swatso

RHBH. Started 8/08

Bridge

Use Your Freedom of Choice

ABOUT MY REVIEWS ...
I take a comprehensive view when rating a course. While the holes themselves are the primary factor, I also consider tees, flow, signage, "amenities", etc. I enjoy courses and holes that offer variety and provide options.

While not my original intent, I'd categorize courses I rate in the following manner:
0.0: I've yet to give a zero. although there have been a few close calls.
0.5: Are courses I wouldn't bother playing again nor would recommend.
1.0: Are courses I probably won't bother playing again, but may be of interest to others.
1.5: Will play if my time and its location happen to intersect.
2.0: Decent enough to play/practice, but not overly exciting.
2.5: Solid, middle-of-the-road course, with offsetting minor pros and cons - typically fun/relaxing.
3.0: Just a bit above an average course, typically a good play, often for a focused audience-type.
3.5: Typically offers good variety with a steady stream of solid holes, look forward to playing it frequently.
4.0: Highly recommended, just a notch or two below the top courses - definitely worth a play.
4.5: Pretty much has it all - just a blemish or two. Play it if you can!
5.0: I have yet to play one, although Deer Lakes and Moraine are close.

LITE REVIEWS:
A 72=hour 12=course 6+/-player whirlwind trip to the Indianapolis area mid=August 2014 ended my streak of reviewing every course I've played. Below are tidbits of those courses I played, in the order in which I played them:
2.5 Avon: Novice/Intermediate; More open than wooded; Some elevation changes; Tees a bit small.
2.5 Mt. Gilead: Mostly long. Mostly open. Dead flat.
2.5 Blue Heron: Some holes quite suitable for novice/intermediate, while other had disc-loss out-of-bounds quite close!
1.0 Cumberland: Flat. Soccer games along left. Possible disc-loss creek along right.
3.5 Disc@Fall Creek: Nice variety of open, semi-, and full-wooded, and distances/shot-shapes.
3.0 Hill@Northview: Pretty and well-manicured with elevation changes; Primarily open.
1.5 Lawrence Inlow: A nice, short introductory course initially open (short righties), followed by some woods.
3.0 Elwood: Ugly (former landfill/dump) but effective - wooded (smaller trees) with interesting lines and other challenges.
3.0 Lions@Yorktown: A mixture of (mainly) good holes with elevation and/or woods, along with a few bland, flat, open holes.
3.0 McCulloch: Nice park with rolling elevation and scattered, large trees; Bit too much max huck followed by moderate approach.
3.5 Boondocks: The front, mostly open, front nine is okay, but the back nine up/down/along the wooded ridge is excellent.
3.5 Hazel Landing: Excellent teepads/signage/flow. More wooded than open. Challenging lines. Dead flat.

I also spent a long weekend in New England in mid-October 2014:
3.5 Wickham: Fantastic park. Lots of length. Nice mix of altering open/wooded. Some long walks between holes.
3.0 Cross Farms: Nearly entirely wooded. Nearly entirely flat. Lots of challenging holes.
4.0 Pyramids: Initially across/up/down a wooded ridge with creek, openish/flatter towards end, but still challening throughout
NR. Pyramids Pink: Work on your short game - and if you can putt well on these baskets, you can putt anywhere!
2.0 Wilton: Front nine offers some wood challenge, but also safety issues; Rougher back nine better, but signage/tees need work.
3.0 Otter Creek: An undulating wooded ridge with two tees, offering both birdy chances and difficult pars.
1.0 Granite Gorge: Mostly throwing up open hills, aka bunny ski slopes, from too small/rough teepads.
3.5 Crane Hill: Two tees with a mix of open, wooded, and in/out, mostly flat with some elevation changes mid-course.

