out at about 200' on level ground), then was left with a 50' to 100' upshot and often a tap-in putt for par. Didn't stress over many bogies, but didn't have a lot of birdie opportunities either. There are some shorter holes that should have given me more birdie chances, though it seemed like there were low branches in the way (hole 16) or just an awkward line to the basket. I suspect this can be easily tweaked with minor tee adjustments or a little more work with a pole saw. For the red layout, I'd like to see some of the holes lengthened to par fours. This can add to those "risk - reward" shot selections that can make for a more compelling round.
-Many holes are "wide open" at the moment. Some of the old ball golf sand traps will become disc golf hazards and there may be some out of bounds lines drawn (or maybe a mando on hole 11?) that can add some challenge and variety to the course. For those of us used to "woods courses" wide open is great but the challenges have to come in more creative hazards, even in the mowing patterns. I'm confident that Tower Ridge will get there.
Other Thoughts:
It feels unfair to give this course such a low rating when it's really a work in progress. I don't want to scare anyone off... please come and play this course during construction! It's a great value at the introductory $5 rate.
As improvements are made, I'll revise this review to reflect the current conditions.
I know first-hand how challenging it is to design a single course that can both be a challenge for 1050 rated touring pros and still not be too punishing for newbies and rec players. Tower Ridge is off to a good start with the current design. I'll be very interested to see how this evolves.
Tower Ridge has the potential to take disc golf in southern New England to a whole new level, an experience for disc golfers comparable to a good ball golf country club.
Last year a bunch of protest signs appeared throughout Simbury and Avon to "Save Nod Road". I'm thrilled that Disc Golf is part of that long term solution to find a balance between development and preserving green space for everyone to enjoy.
As improvements are made, I'll revise this review to reflect the current conditions.
I know first-hand how challenging it is to design a single course that can both be a challenge for 1050 rated touring pros and still not be too punishing for newbies and rec players. Tower Ridge is off to a good start with the current design. I'll be very interested to see how this evolves.
Tower Ridge has the potential to take disc golf in southern New England to a whole new level, an experience for disc golfers comparable to a good ball golf country club.
Last year a bunch of protest signs appeared throughout Simbury and Avon to "Save Nod Road". I'm thrilled that Disc Golf is part of that long term solution to find a balance between development and preserving green space for everyone to enjoy.
