Help with Guidelines for Rating Nine-holes

[SteveDG]

I've noticed many nine hole courses have received much lower ratings than eighteens in this sites course reviews. I'm wondering if people are giving it a lower rating just because it is a nine hole.

Does anyone know of a nine hole courses that have a four or five rating?
If not, then what is the general consensus in rating a nine hole course?
Is it the same as judging an eighteen?
Or should one be judging nines to nines?
And, what would a perfect nine hole course consist of?

I would like to post some reviews for nine holes and I want to give them a fair rating. Please help me understand this better.

 

[TheWCG]

Don't go over 3. Otherwise you get the big stick.....

 

[SteveDG]

Not necessarily the feedback I was looking for...but, the big stick it humorous. But seriously, a rating of three is the best you should give a nine?

 

[mashnut]

I rate every course based on how much I want to go back, mostly based on fun, variety and challenge. Because of that, 9ers tend to get lower ratings on my scale unless they're really well designed. It also doesn't help that the majority of 9 hole courses are little pitch n putts and tend to be less interesting or challenging In the first place.

 

[TheWCG]

Lol. The 9 holers are... say.... limited to a 5 rating ability in my opinion. I'd say a 9 holer can't get more than a 3 but some will disagree. 18 holes are the standard for the possibilities of a 5 disc rating.
EDIT:^^^^what mash said

 

[jenb]

I rate every course based on how much I want to go back, mostly based on fun, variety and challenge. Because of that, 9ers tend to get lower ratings on my scale unless they're really well designed. It also doesn't help that the majority of 9 hole courses are little pitch n putts and tend to be less interesting or challenging In the first place.

This discussion is timely. I called you out today, Mashnut, in my rating of Freedom Park. We are in agreement that it is fairly low on fun factor, but I can't see giving a 0.5 overall rating to any safe clean course that is easily navigable with bathrooms and two sets of concrete tees. I gave it a 2.

 

[bjreagh]

Mashnut summed it up nicely. I have played some really good 9-holers, but so many of them are pretty boring. I have rated a couple 9-holers 3.5, but if I am choosing between a good 9 and a good 18 to go and play, I will usually choose the 18. (= a relative higher rating)

I would not be opposed to giving a 9-holer a 4.0-5.0 if it was awesomely deserving, however.

 

[jenb]

I remember a thread here about the hardest hole in disc golf requireing a 500+ foot water carry, and it was at a nine hole course. They can be challenging. However, they will typically have less variety than an 18 hole course, and that is a big factor.

 

[sillybizz]

Usually not as much time, effort and design is put into nine hole courses because they are built for recreational play. Eighteen hole courses are usually given more money, better coordination, land, volunteers,course design, etc. so they are usually rated higher. Courses with more holes also offer more variety in hole distance, flight shape, double fairways, obstacles, trees or open or mix, etc. I'm not sure because I'm too lazy to check but out of my 160+ reviews I think I've only given one 3.5 rating of a nine hole course.

 

[mashnut]

This discussion is timely. I called you out today, Mashnut, in my rating of Freedom Park. We are in agreement that it is fairly low on fun factor, but I can't see giving a 0.5 overall rating to any safe clean course that is easily navigable with bathrooms and two sets of concrete tees. I gave it a 2.

You're welcome to your opinion, but a wide open 9 with almost no trees and no elevation is about at the bottom of my rankings. I'm definitely not in the group that automatically gives a course a disc or two just for being there and having baskets and tees. I would rather play object golf in an interesting park than play a boring "real" course with no variety like Freedom.

 

[denny ritner]

i take .5 from all 9 hole courses, compared to an equivalent 18 hole course.

i could see a great nine hole course on 15 acres that gets a 4.5-.5 = 4.0, where 18 holes jammed into the same space might get a 2.0 or 2.5.

 

[optidiscic]

Basically I try to keep the map browser in mind.....If a traveling player is browsing the map and wants to see all the 3+ rated courses and you determine a niner is only worth 1/2 then if its a 4ish design it will appear as a 2. Even if it blows away any 2 rated 18 holer. I think thats a disservice to anyone traveling the region to miss out on the best course available. That being said I try to keep the niners rating under 4 as even the best niner isnt in the same class as a 4 rated 18 holer....its a dicey call and no one has really figured out how to properly rate niners.