July 2015: Primarily Denver, with a WYO-NEB-KAN loop.
2.0 Village Greens: Open, fairly flat, good flow, suitable for lower levels
1.5 Exposition: Open and flat, with nasty water lurking about several holes
2.0 Fehringer: Tougher than similar-appearing Village Greens, but with greater disc-loss probability
2.5 Johnny Roberts: Well-manicured pitch-n-putt
2.5 Edora: Some length and elevation changes, but mainly open with some minor flow issues
2.5 Dry Creek Parkway: Must be recently mowed and no recent rain to be playable
1.0 Deer Run A repetitive open hyzer-fest skirting a small public park
2.5 Flight to 9: A decent niner at the back of a multi-faceted public park
3.0 Kelley: Plenty of elevation changes, with some shot-shaping on the back nine
1.5 Lake Atwood: A large pond surrounded by a walking path surrounded by a road - try not to land in any of these
1.0 Roadside: A few decent holes at a rest stop, but if other patrons are actually resting there, might have to skip some
2.0 Valmont: A small hillock crammed with too many baskets, followed by open cross-field chucking mobbed with students
3.5 Bailey: A big hill with supporting meadows, boulders, and treelines makes for a fine play.
4.5 Beaver Ranch: A refined/established version of Bailey, with hole-7 being my favourite - play it if in the vicinity!
3.0 Lake Dillon: Open with elevation early, gentler changes but more shot-shaping late
2.5 Peak One: Gentler elevation and shot-shaping, recent tree removal opened it up a bit too much

August 2015: Menomonie and Minneapolis
2.5 Brickyard: Extremes - 2xtees, 2xbaskets, elevation all good; upkeep, dampness, mosquitoes, slippyness bad
2.5 Wakanda: open- and flat-ish early, later ridge with large scattered trees more interesting
2.0 Mayo: Erratic - half the holes quite suitable for middleschoolers, while others way too close to tall grass/bushes, awkward throwing lanes
3.0 Valley: a solid mix of hole types with a walking path in the vicinity of some
3.5 Kaposia: classic look and feel, some open with large hardwoods and many shots carved in woods, with minor elevation changes
3.5 Blue Ribbon Pines: Clubhouse, auxillary snackbar, blue baskets, red mulch, log-lined greens, some multi-terraced are its strengths; flatness, 1/3rd open chucks, green-slime ponds as hazards are weaknesses
3.5 Bryant Lake: Top-notch tee areas, elevation changes, periodic view of lake, upkeep are strengths; minimal obstacles/shot-shaping are weaknesses
2.5 Acorn: Multi-tee with a few challenging holes with shape and elevation changes, but majority of holes are a bit under 200' with typically one obstacle to beat.

October 2015: (mostly) Maine, the land of exaggerated pars
3.5 Hollows: Wooded ridge with fair throwing lanes, recoverability, and two tees per hole
3.0 Dragan: Pretty, tree-lined sub-meadows, on the shorter side, compact
2.5 Creative Recreations: Hillside/top throwing lanes, broadly cut through dense, smaller trees
3.5 Timberstone: Up-and down a big hill, filled with big trees and big boulders, fair lanes with minimal underbrush
2.5 Stevens: Maximizes a wet, low-laying former farm field, with a few treelines and a bit of woods towards the back
2.5 Cranberry: Initially a bit dull, improves in the middle, with long, wooded holes and a bit of elevation change
3.5 Bittersweet South: up, down, and across two wooded ridges with minimal undergrowth, front easier than back
3.0 Bittersweet North: a rougher, rawer, tougher version of the South course
2.5 Pineland: A solid niner half open, with a few long, wooded holes
3.0 Pleasant Hill: A pretty, former ball golf course, 1/3rd 200', 1/3rd 300', 1/3rd longer, where straight of the tee works on most everyone one of these openish holes
3.0 Salmon Falls: A bit raw, quite challenging, mistake punishing, flat and wooded with twists and turns galore

November 2015: central Virginia,3 previously-played courses and 5 new ones:
2.5 MeadowCreek Gardens: 2xtees, 2xbaskets, small footprint, flat, wooded, #4 is a swamp
1.5 Fox@Coyner Springs: new materials but a bit dull, shapes of holes 3 and 4 awkward
3.0 TimberRidge: private on farm, either too open or too tight, only a few holes (like #7) hitting the sweet spot
2.0 Highland Park: a counterclockwise loop in a public park with some large, scattered trees to avoid and some elevation changes.
3.5 Greenfield Park: 2xtees, 1xbasket, even mix of open bombs / moderate woods, half with elevation, half flat.

