Best Courses for the Rest of Us

[Riverdog]

Others have touched on it but I'll emphasize playing shorter tees at many of the highly rated courses out there. Most (not all) of those courses are designed well enough to offer shorter Red/White tees that cater better to the lower powered players but do not take much away from the quality of the course..

RockRidge in Pittsboro, NC and Hobbs Farm in Carrollton, GA both Houck courses fit this description for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lee76007]

Bayville DGC in Virginia Beach designed by Ed Headrick in 1977, from what I've been told the first disc course on the east coast. However, its been realigned I think in 2016? Two baskets, 2 concrete pads, and 3 toeboards for each hole. All par 3. Forward toeboard for kids and families, and back toeboard for the Pro's and anybody looking for a beat down. Short concrete tees to short basket all less than 300 feet. The course is moderately wooded, with a few slopeing fairways.
It was my first course playing disc golf, and has been great for developing my game. I've played 8 of the 10 tee to basket combinations, not the forward toeboards. I've played the Pro teeboards a handful of times after feeling good in the warmup round, only to be reminded, that I have a lot of improvement to work on.

 

[armiller]

I've played with plenty of "small arms" who love playing Idlewild, Selah, Harmony Bends, Moraine, Deer Lakes, Orange Crush, etc. Those courses are actually great for new or low power players for several reasons. One of the biggest things is that they always have shorter tees. As a less skilled player, those courses allow you to appreciate a great course but don't force you to play from long tees if you don't want to.

Those same players do seem to get more enjoyment out of some more boring "local" courses, but they've simultaneously been easily able to grasp the draw and awe of a course worthy of DGCR 4.2 or 4.6 rating.

John Houck and Dee Leekha have designed several courses that include beginner options, I look forward to exploring some of these.

What "beginner / rec friendly" courses should I put on my road trip list?

So if I were you, I'd just start with courses that are rated well. I'm not a big fan of Udisc ratings (I guess that's one reason I'm here?). I'd just pick an area of interest, whether you're already there or considering a trip. Then maybe sort by rating but include only courses that have 5 (or 10?) or more reviews. Anything above a 4 ought to be really good, and anything above a 3.5 will still be very solid. Sort reviews by "most helpful," and it should be very easy to get some key course information and make sure it's not one of those rarer courses that will be atrocious for a beginner.

 

[DiscGolfCraig]

Just play. Any. Course. You. Want.

The more courses you play, the more you'll get a sense of other courses, and which ones might appeal to you. You'll find courses that everyone else likes that you don't and you'll find courses that you like that most people don't. Basically any town/city that has multiple courses should be appealing.

 

[elmexdela]

I enjoy the Tower Ridge courses in Eau Claire, Wi as a middling rec player. Challenging enough to be hard, but not beat the tar out of you tough. There's a few other "experience level friendly" courses in the area, although it'd be tough to sell them as destination worthy. Maybe a place to stop in if on your way to the Minneapolis area.

tower ridge basically played thru a xc ski track and had edges lined with trees but hardly any trees in the actual fairway right

 

[jakebake91]

tower ridge basically played thru a xc ski track and had edges lined with trees but hardly any trees in the actual fairway right

Yep that's the one. Good elevation changes, plays thru the woods, but there's really no trees in your way off the tee. Basically OMDs dream course now that I think about it.....

 

[wproct]

I know I sound like a broken record, but I just can't get enough of my closest course, Maytag Park in Newton, IA. It took some major damage this summer with the storm but has recovered nicely. Minimum distance of 250 ft and maximum a little over 700 ft. No water, minimal brush and very little tall grass. Plenty of hills and still enough trees left for some challenges. There are some other nice courses near by, but at my age I don't want to spend a lot of transit time so I primarily play the sport that I love on the close park that I love. It's all good.:thmbup: Oh, and my goal this year is to reach 1000 rounds logged on my U-disc app.

 

[ejvogie]

All the courses are for all of us. You may need to temper your expectations on some of them.

 

[harr0140]

Hey Ed . . . hope all is well with you. Mike Harrington from the Houck Workshop. I often look for the oldest courses in an area. I specifically want to play as many courses installed from 1975-1980 (which is also a search feature on DGCR) because that was the beginning of the game and most were designed with most holes under 300. not only are these nice to play on a long roadtrip where I also play some of the longest most difficult courses, it also is a fun snapshot into history for my own course design understanding of what it was like in the beginning.

 

[edfaits]

Mike, Good tip on the oldest courses. I've been enjoying your disc golf travel chronicles. Next time you are up toward New England give me a shout. There's been a bunch of great new courses installed in New England the past few years, and more in the works.

 

[thrembo]

I would go with Hobbs Farm Park. I have it at my all-around #1. It is a Houck masterpiece and pretty much accessible to all skill levels and caters to all skill levels. It's been on the DGCR top 25 list for a while.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=8334

 

[Gblambert]

The Flying Armadillo in San Marcos, Texas and the Tiki Course in Spotsylvania, Virginia both sound like fun, I'm not sure if they are too "gimmicky" to be taken seriously.

Yes, the Flying Armadillo putt-putt course is gimmicky. It's actually the most gimmicky course in existence. No question. There's even a hole called the Ultimate Gimmick Hole, a title that I believe it deserves. That being said, it's also the most fun 18 hole course on the planet. It's a great for beginners and noodle arm players like myself, while most of the really good advanced players who come out to play the Flying Armadillo full size course also find time to squeeze in a round on the putt-putt course as well.

The 18 hole full size course is also onsite and is also great for players of all skill levels. With red, white and blue tee pads on every hole, each player can play holes that challenge them at their skill level without being overly long and difficult. For example, when my son, his wife and I play together, my son plays the blues, I play the whites, and his wife plays the reds, and we all have a fun round.

 

[sidewinder22]

What "beginner / rec friendly" courses should I put on my road trip list?

Sugaree, NC
Deep Creek Dreams, NC
Primland, VA
Mayflower Hills, VA
Seneca Creek, MD
Joralemon, NY
Hyzer Creek, NY
Nichols Field, CT
Willow Valley, RI
Boderland, MA
Otter Brook, NH
Stafford Woods, NJ
Brewster Ridge, VT
Black Falls, VT
Deer Lakes, PA
IUP, PA
Codorus, PA
Bootleggers Cave, PA
Greenbrier State Forest, WV