The lost art of course reviewing

[Shadrach3]

Pro tip for anyone coming to the Denver area- if you have the time it's well worth focusing your efforts on courses outside the Denver area.

Courses like Bailey, Beaver Ranch, Wondervu, and Ghost Town are a reasonable drive from Denver and worth the trip to play.

I'm no expert, but having spent two summers working in Summit County, I also concur. Everything along US-285 - Bailey, Beaver, Bucksnort, Bear Mtn, Glen Isle - is well worth an hour or two drive. (I don't agree about Ghost Town, but I'm clearly in the minority there.)

 

[R-Ogre]

I've gone to Denver a couple times for training, I've bagged most of the courses on the Airport side of town and hard agree on all of the above. One year I did take an extra long drive and play Prickly Pines which is awesome.

 

[sillybizz]

I'm no expert, but having spent two summers working in Summit County, I also concur. Everything along US-285 - Bailey, Beaver, Bucksnort, Bear Mtn, Glen Isle - is well worth an hour or two drive. (I don't agree about Ghost Town, but I'm clearly in the minority there.)

I've only played Ghost Town the one time and I found it very unique which after playing a bunch of courses that all look the same I value highly. When compared to Bucksnort, Beaver Ranch, Bailey, etc. it doesn't hold up as far as being difficult and challenging. However I think Ghost Town is a course everyone should play for the experience.

 

[R-Ogre]

I've gone to Denver a couple times for training, I've bagged most of the courses on the Airport side of town and hard agree on all of the above. One year I did take an extra long drive and play Prickly Pines which is awesome.

Correction: most of the courses near the airport.

 

[txmxer]

Correction: most of the courses near the airport.

From what I saw of your comments, the courses near the airport makes driving to those other courses even more worthwhile.

 

[ray1970]

I don't agree about Ghost Town, but I'm clearly in the minority there.

It's okay. Everyone is allowed to be wrong from time to time.

You can decide if it's you or everyone else.

I've only played Ghost Town the one time and I found it very unique which after playing a bunch of courses that all look the same I value highly. When compared to Bucksnort, Beaver Ranch, Bailey, etc. it doesn't hold up as far as being difficult and challenging. However I think Ghost Town is a course everyone should play for the experience.

It's definitely not your typical course and kind of has its own character. Generally just fun to play. Not overly difficult, long or technical. Been several years since I played it but I've played it probably four or five times and it just always puts a smile on my face.

 

[Ryal]

Hey, everyone.

Just wanted to weigh in on The Lost Art of Course Reviewing.

Right off the bat, I'll admit that my course reviews can be rather wordy. Whenever I'm playing a course for the first time, I bring an index card with me and write down the characteristics of every hole just so I can remember my thoughts and feelings later just in case I go several months before writing the review. As a result of this, it can often seem like I have way too much to say about a course. It also has the unintended side effect of my reviews being irritating to read.

I am absolutely positive that there are a few people out there who have only made it halfway through one of my evaulations before getting bored and ducking out. This effect is compounded by the ubiquity of smart phones and their tiny screens which seem to engender short attention spans. But, I wonder, are people really using their phones to read lengthy reviews of disc golf courses? Or is that more of a desktop computer thing?

Even now, I'm aware that this post is starting to approach "TL;DNR length," but isn't that what a reviewer is supposed to do? If someone has a lot to say about a course, it is my belief that the reviewer should fully express those opinions without venturing... too... far off topic. Similiarly, I imagine that the kind of person who actively seeks out reviews of disc golf courses already has the patience required to sit down and endure a paragraph or two (or five!)

I've got so much more to say about the larger topic of course reviewing, but I suppose I'll leave it at that for now. Should reviews necessarily become shorter in order to accommodate this mile-a-minute culture we have? Or is it even an issue in the first place?

 

[wolfhaley]

Dean Moriarty has been doing work on course reviews in recent days. Great work at that. Check out the main page and check em' out. :clap:

He's been doing under the radar, photo uploads, course additions and course updates for awhile now. The dirty work. And he's killing it in that regard.

http://dgcour.se/10978

http://dgcour.se/13448

The second is a new to here course too. :thmbup:

 

[biscoe]

Yes, nice shout out to DGCR from Charlie. :thmbup:

Kudos to our own John Biscoe for designing what everyone's saying is a kick ass course!
:clap: :clap: :clap:

It was a collaborative effort. Trey Hamlet (kachtz on here at one point) deserves the Lions share of the credit.

Ulibarri yesterday called Lions the best course he has played all year. The video should be great, it is gorgeous down there right now.

 

[itsRudy]

Right off the bat, I'll admit that my course reviews can be rather wordy. Whenever I'm playing a course for the first time, I bring an index card with me and write down the characteristics of every hole just so I can remember my thoughts and feelings later just in case I go several months before writing the review. As a result of this, it can often seem like I have way too much to say about a course. It also has the unintended side effect of my reviews being irritating to read.

Nah, I appreciate your reviews a lot and always read any in my area although we're obviously at way different skill levels and so appreciate certain courses differently. Still like the different POVs because it gives me perspective what more advanced players like.

