Ripley Park reviews
10
0
First Trip to Ripley Park 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Jun 2, 2012
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
There are dual pin placements on each hole. The tee signs show both pin locations and distances to those locations. There was a short section of pvc pipe sticking out of the alternate pin location which was helpful in determining which location the basket was in.
The course makes good use of the elevation in the park. As noted in the 'Hole Info.' tab, more than half of the holes have some sort of elevation change. Holes #8 and #9 are pretty flat but there is a drop off behind the basket on #9.
Obviously with the course being less than a week old, the Kingpin baskets were in great shape. It was nice to see a practice basket near the first tee as well.
The long basket placement for hole #2 is sheltered in a cluster of trees. This makes for a fun approach.
The course was pretty easy to navigate (see more notes in the Other thoughts section). I had printed out a map before I played the course and used that mainly for distance reference.
The grass was mowed nicely. It looks like the park department does a good job tending to the park.
The course makes good use of the elevation in the park. As noted in the 'Hole Info.' tab, more than half of the holes have some sort of elevation change. Holes #8 and #9 are pretty flat but there is a drop off behind the basket on #9.
Obviously with the course being less than a week old, the Kingpin baskets were in great shape. It was nice to see a practice basket near the first tee as well.
The long basket placement for hole #2 is sheltered in a cluster of trees. This makes for a fun approach.
The course was pretty easy to navigate (see more notes in the Other thoughts section). I had printed out a map before I played the course and used that mainly for distance reference.
The grass was mowed nicely. It looks like the park department does a good job tending to the park.
Cons:
The tee signs do a good job of letting you know how far away the basket is, but some of them were placed farther forward than the end of the tee pad. This could limit some of the lines that you might want to take at the basket. I am not a fan of the white tee signs with the green stickers.
The tee pads are natural and have a board in the ground marking the front of the tee pad. The ground was dry when I played so there were no traction issues. They could be very slippery when wet. As the course is played more, the grass will be worn away and the tee pads will be dirt/mud. Hopefully the park department will upgrade this in the future.
The park (not the disc golf course) was very busy when I played and all of the picnic shelters were in use. This caused for a lot of cars to be parked on the service road that cuts through hole #6. I have been told that the shelter at the end of the service road is the one that gets used the least. Hopefully there won't be cars parked there every time people play.
Hole #1 plays along the side of the soccer field. When I played, there was a pick-up game going on. Many of the spectators were sitting under the trees (which happened to close to the fairway). I'm sure most of the people sitting there didn't have any idea where they were sitting. As time goes on and more people play the course, this might not be a problem.
There were no garbage cans on the course. There was a large dumpster next the the tee pad on #7. I picked up 3 beer cans during my first trip around the course.
The tee pads are natural and have a board in the ground marking the front of the tee pad. The ground was dry when I played so there were no traction issues. They could be very slippery when wet. As the course is played more, the grass will be worn away and the tee pads will be dirt/mud. Hopefully the park department will upgrade this in the future.
The park (not the disc golf course) was very busy when I played and all of the picnic shelters were in use. This caused for a lot of cars to be parked on the service road that cuts through hole #6. I have been told that the shelter at the end of the service road is the one that gets used the least. Hopefully there won't be cars parked there every time people play.
Hole #1 plays along the side of the soccer field. When I played, there was a pick-up game going on. Many of the spectators were sitting under the trees (which happened to close to the fairway). I'm sure most of the people sitting there didn't have any idea where they were sitting. As time goes on and more people play the course, this might not be a problem.
There were no garbage cans on the course. There was a large dumpster next the the tee pad on #7. I picked up 3 beer cans during my first trip around the course.
Other Thoughts:
Even with the cars parked along the service road and in the fairway of hole #6, that was my favorite hole on the course. The stone retaining wall looks like it has been there quite a while and is fun to throw over. The hole only plays ~200' but throwing up to the top of the hill is fun. It was the most memorable hole on the course.
The flow of the course was pretty easy to follow. After you finish playing #1, you have to walk across the park road to hole #2. After you finish hole #4, turn back toward the main gate and walk across the park road to hole #5. It could get a little confusing when you walk from #5 basket to #6 tee. You walk right by the tee pad for #7, so you will have to keep walking a little further and cross the service road. When you finish #9, you are on top of a hill behind one of the picnic shelters. There is a little bit of a walk from there back to the first basket.
There is a swimming beach and concession stand in the park as well. I did not visit the concession stand to see what was all available, but the fact that it is there is pretty cool.
The members of the Madison Area Disc Club and the City of Cambridge did a good job designing the course. They made good use of the elevation in the park and it didn't look like many (if any) mature trees needed to be removed.
the $2 fee per person to get into the park was a minimal fee to consider to play the course. I doubt that the money generated at the gate will go back into the course, but the park department just spent a bunch of money installing the course so I didn't see it as much of an issue.
With all that being said, I plan on playing this course again.
The flow of the course was pretty easy to follow. After you finish playing #1, you have to walk across the park road to hole #2. After you finish hole #4, turn back toward the main gate and walk across the park road to hole #5. It could get a little confusing when you walk from #5 basket to #6 tee. You walk right by the tee pad for #7, so you will have to keep walking a little further and cross the service road. When you finish #9, you are on top of a hill behind one of the picnic shelters. There is a little bit of a walk from there back to the first basket.
There is a swimming beach and concession stand in the park as well. I did not visit the concession stand to see what was all available, but the fact that it is there is pretty cool.
The members of the Madison Area Disc Club and the City of Cambridge did a good job designing the course. They made good use of the elevation in the park and it didn't look like many (if any) mature trees needed to be removed.
the $2 fee per person to get into the park was a minimal fee to consider to play the course. I doubt that the money generated at the gate will go back into the course, but the park department just spent a bunch of money installing the course so I didn't see it as much of an issue.
With all that being said, I plan on playing this course again.
