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Big Cross DGC reviews
4
0
TheBeardedFatGuy
Experience:
9.8 years
2 played
2 reviews
Sagebrush, Sand & Elevation Changes 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:May 27, 2019
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
- Varying elevations
- Variety of pars
- Large concrete tee pads
- Great tee signs
- Putting practice basket on the only grassy area near the first hole
- Local clubs do great job with volunteer care
- Variety of pars
- Large concrete tee pads
- Great tee signs
- Putting practice basket on the only grassy area near the first hole
- Local clubs do great job with volunteer care
Cons:
- No irrigation, grass or trees except around practice basket near first tee
- Cheatgrass/foxtails make long pants a must
- Positioning of hole 10 makes playing back 9 more of a hike than it should be
- Tee signs are aligned for easy visibility on approach instead of with the fairway
- Cheatgrass/foxtails make long pants a must
- Positioning of hole 10 makes playing back 9 more of a hike than it should be
- Tee signs are aligned for easy visibility on approach instead of with the fairway
Other Thoughts:
(Full disclosure - I designed the tee signs for this course, including naming the holes and defining OB areas.)
Big Cross was installed by Pasco Parks & Recreation in 2017 in an area of crisscrossing paths used for cross country events (hence the name), though it is mostly frequented by exercising walkers and runners. The area is sandy with sagebrush, cheatgrass and even a few ground cacti. Effort has been made to clear around tee pads and baskets, including adding low grade wood chips, but there are no clearly defined fairways.
If playing in hot, sunny weather, be sure to wear a hat and bring plenty of water. Consider wearing sun screen if you have exposed skin, too. With no trees to provide shade, dehydration, sunburn and heat stroke are real possibilities, especially considering it can take around 2 hours to play all 18 holes.
Several holes have the potential for lost discs - extreme care should be taken in noting the limited landmarks near where your disc lands because, from a distance, one clump of sagebrush looks very much like another. Also, two of the holes (6 & 7) are bordered by an irrigation canal with brush at its edge - great potential for your disc taking a swim. Due to elevation changes and hill placement, a few holes (9, 12 and 18) afford you no view of where your disc lands, so, if playing with others, consider having someone go out ahead to spot where your disc lands.
Because of the near-total lack of trees, the need to protect walkers from stray discs, and the desire to make holes challenging, OB areas consist entirely of paths (on a path is always OB, and beyond some is often OB). While many paths in the real terrain are obvious, expect to spend a bit of time identifying a few of the less well trodden paths used for OBs.
Don't get the idea you'll be bored on this course. Frequent variations in elevation combined with the path-defined OBs makes for interesting play despite the almost total lack of trees.
While alternate roadside parking is available on the side of the course opposite hole 1, positioning of the back 9 still requires a hike in to about the center of the course in order to reach the tee pad for hole 10.
Tee signs are often not aligned with their fairways, I suspect to make them easier to spot when approaching them. This adds difficulty to applying the map on the sign to the actual terrain as you must mentally rotate it first. While arrows on the signs show the direction from the baskets to the next tee pad, if you don't make note of it before leaving the tee area, you likely won't remember it. It would be nice if they placed an arrow plaque or maybe a painted stone at the basket pointing toward the next tee pad.
Two holes of particular interest are hole 4 (Canyon Run) and 17 (Eagle's Eyrie), the former because it spans a small valley with lots of elevation changes over a relatively small area, and the latter because it affords you a breathtaking throw from a relatively high spot over a broad expanse of lower ground.
I hope the course is eventually improved to have grass, trees and clearly defined fairways, but it is very playble as-is.Add it to your rotation - you won't be disappointed.
Big Cross was installed by Pasco Parks & Recreation in 2017 in an area of crisscrossing paths used for cross country events (hence the name), though it is mostly frequented by exercising walkers and runners. The area is sandy with sagebrush, cheatgrass and even a few ground cacti. Effort has been made to clear around tee pads and baskets, including adding low grade wood chips, but there are no clearly defined fairways.