 

[aclay]

Part of the problem is that reviews get deleted here if the review doesn't conform to the DGCR unwritten rules.

Rule # 48: Houck courses no matter what can not be rated lower than 4.5.

Rule # 106: Any reviewer admitting to not taking the coronavirus jab is subject to review deletion at any time depending on the whims of the moderators.

Of course, the younger generations who may have discovered UDisc first and then come over here to review are often multiple down-thumbed for brief UDisc-style reviews which discourages them.

Finally the general lack of interest by the owner of this site in recruiting new writers or encouraging the old writers is a big reason this place is barreling towards obscurity. I've lost all interest myself as a reviewer and a course updater due to the agendas of the moderators here and the owner's attitude of nonchalance. Once they banned me for sixty days for a joke about Nikko, I realized UDisc is so vastly superior to this place that it's really not worth the effort here anymore. I just re-designed one of my courses and I won't even bother updating it on this website…it's like why make this place better when my work is completely unappreciated by the guy making money off the ads here? It's a two-way street: respect your reviewers who are giving their time for free and we'll post content here so you can make money doing nothing. No respect, no new content.

While you make SOME good points (we are not the most welcoming bunch to new folks and could do much better encouraging them and helping them understand expectations), I disagree with most of this.

The best Houck course in my area (Dallas) is rated 4.10 with four of the five reviews being 4.0, all by Trusted Reviewers, likely the same people you say are making the unwritten rule that Houck courses can't be rated lower than 4.5. And that course barely cracks the top five in the metro area, so it appears the Houck name isn't inflating ratings.

I've never had a review deleted and know of very few that have been deleted, so I would love to see evidence of your point that if you admit not taking the coronavirus vaccine, you get your reviews deleted.

I think this site is vastly superior to UDisc, but that is my opinion, not a fact. The sites are different in both approach and usefulness, so in reality it's about different approaches and different audiences. If I go to a fast-food restaurant expecting a fine dining experience, I'm going to be disappointed. If I go to UDisc expecting in-depth reviews, I'm going to be disappointed. If I come to this site expecting up-to-date course conditions, I'm going to be disappointed.

 

[sillybizz]

UDISC=McDonalds DGCR=Culvers

 

[Cgkdisc]

UDISC=McDonalds DGCR=Culvers

PDGA=White Castle?

 

[Moose33]

Has anyone else been playing tournaments at a ton of temp courses lately?

Part of the reason I've had less this year and last are a lot of mine new ones are temp courses that are unlisted. I've put a few in if it's a reoccurring location, but if it was for one pop up event and no one can ever play it again, does anyone really care what I think?

 

[denny ritner]

Pro tip for anyone coming to the Denver area- if you have the time it's well worth focusing your efforts on courses outside the Denver area.

Courses like Bailey, Beaver Ranch, Wondervu, and Ghost Town are a reasonable drive from Denver and worth the trip to play.

That or go to Colorado Springs. The best courses in Denver are mediocre.

 

[denny ritner]

That certain troll is disappointed in the quality of the moderation as of late and that certain troll actually had to appeal to the owner of this website to investigate the actions of the moderators who attempted to ban this certain troll for life for reasons they refused to explain. We know that that certain troll isn't the only one that these moderators have banned on a whim.

Troll power! Laissez led bon temps roulez!

 

[playrecords]

It was a collaborative effort. Trey Hamlet (kachtz on here at one point) deserves the Lions share of the credit.

Ulibarri yesterday called Lions the best course he has played all year. The video should be great, it is gorgeous down there right now.

I played Lake Marshall with Trey in 2018. Was surprised that he had just 3 discs in hand. Aviar, Roc and Destroyer. And dang did that dude crush a drive!

 

[MikeK]

I've never had a review deleted and know of very few that have been deleted, so I would love to see evidence of your point that if you admit not taking the coronavirus vaccine, you get your reviews deleted.

There appears to be no public record of the review deletions, so I can only provide anecdotal proof. I had my last two reviews deleted and I admit to being too wise to fall for the clot shot. I believe the gentleman who started this thread Mr. wolfhaley referred to these reviews as "drivel"—-perhaps he will testify to having read them before they were deleted. A few others have also made comments about them.

Admittedly they were not the best reviews I've written but the faux-vax propagandists must have reported them. I was trying a new style after enjoying reading the thousands upon thousands of reviews written at UDisc just this year, which outnumber the reviews written at DGCR by thousands upon thousands. I guess when it comes to course reviews, they're like my women…I prefer quantity over quality. DGCR reminds me of my fourth wife in fact…she used to really get me excited but over the years she just got lazy, never kept up with the times, and didn't enjoy what I had to say any longer. Good thing I had that pre-nup!

 

[ray1970]

That or go to Colorado Springs. The best courses in Denver are mediocre.

Caddied for my wife at a tournament at the Aviary. Looked like a fun course and I definitely look forward to playing it myself next time I find myself that direction.

 

[denny ritner]

Caddied for my wife at a tournament at the Aviary. Looked like a fun course and I definitely look forward to playing it myself next time I find myself that direction.

That's probably the best one in the area.