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Marion Park reviews
3
0
Int/Adv for a small town? 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Nov 10, 2014
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
This new community park course in Maria Stein, Ohio, boasts beautiful 9 (plus 1 practice), new chainstar baskets, readily visible and mostly informative signage, and some challenging distances through park woods, open fields and a tightly wooded finish. Kudos to the designer(s) for introducing the sport to this small town with such variety. You will need an Intermediate arm to reach most of the holes, and there's certainly one that's unlikely to see a deuce!
The lines of flight are varied, and player-determined, as you weave through the park trees, so you can try out left to right, right to left, s-shots, and your whole game, with no fear of losing a disc. For the most part, the lines of flight stay away from the many other park activities, though you'll want to keep an eye out for other park patrons for the holes that do cross the walking paths.
There are plenty of stone benches and other amenities here, as well as shade in the summer heat, and opportunities for wind practice the rest of the year. You are in the plains area of west-central Ohio, after all!
The lines of flight are varied, and player-determined, as you weave through the park trees, so you can try out left to right, right to left, s-shots, and your whole game, with no fear of losing a disc. For the most part, the lines of flight stay away from the many other park activities, though you'll want to keep an eye out for other park patrons for the holes that do cross the walking paths.
There are plenty of stone benches and other amenities here, as well as shade in the summer heat, and opportunities for wind practice the rest of the year. You are in the plains area of west-central Ohio, after all!
Cons:
Which also means there wasn't much of an opportunity to utilize much more than a little bit of slope, as the entire park is probably within 10' of elevation. When I stopped in to play, there hadn't yet been a map drawn up, so I added a first draft here, for course baggers like me to play their first time through.
The natural tees already show a little root exposure, so I hope upgrades are planned in the future. There is room to create alternate tees, as well, to give the nine even more variety!
I felt like the hole distances were a bit of an incongruous challenge for what would likely be the local young folks' first exposure to disc golf. If it were up to me, and allowed, I'd suggest pulling the wide open field shots (6,7&8), and clearing some more fun, technical lines in the woods on the west side of the park, and keep them in the 180-240' range. My reasoning would be to keep the interest of newer players, who aren't going to see much benefit from throwing a 4 (or 5), a 4 (or 5) & a 5 (or 6, or 7) to cover the wide open distances around the sports fields.
The natural tees already show a little root exposure, so I hope upgrades are planned in the future. There is room to create alternate tees, as well, to give the nine even more variety!
I felt like the hole distances were a bit of an incongruous challenge for what would likely be the local young folks' first exposure to disc golf. If it were up to me, and allowed, I'd suggest pulling the wide open field shots (6,7&8), and clearing some more fun, technical lines in the woods on the west side of the park, and keep them in the 180-240' range. My reasoning would be to keep the interest of newer players, who aren't going to see much benefit from throwing a 4 (or 5), a 4 (or 5) & a 5 (or 6, or 7) to cover the wide open distances around the sports fields.
Other Thoughts:
Hole by hole, #1 starts to the right of the parking lot with a reachable 'lane' shot that runs maybe 5 or 6 feet downslope overall. Then look to your left.
#2 runs straight at the fence line, with three trees just past to the left of the basket. Walk to your left along the fence.
#3 angles back toward the playground, finishing just past the path. Then double back to your right all the way to the fence again.
#4 plays almost blind over the slight ridge, with a fun basket position elevated on a tree stump, just past the path. Then look to your left.
#5 plays back towards the parking lot, technically to the left of the two baskets in that direction (you could probably play the 9th basket as an alternate). You'll need to walk out to the third base side of the ball field on the right.
#6 is an open shot to the south,
#7 is an open shot to the west, and
#8 is a huge north-running line between the ball fields and the corn, finishing in the entry corner of the woods. Walk the path up to the right, round the bend, and when you get to the two boulders, look to your left.
#9 is a dedicated, narrow lane shot that bends about 30 degrees to the left for the last 90 feet of lane to the basket.
#2 runs straight at the fence line, with three trees just past to the left of the basket. Walk to your left along the fence.
#3 angles back toward the playground, finishing just past the path. Then double back to your right all the way to the fence again.
#4 plays almost blind over the slight ridge, with a fun basket position elevated on a tree stump, just past the path. Then look to your left.
#5 plays back towards the parking lot, technically to the left of the two baskets in that direction (you could probably play the 9th basket as an alternate). You'll need to walk out to the third base side of the ball field on the right.
#6 is an open shot to the south,
#7 is an open shot to the west, and
#8 is a huge north-running line between the ball fields and the corn, finishing in the entry corner of the woods. Walk the path up to the right, round the bend, and when you get to the two boulders, look to your left.
#9 is a dedicated, narrow lane shot that bends about 30 degrees to the left for the last 90 feet of lane to the basket.
