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Avenel Local Park reviews
9
0
Be(ware|side|low|yond)
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 8, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
Baskets, 5x12 framed cinder tees, informative teesigns ...
Cons:
...most of which warn about oob, mandos, and to be aware of other park patrons.
Other Thoughts:
Avenel is a well-maintained public park, consisting of playing fields (baseball, soccer), surfaces (basketball, tennis, playground), a circumventing walking path with benches and accompanying treelines ... and a squeezed-in disc golf course.
The holes themselves:
* distances range from about 170-370', averaging ~270'
* luckily missing the nearly continous trees on #4, the tunnel on #6, and the double-mando on #7 are the accuracy challenges, with the other six primarily playing as openish, although some mandos force throws to be right-to-left.
* Over half the holes are essentially flat, with some slopes (none extreme) to deal with on the other holes
And to prove beauty is in the sight of the Beholder, I actually liked the challenging s-shape required to navigate tree-laden #4 (Monocacy's least favourite), and disliked #'s 6 (his favourite) and #7. For the most common throw (RHBH, with its natural fade), these two holes brought oob, followed by external walking paths, followed by public streets (if you really botched a throw) into mis-play.
Probably NOT a course to play on a pleasant weekend day. On a mid-morning random weekday, I had to wait on holes 1,2,3,6,9 for random park patrons using the park for other activities.
Adequate for a course-bagger or a desperate local, but probably won't be on anyone's regular rotation.
The holes themselves:
* distances range from about 170-370', averaging ~270'
* luckily missing the nearly continous trees on #4, the tunnel on #6, and the double-mando on #7 are the accuracy challenges, with the other six primarily playing as openish, although some mandos force throws to be right-to-left.
* Over half the holes are essentially flat, with some slopes (none extreme) to deal with on the other holes
And to prove beauty is in the sight of the Beholder, I actually liked the challenging s-shape required to navigate tree-laden #4 (Monocacy's least favourite), and disliked #'s 6 (his favourite) and #7. For the most common throw (RHBH, with its natural fade), these two holes brought oob, followed by external walking paths, followed by public streets (if you really botched a throw) into mis-play.
Probably NOT a course to play on a pleasant weekend day. On a mid-morning random weekday, I had to wait on holes 1,2,3,6,9 for random park patrons using the park for other activities.
Adequate for a course-bagger or a desperate local, but probably won't be on anyone's regular rotation.
13
0
Fun niner amongst the mansions
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 4, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
This 9-hole course offers a variety of open, park-style, and wooded holes. The moderate hills present on many holes also add interest. This is a fun course in a pretty park, and I enjoyed playing here. My favorite hole was #6, a tight 171-foot slightly downhill tunnel that is pure fun to throw.
DISCatcher baskets were mounted level and caught well. Hole #7 features a nice hanging basket, and hole #9 has a lovely basket raised on a huge stump, with stairs built into the stump to retrieve your disc.
Level, boxed in stone dust tee pads on the first eight holes, with an asphalt tee on hole #9. I like stone dust for tee pads, but they may require maintenance from time to time.
Post-mounted tee signs include hole distance and a map showing basket position, mandos, and out of bounds areas. No excessively long walks between holes. Navigation was pretty straightforward – I think I checked GPS two or three times. Low risk of disc loss, although one could find thick rough on a highly errant drive.
Port-a-pots, trash cans, and recycling containers near the parking lot, with a few trash cans out on the course (including one in the fairway – see cons).
DISCatcher baskets were mounted level and caught well. Hole #7 features a nice hanging basket, and hole #9 has a lovely basket raised on a huge stump, with stairs built into the stump to retrieve your disc.
Level, boxed in stone dust tee pads on the first eight holes, with an asphalt tee on hole #9. I like stone dust for tee pads, but they may require maintenance from time to time.
Post-mounted tee signs include hole distance and a map showing basket position, mandos, and out of bounds areas. No excessively long walks between holes. Navigation was pretty straightforward – I think I checked GPS two or three times. Low risk of disc loss, although one could find thick rough on a highly errant drive.
Port-a-pots, trash cans, and recycling containers near the parking lot, with a few trash cans out on the course (including one in the fairway – see cons).
Cons:
Lots of potential safety hazards, including walking paths, benches, soccer fields, and trash cans in the fairways, plus roads, parking lots, tennis courts, and private property easily within range of poorly-thrown drives and bad tree kicks (I had more than zero). Course designers used mandos and extensive OB to provide some mitigation but hazards remain.
Holes #1, 2, 3, and 8 may be unplayable if adjacent soccer fields are in use.
Hole 4 has an unrealistically tight line with punishing OB if/when you hit a tree on your drive. I threw what I thought was a good drive that kicked off a tree and barely stayed in bounds.
Holes #1, 2, 3, and 8 may be unplayable if adjacent soccer fields are in use.
Hole 4 has an unrealistically tight line with punishing OB if/when you hit a tree on your drive. I threw what I thought was a good drive that kicked off a tree and barely stayed in bounds.
Other Thoughts:
I played late morning on a weekday, but even so there was soccer practice on one of the fields (fortunately not one that affected the disc golf course). I would expect far more conflicts on pleasant-weather evenings and weekends.
This was a difficult course to rate. From a gameplay perspective I would probably give it a 2.5, which is good for a 9-hole course. But with the abundant safety issues I cannot justify a rating higher than 1.5. That said, if you get a chance to play here when the park is not busy you would probably enjoy yourself.
Quick bag 6 minutes off the Beltway (I-495) west of DC. As you are driving in you may be puzzled by what looks like white-fenced forest areas. If you are observant you may notice the multi-zillion dollar mansions hiding behind the trees.
This was a difficult course to rate. From a gameplay perspective I would probably give it a 2.5, which is good for a 9-hole course. But with the abundant safety issues I cannot justify a rating higher than 1.5. That said, if you get a chance to play here when the park is not busy you would probably enjoy yourself.
Quick bag 6 minutes off the Beltway (I-495) west of DC. As you are driving in you may be puzzled by what looks like white-fenced forest areas. If you are observant you may notice the multi-zillion dollar mansions hiding behind the trees.
