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Pine Lake Rec. Area reviews
14
0
All pine, no lake
Reviewed:
Played on:May 26, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
Pine Lake Recreation Area plays host to a 9-hole disc golf course. The course starts and ends at the back of an open multi-use area, but otherwise plays in some thick woods behind the main park. The distances may look short on paper, but the fairways are tight enough that there is plenty of challenge.
The wooded area is also on rolling hills and there are several holes with signficant elevation change. A couple of the holes are pretty fun. Hole 8 was my personal favorite. It is a 341' hole with a fairway shaped almost like a "U". The first part of the hole also plays up a steep hill. To reach the basket here, you will need a well placed RHBH/LHFH drive up to the top of the hill and then a similar line again for your approach shot. The line here is tight (especially off the tee), but hittable.
The baskets are Dynamic Discs Patriot models painted white. They are fine.
The tee signs are odd, but also fine. They are large, well-made, and informative but the odd part is that they show the distances of each "leg" of the hole. What I liked about them most is that they make it really clear how ridiculous the fairway designs are (more on this later).
Navigation is passable here. There are a couple of "Next Tee" signs that point in the right direction when there are longer walks between holes.
There is a porta potty at the parking lot.
The wooded area is also on rolling hills and there are several holes with signficant elevation change. A couple of the holes are pretty fun. Hole 8 was my personal favorite. It is a 341' hole with a fairway shaped almost like a "U". The first part of the hole also plays up a steep hill. To reach the basket here, you will need a well placed RHBH/LHFH drive up to the top of the hill and then a similar line again for your approach shot. The line here is tight (especially off the tee), but hittable.
The baskets are Dynamic Discs Patriot models painted white. They are fine.
The tee signs are odd, but also fine. They are large, well-made, and informative but the odd part is that they show the distances of each "leg" of the hole. What I liked about them most is that they make it really clear how ridiculous the fairway designs are (more on this later).
Navigation is passable here. There are a couple of "Next Tee" signs that point in the right direction when there are longer walks between holes.
There is a porta potty at the parking lot.
Cons:
This course was either designed by a non-DGer, or a DGer who is a glutten for punishment. The wooded fairways on holes 2-7 were overgrown when I visited, and are in most places only about 5-10 feet wide to begin with. They also kink in weird places and often form shapes that no disc/throwing technique I know of could reasonably follow. Hole 3's tee sign indicates a 192' section running straight ahead (along the 5' wide fairway, down a hill) and then a 90 degree right turn and second 60' section to reach the basket. There is an extra handmade sign below the tee sign that simply reads "Good luck". You'll need it because the trees on both sides and beyond the corner are so dense that your only realistic chance at par is to land right at that corner off the tee. This is not even the worst example. If you play this course, bring a spotter if possible and expect to spend a lot of time peering into and wading through the thick rough off of the fairways. I would also recommend wearing long pants and hiking boots/shoes because the rough is full of prickly weeds, deadwood, and sudden changes in elevation.
I actually liked the last 220' or so of the first hole. It's a dogleg right on undulating terrain with a couple of trees in the middle of the fairway. Unfortunately, before that is another 159' section that is sandwiched between dense woods on the right, and a basketball/tennis court on the left. Then it's another sharp, near 90 degree turn to get to the second section. Again, the only real play is to try to land exactly at the turning point - and here there is a potential safety hazard as well if the courts is in use. I happened to run into a local here and he told me that the hole had to be modified because a large cell tower was constructed on the original fairway. Fine, but in my opinion the hole should just start at that kink point. There are already at least two other holes (#3 and I think #5 or #6) that basically require that same trick of landing your tee shot right at a sharp bend in the fairway.
The same court can come into play if you overthrow hole 9 (that finishing hole is the only one that is mostly open, although there is some foliage restricting your options off the tee).
The tee pads are natural in wood frames. The footing within the frames was lumpy and uneven when I visited.
No extras like practice basket, kiosk, etc. Trash cans and benches are located only at the parking lot.
The namesake lake does not come into play, or even into view.
I actually liked the last 220' or so of the first hole. It's a dogleg right on undulating terrain with a couple of trees in the middle of the fairway. Unfortunately, before that is another 159' section that is sandwiched between dense woods on the right, and a basketball/tennis court on the left. Then it's another sharp, near 90 degree turn to get to the second section. Again, the only real play is to try to land exactly at the turning point - and here there is a potential safety hazard as well if the courts is in use. I happened to run into a local here and he told me that the hole had to be modified because a large cell tower was constructed on the original fairway. Fine, but in my opinion the hole should just start at that kink point. There are already at least two other holes (#3 and I think #5 or #6) that basically require that same trick of landing your tee shot right at a sharp bend in the fairway.
The same court can come into play if you overthrow hole 9 (that finishing hole is the only one that is mostly open, although there is some foliage restricting your options off the tee).
The tee pads are natural in wood frames. The footing within the frames was lumpy and uneven when I visited.
No extras like practice basket, kiosk, etc. Trash cans and benches are located only at the parking lot.
The namesake lake does not come into play, or even into view.
Other Thoughts:
To find the course from the parking lot, walk down the gravel path towards the tennis/basketball court. When you reach the court, walk around the right side of it. The first tee is next to the back right corner of the court.
A 1.0 rating feels a little bit harsh for this course. But when I add it all up, there are only 2.5 holes out of 9 that I thought were reasonable (second half of #1, and #8-9) and objectively most of the rest was pretty rough - in more ways than one. I could see it being SLIGHTLY more playable when the leaves aren't in.
There are some extra hand-painted signs scattered around the course with friendly messages on them, so I think the people behind this course have good intentions. And the land itself has the potential to make a really fun course. But the way things stand today, I can't recommend this one to anyone except maybe experienced, adventurous DG'ers who are looking for some punishment.
A 1.0 rating feels a little bit harsh for this course. But when I add it all up, there are only 2.5 holes out of 9 that I thought were reasonable (second half of #1, and #8-9) and objectively most of the rest was pretty rough - in more ways than one. I could see it being SLIGHTLY more playable when the leaves aren't in.
There are some extra hand-painted signs scattered around the course with friendly messages on them, so I think the people behind this course have good intentions. And the land itself has the potential to make a really fun course. But the way things stand today, I can't recommend this one to anyone except maybe experienced, adventurous DG'ers who are looking for some punishment.