August 2016: Left Coast, 21 rounds at 18 courses, 15 of which were new to me:
2.5 Sacramento River RV Park: 2xtees, variable length; flattish, with a few too many baskets near an ob bog
3.0 University of OB: Plays underneath tighly-scattered pines; rope ob unnecessary gimick
1.0 Crest Street Park: More like a large practice area
3.0 Tree Top DGC: Minor elevation changes through widely-scattered hardwoods in a pleasant park
2.0 Leverich Park: Decent holes with awkward flow and sketchiness abounding
2.5 Lincoln Park DGC: Open then deeped-wooded then scattered trees for decent variety; some flow issues
2.0 GH Hostel DGC: Primarily plays in a plesant meadow with some trees; a bit crammed, and noisy
1.5 Herbert Hoover Park: A big, open hill, and a paritally-wooded hillock
4.0 Pier Park: Undulating thoughout, playing under big trees, with a variety of shapes
3.5 Horning's Hideout - Highland Course: open-tight-open/long-short-long with frequent elevation changes
2.5 Horning's Hideout - Canyon Course: a very solid pitch-n-putt
3.0 Adair Park: Short control early, mid-length wooded middle, openish and long wait
2.0 Azalea State Park: Some interesting tight and moderate holes, but many play too close to other park users
3.5 Brooktrails: Co-exists with a 9-hole ball golf course underneath redwoods, openish with some elevation changes
2.5 East La Loma Park: Nine open pitch-n-putts followed by eighteen openish drive-n-putts, with a few scattered windows

October 2016: New Hampshire and Maine
2.5 Top of the Hill: a solid course with decent variety, but nothing overly memorable
3.5 Woods at Beauty Hill complex: tiny-n-tight Bobcat, quality mid-level and varied Lynx, and developing Cougar provide a breadth of challenges.
2.5 Moose Mountain: open-wooded-open with reasonable challenges for intermediates fromt he short tees.
1.5 Poland Springs: a pretty, decent niner, with single lanes cut through smaller trees.
4.0 Woodland Valley complex: Awesome complex with all the amenities. Between the rec-int Black Bear, int-adv Grizzly, and adv-pro Kodiak, there are wooded, and yet a few open, challenges to be had for most anyone.

April 2017: Virginia-North Carolina-South Carolina-Georgia-Tennessee
2.5 Dorey: Flat through pine-defined lanes early, larger trees with some elevation changes later
3.0 Edmunds: Three tees per hole, open early, good wooded slope middle, open with tough greens late
2.5 Lake's Edge: Mix of good wooded holes plus a few late "exit lane" holes, stream as "fairway"
3.0 Patriots: Primarily open, some baskets tucked within woodline
2.0 Horizons: Short, open course on a small hill/slope with scattered large trees
4.0 RL Smith: Excellent wooded course with great blend of shapes, elevations, and lengths
2.5 Earlewood: City park on big hill with scattered, large trees
4.0 IDGC Headrick: Two tees/two pins per hole, up/down/across wooded slope
4.5 IDGC Jackson: Long, other than short with looming ob 11-13, often offering a choices of lanes
3.5 IDGC Warner: flat fairways in woods early, oscillating up-n-down with scattered trees late
3.0 Gordon Marine/Navy: Long/openish with some elevation early, shorter with lanes cut through dense, smaller trees late
2.5 Gordon Army/AirForce: Moderate length and open/wooded mix early, shorter/more openish late
3.5 Langley: Long, fair throwing lanes, cut in woods, blend of turns, mild elevations
3.0 Lake Russell: Well-kept park with 18 openish, up/down holes, plus 9 short wooded
3.5 Grand Central Station: Good variety of distance, elevation, and tightness combinations
2.5 Jackson: Initially open, then wooded, then mixed, blend of elevations, too
2.0 Southwest Point: Lots of ups and downs, open initial 2/3rds, scattered large trees latter 1/3rd
2.0 Whitestone: Lots of ups and downs with a few large trees to miss

