~ Ecker Hill is laid out on a huge wooded hill behind a school. The hill is THE thing: it dominates the course. For 13 of the 18 holes, you're playing up or you're playing down.


~ Plenty of parking, and good directional signs to bring you back to the course behind the school playing fields. Because most of the course is hidden in the woods, when standing in the flat parking lot you have no idea what you'll be facing. The course is cart-friendly - as long as you don't mind pulling or pushing a cart on steep terrain


~ The course is primarily woods play, although it's not particularly tight. There's plenty of room, but the challenge is controlling your disc through dramatic elevation changes. There's a nice run of three flat holes (7-9) along the base of the hill which feels like a break


~ Tees (rubber) and baskets (Chainstars) are in good shape. Brooms on many tees. The signage is weak: the hole illustrations are minimal (they reminded me of the old style DGA signs: those ones with "stickers" on them to indicate the positions of trees, tee and basket). The maps are simple white backgrounds, providing no indication of doglegs, hole shapes or elevation changes. And even though they're behind plexiglass, the signs are quite faded


~ Navigation is pretty intuitive on most of the course. There are two long transitions: the walk to 7 brings you to the bottom of the hill on a hiking path (easy enough), but the walk to 16 requires crossing two holes and passing several tees. I didn't see a lot of visual aids, and short of bushwhacked my way to the 16th tee


~ #17 is a wide open throw down a steep hillside, with the basket hidden by a woodline on the right. This was the only time I remember using my (RH) forehand. I understand from other reviewers that the basket placement sometimes changes to the other side (although the signage may not?). I walked ahead to be sure of the basket position


~ #18 is the only par 4; it's 541' open and flat. A real change of pace, and a fun finisher. Unfortunately the entrance road crosses right in front of the teebox, so you might have to time your throws between traffic


~ Other players I met explained the "short loop" that avoids the worst of the hill: you can play 1-6, and then 16-18 for a quick round of 9. I was there to play the course for the first time, so I went for the whole 18. If I were local, the "Quick 9" layout on uDisc would be very attractive



RECOMMENDED COMBINATIONS:
Ecker Hill is not a bad course, but the dominance of the hill made it feel a little too one dimensional for multiple plays: RHBH up the hill, RHBH down the hill, repeat. It lies almost equidistant between Wickham and Cross Farms, and pairs up well with either. If you have less time but still want to play multiple courses, try the short loop at Ecker, and then play 9 at the very good Center Springs Park.