The Mecca of Disc Golf

[gottafixit]

If you like High Par golf northern DE is a great place to go.

 

[Dahlemj24]

....

I got a chance to play Hornet's Nest last spring while in NC and that was a crazy fun course. Long, elevation change, and a great variety of shots. I wouldn't mind having that course be my home course to play. It wouldn't get old.

 

[harr0140]

Here are the main areas I have been to and how I would rank them. I have played a decent amount of courses in each of these area to be able to say what i am saying. If I only played a course or two in any area I will not rank them. I also wouldn't add an area if it didn't have at a minimum of 5 or so courses, or I just wouldn't consider that a MECHA (yeah thats how I spelled it). I have also grouped cities together if the concentration of courses was high enough and I had played them. I guess I would say that these areas are 20-25 mile radius circles around a central city.

Charlotte, NC
Quad Cities, Il/IA
Twin Cities, MN
Austin, TX
Dallas/Ft. Worth TX
Tampa/St.Pete to Sarasota FL
Louisville to Elizabethtown, KY
San Antonio, TX
Appleton/Oshokosh, WI
Sheboygan/Manitowoc WI
Bowling Green, KY
Milwaukee, WI
Chicago, IL (I have almost every course north of the city but non to the south)
Port Charlotte, Fort Myers, to Bonita Springs, FL

Not all of these are Mecha's in my mind but for the sake of argument I plugged in all those areas where I have played 5 or more course in an area of decent concentration.

 

[grodney]

Any trips to Des Moines in your future?

 

[harr0140]

Any trips to Des Moines in your future?

Still working my way out. I need to finish the Twin Cities, as much of Central to Northern WI as possible, the West coast of Michigan, oh the choices I have to make in life!!!

I did swing through this winter and I played 1 course in January, but it was -5 and 6-8 inches of snow so I chose a quick one regardless of its rating (Lions Park in Altoona)

 

[tmahan]

I keep telling you fellas, Spotsylvania VA is where the gold is.

I do feel like I need to hit the new DE courses as well as NE PA. I grew up near Philly but none of those courses existed then,

 

[Steve West]

Cool stuff Steve, thanks for the explanation. A lot of those are pretty standard answers for disc golf destinations, but this one made me laugh:

Quote:
45.4 (856 holes) Margreth Riemer Reservoir, Palatine, Illinois

I guess when you add up a ton of crappy courses with a tiny amount of attraction power with a few decent courses you get a good score

Yep. Here's what it looks like.

This shows why I don't like using a radius. Obviously, most of us would rather be down near all those big orange courses at the bottom. The Oaks in Mokena, IL is the big one, 27 holes, 3.5 discs rating, 40 miles south.

 

[ChainZombie]

California=Mecca

:doh: Guys really? I really think that most of you over see what the west has... from South Lake Tahoe to DeLaveaga, San Francisco, Monterey, Auburn, Penn Valley, Ukiah. Think about it... From going to throwing a elevation course like Zephyr Cove then boom your right at the ocean playing DeLa. I know there is great places to golf around the world don't get me wrong, i think the best spot to golf is the one your currently huckin at!

 

[Dave242]

No doubt about it. CA is great and has great courses. The only top courses I've played are Golden Gate (San Fran) & Dela and I loved them! I'm sure that the other ones are spectacular too. I've spent a lot of time around Lake Tahoe in the winter (skiing) and I am dreaming of the day I can make a visit in the summer. Disc Golf will be an added bonus to that visit if/when it happens.

Problem is, according to Google Maps, South Lake Tahoe to Santa Cruz is 250 miles and takes 4:30 of drive time. The good CA courses are too few and far between for any specific area to be considered a "Mecha". But you are right (even though its not the topic at hand) - the best spot to golf is the one your currently huckin at!

 

[mashnut]

Yep. Here's what it looks like.

This shows why I don't like using a radius. Obviously, most of us would rather be down near all those big orange courses at the bottom. The Oaks in Mokena, IL is the big one, 27 holes, 3.5 discs rating, 40 miles south.

Yeah really, and I'm in that big empty spot over on the right

I'm actually surprised you get a bigger number there than with a course that would include the Joliet area and Lemon Lake/Rogers Lakewood in the radius.

 

[optidiscic]

It just so happens I've been computing the "attractiveness" of courses. This is the amount of activity they generate on DGCR in excess of what would be expected, based on the surrounding population. By this measure, Highbridge is the single disc golf complex that has the strongest drawing power: 33 times as powerful as the average course.

