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Mt. Bradford Preserve DGC reviews
16
0
Hidden Gem of a Niner with a dab of the 19th Century 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Mar 7, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
Honestly, Mt. Bradford Preserve has changed how I see 9ers. I'm sorting my list by ranking and the bottom half are nearly all 9ers. None have made it past 3 stars and most are far below. They tend to come off as a lot less work, less land, and less effort than an 18 by default - and somehow less serious or fun. Mt. Bradford Preserve DGC breaks those expectations and is a new favorite to boot. It helps that the excellent Anson B. Nixon Park is 16 minutes away.
Coming into the Preserve, the parking lot is upfront with a practice basket uphill and finishing #9 downhill. Across the driveway is #1.
The overall course situation is a hillside. It makes a loop so that the front half of holes tend downward and the backhalf are uphill. I usually dislike uphill portions and especially dread stretches of them. Not looking good. However, the variety turned out to be excellent and I was hardly facing the same challenges twice over.
Tee pads were excellent, roughly 10'x5.5', and the same cement tile make as nearby Anson Nixon Gold pads.
I also liked the old pond by #3/7, with the 19th century wall and structures. Scenic. At this time in late winter/early spring it sounded like a bunch of ducks quacking, but no fowl! Turns out it's tree frogs doing their mating dance. TIL.
8/9 Holes are big positives. I liked them all!
#1 is a 380ft open steady downhill, basket behind a tree.
#2 is an open left turn to a slightly downhill basket, hidden from tee. Halfway in is a light grove of trees, on the small side, to contend with and fly over.
#3 is by far the most treacherous of holes and the best. Teeing from an old shed, it's a 300ft bend way to the left. HOWEVER, very quickly two streams merge to cordone off both sides of the fairway until narrowing into a triangular peninsula that the basket sits on. Not only that, they somehow become miniature grand canyons by then and are at least a good 10 ft deep, maybe more. It's a death drive, death layup, and a death putt. Lost my disc left side trying to stick the layup and waited until #7, across the bank, with much easier access, to retrieve it.
#4 is a treed gauntlet. Mostly straight run but there are other possibilities. Basket perched near stream but not treacherously so.
#5. Another favorite and easy. A straight short shot at a basket in an old quarry pit. More scenic than challenging but the view is nice. Some obscuration from the tee.
#6. The dreaded uphills were coming. But this first long one is open again and has the fairway split in halfway up with a sizeable grove of trees where the basket lay. Two clear avenues to attack the basket or try to punch through the middle.
#7. Teeing off near #3's peninsula basket, it's fairly level in the woods turning left, with the basket on its own island, cut off by the stream which has no steep banks this far up.
#8. Uphill, and open. Gets steep on the last third. A few trees in the middle standing gaurd. Throwing into an opened circular grove in the treeline with the basket tucked into the very back of the wood's edge.
#9 is a half-backtrack to the tee. It's an open right curve to finish the course and a bit of an anti-climax to an excellent course. But it's quick and overall...
+Simply Phenomenal. This is the reason I play disc golf. Not just for the holes, which were excellent here, but also for some nature and scenery as well.
Coming into the Preserve, the parking lot is upfront with a practice basket uphill and finishing #9 downhill. Across the driveway is #1.
The overall course situation is a hillside. It makes a loop so that the front half of holes tend downward and the backhalf are uphill. I usually dislike uphill portions and especially dread stretches of them. Not looking good. However, the variety turned out to be excellent and I was hardly facing the same challenges twice over.
Tee pads were excellent, roughly 10'x5.5', and the same cement tile make as nearby Anson Nixon Gold pads.
I also liked the old pond by #3/7, with the 19th century wall and structures. Scenic. At this time in late winter/early spring it sounded like a bunch of ducks quacking, but no fowl! Turns out it's tree frogs doing their mating dance. TIL.
8/9 Holes are big positives. I liked them all!
#1 is a 380ft open steady downhill, basket behind a tree.
#2 is an open left turn to a slightly downhill basket, hidden from tee. Halfway in is a light grove of trees, on the small side, to contend with and fly over.
