Pleasant Hill DGC reviews
18
0
Pleasant Hill's Half-Present Thrills
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 22, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
+ There is a nice HQ area to pay for your round ($9 per day), turn in found discs, relax, buy discs/snacks, practice putting and so forth. The cardstock scorecards have course information and a map on them.
+ The whole course is in a peaceful part of suburban Maine with a calming vibe and no noise.
+ All holes have benches, hole-specific trash cans with distance info and tees of concrete, but...
+ The whole course is in a peaceful part of suburban Maine with a calming vibe and no noise.
+ All holes have benches, hole-specific trash cans with distance info and tees of concrete, but...
Cons:
- ...The tees fluctuate between pavers, segments and contiguous slabs with many feeling uneven.
- The baskets' age is showing with somewhat weak and/or corroding chains.
- Most of the holes are wide open, and the property is largely flat.
- The baskets' age is showing with somewhat weak and/or corroding chains.
- Most of the holes are wide open, and the property is largely flat.
Other Thoughts:
I have a question for you.
Are there any instances at all when it would be okay to subtract points from a course for something that isn't directly related to the course itself?
Before playing Pleasant Hill, I would have said no. But only a few holes into my round here in late July 2022 changed my mind. I'll get to that in bit.
On paper, this course is fine and functional if a little bland. There's barely any elevation to speak of, but the whole course is very well maintained and pleasantly presented, which is why hole8 was my favorite to look at. During my round, the grass on hole11 was being mowed. The guy was friendly and waved me on to take my shot before he continued. Plus, the lady behind the check-in and payment counter was very courteous and professional.
The holes are a little too wide-open for my taste, though. Hole4 is my least favorite for that reason. The challenge here comes from reaching your maximum distance and staying on the fairway. There aren't any meaty trials or obstacles to overcome. In the interest of fairness, there are a few holes with more than a few trees to deal with. Hole12 was my favorite to play here because of that, but it doesn't last long before sending you back into the open.
The property used to be a ball golf course, and the owners are reclaiming it well. They even kept the tiny ponds, which brings me to why I asked you that question in the beginning.
Those tiny ponds are isolated with nothing flowing in or out. They are stagnant and stationary. Mosquitos love water like that. Mosquitos use stale ponds to lay their eggs. During my round I was swarmed by dozens of mosquitos at all times from start to finish. I felt so agitated, irritated, agonized and exasperated while constantly flailing around and suffering through being a blood-filled pin cushion. Often times I would look around and see everyone else on the course doing the same crazy dance as me: flail your arms, slap your knees, swish your feet and swat the breeze! Those flying insects were so big I could have had a conversation with them.
"Big deal," I hear you say. "Just go back to your car, put on some bug spray and finish your round."
Oh, but I did! It's a good thing that hole9 finishes near the parking lot so I could dash to my car and coat myself with bug repellent. (The HQ area also sells bug/tick spray, FYI.) But those things were relentless, and I was very unhappy by the end of it all.
So yes, I know that the mosquitos have nothing directly to do with the layout, infrastructure, signage and terrain. However, they were SUCH a negatively impactful factor during my experience that I can't simply ignore them. If I found them irritating, then others will too. Potential players would rather spend their money at some other course over having their veins drained.
Maybe playing in late July was a bad call on my part. Maybe the mosquitos are a known issue, and I'm a hapless course bagger.
During the months when mosquitos are dormant, I can imagine that this course is fine. Pleasant Hill strikes me as a good training ground for those who want to test their distance driving in a quiet spot. It's nothing to write home about, but $9 lets you play here all day, and it really is a nice place to relax.
Just wear a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, that's all. By the way, I'm blood type O+.
Are there any instances at all when it would be okay to subtract points from a course for something that isn't directly related to the course itself?
Before playing Pleasant Hill, I would have said no. But only a few holes into my round here in late July 2022 changed my mind. I'll get to that in bit.
On paper, this course is fine and functional if a little bland. There's barely any elevation to speak of, but the whole course is very well maintained and pleasantly presented, which is why hole8 was my favorite to look at. During my round, the grass on hole11 was being mowed. The guy was friendly and waved me on to take my shot before he continued. Plus, the lady behind the check-in and payment counter was very courteous and professional.
