Disc Golf Meccas

[Olorin]

aclay,

You certainly make your point. And I never said that Atlanta is the # 1 Mecca or anything like that. And you have proven that DFW rates ahead of Atlanta. I agree. I'm just saying that after spending a week chasing down courses in Atlanta, it deserves some recognition as a Mecca, probably not the # 1 Big Enchilada Mecca but maybe somewhere is the top 10 Meccas nationwide. More like a big taco enchilada Mecca.

I think if you're talking about the big # 1 Mecca, you'll have to convince those folks in the Raleigh, NC area.

I know it's mostly semantics, but your point is why I prefer to use the term "Hubs" instead of "Mecca". To me, hubs does not have as much subjective assessment of quality, but Mecca on the other hand makes me think of the Best of the Best. Again, to me, mecca has a built in limit on the number, maybe 3-5 and ultimately 1 that is the Best. And that is what there will never be agreement on because taste and experience are so subjective.

 

[Dingus]

4. Dallas (sorry, but the courses here are def overrated)

Texas has a long and established history of inflating their course ratings. Oh hell, Texans have a long and established history of inflating everything when it comes to saying Texas is better.

If I am paying to travel to a destination to play, it is either Charlotte or Minnesota.

 

[sisyphus]

Agree with the distinction between a 'hub' and a 'mecca': A hub would be a place the avid disc golfer would love to live, and a mecca is the one place a devout disc golfer feels they have to make a pilgrimage to at least once in their life.

 

[Dcinmd]

I've lived around or spent lots of time around DC, Philly, NYC, Boston and towns like Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, etc. I've visited almost every major city in the US except San Francisco. Every city thinks they have the worst traffic.

Just curious, who has the worst traffic in your opinion?

 

[nothinbuttree]

Just curious, who has the worst traffic in your opinion?

Just my $.02 from having visited most major metro areas in the country...LA had by far the most stressful traffic. It was bad even at literally 11PM at night in areas. There were more accidents than anywhere I have seen. Even in bumper to bumper we would get passed on the shoulder by someone doing 90. Unreal.

NYC has very aggressive drivers, but honestly I didn't see too many accidents. I think they must actually pretty good drivers overall. I remember being on the FDR one time at rush hour and everyone was doing 70 with like one car length at best between cars. One slipup and they'd still be talking about it.

DC rush used to be wretched in the 80s and 90s. Especially the beltway. I know they have added a few more controlled access roads and HOV lanes since then, curious if its still bad.

So for me now, rush hour means 3 cars in front of me at the red light, instead of none.

 

[trashmonster1985]

Most people are talking about major cities on here, which makes sense. But Humboldt County in northern California has 3 different tournaments that celebrated there 34th years in 2021. Par Infinity is one of the longest standing clubs in the country. There are around a dozen courses in the county. Some private, some tone courses, but all of them are unique. Weather is decent enough you can play 11 months put of the year no problem. And just down the road, Mendocino County is its own little gem as well.
When I lived in Humboldt in 2012 I remember counting baskets in the County. And found we had around 140 baskets, with 140,000 people in the county.

 

[dreadlock86]

Texas has a long and established history of inflating their course ratings. Oh hell, Texans have a long and established history of inflating everything when it comes to saying Texas is better.

If I am paying to travel to a destination to play, it is either Charlotte or Minnesota.

not wrong but not as bad as CA

 

[dreadlock86]

Agree with the distinction between a 'hub' and a 'mecca': A hub would be a place the avid disc golfer would love to live, and a mecca is the one place a devout disc golfer feels they have to make a pilgrimage to at least once in their life.

and with this distinction in mind, it's hard to consider any place other than Highbridge as the DG Mecca, perhaps unless amenities are a really big deal for you (that may change soon enough though)

 

[Stardoggy]

Quality is overrated. Quantity is where it's at.

The bagging Mecca is the greater Chicagoland area. If you spent 10 days there, you could easily bag 125+ courses if you really got after it. I did a day last week with 10 courses in about 8 hours...and that's with a 27 and 18 holer in there. Most courses reside in the burbs as well, so traffic is easy peasy.

Quality. Pffft.

 

[Dcinmd]

Just my $.02 from having visited most major metro areas in the country...LA had by far the most stressful traffic. It was bad even at literally 11PM at night in areas. There were more accidents than anywhere I have seen. Even in bumper to bumper we would get passed on the shoulder by someone doing 90. Unreal.

NYC has very aggressive drivers, but honestly I didn't see too many accidents. I think they must actually pretty good drivers overall. I remember being on the FDR one time at rush hour and everyone was doing 70 with like one car length at best between cars. One slipup and they'd still be talking about it.

