This is a scenic course set in rocky, mature woodland with fair fairways and elevation in play throughout the course. Nice variety of uphill, downhill, straight, left-turning, and right-turning holes. Rock formations, old stone walls, ferns, and trilliums add beauty to the setting.

The first few holes are fairly short as you Billy goat your way up the hill. Later holes are longer with less dramatic elevation changes. From the short tees most holes are in the 200' to 300' range, but two ~450' par 4 holes add variety. A few hole designs include dual fairways, which is a nice touch.

Red-banded baskets were easy to spot, mounted level, and caught well. Excellent tee signs include a hole map with suggested flight line, distance, elevation change, hole par, and direction to the next tee. Sturdy log benches have been installed throughout the course.

Grippy and level artificial turf mats at the short tees (but see cons). Long tees have been installed on many holes (as of July 2022), and presumably more are in the works. These long tees are excellent, generously sized and nicely constructed from artificial turf. Many of the long tees add substantial distance, and several were slightly elevated onto sturdy rock or log platforms.

Red tape wrapped on one of the basket spokes points the way to the next tee. Plentiful round white markers on trees guide you to the next tee (but see cons). Sturdy footbridges have been installed across streams and gullies.

Port-a-pot by the disc golf parking lot, and an indoor restroom near the park entrance. Abundant other park activities include a skate park, pickleball, a playground, athletic fields, and trails for hiking, horse riding, and cross country skiing.

Walks between holes are often longer than the holes themselves. Playing the long tees sometimes shortens the walk, but this is not a compact course by any stretch of the imagination.

The short tee pads are 4' x 8'. This is shorter than I prefer, and on a few holes my not-particularly-long run-up felt constrained. This was especially noticeable if the tee was not at ground level on a longer hole.

From the short tees, a few holes felt a little repetitive. I remember occasionally thinking, "Didn't I already play this hole?" To be fair, none of these were bad holes. Installing the remaining long tees should reduce or eliminate this minor issue.

Directional signs were abundant but some key path intersections were not marked. Despite checking the course map I missed a few turns, and even accidentally played a 3-hole loop twice.

Bittner Park was perhaps the most pleasant surprise on a New England road trip, and I enjoyed playing here very much. When long tee installation is finished, this course will provide an excellent and appropriate challenge for a wide range of skill levels. I can see this course easily earning a 4.0 rating when completed.

This course is a hike, and does not pass particularly close to the parking lot midway. Bring what you need for the full 18 holes.

To reach the course, drive to the back of the last parking lot, almost to the pickleball courts. Take the path up the hill and left into the woods and follow the round white markers to hole 1. A path through the trees directly to the first hole would save some walking distance. After playing hole 18, the path around the back of the pickleball courts will guide you back to the parking lot.

+ Bittner Park "Main" layout starts right off with two short holes that give you a good preview of the course. First one uphill 140' gets you up to the top of a bluff and then two, you're kind of throwing across a little bit of a valley with a huge downflow slope to the left. Short, wooded, watch out for groundplay


+ There's a sneaky amount of elevation on this course, especially downhills that make for touchy approaches


+ The course plays entirely in thick woods, but the Main fairways are pretty open and the rough is manageable. The lines for some of the newer Long tees are a bit more constricted, and might still be developing


+ Long tees stretch this layout from 4600' to 7000' - the woods and elevation are challenge enough for beginners and intermediates, adding the long tees keeps it interesting for frequent local players and tournaments


+ There's a fair amount of walking between holes, but the locals have gone out of their way to ensure you don't get lost: look for the little circular disc golf insignias fastened to trees

- Short tees are mats; long tees are crushed gravel

~ This is a wooded, technical course that's clearly well cared for. Everything is very fair, you can really see the lines and there's some room for error


~ The designer (see earlier review below) has a big vision for what the course can become, with long tees and baskets. It's a work in progress, but it's plenty of fun right now, offering two very different layouts from the two tees


~ Some of the walking between holes shares hiking trails with the park, although the trails never seemed to interfere with the course. You walk over a waterfall on the back nine




COURSE AMENITIES:
DisCatcher baskets with numbered red bands. Front ("Main") tees are mats mounted at ground level. They're In decent shape, but they're short. The back tees are crushed gravel. Main signage is very good (includes elevation change); the back tee signage is just paper. Log benches at many holes; it seems like every hole has a local sponsor. The large parking lot in the back of the park is shared with skate park and pickleball (there's something here for all ages!)

