Slippery Rock University reviews
6
1
Slippery ROCKS !! 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Sep 14, 2010
Played the course:once
Pros:
We played this beast of a DGC as a warm up to Moraine. And left with a good feeling of playing one of the better 9 hole DGC's in the USA.
designed by J. Gary Dropcho
two sets of tees (white and blue)
holes # 3 plays along a pond with a sweet basket position
# 6 is one of the best holes in the Pittsburgh area (from blue tees). Shoot your drive around the corner of the fence line and then shoot to the moon or the heavens as the fairway go up up up and further up a giant hill.
designed by J. Gary Dropcho
two sets of tees (white and blue)
holes # 3 plays along a pond with a sweet basket position
# 6 is one of the best holes in the Pittsburgh area (from blue tees). Shoot your drive around the corner of the fence line and then shoot to the moon or the heavens as the fairway go up up up and further up a giant hill.
Cons:
need to stop at campus police station to get parking pass (no big deal) to park.
Dirt tees
no next tee signs
Left wondering why # 7 blue tee wasn't at top of hill instead of on the downslope.
a few long walks betweens holes (but not a big deal as this DGC is on campus and the holes that one has to walk a little ways to get to is worth every bit of the long walk, AKA.. basket # 2 to T # 3 and basket # 5 to T # 6)
not enough trees in some fairways (but even without trees the DGC is very challenging with the fast greens and a well laid out DGC)
Dirt tees
no next tee signs
Left wondering why # 7 blue tee wasn't at top of hill instead of on the downslope.
a few long walks betweens holes (but not a big deal as this DGC is on campus and the holes that one has to walk a little ways to get to is worth every bit of the long walk, AKA.. basket # 2 to T # 3 and basket # 5 to T # 6)
not enough trees in some fairways (but even without trees the DGC is very challenging with the fast greens and a well laid out DGC)
Other Thoughts:
I'd like to see 100 ft. markers (especially on hole # 6) around the DGC. some fairways play close to the dorms so please behave yourself.
We used a garmin to get to the campus, so we might not of taken the easiest way to the college, but better directions are needed to find hole # 1 (past football field and up by ski area)
We used a garmin to get to the campus, so we might not of taken the easiest way to the college, but better directions are needed to find hole # 1 (past football field and up by ski area)
6
0
Tick tock...it's almost time for Slippery Rock! 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 15, 2010
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
This is more of a report of a course *in the early stages of installation* than a review, but hopefully it's helpful nevertheless. (Ignore the rating for now, it's arbitrary and will change.) So here it goes...
Slippery Rock looks to be coming along as a very fun and exciting championship-caliber course. It's not far from Moraine State Park, but it has the exact opposite personality...wide open, big hills, and the potential for windy conditions. But I think you'll be dreaming of the tee shots for many nights after you play the Par 32 front 9. Here's a hole-by-hole description (distances are guesses and from blue tees):
1) Par 3. 350' open and slight uphill to basket on the side of hill. Not real exciting...yet.
2) Par 4. 600' slight downhill wide sloping hillside to land on. Dense woods on left and dorms on right. Very fun tee shot seemingly made for Nukes and Katanas.
3) Par 3. 250' technical shot to basket on grass alongside campus pond. Future pin positions could get devilish.
4) Par 3. 350' along OB water, contending with a couple trees.
5) Par 4. 550' sharp dogleg right around OB fenced off athletic field.
6) Par 5. 750'. Go 250', turn right 90 degrees and then head another 500' up a very steep hill with basket perched on a knob on top of hill. Very cool looking from the bottom. Wide fairway but OB fence on right and dense woods on left. Risk/reward with how much of the corner you are willing to cut off on tee shot.
7) Par 3. 300' signature hole "King of the Hill". Throw from on top of the hill along the hill's ridge line with a precipitous drop left, right, and behind the basket. Great view of the surrounding countryside.
8) Par 4. 550' flat drive with OB field on left and OB road on right. Dogleg left for approach shot. Not very exciting yet also.
9) Par 3. 350' slight downhill dive shot at the basket with pockets of high grass to avoid.
I hope the same thoughtfulness goes into the design of this course as Moraine and Deer Lakes. Three tees and greens with three pin positions that don't change par are a worthy goal. Each hole will be closely watched and re-evaluated to try to get a good mix of birdies and bogies. Even though the Par 4's and Par 5's favor longer arms, I think the five Par 3's should allow shorter arms to stay competitive on the front 9.
Slippery Rock looks to be coming along as a very fun and exciting championship-caliber course. It's not far from Moraine State Park, but it has the exact opposite personality...wide open, big hills, and the potential for windy conditions. But I think you'll be dreaming of the tee shots for many nights after you play the Par 32 front 9. Here's a hole-by-hole description (distances are guesses and from blue tees):
1) Par 3. 350' open and slight uphill to basket on the side of hill. Not real exciting...yet.
2) Par 4. 600' slight downhill wide sloping hillside to land on. Dense woods on left and dorms on right. Very fun tee shot seemingly made for Nukes and Katanas.
3) Par 3. 250' technical shot to basket on grass alongside campus pond. Future pin positions could get devilish.
4) Par 3. 350' along OB water, contending with a couple trees.
5) Par 4. 550' sharp dogleg right around OB fenced off athletic field.
6) Par 5. 750'. Go 250', turn right 90 degrees and then head another 500' up a very steep hill with basket perched on a knob on top of hill. Very cool looking from the bottom. Wide fairway but OB fence on right and dense woods on left. Risk/reward with how much of the corner you are willing to cut off on tee shot.
7) Par 3. 300' signature hole "King of the Hill". Throw from on top of the hill along the hill's ridge line with a precipitous drop left, right, and behind the basket. Great view of the surrounding countryside.
8) Par 4. 550' flat drive with OB field on left and OB road on right. Dogleg left for approach shot. Not very exciting yet also.
9) Par 3. 350' slight downhill dive shot at the basket with pockets of high grass to avoid.
I hope the same thoughtfulness goes into the design of this course as Moraine and Deer Lakes. Three tees and greens with three pin positions that don't change par are a worthy goal. Each hole will be closely watched and re-evaluated to try to get a good mix of birdies and bogies. Even though the Par 4's and Par 5's favor longer arms, I think the five Par 3's should allow shorter arms to stay competitive on the front 9.
Cons:
To-do and wish list for the course:
Signs and tee pads.
Plant lots of trees and landscape to make some of the holes and their greens more interesting. Right now it's pretty much a "big arm" course.
Plan and install B and C pins.
Signs and tee pads.
Plant lots of trees and landscape to make some of the holes and their greens more interesting. Right now it's pretty much a "big arm" course.
Plan and install B and C pins.
Other Thoughts:
The course is very long and hilly with little shade, so it's a much more strenuous than your average walk in the park (and the final design even drastically reduced the basket-to-tee walking distance from earlier designs). The back 9 will be scouted this winter and feature the good old-fashioned Pennsylvania woods golf that we all have come to know and love.
I hope this course achieves a very difficult combination of attracting casual college students, giving ams some fantastic and challenging golf shots, and giving the top pros a run for their money. Check back for more information over the coming months. Feel free to post any thoughts about the course to the Slippery Rock thread in the Courses in Development folder.
See the course map to help find your way initially as signs are put in place.
I hope this course achieves a very difficult combination of attracting casual college students, giving ams some fantastic and challenging golf shots, and giving the top pros a run for their money. Check back for more information over the coming months. Feel free to post any thoughts about the course to the Slippery Rock thread in the Courses in Development folder.
See the course map to help find your way initially as signs are put in place.
