Lake Villa, IL

Longwood Centre Park

0.465(based on 13 reviews)
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8 0
EspressoPatronum
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 18.6 years 232 played 223 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Still just as horrible as everyone says...

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 2, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

- remaining baskets are in good shape
- park is generally mowed
- woods have a lot of potential for a better course

Cons:

- lots of dead grass from mowing
- tees are hard or impossible to find
- 2 baskets are missing, hole 2 fairway is gone
- most tee signs are missing
- INSANE mosquitos
- not much intrigue or challenge
- navigation is confusing
- rough is very thick and unpleasant in places

Other Thoughts:

I gave Longwood Centre a 0.5 just by virtue of there technically being a course here - but I almost wish there wasn't. The sad thing is, as others have noted, this property has potential. The wooded areas this course plays in/near could be really cool. However, with 164 courses played, I think this is officially the worst course I have ever visited - at least among courses than can be called "courses" rather than "practice areas."

For the life of me, I don't understand why you would go to the time/money to set this course up only to provide zero maintenance and just let it fester. Despite the potential, if it isn't going to be maintained, this course should just be pulled. I managed to play 4 or 5 of the 9 holes.

First, the minimal good - this park is at least mowed, and most of the baskets are present and in good shape. That's literally about all I can say for positives.

The course map on DGCR is very hard to follow, and there is no course sign and most tee signs are missing. I never really found the tee for hole 1 so I just made up my own, only to never find the hole 1 basket, so I played it to 8's basket. Hole 2 seems to have been reabsorbed by the woods. I could find no evidence of a fairway, tee sign, or basket where the map indicated. Holes 3-5 are generally fine, but 6 cannot be played while soccer games are going on, and 7 plays pretty close to pedestrians too. After 7, there is. a long walk back to 8 and 9. I think there were maybe 3 tee signs in place, otherwise you are looking for a post missing a sign that may or may not be there.

When you start the course it's not clear where to go. I'm not sure tee 1's post, sign, or basket even remain, but theoretically, the map shows that you should walk down the path from the parking lot next to the soccer fields, until you see an opening to a field on your left. You will be able to see the basket for hole 8 in the distance. Hole 1 is supposed to be in this vicinity, but it sort of... isn't. In general, you'll have to scout forward on just about every hole on this course to see if the basket is even still there, and you don't really want to end up too far into the rough.

Tees were natural, but the worst sort. Usually a natural tee is at least roughed in a bit so you can see where it is. Clearly, nobody plays this abomination of a course, so there isn't really any indication of a tee being used on any of the holes. They also play over the walking paths a fair bit. Finally, if you go into the woods at all on this course, the mosquitos - dear god, possibly the worst I ever encountered. One of my discs went 5-10 feet off the fairway and the second I stepped off I had about 20 mosquitos on my legs simultaneously. I am not exaggerating. Bring the heavy DEET. I'm thinking you need an amount like in Parks & Recreation when Dennis Feinstein says "Release the Hounds!" and fire hoses everyone with FDA-banned cologne.

Unless you insist on bagging every course, or want to update the course condition after 2 years to see if maybe something has improved for the better - like I did (nope, still terrible) - I would avoid this course at all costs.
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7 0
Billyray
Experience: 20.9 years 71 played 12 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Could be something. Has been left to become nothing 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 30, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Nice multi-use park
- All 9 baskets are securely mounted and are actually in awesome shape
- The grass for field holes 6 & 7 was mowed and lower level foilage was cut, discs were easy to find
- Port o potty on sight
- Would be challenging/fun if the course was properly upkept, the layout is not terrible
- The map on DGCR was actually right from back in 2011

Cons:

- Overgrown especially above shoulder level
- No teepads, you can barely see the clearings that are supposed to be the pads now due to overgrowth
- Missing signs on most of the holes
- Hole 2 is unplayable
- Hole 1 & 8 play through a natural Prarie that im not sure they can cut due to local and/or state law.
- The tee sign for hole 1 is where hole 8 tee is. I'm thinking they changed the layout at some point but never moved the sign
- Hole 1-5 play near a boundary for private property but the holes play on said property.
- I've never been afraid on a disc course before but the crack shed between 2 & 3 had my group nervous

Other Thoughts:

I kept reading about this course and wanted to make sure I bagged it before it got pulled. My group of 3 came expecting the worst (see my review of Raintree Park for reference). It was bad but 1) It can be played and 2) you can see potential here if anyone cared. My friends wanted to leave after it took 25 minutes to find basket 1 but I refused to give in and mapped the whole course on UDisc. I would go 0.75 if I could but will bump up as i always do to 1.0. The baskets are all in good shape, most holes are playable and it legitimately has some decent holes.

