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Andrew Mountain Park reviews
10
0
Good for Beginners and Recs
Reviewed:
Played on:Mar 13, 2024
Played the course:once
Pros:
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New 10 hole layout in an unused portion of the park. Mix of wooded and open holes, mostly flat.
Excellent raised and level 4x8 turf tees are installed on most holes, very good signage, and unmarked silver baskets that I'm beginning to see at newer park courses (PROBasket). Numbered flags atop the baskets. Good navigation, though the layout is a pretty intuitive loop.
The tee signs indicate "beginner" and "intermediate" par, where beginners get one extra stroke on nine of the ten holes.The exception is the 223' second hole, which plays as a par 3 for everybody. Pay extra attention to the par on short hole #3 (158'): it plays as a 3 for beginners, and an not often seen par of 2 for everyone else.
+ The course starts with a four hole loop in the woods. There are clear lines, although 1 gets pretty narrow, and 2 throws upward and through an opening to the green. 4 has a wide fairway that appears to have required a lot of tree clearing, with a carpet of woodchips to try to dry it out.
+ Holes 5-8 play across an open field, but designers have incorporated high grasses and other landscape features to make them more interesting.
+ Hole 9 brings you back into thick woods, and could probably use a few more trees removed. It is super narrow for a 327' par 3, especially along the left side. Removing just a few of those small trees would open this up and make it a little more reasonable. This is a surprisingly challenging hole for a course at a park.
New 10 hole layout in an unused portion of the park. Mix of wooded and open holes, mostly flat.
Excellent raised and level 4x8 turf tees are installed on most holes, very good signage, and unmarked silver baskets that I'm beginning to see at newer park courses (PROBasket). Numbered flags atop the baskets. Good navigation, though the layout is a pretty intuitive loop.
The tee signs indicate "beginner" and "intermediate" par, where beginners get one extra stroke on nine of the ten holes.The exception is the 223' second hole, which plays as a par 3 for everybody. Pay extra attention to the par on short hole #3 (158'): it plays as a 3 for beginners, and an not often seen par of 2 for everyone else.
+ The course starts with a four hole loop in the woods. There are clear lines, although 1 gets pretty narrow, and 2 throws upward and through an opening to the green. 4 has a wide fairway that appears to have required a lot of tree clearing, with a carpet of woodchips to try to dry it out.
+ Holes 5-8 play across an open field, but designers have incorporated high grasses and other landscape features to make them more interesting.
+ Hole 9 brings you back into thick woods, and could probably use a few more trees removed. It is super narrow for a 327' par 3, especially along the left side. Removing just a few of those small trees would open this up and make it a little more reasonable. This is a surprisingly challenging hole for a course at a park.
Cons:
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- Hole #10 is the only design miscue, and it should really be rethought. Par 3 (4 for beginners) with a total distance of 411', but there's an early right angle dogleg to the left that cuts the hole in two. While it's fun to be throwing out of a wooded chute, the turn comes only 100' off the tee - leaving 300' to get up and down. This longer part of the hole is through a field, but it's dotted with trees that create a low ceiling. The design would have been fine making this a par 3 and cutting out the short dogleg.
- This course can be wet, and a few portions of it look like they retain water (the fairway of #4, the 8th green, much of the 9th hole, and the 10th tee). If it's rained recently, dress your feet appropriately.
- Hole #10 is the only design miscue, and it should really be rethought. Par 3 (4 for beginners) with a total distance of 411', but there's an early right angle dogleg to the left that cuts the hole in two. While it's fun to be throwing out of a wooded chute, the turn comes only 100' off the tee - leaving 300' to get up and down. This longer part of the hole is through a field, but it's dotted with trees that create a low ceiling. The design would have been fine making this a par 3 and cutting out the short dogleg.
- This course can be wet, and a few portions of it look like they retain water (the fairway of #4, the 8th green, much of the 9th hole, and the 10th tee). If it's rained recently, dress your feet appropriately.
Other Thoughts:
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~ Flat enough to be cart-friendly, but probably not worth it. Several fairways are very rocky (2,3,8) and you might find yourself carrying your cart. And if it's wet, you'll be dragging it through the mud, too.
~ Most beginner-friendly courses just opt for very short and open holes. They're good enough for new players, but of little interest to anyone with some experience. By offering the different pars for the same holes, Andrew Mountain is long enough to interest recreational players, while providing some scoring relief to newbies.
~ The holes are interesting enough to make it a 2.5 edging up toward a 3.0 when the tees are finished, but there's still that problematic hole #10. The advantage of 10 is that it completes the loop - which is good from a design standpoint, but the hole itself needs to be rethought.
~ Flat enough to be cart-friendly, but probably not worth it. Several fairways are very rocky (2,3,8) and you might find yourself carrying your cart. And if it's wet, you'll be dragging it through the mud, too.
~ Most beginner-friendly courses just opt for very short and open holes. They're good enough for new players, but of little interest to anyone with some experience. By offering the different pars for the same holes, Andrew Mountain is long enough to interest recreational players, while providing some scoring relief to newbies.
~ The holes are interesting enough to make it a 2.5 edging up toward a 3.0 when the tees are finished, but there's still that problematic hole #10. The advantage of 10 is that it completes the loop - which is good from a design standpoint, but the hole itself needs to be rethought.