If playing in hot, sunny weather, be sure to wear a hat and bring plenty of water. Consider wearing sun screen if you have exposed skin, too. With no trees to provide shade, dehydration, sunburn and heat stroke are real possibilities, especially considering it can take around 2 hours to play all 18 holes.
Several holes have the potential for lost discs - extreme care should be taken in noting the limited landmarks near where your disc lands because, from a distance, one clump of sagebrush looks very much like another. Also, two of the holes (6 & 7) are bordered by an irrigation canal with brush at its edge - great potential for your disc taking a swim. Due to elevation changes and hill placement, a few holes (9, 12 and 18) afford you no view of where your disc lands, so, if playing with others, consider having someone go out ahead to spot where your disc lands.
Because of the near-total lack of trees, the need to protect walkers from stray discs, and the desire to make holes challenging, OB areas consist entirely of paths (on a path is always OB, and beyond some is often OB). While many paths in the real terrain are obvious, expect to spend a bit of time identifying a few of the less well trodden paths used for OBs.
Don't get the idea you'll be bored on this course. Frequent variations in elevation combined with the path-defined OBs makes for interesting play despite the almost total lack of trees.
While alternate roadside parking is available on the side of the course opposite hole 1, positioning of the back 9 still requires a hike in to about the center of the course in order to reach the tee pad for hole 10.
Tee signs are often not aligned with their fairways, I suspect to make them easier to spot when approaching them. This adds difficulty to applying the map on the sign to the actual terrain as you must mentally rotate it first. While arrows on the signs show the direction from the baskets to the next tee pad, if you don't make note of it before leaving the tee area, you likely won't remember it. It would be nice if they placed an arrow plaque or maybe a painted stone at the basket pointing toward the next tee pad.
Two holes of particular interest are hole 4 (Canyon Run) and 17 (Eagle's Eyrie), the former because it spans a small valley with lots of elevation changes over a relatively small area, and the latter because it affords you a breathtaking throw from a relatively high spot over a broad expanse of lower ground.
I hope the course is eventually improved to have grass, trees and clearly defined fairways, but it is very playble as-is.Add it to your rotation - you won't be disappointed.
10
0
big ol' desert 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Oct 14, 2017
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
+Innova DiscCatchers & tee signs
+long tee pads w/numbers on them
+hole variety, (elevation & distance)
+lots of parking
+not crowded
+practice basket
+onsite course sign (map)
+long tee pads w/numbers on them
+hole variety, (elevation & distance)
+lots of parking
+not crowded
+practice basket
+onsite course sign (map)
Cons:
-sand, weeds, wind and no trees. (desert)
-cross country runners & walkers (occasionally)
-no easy short loop; playing just 9 is difficult
-navigation the first time
-most sign distances slightly wrong, but not consistently incorrect: up to 70ft off (use distances here).
-no landmarks to identify where your disc lands (disc searching)
-hard to get to from eastbound 182 (havta go to the airport & back or argent)
-holes 1 & 18 ~300ft from the parking lot
-cross country runners & walkers (occasionally)
-no easy short loop; playing just 9 is difficult
-navigation the first time
-most sign distances slightly wrong, but not consistently incorrect: up to 70ft off (use distances here).
-no landmarks to identify where your disc lands (disc searching)
-hard to get to from eastbound 182 (havta go to the airport & back or argent)
-holes 1 & 18 ~300ft from the parking lot
Other Thoughts:
eastern Washington is mostly desert and this course shows you what that looks/plays like: soft sand and brush on hills. though it doesn't have trees, it challenges you with elevation or distance on most holes. some obs on the sign are a bit ridiculous (see 6). big arms will enjoy really opening up here. playing the longest 18 in the tricities you will get a workout going up and down the sandy hills. the soft sand would make pulling/pushing a cart near impossible and you will likely get sand in your shoes. the lack of trees makes it super hot in the summer & there is no block for the wind. playing anything other than 18 would require some walking to skip to the holes coming back. it's on a cross country course so some evenings/weekends will have a ton of runners, but most holes don't interfere with the running paths. the city does spread some bark; most of it is distributed to the defined paths. it doesn't have scenic beauty, but it is probably as fun as a course can be w/o trees (wide open airways).
