~ Ecker Hill is laid out on a huge wooded hill behind a school. The hill is THE thing: it dominates the course. For 13 of the 18 holes, you're playing up or you're playing down.


~ Plenty of parking, and good directional signs to bring you back to the course behind the school playing fields. Because most of the course is hidden in the woods, when standing in the flat parking lot you have no idea what you'll be facing. The course is cart-friendly - as long as you don't mind pulling or pushing a cart on steep terrain


~ The course is primarily woods play, although it's not particularly tight. There's plenty of room, but the challenge is controlling your disc through dramatic elevation changes. There's a nice run of three flat holes (7-9) along the base of the hill which feels like a break


~ Tees (rubber) and baskets (Chainstars) are in good shape. Brooms on many tees. The signage is weak: the hole illustrations are minimal (they reminded me of the old style DGA signs: those ones with "stickers" on them to indicate the positions of trees, tee and basket). The maps are simple white backgrounds, providing no indication of doglegs, hole shapes or elevation changes. And even though they're behind plexiglass, the signs are quite faded


~ Navigation is pretty intuitive on most of the course. There are two long transitions: the walk to 7 brings you to the bottom of the hill on a hiking path (easy enough), but the walk to 16 requires crossing two holes and passing several tees. I didn't see a lot of visual aids, and short of bushwhacked my way to the 16th tee


~ #17 is a wide open throw down a steep hillside, with the basket hidden by a woodline on the right. This was the only time I remember using my (RH) forehand. I understand from other reviewers that the basket placement sometimes changes to the other side (although the signage may not?). I walked ahead to be sure of the basket position


~ #18 is the only par 4; it's 541' open and flat. A real change of pace, and a fun finisher. Unfortunately the entrance road crosses right in front of the teebox, so you might have to time your throws between traffic


~ Other players I met explained the "short loop" that avoids the worst of the hill: you can play 1-6, and then 16-18 for a quick round of 9. I was there to play the course for the first time, so I went for the whole 18. If I were local, the "Quick 9" layout on uDisc would be very attractive



RECOMMENDED COMBINATIONS:
Ecker Hill is not a bad course, but the dominance of the hill made it feel a little too one dimensional for multiple plays: RHBH up the hill, RHBH down the hill, repeat. It lies almost equidistant between Wickham and Cross Farms, and pairs up well with either. If you have less time but still want to play multiple courses, try the short loop at Ecker, and then play 9 at the very good Center Springs Park.

1) Well-shaded: 16 of the holes are in the woods.
2) Clean!: most of the tees had brushes/brooms to sweep the tees; keeping them clean. Also, no poisonous plants to be found. *phew*
3) Well-marked: Plenty of "next tee" signs keep you from getting lost with the exception of the walk from 15 to 16.
4) Hole signs: contain distance, par and a general idea of where the basket lies. Some have hooks to hang your bag.

1) Zig zag: the course overlaps itself at certain points, making it possible to replay a previous hole, if you're not paying attention
2) Lots of trees: not so many as to hinder play, but it will be a challenge for anyone not used to playing in the woods

Town of Vernon has done a nice job keeping this course clean. Parking lot has plenty of room and a nice welcome board. A course map would be appreciated.

Since there is so much elevation change, it would be nice if the hole signs included topographical lines.

If you're playing in the summer time, bring bug spray; lots of flies.

Most holes are <300ft and par 3, so barring any wandering discs, or hitting trees, this is a quick course. Two people, and one brand new player who required a lot of extra throws, got through it in ~2.5 hours.

Final thought: I love playing wide-open holes so 17 and 18 were a dream. That said, this mostly wooded course plays nicely, and I was able to "thread the needle" on a couple of more densely wooded holes.

nicely laid out with a variety of holes
good signage
open year round
the town maintains it well

a couple of signs missing
walk to 16 pretty far

This course is designed well with good use of the varied property. it is adjacent to sports fields and a school but positioned as to avoid vandalism.

Great baskets
Nice tee boxes
Clean
Parking is good
Area to warm up
Portopot
Nice tee signs with map and distance
Very good directing signage (a rare thing on new courses...or any)
Phenomenal use of space.
Awesome elevation shots.
Inventive uphill layouts.
Good blend of tight technical vs air out rips
Fair lines.
Fair fast greens.

Cons: lack of seating on backside.
Still a little raw being a new course,but can see this breaking in quickly.
Some long transitions between a few holes.

Other Thoughts:
This is a monster hill
Be prepared to do some hiking on this layout.
Up hill efforts are rewarded with challenging downhill throws and chances to let it rip.
Im not usually a fan if hill based courses, but this one got my attention.