The holes are a little too wide-open for my taste, though. Hole4 is my least favorite for that reason. The challenge here comes from reaching your maximum distance and staying on the fairway. There aren't any meaty trials or obstacles to overcome. In the interest of fairness, there are a few holes with more than a few trees to deal with. Hole12 was my favorite to play here because of that, but it doesn't last long before sending you back into the open.
The property used to be a ball golf course, and the owners are reclaiming it well. They even kept the tiny ponds, which brings me to why I asked you that question in the beginning.
Those tiny ponds are isolated with nothing flowing in or out. They are stagnant and stationary. Mosquitos love water like that. Mosquitos use stale ponds to lay their eggs. During my round I was swarmed by dozens of mosquitos at all times from start to finish. I felt so agitated, irritated, agonized and exasperated while constantly flailing around and suffering through being a blood-filled pin cushion. Often times I would look around and see everyone else on the course doing the same crazy dance as me: flail your arms, slap your knees, swish your feet and swat the breeze! Those flying insects were so big I could have had a conversation with them.
"Big deal," I hear you say. "Just go back to your car, put on some bug spray and finish your round."
Oh, but I did! It's a good thing that hole9 finishes near the parking lot so I could dash to my car and coat myself with bug repellent. (The HQ area also sells bug/tick spray, FYI.) But those things were relentless, and I was very unhappy by the end of it all.
So yes, I know that the mosquitos have nothing directly to do with the layout, infrastructure, signage and terrain. However, they were SUCH a negatively impactful factor during my experience that I can't simply ignore them. If I found them irritating, then others will too. Potential players would rather spend their money at some other course over having their veins drained.
Maybe playing in late July was a bad call on my part. Maybe the mosquitos are a known issue, and I'm a hapless course bagger.
During the months when mosquitos are dormant, I can imagine that this course is fine. Pleasant Hill strikes me as a good training ground for those who want to test their distance driving in a quiet spot. It's nothing to write home about, but $9 lets you play here all day, and it really is a nice place to relax.
Just wear a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, that's all. By the way, I'm blood type O+.
3
1
Discobedience
Experience:
14.8 years
89 played
12 reviews
Don't Miss P-Hill 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Nov 7, 2011
Played the course:5+ times
Cons:
There are a couple major water hazards to be aware of at Pleasant Hill. Hole 3 is lined on the right side by a pond, your second shot on hole 8 is worth double checking, a long drive on 10 will drop you in the drink, as well as an errant shot left or right on hole 11, and lastly hole 17 is a big disc eater. Hole 17 sits 317 feet ahead in an open field with a pond on the left hand side, inviting you to toss that hyzer right into the pond. But do not fear, the diver comes to Pleasant Hill often and is very effective, normally surfacing with upwards of 500 discs per dive session. The clubhouse will document your disc on their website and give you a courtesy call that they have retrieved it.
Being that this course is the only Greater Portland area, you see a varying range in type of player on the course. Everything from local pro's to 1 discers with a 30 rack. That being said; don't leave your discs on the fairway here. I find the return rate of those left behind to be on the rather low side. Whether it be the riff-raff type of players who have no respect for others property or players new to the game that don't understand the "even if you find it, it's not yours" rule. You will often find large groups of people at Pleasant Hill and often times playing through with smaller groups is not much of an issue.
Being that this course is the only Greater Portland area, you see a varying range in type of player on the course. Everything from local pro's to 1 discers with a 30 rack. That being said; don't leave your discs on the fairway here. I find the return rate of those left behind to be on the rather low side. Whether it be the riff-raff type of players who have no respect for others property or players new to the game that don't understand the "even if you find it, it's not yours" rule. You will often find large groups of people at Pleasant Hill and often times playing through with smaller groups is not much of an issue.
Other Thoughts:
Pleasant Hill is a pcturesque landscape that is a must play for anyone coming to the State of Maine. If you want true beauty, check out a sunset at pleasant hill with the shadows of the huge pines stretched out over the ponds.
Hope to see you out there.
Hope to see you out there.
