Highbridge Hills - The Playground reviews
8
0
EspressoPatronum
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
19.4 years
316 played
302 reviews
My Type of Playground
Reviewed:
Played on:Sep 18, 2024
Played the course:once
Pros:
- great for younger players
- brings loved elements of disc golf such as elevation change and wooded obstacles to a junior course
- a few fun basket placements
- well maintained and mowed
- small rubber tee mats are fine for this type of course
- great for ace runs and warmups
- right next to parking area, which is great for this type of course
- wooded holes give some limited challenge
- limited mixture of hole lengths suited to the target audience
- very quick 18 holes
- lights on baskets for night golf
*common amenities for all HH courses*
- porta potties
- kiosk with large map of all courses
- large gravel parking lot
- onsite camping
- numerous practice baskets
- picnic tables
- brings loved elements of disc golf such as elevation change and wooded obstacles to a junior course
- a few fun basket placements
- well maintained and mowed
- small rubber tee mats are fine for this type of course
- great for ace runs and warmups
- right next to parking area, which is great for this type of course
- wooded holes give some limited challenge
- limited mixture of hole lengths suited to the target audience
- very quick 18 holes
- lights on baskets for night golf
*common amenities for all HH courses*
- porta potties
- kiosk with large map of all courses
- large gravel parking lot
- onsite camping
- numerous practice baskets
- picnic tables
Cons:
- course has the property's oldest/reject/temporary baskets
- some rough has very tall grass
- wind could be a frustration for young players
- tee signs are just PVC pipes with numbers
- a little repetitive
- some rough has very tall grass
- wind could be a frustration for young players
- tee signs are just PVC pipes with numbers
- a little repetitive
Other Thoughts:
The Playground is one of those tough courses to score because it can't be compared to a "typical" course objectively. This is a great course for the target audience - which I'd consider kids. Perhaps those absolutely brand new to disc golf also fit here, but once you develop any distance whatsoever this course is going to be pretty basic. For its intended purpose, it is a strong 2.5 and maybe even pushing a 3.
The Playground is a full 18 holes but plays very quickly. I finished in under 30 minutes playing solo. It is a good in between course to casually play hunting for aces or eating lunch before returning to the beasts over on the other side of the Hill. There were a few times I was a little turned around on navigation but the course is very compact so it wasn't too bad. I like that this course is right by the parking lot; youngsters won't have to hike far.
The baskets were a mix here. Several were very nice but some had very mediocre single layers of chains or were temporary baskets. Unsurprisingly, the other HH courses get basket attention first, as it should be. Most players on The Playground aren't going to be upset with simpler baskets. The tee pads would be mediocre on another course since they are rubber, could get slick, and allow for no run up space, but here they work very well. Maps on the tee signs would be nice, but definitely not essential here. The PVC posts work well enough.
I like that this course tried to make an interesting round despite the short length. There is nothing over 200 ft and most holes range from 100 - 150 ft. Still, there is some elevation change and some more technical lines with obstacles. It's a great intro to disc golf. Hole 17's basket was cool; it was mounted with the basket at ground level. While this might feel gimmicky, it forces a different type of putt and adds a different dimension of challenge.
No experienced player is going to feel pushed here, but it's fun to try to hit 2s on every hole - which is certainly possible if you throw shots with minimal error. Eventually the course does feel a bit repetitive but it goes by so quick I don't count this as a major con.
Again, you have to approach The Playground understanding its intended purpose. Considering what a workout The Bear, Blueberry Hill, Highbridge Gold, and Granite Ridge are, I found The Playground a very nice change of pace while I was finishing my lunch break. Go check it out and chase those aces!
The Playground is a full 18 holes but plays very quickly. I finished in under 30 minutes playing solo. It is a good in between course to casually play hunting for aces or eating lunch before returning to the beasts over on the other side of the Hill. There were a few times I was a little turned around on navigation but the course is very compact so it wasn't too bad. I like that this course is right by the parking lot; youngsters won't have to hike far.
The baskets were a mix here. Several were very nice but some had very mediocre single layers of chains or were temporary baskets. Unsurprisingly, the other HH courses get basket attention first, as it should be. Most players on The Playground aren't going to be upset with simpler baskets. The tee pads would be mediocre on another course since they are rubber, could get slick, and allow for no run up space, but here they work very well. Maps on the tee signs would be nice, but definitely not essential here. The PVC posts work well enough.
I like that this course tried to make an interesting round despite the short length. There is nothing over 200 ft and most holes range from 100 - 150 ft. Still, there is some elevation change and some more technical lines with obstacles. It's a great intro to disc golf. Hole 17's basket was cool; it was mounted with the basket at ground level. While this might feel gimmicky, it forces a different type of putt and adds a different dimension of challenge.
No experienced player is going to feel pushed here, but it's fun to try to hit 2s on every hole - which is certainly possible if you throw shots with minimal error. Eventually the course does feel a bit repetitive but it goes by so quick I don't count this as a major con.
Again, you have to approach The Playground understanding its intended purpose. Considering what a workout The Bear, Blueberry Hill, Highbridge Gold, and Granite Ridge are, I found The Playground a very nice change of pace while I was finishing my lunch break. Go check it out and chase those aces!
12
0
DeanMoriarty
Silver level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
7.5 years
699 played
40 reviews
Ace Run Playground
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 30, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
- Quick, fun, good little warmup round before tackling the big bads.
- Ace run city. Literally every single hole is an ace run. Guaranteed to get you hyped up before playing the other courses.
- Rubber tee pads are more than good enough for this course. You can pretty much throw stand-stills on most of the holes anyways so cement teepads would just be overkill.
- It's free. No charge to play this course, although I doubt most people will be coming out here just to play this one.
- Night time glow round course is back at HH. This course is the final iteration of the Chestnut Grove course that used to be here.
- Ace run city. Literally every single hole is an ace run. Guaranteed to get you hyped up before playing the other courses.
- Rubber tee pads are more than good enough for this course. You can pretty much throw stand-stills on most of the holes anyways so cement teepads would just be overkill.
- It's free. No charge to play this course, although I doubt most people will be coming out here just to play this one.
- Night time glow round course is back at HH. This course is the final iteration of the Chestnut Grove course that used to be here.
Cons:
- Short, like, extremely short. That's pretty much to be expected though as this course is for beginners or children and people looking to warm the ol' arm up or just have a fun time running aces.
- Signage as of right now are just white PVC poles sticking out of the ground with the hole # stickers on them. Probably more than fine considering this is a very short course where the basket is only 100 feet or so in front of you.
- Navigation was a little iffy in a few spots to the point where I had to pull my phone out to bring out that one app that everyone seems to like so much. Once the course gets more foot traffic, navigation will be more obvious.
- Signage as of right now are just white PVC poles sticking out of the ground with the hole # stickers on them. Probably more than fine considering this is a very short course where the basket is only 100 feet or so in front of you.
- Navigation was a little iffy in a few spots to the point where I had to pull my phone out to bring out that one app that everyone seems to like so much. Once the course gets more foot traffic, navigation will be more obvious.
Other Thoughts:
Overall this is a great little free course and the final version of Chestnut Grove. It's definitely nice to have a course like this back at HH and hopefully this time it sticks around.
Like I said above, this is a perfect warmup course to get you hyped up for the journey you will have ahead of you if you choose to stay at Highbridge and tackle all 5 courses of the main courses.
Like I said above, this is a perfect warmup course to get you hyped up for the journey you will have ahead of you if you choose to stay at Highbridge and tackle all 5 courses of the main courses.