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Far Hill DGC reviews
13
0
Another Great Course in Grand Rapids
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 23, 2023
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
Far Hill DCG adds another course to the north side of Grand Rapids in Sparta Michigan! While this is a multi use park, its pretty away from everything else. It now has a parking lot, where I think when it first opened you had to walk a 1/4 mile in.
Use of the Land: Far Hill DGC has 18 holes that have a nice mix of wooded holes and open holes with mixes of elevation. They also have two layouts here, but I have only played the Blue Layout.
Signs: Awesome signs with sponsors on all the holes. They also have a lot of "Next Basket" signs to help navigate you in the direction.
Baskets/Tee Pads: Baskets are new discatcatchers, and still in good condition. Tee Pads are nice and oversized, and the only complaint I heard about them was that 16 (I think) has a wooden back stop in front of it.
Play Style: I think there are a lot of fun shots here and hole 16 really stands out to me as the best hole on the course. It's pretty open bomber shot, that can be enjoyed by noodle arms with the downhill assist.
Use of the Land: Far Hill DGC has 18 holes that have a nice mix of wooded holes and open holes with mixes of elevation. They also have two layouts here, but I have only played the Blue Layout.
Signs: Awesome signs with sponsors on all the holes. They also have a lot of "Next Basket" signs to help navigate you in the direction.
Baskets/Tee Pads: Baskets are new discatcatchers, and still in good condition. Tee Pads are nice and oversized, and the only complaint I heard about them was that 16 (I think) has a wooden back stop in front of it.
Play Style: I think there are a lot of fun shots here and hole 16 really stands out to me as the best hole on the course. It's pretty open bomber shot, that can be enjoyed by noodle arms with the downhill assist.
Cons:
Amenities: No Porta Potty on site, I think the park has a bathroom, but it's not very close to the course at all. They don't really have a course map hear either, which isn't needed as much with the next hole signs, but would be nice to have.
Holes: I enjoyed most of this, but I hate that hole 18 is pushed back and you can't just watch your disc fly. I heard there was something on top that they weren't able to put the teepad there but that one is sad to me. It does seem to favor the anhyzer shot or forehand here for RH players, so that can be annoying if you don't have that slot covered.
A few of the holes were fairly close by. I remember one tee shot if gone wrong and land in the other fairway. I tend to play this course early and even when it was busier, it was still fairly low.
Holes: I enjoyed most of this, but I hate that hole 18 is pushed back and you can't just watch your disc fly. I heard there was something on top that they weren't able to put the teepad there but that one is sad to me. It does seem to favor the anhyzer shot or forehand here for RH players, so that can be annoying if you don't have that slot covered.
A few of the holes were fairly close by. I remember one tee shot if gone wrong and land in the other fairway. I tend to play this course early and even when it was busier, it was still fairly low.
Other Thoughts:
Over all this is a fun course and I like to go there for a change from some of my normal go to courses. I think this is harder than some of the other courses and have some more bombable holes that I think bigger arm players may like, but still utilize the woods. If coming from out of town you can always stop by Downtown Trini's and Margarita Joe's as it is one of the local hot spots for a wet burrito or a taco eating challenge.
19
0
Solid addition to Grand Rapids area disc golf!
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Nov 7, 2021
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
Far Hill DGC is located in Sparta, MI which is about 25 minutes north of downtown Grand Rapids. The course plays in the far back area of a multi-use park, well away from other park amenities.
This 18-hole course plays as two loops, each of which circles back to the starting area. The first loop of holes 1-13 is relatively flat for the most part, with fairways cut through a meadow and mixed forest. Most of these holes are at least in part thickly wooded, but there are a few scattered open areas. The distances range from approximately 200' to 650', with the majority of holes between 250' and 350'. This isn't a championship level course, but I think the distances and technical challenge are enough to keep most DG'ers interested.
Holes 14-18 are generally more open, and play up and down a couple of bigger hills. Hole 17 is only 230' but plays up the steep hill to a basket perched on the slope near the top. Serious rollaway potential on this one. Hole 18 was my favorite. It's the classic downhill bomber to end your round, but with a twist - to reach that downhill your disc first has to travel up and over the top of the ridge. The tee pad is far enough back that it's a blind throw over the top.
The baskets are blue banded DISCatchers. There are two pin positions per hole, a Blue layout and a White one. The baskets are periodically rotated between the two pin positions, i.e. you can only play one layout at a time. I played the White layout on my visit. There is also a practice basket that is red banded to differentiate it from the others.
The tee pads are large, flat, new slabs of concrete. One per hole. The tee signs are nice - showing the hole number, map of the hole, and distances to both pin positions. A few trash cans and benches are strategically located at tees throughout the course.
The navigational signage is good. Next Tee signs are placed where needed, and painted red for high visibility. A couple holes also had mandos clearly marked in this same style.
This 18-hole course plays as two loops, each of which circles back to the starting area. The first loop of holes 1-13 is relatively flat for the most part, with fairways cut through a meadow and mixed forest. Most of these holes are at least in part thickly wooded, but there are a few scattered open areas. The distances range from approximately 200' to 650', with the majority of holes between 250' and 350'. This isn't a championship level course, but I think the distances and technical challenge are enough to keep most DG'ers interested.
