Hippodrome

[JILF]

I am trying to find a course in North Augusta, SC called Hippodrome, but was unable to find it on this website's map where it should have been. The reason I was trying to find it was because it is where the 2009 Collegiate Disc Golf National Championship (http://ncdgu.com/) is going to be held. This course was also in the 2006 PDGA Professional World Championships, so I figured that it must be a pretty well known course. I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about this course....Thanks.

[timg]

I found a few maps here:

http://ncdgu.com/championship/hippodrome

and apparently this is the place:

http://www.northaugustahippodrome.com

I can't find any solid info on what the deal with the course is though (temporary?).

[borndasaur]

Maybe an e-mail to the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce would yield results.

[DannyM]

Played this course before....it's only open for tournaments and some weekends...don't know the whole story as to why, where etc....
Augusta Disc Golf has a club domain....check it out on the web, then you can e-mail them and get an answer.

[martinb]

the hippodrome is on private property, thats why its hard to get info about it. its off of the belt route around augusta thats under construction and not open, on the north side of augusta, overlooking downtown. you can go up there and play a round, but you have to go over to the horse stables and find the groundskeeper, his name might be rick? not sure about his name, and you might have to kick him a few dollars to play. but the baskets are in the ground and you can go there. i wouldnt go up there and NOT find the groundskeeper first. you might screw it up for other players.

[atl scott]

Now on the site with pics and a review!

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=3701

[optidiscic]

Glad to see the info...thanks! Interesting with Carousel Park in DE and Hippodrome in SC that makes 2 amazing courses based on Equestrian grounds......I have to wonder if the discs ever spook the horses?

[atl scott]

Well apparently the Hippodrome is huge so there isn't much real chance of interaction. I heard there were 19 polo fields there! I'm just glad I finally got to play the course. Definitely in my top 5!

[klay]

Glad to see the info...thanks! Interesting with Carousel Park in DE and Hippodrome in SC that makes 2 amazing courses based on Equestrian grounds......I have to wonder if the discs ever spook the horses?

Clearly you've never been to Northern Colorado!

Beaver Meadows and Sundance Trail are both on ranches with holes that are in pasture areas.

The owners are very clear in their regulations that horses are not to be thrown at or around under any circumstances.

These kinds of views are not unusual:

Beaver Meadows
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/2746/e4e7ee12.jpg

Sundance Trail
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/1880/59bf105d.jpg

[biscoe]

thrown discs rarely bother the cattle on my course, you could basically hit one from point blank range and have minimal effect. horses however are much more high strung.

[atl scott]

You still have a "hit cattle" penalty at your course though, right biscoe?

[Dave242]

Hey Scott - thanks for putting up the course details and pictures. Great job! This course is #4 on my list - love it! You da man!

While this course has a bunch of things that for many may knock it way down from a 5 disc rating, it has all the essential elements for me to give it a 5.

[atl scott]

Dave what else is on your top 10? Just interested as you've played tons more courses than I have and seem to like the same style...

[Dave242]

Top 12 since last 4 are tied with a score of 94 on my list:

Banklick Woods
Steady Ed Headrick Memorial
Fox Chase
Hippodrome
Rogers Lakewood
Yadkin County Park
East Roswell
Lake Olmstead
Castle Hayne
Foothills
Charlie Vettiner
Dretzka

[billnchristy]

You put East Roswell up there that high? What did you like so much about it? (Not agreeing or disagreeing, just curious).

[Dave242]

It has everything I like (graded from the long tees):

1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == A
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I’m a Blue level player who throws 300’ accurately, 360’ max. == A
3) More wooded than open – lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == A
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == A- (the only ugly hole is the trailer hole, but that hole is so cool/interesting that the ugliness is counteracted).

This is based on when I played in 2007. I think the longs were still under development - so things could have changed since then.

[biscoe]

You still have a "hit cattle" penalty at your course though, right biscoe?

negative

[Dave242]

being gored by an angry bull is penalty enough - no reason to punitively add strokes to your score. no?

[NDABRUSH]

You put East Roswell up there that high? What did you like so much about it? (Not agreeing or disagreeing, just curious).

no offense Bill, but you seem to like open courses a little more than us heavily wooded monkeys. You like Alexander more than East Roswell, isn't that correct? If not sorry. It's all a matter of taste. I am easier on heavily wooded courses because they are my favorite. So if I give it a 4, I would expect others and maybe you to give it maybe 1 disc lower. Just my 2 Grand.:p Thanks guys... Hippodrome???? When I finally make it to those 3 Houck courses at Headquarters in Georgia, I will try to play it also. Is there any way to find out when they are open?

[Cgkdisc]

They are always open (and Houck only designed one course).

[billnchristy]

no offense Bill, but you seem to like open courses a little more than us heavily wooded monkeys. You like Alexander more than East Roswell, isn't that correct?

Naw, I love ERP I just have homeboy bias to Alex. ;) I rated Alex higher because of the amenities. I also feel that Alex is a bit more fair than ERP because I can go from a 58-70 at ERP and generally throw 54-60 at Alex. Either I am wildly inconsistant or ERP has a good bit of luck built into a good score.