#3 is by far the most treacherous of holes and the best. Teeing from an old shed, it's a 300ft bend way to the left. HOWEVER, very quickly two streams merge to cordone off both sides of the fairway until narrowing into a triangular peninsula that the basket sits on. Not only that, they somehow become miniature grand canyons by then and are at least a good 10 ft deep, maybe more. It's a death drive, death layup, and a death putt. Lost my disc left side trying to stick the layup and waited until #7, across the bank, with much easier access, to retrieve it.
#4 is a treed gauntlet. Mostly straight run but there are other possibilities. Basket perched near stream but not treacherously so.
#5. Another favorite and easy. A straight short shot at a basket in an old quarry pit. More scenic than challenging but the view is nice. Some obscuration from the tee.
#6. The dreaded uphills were coming. But this first long one is open again and has the fairway split in halfway up with a sizeable grove of trees where the basket lay. Two clear avenues to attack the basket or try to punch through the middle.
#7. Teeing off near #3's peninsula basket, it's fairly level in the woods turning left, with the basket on its own island, cut off by the stream which has no steep banks this far up.
#8. Uphill, and open. Gets steep on the last third. A few trees in the middle standing gaurd. Throwing into an opened circular grove in the treeline with the basket tucked into the very back of the wood's edge.
#9 is a half-backtrack to the tee. It's an open right curve to finish the course and a bit of an anti-climax to an excellent course. But it's quick and overall...
+Simply Phenomenal. This is the reason I play disc golf. Not just for the holes, which were excellent here, but also for some nature and scenery as well.
Cons:
Downsides? Downsides... Hm...
As someone reminded me, I'm playing a preserve in middle of winter. General improver of open and semi-open Disc Golf courses so your mileage may vary greatly in warm seasons. So mowing or lack of and upkeep may change all that.
Hm.. the tee signs were made with satellite imagery (like google maps) and I'm not a fan of that. Satellite imagery is fine for tracing real paths for quick maps but actual illustrations on a light background would be far easier to read. Given that they are laminated copy paper stapled on wood leads me to believe they're just temporary anyhow. I hope.
Not gonna complain how it's not 18 holes. What's there is there, the rest is just theoretical. 9er that exists > imaginary 18er that's never made.
-Not a beginner course.
As someone reminded me, I'm playing a preserve in middle of winter. General improver of open and semi-open Disc Golf courses so your mileage may vary greatly in warm seasons. So mowing or lack of and upkeep may change all that.
Hm.. the tee signs were made with satellite imagery (like google maps) and I'm not a fan of that. Satellite imagery is fine for tracing real paths for quick maps but actual illustrations on a light background would be far easier to read. Given that they are laminated copy paper stapled on wood leads me to believe they're just temporary anyhow. I hope.
Not gonna complain how it's not 18 holes. What's there is there, the rest is just theoretical. 9er that exists > imaginary 18er that's never made.
-Not a beginner course.
Other Thoughts:
Out of XXXXX:
Terrain: XXXXX - I think this is the best terrain Pennsylvania forest can give with a few unique features to give it some character. #3 couldn't exist in most parks around here. Neither #5 or 6.
Execution: XXXXx - Phenomenal. I don't think anyone could have laid out a better course here. Signs are a bit weak.
Upkeep: N/A. New.
Difficulty: XXXx - Intermediate. It's in-between community park and state park distances often. #3 is the apex of difficulty here but otherwise it's toned down.
Fun Factor: XXXXX - I couldn't stop smiling. Even as I lost (later retrieved) my disc. Even on the uphills, which I usually HATE.
Crowded: N/A. I came here on a slightly drizzling Sunday and no one else was there my entire play. Empty parking lot. I was shocked.
Overall: XXXXx - The best 9er I encountered, by far.
Terrain: XXXXX - I think this is the best terrain Pennsylvania forest can give with a few unique features to give it some character. #3 couldn't exist in most parks around here. Neither #5 or 6.
Execution: XXXXx - Phenomenal. I don't think anyone could have laid out a better course here. Signs are a bit weak.
Upkeep: N/A. New.
Difficulty: XXXx - Intermediate. It's in-between community park and state park distances often. #3 is the apex of difficulty here but otherwise it's toned down.
Fun Factor: XXXXX - I couldn't stop smiling. Even as I lost (later retrieved) my disc. Even on the uphills, which I usually HATE.
Crowded: N/A. I came here on a slightly drizzling Sunday and no one else was there my entire play. Empty parking lot. I was shocked.
Overall: XXXXx - The best 9er I encountered, by far.
