St. Charles, MI

The Pines DGC

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3.155(based on 20 reviews)
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2 2
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
2.00 star(s)

second verse, same as the first... 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 15, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Aesthetic-- plays through a large multi-use park. intersects walking paths and trails. shouldn't be a huge distractor though.

Routing and nav-- not bad. the long walk past the "pool" x2 is a bit annoying but not overly bad.

Teepads-- adequate. See "other thoughts"

Teesigns--very basic, gives a tee number and MAYBE a distance and crude map. more of a tee marker than anything.

Cons:

Repetition- this course is the most repetitive course ever. the switch backs from 5-17 are AWFUL. I wanted to quit about five holes into them. they were the same hole over and over and over...

Challenge-- not an overly challenging course by any means. most holes are relatively straight and dont' have much topography to help them.

Other Thoughts:

Course seems to be under construction. many teepad forms are in place and some of the concrete pads are in. should improve the course overall.
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1 0
jon33jon2003
Experience: 11.6 years 9 played 5 reviews
2.00 star(s)

A little too blah 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 17, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Easy course, plenty of benches and trash cans. almost impossible to lose a disc.

Cons:

Too easy, extremely repetitive. Middle holes are all the same and layed out side by side for quite a few holes. Creek is stinky and nasty. Not secluded at all. Very short holes. Confusing getting to the next tee in some cases.

Other Thoughts:

I didnt expect too much going into this course and got just what I was looking for. Not a bad course for kids or beginners who are not looking for a challenge. This will be a good course to take friends who are playing for the first time. Just a little too boring and repetitive for me as I like the walk in the woods as much as the actual playing most times.
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1 0
volklgirl
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 110 played 56 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Another techical wooded Michigan course. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 23, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

If you're looking for a clean, family friendly park with a great course for skill development, this is the place to go.

This is a typical, heavily wooded Michigan course with almost no elevation changes. The course meanders through the park with nicely cleared fairways, simple but descriptive tee signs, well kept baskets, and several benches.

Hole variety includes short pipelines, fading rights and lefts, a couple of "S"s, a dog-leg or two and 2 more open holes where intermediate players can open up a bit.

The stand-outs on this course are:

The wide open drive on #7 with the pin tucked into the tree line on the left - a nice change after the first 6 heavily wooded holes! Next is #13 with the creek bed lining the entire right side of the hole and #16 with its super narrow pine tree alley. Finally, #18 is a sneaky left fade with the pin protected by trees.

Cons:

The asphalt tee pads are too short, even for me, and many of the are already showing their age with buckling, flaking, and general disintegration.

This course is packed into a very small area and most holes parallel each other. While the abundant tree coverage makes it feel like you're not that close to neighboring players, you really are and the likelihood of getting hit by errant throws is pretty high.

Course flow is hampered by the plot the course was built on, so there are 3 fairly significant hikes to #5, #6, and #18. Navigation is made mostly painless in these areas by the use of the walking path and hole #s with directional arrows painted on key trees in hunter orange, so make sure you're looking up so you don't miss them. BTW, #18 proved the most difficult to find for us....it can be found with a sharp left just past the skating rink.

Other Thoughts:

There's lots of other stuff happening in this park and the course was clean and well tended. In addition, there's a water spigot available near the #18 tee in case your water bottle is empty.
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0 3
qqq1
Experience: 5 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great for the not so good 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 10, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Most holes have a good amount of room to play in.
-No painfully long holes
-Not a lot of places to totally lose a disc
-Generally pretty clean
-Interesting how you suddenly switch between 2 forest types and a field.
-No need for advanced skills

Cons:

-No need for advanced skills
-The small stream smells pretty bad some times
-Occasional people from the park walking/biking on the course (I say throw anyway. They know they shouldn't be there.)
-Tightly laid holes means most are pretty similar
-Some tees need fixing
-Squirrels everywhere. Not actually an issue

Other Thoughts:

This course is probably best for beginners and people like me, those who just aren't that good. Don't know how people are so slow sometimes here. I'll start with no one on 1-4, get over to the 5th, and they're just teeing off.
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3 0
Mac423
Experience: 13 years 15 played 7 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Nice, but on the small side. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 1, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-located in nice park in small town. Basketball courts, softball fields, picnic pavilions and playgrounds are available.
-very beginner friendly
-rarely any backups on the course
-generally hard to lose a disc (unless it buries itself in leaves)
-Local PD often patrols parking lot, keeping vehicles secure.

