Bad single hole Design.

[Orioles_Lefty]

I can't say I played the course as much as walked it and threw a few shots with a friend who works there, but the course on the campus of Carson-Newman University in Jefferson TN could not be more ON THE CAMPUS. Baskets are feet away from building entrances. A few of the tees offer the possibility of certainly hitting someone when school is in session no matter where you throw it.

I was there in July and we walked the campus around dusk, so no one was around. But all I could wonder was if anyone actually plays this course and who in god's name approved its installation. The school's insurance provider must not know about it.

I can't remember a specific horrible hole. One of the many that provided the thrill of killing some philosophy professor leaving work for the day, I suppose.

This reminds me; I never marked it as "played."

 

[DavidSauls]

I give the you the star of Lander University's whatweretheythinking? lineup:

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

I give the you the star of Lander University's whatweretheythinking? lineup:

View attachment 70877

Seems like we're two courses into a college campus worst 18 courses. The worst 18 college course holes would be a sight to behold. Some of them make you scratch your head. I wonder how much new construction — BIGGER, BETTER DORMS — screw up college courses.

 

[kw83028]

I was passing through the Flint, MI area a few years back and stopped to play the Flint YMCA course. Everything was fairly normal for a 2 star course until I arrived at a 30 foot hole. When your tee shot is inside circle 1, that's bad hole design.

Was par 1, 2, or 3?

Only being halfway sarcastic, because there is a hole in my region (about 120') that has PAR 2 on the hole sign.

No mando?

I think the mando is you have to be above the cage, below the band, and somewhere not left or right of the chains.

Yea. Garbage for sure. Par3 too. Up and over or through the gap lol. The course, I think, is in the process of a redesign and expansion to 18 holes.

 

[ray1970]

I'd Simon Lizotte that thing with a giant spike hyzer.

 

[davetherocketguy]

While this isn't a single bad hole there are 2 holes when combined together are 2 of the worst I have ever seen. On the back 9 of Hart Hydro in Hart, MI there are 2 holes that share a fairway. They don't run parallel but you actually throw UP the hill on one tee shot to a basket then turn 180 degrees to throw back DOWN the hill to another basket. What's worse is both tee shots are completely blind. Amazing how anyone could think this is a good idea.

Then there are a handful of really horrible holes that are bad because of their surroundings in Hughes Park in Husdsonville, MI. If you could play some of these holes in a vacuum - individually they'd be pretty lackluster but with the amazing spaghettified mess that is Hughes park they're all an accident waiting to happen if there is more than one group on the course at one time.

But I have to say the worse hole that I've ever played has to be back at Hart Hydro and that's #4. Just off the fairway camouflaged buy the green and brown grass is some really awesome brown barbed wire where I managed to get a nasty little gash on my leg. First time ever playing disc golf and I needed a tetanus shot. Fun fact: Walgreens will sell you a tetanus shot for around $60 IIRC. How do you not see this stuff and then remove it before opening this course to the public??? It was pretty obvious they took down a bunch of the fence just prior to installing the course but apparently couldn't be bothered to finish the job.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Another REALLY bad hole has to be #6 at Bethel College in Mishawaka, IN. It's 230' and about 100' in front of the tee is this 8' gap you're supposed to hit which isn't so bad in and of itself BUT there's like 3-4 walking paths immediately to the right of the fairway which are most definitely in danger. Then there's this nicely landscaped terraced hole to the left with a building adorned with very large glass windows that can most definitely be tagged from the tee. By anyone. I really wish I had a picture of that insanity. If you make the gap there is a very good chance you'll be playing people plinko on the way to the basket.

 

[Countchunkula]

This one came to mind right away. This isn't a case of park improvements interfering with the course. The bocce ball courts were there when the course was installed. If I remember right, the trees in the pic were added after the course went in. I'm pretty sure that the 240' measurement assumes following the "dogleg" path; every time I played it I went for the straight putter ace run.

