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New Manchester, WV

Tomlinson Run State Park

3.175(based on 12 reviews)
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8 0
Ryal
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 7 years 222 played 187 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Tomlinson Nature Walk Run 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 10, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

+ All tee signs are engraved into some kind of permanent plastic slate. They will definitely last a long time but cannot be easily altered if there is a change to one of the holes.
+ Basic but functional turf tee pads on the first seven holes clearly show players were to start.
+ Half open, half wooded.
+ Things pick up after hole seven... mostly.
+ There are a few lovely views and walks through nature here- especially the walk between holes 14 and 15.

Cons:

- The tee pads completely vanish after hole 7. For the most part, players must guess for themselves where the tee area is among the roots and dirt near the tee signs.
- No designated practice pin or lost disc box.
- There are no 'next hole' signs here. Granted, most of the holes are so close together as to not be necessary, but finding holes 8 and 12 would have been a lot easier if there were some kind of sign pointing the way.
- Holes 11 and 14 collide, and there is a popular walking path right through them. Throw with caution.
- Hole 18 ends nowhere close to the parking lot and hole 1.

Other Thoughts:

My favorite hole to play here was hole 11 because it is a downhill tee-off at the top of a short cliff. It is the only hole with any noteworthy elevation, and I must say that it was pretty thrilling.
My favorite hole to look at was hole 15 because of the rockface, trees and river all around the tee pad. It felt like a different park at that one spot.
My least favorite hole might be the very first one because of how plain it is.

As for the course as a whole, Tomlinson let me down a little after picking me up a little. I'll be straight forward about it. The first seven holes are bland and boring because they are flat and nigh featureless with wide open fields dotted with trees. I tricked myself into thinking that the whole course was going to be like that.

But then, two friendly locals using pin 7 as the practice basket pointed me towards hole 8, and new life was breathed into the course. Once I entered the forest, saw the slanted landscape and the creek down below, I had renewed hopes. After that, the rest of the course was in the woods. I loved having to plan my lines carefully at the risk of ricocheting towards a creek that was present for pretty much the rest of the course. And the lovely downhill glide from a small cliff at hole 11 came at just the right time to set me up even more.

But then I had no idea where to go to find hole 12. There are no next tee signs here. I meandered through the nature paths for at least five minutes (a lovely walk, I must say) before realizing that I had to cross a nearby bridge and backtrack up through 13's fairway just to get to hole 12. If there is a more direct proper route, please tell me. I couldn't find it.

From 12 on, the golf became flat again. Yes, it was in a quiet pretty forest. I loved the setting of the back nine, but that didn't change the garden variety nature of the fairways themselves. Still, the golfing is competently presented. Just because it isn't my ideal course doesn't mean that others won't love it. I neither loved it nor hated it.

Bottom line: nearby players really should pay it a visit at least once if only for the peaceful and pretty back nine- despite the rocky and rooty tee pads. If I lived closer, I probably wouldn't mind being a regular here. Speaking as a visitor, it will be a long while before I come back again.
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5 0
swatso
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 755 played 414 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Professional Convict 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 7, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Located in a pretty park with a variety of things to do, including swimming and miniature golf.

The holes that play near the clear and shallow stream, meadows, and rock formations are quite picturesque.

Nice mixture, with ~1/2 the holes 350'+ and fairly open, allowing for some grip-n-rip opportunities, and the other half requiring good control, offering challenging lines to be hit-then-held. A bit right-turn oriented, ranging from subtle-to-somewhat sharp.

Cons:

Safety: Access road/parking lot may come into play on front-7 - hole-4 has you throwing over the edge of a lot/road. Many baskets located near walking paths, bridges, and water access points, and some fairways double as popular meadows for non disc golfers.

Flow: A bit of a walk down the paved path from basket-14 to tee-15. A bit of a walk from basket-18 to tee-1.

Single (natural) tee / single basket position. Quite flat, except for cliff-drop #11.

Other Thoughts:

The course initially (1-7) plays, in a clockwise manner, in the flat, lightly-treed open space surrounding the parking lots, which surround the swimming pool. In this section, I liked the gently-but-continuous right-turning spiral of #3. Holes 8-10 play between the entrance road and the cliff, with 20' wide throwing alleys requiring right-turns late/mid/late. Left-fades on 9-10 could prove to be a disaster, as the edge of the cliff is quite nearby. A drop-shot down this cliff is number -11, followed by Z-shape cross-meadow holes 12 and 13. Number-14 is tight early and late, with water left at the end. After a bit of a stroll, you find excellent hole-15, having you throw across the creek early, through large hardwoods on the other side, then needing a sharp-right to run along the edge of a meadow. Holes 16/17 are similar - dead flat, straight, needing to miss random trees late (16) or semi-continuously (17). Out from woods, across meadow, over picnic tables, to basket-18 beyond, finishes the course.

Holes 12/13, which I like quite a bit, epitomize both the pros and cons of several holes on this course. For the pros, both are ~400', playing across a Z-shaped meadow, needing a sharpish left at the midpoint, followed by a sweeping right. Basket-12 has the stream lurking on the left, and tee-13 offers you a rare, elevated launch point. For the cons, they share the same meadow, so potential cross-fire. There are a bunch of picnic tables stretching from the water a bit into the meadow, with the last table being in the prime throwing lane - and this section of water, and tables, are popular with non-players. Blind basket-13 is located within a few feet of where the bridge will be dumping patrons enjoying a stroll - until a disc comes whizzing at them! :-(

There are plenty of good holes here, but (potentially) plenty of opportunities to negatively interact with non-players (other players, even). You, and non-playing park patrons, will enjoy your round much more when park attendance is low. Definitely worth a visit, but come on a gloomy weekday. :)
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