1) Fairways - there were not unreasonable fairways which can sometimes come with wooded courses, each fairway could be thrown with at least two shots and there was not a wall of trees to hope your disc passed through
2) Signage - really great signs for a young course, each sign gave a distance, a hole layout, and a par (except 17 which misses the par on the sign but it is 3 for anyone wondering)
3) Baskets - I had no problems with these DGA baskets, they caught everything they should have, obviously don't have the yellow band to see the basket as easy but there were only one or two holes I had to walk up to see the basket
4) Tees - really fantastic tees, they all were a rubber style and impressive, again, for a younger course, they weren't as dusty as I expected them to be in a wooded area
5) Hole 17 and 18 - I am separating these holes as they are different from the rest of the course, they are both wide open grass holes, and really add an exciting finish to the round with some bombs you can truly unleash on
6) Rough - the edges of the fairways and even into the woods, if you have a poor kick, really aren't overgrown and discs can be easily found and a par save is totally possible with a smart upshot

1) Paths - some of the paths cross each other and some tees are ten feet away from each other but these problems are pretty much taken care of with solid signage and directions
2) Bugs - as in any CT course, there are bugs to fend off and bug spray will fix it, the nearby pond close to hole 7 also adds a bit to it, this is sort of nit picky

I played this course, Panthorn in Southington, and Lufbery in Wallingford all in the same day and I believe this course to be the easiest, but it may be just that way for me. But it wasn't easy in the grand scheme of things, just compared to the other two courses. The use of elevation was superb, not ridiculous or impossible. I really enjoyed the environment of this course as well. On a school, not crowded but still played, and a really beautiful space that also has a good workout between holes. There are fields nearby to warm up on as well and that is something not many courses can boast. I know I don't have many cons for this course and only gave it a 3.5 but that was because I wasn't wow-ed. I liked it over all and it's a really good addition to the current courses nearby.

Welcome to Ecker Hill: you throw up the hill, you throw down the hill. This summarizes what to expect as you encounter perhaps the most dramatic and challenging elevation changes that CT disc golf has to offer. Plenty of twists and turns along the way, tees present a mix of forehand and backhand throws with some tricky approaches to the pin. Tee pads, signs and next tee indicators on all holes. Easy to navigate. Almost entirely wooded except for the last two holes. Well maintained and clean. Easy to find, plenty of parking, and an adjacent field where you can warm up. A good, strenuous hike.

Some poison ivy to watch out for and as with most CT courses you will want to bring the bug spray in the summer. Water comes into sight on hole #7 but not into play (unless you go way offline). Some of the tees felt more level under foot than others. Some of the holes intersect in odd ways as you move along, but with clear next tee signs it's still hard to mess up. Could use a few more benches or logs at the tees for seats.

Fun course, great use of the hilly terrain to maximize the elevation changes. Although the hike and steep inclines might tire some, I found this physical aspect unique to the area and enjoyable. Not far off 84 and only two miles from Rein's Deli, an excellent place to stop for lunch after a round.

Great use of elevation. This course is located on some very hilly, wooded terrain. Lots of up, down and along the slope of hills. Good mix of risk/reward on most holes; a good drive gave you a legitimate chance at birdie, while a misplayed shot left you scrambling to avoid bogey. Even though it's in some heavy woods, the fairways are plenty wide.
Other than a couple holes down near the pond, the brush was actually cleared well for a newer course.
Lots of signs directing you to the next hole made it virtually impossible to get lost. Even the signs as you entered the school grounds, directing you to the start of the course, were helpful. The new tees look great, about half of them were finished when I was there, the other half were framed and close to done.

No tee signs yet, but I heard they'll be coming very soon and they should be nice... so this con will soon become a pro.
A lot of poison ivy on the holes near the pond. Hopefully time will beat most of that back.
Hole 3, at less than 200 feet, felt very short and out of place with the rest of the course.

The first 16 holes are all in the woods, while the last 2 are out in the open, with 18 being a loooong WIDE open bomb.
Great new course, I'll be back!

First off, it's unfair to rate this course before it's finished, but thought it needed at least a place holder review. I expect to update this rating in the spring to something much higher when tee pads and signs are and the piles of brush have been wood chipped away. (Update: Nice pads in place and much cleared)

-Nice new chainstair baskets that catch well.
-Every hole interesting and challenging. The first 16 wind through the beautiful New England woods with a good mix of left turning and right turning holes. The fairways are well defined, but an errant throw WILL result in bogie or worse.
-Elevation change is put to great use.
-Water visible but really not too much risk of losing a disc.
-wildlife out there. Owl seemed to be commenting on my putting.
-The community garden and view coming down the 17th fairway are terrific
-Some longer holes (par fours?) will demand placement and strategy to score well. Hole 10, 13, and 15 come to mind with uphill shots, and Hole 16 with a downhill shot. Hole 18 takes a big arm to score a 3.

-No tee pads or signage...yet. (Update; Signage still minimal, but will get you where you need to go)
-Only one set of tees. This course will be challenge for beginners.
-Until the brush is cleared off the fairway can be a balancing act of negotiating the brush. (Update: much clearer Summer '15 than it was last fall)

Wonderful addition to the Disc Golf Community. I look forward to watching this course mature. Might not have all of the length and challenge of Wickham but will be of interest to a wide variety of skill levels. I'm a rec level player and found the course to be demanding but not too intimidating.

UPDATE Summer 2015: All 18 Tee boxes are installed and the course is breaking in nicely. Also a great group of dedicated regulars that stay on top of this place. I bumped up my rating from 3 to 3.5. With a few more improvements like tee signs it could reach a 4.