This is another course that made me a little sad and angry. Basicly brand new baskets, nice piece of land. It has some fun lines and could be a really fun play, potential for 2.5 with pads installed. Instead its being left to rot and that just sucks. I would come back if it was cleaned up, would be a great 9 hole warmup for Fairfield (which is what we wanted). It is playable but not scoreable in its current state.

Hole 1- Its a 350 foot shot over a prarie that is overgrown. Without a spotter definite potential for lost disc. The shot plays to a basket that is tucked into a little clearing to the right of a treeline that blocks the direct route. However the clearing and the gap in are overgrown above waist height. Basket was covered in spiderwebs. Could be fun hole if mowed and trimmed up.

Hole 2 - this hole was just a stupid idea. 163 foot shot from where I think the tee was. Too many small trees to count. We couldn't play it even with putter shots. This hole would be a pain to upkeep unless dealt with constantly.

Hole 3 - 206 foot anhyzer shot across gravel path. First tee sign we saw, it was in yards. There is a gap 100 feet off the tee with basket set back to the right. The gap is overgrown but a good low shot can get close for a birdie chance. Please be cautious walking to 3, we all agreed the crack/meth shack looked dangerous.

Hole 4 - 174 foot hyzer shot. Tee sign. There is a private(?) road that doesn't look like anyone has driven on it for a while. We played down the road to hyzer at the basket. Direct line is totally overgrown and no line for an ace run due to high growth but birdie is possible.

Hole 5 - this hole is dumb. 100 feet, slight hyzer. Ace run, even overgrown we all parked. Bad filler hole, the tee sign says 34 yards.

Hole 6 - 465 foot hole back out in the main park. Theres a walking path running through the hole that was pretty busy on a Sunday morning. Left is woods, right there is a natural preserve area that might get nasty when wet. If you get really out right, could be in nasty tallgrass. Fun open park style hole would be good on any course.

Hole 7 - 362 foot park shot. Theres a 250 foot carry over some tallgrass and weeds to get to the basket. Ob paths and parking lot could come into play. Another park style hole like 6. Fun shot blind over the tallgrass off the tee.

Hole 8 - 410 foot shot. Incorrect tee sign for hole 1 is here. Like hole 1, this hole would be fun and challenging but we felt uncomfortable letting it rip even with spotters. To the left is tree cover that guards the walking path. Right is uncontrolled prarie. Basket is in the open. Would be a fun hole if prarie was trimmed up.

Hole 9 - this is another shot where I go, what were they thinking...400 foot tee off next to a post with no sign. There is a gap but it throws completely blind over rhe walking path. Then you need to carry 300 feet to clear the prarie that guards 9 on the right. I didnt feel comfortable playing a blind hyzer over a walking path and near a parking lot but its an option. Basket is on a hill and could be a fun upshot. Id have to see it cleaned up but as is its a must have a spotter hole.
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4 0
KptMkKamble
Experience: 25.8 years 11 played 6 reviews
0.00 star(s)

Attention Park District 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 23, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

It would be difficult to impossible to find much good to say about this space.

The rest of the park is nice and mostly groomed.

Cons:

Finding the Tees & Baskets is nearly impossible.

Never found Tee 1

The city, Village, nor park district seem to care not at all about this course.

Other Thoughts:

High quality Tick spray will not protect you enough.

Getting started here is a chore.

Unless the Park District does a major overhaul & starts maintaining course I would advise just staying away from this one.
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9 0
little oz
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.7 years 102 played 31 reviews
0.00 star(s)

Hell's acre 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 22, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Sorrily, nothing

Cons:

There was a slum in Victorian England called Hells acre. This course equates to that. I honestly give at least one disk for a rating just for the existence of a course, but this course was the worst among the 60 I have played to date. The first hole opens to about 1 acre of a field that had a 10 foot wide mow strip and chest to overhead weeds. There were two baskets in the field, but no way to figure out which one to throw to. After that, you walked along a gravel path past a crack house to three wooded holes that had no clear delineation or tee pads although I must say there were some tee signs that were upside down that made no sense. I couldn't find hole 9 and it was a dreadful trudge. I'm sorry, but it definitely appeared as though this course had been abandoned with the exception of the last two holes. This would definitely turn off new golfers to the sport
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6 1
beamrider
Experience: 16.8 years 143 played 6 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Not that bad 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 6, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- New baskets from 2010 are still in great condition.

