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Black Branch Trail DGC reviews
19
0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
10.4 years
662 played
642 reviews
Red Hot Carpet Pads
Reviewed:
Played on:May 21, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
(2.259 Rating) A two basket nine fairway course with lots of water in play.
- TEES - To me the Pads are the best thing about this course. They are big. I didn't measure, but it felt like 6x12. The tees are also high quality turf. I didn't have one footing issue. The pads are also Red, yep Red. I don't think I've played on red turf pads before. Anyways, they stood out. It really helped in navigating this one the first time through. I'm not scoring this course above a 2.25 if this place were natural pads. They helped that much.
- CHALLENGING - The ideal audience for this course is MA3s, with blend over appeal to MA4s and MA2s that live in the area. The first 6, as a whole, seemed to be noticeably more difficult than the last 3 holes. Hole 5's tee shot requires a 380-foot frozen rope, and to me, it's the most demanding shot here. I scored this aspect roughly average.
- BASIC AMENITIES - In addition to the great tees, the course also has solid Prodigy baskets. In fact, 2 of them on each of the nine holes. They are color coded too. The White baskets being all the shorts and the Red baskets being all the longs. I liked the basket on top of the fire hydrant. That was a neat touch. I do wish they would have swapped the colors to go along with PDGA recommendations. As for the tee signs, not in yet. My gut is 99 percent sure they are coming soon. I gave the course credit for well-done tee signs as I doubt I'll be back.
- NAVIGATION - As noted, I played it before signs were in, and I still had no issues. No one's getting lost here.
- QUICK PLAY - I only threw one loop, the long Red baskets, and it took 25 minutes.
- TEES - To me the Pads are the best thing about this course. They are big. I didn't measure, but it felt like 6x12. The tees are also high quality turf. I didn't have one footing issue. The pads are also Red, yep Red. I don't think I've played on red turf pads before. Anyways, they stood out. It really helped in navigating this one the first time through. I'm not scoring this course above a 2.25 if this place were natural pads. They helped that much.
- CHALLENGING - The ideal audience for this course is MA3s, with blend over appeal to MA4s and MA2s that live in the area. The first 6, as a whole, seemed to be noticeably more difficult than the last 3 holes. Hole 5's tee shot requires a 380-foot frozen rope, and to me, it's the most demanding shot here. I scored this aspect roughly average.
- BASIC AMENITIES - In addition to the great tees, the course also has solid Prodigy baskets. In fact, 2 of them on each of the nine holes. They are color coded too. The White baskets being all the shorts and the Red baskets being all the longs. I liked the basket on top of the fire hydrant. That was a neat touch. I do wish they would have swapped the colors to go along with PDGA recommendations. As for the tee signs, not in yet. My gut is 99 percent sure they are coming soon. I gave the course credit for well-done tee signs as I doubt I'll be back.
- NAVIGATION - As noted, I played it before signs were in, and I still had no issues. No one's getting lost here.
- QUICK PLAY - I only threw one loop, the long Red baskets, and it took 25 minutes.
Cons:
Landing a disc inside the police station.
- SPACING - The nine holes here are jammed into all the remaining open areas in this park. A few tees feel a touch too close to the prior basket and roads are in play a few times. Hole (5), in particular, has a tall chain-link fence along the right. It looks locked and seems to be part of the police storage area. Obviously a really bad spot to end up. (6) also has a building in play along the right and it had already been hit a few times in the 10 days the course had been open when I played it. I could see several reviewers shaving off significant score for this aspect.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - I scored this aspect roughly 40 percent tile. Its small flat and surrounded by a man-made environment. I considered dropping it even lower on my ledger for the numerous earth moving scars from the fairway construction, but that will all heal in a couple years. So I ignored this temporary blemish in my scoring.
- LOST DISC POTENTIAL - For a niner, the disc loss potential is much higher than normal. Water is in play at least 6 times and perhaps 8 if it had rained recently. I think (2) is going to claim the most as there is a deeper spot in the creek next to the far basket and the creek parallels the hole the whole way. The last 3 holes could all easily claim one as well if the creek level is up.
- HOLE VARIETY - Above average among niners but slightly below average among all courses. As noted above, there is a bunch of water to gameplan around. A couple of baskets are placed into defended pockets. There are trees to weave around a few times. All par 3s, generally shorter and no elevation change.
- SPACING - The nine holes here are jammed into all the remaining open areas in this park. A few tees feel a touch too close to the prior basket and roads are in play a few times. Hole (5), in particular, has a tall chain-link fence along the right. It looks locked and seems to be part of the police storage area. Obviously a really bad spot to end up. (6) also has a building in play along the right and it had already been hit a few times in the 10 days the course had been open when I played it. I could see several reviewers shaving off significant score for this aspect.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - I scored this aspect roughly 40 percent tile. Its small flat and surrounded by a man-made environment. I considered dropping it even lower on my ledger for the numerous earth moving scars from the fairway construction, but that will all heal in a couple years. So I ignored this temporary blemish in my scoring.
- LOST DISC POTENTIAL - For a niner, the disc loss potential is much higher than normal. Water is in play at least 6 times and perhaps 8 if it had rained recently. I think (2) is going to claim the most as there is a deeper spot in the creek next to the far basket and the creek parallels the hole the whole way. The last 3 holes could all easily claim one as well if the creek level is up.
- HOLE VARIETY - Above average among niners but slightly below average among all courses. As noted above, there is a bunch of water to gameplan around. A couple of baskets are placed into defended pockets. There are trees to weave around a few times. All par 3s, generally shorter and no elevation change.
Other Thoughts:
Fort Oglethorpe is a good niner in my opinion. Its nothing special, but I had a good time throwing it and I kept all my discs. Yea me! I went back and forth on whether to score this one a 2.0 or 2.5. It very much felt like a 2.25 to me and I wish I could give it that score. Had this been a nine-basket course, there is zero chance I put it over the threshold. Among niners in the Chattanooga area, I think this becomes the best of the bunch. It is also quite a bit different than all the nearby niners due to its flatness and water element. It actually feels more representative of the south Florida disc golf scene. Courses like Palm Springs south of Naples and Lakeview near Sarasota come to mind. Anyways, no need for players to go out of their way to play here unless they are a course bagger and it could be a good multi-bag hit when combined with Jack Mattox. The course should be a good fit for local MA2s, MA3s and MA4s that live within a 20 minute drive.