 

[Mr. Butlertron]

I think you could randomly pick just about any elementary school or middle school fairway and make a case for it being the worst ever. That's right Hopewell Middle School, I'm looking at you.

 

[davetherocketguy]

This one came to mind right away. This isn't a case of park improvements interfering with the course. The bocce ball courts were there when the course was installed. If I remember right, the trees in the pic were added after the course went in. I'm pretty sure that the 240' measurement assumes following the "dogleg" path; every time I played it I went for the straight putter ace run.

Wow...that's pretty freaking horrible.

 

[ohtobediscing]

Its hard to remember any single bad hole on an otherwise ok course. Several badly designed whole courses come to mind, though: New Plymouth in ID, Strawberry Fields for Rover and Wenatchee Rotary in WA, Bulldog Bayou in MS, Reeds DGC in OR.

 

[thecandydan]

This thread is entertaining.

Let me submit this -- Hole 7 at St. Bernard (a little 9 hole course in central Cincinnati -- currently in disrepair due to school construction).

I mean, hey, what could go wrong on this tee shot?

 

[ray1970]

A hole on a course near me has a similar hole where you are forced to throw over a skate park. It's close enough to the pad that getting past it isn't a big deal but there are always kids playing there. Throwing over kids is just sketchy.

 

[Steve West]

... Throwing over kids is just sketchy.

Then don't. It's just disc golf. You're the only one who can tell you whether to throw or not.

The course layout has no power over your judgement.

 

[Ryan P.]

Seems like we're two courses into a college campus worst 18 courses. The worst 18 college course holes would be a sight to behold. Some of them make you scratch your head. I wonder how much new construction — BIGGER, BETTER DORMS — screw up college courses.

I'll throw Montana Western's course into the mix.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=5088&mode=ci

 

[Ryan P.]

None of the course has teepads from what I could see. But the entire 9 holes is a conglomeration of bad holes.
1, 2, and 3 are in a triangle in an open field between dorms. All three holes are within 15' of a sidewalk. The only safe place to play those holes from would be from the sidewalk corresponding to those baskets.

4-9 are at another part of the campus about 400 feet away. Those play in the area between the academic dorms and a main road in the town. The square footage of that area is about 2 football fields. There is a particular hole that plays alongside a less-traveled road, about 300 feet, toward the main road. Also, there is a drop-off between the campus and the main road of about 5', so any shot that goes more than 20' long is going into the road. All of the other holes play over sidewalks, except for one, which is about 10 feet away from a sidewalk.

Thankfully I played there in the summer when the campus was barren and the town wasn't as busy. I still managed to hit a car.

 

[Kegelexercise]

It's not a single hole...

But I remembered a discussion about this "course" a while back, and it came to mind.

 

[aredoubles]

Didn't take any photos from the ground. Hole 17 was decently fun on an empty course and campus. Otherwise...

 

[ray1970]

Then don't. It's just disc golf. You're the only one who can tell you whether to throw or not.



The course layout has no power over your judgement.

Meh. The hole I mentioned is only about 280 feet. It probably takes about 200 to clear the skate park. The pad is ever so slightly elevated so as long as you're careful it really isn't a huge deal.

The silly part is there's plenty of space around this hole and moving the basket maybe a hundred feet left would pretty much take the skate park totally out of play.

Honestly, I don't know if the course or the skate park was there first so either the hole playing over the park was a bad idea or building the park in the middle of the disc golf fairway was a bad idea.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Arapahoe Comm College, could put half the course in this thread. And most of the course is unplayable if school is going on and people are moving about. Do yourself a favor and take a look at the Media section for the course.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/media.php?id=3864&mode=media#

But I guess I would submit Hole #2, if I recall you throw from the top of the steps right in front of a building door. Throw over another walkway and the basket is tucked between two trees right up against the building. We played it once years ago just to bag a course, it was during summer and school was somewhat in session. Took our time and made sure coast was clear before throwing, but man this design was not well thought out at all. :doh: