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Laurel, MT

First Congregational Church DGC

1.335(based on 3 reviews)
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5 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 46 years 1562 played 1507 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Very Nice Wooden Sign On Street Reads: Preacher Jim Dawson Memorial Disc Golf Course! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 3, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

I, however, had a slightly rocky start at this simple little recreational 9 holer. I found the # 1 basket alright. There's a small sign on the little building which says that maps are in the pocket attached to the wall. Thinking his meant the wall of this building, I searched to no avail. I finally realized that the maps were across the parking and attached to the wall of the church, itself. Now, these were the same maps that I had already printed off at home. Even with the map in hand, I never found the # 1 sign and tee.

The remaining are nicely done varnished wooden signs showing the hole #, distance and par. The baskets are Discatcher Pros which are in fine condition. The pads are natural and pretty typical. They're quite appropriate for this course. There are only five baskets so four were used twice. Only # 3 is only used once. It's really a quite simple system. The course is flat with only a few trees to avoid. It's not quite a nice green lawn but the brown grass is short and relatively smooth.

Distances are from 158' up to 286' so it's a course which is perfect for who the course is designed for, that is probably youth groups and families.

Cons:

I'm sure I'm the village idiot who was unable to locate the first tee. Other reviewers must have located it.

The natural tee pads are what they are.

Only having five baskets for nine holes isn't recommended but I'd say it's fine here. I highly doubt whether this course ever gets more than a group or two at a time.

It's flat. It isn't a challenge for most players.

Other Thoughts:

I think Jim Dawson is proud or would be proud of this course. I don't rightly know if ole Jim is currently with us or not. Either way, this is a decent little church course. I assume the serious golfers around here flock to Diamond X which is just 11 miles away. The less serious golfers around these parts can work on their game here.
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8 0
ThrowBot
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.9 years 324 played 23 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Fine For Beginners and Low Usage Volume 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 15, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

+Targets are Discatcher Pros in good condition.+Easy to navigate with clear tee signage at each hole.+Maps & score cards were available near the first tee.+Good for beginner level play. Not much challenge or risk that would discourage inexperienced players.

Cons:

-Not much variety of challenge. A few trees, some OB available, but most players would find the design quite bland.-Zero elevation in play. Walking the entire course, I doubt you ever gain or lose a foot of elevation.-There are only 5 baskets but 9 tees, so the course doubles back on itself and most targets get used for multiple holes. This leads to safety issues if you ever get more than one group on the course.

Other Thoughts:

Given the available property, they did what they could with the design. It's not much. But it's better to have a disc golf course there than nothing.The scenery is...uhh...unique. The course is very close to I-90 so you have the constant hum of 70mph traffic. Then right across the interstate, charming view of a crude oil refinery. Welcome to Laurel, Montana!
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10 0
brentjacobs
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 22.7 years 659 played 59 reviews
1.00 star(s)

9 holes on 4 acres 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 8, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- 5 well mounted DisCatcher 28s with the hole numbers(sometimes multiple!) on the bands.
- Cool homemade wooden tees signs on each hole. They have a very basic depiction of the hole, with the distance and par noted.
- A bit of good design to get some of the tees on the parking lot or concrete paths as those are the best teeing surfaces. The rest are just natural rough ground. Not awful but not ideal either.
- Course "kiosk" by Hole 1 has accurate maps with a scorecard printed on the back which also lists hole distances.
- Flare skip opportunities available thanks to the smooth asphalt parking lot. I had some fun with that.
- Designer did a nice job incorporating the sparse trees on the property into the course which made for the best holes out there.
- Very beginner friendly which seems to have been the aim of the designer and, really, just about all the land would allow.
- Disc Golf specific land. No user conflicts.
- Free to play and open to the public 7 days a week.

Cons:

- Only 5 targets for 9 holes. This is necessary to get a 9 holer on roughly 4 acres but it means playing back to the same baskets and, at points, crossing fairways of other holes. More than a group or two and this place would be at capacity.
- Continuing on that vein, many tees are really close to previous baskets. Basket for Holes 2/7 has the tees for 3 and 6 at the edge of, if not in, the putting circle.
- No elevation change. The property may have a slight tilt toward the Yellowstone River but you might not even realize it if you aren't familiar with local topography.
- Natural tees were a bit uneven or lumpy.
- Distances provided on tee signs and map didn't feel super accurate. Some seemed pretty close if not on the nuts but a couple-few felt off by a bit. I'll have much better ace runs if I return to play again.
- In a mostly wide open field, the holes feel a bit repetitive. Just a product of some pretty vanilla land being worked with.
- The property is really close to I-90 so you can hear and see heavy interstate traffic the whole time you play.

Other Thoughts:

Not a whole lot to this bad boy. Beginner level course installed by the local church that's a bit crammed onto a small piece of land. A few of the holes are entertaining with very modest challenges thanks to bringing the available trees into play. On the whole though, minimal shot shaping is required to get at the pins. I think they did a fine job given what they were working with, it just isn't great piece of land for DG. Nonetheless, I'd happily recommend this course to most besides the "competition golf only" types. Great for beginners and anyone above that level will get pretty much all ace runs. At only 3 minutes off of I-90, baggers can easily pick this low hanging fruit as they pass by the otherwise unremarkable town of Laurel, MT.
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