I found Schumaker Pond to be a very challenging and fun round of Disc Golf. The mix of woods, elevation, water, and scenery is what I enjoy in a Disc Golf Course. The mixture provides mostly unique holes, and a very memorable experience. I like to pick a handful of holes to feature making sure I picked at least one hole representing others on the course, and I found it difficult to choose my trouble hole between 4 and 9. As I walked the fairways on top of the bluff, I found myself glancing towards the large pond, and where able the view on top of holes 2-4, just flat out scenic. I also have found it difficult to decide the overall rating, IMO the course is border line 3.0 and 3.5, I just decided to pull the course up focused on the layout specifically longs. My personnel con is how much traffic is on the course during the warmer months? I would imagine can be very busy on the weekend, and you may find yourself waiting to tee or maybe even skip a hole? On a December weekday morning I had the course to myself but pause for a few walkers.
My overall rating is anchored on scenic beauty, difficulty long to long, and the variety of the type of play is set on a 5.0. The course is a fast track, with a little bit of disc looking it took 45 mins to play.
Notable Tee Pads:
-No. 6 long tee is burrowed into the bluff at about 4 feet below the level fairway, you're going to feel like you're throwing from a fox hole. Both baskets are behind a wall of trees.
-No. 8 long tee is elevated about 3 feet throwing over a driveway connection between parking lots. There are two gaps about 15 feet in front of the tee, the middle gap is about 4-feet wide directly towards the baskets on a down slope into the woods. The right gap also 4-feet wide over two parking spaces, if cars are parked there, I'm not throwing in that direction.
-No. 12 long tee is thru a triangle gap into the open and back into the woods, the hole is 400 plus feet. Theirs a tree right in front of the tee at about 15-feet, and two more trees each side on 45-degree angle 30 feet from the tee. The angle on both trees narrows the gaps at about 12-feet with overhanging branches.
Notable Holes:
-No. 2 Par 3 long to long at 320 feet is an elevated tee dogleg right throwing thru a tree gap about 20 feet wide and 70 feet out. You'll see the short basket straight ahead which is where you'll make your dogleg and the long basket at a 45-degree angle to the right perched on top of the same bluff your teeing from, and no direct line since your blocked by trees. Just to the right of the short basket is a concrete building likely used for storage. As you throw from the tee and in the background of your disc is the pond, one of the most scenic tee throws I've experienced. My disc hyzered and skipped off the top of the concrete building and landed just to the right of the basket, luck!
-No. 4 Par 3 long to long at 320 feet with a fairway on the shore of the pond, and the pond on the right all the way down. Trees and brush on the side of the bluff to the left. The fairway all the way down is about 60 feet wide with overhanging branches slightly meandering left. The short basket sits off to the left halfway up the bluff. Long basket sits on top of the bluff to the left. To reach the first sets of small gaps to the basket you need at least 220 feet, for a full view of the long basket 250 feet. RHBH can bring it over the water, as a LHBH I intended a turnover, but a slightly late release put me straight down the fairway, no harm done.
-No. 16 Par 3 long to long at 350 feet starts off as a lazy right and then straightens up at about 80 feet out, a nice lefty hole. The fairway is a walking trail on a ledge no more than 12 feet wide all the way down with heavy trees on the left and light brush. On the right more trees and brush and a drop to a bottom about a 40-foot walk and will need steady legs to reach a disc, and more open throwing from the bottom back towards the basket. Also disc lost potential on the right. Off the tee a 4-foot gap and 15 feet in front of you. 60 feet down a tree right in the middle of the fairway. Very narrow all the way down to the basket and not seen until you reach the short tee. I got past the fairway tree and clipped a tree on the left accelerating my disc, found my disc on the right and made the 40-foot walk to the bottom.
-No. 17 Par 3 long to long at 230 feet a lazy dogleg left and after playing no. 16 this hole will look open. The fairway downslopes passing by trees both sides with plenty of room until you reach just outside C1 where there are a few trees needing to hit one of the gaps meandering left. At that point the fairway drops just short of the short basket, with the long basket holding the downslope and a drop towards the pond about 60 feet down with a few trees and high grass to catch a roller if needed. I threw a solid putter within C1 and decided to dump putt, didn't want to chase a disc towards the pond if I missed and it flipped on its side, it's that steep.
Signature Hole:
-No 3 Par 3 long to long at 397 feet is a straight away throwing off a dock across water with the long basket parked halfway up the bluff surround by trees and brush, and a roller. Straight to the basket over water you need to be thinking at least 270 feet with plenty of landing room, if you pick a spot more towards you the distance will shorten. The tee pad is standard size and that's it with water behind you and in front. No run up here. The hole is very scenic, and I spent a few moments peering towards the basket, and out towards the pond. I used a short one-step, last thing I wanted to do was for my follow thru to put me in the water.
Trouble Hole:
No. 9 Par 3 long to long at 287 feet is a safety hazard. The fairway is a straight away with the basket's unseen. Just 15 feet to the right of center line is sidewalk and a moderately busy street need to be checking both directions before teeing. About 45 feet out is a tree gap 15 feet wide, at 90 feet out is a tree centerline and more trees to the left with narrow gaps. Aim for a gap on the left to stay away from street, a tree deflection to the right will go into the street. The baskets sit on a long and narrow knoll about three feet up, the long basket sits on the side towards the street and will roll towards the street. Guardian trees sit on top of the knoll as well. A skilled RHBH or LHFH could bring their disc to a low skip along the street and back on fairway or green, and that would not be me. I got past the gaps on the left and had a legit birdie putt C2, but with that roller to the street, I dumped putted.