Black Bear Park reviews
16
6
C = An average experience 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Apr 26, 2010
Played the course:once
Pros:
For a brand new course, this one is amazing. It is immediately obvious that lots of planning and conscientious hard work has been done to make this place beautiful. From underbrush being cleared completely, to well mulched paths, to amazing signage and astroturf tee pads this course will impress!
With the first 9 holes playing along an asphalt walking path and the entire course in view of neighboring houses (nice neighborhood too!), it is amazing how natural it feels. The use of cattail marshes and ponds on 4-5 holes gives some challenge and some unique prairie beauty.
With holes mainly in the lower to mid 200's (with a few shorter) and a few longer it caters to the beginner. It pains me to rate this course as low as I have, but I am attempting to accurately and honestly compare the playing experience to other courses I have played. What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18 hole courses:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C-
(Most of the holes are too short to conceive of getting a bogey 4 on. There are a few very tight holes - unfairly tight where even accomplished players can only throw and pray.....poke and hope.)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == C-
(Only 2 holes I would put in this class (10 & 17) but those are offset by several <200' holes.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == C-
(It is about 2/3's wooded - holes where the woods come substantially into play. Problem is, almost all the throws are straight ahead with just slight fade to the right or left required. Very little creative shot making is required)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B+
(As stated above, the beauty and serenity of the course is what makes it stand out.)
5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == N/A
With the first 9 holes playing along an asphalt walking path and the entire course in view of neighboring houses (nice neighborhood too!), it is amazing how natural it feels. The use of cattail marshes and ponds on 4-5 holes gives some challenge and some unique prairie beauty.
With holes mainly in the lower to mid 200's (with a few shorter) and a few longer it caters to the beginner. It pains me to rate this course as low as I have, but I am attempting to accurately and honestly compare the playing experience to other courses I have played. What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18 hole courses:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C-
(Most of the holes are too short to conceive of getting a bogey 4 on. There are a few very tight holes - unfairly tight where even accomplished players can only throw and pray.....poke and hope.)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == C-
(Only 2 holes I would put in this class (10 & 17) but those are offset by several <200' holes.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == C-
(It is about 2/3's wooded - holes where the woods come substantially into play. Problem is, almost all the throws are straight ahead with just slight fade to the right or left required. Very little creative shot making is required)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B+
(As stated above, the beauty and serenity of the course is what makes it stand out.)
5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == N/A
Other Thoughts:
It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well this course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. See my profile for specifics on my rating philosophy.
I fancy myself as a connoisseur of good course design and I am a competitive Blue level (950-ish rated) with mid-level power (accurate to 300' with max D of 360'). Since I have played a decent number of courses (150+ 18-hole, 90+ 9-hole as of late 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.
I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me.....and that's the fun of things here.
I fancy myself as a connoisseur of good course design and I am a competitive Blue level (950-ish rated) with mid-level power (accurate to 300' with max D of 360'). Since I have played a decent number of courses (150+ 18-hole, 90+ 9-hole as of late 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.
I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me.....and that's the fun of things here.
