Pros:
Mt Gilead State Park is a great facility for camping , has nice playgrounds for the kids , nice trails fishing and boating . Oh , I almost forgot , it has a 9 hole disc golf course . I think that the state parks dept. forgot about the course about 4 years ago . Go into the park and stay left , passing a playground and the basket for #2 . There is parking by the #1 tee .
The Equipment - Natural tee pads . More on this and signs in cons . The tee signs are primitive and very basic . sitting very close to the ground . I couldn't find the #7 sign . The baskets were Yellow banded Discatchers .There are ropes to help you descend the fairway on #8 and ascend the fairway on #9 .
The Landscape - The first 4 and last 2 holes are in the woods , 5-7 are park-style . The course has some elevation on most of the holes . The elevation is more intense on the last 2 holes across the road . The grass in the park was manageable when I was here , but overgrowth was present on most of the rest of the holes .
Appearance/Atmosphere - The park looks nice , but the course was neglected . No one was on the course while I was here .
Highlights - The 2 holes worth shooting were the last 2 . #8 is a putter run straight down and embankment . If you don't angle downward on this 120' hole , you might lose your disc in the lake behind it . #9 starts on a small ridge , throwing over a gully to a higher plane . There is really only one path up the hill that you can hit , and still have a chance at a long putt at the basket sitting to the right of the fairway .
The Time - It took me 40 minutes to play the course , but over 10 of it was used on trying to find tees and going up and down the last 2 holes . A foursome that know the lay of the course might fight through it in under an hour .
The course was in a much needed area that was void of options in 2010 . It is also another activity that state park users and campers can try .
Cons:
#1 Safety - there is a blind spot that you shoot out of on #2 that might hit a kid that strayed off the playground some . Also , there is a thin strip that you shoot down at #5 that could find the road and a car coming into or out of the park . #6 has you throwing over the road , and #7 comes close enough to the road that your disc might float into it on a windy day . For your safety , the last 2 holes really need some steps . Even using the rope , I fell on #8 going down the hill and the hill on #9 is a steep climb , too .
#2 Navigation - You would think that with holes this short , navigation would be a breeze . Wrong ! Without a map of UDisc , you are lost after hole #1 . Providing you find the 4 woods holes , there is a walk out of the woods to #5 . Then you have to remember to cross the street on 6 , and there is no tee sign or pad for #7 . #8 is backward and across the street , on the other side of the outdoor theatre . #9's tee is up and to the left of the #8 basket , hidden .
#3 What Equipment ? - A 10 year old course in a state park really needs some tee signs , some Next Tee signage and at least some carpet or turf tees . What happened to the tee sign on 7 ?
#4 Cleanup On Aisles 1-9 , Please - Debris in the fairway , fallen trees blocking the path and tee pad to #2 , overhanging branches on paths and fairways on all the fairways but maybe #7 , but I am not sure about that because I never found it .
#5 The Elements - A good rain or snow will wipe out any chance of you playing #'s 8 & 9 and make the woods holes sloppy . Even climbing over the logs can make for a wet crotch .
#6 Disc Risk - High . Ricochets in the woods with blind shots , overgrown fairways , a putter run which could turn into a Lake Run = chances for lost discs . Using a spotter would help if not playing solo .
#7 Embarrassment , Party Of One - It was odd . I passed an empty outdoor theatre that shows movies to the campers on the way to tee pad #8 . After babying my putter down to the basket , I used the Bat Rope to lower myself down the hill . I forgot how muddy it was and landed on my backside and slid on the way down . I almost forgot all about it , until when I was leaving and passing by the theatre , it looked like a bunch of campers were sitting at the theatre , laughing while watching some big guy falling down the hill . I think that hole #8 was made for the sole purpose of entertaining the rest of the park . Do they have closed circuit monitors at the fairway ?There was a woman with 2 dogs that was at the tee pad that told me that it was too steep to take her dogs down . ( Did she video me ? ) Everyone waved goodbye at my car. Ashamed , I headed north up to 42 , to the Wine And Ale Trail and numbed the pain .
Other Thoughts:
Mt Gilead Park is pretty large . I know that with some cooperation , a better job can be done designing an 18 hole or at least a good 9 hole course . At a 2.36 rating , the course is overrated by about 2 . Tight fairways are one thing , but overgrown ones without a door or window to throw through , or pinball drives hitting tree after tree will negate anyone ever coming back for a 2nd time . Bring your technical game , and your Lucky Buckeye that you take to the casinos with you .
My Recommendation - Maybe if you were camping in the park for a weekend and ran out of things to do , playing the first 7 holes just to nature walk the park , and safari #7 , might give you something to do . Other than that , this course doesn't serve any other purpose of than to disappoint . It's not worth a stop unless you are a hard core Course Collector .
You Need To Pass This One By .