- New tee signs this year.

- Mixture of long semi-open holes (1, 6-9) and short technical holes in the woods (2-5).

- Not crowded. I've played 10-12 times since last August and have yet to see another disc golfer.

Cons:

- Poor groundskeeping on holes 1, 8 and 9 (lots of weeds and rocks).

- Litter and remnants of structures that appear to be decades old are present on holes 2 and 3.

- Tee pads are not well defined. They were designated with wood chips last summer and have pretty much worn away. The tees for holes 6 and 7 are painted on the fitness path.

- The tee signs for holes 1 and 8 are incorrectly reversed. 1 is now 8, and vice versa. If this is a design change, and the new signs are correct, then holes 1 and 8 now criss cross each other, which makes no sense.

- The new tee sign on hole 2 seems to change the tee and make an absurdly short hole even shorter.

- The new tee signs give distance in yards similar to ball golf. Not really a con, but you need to multiply by 3 to get a feel for the distance as measured on other courses.

Other Thoughts:

This course presently has a poor rating and negative reviews, but in my opinion it really isn't that bad. You need a big arm to score well on the long holes and precision on the short holes. The bottom line is that it is a work in progress and the course will only get better as improvements are made.
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9 0
notapro
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.6 years 568 played 281 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Beginner 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 2, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Course is located in a couple fields with a small bit of forest on the side.  A walking path is present, but otherwise is DG only.
- Holes out in the field have decent length and a few wrinkles here and there.  Some tall grass, patches of forest, and slight elevation changes add some interest.  #9 has a window in the fairway that forces a RHBH anhyzer.
- Holes in the forest are tight, but extremely short.  Very goofy lines with little length make them all gimmicky over anything else.
- A few tough basket placements, with trees/rough and some rollaway potential.
- Good baskets.  Tee signs in progress?

Cons:

- Holes in the forest are borderline silly, good players will be putting off the tees.  Lines are interesting, with some hyzers and anhyzers.
- Natural teepads are ugly and rough, especially when muddy.

Other Thoughts:

- Course seems to be a work in progress; when I played it some posts were in the ground, waiting for concrete and signage.  See map in links section for easy navigation.
- Holes in the open have decent length for driving, with a few forced lines.  Holes in the forest feel like mini-disc golf.  Either way, nothing special.  Best for beginners.
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14 1
tallpaul
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 35.8 years 934 played 133 reviews
0.00 star(s)

older perspective 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 9, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Not really applicable to the present situation...however, there were a couple of the most interesting (?) shots I've ever seen on Longwood's original layout.
Hole #5 (?) had an unseen pin, from the tee. The drive had a small pond/swamp in the landing area; if you were short. Shot was annheiser (rhbh) and was blind (as mentioned); with a wooded finish and small entrance to green; past the small pond (you had to go over top the water/swamp to enter the green area).
The hole following this one; required a kneeling on the tee drive from my playing partner; due to a small hill top tee and an extremely low window to throw through; to get to the pin in heavy woods. I went over top the canopy with a tomahawk and crashed down through the forest for a nice deuce putt (which I missed....drats!).
The original last hole (#9), was one of the craziest water holes I've ever seen. Anyone who has been there, probably saw the big pond with the fountain in it. You drove from one end of that pond with well over 300 ft. (probably 350 ft.) to get over the whole water feature; to the pin on the far side. Tee was dead center of pond on one end; pin, dead center on the opposite... If you could make the throw (it really may have been 400+; as we both were absolutely sure we had no chance of making the back side on the drive; absolutely no chance!), you would likely have to go through or near the fountain, spraying upwards; on the drive!
Playing to one bank or another, then, was the only option seemingly available. Trouble was the embankment's running to the water were at an extremely steep angle. I'm not great on angles; but 60% or something nearly straight up and down. You felt like a mountain goat, throwing your second shot....Also, this, of course, meant that most shots would roll into the pond; even if you landed on dry ground along the edge. The slanted part of the ground leading to the pond was more than 70 ft. from top edge too; so there was no where to go; other than to hit the steep part; and even to hit this land required a 250 foot shot (as the pond is quite wide)!
Then....you would still have at least a 300 foot shot to pin; from the billy goat stance!!!!....with the same slanted, landing area to get to, on your next shotI
If you continued to play the hole (we had given it up by this point), the pin was perched on the back edge of pond; with same steep rollaway back towards the pond; so....even your putt would be very dangerous.
(This description getting long...) Hole was very pretty with the fountain and all; but, rather impossible to play. I threw my first one in the pond, with a disc I didn't know and didn't care about losing; and called it a day. My playing partner, played for the right shore; with a pretty well thrown anheiser; but didn't quite make it. However, his disc was floating upside down and he ended up stripping down to his underwear and swimming for it....entering the pond almost right next to the sign (which he didn't see) that said, No Swimming. He got it back and then he drove one more shot; making dry land; but nearly rolling back in. He was still a long way from the pin, shooting four with the water stroke, and another slanted to the pond fairway staring him in the face and then he called it a day as well. Neither of us finished the hole.
Interesting, if crazy, stuff......