Holes 14-18 are generally more open, and play up and down a couple of bigger hills. Hole 17 is only 230' but plays up the steep hill to a basket perched on the slope near the top. Serious rollaway potential on this one. Hole 18 was my favorite. It's the classic downhill bomber to end your round, but with a twist - to reach that downhill your disc first has to travel up and over the top of the ridge. The tee pad is far enough back that it's a blind throw over the top.
The baskets are blue banded DISCatchers. There are two pin positions per hole, a Blue layout and a White one. The baskets are periodically rotated between the two pin positions, i.e. you can only play one layout at a time. I played the White layout on my visit. There is also a practice basket that is red banded to differentiate it from the others.
The tee pads are large, flat, new slabs of concrete. One per hole. The tee signs are nice - showing the hole number, map of the hole, and distances to both pin positions. A few trash cans and benches are strategically located at tees throughout the course.
The navigational signage is good. Next Tee signs are placed where needed, and painted red for high visibility. A couple holes also had mandos clearly marked in this same style.
Cons:
I saw a couple of safety issues.
- Right behind hole 10's basket is a barbed wire fence. A long drive or errant approach shot could easily clear this fence.
- Hole 5 is a 290' left turn with another short fence defining the right side of the fairway. Beyond this fence is a short uphill with a busy road (M-37) at the top. It would take a very (edit: VERY) errant throw to reach the road, but I thought it was a little too close for comfort. I would feel better if a higher fence were installed here.
- Several fairways run pretty close together. Some of the mandos were placed to help address this, but errant throws could still land in the firing line of other holes in a few places.
The rough here is unforgiving. The thickets of saplings add challenge, but the ground cover looked like it could be dense enough to hide discs in the summer months (I played in November when it was less of an issue). In many places, it's the sort of rough where you basically have to just shrug your shoulders and lay up straight back out to the fairway, instead of being able to really "recover" by throwing out of the rough towards the basket.
A couple of finishing touches are still missing, like a kiosk/course map and porta potty.
The course backs up to M-37 and there is plenty of road noise throughout.
- Right behind hole 10's basket is a barbed wire fence. A long drive or errant approach shot could easily clear this fence.
- Hole 5 is a 290' left turn with another short fence defining the right side of the fairway. Beyond this fence is a short uphill with a busy road (M-37) at the top. It would take a very (edit: VERY) errant throw to reach the road, but I thought it was a little too close for comfort. I would feel better if a higher fence were installed here.
- Several fairways run pretty close together. Some of the mandos were placed to help address this, but errant throws could still land in the firing line of other holes in a few places.
The rough here is unforgiving. The thickets of saplings add challenge, but the ground cover looked like it could be dense enough to hide discs in the summer months (I played in November when it was less of an issue). In many places, it's the sort of rough where you basically have to just shrug your shoulders and lay up straight back out to the fairway, instead of being able to really "recover" by throwing out of the rough towards the basket.
A couple of finishing touches are still missing, like a kiosk/course map and porta potty.
The course backs up to M-37 and there is plenty of road noise throughout.
Other Thoughts:
I was between a 3.0 and 3.5 rating for this one. My verdict of 3.5 is kind of assuming that a couple last tweaks and add-ons (kiosk, etc.) are coming soon. This is not a destination course, but another nice option for locals or visitors on the north side of Grand Rapids. If in the area, you could do worse than Far Hill!
UPDATE JUNE 2022 - Just played the course again today. This time, most pins were in the Blue layout position. I say "most" because I think a few pins were in a longer position that is not marked as either Blue or White on the tee signs. There is a tournament coming up here this weekend so that may explain the extra challenging pin positions. Other than that, the only real change I noticed since last fall is the addition of a small flag next to the first tee which was blue when I visited. I assume this is to tell disc golfers which pin position is currently in place.
The Blue layout is definitely a little bit more challenging than I remember the White layout being. As I predicted, the rough was pretty thick in spots and I had to search for a few minutes multiple times to find discs (didn't lose any though).
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2024: A smallish dirt parking lot has been added back at the course, eliminating what was about a 1/4 mile walk back to the course from the main park. Visiting the course for a 3rd time today, I can say that the rough here is definitely tough to deal with at any time of year. I honestly think that a little more clearing could be done on holes 1-13 to make the lines a bit easier to hit, while still maintaining plenty of challenge. Overall, I'll leave it at a "weak 3.5" rating. Some finishing touches and/or permanently installing both sets of baskets would cement this one in as a solid 3.5 for me.
UPDATE JUNE 2022 - Just played the course again today. This time, most pins were in the Blue layout position. I say "most" because I think a few pins were in a longer position that is not marked as either Blue or White on the tee signs. There is a tournament coming up here this weekend so that may explain the extra challenging pin positions. Other than that, the only real change I noticed since last fall is the addition of a small flag next to the first tee which was blue when I visited. I assume this is to tell disc golfers which pin position is currently in place.
The Blue layout is definitely a little bit more challenging than I remember the White layout being. As I predicted, the rough was pretty thick in spots and I had to search for a few minutes multiple times to find discs (didn't lose any though).
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2024: A smallish dirt parking lot has been added back at the course, eliminating what was about a 1/4 mile walk back to the course from the main park. Visiting the course for a 3rd time today, I can say that the rough here is definitely tough to deal with at any time of year. I honestly think that a little more clearing could be done on holes 1-13 to make the lines a bit easier to hit, while still maintaining plenty of challenge. Overall, I'll leave it at a "weak 3.5" rating. Some finishing touches and/or permanently installing both sets of baskets would cement this one in as a solid 3.5 for me.
