Ella Sharp Park DGC reviews
18
0
BogeyNoMore
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
19.9 years
484 played
183 reviews
Lookin' Sharp! 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 5, 2018
Played the course:once
Pros:
Nice course nestled amid a gathering of mature trees in a quiet community park. Plays through a section of the park that looks like it doesn't get much other traffic. Friendly setting and good design combine to provide a very enjoyable round.
• Variety: Decent range of distances, as well as fairways that require a few different lines. Most holes are semi-open to moderately well-wooded, but all feature some particularly well placed trees you'll need to work around. Few are what I'd call heavily wooded (but I suppose it depends what you're used to). A "go to" stable/straight fairway driver is a must here, but there's enough variation that I used a decent range of stabilities and disc speeds off the tee.
• Elevation: Nothing dramatic, but mild to moderately rolling terrain creates enough elevation change from tee to pin to make things interesting. At least one hole features significant rollaway potential, many play a bit longer or shorter than the measured distance
• Challenge: Well suited to Rec/Intermediate players. Not enough to really challenge Advanced players, but more than enough trees that you have to hold a decent line to get down the fairway. Bad kicks can really make you scramble to save par. But the lack of brush means missing the fairway isn't excessively punitive. Several baskets are well guarded behind stands of trees, requiring well-placed approaches.
• Aesthetics/setting: Very pleasant. The abundance of mature shade trees make this a great choice for hot days, and limited undergrowth makes spotting discs pretty easy.
• Course flows well, and nav is straightforward (only used the map a couple of times). Does a great job avoiding non-DG traffic.
• Brand new Chainstars are tried and true, but can be tough to spot in the shadowy woods. Small stone pavers at the front of the tees show hole # and distance. Nice sized concrete tees provide sure footing, and I really liked the black finish on them.
• Variety: Decent range of distances, as well as fairways that require a few different lines. Most holes are semi-open to moderately well-wooded, but all feature some particularly well placed trees you'll need to work around. Few are what I'd call heavily wooded (but I suppose it depends what you're used to). A "go to" stable/straight fairway driver is a must here, but there's enough variation that I used a decent range of stabilities and disc speeds off the tee.
• Elevation: Nothing dramatic, but mild to moderately rolling terrain creates enough elevation change from tee to pin to make things interesting. At least one hole features significant rollaway potential, many play a bit longer or shorter than the measured distance
• Challenge: Well suited to Rec/Intermediate players. Not enough to really challenge Advanced players, but more than enough trees that you have to hold a decent line to get down the fairway. Bad kicks can really make you scramble to save par. But the lack of brush means missing the fairway isn't excessively punitive. Several baskets are well guarded behind stands of trees, requiring well-placed approaches.
• Aesthetics/setting: Very pleasant. The abundance of mature shade trees make this a great choice for hot days, and limited undergrowth makes spotting discs pretty easy.
• Course flows well, and nav is straightforward (only used the map a couple of times). Does a great job avoiding non-DG traffic.
• Brand new Chainstars are tried and true, but can be tough to spot in the shadowy woods. Small stone pavers at the front of the tees show hole # and distance. Nice sized concrete tees provide sure footing, and I really liked the black finish on them.
Cons:
• I'd have preferred baskets with color on then like new DisCatchers, Chainstar Pro, or Prodigy, for better visibility.
• Many of the holes have a similar feel, but I never thought it felt repetitive.
Other than that, I really can't come up with anything tangible. Just because it's not a 5.0 doesn't necessarily mean "something's wrong."
• Many of the holes have a similar feel, but I never thought it felt repetitive.
Other than that, I really can't come up with anything tangible. Just because it's not a 5.0 doesn't necessarily mean "something's wrong."
Other Thoughts:
Ella Sharp is intelligently designed and well executed. Given this parcel of land, it was never going to be a championship caliber course, but I'd say they made the most of the available property. Not a destination course IMO, but very much a fun round.
A lot of work went into clearing out undergrowth, which really enhances the playability and fun factor here. I came away thinking this course is a solid 3.25, so I'm on the fence about 3.0 vs 3.5, but I'll lean toward 3.5 because it was simply such an enjoyable round... and that's worth an extra ¼ disc in my book.
Worth mentioning the abundance mature trees does a great job of providing shade, but doesn't necessarily kill the wind (another plus on a hot day). Several times during the round, the wind picked up to the point that it affected my disc choice.
A lot of work went into clearing out undergrowth, which really enhances the playability and fun factor here. I came away thinking this course is a solid 3.25, so I'm on the fence about 3.0 vs 3.5, but I'll lean toward 3.5 because it was simply such an enjoyable round... and that's worth an extra ¼ disc in my book.
Worth mentioning the abundance mature trees does a great job of providing shade, but doesn't necessarily kill the wind (another plus on a hot day). Several times during the round, the wind picked up to the point that it affected my disc choice.
