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Pete Henkel Park DGC reviews
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Pete Henkel Park DGC
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Sep 16, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
Pete Henkel Park has a bathroom, a couple of softball/baseball fields, a basketball court, and this disc golf course that feels suitably designed for beginners and casual players. More experienced players will likely not need much more than a putter & maybe a midrange on a couple of holes.
The course offers decent variety, and makes good use of the available terrain/elevation. Hole 1 is an interesting hole with a fairway that slopes down to the left, in a bowl formation. There are a couple of flat holes, uphill holes, and downhill holes too. The course starts and ends with more open holes, but primarily plays through the woods in the back of the park.
The course has nice concrete tees for every hole, new Innova DISCatchers, and tee signs on the first three holes.
Hole 3 has a fun tee shot over a deep creek bed, but with shallow water, creating a memorable "water carry" that isn't going to punish newer players who end up in the creek. Hole 8 uses the same creek, and the most extreme downhill tee shot on the course, to create the most memorable putting green on the course.
In general, the course promotes the practice of multiple different shot shapes. If a player can throw accurately within 220', throwing with different angles, any hole is score-able.
The course offers decent variety, and makes good use of the available terrain/elevation. Hole 1 is an interesting hole with a fairway that slopes down to the left, in a bowl formation. There are a couple of flat holes, uphill holes, and downhill holes too. The course starts and ends with more open holes, but primarily plays through the woods in the back of the park.
The course has nice concrete tees for every hole, new Innova DISCatchers, and tee signs on the first three holes.
Hole 3 has a fun tee shot over a deep creek bed, but with shallow water, creating a memorable "water carry" that isn't going to punish newer players who end up in the creek. Hole 8 uses the same creek, and the most extreme downhill tee shot on the course, to create the most memorable putting green on the course.
In general, the course promotes the practice of multiple different shot shapes. If a player can throw accurately within 220', throwing with different angles, any hole is score-able.
Cons:
Signage could be better. It was a bit of a blind journey to even find the course. As stated earlier only the first three holes have tee signs, and navigational signage would help with the flow of the course.
Maps on the tee signs don't feel necessary on eight of the holes, but it would have been nice to know Hole 3 was tucked off to the right. Not really a huge deal, just something to be aware of if/when you play this course the first time if trying to park every hole.
Hole 9 feels a bit shoved into a small nook of the park, and finishes far enough away from the start of the course that, despite enjoying the course enough that I was entertaining the idea, I decided against playing a second round to get in an 18 hole loop. At least it created a horseshoe-esque shape towards the parking lot.
Not much distance variation in the holes. For the space given, I think the course does a great job using all of it, but I would have enjoyed one hole a bit longer.
The only real place where disc loss could be a concern, would be at Hole 1 if a beginner yanks their drive off to the right and it flies over the barbed wire fence around the maintenance compound for the park. Again, not a huge issue.
Maps on the tee signs don't feel necessary on eight of the holes, but it would have been nice to know Hole 3 was tucked off to the right. Not really a huge deal, just something to be aware of if/when you play this course the first time if trying to park every hole.
Hole 9 feels a bit shoved into a small nook of the park, and finishes far enough away from the start of the course that, despite enjoying the course enough that I was entertaining the idea, I decided against playing a second round to get in an 18 hole loop. At least it created a horseshoe-esque shape towards the parking lot.
Not much distance variation in the holes. For the space given, I think the course does a great job using all of it, but I would have enjoyed one hole a bit longer.
The only real place where disc loss could be a concern, would be at Hole 1 if a beginner yanks their drive off to the right and it flies over the barbed wire fence around the maintenance compound for the park. Again, not a huge issue.
Other Thoughts:
Pete Henkel Park DGC is only the second course I've played designed by Pat Bowles (I believe), and it is the second time I have walked away confused why I haven't heard more about said course. I really enjoyed the design, and there wasn't a bad hole on the course. So I am giving the course a soft 2.0 rating, but would gladly play here again. That rating would be much more solid if tee signs were installed for every hole. Can be combined with nearby courses, Rob Wallace Park and Oakboro District Park, for a fun day of golf. Obviously if it were a full 18 hole course (which I don't believe there is room for) or if the signage were better I could see the course deserving a higher rating.
Favorite Holes: 3 & 8
Favorite Holes: 3 & 8
