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Thornspring DGC reviews
10
0
Will This Thorn Stick?
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Nov 14, 2020
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
-This is for sure more of a casualty. A few holes have extreme elevation changes, you play many long wide open holes, most holes are downhill while only one hole plays uphill (#17) and it's over 60' up from the gold pad, you hardly ever get any sort of break from the distance if you play the longs. Some holes have very light elevation changes, but others are down more than 25' in elevation. This being said, distance and elevation are a ton of fun and you'll enjoy this place if you are looking for a casual yet difficult round.
-Golf carts are available. This course takes up a lot of space and there are some long transitions in between holes.
-Starts off very nice with a fun valley hole. Basket is up the hill past some trees, so if you shank it then you could have a tricky second shot but there's still a lot of room to rip it. I thought this was a great starter. #3 is a nice big downhill par three. Over 400' through a small hall of trees and over the creek.
-I enjoyed the available use of woods. #14 and #16 were both fun par threes. #14 is the shortest hole but the line is the hardest to hit with it being through a narrow tree lane almost the entire way. #16 was like a cross breed between #3 and #14. Long way downhill and through a tree lane most of the way.
-#15 is was a ton of fun to play. 1010' and down probably a near 100' in elevation. You tee off throwing slightly downhill around a few trees to avoid and there is a bunker and cart path in play. I played it safe on the drive (maybe 385') and had a 600+ drive down the hill which is HUGE after a good 450' to 500' from the gold pad. There are two golf fairways you'll see from the gold pad. Make sure you take the one on the left. Basket is under some trees.
-Few easier birdies out there, even from the golds. #8 is a downhill par four that's under 600'. Main obstacles are the OB green and bunker. There are a couple of trees to the left so you want to hyzer very hard to the left since it's a dogleg left. The basket is further down the hill past a tree. And #11. Yes, it said on U disc that it's 400' and over the creek but there was a basket just short of the creek (maybe 315' long from the gold) and steep downhill. Hole is wide open down a steep hill. Very reachable with a putter for most competitive players. Newer players probably won't have trouble with this hole even from the gold. Open, straight downhill, and not very long with the elevation change.
-Nice use of the pond for the green on #4 and the tee shot on #5. Was a great challenge for even top level players. They'll have to clear 350' to avoid the OB pond.
-Crazy finisher on #18. 1234' long with an uphill approach to the basket right beside the lodge. OB on both sides of the fairway at the midpoint too, so this plays as a true separator. Still gives many options. The approach is very difficult to attack here.
-Golf carts are available. This course takes up a lot of space and there are some long transitions in between holes.
-Starts off very nice with a fun valley hole. Basket is up the hill past some trees, so if you shank it then you could have a tricky second shot but there's still a lot of room to rip it. I thought this was a great starter. #3 is a nice big downhill par three. Over 400' through a small hall of trees and over the creek.
-I enjoyed the available use of woods. #14 and #16 were both fun par threes. #14 is the shortest hole but the line is the hardest to hit with it being through a narrow tree lane almost the entire way. #16 was like a cross breed between #3 and #14. Long way downhill and through a tree lane most of the way.
-#15 is was a ton of fun to play. 1010' and down probably a near 100' in elevation. You tee off throwing slightly downhill around a few trees to avoid and there is a bunker and cart path in play. I played it safe on the drive (maybe 385') and had a 600+ drive down the hill which is HUGE after a good 450' to 500' from the gold pad. There are two golf fairways you'll see from the gold pad. Make sure you take the one on the left. Basket is under some trees.
-Few easier birdies out there, even from the golds. #8 is a downhill par four that's under 600'. Main obstacles are the OB green and bunker. There are a couple of trees to the left so you want to hyzer very hard to the left since it's a dogleg left. The basket is further down the hill past a tree. And #11. Yes, it said on U disc that it's 400' and over the creek but there was a basket just short of the creek (maybe 315' long from the gold) and steep downhill. Hole is wide open down a steep hill. Very reachable with a putter for most competitive players. Newer players probably won't have trouble with this hole even from the gold. Open, straight downhill, and not very long with the elevation change.
-Nice use of the pond for the green on #4 and the tee shot on #5. Was a great challenge for even top level players. They'll have to clear 350' to avoid the OB pond.
-Crazy finisher on #18. 1234' long with an uphill approach to the basket right beside the lodge. OB on both sides of the fairway at the midpoint too, so this plays as a true separator. Still gives many options. The approach is very difficult to attack here.
Cons:
-Navigation was extremely hard the first time playing. Make sure you download U disc or receive a map. This course is tough enough to navigate even with a map because some of the lengths to get to the next pad are very long. One was maybe over half a mile. To make matters worse, none of the tees OR baskets are numbered. You just see pads and baskets. The second time I played it, I had it figured out since the layout was finalized. #13's basket is over the creek. #15's basket is hidden. You'll see a basket far off over 1000' away (like this hole) but that's #16.
-It tends to flood. Nine of the holes were "closed" because of the lack of drainage in spots. I figured that they were closed so that golf carts wouldn't get stuck so I shrugged and said "I'll just walk the course." My phone battery about died because of the time I spent on U disc tracking the course and my location. This being said, you can either play nine holes with a golf cart or walk this beast of a course, play 18, and be extremely sore.
