The course that grew on me

[Dave242]

Nope, not like a bad rash or a wart, but I am wondering if there are any stories out there of courses that grew on you? You know the ones that you did not care for the first 1-2 times through, but then it reeled you in like some addictive drug?

[CwAlbino]

Red Oak in Burnsville, MN (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=552&page=1&mode=rev#17417)

Tower Ridges -I (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1926)

The first day I played tower ridge 1 I felt like crap. We had just got done with a long drive and hadn't eaten yet. Then we go see the course that had no signage and was up/down constantly. We just felt like it was more work than was worth the long drive. We stayed the night in a hotel and went back the next day refreshed and well, it's one of my favorite courses now.

[tallpaul]

I'm having a hard time thinking of a course that meets the criteria specified thus far; but, I will say that there are a number of courses; and at the moment, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; are going to get the love; that after my initial trip there; I managed to get back a number of years later; and after playing it again; remembered all over again; why I loved it: Lemon Lake Red, http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=463, Valparasio http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1773, Sinnissippi http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1821, Rockford East http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=727, and Tower Ridge 1 http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1926; are recent plays that come to mind.

[Three Putt]

For me it is usually the other way around. After a few rounds the rose-colored glasses come off.

[Smelvis]

For me its Green Valley, CA http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=3667
My first play was awful. But as I got better I realized it was short but tough with a very cool final hole.

[tallpaul]

For me it is usually the other way around. After a few rounds the rose-colored glasses come off.
Although a wonderful person most of the time; threeputt; I sense sometimes that there is a grumpy man in there. lol

[solomon.trenton]

For me it is usually the other way around. After a few rounds the rose-colored glasses come off.

thats tully lake for me. its ok but i hate playing it sometimes because of how frustraing it can be

[tallpaul]

For me its Green Valley, CA http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=3667
My first play was awful. But as I got better I realized it was short but tough with a very cool final hole.

I have a local niner; that has some bad points; but I consider it tough to score on for some reason, and have tried to point this out in my review. For some reason, I get thumbs down on this review; and I think it's because of some of the bad issues....but the toughness, compared to many other little nines I've played; makes it a decent local course for me. It's not crazy tough or anything; but not bad, considering it's 10 minutes from home....and IMHO it's not a -9 waiting to happen; like many little niners.
In regards to the "one great hole" value, you ascribe to the final hole....I have no trouble giving a course, an extra .25 for a single, great hole.

[Jimb]

I've only played White Tail Woods in Carlisle, PA once. However, I think that it could fall into this category for me. I gave it a higher rating, 3.5, in my review than the average score for it of 3.

That doesn't mean that I liked the course, though. It kicked by butt all over the place and I really didn't enjoy it much at all. I don't really think that it was the courses' fault that I didn't have a very good time or enjoy it much. I think that it was the shortcomings of my own game.

I am defnitely planning on going back to play it again. Hopefully I'll have a more positive experience, based upon my own expectations and improving game. And if not, I'll just have to go play Messiah Village again to boost my ego.

[wolito]

Pueblo city park in Pueblo Colorado. At first I just didn't have a lot of love for it. Not quiet sure what it was, thought of it as average at that. However I have played nearly a hundred rounds on that course and have really grown to love it due to the unique variety of holes. Pins are frequently changed about that keep it interesting and challenging. Just doesn't seem to get old.

[optidiscic]

South Mountain in Bethlehem PA. It's about 2 miles from where I live and if I was disciplined enough I could play it everyday. It's a short technical course that when I first played it just seemed like a tree fest....I hated it but the more I play the more I enjoy it's little nuances. I have never broken par here despite it's relatively short length. Just full of tight lanes, rough terrain and playing across the sides of a mountain makes for such a fun round. The first time I played here my friend who had only ever played at Tinicum (infamously flat and grassy meadow course) was along and he wore moccasins. What a bitchfest..me hitting trees and him whining about his feet after all those rocks and boulders.

[Dave242]

I think almost any course can grow on you if you let your competitive juices begin to flow in your efforts to conquer the course. My example is the course closest to my home - Danny Cunniff Park (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1179)

It is 5 miles from my home and is not too far out of my way. When I first played it I rated it a 1.5 (as did 4 TRs). It is a 9-holer that is flat and short and has woodchips for tee pads. It does have some L-R variation and OB & rough challenge, is moderately pretty and well maintained.

I often go out there with 2 or 3 discs and try to shoot 6 or more down. Every holes is easily birdie-able (only hole 8 feels rewarding to hit - I'm a lefty)....but my consistency at this point in my life seems to only get me 3-5 down.

