Walden, NY

James Olley Park

1.835(based on 3 reviews)
Filter course reviews

Filter reviews

Filter reviews

James Olley Park reviews

Filter
9 0
HyooMac
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 7.4 years 448 played 416 reviews
2.00 star(s)

9 Holes on Two Separate Courses

Reviewed: Played on:May 15, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Four open and five wooded holes - separated by a quarter mile walk. The holes themselves range from meh to very good, but you're going to spend a lot of time walking to get around this widely-spread layout



+ The first four holes are open park style and they all include some degree of elevation change (down, down, up, down). Nothing special, although Hole #1 is a straight 500' par 4 with backyards lining the right side, and #4 is a throw-off-the-side-of-a-hill 269' floater


+ The challenge - and the better holes - come after the long trail walk following #4. Hole #5 is another wide open 500' par 4, but this time it's slightly uphill, the lake is entirely along the left side and thick woods along the right. There's a lot of room, so the lake is unlikely to be in play - but the grass is longer and the ground is pretty mushy to the left of the mowed "fairway"


+ #6 and #7 are two blind holes, in opposite directions over a hill. You'd do well to walk forward and find the basket in order to have birdie runs. #7 is the best of the two: the hillside drops away all the way to the lake, and if a disc gets away from you it can easily end up wet (and you won't see where it went in)


+ #8 and #9 play back along the far side of the lake, with straight grassy fairways, and trees that make for low ceilings. A nicely guarded basket on #9 makes for a good finishing hole



Cons:

- Tees are just spots in the dirt, signs are just hole number and length on posts (diagrams aren't really needed on most holes, but would help on the two blind, turning holes late in the round)


- The rough is brutal: thick and thorny. And it plays close in on some holes, which will make this very unpleasant for newbies trying disc golf in the park (that's the only way I can explain coming across an 11 speed Archon in the bushes of the 186' downhill second hole)



Other Thoughts:

~ Long uphill walk from parking lot to first tee. Long transition from #4 to #5 on a difficult to find hiking trail, and very long walk back from #9. Hole 5 - 9 make the course worth bagging, but you will spend as much time walking as you will playing this layout



Was this review helpful? Yes No
12 0
Shadrach3
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.2 years 339 played 325 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Big Lake and Big Downhills 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 28, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

A nice terrain mix with some definite issues.

-Scenery: Holes (5)-(9) play around a long lake, and it's a beauty. Especially frozen in winter, it's a gorgeous setting.

-Elevation: The opening has consistently medium elevation, and a couple on the back have some sharp ups and downs. On an otherwise meh course, this adds a lot of fun.

-Flow: With one giant exception, the holes flow cleanly into each other.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Nice variety and decent length. The first four are basically open and use the hills as the challenge - definitely the more lackluster section of the course. (5) is an open par-4, but this time the lake on the left provides the danger. (6)-(7) are steep hills, and (8)-(9) play through a section of low ceiling trees. The length changes up throughout, providing both birdie opportunities and trickier gets. To me, it's a satisfying short play that has good variety and some fun tee shots.

Cons:

Detractors that weren't big for me but could be sticking points for many.

-Segmentation: Holes (1)-(4) are in a different part of the park than (5)-(9). This results in possibly the longest hole transition I've ever experienced between (4) and (5), and a long walk from (9).

-Amenities: DGA baskets are solid and there are minimal tee signs. However, tees are natural (not eroded as of my play) and the signs don't have any maps. The maps are a bit of an issue on the blind holes (6) and (7). If the tees deteriorated, I could see lowering the rating of the course.

-Mud & Hills: The mud isn't too bad, and the hills aren't too bad. Put together, it's problematic, mainly on the walk from (9) to the parking.

-Disc Loss: Opportunities to splash on (5) and (7), and the chance to throw into private property on (1). None of these are high risks, but should be considered in shot selection.

Other Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Olley. The views and the variety of fun shots won me over. With tees in good condition, I feel that the overly long transition in the middle isn't enough to keep Olley from a Typical rating.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
10 0
swatso
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.4 years 776 played 417 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Minimal Resources/Results 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 21, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

6'6" high posts identifying the natural tee positions

Cons:

single/natural tee, single basket/position

Other Thoughts:

Courses initially plays in the open space, then counterclockwise around the general area of a pond, in a small public park.

As this is the first review, a brief hole-by-hole description:
1) Long, open, downslope. Private residences to the right the first 85% of the hole, then a blind entry road to the park, then basket=1 within circle=1/2 of the road
2) Moderate length, open, downslope.
3) Moderate length, open, upslope. Large hardwood and tree small support trees not utilized
4) Short, open, downslope. Too long might find small parling lot
5) Long, open, flat. Water if way too left, thick shule if way too right.
6) Assuming you hit the tiny window barely 15' in front of the tee with a fairly straight shot, the blind basket is not too far away, up-n-over a steep but tiny ridge.
7) Throw back up-n-over the ridge you just threw over, finishing right. Too long finds water
8) Moderate length, open initially, then a right-turner into a tree-defined window, basket slightly upslope.
9) Scattered small-/mid-sized trees form a low canopy, leaving little wiggle room for a straight shot to the basket, about 300' away.

Holes 8-9 were decent. Holes 1-4 could be safer (away from houses, away from road) and more interesting (using the slope differently, and using the few available trees to guard the basket and/or create throwing windows). The slope/trees where 6-7 also could have been used better to create less duplicative shots.

Navigation tips: From the parking lot, up the slope to the end of the treeline to find tee=1. From basket=4, down the path, through small parking lot, through gate, then look for path hard to left which leads to tee=5.

Assuming the woods couldn't be used for the course, there wasn't a lot of features with which to work, but little was created with what was available.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Top