Indiantown Park DGC - Front 18 reviews
4
1
Short, Low and Tight 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 25, 2009
Played the course:once
Pros:
This is a course where the pros are really, really good and the cons are really, really bad. You can easily summarize the course with the words, short, low, and tight.
Short- There are only two holes over 300 feet (one a true pro par 4 at 560 feet.) There are 11 holes under 200 feet, including one at 120 and another at 126 feet.
Low- Only two holes are out in the open, the par 4 9th hole and the 10th hole that you actually throw 290 feet over the left field fence on the baseball diamond. I believe every other hole has a canopy that you must shoot over. If you have a problem throwing your disc too high, this course will punish punish punish. On some of the short holes I threw a driver just because I could throw it lower and/or skip it better.
Tight- I'm almost embarrassed to say that I didn't birdie either the 120 foot hole or the 126 foot hole. In fact, I didn't even get halfway to the hole on either drive. That's how tight some of these fairways are. The bonus 9 holes are particularly short and tight, but fantastic practice for driving your putters. One of my favorite holes is the longest on the bonus 9, a 358 foot dead straight drive down a 15-20 foot wide fairway with a 10 foot canopy.
As I played this course I kept thinking, "Man! What a great course!" But then I gradually realized there were an awful lot of significant negatives that keep this from being a superior course. But it is so different from the other tidewater courses, every tidewater golfer should make at least one trip out here to check it out.
To really get at the character of this course, you have to think low budget and few people. The tees are almost all dirt (except the first one, which for some bizarre reason sports a nearly useless 6'x6' cement platform.) The baskets are the worst of any course I've played, I'm not sure what they are exactly, but they're like a disccatcher sport with fewer chains, a shallower basket, and a very narrow sweet spot through the main 18 holes and some plasticky (but still nice) baskets on the new 9 holes. The signs, when present, are a laminated piece of paper stapled to a small playwood sign. There was a signboard at the beginning with boxes for scorecards, but all it had was lots of pencils and ants, and no scorecards. But this is par for the park this place is in. As near as I can tell, no one actually works there. I saw a couple of other golfers over the course of two rounds on a Friday and a Saturday, but no one actually playing soccer, playing softball, maintaining the park, or working the only building around. It feels like a very lonesome place. Even the playground equipment feels like it hasn't been touched in a generation. But at the same time, there's some outhouses, a practice basket, every thing you need to get around the course (including a big sign at the beginning to help you find the first hole), and some one has even gone to the trouble to clear out/mow the underbrush on the fairways, a not insignificant feat as you will learn the first time you miss one. So a big A+ on the maintenance of the vegetation and ground (the dirt tees are some of the best I've used-including paved ones, and leaps and bound above the dirt ones at Bennett's Creek) and a big D+ for maintenance of baskets and signs. More on that in the cons column though.
The best part about this course though, is that precision is required and rewarded. Every hole is a different shot (unfortunately, lots of anhyzer for us RHBH types) and if you miss the gaps you'll need to throw a great upshot to save par. But the holes are so short you have dreams of ace and birdie on nearly every hole. Yet when I counted them up at the end, I only threw 4 birdies out of 27 holes (and 2 out of 18 the next day). I typically throw 5-8 birdies at Bayville, Bennett's Creek, or Newport News, at least from the short tees. You can't help but think "I can do better than that" every time you miss a gap.
Another great pro of this course is that it flows very well, the next tee is always close and almost always visible from the basket, but this isn't a problem like at Bayville because there are trees to protect the next tee from the thrower on the previous one, and besides, its apparently never all that busy out here anyway.
The cool "boot camp stuff" (I think it is an old ropes course) really adds flavor to the course. On the back nine, it seems like there is one contraption on every hole. Only a couple are still functional. My wife and I had to test ourselves and see if we could climb all the way up the rope hanging from the 30 foot tower. I made it up both days with thorns one day and a rope burn the other. My wife, not to be outdone, made it up as well.
The course is also flat with great trails, so it's great for a stroller. But I don't know that it is quite so good for the kids, as you'll notice below.
Short- There are only two holes over 300 feet (one a true pro par 4 at 560 feet.) There are 11 holes under 200 feet, including one at 120 and another at 126 feet.