I get frustrated/obsessed (in a fun way) and find myself blasting through four fifteen minute rounds before having to tear myself away.

Now, if there were real courses 5, 10, 15 minutes away.....heck even within 45 minutes I would probably never go out there other than to play with my kids or to work on expansion plans for the course.

[Dave242]

Ha. Opti - your mission to conquer the course causing the a nearby & not-so-good course to grow on you is the same as mine. (I only saw your post only after posting mine - I got distracted while typing).

[biscoe]

buckhorn definitely grew on me- going from total hatred to now being my favorite of the raleigh area courses. this is partially due to the fact that the first time i played it it was super rough as well as the weather being dreadful.

[optidiscic]

Dave...I thought the same thing...It's 16 degrees snow covered and windy as hell here in Eastern PA and after reading/writing this I'm going to drive up the mountain and try to tame South Mountain right now. (already built in excuses ice, wind, cold) I think you'd like this course Dave...not on caliber with the World's courses from 2005 World's but it's the one that started the DG scene here in the Lehigh Valley...I am spoiled to live here!

[sloppydisc]

Fox Chase in Albemarle, NC. Played it once and had my backside handed to me. Couldn't consistently find the right lines to shoot. I thought it was tough enough to be almost unfair. Went back again, after some more experience, and actually played OK. There are some real tough holes, but now I wish that course was closer so I could play it all the time. It's got a little length, some elevation, lots of woods and a creek. what more could you ask for?

[mashnut]

I think almost any course can grow on you if you let your competitive juices begin to flow in your efforts to conquer the course. My example is the course closest to my home - Danny Cunniff Park (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1179)

It is 5 miles from my home and is not too far out of my way. When I first played it I rated it a 1.5 (as did 4 TRs). It is a 9-holer that is flat and short and has woodchips for tee pads. It does have some L-R variation and OB & rough challenge, is moderately pretty and well maintained.

I often go out there with 2 or 3 discs and try to shoot 6 or more down. Every holes is easily birdie-able (only hole 8 feels rewarding to hit - I'm a lefty)....but my consistency at this point in my life seems to only get me 3-5 down.

I get frustrated/obsessed (in a fun way) and find myself blasting through four fifteen minute rounds before having to tear myself away.

Now, if there were real courses 5, 10, 15 minutes away.....heck even within 45 minutes I would probably never go out there other than to play with my kids or to work on expansion plans for the course.

I have to agree with you on Danny Cunniff, it didn't stand out to me from all the other mediocre 9 holers around the area, but after going back to it and finding lots of places to screw up I started to have more fun trying to really get the hang of that course. Like you, I always seem to score worse than I think I should there, often I'm stuck at 2-3 under though at one time or another I've birdied every hole on the course.

[tamahawk]

Muldraugh DGC (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1589) for me.

The first time I played this course was only a couple months after I started playing disc golf. It is a short course, but technical from start to finish. After nine holes, I had enough and walked away, not a good experience.

Several baskets ended up being stolen the next year, and the course was closed for a long time. They re-opened the course about 6mo's ago, so I went back (now with some experience) and found it to quickly become one of my favorites in the area. Now I want to play this course all the time. You even get to throw under the road on the first hole, that's right, a mando through a small tunnel that goes underneath the road, very fun opening hole.

Here's a link to the photo for Hole#1 (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/view_image.php?p=course_pics/1589/804d49f8.jpg).

[jaymon1]

Tocabaga in St. Pete, FL. The first time I played finding my way between holes, especially on the first six, was EXTREMELY frustrating. The rough was completely unforgiving. And it was maybe the 10th or 12th course I ever played, so first my game lacked the same control I have now and second the course just seemed unreasonably tight. I stuck it out and finished the round, and the last hole especially redeemed the course a good bit, but still I thought the negatives way outweighed the positives of that place.

Well in the seven years since I've played this place once or twice a year, the signage directing you from one hole to the next is greatly improved, the rough is still a big factor but nowhere near what it was in the course's early days, and now I've played nearly 60 courses and Tocabaga stands out as one of the most distinctive. I just love the landscape and location and overall vibe of the place Finally, my game has a bit more touch now, and my view of unreasonably tight has changed a bit. It's my disc golf home away from home now, it totally grew on me.

[deBebbler]

My current local (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1749). It is so disagreeably flat, and I thought when I played it the earlier time I lived here, boring. I never am one to complain about unforgiving rough, for I believe the rough isn't "The Rough" unless it is unforgiving, but I'm sure subconciously I was kicking up a storm about the rough here.

