HOD 2/17/2023: Veteran Hills Hole #8 Viroqua, WI

[elmexdela]

The first 12-18? holes are pretty fun and definitely challenging.

It's the last 10 or so holes that play in the huge overgrown field that are the absolute worst and I never understand why people choose to build DG courses in fields like that.

For example, there's a now recently defunct 18er in the Chicagoland area that was called West Main Park. If you've ever been there you'll understand how bad courses like that really are during the summertime. Less than 10 foot wide fairways with rough that will literally swallow your discs even if it lands less than a foot from the fairway. But at least Bird's Ruins doesn't have wild parsnip like West Main Park did.. I got huge nasty blisters from playing that course lol.

Yes I understand getting off the fairways are suppose to punish you but not cause you to look 30+ minutes for a disc only to not find it because you had ONE bad shot off the tee or ONE bad approach. You could literally have a hot streak during your round and then BAM! One bad shot can send you on a search mission that takes up almost half your round.

That is not fun, that is not challenging at all. That is just plain ol' bad decision making on the course designers behalf. But hey, I'm just a casual player and not a pro who can throw 350+ feet down a 8 foot wide fairway and make it land under the pin every time. And even if I was, I still wouldn't enjoy playing rounds at courses like that. Perhaps I'd have a better time playing it during late late fall / winter when the rough is almost non-existent.

i hear you completely we have a course called mayhew creek in mn which is like 10000 feet and in the summer its a weeded jungle so not only are most of the holes 800 feet from longs but it also has that miserable rough that turns a two hour round sometimes into 4 hours

i think i shot well that day at birds and i didnt mind the rough but everyone else hates on it

for reference i throw like 250 these days and will take some juice off to not hunt down lost discs especially if im on a course baggin tear and need to make good time

lastly is west main extinct or go by a different name on here i couldnt find it using the search feature

I wouldn't go that far lol.

I am a big fan of Birds Ruins though. It's either a love it or hate it kind of course.

had to see who is payin attention

 

[DeanMoriarty]

i hear you completely we have a course called mayhew creek in mn which is like 10000 feet and in the summer its a weeded jungle so not only are most of the holes 800 feet from longs but it also has that miserable rough that turns a two hour round sometimes into 4 hours

i think i shot well that day at birds and i didnt mind the rough but everyone else hates on it

for reference i throw like 250 these days and will take some juice off to not hunt down lost discs especially if im on a course baggin tear and need to make good time

lastly is west main extinct or go by a different name on here i couldnt find it using the search feature



had to see who is payin attention

There's a guy who takes his dog to Bird's Ruins and he trained the dog to sniff out discs.

He found the only disc I lost that day and returned it to me for the price of the shipping label. I had a little business card from him but I can't seem to find it.

West Main Park was in Batavia IL and some time last year during the summer the city decided to do a road construction project that is going to go right through the middle of the course. Although, this isn't a bad thing. I'd say about 90% of the Chicago DG community absolutely hated that course and from what I hear, it was only playable during the winter months.. Unless you want to get a gnarly chemical burn from wild parnsip / lose a disc that goes even 6 inches off the 5 foot wide fairways during the summer.

 

[Mocheez]

Good discussion, my hometown course has similar issues. Rolling hills with prairie grass defining the fairways. The fairways are generous but wide open downhill shots make it tricky to stay inbounds with high speed drivers.

I think Birds did some controlled burns to keep things under control but 28 holes is tough to manage. Cutting paths, installing birdhouses/flags, or other markers can help to put a visual on where the disc lands. But if the rough is super thick, it can be tough to find discs even when you know exactly where it landed.

 

[Countchunkula]

There's a guy who takes his dog to Bird's Ruins and he trained the dog to sniff out discs.

He found the only disc I lost that day and returned it to me for the price of the shipping label. I had a little business card from him but I can't seem to find it.

West Main Park was in Batavia IL and some time last year during the summer the city decided to do a road construction project that is going to go right through the middle of the course. Although, this isn't a bad thing. I'd say about 90% of the Chicago DG community absolutely hated that course and from what I hear, it was only playable during the winter months.. Unless you want to get a gnarly chemical burn from wild parnsip / lose a disc that goes even 6 inches off the 5 foot wide fairways during the summer.

Count me as part of the 90%. Played West Main probably a handful of times in the first few years it was in and haven't been back since. Once it became clear that the issues weren't going to get fixed, I had no reason to go back. The issues with that course went beyond just narrow fairways and disc eating rough. I remember a few holes that although not long, required a really strange line to get any sort of a look. Not in a good way either. Think 90 degree turns without enough air space to get around the corner. Skip and hope.

 

[elmexdela]

Count me as part of the 90%. Played West Main probably a handful of times in the first few years it was in and haven't been back since. Once it became clear that the issues weren't going to get fixed, I had no reason to go back. The issues with that course went beyond just narrow fairways and disc eating rough. I remember a few holes that although not long, required a really strange line to get any sort of a look. Not in a good way either. Think 90 degree turns without enough air space to get around the corner. Skip and hope.

we used to have a course like that

had mix matched baskets dirt teepads some holes had no real true lines to get to the basket and the rough was really rough

with some love it now is gettin brand new baskets and has cement teepads and moar defined lines

tbh tho i just love that backyard bs type style

west main was rip i found out on here due to construction and stuff

 

[elmexdela]

also i just love wi courses