The Pines DGC reviews
2
0
Another techical wooded Michigan course. 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 23, 2012
Played the course:once
Pros:
If you're looking for a clean, family friendly park with a great course for skill development, this is the place to go.
This is a typical, heavily wooded Michigan course with almost no elevation changes. The course meanders through the park with nicely cleared fairways, simple but descriptive tee signs, well kept baskets, and several benches.
Hole variety includes short pipelines, fading rights and lefts, a couple of "S"s, a dog-leg or two and 2 more open holes where intermediate players can open up a bit.
The stand-outs on this course are:
The wide open drive on #7 with the pin tucked into the tree line on the left - a nice change after the first 6 heavily wooded holes! Next is #13 with the creek bed lining the entire right side of the hole and #16 with its super narrow pine tree alley. Finally, #18 is a sneaky left fade with the pin protected by trees.
This is a typical, heavily wooded Michigan course with almost no elevation changes. The course meanders through the park with nicely cleared fairways, simple but descriptive tee signs, well kept baskets, and several benches.
Hole variety includes short pipelines, fading rights and lefts, a couple of "S"s, a dog-leg or two and 2 more open holes where intermediate players can open up a bit.
The stand-outs on this course are:
The wide open drive on #7 with the pin tucked into the tree line on the left - a nice change after the first 6 heavily wooded holes! Next is #13 with the creek bed lining the entire right side of the hole and #16 with its super narrow pine tree alley. Finally, #18 is a sneaky left fade with the pin protected by trees.
Cons:
The asphalt tee pads are too short, even for me, and many of the are already showing their age with buckling, flaking, and general disintegration.
This course is packed into a very small area and most holes parallel each other. While the abundant tree coverage makes it feel like you're not that close to neighboring players, you really are and the likelihood of getting hit by errant throws is pretty high.
Course flow is hampered by the plot the course was built on, so there are 3 fairly significant hikes to #5, #6, and #18. Navigation is made mostly painless in these areas by the use of the walking path and hole #s with directional arrows painted on key trees in hunter orange, so make sure you're looking up so you don't miss them. BTW, #18 proved the most difficult to find for us....it can be found with a sharp left just past the skating rink.
This course is packed into a very small area and most holes parallel each other. While the abundant tree coverage makes it feel like you're not that close to neighboring players, you really are and the likelihood of getting hit by errant throws is pretty high.
Course flow is hampered by the plot the course was built on, so there are 3 fairly significant hikes to #5, #6, and #18. Navigation is made mostly painless in these areas by the use of the walking path and hole #s with directional arrows painted on key trees in hunter orange, so make sure you're looking up so you don't miss them. BTW, #18 proved the most difficult to find for us....it can be found with a sharp left just past the skating rink.
Other Thoughts:
There's lots of other stuff happening in this park and the course was clean and well tended. In addition, there's a water spigot available near the #18 tee in case your water bottle is empty.
4
0
Mac423
Experience:
13.1 years
15 played
7 reviews
Nice, but on the small side. 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:May 1, 2012
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
-located in nice park in small town. Basketball courts, softball fields, picnic pavilions and playgrounds are available.
-very beginner friendly
-rarely any backups on the course
-generally hard to lose a disc (unless it buries itself in leaves)
-Local PD often patrols parking lot, keeping vehicles secure.
-very beginner friendly
-rarely any backups on the course
-generally hard to lose a disc (unless it buries itself in leaves)
-Local PD often patrols parking lot, keeping vehicles secure.
Cons:
-near zero terrain change in the entire course.
-some truly horrible tee pads (short and very unlevel)
-many holes are mirror images of those next to it, making for repetitive play
-some truly horrible tee pads (short and very unlevel)
-many holes are mirror images of those next to it, making for repetitive play
Other Thoughts:
While a nice course, it lacks anything to truly set it apart. Being a 15 minute drive, it is still worth the occasional play. Would make a great course to teach new players or children the game. A nice DG store named DiskZone is open right outside the entrance to the park. They carry a nice selection of new and used discs!