33.1 = Highbridge Hills, Highbridge, Wisconsin
19.8 = Flip City Disc Golf Park, Shelby, Michigan
15.5 = Glacier Point, Glacier Point, Alaska
15.1 = Lake Nacogdoches DGC, Nacogdoches, Texas
13.8 = Seven Pastures, Skagway, Alaska
13.4 = Mason County Park, Ludington, Michigan
12.2 = Sandy Point Resort DG Ranch, Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin
10.8 = Leviathan, Ludington, Michigan
9.7 = Whistler's Bend, Roseburg, Oregon
9.1 = Holler In The Hills, Brownsville, Kentucky

This thread seems to be more about cities to visit, so I added up the attractiveness of all the courses that share a city. Here are the top 25:

40.6 = Bowling Green, Kentucky
33.1 = Highbridge, Wisconsin
24.1 = Ludington, Michigan
20.6 = Charlotte, North Carolina
19.8 = Shelby, Michigan
18.8 = Nacogdoches, Texas
18.7 = Austin, Texas
15.5 = Glacier Point, Alaska
13.8 = Skagway, Alaska
13.6 = Flagstaff, Arizona
13.4 = Big Sky, Montana
12.8 = Moab, Utah
12.8 = Grand Rapids, Michigan
12.7 = Stevens Point, Wisconsin
12.5 = Brownsville, Kentucky
12.2 = Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin
12.1 = Roseburg, Oregon
11.7 = Tulsa, Oklahoma
11.3 = Traverse City, Michigan
9.4 = Huntsville, Alabama
9.0 = Spotsylvania, Virginia
8.9 = Rock Hill, South Carolina
8.8 = Appling, Georgia
8.8 = Kalamazoo, Michigan
8.6 = Red Feather Lakes, Colorado

Wait, where's Minneapolis? Well, the courses that list "Minneapolis" as their city don't include those in St. Paul, Bloomington, East Bethel, etc.

So, these are Mecca cities, not Mecca metros.

I suspect the ones in Alaska are more the result of a little bit of activity divided by almost zero nearby population.

This list really tells me nothing other than what courses get a lot of attention and are not near major metro areas

Charlotte and Austin stand out as "somewhat" metro areas that have a huge amt of dgcr users who frequently mention their home courses.

I live in the highly populated mid-atlantic which has a bunch of great courses from NY to VA but due to unparallelled population this list makes it seem like a DG wasteland

 

[Ripper]

Think Bowling Green is way overrated, I'm going to say Cincy is top 5 easy.

 

[DannyM]

Where I live, I'm really in a great spot. Yeah, I've only got a few REALLY good courses within an hours drive of me, but, I can go 1.5 hours west and be at Augusta/Appling Ga. (The IDGC), 1.5 hours NW to Greenville SC where there are 5 or so really good courses, or go 1.5 hrs north to Charlotte.
I'd love to be able to get away sometime and go play other areas throughout the nation, but with my family/work situation it's difficult. Really would like to try and get to De., I used to spend a lot of summers there when I was a kid with my Grandparents, and I did play White Clay once about 5 or so years back. Would love to try Iron Hill and Brandywine

 

[Steve West]

Yeah really, and I'm in that big empty spot over on the right

I'm actually surprised you get a bigger number there than with a course that would include the Joliet area and Lemon Lake/Rogers Lakewood in the radius.

The biggest numbers for a 45 mile radius that includes Lemon Lake are 40.1 with 837 holes. Yet, wouldn't we rather be next to Lemon Lake than Margreth Riemer Reservoir?

Another indication that "a lot of courses within a radius" doesn't really match what our gut is telling us we're looking for.

This list really tells me nothing other than what courses get a lot of attention and are not near major metro areas

Charlotte and Austin stand out as "somewhat" metro areas that have a huge amt of dgcr users who frequently mention their home courses.

I live in the highly populated mid-atlantic which has a bunch of great courses from NY to VA but due to unparallelled population this list makes it seem like a DG wasteland

That's pretty much what the list is, alright. But, that fits the idea of a far-off place that attracts a lot of visitors - which is one vision of a Mecca.

There is a large, rich vein of courses running all the way from Maine down to Northern Georgia. However, because they are fairly evenly distributed, it's difficult to find an outstanding concentration (on the scale of about an hour's drive) anywhere in there. It would be near the top of the list for an interesting several-hundred mile trip.

 

[Dest]

If Charlotte, NC is not on your list of cities you have to play in before you die you are nuts! I know everyone on these boards knows a ton more than me, but I know for sure there is no where else I would rather live to play this sport. Main reason is it is a growing city, its not crazy expensive to live here, lots of great people, great weather, and **** ton of courses.

 

[tmahan]

Spotsylvania has 6 courses with a total average rating of 20.5, not too shabby.

 

[Danger]

Highbridge Hills for the volume and Oak Grove for the history. BOOM!

 

[esdubya]

Looks like the DGCR Mecha has come down to a run-off between the Mason County area in MI and Bowling Green in KY. Nice call there esdubya!

My vote would have to go to KY since there are 2-3 more months per year (around 20-25%) that the courses are playable.

Nice, just caught this.

I say Ludington (and that includes Flip City, about 25 miles SE) and my tiebreaker is the Lake Michigan beach. Really can't beat it.

On top of that, there are two new courses going in/near Ludington. One is inland playing around a river bed area in Scottsville. Another new one is in prime location, right on Lake Hamlin with elevation, woods and open areas. I hear a rumor that Jim Kenner is involved with the design. You should see the Ludington guys eyes light up with they talk about this property..