DC rush used to be wretched in the 80s and 90s. Especially the beltway. I know they have added a few more controlled access roads and HOV lanes since then, curious if its still bad.

So for me now, rush hour means 3 cars in front of me at the red light, instead of none.

Hmmmm, that is my exact list with a toss up between NYC and DC. DC traffic was awesome last year due to covid, but it has not improved one bit, and would say it worse often than the 90's. Just happy to avoid the beltway on most days.

 

[mojorooks]

I know it's mostly semantics, but your point is why I prefer to use the term "Hubs" instead of "Mecca". To me, hubs does not have as much subjective assessment of quality, but Mecca on the other hand makes me think of the Best of the Best. Again, to me, mecca has a built in limit on the number, maybe 3-5 and ultimately 1 that is the Best. And that is what there will never be agreement on because taste and experience are so subjective.

I agree to that. When I started the thread I really wanted to hear some awesome places to go. Not a debate over whose is best.

 

[DavidSauls]

I agree to that. When I started the thread I really wanted to hear some awesome places to go. Not a debate over whose is best.

You should have defined "Mecca" in your opening post. Not that it would have done any good; every thread which hints at "best" ends up like this. But at least you'd have grounds for complaint.

 

[mojorooks]

You should have defined "Mecca" in your opening post. Not that it would have done any good; every thread which hints at "best" ends up like this. But at least you'd have grounds for complaint.

And yet Ludington still holds true as a mecca for me. Its only 1.5 hours away but I've never been there but I've been hoping to find an opportunity to invite friends, spend an extended weekend and play them all. I know its something I will make happen at some point in my life.

NC sounds great but I don't see it as a specific disc golf trek I will ever make. I might go there for something else and play a course or 2. Maybe once my kids are out of the house I might think differently. Or if one of them or my wife starts to like disc golf, things like that may suddenly be a possibility.

Maybe once I've played Ludington, Chicago will pop up on my radar.

 

[DavidSauls]

Yeah, I have a dream trip that would pass through western Michigan, myself. It strings 4 or 5 of my personal Meccas in one long road trip.

The question for these Mecca/Best threads needs specifics:

--Best place to live, for both quality and quantity of disc golf courses?
--Place worth a long travel, for, say, 3 days of the best disc golf possible, on a few courses?
--Place that would be great to visit for 7-10 days, to play as many different good courses as possible?

Myself, I think of the 2nd as a Mecca, and the others has hubs.

The general trend is for people to chime in with "Here. Here!". Well, I won't, though I will mention that my "here" has a pretty good and uncrowded 36-hole course, and easy daytrips to a ridiculous wealth of courses in Augusta, GA; Greenville-Spartanburg, SC; and Charlotte, NC. Not a Mecca and a pretty dispersed hub, and I'm already here so not a place I'd travel to.

 

[brutalbrutus]

twin cities you (can) play all year around

you acclimate to the climate

however aint no way in hell im playing yalls 100 degree day just like yall wont play my 0 degree days

You should try moving to Cincinnati... where you can have both...

 

[brutalbrutus]

Speaking of Cincy, we have a pretty good hub going here. There are 85 courses within 50mi of my house, including 23 rated 3.5 or higher. 230 courses within 100mi with 63 at 3.5+

Wide variety of open/wooden/flat/hilly/short/long/easy/difficult courses including a top10 overall
Pretty solid tourney/club scene. Including a DGPT event.
Haven't been active in a couple years but the weekly dubs/singles nights were popular back then and i assume are still going strong 7 days a week and sometimes with more than one option per night.
2 good shops

Plus you also have Dayton/Columbus in Ohio and Lexington/Louisville in KY which also have pretty good DG scenes and are all <2hr drive depending on what side of town you live on.

 

[foxdawg10]

Ludington, Michigan has 7 nicely rated courses in a 15 mile radius with Flip City just 25 miles away. I would consider that a Mecca.

What other disc golf Meccas do you know of?

Not to prerube y'all but this has been done before, but I'm sure much has changed in the DG landscape since 2013:

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85172

And to be literal, this course is somewhat near the actual Mecca:

https://udisc.com/courses/kaust-thuwal-park-TaQB

 

[zontar]

there's a motorcycle touring magazine that maps out "shamrock tours". picture a four leaf shamrock on a map and you're going out each day from the center, drawing a leaf by hitting a few courses and then coming back to your motel/campsite. finding a good hub but returning to the same spot each night.