Cons:

-near zero terrain change in the entire course.
-some truly horrible tee pads (short and very unlevel)
-many holes are mirror images of those next to it, making for repetitive play

Other Thoughts:

While a nice course, it lacks anything to truly set it apart. Being a 15 minute drive, it is still worth the occasional play. Would make a great course to teach new players or children the game. A nice DG store named DiskZone is open right outside the entrance to the park. They carry a nice selection of new and used discs!
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1 4
jcarter
Experience: 17 played 17 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 29, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is a great course for beginners, and even for solid player. hand made benches, trash cans on every hole, nice baskets, nice tee pads, there wasnt one hole that was crazy.

Cons:

I really dnt see any cons for this course. The course was very clean.

Other Thoughts:

Had 9 birdies, almost had a ace, just missed it, this course rocks
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2 0
SAxDrc
Experience: 15.8 years 23 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 13, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-well maintained; nice benches and trash cans on most holes.
-decent signs. a post with a picture of the hole and the distance
-good tee pads (though short)
-navigation is pretty easy.
-I could see this course being very good for either beginners or a more advanced player who wants to work on his/her mid and putter throws.
-something about the atmosphere of the place was good. I had a lot of fun at this course for some reason.

Cons:

-the biggest con was that it gets repetitive. 17 short holes(<300') through some trees, 1 medium length(341') hole with slightly less trees.
-tee pads seemed short.
-the water hazard was nasty and smelled bad.
-no elevation change at all.

Other Thoughts:

not a destination course, but fun to play if you're in the area.

near the course there is a store called "disc golf zone." they had a good selection of innova and discraft discs at reasonable prices.
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6 0
BogeyNoMore
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 479 played 183 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Pitch & Putt at The Pines 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 28, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Setting: Fun course with a woodsy Michigan feel. Course is set apart from other activities in a quiet, well maintained, multi-use community park in small-town USA with easy access off the main road with plenty of parking.

Disc Play: short and technical, but every hole (except for one) had quite executable lines. Decent mix of left, right, and straight shots. Good course for beginners to learn shot shaping and line execution.

Lots of Ace & Birdie runs. Except for its relatively remote location, this would be a GREAT COURSE FOR AN ACE RACE!!!

Hardware: Asphalt pads were fine but a too short for my tastes (although not much of a run-up is required on these short holes). Baskets were in great shape. Benches made from split logs on many holes and the bridges that take you over the creek add a little something.

Navigation: Virtually effortless - course flows really well. Map on board by 1st tee shows many holes zig-zag back and forth with parallel fairways running in opposite directions. Had to search for next tee pad 2-3 times, but only for a couple of minutes. I really liked the short red tee markers - quite effective with distance and line diagram of hole layout.

Cons:

Course feels monotonous by the time you finish the front nine.

Would really benefit from a few long holes (even if they were wooded) as well as a couple of open holes.

Not much challenge, but I don't get the feeling that's what this course was intended for.

No elevation changes - completely two dimensional (I don't ding ratings for this - hard to change mother nature).

This is anything but a "complete" course that uses every disc in your bag and every shot in your repertoire. Some will say this course is boring. Others will find it frustrating as hell. If you're looking for grip'n'rip, don't bother visiting.

Other Thoughts:

Personally, I like short, technical, control courses, but there's no denying this course gets repetitive. I teed off with a mid or putter on 14 of the 18 holes, only pulling a driver out 4 times.

Stand-out holes: Hole 16 was interesting: it's a very short fairway that curves to the right with the basket situated in the middle of several carefully planted rows of mature pine trees... must have been part of a pine tree farm - seriously. I was lucky enough to birdie the hole, but you could easily have a pretty nice shot that pinballs around on that particular hole. I wouldn't call it good hole design, but it's certainly different, and stuck out for me.
17 is easily the longest hole on the course, and the only one I would call moderately open. After 16 holes worth of pitch and putt, it really felt good to let one rip on a fairway that had enough room for a disc to turn over a bit, and then fade back.

