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Covenant Community Church reviews
13
0
The church courses are multiplying!
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Apr 5, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
Covenant Community Church DGC is a COVID-era creation of the church of the same name. The nine holes play through a mostly wooded area to the west of the church, and a couple of holes make use of an open field to the west of that.
The course designers have done a good job utilizing the land available. There is some nice variety sprinkled into the nine holes. The most memorable hole here is probably #4 - one of two par 4s on the course. This 479' challenge starts in an open field but quickly tightens into a narrow but fair line cut through the woods. If memory serves, the fairway curls slightly to the right then back to the left before reaching the basket. It's not apparent until you get relatively close, but there is also a small pond behind the basket that is very much in play. I overthrew the basket on my approach shot and was fortunate that my putter did not take a dip. The other holes are shorter, but have a good mix of left turns, right turns, and straight throws through the woods. You'll have to throw somewhat accurately to avoid the trees and birdie any of these holes.
The baskets are yellow banded DISCatchers, still in like-new condition when I played. These are easy to spot in the woods - great choice.
The course designers have done a good job utilizing the land available. There is some nice variety sprinkled into the nine holes. The most memorable hole here is probably #4 - one of two par 4s on the course. This 479' challenge starts in an open field but quickly tightens into a narrow but fair line cut through the woods. If memory serves, the fairway curls slightly to the right then back to the left before reaching the basket. It's not apparent until you get relatively close, but there is also a small pond behind the basket that is very much in play. I overthrew the basket on my approach shot and was fortunate that my putter did not take a dip. The other holes are shorter, but have a good mix of left turns, right turns, and straight throws through the woods. You'll have to throw somewhat accurately to avoid the trees and birdie any of these holes.
The baskets are yellow banded DISCatchers, still in like-new condition when I played. These are easy to spot in the woods - great choice.
Cons:
There are some safety issues here. Hole 1 is a little bit too close to the road for my liking, even though the fairway does slant away from it. Church outbuildings could also come into play on holes 1, 2, and 7. The worst is the finishing hole 9 though. A picnic pavilion is in the line of fire between the tee and the basket. JULY 2023 UPDATE: New since my 2022 visit, a large sign has been installed at this tee indicating that you are supposed to throw out towards the parking lot, then straight at the basket to avoid throwing at the pavilion off the tee. The hole has also been updated to a par 4. This isn't a whole lot safer though because now the parking lot is in play off the tee, in addition to being near the basket. But if that's the intent, they should at least add a visible mando to the hole.
The teepads are just natural, with light blue painted kick boards. The tee signs are simple wood posts painted the same light blue color, with the hole number Sharpie'd on. At a minimum, a distance and par scrawled under each hole number would be appreciated for those of us who don't depend on UDisc.
There aren't any navigational aids. Although you can usually just look around to see where to go for the next hole, there are a couple of places where I would have gotten confused if not for the map I dug up on the church's Facebook page before coming to play (which is now uploaded here). The most difficult spot was hole 2 to 3. This is the sort of course where indicator arrows/tape in the bottom of the baskets could be appropriate.
Six of the holes are listed under 225', and the terrain throughout the course is flat. Better DG'ers will not find much challenge here.
Other amenities like trash cans, benches, kiosk, and practice basket are missing. There might be a bathroom available in the church, but I did not try to enter the building. I DID open the mailbox next to the first tee thinking that there could be scorecards or a course map inside - but no, there was actual mail. Oops!
The teepads are just natural, with light blue painted kick boards. The tee signs are simple wood posts painted the same light blue color, with the hole number Sharpie'd on. At a minimum, a distance and par scrawled under each hole number would be appreciated for those of us who don't depend on UDisc.
There aren't any navigational aids. Although you can usually just look around to see where to go for the next hole, there are a couple of places where I would have gotten confused if not for the map I dug up on the church's Facebook page before coming to play (which is now uploaded here). The most difficult spot was hole 2 to 3. This is the sort of course where indicator arrows/tape in the bottom of the baskets could be appropriate.
Six of the holes are listed under 225', and the terrain throughout the course is flat. Better DG'ers will not find much challenge here.
Other amenities like trash cans, benches, kiosk, and practice basket are missing. There might be a bathroom available in the church, but I did not try to enter the building. I DID open the mailbox next to the first tee thinking that there could be scorecards or a course map inside - but no, there was actual mail. Oops!
Other Thoughts:
This course joins a rapidly growing catalog of 9-hole church courses in the Hudsonville/Jenison/Allendale area west of Grand Rapids, MI. From here, you can drive five minutes north to Wellspring or five minutes south to Georgetown Christian Reformed (or Rush Creek Park in between, which is actually what I recommend). Zooming out a little bit - venture about 15-20 minutes west and you can reach The Breakers (18 holes), or northwest to Lighthouse Christian Ministries. All of these church courses have been established within the last 6-8 years or so. They're multiplying!
Overall, this is an okay course for beginners and locals to come play so long as they are being careful. Disc loss potential is very low, except maybe in the pond on #4. Baggers will rejoice at being able to hit four 9-hole courses within a 2-3 mile radius. Travelers looking for a solid church course in West Michigan should head to The Breakers.
UPDATE JULY 2023: Returned to play this one again today, and tweaked some verbage above (mainly the bits about hole 9). Beyond that, not much has changed including my overall opinion of the course and 1.5 rating.
Overall, this is an okay course for beginners and locals to come play so long as they are being careful. Disc loss potential is very low, except maybe in the pond on #4. Baggers will rejoice at being able to hit four 9-hole courses within a 2-3 mile radius. Travelers looking for a solid church course in West Michigan should head to The Breakers.
UPDATE JULY 2023: Returned to play this one again today, and tweaked some verbage above (mainly the bits about hole 9). Beyond that, not much has changed including my overall opinion of the course and 1.5 rating.
