Pros:
First and foremost let me that a big THANK YOU to the Pleasant Grove Church Mens Group for all their work making use of the land with a decent 9 hole course!
I, for one, will be back and will try to bring friends.
- Only DG course in T-ville!
- Convenient to Bus. 85 highway.
- Plenty of distance for experienced players ( 1 hole >400 ft, 3 holes 300 - 350, 2 holes 250-300, 2 holes 200-250 and 1 hole <200..... Total distance >2600 ft).
- Rubber Mats were recently put down as tee pads for first 8 holes.
- If you don't own any discs, the church supplies some putters, mid-range and drivers (labeled as such to help newbies) on a table at the first hole that anyone can use and return. (Feel free to donate any old discs you have).
Cons:
- As typical for smaller courses on smaller lots, some of the tee pads are dangerously close to the baskets. Both #2 basket/#3 tee and also #6 basket/ #7 tee are within 20' of each other. #8 tee is somewhat in path of #4 teeshot, but at least well protected by trees.
- In general, the hole distances on the signage are fairly accurate (compared to my GPS mapping of course), but hole number 9 is actually 100 ft longer than the 252 ft shown on signage (I submitted correction for DG course review).
- Some of the longer holes, like #2, #4, #5 and #9 may be frustrating for newer players.
- Hole #5, at 415 ft, needs to be a par 4. Especially since there are large trees halfway to mess with tee shots.
- A couple of areas on the property look like they may get fairly soupy with very much rain, but the course mostly seems to be trying to work around those.
- The rubber mats are fairly small for runups required on several long holes. Remains to be seen how grippy they will be when damp...
- Currently no tee pad on #9.
- Currently no mulch around baskets.
Other Thoughts:
Hole by Hole notes. Let me say first that I am NOT a course designer and these are just my thoughts on course improvement as a middling player (for what it's worth).
Hole 1: Good opener. Both hyzer and ani lines for forehand and backhand players.
Hole 2: Fairly long and open on right with trees on left. Decent hole. No complaints.
Hole 3: My least favorite hole. Tee pad dangerously close to #2 basket (probably 20 ft or closer). Not sure how to correct that without making #2 shorter or #3 shorter. Listed as 191 feet, but GPS showed 177. Completely open. Would recommend a couple trees be placed directly between the basket and tee to add a little more challenge on this shortest hole.
Hole 4: Large trees make tee shot difficult unless you can bend the shot out over the road and back or keep it low for that distance. Tough 3 for this hole. Only change I might make would be a small bit of tree trimming to allow a better path from tee to hole.
Hole 5: Same thing as hole 4 with large trees halfway down fairway. MUST be made a par 4! The only reason I made par 2 of 3 times was due to a great 200'+ approach once and ok approach with great putt the other time. Same as #4, maybe some tree trimming needed to give a better tee shot path, but a change to par 4 will definitely add some reward potential to this hole.
Hole 6: Good mid-rangy hole with some trouble to left. Wouldn't change a thing.
Hole 7: My favorite hole! Close to 300 ft, requiring a low shot and lines for both hyzer and ani for forehand or backhand side with some protection of basket by trees.
Tee is dangerously close to #6 basket. I would move the tee directly up the hill some to create separation from the #6 basket, which should leave almost the same shot and distance as what there is now.
Hole 8: Another good mid-rangy hole. Slightly uphill, so plays just slightly longer than the distance. Trees immediately in front of tee, so requires fairly straight release. Good hole.
Hole 9: Definitely needs the signage corrected to add 100' to the distance (should be 352' instead of 252). Also needs a tee pad added. Decent hole, but I would recommend moving the tee up by around 30 - 50 ft to get the hole closer to 300'. Currently plays longer than 352 in my opinion due to slight uphill shot. Very tough par on this hole unless you got a big arm or can throw pinpoint approaches from 150+.