Limiting my rating strictly to disc play, I can't give this course anything more than 2.5. But throw in good tee markers, solid (if short) tees, easy navigation, great baskets, and the overall charm of the place, and well... I'll bump another ½ disc for those.
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1 3
AKasprzak
Experience: 7 played 7 reviews
2.50 star(s)

small park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 25, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Alot of right handed holes. Clean, easy to follow signs. nice pads. enjoyed our self, child friendly.

Cons:

all the holes are really close together cramed together in the woods, but still nice to play.

Other Thoughts:

We had a fun time at this park. I dont think i would go out of my way to go back, but if i was in the area i would stop and play a round.
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0 2
Gyro
Experience: 13 years 17 played 17 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Technical Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 1, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Well kept park with tee pads. Many fun and interesting shots that provide a challenge. Mostly a tree/technical course.

Cons:

No really long holes and not many holes that really let you open up.

Other Thoughts:

Not a terribly difficult course as long as you avoid all the pine trees.
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1 0
carlzmyhomeboy
Experience: 13.9 years 21 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 16, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Short holes are good for beginners, but if you've been playing for awhile, hitting trees and getting a 5 is a real bummer.
It's a good oportunity to work on technique and aim.
Very clean, we only saw a few pieces of trash on the whole course.
The markers tell you where the basket is and how many feet the hole is.

Cons:

A lot of trees!
We got a little confused going from 5 to 6, so go with someone who has played there before or print up a map.

Other Thoughts:

I go discing with my daughter and my niece so the fact that they have an awesome old style playground is a huge bonus.
Despite the fact that it was windy and overcast we all had a blast playing and would love to go back and play it again, we drove over an hour and a half to get there.
There are so many trees because it is a planted forest, all the trees line up almost perfectly.
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4 0
Ace_star2103
Experience: 17.8 years 2 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

The Pines 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 15, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Course Design:
-A good variety of holes for how small the park is, some holes get repetative
-Sticks to the course, there is a baseball diamond, but nothing ever gets in the way of play. Some holes go right behind peoples houses
-(Obviously) plays through a lot of pines

Maintenence:
-Course is well kept and very clean with a couple trash cans
-Every tee has a post with a detailed map of the hole your on and how long it is
-Nice, asphalt pads on every hole
-Very easy navigation to the next hole, just look for arrows on trees to show the way

Highlight Holes:
For me the hole that really stood out was hole number 17. After 16 solid holes of dodging and curving through pines hole 17 brings you into a small straight opening. Its the longest hole that goes over a small creek to the hole.

Cons:

Hazards:
-A small creek comes into play especially on 17 but also along side of holes 5,13, and 14. The creek is the only thing to dodge besides all of the pines.

-No long holes, all holes are relatively short and technical. Lots of the holes either require a big hyzer or anhyzer. Some holes in the back 9 get repetative

Other Thoughts:

A great course with a great atmosphere! It gives you the real "Michigan woodsy" kinda feel. The course is easy to access, right off of the main street. Course never really gets packed. Some holes are definetly ace-able and many birdie opportunities. Get lots of birdies on the front nine before you get to the less forgiving back nine, especially holes 15-18. A very fun short, technical course that defiently worth checking out!
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3 2
Innovadude
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.8 years 235 played 180 reviews
3.00 star(s)

short 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 9, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Mostly solid hole design, has variety
- Short is a pro here it's a course designed for newer players or to polish skills
- "Up North" woodsy feel

Cons:

- Well marked, well maintained
- Not much rough
- Near the end a few holes have no realistic flight path they get poke and pray towards the basket at the end

Other Thoughts:

worth playing if nearby but not a destination course. beats the Vines nearby
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5 0
Pickles
Experience: 15.1 years 29 played 5 reviews
4.50 star(s)

The Pines 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 9, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great course with many different hole layouts. Great for honing your hyzer/anhyzer skills. Plenty of birdie opportunities right from hole 1. Holes 1, 5 & 7 are ace-able, but I've never done it. Rarely crowded and seldom are there periods of waiting for large groups. Course is kept up well despite vandalism. In the winter there were trails through the snow and pads are swept of leaves in the fall.