Holes are well designed, with technical and fun shots. Beautiful park and woods to walk in. A lot like the courses in PA.

I knew going in that the course was new and under its initial construction phase. My recommendation would be to have a better directions or more signs that point in the direction of the next hole.

Hopefully when I'm back up in Pine Orchard for future family vacations the course will be officially done!

Update/Edit - Over the last year, work to install the initial layout at Bittner Park DGC (aka Rick B. Maynard Course) was completed. The short-short layout is a par 56 with two par 4s, and an overall intended skill level of red/white. However, several holes will challenge blue level players with their length and/or shot shape. Tees consist of 4' x 8' turf and baskets are Innova DisCatcher Pro 28s. Trails have been carved out between holes, and a new bridge installed over the creek between holes 10 and 11. The course is being played daily by golfers living all along the Connecticut Shoreline, and the word of mouth is overwhelmingly positive.

Meanwhile, my personal vision for hole expansion is currently underway. Every hole will have at least one alternate tee location and one alternate basket location. I envision these layouts being appropriate for various skill levels. The short-short will be red/white, the short-long and long-short will be white/blue, and the long-long will be gold. The pars will be 56, 60, 64, 68, with numerous par 4s and par 5s. For the time being, tees for these long holes will remain dirt but will be raked and leveled. Basket sleeves will be installed at each long pin position, and the plan is to use the long positions for tournaments and eventually install a full set of alternates.

As of the end of this week (January 27-31, 2020), holes 10-18 will have been fully carved and "playable." Pars are as follows (short-short, long-short, short-long, long-long):

Hole 1 - Par 3 / 4 / 3 / 4
Hole 2 - Par 3 / 4 / 4 / 5
Hole 3 - Par 3 / 3 / 3 / 3
Hole 4 - Par 3 / 3 / 4 / 4
Hole 5 - Par 3 / 3 / 4 / 4
Hole 6 - Par 3 / 3 / 4 / 4
Hole 7 - Par 3 / 3 / 3 / 3
Hole 8 - Par 3 / 3 / 4 / 4
Hole 9 - Par 3 / 3 / 3 / 4
Front Nine Total Pars - 27 / 29 / 32 / 35
Hole 10 - Par 3 / 3 / 3 / 3
Hole 11 - Par 3 / 3 / 3 / 3
Hole 12 - Par 3 / 4 / 4 / 5
Hole 13 - Par 4 / 4 / 5 / 5
Hole 14 - Par 3 / 4 / 3 / 4
Hole 15 - Par 3 / 3 / 3 / 3
Hole 16 - Par 3 / 3 / 4 / 4
Hole 17 - Par 4 / 4 / 5 / 5
Hole 18 - Par 3 / 3 / 3 / 3
Back Nine Total Pars - 27 / 31 / 33 / 35
Full 18 Total Pars - 54 / 60 / 65 / 70
Hole lengths have not yet been finalized but will be listed once tees and basket sleeve locations are installed.

Work on the front nine is anticipated to continue through the winter months, and will hopefully be completed in early spring 2020. Throughout the process, holes will be finalized and cut material will be cleared.

The design of Bittner Park has had to meet several concerns of the Town of Guilford. As the park has an extensive trail system, with just a few exceptions, no holes were allowed to be located on or across any existing major trails. Of note, two "spur" trails have been closed, and one "connector" trail will have a portion relocated to avoid conflict with the extension of Hole 12.

Additionally, the Wetlands Commission restricted tree cutting to those that were 8" in diameter or less, not allowing fairways to cross over any mapped wetlands or streams, or allowing any vegetation removal within 25' of a flagged wetlands area.

In general, these limitations did not hamper the design, and in fact identified several major "zones" dictating where the holes would need to be located. Each hole was designed to maximize playability and fun for the intended skill level through careful tree removal and tee/basket placement.