7
0
BogeyNoMore
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
19.9 years
484 played
183 reviews
Pitch & Putt at The Pines 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:May 28, 2011
Played the course:once
Pros:
Setting: Fun course with a woodsy Michigan feel. Course is set apart from other activities in a quiet, well maintained, multi-use community park in small-town USA with easy access off the main road with plenty of parking.
Disc Play: short and technical, but every hole (except for one) had quite executable lines. Decent mix of left, right, and straight shots. Good course for beginners to learn shot shaping and line execution.
Lots of Ace & Birdie runs. Except for its relatively remote location, this would be a GREAT COURSE FOR AN ACE RACE!!!
Hardware: Asphalt pads were fine but a too short for my tastes (although not much of a run-up is required on these short holes). Baskets were in great shape. Benches made from split logs on many holes and the bridges that take you over the creek add a little something.
Navigation: Virtually effortless - course flows really well. Map on board by 1st tee shows many holes zig-zag back and forth with parallel fairways running in opposite directions. Had to search for next tee pad 2-3 times, but only for a couple of minutes. I really liked the short red tee markers - quite effective with distance and line diagram of hole layout.
Disc Play: short and technical, but every hole (except for one) had quite executable lines. Decent mix of left, right, and straight shots. Good course for beginners to learn shot shaping and line execution.
Lots of Ace & Birdie runs. Except for its relatively remote location, this would be a GREAT COURSE FOR AN ACE RACE!!!
Hardware: Asphalt pads were fine but a too short for my tastes (although not much of a run-up is required on these short holes). Baskets were in great shape. Benches made from split logs on many holes and the bridges that take you over the creek add a little something.
Navigation: Virtually effortless - course flows really well. Map on board by 1st tee shows many holes zig-zag back and forth with parallel fairways running in opposite directions. Had to search for next tee pad 2-3 times, but only for a couple of minutes. I really liked the short red tee markers - quite effective with distance and line diagram of hole layout.
Cons:
Course feels monotonous by the time you finish the front nine.
Would really benefit from a few long holes (even if they were wooded) as well as a couple of open holes.
Not much challenge, but I don't get the feeling that's what this course was intended for.
No elevation changes - completely two dimensional (I don't ding ratings for this - hard to change mother nature).
This is anything but a "complete" course that uses every disc in your bag and every shot in your repertoire. Some will say this course is boring. Others will find it frustrating as hell. If you're looking for grip'n'rip, don't bother visiting.
Would really benefit from a few long holes (even if they were wooded) as well as a couple of open holes.
Not much challenge, but I don't get the feeling that's what this course was intended for.
No elevation changes - completely two dimensional (I don't ding ratings for this - hard to change mother nature).
This is anything but a "complete" course that uses every disc in your bag and every shot in your repertoire. Some will say this course is boring. Others will find it frustrating as hell. If you're looking for grip'n'rip, don't bother visiting.
Other Thoughts:
Personally, I like short, technical, control courses, but there's no denying this course gets repetitive. I teed off with a mid or putter on 14 of the 18 holes, only pulling a driver out 4 times.
Stand-out holes: Hole 16 was interesting: it's a very short fairway that curves to the right with the basket situated in the middle of several carefully planted rows of mature pine trees... must have been part of a pine tree farm - seriously. I was lucky enough to birdie the hole, but you could easily have a pretty nice shot that pinballs around on that particular hole. I wouldn't call it good hole design, but it's certainly different, and stuck out for me.
17 is easily the longest hole on the course, and the only one I would call moderately open. After 16 holes worth of pitch and putt, it really felt good to let one rip on a fairway that had enough room for a disc to turn over a bit, and then fade back.
Limiting my rating strictly to disc play, I can't give this course anything more than 2.5. But throw in good tee markers, solid (if short) tees, easy navigation, great baskets, and the overall charm of the place, and well... I'll bump another ½ disc for those.