Low- Only two holes are out in the open, the par 4 9th hole and the 10th hole that you actually throw 290 feet over the left field fence on the baseball diamond. I believe every other hole has a canopy that you must shoot over. If you have a problem throwing your disc too high, this course will punish punish punish. On some of the short holes I threw a driver just because I could throw it lower and/or skip it better.
Tight- I'm almost embarrassed to say that I didn't birdie either the 120 foot hole or the 126 foot hole. In fact, I didn't even get halfway to the hole on either drive. That's how tight some of these fairways are. The bonus 9 holes are particularly short and tight, but fantastic practice for driving your putters. One of my favorite holes is the longest on the bonus 9, a 358 foot dead straight drive down a 15-20 foot wide fairway with a 10 foot canopy.
As I played this course I kept thinking, "Man! What a great course!" But then I gradually realized there were an awful lot of significant negatives that keep this from being a superior course. But it is so different from the other tidewater courses, every tidewater golfer should make at least one trip out here to check it out.
To really get at the character of this course, you have to think low budget and few people. The tees are almost all dirt (except the first one, which for some bizarre reason sports a nearly useless 6'x6' cement platform.) The baskets are the worst of any course I've played, I'm not sure what they are exactly, but they're like a disccatcher sport with fewer chains, a shallower basket, and a very narrow sweet spot through the main 18 holes and some plasticky (but still nice) baskets on the new 9 holes. The signs, when present, are a laminated piece of paper stapled to a small playwood sign. There was a signboard at the beginning with boxes for scorecards, but all it had was lots of pencils and ants, and no scorecards. But this is par for the park this place is in. As near as I can tell, no one actually works there. I saw a couple of other golfers over the course of two rounds on a Friday and a Saturday, but no one actually playing soccer, playing softball, maintaining the park, or working the only building around. It feels like a very lonesome place. Even the playground equipment feels like it hasn't been touched in a generation. But at the same time, there's some outhouses, a practice basket, every thing you need to get around the course (including a big sign at the beginning to help you find the first hole), and some one has even gone to the trouble to clear out/mow the underbrush on the fairways, a not insignificant feat as you will learn the first time you miss one. So a big A+ on the maintenance of the vegetation and ground (the dirt tees are some of the best I've used-including paved ones, and leaps and bound above the dirt ones at Bennett's Creek) and a big D+ for maintenance of baskets and signs. More on that in the cons column though.
The best part about this course though, is that precision is required and rewarded. Every hole is a different shot (unfortunately, lots of anhyzer for us RHBH types) and if you miss the gaps you'll need to throw a great upshot to save par. But the holes are so short you have dreams of ace and birdie on nearly every hole. Yet when I counted them up at the end, I only threw 4 birdies out of 27 holes (and 2 out of 18 the next day). I typically throw 5-8 birdies at Bayville, Bennett's Creek, or Newport News, at least from the short tees. You can't help but think "I can do better than that" every time you miss a gap.
Another great pro of this course is that it flows very well, the next tee is always close and almost always visible from the basket, but this isn't a problem like at Bayville because there are trees to protect the next tee from the thrower on the previous one, and besides, its apparently never all that busy out here anyway.
The cool "boot camp stuff" (I think it is an old ropes course) really adds flavor to the course. On the back nine, it seems like there is one contraption on every hole. Only a couple are still functional. My wife and I had to test ourselves and see if we could climb all the way up the rope hanging from the 30 foot tower. I made it up both days with thorns one day and a rope burn the other. My wife, not to be outdone, made it up as well.
The course is also flat with great trails, so it's great for a stroller. But I don't know that it is quite so good for the kids, as you'll notice below.
Cons:
Okay, take a deep breath, now for the cons.