After I moved back, it has served me well many ways (especially when time is tight and I need access to a shortened course, I have many options.) As I have learned the history of how it was installed, I commend the designer for wise use of minimal elevation, as well as shot diversity and overall visual appeal. I also like how the slick double-backs the course takes allows me to bump into friends I would normally only get to see in the parking lot on other courses.

Although I know every inch of that course, I now look forward to rounds there, but I still dig a hill.

[dreadlock86]

for me, it is steeplechase (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1871). i hated how the course followed the creek when i first played there; i was a noob and couldn't appreciate the challenge. now i love playing that course. i just wish the poison ivy weren't so bad.

greenbelt (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=150) in DFW is another one. i can't say that i love it but i do like it much better now than the first time i played it.

[NothinButChing]

for me its the Taylorsville dg course

[tstack10]

Mine university of Utah now in the 12 Pac!!!!

[Hole In Four]

Art Dye in American Fork, Utah. This course was so challenging for me at first. I never wanted to play it. But last year I moved five minutes away from the course, and now I absolutely love it. It is still challenging to me, but it makes me play different shots, and it makes me improve my game without adding to my bag (maybe that's why I still can't finish under par...) And NothinButChing, what made you love Taylorsville? Maybe I haven't played it enough, but it's still not on my top courses list.

[Mando]

There is an unlisted private in the NC mountains called Blackjack.
When it first opened in 2008, it was like playing DG on the Appalachian Trail without cutting any trees. Up and down thru the woods with multiple narrow routes. It is still very strenous, but enough of the understory has been taken out to make it much fairer.
I used to have a love/hate relationship with it, but now it's in in my top three ! I agree with Chuck in that most courses lose their luster the more you play them, but not this one. Getting better with age.

[sloppydisc]

Sounds like I need to make time for a roadtrip back to Sugaree. Maybe I could accidentally stumble upon this mysterious Blackjack. Coming from Mando it must be good.

Probably the course that has grown on me the most is Valley Springs in Durham, NC. When played from the long tees it can be brutal and unforgiving. It is much less challenging from the shorts. The first few times I played there I vowed never to go back. Now I go bakc to work on certain shots and play 2 rounds. One round from the shorts and one from the longs is a pretty good day. I get to use a ton of different shots and I nver leave feeling like I am all that.

[Terry C]

Theres a 9 hole course near me. When I first played it I thought it was pretty lame. But my score kept going down and down, now I usually end up like -4 to -6 on it. Not a bad score for 9 holes. Its almost like a mental game for me now (how far below par can I get), Im trying for -9 because I have deuced every hole there many times over. As lame as it is I love that little DG park.

Spring Park - 9 holes (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2982)

[Mando]

Maybe I could accidentally stumble upon this mysterious Blackjack.
Good choice of words. Judging by the photos, Blackjack is a shorter version of Orange Crush in WV.

[wolito]

Theres a 9 hole course near me. When I first played it I thought it was pretty lame. But my score kept going down and down, now I usually end up like -4 to -6 on it. Not a bad score for 9 holes. Its almost like a mental game for me now (how far below par can I get), Im trying for -9 because I have deuced every hole there many times over. As lame as it is I love that little DG park.

Spring Park - 9 holes (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2982)


I know the feeling. I played a ton of rounds in on a 9 hole course in Phoenix that at first I thought was lame as well. The more I played, the more I figured that course out. Just took a mid and a putter and had at it. Easy, yet very fun. My best was -6 on it. Dual pins on each hole that get moved around a bunch and after nearly 80 rounds there, I still want to play it more.

[DavidSauls]

In the side categories of "The Course that Regrew on Me" and "The Course that Failed to Grow on Me"---my local courses.

I started playing at Earlewood, back when courses were few and far between, and for a year or so it was the only course I ever played. When I finally traveled 70+ miles and played other courses, I saw features I'd never encountered at Earlewood, and for a while considered Earlewood kind of lame. No long holes. No fairways defined by thick woods. No lake. No exclusive disc golf use. Then, over time as I played more courses, I realized Earlewood was darn good, in it's own way.

Finally, we built a second course in Columbia, Owens Field. I was excited with the layout. I was excited when I started to play it---very different from Earlewood, much more challenging. As I played it repeatedly I found I didn't really enjoy large parts of it, but figured I would learn to like it, and it would get beat in and be more fun. Finally, 3 1/2 years ago, I played it once last time and realized it will never grow on me, so I left it to those who's taste it suits.