Cons:

Even this layout had difficult to find tees with no yardage, or hole design description.
Tees natural.
The rest of the holes were quite plain.
You had to be inventive on the shots described; but most player's would have found them excessively weird/tough/impossible.
I'm sure few ever played the last hole; and those that did, would almost certainly end up swimming for a dragon, if they had played a smart disc. Since they didn't want you in the pond, I'm sure the park quickly said you must do away with this hole.
In other words, this course has been sort of a design fiasco from the start.

Other Thoughts:

I'm glad I had a chance to see it originally. Sounds like things have gone from quite bad to even worse; since then. I simply wanted to document the original layout. I probably would have given that a 1.5 due to the humor in the design!!!
We can only hope that when finally, they get nine real holes in the ground, they will have something playable.
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4 8
dracimus
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
0.00 star(s)

bad course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 6, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nothing is good at this place.

Nothing positive to review about this course

Cons:

You will not know where tee is and direction to basket. bad designed. so I ended up practicing throwing the disc with my friend.

Other Thoughts:

don't bother going there.
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16 1
juanbond
Experience: 32.9 years 119 played 2 reviews
0.00 star(s)

Not Worth a Second of Your Time...Yet 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 20, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

UPDATE 7/7/10: Course redesign in progress here.

There really aren't any legitimate pros to mention for this course.

Like another reviewer said, there are some baskets here, if you want to call that a pro.

Perhaps the only real pro is that the course doesn't see much traffic, if any at all. You certainly won't run into any overcrowding issues here!

It's sad to say that some of the only pros for the course all have to do with the rest of the park! This park has a nice shelter, a decent skate park, and a fitness trail.

Cons:

The course was impossible to navigate. There is no course map, no signage, few if any visible teeing areas, and no direction to the next tee. At least post a sign with the layout, or at a bare minimum, point the players to the first tee.

I was only able to find four baskets, I'm not sure whether this was due to theft or not. I did not find any tees at all.

The first hole was across very nasty, uneven ground...be careful not to twist an ankle!

The second hole was very short and wooded, and the teeing area was simply implied by the fairway, not designated in any way.

Aside from these first two holes, I could only find two more baskets, out in the open area in the park. And this was after searching the woods for ten minutes near basket two.

Other Thoughts:

Even if you are the sort of player that simply likes to play as many different courses as possible, regardless of quality, this course simply isn't worth the time. It is bound to make you regretful of your decision to play it.

The sad thing is, this land is fairly varied (thick woods, open fields, some older isolated big trees, marshy areas with tall grass), and could easily be home to a 3+ star nine-hole course. I have contacted the local Parks and Recreation department to get an idea as to whether they have renovation or redesign plans. I will update this review if/when I hear back from them.

UPDATE July 1, 2010: I spoke with the village office, and they informed me that a full course redesign was almost complete. I stopped by the course and it appears all baskets have been pulled.
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13 0
#19325
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.8 years 351 played 175 reviews
0.50 star(s)

3rd Time's A Charm--NOT! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 25, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Since it's creation this course has been moved and changed 3 times now. The old saying thrid time's a charm is not true in the case of this course.

Park in the lot near the basketball/roller hockey rink. There is a pavillion near the parking lot. Your guess is as good as mine of where #1 tee is. The basket to #1 is down the path and tucked into the rough on the right side.

The course does have tee signs for holes 2 thru 8. I never found where #1 tee was.

The baskets are quality Mach 3's in really good shape.

