Pros:
+ 18-Hole Layout Designed by 4X World Champion Johnny Sias: The shortest and easiest layout at Grand Vue Park is perfect for beginners but still fun for more experienced players.
+ Innova Discatcher Baskets: These targets are sturdy and catch putts well. Bright yellow bands make the baskets easy to see.
+ Tees: Two sets of tees (long & short) are marked. While these tees are natural they do provide a liberal amount of space to take your drive. They are all flat with signage that provides accurate pars and distances.
+ Landscape: Aside from being a beautiful property the rolling hills of Grand Vue Park make for some challenging golf. Elevation is used well on this course around the greens. This course plays close to the road which makes for a few tricky OB locations.
+ Northern Panhandle Disc Golf Association: The locals that take care of the park are friendly and dedicated. Be sure to check out their events including the Grand Vue Championship. This is an annual sanctioned event held in late summer.
+ Home of the West Virginia Disc Golf Hall of Fame: Many vintage discs are on display. This exhibit gives visitors a look into the history of the game and the development of flying discs.
+ Location: Grand Vue Park is close to shopping, lodging, restaurants, and entertainment for traveling players.
+ Proximity to Other Courses: Aside from having other courses on the property the Yellow Course is within driving distance from other quality layouts in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia including Brooke Hills Park and Tomlinson Run. Looking into Ohio you have courses in Saint Clairsville and Morristown to the west as well as Scenic Vista and Thompson Park further north. There are plenty of great courses in and around Pittsburgh as well.
+ Extra Amenities: Grand Vue Park boasts plenty of extras such as cabins, camp sites, playgrounds, swimming pool, rest room, biking, zip line & ropes course, mini golf, hiking trails, ice cream parlor, bar/restaurant, and two (2) additional disc golf courses.
Cons:
- Tees are natural and can be slick after some rain. The newer long tees add a little challenge to the Yellow Course but can be difficult to find. Otherwise course navigation is fairly intuitive.
- Roads come in to play several places. You may have to wait on traffic or carefully place shots to avoid the asphalt. Some sloped greens can produce roll-aways that will put your disc out-of-bounds in the roadways.
Other Thoughts:
The Yellow Course is a great compliment to the other courses at Grand Vue Park. New players will enjoy this layout as holes are short and fairways are forgiving. More advanced players will still have fun as it sets up well for practice with putters and mids. This serves as a good warmup before playing White or Black.
Aside from being a good beginner course the layout is mellow enough for a putter only round, a three-disc challenge. or some RIPT Revenge with friends.
My rating of this course is based on the idea that the park needs an easy layout to compliment the other two more difficult ones on site. Compared to White and Black this course isn't much to write home about. As a short beginner friendly layout the Yellow course is a ton of fun play.