Cons:

A lot of trees, but if you can't avoid them then its easy to maintain par cause the holes are mostly shorter. Bad mosquitos in the summer. There is a disgusting ditch/creek that is just nasty in the summer and late fall and can stinkify your discs and or shoes if you get off the fairway on holes 5, 13, 14 and 17. Seriously its nasty, I call it the cancer ditch because it was bright orange at one point last year. Very technical course, some may see that as a con, but I don't. Pads are shortish, but nice.

Other Thoughts:

Nice play park for kids and pool and skate rink right at the park, plus trails for walkers. Always friendly people there too. Pollution and destruction are a problem, but mostly I am assuming because young kids hangout there since St. Charles doesn't have a lot of other places for the kids to be. I play here very often and love it!
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3 0
Mad Scientist
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Pine Scented 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 20, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course's shorter, technical layout rewards accuracy and control. Getting some birdies early on might save you on the back 9. Plenty of shade throughout the course helps keep you cool on those hot Summer days.

Frank's IGA nearby sells Innova and Discraft. They usually have a decent selection on hand, and re-stock fairly regularly - so keep checking back for new discs. Stop at "The Freezer" across the street from the course for some ice cream or a cold drink.

The rest of the park is very nice as well, with plenty to do for non-golfers. Water fountains and bathroom facilities are convenient, as are the pavilions with picnic tables.

Cons:

With only one hole over 300', there aren't many opportunities to get some "big D", and in the Autumn months the leaf litter can swallow your disc. There are a few spots of poison ivy, so know what to look for if you're in the brush. Some holes have a lot of small stumps where the fairways were cleared that can trip you up, or that you can stub your toe on (but I'm sure those will be taken care of soon - most are marked with spray-paint).

Other Thoughts:

The vandalism is a bummer. Graffiti on the benches, and tee-signs broken or pulled out of the ground. It's not the course designer's fault, and it's not really bad enough to affect play or anything; it's just too bad that some people can't leave things nice for everyone to enjoy.

Did I mention this course is pine-scented? :)
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4 0
bigjohnd24
Experience: 16.9 years 7 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

a general fun course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 5, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The course is set in a park off the main road, and they did a good job with the space they had to work with. There are maps located around the course and it would be almost impossible to get lost. Mostly tech in the woods, but not as dense as other courses I've played. Hole #17 has a cool approach over a creek to the tee. Some of the back 9 get tough with severe hyzers/anhyzers, but all in fun.

Cons:

The holes can seem to get a little repetitive in the middle of the course. If you run off the fairway on some of the 'tree line' holes, just lay up back on; you're not making par. And some of the holes seemingly lack any fairway at all, with the pin back some 200-300 ft behind a bunch of scattered trees.

My buddy constantly complains about the short tee pads 'messing up his footwork'.

Other Thoughts:

I can understand how some would say this course is easy, but it's not really much different than Titta. Park or the Banks. I actually need to get back out to this course, because it really helps focus your extreme hyzer/anhyzer shots.

There's a grocery store down the road that sells discs and beer and there's a bar right across the street, which is always a plus.
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2 2
Jazzbass33
Experience: 7 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 12, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

You don't have to wait through a lot of other groups on this course.The rough is woody enough to be a challenge,yet you won't easily loose a disk.Benches are vary nice.

Cons:

Some high level players might say this course is a bit short,or even a little easy...

Other Thoughts:

I like #15&18,they both have a somewhat "extreme" dog leg thing going on....Over all a clean,fairly varied course with a "fun"level of challenge.
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3 1
fleeulrich
Experience: 15.7 years 53 played 29 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 1, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Easy to find the holes. Very clean, trash cans and benches are available. I have ran into the course designer many times, he's always working on the course to perfect it. Signage is very nice. Most holes have a mostly straight on path through the trees, but there are other holes like #1 has a nice lil bend to the left, but is very short, #3 has a nice bend to the right, #15 has a nice hook to the left, #16 is a bend to the right with rows and rows of trees on both sides. You have to use good disc placement, because if you get too deep in the trees it is very hard to salvage a par.