Stand-out holes: Hole 16 was interesting: it's a very short fairway that curves to the right with the basket situated in the middle of several carefully planted rows of mature pine trees... must have been part of a pine tree farm - seriously. I was lucky enough to birdie the hole, but you could easily have a pretty nice shot that pinballs around on that particular hole. I wouldn't call it good hole design, but it's certainly different, and stuck out for me.
17 is easily the longest hole on the course, and the only one I would call moderately open. After 16 holes worth of pitch and putt, it really felt good to let one rip on a fairway that had enough room for a disc to turn over a bit, and then fade back.
Limiting my rating strictly to disc play, I can't give this course anything more than 2.5. But throw in good tee markers, solid (if short) tees, easy navigation, great baskets, and the overall charm of the place, and well... I'll bump another ½ disc for those.
2
3
AKasprzak
Experience:
7 played
7 reviews
small park 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Apr 25, 2011
Played the course:once
Pros:
Alot of right handed holes. Clean, easy to follow signs. nice pads. enjoyed our self, child friendly.
Cons:
all the holes are really close together cramed together in the woods, but still nice to play.
Other Thoughts:
We had a fun time at this park. I dont think i would go out of my way to go back, but if i was in the area i would stop and play a round.
12
1
New Course 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Nov 6, 2008
Played the course:once
Pros:
Hole Variety/Course Layout--
Mostly tech but not by anymeans a "pinball course". Good layout that comes in and out of a patch of woods. You play around a baseball field and hocky rink but they never become a factor.
Course Maintenance--
Nice clean park near downtown St. Charles. There are tee pads on every hole, and I had never seen tee pads like this before! They're asphalt with wood surrounding them and they have the same grip as concrete (maybe better).
Course Navigation--
Some of the nicest signs ive ever seen! Every sign shows a picture of the course map and has the hole your on highlighted. Also every sign has the hole distance on it. No maps online but you can see where the next hole is by arrows marked on the trees and by looking at the maps on every hole.
Mostly tech but not by anymeans a "pinball course". Good layout that comes in and out of a patch of woods. You play around a baseball field and hocky rink but they never become a factor.
Course Maintenance--
Nice clean park near downtown St. Charles. There are tee pads on every hole, and I had never seen tee pads like this before! They're asphalt with wood surrounding them and they have the same grip as concrete (maybe better).
Course Navigation--
Some of the nicest signs ive ever seen! Every sign shows a picture of the course map and has the hole your on highlighted. Also every sign has the hole distance on it. No maps online but you can see where the next hole is by arrows marked on the trees and by looking at the maps on every hole.
Cons:
--"no holes over 600 ft" and pretty much no "open" holes, these arn't cons in my book but I know it might be in some peoples.
--It somewhat lacks variety, alot of the holes feel repetative.
--It somewhat lacks variety, alot of the holes feel repetative.
Other Thoughts:
Course Atmosphere--
Its in a small village park in some woods, you feel like your playing in peoples backyards some of the time. We only saw one other person playing when I was there.
Hazards--
Small creek on 2 or 3 holes (deep enough to get you wet, but not deep enough to lose your disc).
Access To Course--
Easy! One road off the main street in the city (St. Charles).
Once inside park the course is half way down the park road on the left hand side (If you see a basket about 20 feet from the road then you went a little to far because thats basket 18, hole #1 is on the left a little before basket 18).
Its in a small village park in some woods, you feel like your playing in peoples backyards some of the time. We only saw one other person playing when I was there.
Hazards--
Small creek on 2 or 3 holes (deep enough to get you wet, but not deep enough to lose your disc).
Access To Course--
Easy! One road off the main street in the city (St. Charles).
Once inside park the course is half way down the park road on the left hand side (If you see a basket about 20 feet from the road then you went a little to far because thats basket 18, hole #1 is on the left a little before basket 18).
