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China Peak DGC reviews
14
1
A tale of 2 extremes: An unforgettable experience of epic shots with majestic natural beauty and poor maintenance with some design that's only for elite players 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Sep 23, 2018
Played the course:once
Pros:
It's really cool that two reviews here were from those involved in designing and creating this course. They are both well worth the read before you visit China Peak.
The course map and score card is high quality with elevation changes on each hole. There's not much cell signal here so either print out the course map or download it to your phone, you'll need it.
Hole 11 is the best epic shot. It is breathtaking to look down from the top of a ski run and see a basket at the bottom nestled into a cluster of trees. My second shot covered most of the 1,000 feet down that hill. It's really pretty seeing a disc's flight wind down the hill if you get the right nose and release angle, with no wind. I was lucky that my RHFH turned over at the end and found a way perfectly through the trees on the left side and made it back to the fairway.
Hole 23 is the second most epic shot. You are teeing off from the top of a bluff and throwing down the hill to a dogleg to the right. I like this one since it favors my RHFH and it's fun to watch that disc glide so long and far.
Hole 2 is the third most epic, but we couldn't see the basket hidden in the trees at the bottom of the hill. My second throw from the tee, however, sailed all the way down and I had a look at the basket once I was down there.
Hole 27 is my fourth favorite, even though I complain in my CONS about the dead tree blocking my go to RHFH, which I blame for my only lost disc of the day.
There is so much EPIC disc golf at China Peak that I started to wonder if I was going to get EPIC OVERLOAD.
The course map and score card is high quality with elevation changes on each hole. There's not much cell signal here so either print out the course map or download it to your phone, you'll need it.
Hole 11 is the best epic shot. It is breathtaking to look down from the top of a ski run and see a basket at the bottom nestled into a cluster of trees. My second shot covered most of the 1,000 feet down that hill. It's really pretty seeing a disc's flight wind down the hill if you get the right nose and release angle, with no wind. I was lucky that my RHFH turned over at the end and found a way perfectly through the trees on the left side and made it back to the fairway.
Hole 23 is the second most epic shot. You are teeing off from the top of a bluff and throwing down the hill to a dogleg to the right. I like this one since it favors my RHFH and it's fun to watch that disc glide so long and far.
Hole 2 is the third most epic, but we couldn't see the basket hidden in the trees at the bottom of the hill. My second throw from the tee, however, sailed all the way down and I had a look at the basket once I was down there.
Hole 27 is my fourth favorite, even though I complain in my CONS about the dead tree blocking my go to RHFH, which I blame for my only lost disc of the day.
There is so much EPIC disc golf at China Peak that I started to wonder if I was going to get EPIC OVERLOAD.
Cons:
Since my review score is lower than any other review of China Peak I am going to detail my CONS by category since I expect that a lower score may cause askance for some.
Maintenance
We looked for the first basket for 20 minutes before we finally found it inside a giant bush turned sideways. I realize that it's September and we're at the end of the disc golf season, but this didn't just happen. That bush was growing in and around that basket, which would take months to happen. If there was any attention paid to this course then this could not be left unattended for months.
The 27th hole has a dead tree leaning in front of the tee. If you are RHBH this is no problem, but if you're RHFH, like me, this is a bummer since the tree is leaning from the left and taking away the perfect line for an epic downhill shot. The scorecard says it's a 33 foot elevation up, but that's a misprint. It is a 133 foot drop, as Leonard the designer says in his review. I tried to work around the dead tree with a S curve on my RHFH, which was looking pretty good until it didn't turn over and come back to the right. It ended up deep into that forest on the left and down the hill, becoming the only plastic I left at China Peak. There aren't enough trash cans. We started picking up trash, which is sad to see in such a beautiful part of nature, but gave up after awhile.
Tee signs
Tee signs on this course are very important since you cannot see the basket from many of the tees. The tee signs do not give detail of each hole, as a good tee sign should, but only gives a general idea of where the basket. The result is that you'll find yourself guessing on your drive during your first round, but on this course most of us will only play one round since we have to go so far to get there. So before you come you should study the pictures on this site since the red boxes and red lines kind of show you where to throw. Hole 3, for example, was impossible for us to figure out. Based on the course map, which is a very good, downloadable pdf, we chose a direction, but we were several throws down the hill before we realized we missed the angle by about 15 degrees and were about 200 feet east of the basket before we found it. I stressed how important it is to study the pictures beforehand, but on hole number 3 I don't think it'd even help you. So here's my advice on #3, don't think left since it's more to the right. Many, if not most, of the tee signs were on the ground since they are not mounted permanently.
Tee pads
I understand from another review that concrete tees are not an option on this mountain, but many tees are gone and others are breaking apart. The rubber tees are actually not bad at all, but to maintain them on this mountain would take time and effort, which hasn't happened.
Baskets
Some of the baskets are not permanent. They are temporary baskets and I suppose that's why the first basket ended up in a bush. They are Innova Discatchers, so no problem there. There is a number on most of the baskets, if not all, but the number is not usually facing the tee. There are some poles which mount on the top of the baskets so that they can be seen from a distance, which is great, but in a few cases the pole is sitting on the ground next to the basket or just gone. Most baskets need markers like this, but don't have a bright flag on top, which would be a big help to make it more visible.