[superberry]

Top 12 since last 4 are tied with a score of 94 on my list:

Banklick Woods
Steady Ed Headrick Memorial
Fox Chase
Hippodrome
Rogers Lakewood
Yadkin County Park
East Roswell
Lake Olmstead
Castle Hayne
Foothills
Charlie Vettiner
Dretzka

Dave, you obviously have not yet played Winter Park. Come experience the wonder.

[Dave242]

I might make it up next summer. My wife usually takes the kids on a trip and I am a bachelor. So I try to take a weekend DG excursion - this last summer I played 310 holes Fri evening thru Sunday. :)

[skottyb]

I must ask though, whats up with the insanely large basket.

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/3701/a0d3b907_t.jpg

Looks like the pic is small, go to the course and check it out on the 2nd page.

[Dave242]

Yeah - I think that is pretty funny!

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/3701/a0d3b907.jpg

[billnchristy]

Thats obscenely large!

[martinb]

Yeah - I think that is pretty funny!

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/3701/a0d3b907.jpg

Pete May is responsible for that, and put it up not so much as a serious hole, but as a funny gag. i dont think that basket is in the ground to play on a regular basis.

[billnchristy]

I like it, you can hit the bogey band and still go in. ;)

[optidiscic]

Yeah - I think that is pretty funny!

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/3701/a0d3b907.jpg

I think this is what the basket looks like when you are really really hot! I am still waiting......

[atl scott]

My sister (plays once a year or so) put it in that basket from about 100' with no chains. It was pretty cool!

[12StonesScott]

I also feel that Alex is a bit more fair than ERP because I can go from a 58-70 at ERP and generally throw 54-60 at Alex. Either I am wildly inconsistant or ERP has a good bit of luck built into a good score.

I think there's a lot of luck involved at ERP for the first half-dozen or so rounds you play there, and to some extent for another few rounds from each different set of tee pads. Beyond that, though, I think it's knowledge of the course and consistency of execution. I've only played Alex twice now, but I believe I could go out there and consistently shoot within 2 strokes either way of the 57 and 58 I had on my rounds there. I'm nearly as consistent at ERP -- my last 6 rounds from the reds have included four 60s, a 61, and a 58 -- but that's after nearly three years of playing it regularly. For the first several times I played it, there was a much wider swing in my scores from time to time. I think that's largely because the margin of error at ERP is usually much thinner, and partly because knowing what does and doesn't work is so much more critical. By now, I generally know what I'm trying to do from nearly any spot on the course -- I'm rarely just hucking and hoping. When I end up off in the shule on either side of the fairway on 9, it's not because I was unlucky -- it's because I didn't execute the shot I wanted (usually because I hit one of those two trees in the middle and kicked off). Alex seems much more forgiving -- you don't have to be quite as solid at making exactly the shot you wanted, which reduces the variation from round to round. I know I had several shots at both Lenora and Alex during the GCO that worked out OK but would have been disastrous at ERP.

Not knocking Alex at all, you understand, nor arguing with you really. But I'm pretty sure if you played ERP two or three times a week for a month or so, most of that variation in scores would flatten out.

[Dave242]

I think there's a lot of luck involved at ERP for the first half-dozen or so rounds you play there, and to some extent for another few rounds from each different set of tee pads. Beyond that, though, I think it's knowledge of the course and consistency of execution. (...snip...) I'm nearly as consistent at ERP -- my last 6 rounds from the reds have included four 60s, a 61, and a 58 -- but that's after nearly three years of playing it regularly. For the first several times I played it, there was a much wider swing in my scores from time to time. I think that's largely because the margin of error at ERP is usually much thinner, and partly because knowing what does and doesn't work is so much more critical. By now, I generally know what I'm trying to do from nearly any spot on the course -- I'm rarely just hucking and hoping. When I end up off in the shule on either side of the fairway on 9, it's not because I was unlucky -- it's because I didn't execute the shot I wanted (usually because I hit one of those two trees in the middle and kicked off).

I agree wholeheartedly.......That is exactly what I am trying to convey with my "Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == A"

[billnchristy]

Yeah I guess luck is a bad word. I see what you mean. I have 14 rounds at ERP vs. 23 at Alex.

[harr0140]

Why isn't hippodrome on the map? SOmeone needs to get some coordinates for it so the flag shows up on themap. I am headed in that general area in a month or so and I just printed out my maps and it wasnt n there.

[Dave242]

coordinates entered....and it shows up on the map browser now

[harr0140]

Another contribution by Dave242 . . . thanks Dave! I have added it to my map.

[NDABRUSH]

They are always open (and Houck only designed one course).

The 1st one I checked out said Houck so I ASSumed he did the rest.:o I meant does anyone know the schedule for Hippodrome? What times of the year are the horses there. Surely there is a set schedule. I would think.

[NDABRUSH]

Hey Dave see if you can find out about any secret courses in The Federated States of Micronesia. LOL

[Cgkdisc]

Hippodrome horse facilities website: http://www.northaugustahippodrome.com/

[atl scott]

What times of the year are the horses there. Surely there is a set schedule. I would think.

From what I could tell horses are there quite often but it shouldn't interfere with the course itself.