-$25 to play a round. You'll see some very sweet shots and you'll want to empty your bag a few times, but the lack of distinctiveness and character make it a questionable price. If you played Stonewall in Germanton, NC before it closed then you know that it was $20 to play a round there and that course is pretty much unarguably better than Thornspring.
-Since you are on a golf course, you won't be able to avoid interference with ball golfers. You might have to yield a lot.
-I know I said this in the pros, but it's a real casualty. It's extreme without a whole lot of distinctiveness. I played Glenwood in Princeton WV the same day and that course is outstanding! Every hole was relatively special there and at Thornspring, you see consistently long open holes. Some were clearly better than others but some of them were just decent holes.
-It tends to flood. Nine of the holes were "closed" because of the lack of drainage in spots. I figured that they were closed so that golf carts wouldn't get stuck so I shrugged and said "I'll just walk the course." My phone battery about died because of the time I spent on U disc tracking the course and my location. This being said, you can either play nine holes with a golf cart or walk this beast of a course, play 18, and be extremely sore.
-$25 to play a round. You'll see some very sweet shots and you'll want to empty your bag a few times, but the lack of distinctiveness and character make it a questionable price. If you played Stonewall in Germanton, NC before it closed then you know that it was $20 to play a round there and that course is pretty much unarguably better than Thornspring.
-Since you are on a golf course, you won't be able to avoid interference with ball golfers. You might have to yield a lot.
-I know I said this in the pros, but it's a real casualty. It's extreme without a whole lot of distinctiveness. I played Glenwood in Princeton WV the same day and that course is outstanding! Every hole was relatively special there and at Thornspring, you see consistently long open holes. Some were clearly better than others but some of them were just decent holes.
Other Thoughts:
-If you enjoy ripping drivers and strongly prefer the open to the woods, then you'll more than likely have a blast here. But with the navigation being as hard as it is and the lack of signage and hole info, you could very well feel let down. I'm not disappointed that I paid the $25 to play here because there were some super fun tee shots, but I'd be hesitant to recommend this course to most people. I'm sure many of you who read this review would love this course but I'm not sure if you would think it's worth paying $25 for because it's hard to navigate and U disc will often close itself on your phone since the service is pretty limited here and it eats up your battery. It's very hard to find the exact tee location when the property is large and you don't track your exact location on your phone.
-I wish I played here before I played Glenwood. Some might disagree with my opinion here but I think Glenwood is an awesome course, much better than this course and I think this course is just a pretty fun round of extreme disc golf. The flavor isn't much different. It's like eating different candies with the same fruit flavor. They taste good and the flavor is slightly different because of different ingredients but you want a different taste. If this is a flavor you REALLY love and could never get tired of, then I would not hesitate to tell you to come here and I'd say the $25 is easily worth it.
-As much as I love extreme elevation, Thornspring isn't my favorite course in Virginia. I enjoyed it more the second time I played, so I'm boosting my rating to a 3.5 because there are a lot of fun holes and I appreciate the fact that there's a gold level hybrid course. The tee signs pictured on the media really helped me with the navigation the second time around.
-Lastly, if you do not reside in Virginia. You better take this to heart. Do not speed. A reckless driver on the highways of Virginia is a late night ocean swimmer with a nose bleed after being hit by a massive tidal wave and expecting not to attract sharks.
Cops are EVERYWHERE on those highways because of a lower crime rate in the state and they will pull you over if you go as little as five over the speed limit and if it's the end of the month, you better wait for the next month to come to Virginia if you can't watch your speed at all times. If you gotta drive a good bit under the speed limit then do it. Even if the other people on the highway flip you off for being slow; they can go fondle themselves. And they probably will too.
-I wish I played here before I played Glenwood. Some might disagree with my opinion here but I think Glenwood is an awesome course, much better than this course and I think this course is just a pretty fun round of extreme disc golf. The flavor isn't much different. It's like eating different candies with the same fruit flavor. They taste good and the flavor is slightly different because of different ingredients but you want a different taste. If this is a flavor you REALLY love and could never get tired of, then I would not hesitate to tell you to come here and I'd say the $25 is easily worth it.
-As much as I love extreme elevation, Thornspring isn't my favorite course in Virginia. I enjoyed it more the second time I played, so I'm boosting my rating to a 3.5 because there are a lot of fun holes and I appreciate the fact that there's a gold level hybrid course. The tee signs pictured on the media really helped me with the navigation the second time around.
-Lastly, if you do not reside in Virginia. You better take this to heart. Do not speed. A reckless driver on the highways of Virginia is a late night ocean swimmer with a nose bleed after being hit by a massive tidal wave and expecting not to attract sharks.
Cops are EVERYWHERE on those highways because of a lower crime rate in the state and they will pull you over if you go as little as five over the speed limit and if it's the end of the month, you better wait for the next month to come to Virginia if you can't watch your speed at all times. If you gotta drive a good bit under the speed limit then do it. Even if the other people on the highway flip you off for being slow; they can go fondle themselves. And they probably will too.
