- The new 4 is the old 6, flip-flopped tee and basket, without the rash causing Virginia-creeper growing around the basket
- The new 5 across the main entrance from new 4 is short but not without some challenge.
- Added more open fairway holes as 7, 8, & 9. Seven is half of the old 4 but we teed off from the side-walk up hill of the number 3 basket. Most experienced players will feel cheated with anything less than an ace. We teed off by the ball field back-stop to give number 8 some distance and challenge of playing under or around a tree. The 9 tee is painted on the sidewalk above 8's basket. It's a long drive across the outfield of the ball field to reach the shaded basket on the other side.
- No more worrying about miss-stepping of the mini cliff on the left side of old number 8 fairway. It seemed my sub conscious always directed my disk off that side.

- Now if the ball field is in use number 9 is not playable and 7 & 8 would be risky at best.
- I'm not sure I like the concept of 4 shooting toward the main drive way.
- It's a fair hike from the new 9 basket across a parking lot past 1 to resume play at 10.
- There is more potential to disrupt other patrons of the campus and vise versa.

The objective of this post was to document the change in the course. I found the following web site that helped explain why the changes, sounded like discord with the neighbors along old number 7, hccdiscgolf.karenandjay.com. They have a map of the new layout there. It was found at the PDGA site. The link listed as HCC home page has the new map.

Free to play
Lawns (usually) cut
Not heavily trafficked
Fairly easy, once you play it
Lots of high risk putts
Good mix of open/wooded

Limited to no signage (wouldn't have had a clue where 13 was on my first time playing without watching the youtube video)
Dense leaves on holes 7 and 14-18

Definitely the better of the two 18 hole courses in the area. It's always in much better shape than the Northampton course and you (rarely) have to deal with dogs. Pretty good course for being on a college campus.

Hole 2 can be a pretty big challenge as it's up on a hill where the whips through and if your disc goes into a roll, there's a good chance you're going to land on the track forcing you to walk a long way to go get it.

A lot of the holes are fairly easy, especially once you play the course a few times, but their difficulty level is increased due to the fact that there are a lot of situations where a missed putt will roll down a hill. Wind is also a big challenge on the front 5 as you are out in the of the campus

-18 holes in an area without much disc golf around
-Free
-Easy parking
-Hole 11 is awesome. You throw off a giant ledge. I felt compelled to empty my bag on such an awesome shot.
-The course is well maintained. It's easy to find poorly thrown discs and there's hardly any poison ivy on the course.
-Lots of the holes are challenging and fair (1, 3, 4, 10, and 11 in particular).
-Very close to I-91
-Lots of the holes are well-designed and fun to play.
-The baskets are old, but they catch just fine.

-There are a few crumby holes on this course. The first 11 are great (except for 7), but things go downhill after that. 7 does not have a fairway. 14, 16, and 17 don't have real fairways either. And 12, 13 and 18 are just so-so.
-Navigation isn't great. You need a map. There are some signs, which are somewhat helpful, but you need a map to find your way around. Adding signs at the tees would make them easier to find.

The front 9 were tweaked in 2019. The modifications have very little affect on the quality of the course. Here are updated video links to the front and back 9:

Front: https://www.youtube.com/watch...l=JayDucharme

Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch...l=JayDucharme

After the first 11 holes, I was loving this course. If all 18 holes had been of this caliber, I'd give the course a 4 rating. But the last 7 holes left me with a bad taste in my mouth. If all 18 holes had been of this caliber, I'd have given it a 2 rating. Nevertheless, this is a great community resource for those of us in Western MA. I'm glad I played the course and I'll take the 30 minute drive again. It's a nice change of pace from Amherst and Northampton, which get tough to play in the summer due to aggressive thorns, poison ivy, and grasses.

This course plays around the Holyoke Community College Campus. There are eighteen challenging holes here. All baskets and tees are numbered. Baskets are also in great condition. Next tee signage helped to facilitate course navigation a bit. The course seems to be well maintained and litter is few and far between. Foliage can get rough in the woods but the lawn holes are very well groomed. I would imagine that one could use restrooms and/or running water in the CC buildings provided that they are open, but I didn't have the need to go inside. Elevation is used and optimized on just about every hole here. There are sharp elevation changes and many baskets are placed on steep slopes that can easily add a few strokes to your round if your putt doesn't rest in the chains or flat on the ground. Other challenges are presented by mature trees, tight shots through the woods, well protected baskets, and OB, provided you choose to play roads and parking lots OB. There's a nice mix of open shots and wooded shots, as well as a variety of distances; though the course is a little shorter than average. The course also demands a variety of different curves as well. Hole 11 is the highlight here as it throws off a cliff through the woods. It's probably one of my top five holes in the game; and I've played over 40 courses. There is plenty of parking here, though it could be tougher when classes are in session. The course is also a very convenient stop off of I-91 making it a great road trip stop. The locals who I ran into were helpful in aiding me navigate the course on my first time.

I wish there were rubber tee pads on every hole here. I mostly only saw them on the back 9. The layout is a little wonky; the course takes you in a big loop and it's often tough to find the next tee. Bringing a map is highly recommended. The map however, is not the easiest to read. I could imagine some holes may be perilous or unplayable when classes are in session. Some holes throw over the road, park benches, or parking lots, which could pose safety concerns for motorists and pedestrians. It's probably best to try to play during evenings or weekends to minimize the amount of interference you could receive from pedestrians and motorists. It could also be pretty easy to lose a disc in the woods.

Keep in mind that the topography here is pretty challenging. Close toed shoes are highly recommended and it's easy to lose your footing on the steep slopes. I played here the Friday before Labor Day weekend so I had no problem with lots of campus traffic, but I could imagine it could be tough to play here during classes. Take care for pedestrians and motorists and watch out for the roll-away putts and you'll likely have a nice time on this course.

Has a lot of tight woods shots to focus on technique and accuracy. The course goes from pretty open shots in the front 9 to being in the woods in the back which gives a nice balance and gradual ramp up in difficulty of shots. Since it's on the HCC campus there isn't any trouble with overgrowth taking over the course (except maybe the tall grass by hole one). Hole 1 plays great for flicks or turnover shots and is a nice start to the course. The next few are open shots with a couple trees in the way but nothing incredibly hard. Once you get to 7 though the course decides it wants to really punish you. If you miss your line in 7/8 you'll have some work to do which makes scoring well on them feel even more rewarding. Hole 11 is a nice little shot downhill straight towards the green.

UPDATE: Hole 12 and 13 have been changed. The new hole 12 is much fairer now. Playing up the hill then curving left instead of continuing straight up. Clearer fairway but still can get in trouble. Hole 13 is much easier since it no longer plays over the road/OB.

Some parts in the woods are tricky to walk through with loose rocks and fallen trees. Hole 1 is right over a parking lot / footpath and sometimes it gets annoying waiting for people to walk past and clear out of the way. No really big long distance holes, even the open holes in the front 9 are rather short. Not a fan of hole 12, straight uphill with a huge pile of sticks and wood off to the left and if your disc ends up in there have fun getting it out / having a reasonable shot. Also, don't miss your putt on hole 17 unless you want to roll about 30 feet downhill.

This is probably the course I'd call my home course and definitely the one I've played the most. There is a nice big field right next to the first hole where you can warm up with some drives. Since the course isn't really ever too crowded you can also get some warm up putts in on hole one since there is no practice basket.