-
Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)
The Chain Links - Dogtrot reviews
9
0
Nicely Done Pitch ‘n’ Putt 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:May 4, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
A course of entirely under 150' holes that's done very well.
-Amenities: Turf teepads include printed number, and the baskets are decent single-chain ones that look like they used to be on the big course before they switched to Strikezone. There aren't tee signs, but it's honestly superfluous on a course this short.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Short holes with good variety. The course plays with elevation and trees, and while there are no startling shots, all of the holes are nicely set up. The other course of this type I have played was dreadful, with either boring or laughable holes, but Dogtrot keeps a freshness throughout. You can go around or between trees, up or down hills, through gaps, under low ceilings, along sidehills, and even into the ground on one basket. For a course consisting entirely of upshots, Dogtrot is a 4 out of 5.
-Ace Race: Definitely the fun part of this course is the possibility to ring up a (short) ace on almost every hole. I hit metal more than once on my round.
-Flow: Very easy to follow. Go through the line of trees down the first golf fairway and then back up, reusing the baskets as you go.
-"Friendly": Easy to play, hard to lose discs, super quick, and well kept up.
-Second Course: The companion Big Course at the Chain Links is one of my favorites. I would recommend playing the big one first, and then once you're used to tiny targets playing here. Your putting will feel incredible.
-Amenities: Turf teepads include printed number, and the baskets are decent single-chain ones that look like they used to be on the big course before they switched to Strikezone. There aren't tee signs, but it's honestly superfluous on a course this short.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Short holes with good variety. The course plays with elevation and trees, and while there are no startling shots, all of the holes are nicely set up. The other course of this type I have played was dreadful, with either boring or laughable holes, but Dogtrot keeps a freshness throughout. You can go around or between trees, up or down hills, through gaps, under low ceilings, along sidehills, and even into the ground on one basket. For a course consisting entirely of upshots, Dogtrot is a 4 out of 5.
-Ace Race: Definitely the fun part of this course is the possibility to ring up a (short) ace on almost every hole. I hit metal more than once on my round.
-Flow: Very easy to follow. Go through the line of trees down the first golf fairway and then back up, reusing the baskets as you go.
-"Friendly": Easy to play, hard to lose discs, super quick, and well kept up.
-Second Course: The companion Big Course at the Chain Links is one of my favorites. I would recommend playing the big one first, and then once you're used to tiny targets playing here. Your putting will feel incredible.
Cons:
-Golf: There is some marginal risk out here as you work down towards the far end of the course. I had an errant golf drive land within 60 feet of me, and once I had to wait for the golf players before I could fetch my shot that I skipped into the golf fairway.
-Scope: It's a super short course, so naturally you're not getting all the variety of a full-sized disc golf course. The thrill isn't in watching a full flight or executing smart gameplay, it's in trying to dunk it every single shot.
-Multiple User Issues: This course will not handle multiple groups very well. Each basket hosts two holes, and the tee pads are usually quite close to the previous baskets. Also, fairways run very closely parallel as you work back up the strip you just came down. Altogether, you'll have to be very cautious if any other disc golfers are out.
-Wrong Pad: It's often pretty easy to walk to the wrong pad (the one you need when you walk back up the strip you play down at first). I think hanging arrows under the baskets with sharpied numbers would be an instant fix.
-Fee: There's a greens fee of $4 for the courses combined. It's definitely worth it to play both.
-Scope: It's a super short course, so naturally you're not getting all the variety of a full-sized disc golf course. The thrill isn't in watching a full flight or executing smart gameplay, it's in trying to dunk it every single shot.
-Multiple User Issues: This course will not handle multiple groups very well. Each basket hosts two holes, and the tee pads are usually quite close to the previous baskets. Also, fairways run very closely parallel as you work back up the strip you just came down. Altogether, you'll have to be very cautious if any other disc golfers are out.
-Wrong Pad: It's often pretty easy to walk to the wrong pad (the one you need when you walk back up the strip you play down at first). I think hanging arrows under the baskets with sharpied numbers would be an instant fix.
-Fee: There's a greens fee of $4 for the courses combined. It's definitely worth it to play both.
Other Thoughts:
As I said above, the Dogtrot course gets 4 out of 5 for par-2 style courses. It's a series of fun upshots/putter runs. When you try to fit that into the scheme of all disc golf courses…it's anyone's guess as to what a fair rating is. I put it as a Decent/Typical for now since it really can't handle more than a couple of groups at a time well. It's fun to play, and I enjoyed it as a wind down from the very long main course on site.