#1-This course sucks for the kids. All right, I admit the nice trails, the lack of elevation, and the short holes are benefits for those of us dragging kids around the course with us. But the crappy playground equipment, the bugs (not too bad unless you're playing late in the evening) and THE FACT THAT IF YOU MISS A FAIRWAY YOU'RE LITERALLY WADING THROUGH POISON IVY make this a lousy place to take the kids. We spent the whole time yelling at them to get out of the brush, which is the whole fun of being a kid in the woods. Despite yelling at them and wiping every bit of exposed skin down with baby wipes immediately after the round, the kiddo has already got classic poison ivy bumps all over her. Even if you don't have kids, wear pants, socks, and boots and wash your skin, discs, and bag ASAP after the round. I'd probably even bring a couple gallons of water to wash off with at the park.
#2 The baskets don't make the right sound. It's like a plasticky sound. There's no ching.
#3 The sweet spot on the baskets is pretty narrow. It's really tough to hit a long putt.
#4 The tee signs are very homemadey and a few of them are missing. (When they're not missing, they're perfectly adequate. If you've printed out the map and the hole info on this site, you don't really need much else. The only place you can get lost is the turnoff for the new nine holes (between hole 12 and hole 13.) Go left for the new ones and go right to continue on with 13. The goofy numbering is a little weird, but it works out okay. I wish they had just numbered them 19-27 or N1-N9 or something.
#5 No elevation, no water. No reason to bring your big drivers. Putters, mids, and a fairway driver are plenty. I threw my big dog over the end of the baseball field on 10, but if you can throw your fairway driver 290, you don't need to even bring it.
#6 Well, someone has to say it. This course is way the heck out there. You have to go to the Eastern Shore to play it. Just too inconvenient to get much traffic on the course. Also, it costs you $12 to get there from the other tidewater courses (Chesapeake Bay Bridge.) If you come back the same day, $5 more. If you stay longer than 24 hours and 1 second, boom-$12 more. So in a way it is pay-to-play.
There are apparently 3 more courses on the Eastern Shore. Unfortunately, they're all private. And although I ran into someone who graciously invited me out to the monthly at one of the privates the next day (and gave me directions) it's tough to play 2 or 3 courses for the average joe to make the long trip out here worth it. But hey, 3 private courses? That's gotta be a pretty hard core group of locals, which is always a good thing.
#1-This course sucks for the kids. All right, I admit the nice trails, the lack of elevation, and the short holes are benefits for those of us dragging kids around the course with us. But the crappy playground equipment, the bugs (not too bad unless you're playing late in the evening) and THE FACT THAT IF YOU MISS A FAIRWAY YOU'RE LITERALLY WADING THROUGH POISON IVY make this a lousy place to take the kids. We spent the whole time yelling at them to get out of the brush, which is the whole fun of being a kid in the woods. Despite yelling at them and wiping every bit of exposed skin down with baby wipes immediately after the round, the kiddo has already got classic poison ivy bumps all over her. Even if you don't have kids, wear pants, socks, and boots and wash your skin, discs, and bag ASAP after the round. I'd probably even bring a couple gallons of water to wash off with at the park.
#2 The baskets don't make the right sound. It's like a plasticky sound. There's no ching.
#3 The sweet spot on the baskets is pretty narrow. It's really tough to hit a long putt.
#4 The tee signs are very homemadey and a few of them are missing. (When they're not missing, they're perfectly adequate. If you've printed out the map and the hole info on this site, you don't really need much else. The only place you can get lost is the turnoff for the new nine holes (between hole 12 and hole 13.) Go left for the new ones and go right to continue on with 13. The goofy numbering is a little weird, but it works out okay. I wish they had just numbered them 19-27 or N1-N9 or something.
#5 No elevation, no water. No reason to bring your big drivers. Putters, mids, and a fairway driver are plenty. I threw my big dog over the end of the baseball field on 10, but if you can throw your fairway driver 290, you don't need to even bring it.
#6 Well, someone has to say it. This course is way the heck out there. You have to go to the Eastern Shore to play it. Just too inconvenient to get much traffic on the course. Also, it costs you $12 to get there from the other tidewater courses (Chesapeake Bay Bridge.) If you come back the same day, $5 more. If you stay longer than 24 hours and 1 second, boom-$12 more. So in a way it is pay-to-play.
There are apparently 3 more courses on the Eastern Shore. Unfortunately, they're all private. And although I ran into someone who graciously invited me out to the monthly at one of the privates the next day (and gave me directions) it's tough to play 2 or 3 courses for the average joe to make the long trip out here worth it. But hey, 3 private courses? That's gotta be a pretty hard core group of locals, which is always a good thing.