The logic falls apart when u consider 27 or 36 holers......do they automatically become 5s even if they are just a bunch of avg holes?

 

[mashnut]

I don't like the idea of built in limits for 9 holers, I just rate them on how try stack up against every other course I've played, same with courses that have more than 18 holes.

 

[optidiscic]

I remember a thread here about the hardest hole in disc golf requireing a 500+ foot water carry, and it was at a nine hole course. They can be challenging. However, they will typically have less variety than an 18 hole course, and that is a big factor.

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2716

:clap:

 

[solomon.trenton]

i think the most i would give is a 4 and thats with multiple baskets and pads plus good amenities

 

[eegor]

You're welcome to your opinion, but a wide open 9 with almost no trees and no elevation is about at the bottom of my rankings. I'm definitely not in the group that automatically gives a course a disc or two just for being there and having baskets and tees. I would rather play object golf in an interesting park than play a boring "real" course with no variety like Freedom.

I couldn't agree with you more on this, Mash. Springfield Park in Rowlett, TX has great bathrooms, etc., but it's the most boring round of disc golf I've ever played.

Fritz Park in Irving, TX is now rated at 3.45 and deserves all of the rating for sure. It's a blast to play.

 

[AdamE]

I don't like the idea of built in limits for 9 holers, I just rate them on how try stack up against every other course I've played, same with courses that have more than 18 holes.

I agree. The vast majority of 9 hole courses are geared for Rec players and thus don't provide much challenge, risk/reward, shot diversity or par 4+ holes. So to answer the question, the number of holes isn't much of a factor when I rate a course. The quality of the course, which is usually lacking on 9 holers, is the main factor. For a while I never thought I'd find a 9 hole course worthy of a 3 or higher but I found two exceptions to this if you'd like to examine those courses more closely:

Liberty Park, a 10 hole course, just south of Nashville. It's currently rated 3.32 on 22 reviews. I rated it a 3.5 because it possesses all the above mentioned qualities (except par 4+ holes) that are generally lacking in 9 hole courses.

Lawrenceburg-Anderson DGC, between Louisville and Lexington, KY. It's currently rated 3.5 on 4 reviews (fairly new course). I rated it a 3 and like Liberty Park, it also possesses all of the above mentioned qualities including a par 4.

 

[AdamE]

This discussion is timely. I called you out today, Mashnut, in my rating of Freedom Park. We are in agreement that it is fairly low on fun factor, but I can't see giving a 0.5 overall rating to any safe clean course that is easily navigable with bathrooms and two sets of concrete tees. I gave it a 2.

You are correct that Freedom is safe, clean, easy to navigate, has bathrooms and two sets of tees. If those are the things you like in a course and think rating it a 2 is a fair rating in your opinion then that's fine.

In my opinion, Freedom Park is the most boring course I've ever played which is why I gave it half a disc. To make matters worse, there's a great big hill literally right next to some of the holes. It would be so much fun to throw to the top of the hill and then launch one off the top at a basket far below. But instead you just walk by the hill thinking about all the fun you could be having while throwing another flat, wide open hole.

 

[bradharris]

I don't penalize nine hole courses just for being nine holes. However, with nine holes it's much harder to get the wealth of variety and intriguing holes to give it a strong rating. In theory, I could give a nine-holer a perfect 5.0 rating, however, in practice, I think it would be very hard to find a nine-hole course that warrants anything more than a 4.0.

 

[DavidSauls]

Another perspective is to think about your favorite local course---how much you like it, how often you play it, how far you'd drive to play it.

Then imagine the parks department decides it has better uses for the land, and wipes out the back-9, leaving a 9-hole course with the same design and amenities.

Is its rating diminished? Do you like it less? Play it less often? Find it less worth a long drive?

There may be no set formula or rating ceiling, but I think this illustrates why 9-holers will get lower reviews.