May 2017: Daytrips to (primarily) Pennsylvania
1.0 Schiavoni: flat, lots of right-turners with popular paved walking path in/as fairway
1.5 Hotel Hershey: long, open, manicured on former ball golf
2.5 Shank: mostly open/elevated, with some short wooded holes, choppy flow about park
3.0 Herr: well manicured, either open with a few trees to miss late, along with a few wooded corridor shots
4.0 Muddy Run: tough/tougher tee locations, lots of elevation, with both big open bombs and wooded challenges
2.5 Green Ridge: mix of decent holes with some huh? fairways/greens
2.0 Messiah: moderate elevation/wind/grass provide challenges on open course
1.0 Naval Support Activity: flat/open on former ball golf course
2.5 Adventure Park: three tees per hole, open with elevation changes

September 2017: Ohio-Michigan
2.5 Sims: interesting, shorter holes on front, mostly 300'-350' openish blasts on the back, difficult-to-see baskets
3.0 Walsh: good tees, signs, flow; mostky open, usually only one challenge (elevation, tree, window, shape, etc.) type per hole
2.0 Parmelee: open with scattered big trees early and late, narrow lanes in dense mid-sized forest in the middle, short throughout
3.0 Ponds@Lakeshore: two tees most holes, 30=holes, former ball golf course which used the elevation, scattered trees, and treelines well, also including randomish ob-"sandtraps"; well-stocked store on site.
3.5 Hudson Mills - Original+Monster: well-manicured field shots along with some right-turners and straight woodshots
4.0 Independence Lake - Redhawk+X: manicured field shots, variety of wooded shots, with a touch of elevation change
3.5 Burchfield - Devil+River: 2x2 on the open Devil course, open elevation change and many wooded challenges on the River
3.5 Fallasburg: the heart of the course are the middle holes playing atop, and then down, a wooded plateau
3.0 Whitehall: an excellent course for introducing basic control requirements to an improving player's game
4.5 Flip City: the prettiest course I've every played, with a variety of elevation challenges
3.5 Mason - Beauty and Beast: short wooded holes and openish Beauty, with longer and more open Beast at same complex
4.0 Leviathan: 2-3 tees per hole with tunnels, trees, meadows, and elevation challenges
3.5 Meyer Broadway - Original: a solid course with a nice string of wooded holes early, and long open with turns and elevation challenges late.
2.5 Hedges Boyer: Pretty park in pretty town, with mostly open birdy looks for the advanced player
3.0 Squirrel Run: Scattered hardwoods on the open early and late holes, short-rights and slightly-longer lefts in the woods in the middle
2.5 Wick: In city park, very tall but scattered hardwoods, very long holes, a few challenging pin locations
3.0 Pymatuning: 3xtees per hole, mostly open and mostly long
2.5 Lake Shore: shorts shots with a few trees up, down, across small, steep slopes, amongst throngs of geese, and their residue.
3.5 Pines: A fine, alternating mix of open and wooded, with multiple tees.

October 2017: Maine-Canada
x.x Cripps Creek:
x.x Augusta Quarry:
x.x Hillcrest Farm:
x.x Odell Parc:
x.x Maple Ridge:
x.x DR Lynx:
x.x CR Farm:

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2018-2019: Some travelling, but too lazy to post even one-liners! :-O
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September 2019: AR-OK-MO
3.0 Burns Park - Red:
3.0 Old Post:
2.0 Eagle's Nest:
2.5 McClure Park:
3.5 Whitehawk:
3.0 JB Hunt Park - JBeast:
2.5 Shawnee Mission Park:
3.5 Water Works Park:
2.5 Bad Rock Creek:
4.5 Harmony Bends:
3.0 Joseph C. Miller:
3.0 Grubaugh Park:
3.0 Branson Cedars Resort Treehouz:
3.0 Bluegrass Trails:
2.5 Mossy Bluff: