Georgetown Christian Reformed Church reviews
9
0
It is what it is
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Nov 29, 2021
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
Georgetown Christian Reformed Church DGC is a short 9-holer that plays counterclockwise around the church near Hudsonville, MI.
The course has a great web page on the church website (now linked here) which includes a course map, hole distances, and other information.
The nine blue banded DISCatcher baskets are brand new, numbered, and stick out well on the church lawn. There is also a nice practice basket next to the first tee.
The tees are mixed. Several use existing pavement and the rest have tiny arrays of patio pavers - just large enough to stand and throw (which is fine for this course). The ones on existing pavement have painted lines for the front corners, and all of them have a hole number.
The course has a great web page on the church website (now linked here) which includes a course map, hole distances, and other information.
The nine blue banded DISCatcher baskets are brand new, numbered, and stick out well on the church lawn. There is also a nice practice basket next to the first tee.
The tees are mixed. Several use existing pavement and the rest have tiny arrays of patio pavers - just large enough to stand and throw (which is fine for this course). The ones on existing pavement have painted lines for the front corners, and all of them have a hole number.
Cons:
There are plenty of safety issues here.
- Hole 3 plays next to one of the church outbuildings. There are some picnic tables on the back side of the outbuilding that aren't visible from the tee but could come into play - especially for the beginners that are likely to play here most often. Or someone could get up from the table and walk a few steps past the corner of the building into the direct firing line.
- Holes 4-7 are all very close together, with hole 6's basket and hole 4's basket basically just on opposite sides of the same large pine tree. And holes 4 and 7 have crossing fairways, and each cross the church entrance drive. It's all line of sight at least.
- On other holes, parked cars could be in play - or maybe even moving cars on errant throws. I will say, the designers at least kept the course well clear of the playground area.
The holes are short. Three of them are under 200' and all are shorter than 300'. There are very few obstacles in play (zero on the three holes longer than 250'), and the land is pancake flat with no water hazards.
The tee signs that were present when the course first opened have gone missing. This makes navigation a bit trickier too in a couple of spots, as you have to get pretty close to see the painted lines on the pavement.
There are no other amenities like kiosk, trash cans, benches, porta potty, etc. The church website indicates that discs can be borrowed from the church office during office hours, and presumably there is a bathroom in there too, but I visited when the office was closed and didn't try to enter the building.
- Hole 3 plays next to one of the church outbuildings. There are some picnic tables on the back side of the outbuilding that aren't visible from the tee but could come into play - especially for the beginners that are likely to play here most often. Or someone could get up from the table and walk a few steps past the corner of the building into the direct firing line.
- Holes 4-7 are all very close together, with hole 6's basket and hole 4's basket basically just on opposite sides of the same large pine tree. And holes 4 and 7 have crossing fairways, and each cross the church entrance drive. It's all line of sight at least.
- On other holes, parked cars could be in play - or maybe even moving cars on errant throws. I will say, the designers at least kept the course well clear of the playground area.
The holes are short. Three of them are under 200' and all are shorter than 300'. There are very few obstacles in play (zero on the three holes longer than 250'), and the land is pancake flat with no water hazards.
The tee signs that were present when the course first opened have gone missing. This makes navigation a bit trickier too in a couple of spots, as you have to get pretty close to see the painted lines on the pavement.
There are no other amenities like kiosk, trash cans, benches, porta potty, etc. The church website indicates that discs can be borrowed from the church office during office hours, and presumably there is a bathroom in there too, but I visited when the office was closed and didn't try to enter the building.
Other Thoughts:
You should consider this course unplayable on Sunday mornings or any other time an event is going on at the church. On the weekday afternoons that I have visited, I was surprised how many cars were in the parking lot and going in/out. Maybe the church doubles as a popular daycare or something like that.
If you played all pavement as OB, the course could be slightly more interesting and challenging. That's definitely a stretch though. If you have any disc golf experience at all, this course is going to be very easy for you. It was my 92nd course played including many 9-holers, and I'm not remembering a single course that was easier than this one. I shot -3 for my first and only round, and if you are reading this there is a very good chance you could score even better.
This course is a 1.0 now for me, but if the baskets and tees stop being maintained my rating could go down from there. With many other courses close by, there is no reason for a serious disc golfer to play here. Wellspring DGC is a much better 9-hole church course within a short drive, and Rush Creek Park (one of my favorite 9-hole courses) is arguably within walking distance. I know that things don't necessarily work this way, but I wish the church had spent their money on sponsoring the Rush Creek Park course and upgrading the tee areas/baskets there instead of jamming in their own course on site.
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2023: This course was redesigned a bit in August 2023. I added new links to the new map and web page. The changes are:
- Lengthened holes 3, 7, 8, and 9 and adjusted holes 4-6 slightly.
- Added small patio paver pads on holes 2 and 3 (the other holes all tee off from existing pavement areas).
- Moved practice basket closer to first tee.
These all sound like good changes, but the problem is that they came at the expense of safety. Hole 3's basket is now closer to another building, and hole 8 now plays towards the street. Hole 7 now plays across both the entrance drive and hole 4's fairway. Hole 9 has more pavement in play. The rudimentary tee signs that were present in the previous iteration of the course have also not been replaced, making navigation a bit trickier since there is no longer any indication of the tees above the ground level. I left my rating at 1.0 for now but I'd say in my book it's now a slightly weaker 1.0 than before. This is an alright spot for beginners if the church isn't too busy, and that's about it.
If you played all pavement as OB, the course could be slightly more interesting and challenging. That's definitely a stretch though. If you have any disc golf experience at all, this course is going to be very easy for you. It was my 92nd course played including many 9-holers, and I'm not remembering a single course that was easier than this one. I shot -3 for my first and only round, and if you are reading this there is a very good chance you could score even better.
This course is a 1.0 now for me, but if the baskets and tees stop being maintained my rating could go down from there. With many other courses close by, there is no reason for a serious disc golfer to play here. Wellspring DGC is a much better 9-hole church course within a short drive, and Rush Creek Park (one of my favorite 9-hole courses) is arguably within walking distance. I know that things don't necessarily work this way, but I wish the church had spent their money on sponsoring the Rush Creek Park course and upgrading the tee areas/baskets there instead of jamming in their own course on site.
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2023: This course was redesigned a bit in August 2023. I added new links to the new map and web page. The changes are:
- Lengthened holes 3, 7, 8, and 9 and adjusted holes 4-6 slightly.
- Added small patio paver pads on holes 2 and 3 (the other holes all tee off from existing pavement areas).
- Moved practice basket closer to first tee.
These all sound like good changes, but the problem is that they came at the expense of safety. Hole 3's basket is now closer to another building, and hole 8 now plays towards the street. Hole 7 now plays across both the entrance drive and hole 4's fairway. Hole 9 has more pavement in play. The rudimentary tee signs that were present in the previous iteration of the course have also not been replaced, making navigation a bit trickier since there is no longer any indication of the tees above the ground level. I left my rating at 1.0 for now but I'd say in my book it's now a slightly weaker 1.0 than before. This is an alright spot for beginners if the church isn't too busy, and that's about it.