*Update*4/01/2014
Lots of upgrades happening. The old black top pads are being replaced with concrete most of which have been completed already. Hole layouts have changed for the following holes: 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13. Holes 7 and 8 layouts are completely different making them much more challenging. The rest of the changes were mainly keeping the same layout but making them longer.

Cons:

This course can at times be full of hungry mosquitos. Careful in the fall, and keep an eye on those discs because the leaves on the ground will swollow your disc.

Other Thoughts:

I have played many courses, and I have played this one many times, as it is one of the courses closest to my house, hole #17 is my favorite hole. You have a nice straight drive then right before the basket, maybe 25 feet is a creek, makes for some fun puts across the creek. I love how they moved the tee pad for hole #3, making it more difficult with a big tree right in front of you.

*UPDATE*..as this course is getting more popular I have notice more and more vandalism as of late. I think it is hole 13 that has three trees broken down. Not to mention the numerous signs that have been ruined throughout the course. This is still a real fun course it just bothers me when immature idiots find the need to ruin good things.

*UPDATE*3/20/2011: After playing a couple times over the winter I have noticed all the signs have been removed. At least now all those idiots that were trashing the signs dont have anymore signs to ruin.

*UPDATE* 4/2/2011
I just finished playing the course and they have new signs up at each pad now. They are just a basic sign constructed from a short piece of 4 X 4 painted red with the hole #, distance, and an arrow showing the hole layout.
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4 1
-johnbob
Experience: 15 years 10 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

The Laundry Room 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 13, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

The layout as far as what they had to work with is really well done. The bridge and benches are very nice and well designed. It has the ability to be a quick run through with some interesting challenges. Some of which are the creek running through the course , or as I found out, someones backyard. The course is very well kept! One of the cleanest free courses I have played. While I was playing, the course designer was there doing maintenance on it. He was nice, and welcomed me and my friends. Well printed maps at every hole made it nice and easy to find your way around. They also marked the trees with arrows so you knew which way to go.

Cons:

As stated below the course does have the "playing in someones yard" feel. When we played I was watching the man in fron of me hang up his underwear to dry in his back yard. And though the tees are nice I felt that they ran a little short for my liking.

Other Thoughts:

If you haven't played this course, do it. There's not that many people that play it so you don't have to wait. It is a great course to hone your skills.
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11 1
DirtyMittenDG
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 19.9 years 112 played 55 reviews
2.50 star(s)

New Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 6, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Hole Variety/Course Layout--
Mostly tech but not by anymeans a "pinball course". Good layout that comes in and out of a patch of woods. You play around a baseball field and hocky rink but they never become a factor.

Course Maintenance--
Nice clean park near downtown St. Charles. There are tee pads on every hole, and I had never seen tee pads like this before! They're asphalt with wood surrounding them and they have the same grip as concrete (maybe better).

Course Navigation--
Some of the nicest signs ive ever seen! Every sign shows a picture of the course map and has the hole your on highlighted. Also every sign has the hole distance on it. No maps online but you can see where the next hole is by arrows marked on the trees and by looking at the maps on every hole.

Cons:

--"no holes over 600 ft" and pretty much no "open" holes, these arn't cons in my book but I know it might be in some peoples.

--It somewhat lacks variety, alot of the holes feel repetative.

Other Thoughts:

Course Atmosphere--
Its in a small village park in some woods, you feel like your playing in peoples backyards some of the time. We only saw one other person playing when I was there.

Hazards--
Small creek on 2 or 3 holes (deep enough to get you wet, but not deep enough to lose your disc).

Access To Course--
Easy! One road off the main street in the city (St. Charles).

Once inside park the course is half way down the park road on the left hand side (If you see a basket about 20 feet from the road then you went a little to far because thats basket 18, hole #1 is on the left a little before basket 18).
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