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Independence, MO

Drumm Farm

35(based on 2 reviews)
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7 0
Pevio
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12 years 189 played 120 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A Farm of... I don't know what, really

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 5, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Drumm Farms features a nice variety of holes, and makes up for lack of distance with some . Tees, signs, and baskets are all in good shape, navigation is super easy, and you can practice at hole 18.

This course does a good job having not just variety in fairway shape, but also in size of fairway. There are the tight lines on 2, 14, and 16, wide lines on 8 and 17, and low ceilings on 3 and 18. There are some open holes as well.

Having a few water hazards is nice on some of the holes where it's present. You have to hit the brakes on hole 4 and 17 before the creek, but carry over the water on 9 to a really small green.

There are some opportunities for interesting shots and situations. There are a few wide hyzer opportunities no matter how you throw, some skip shots, and a basket on a mound on hole 14.

Cons:

A lot of holes aren't very hard, or have easy options to get to the hole for birdie. On some, the primary difficulty is some fences that come into play, which is never fun.

A few holes aren't fitting in, or don't feel like there was much intentionality with the design. The branches should be trimmed a bit on 18, there's rough growing too high on 15, an hole 4 is quite hard despite being labeled a par 3. The pars make it look like this course is for players who throw 250 feet or so, but that makes hole 9, the water carry, not make much sense, being around 280 feet to clear the water (though there is a layup option).

No long holes. Even with the par 4's, there are almost no opportunities to really air it out. Even on the par 4's that there are, the placement off the tee doesn't really matter (if playing for birdie). The landing zones are super large, and you can always hang the disc out pretty far to one side and not hinder the approach at all.

The creek running through the course is rather annoying. It comes into play on quite a few holes but doesn't make them any harder. Discs are sometimes easy to retrieve... and sometimes not, and that means it's hard to tell how aggressive your shot should be.

Other Thoughts:

This is really one of the strangest courses I've played. There's so much going on at this property that Disc Golf only 12 days a year hardly matters. But someone put quite a bit of money into this course, since it's kept up well and has a bunch of bridges dedicated to the course. But the fences that sometimes have actual animals inside them show that the course doesn't really matter. Plus, for being a private course, the holes are just okay.

In addition to the fences you cross, there are some other fences nearby, but they shouldn't create any lost disc potential.

If you ignore posted par, a lot of holes gain some more teeth. I like the variety here, but a few holes just aren't too hard. And since the course plays around a lot of other infrastructure, the result is just an average course.

There aren't many ways to improve the course here. I would like to see the woods behind holes 2 and 3 used a bit more, which would help the course spread out more, but other than that, I like the layout. Oh, and remove any fences and gates if possible.
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16 0
Surge5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 9.8 years 167 played 167 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Gated Community

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 5, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Tucked around the grounds of a Children's Center, Drumm Farm has a sound 18 holes. Nothing outstanding, but a solid course.

Every hole has a very nice tee sign showing distance and OB (which is plentiful here). When finding the next tee could be difficult, directional signs are near the previous basket hanging on a fence post or tree. Decent concrete tees and 18 Discatchers still in decent shape make up the rest of the course's amenities.

A stream running throught the property keeps your landing zones honest on ten holes. This stream also contributes to the best-handled part of the course: the greens. 4, 5, 12, 15, and 17 all have greens backed by the stream. Some are forgiving, some are not. There are holes that are supposed to be ace ran (6, 10, 16) and they have a hill behind them to tempt those who normally wouldn't run it. A mound green on 14, and a trees within the circle on 7 and 11 round out a solid set of greens for the course.

The holes set in the woods (10-11, 14-16) have the most promise and challenge. Tight tunnels on 10 and 16, gaps on 14 and 15, and a thin right finishing line on 11 make the finest holes on the course. 18 also has your choice of tree gap to hit, but is wide open after that.

Mowing and such is kept up very nicely. A few reeds on 15 were a little tall right in front of the tee, but my Verdict blew right through them.

Cons:

Where to start... probably that the course is only open to the public one day a month. It makes sense to not be open when the children's center is operating during the week, but would even one more Saturday a month hurt?

Being open while the center is mostly closed does weaken another con (which is a good thing): playing near roads. 1 crosses a road, 4 plays right by one, and 6 and 18 play toward one... and it doesn't help that that's the main entrance.

The tee signs are sad. I can understand 17 and maybe 18 being called par 4s, but none of the other 4s are anywhere close. It's a par 55 course at best, and top players could easily go 20 down on a good day with these pars. While we're at the tee, the pads of 7, 9, and 13 have cracked corners. Also the tee sign of 8 is so deceptive that I ended up trying to play the basket of 9. It looks like some trees have been removed and the sign is now wildly inaccurate.

Let's talk fences! Going through them to access other parts of the course isn't too inconvenient, but lining the fairway on 4, 5, 6, and 12, and needing to be crossed off the tee on 17 isn't ideal. 17 would be a fine hole without the fence.

Some poor hole design:
- Hole 4 plays downhill to the left with thick brush on the right and a road to the left. While the green is very nice, the shape of the - hole isn't very nice to get onto it.
- Hole 7 is the definition of meh. Your drive has one tree to beat, then finish left and skip to the pin.
- Hole 8 is a wide open shot into a field of mud (more on that later).
- Hole 9 is a shot over the water. While it's nice to have a pure water hole, the green is so small you're better off throwing a high speed disc, crashing into the trees and hoping you can pitch out for a 3 instead of trying to park the green. I understand tests of skill but this level of course is not the place for that.

The mud and drainage is horrendous all throughout the course. 2, 5, 7, 8, and 15 all have patches that still haven't dried (or the entire hole if we're talking about 8), and the last rain was four days ago. Luckily the fairway of 18 is nice and grassy to wipe your feet on.

Other Thoughts:

With so much to complain about, the course still manages to be really fun and holds challenge throughout. Navigation may be a little tough, but that's a minor takeaway compared to the rest, and it's mitigated by the next tee arrows. While some holes are a little short, none of them are pointless or squeezed in where they shouldn't be, and the course wouldn't benefit from being just 9 or 12. While 6 and 13 are filler, they aren't pointless (like 8).

While this isn't a course I would visit often, I wouldn't steer anyone away from it. The fun factor is definitely there if you can overlook the gripes. $5 is a little steep for a course this low in quality, but it goes to a good cause so it's not just a waste. This course is my absolute floor for acheiving a 3.0 rating. Any more issues and it would drop to a 2.5.

Side note, while both are called Drumm Farm, the golf course is not where the disc golf course is. If you Google "Drumm Farm disc golf" it will take you to the golf course. Search "Drumm Farm Market" instead and the course parking is on the left after the first fork.
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