Cons:

I have no idea where tee #1 is. There is sign near the pavillion that has disc golf rules on it.

The tee pads suck. There really are none.

The course design is just plain dumb. Several holes you walk down a path. Play the hole. Walk back down the fairway to the path. Take the path to the next hole then repeat. It's one of the dumbest things i've seen yet!

The grass is pretty high. Several of the holes are short and dumb. Super thick rough and not fun to play.

Other Thoughts:

I would avoid this course. It's a waste of time.

Check out my Illinois Top 10.
http://discontinuum.org/index...1486.msg68704#msg68704
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10 0
harr0140
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 15.2 years 1508 played 475 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Incomplete course! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 2, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

1) Vareity in holes. There are some wide open rippers, a couple wooded holes (although too tight), and even a pond to carry. Some of the holes have a left to right and some right to left anywhere from a slight fade to a 120 degree dogleg and another 90 degree dogleg.

2) Gravel tee pads are better than dirt, but they need the weeds sprayed out of them.

3) Nice baskets (although only 7 were in the ground)

Cons:

1) 2 baskets were missing when I played so obviously theft is a problem for this course.

2) Two wooded holes are simply TOO tight. I am a pretty good played but they are ridiculous and could use some trimming back on the sides and maybe a little higher ceiling too! They are basically carved out of Buckthorn.

3) Unsure of where to go because the holes are so close together. This wouldnt be a problem for anyone who hs played the course but this was my first time and I actually walked off the course I was so frustrated with not being able to figure out where #8 tee was and then I saw the forced carry of the pond on #9 coupled with the tight tight landing area required if you don't throw right at the basket on #9 and I said enough is enough.

4) Gravel tee pads need the weed killed in them so you know there the tees are.

5) Could use some signage on the tees for sure and a couple places to direct you where to go to the next tee.

6) 2 holes with 90-120 degree doglegs make the course seem like it wasn't well designed. I think the routing could have been much better.

7) Baskets on #1, #4, #5, #6, #7 are well placed on the side of the woods/shule, but they are all on the left side so all those holes are right to left hyzer shots, which gets a little repetetive.

8) Watch out for stumps on the two wooded holes.

Other Thoughts:

I was disappointed in this course not only because two baskets were gone but it was so unclear as to the layout on other holes. The holes that are there arent that great and could certainly use some maintenance. It does look like the course and park are maybe slightly still under construction so maybe it will improve over time. I will probably not head back unless the layout changes entirely. It was stop #6 on my 8 course day so it left a lot to be desired since all the other courses were complete and in good shape and offered some ideal challenge.
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10 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Odd 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 14, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays around a small park with a pond. There is a nice mix of open space and wooded areas, and the course plays through both. There are two holes that play through very tightly wooded fairways. The rest of the holes play along the edge of the woods with tall grass on the open side.

The course design does a decent job of mixing up different lengths of holes, from short ace runs to holes that you can pull out a driver on. There is also a good mix of open shots, and shots through or around trees. The last hole plays across the pond, and is long enough that nearly all players will have to bail out to one side or the other (either works).

Cons:

There are no signs on the course, so once you have found the tees, you have to scout out the hole to know where to throw. The tees are small gravel patches that offer fine footing, but are not quite big enough. Nearly all the baskets have the number plate facing away from the tee, so if you're not sure about where to shoot, you have to walk all the way past the hole to check the number.

I wish the course had more of a variety of shots required. All but two of the shots are straight ahead or a slight RHBH hyzer, and so the course doesn't really make you use many different shots. Most of the more open holes are short enough that they don't provide much challenge to a more experienced player.

Other Thoughts:

This course is playable by beginners, though they will likely spend time searching for discs in the long grass or the woods. There is not a ton of challenge for more advanced players except on the last two holes, so most players would not want to play this one repeatedly.

If you are in the area, the last two holes make the course worth playing, though I wouldn't recommend driving way out of your way just to play this one. If you do play, follow the small path into the woods to the left after the first basket to find the second tee. The rest of the course isn't too hard to follow.
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9 16
Dave242
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 29.8 years 393 played 271 reviews
0.00 star(s)

D Grade = Dud 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 19, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- D
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- D
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- D
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- C-
5) Multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- NA

Other Thoughts:

I ranked this course subjectively based on my own personal enjoyment factor...more accurately my "personal addiction factor". Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they chose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I say adds anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me. See my profile for my rating philosophy.
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