Other Thoughts:
A worthwhile addition to any trip to the Eastern Shore. Bring the bug dope and watch out for the poison ivy and leave the big drivers at home.
5
1
swellerdiscgolf
Experience:
16.9 years
11 played
8 reviews
Fun Little Course 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Feb 22, 2009
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
I forgot about this short course on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It is a fun, tightly wooded, flat course about 5 min off of rte 13. Almost all of the pins are visible from the tee box, and they have good, well defined fairways. It is pretty easy to navigate the original 18 holes, with only one small problem from pin 3 to tee 4, but there is signage saying "next tee". The course seems to be well maintained, with hardly any chance of losing a disc. The practice basket looks great, and they also have a box next to the first tee that usually has scorecards. The new baskets on the new 9 holes are visually appealing, and I really liked the use of color on teh hats and rims.
Cons:
The cons for this course seem to be left to the new 9 holes in the middle of the back 9. It was a little tricky to navigate these new holes, because the designers started with #10 as #1, #11 as #2, #12 as #3, and then the new nine holes are 4-12. Without knowing this, I spent a good ten min looking for "#1". Once you find the tee to start the new 9, it's not too hard to follow. The extra holes fairways need to be cleared out a little more and the new baskets take some getting used to as they seem a little short from top of chains to bottom of chains. These new holes are also pretty short. I think it would have been better to lengthen the existing 18, and do other improvements to the course. The other things that could be done to improve this course are: update the old pins to the new "Fibershots", rework the tee boxes to be better defined, and add benches or bag hangers near the tees. The signage with hole info and next tee direction could use some updating also.
Other Thoughts:
I do like this course, it just needs to be modernized a little to make it better. It is in a nice quiet park, but could probably get a little busy with soccer games, and baseball games going on. The back 9 has some weird boot-camp like structures that look like fun, and if you are able to get up on one of them, you can see the Atlantic Ocean. The new 9 have some trees with faces on them to help protect you from the disc golf devils, and Chupacabra that are in the area. Favorite hole(s) are 9 and 10. 9 plays across the park entrace road, so you have to watch for cars coming, and 10 plays over the outfield fence of the ball field. For the new holes, the basket colors are played as follows: 1-purple, 2-red, 3-yellow, 4-white, 5-tye died, 6- blue, 7-blue, 8-maroon, and 9-teal. This course is also mostly stroller friendly for you parents out there, but the park does not have a playground.
3
3
Riley
Experience:
16.3 years
11 played
3 reviews
LOW AND TIGHT 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Sep 21, 2008
Played the course:once
Pros:
Good setting for a golf course. Great group of people running the course. If technical tight shots are the shots you like you will love Indiantown. This course is unforgiving and humbling. Lefty heaven.
Cons:
GET NEW BASKETS.
Other Thoughts:
I had a blast playing this course for the first time in "High Noon 4". The eastern shore disc golf club is run by a group of dedicated disc golfers. They course was clean and the signage for each hole was accurate and descriptive.
7
2
Masters Dream Course 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 20, 2008
Played the course:once
Pros:
- Very pretty area
- Given the park they had to work with, the course is designed well
- Lots of shade
- 16 of the 18 shots are low ceiling midrange shots (220 - 280)
- Nobody on the course, no waiting
- Given the park they had to work with, the course is designed well
- Lots of shade
- 16 of the 18 shots are low ceiling midrange shots (220 - 280)
- Nobody on the course, no waiting
Cons:
- Baskets are subpar
- Rediculous amount of mosquitos
- Hole 11 is a very poor design, gap to get to basket is 3 feet wide 125 ft down the fairway, really just a luck shot.
- Rediculous amount of mosquitos
- Hole 11 is a very poor design, gap to get to basket is 3 feet wide 125 ft down the fairway, really just a luck shot.
Other Thoughts:
This is really a fun little course. If you are in the area, hit it up. IMO it is actually better than Newport News & Bayville since it has actual fairways (not just tees and baskets seemingly randomly placed) on all but 1 hole.