Location
Because this is a ski resort course it is only open about half the year and is a very far drive for most people to get there. It was a six hour drive for me from Orange County.
Design stretch
Hole 6 is referred to by most previous reviewers as an epic hole or their favorite. I use it as an example of the over reaching stretch of the designers. It is 498' from an elevated tee to an elevated basket with a gulley of forest in between. There's a great picture of this posted here. Stop now and go look at this "epic" hole. Most of us can't throw 500' and will end up at the bottom of the gulley. This hole and #8 (also referred to as a favorite) made me realize that this course is stretched to the limits of disc golf capacity and designed for the upper strata skill level. These kind of holes are not fun for most of us. This was my 103rd course to play and I've been beat down many times, but it seems like there's an extra effort here to wear you out, beat you down, and impress you how much better this course is than you are. Par is 84, but dgcr's SSE is 93, which means it's really hard to get par. Usually SSE is lower than par.
Maintenance
We looked for the first basket for 20 minutes before we finally found it inside a giant bush turned sideways. I realize that it's September and we're at the end of the disc golf season, but this didn't just happen. That bush was growing in and around that basket, which would take months to happen. If there was any attention paid to this course then this could not be left unattended for months.
The 27th hole has a dead tree leaning in front of the tee. If you are RHBH this is no problem, but if you're RHFH, like me, this is a bummer since the tree is leaning from the left and taking away the perfect line for an epic downhill shot. The scorecard says it's a 33 foot elevation up, but that's a misprint. It is a 133 foot drop, as Leonard the designer says in his review. I tried to work around the dead tree with a S curve on my RHFH, which was looking pretty good until it didn't turn over and come back to the right. It ended up deep into that forest on the left and down the hill, becoming the only plastic I left at China Peak. There aren't enough trash cans. We started picking up trash, which is sad to see in such a beautiful part of nature, but gave up after awhile.
Tee signs
Tee signs on this course are very important since you cannot see the basket from many of the tees. The tee signs do not give detail of each hole, as a good tee sign should, but only gives a general idea of where the basket. The result is that you'll find yourself guessing on your drive during your first round, but on this course most of us will only play one round since we have to go so far to get there. So before you come you should study the pictures on this site since the red boxes and red lines kind of show you where to throw. Hole 3, for example, was impossible for us to figure out. Based on the course map, which is a very good, downloadable pdf, we chose a direction, but we were several throws down the hill before we realized we missed the angle by about 15 degrees and were about 200 feet east of the basket before we found it. I stressed how important it is to study the pictures beforehand, but on hole number 3 I don't think it'd even help you. So here's my advice on #3, don't think left since it's more to the right. Many, if not most, of the tee signs were on the ground since they are not mounted permanently.
Tee pads
I understand from another review that concrete tees are not an option on this mountain, but many tees are gone and others are breaking apart. The rubber tees are actually not bad at all, but to maintain them on this mountain would take time and effort, which hasn't happened.
Baskets
Some of the baskets are not permanent. They are temporary baskets and I suppose that's why the first basket ended up in a bush. They are Innova Discatchers, so no problem there. There is a number on most of the baskets, if not all, but the number is not usually facing the tee. There are some poles which mount on the top of the baskets so that they can be seen from a distance, which is great, but in a few cases the pole is sitting on the ground next to the basket or just gone. Most baskets need markers like this, but don't have a bright flag on top, which would be a big help to make it more visible.
Location
Because this is a ski resort course it is only open about half the year and is a very far drive for most people to get there. It was a six hour drive for me from Orange County.
Design stretch
Hole 6 is referred to by most previous reviewers as an epic hole or their favorite. I use it as an example of the over reaching stretch of the designers. It is 498' from an elevated tee to an elevated basket with a gulley of forest in between. There's a great picture of this posted here. Stop now and go look at this "epic" hole. Most of us can't throw 500' and will end up at the bottom of the gulley. This hole and #8 (also referred to as a favorite) made me realize that this course is stretched to the limits of disc golf capacity and designed for the upper strata skill level. These kind of holes are not fun for most of us. This was my 103rd course to play and I've been beat down many times, but it seems like there's an extra effort here to wear you out, beat you down, and impress you how much better this course is than you are. Par is 84, but dgcr's SSE is 93, which means it's really hard to get par. Usually SSE is lower than par.
Other Thoughts:
I'm glad I made it to China Peak. It's been on my wish list for awhile. Although I'm only giving it a 3.5, which is Very Good, I still recommend, as the designer did, that everyone gets there for a very memorable experience. I'm sorry I can't be kinder in my review, but I'm not at the higher skill level to appreciate the design and I'm afraid there are many out there like me. It's unique in all the courses I've played and reviewed, including Wagrain, a ski resort in the Austrian Alps. It's extremely majestic and full of natural beauty, but at the same time it needs some attention and love that a local club could give it yet it's so remote that there's no such local club to care for it. When you click on the course homepage here it is a dead link.
