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The Compound reviews
6
0
A Private Course that Means Business 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 3, 2020
Played the course:once
Pros:
A private "backyard" course with challenge and variety to match many a public park.
-Terrain and Beauty: The grounds at the Compound are nice. There are some open fields and plenty of thick woods, which the course plays with and eventually dives in to. Most of the open fairways are dotted with occasional trees and undergrowth to provide obstacles. Only a few holes feature elevation, but it isn't so flat as to be a drawback. Drainage doesn't look like an issue. There are houses in sight on a handful of holes, but I hardly consider that an eyesore.
-Variety: Very solid here, too. There are a handful of very tight woods tunnels, several plays from the open into the edge of the woods, and some mostly open shots. I would estimate that length varies from about 200' to maybe 700', so you'll have both putter shots and some full drives. I think one area that really stands out here is the variety of greens. There are typical open greens, some greens barely snuck into moderate woods, some greens with danger left or long, a couple of greens where low ceilings come into play (used especially nicely on (10)), and one elevated basket.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Plenty of shapes and distances to be had on the par 3's, and some good multi-shot holes as well. There are some very tight tunnels (including one to start off on (1)), long straight drives with a couple of trees to beat (good example is (3) about 330' with woods to the right and a late mando on the left, or the beastly (17), which is straight with a pocket green and a telephone pole in the center of the fairway that will get lots of battering), left- and right-turning shots, and shorter straight shots with a concealed basket. The par 4's aren't very long, all quite birdie-able, but have their own challenges--two mandos on (2), super-dense tunnel approach and green on (5), and low ceiling on (16). The course's signature hole is definitely (14), the only par 5, which is somewhat u-turn shaped. Starting in the woods, it's about 250 feet down a straight tunnel to get out into the open (but too long or too short and you'll be cut off from the ideal second shot). From there, it's a long left-turning look (I'd guess 400 feet or a bit more) to a fast green with OB on three sides and a basket elevated to probably 12 feet. Overall, players will have to use a wide variety of shots, but will still have some flexibility to draw on their strengths.
-Terrain and Beauty: The grounds at the Compound are nice. There are some open fields and plenty of thick woods, which the course plays with and eventually dives in to. Most of the open fairways are dotted with occasional trees and undergrowth to provide obstacles. Only a few holes feature elevation, but it isn't so flat as to be a drawback. Drainage doesn't look like an issue. There are houses in sight on a handful of holes, but I hardly consider that an eyesore.
-Variety: Very solid here, too. There are a handful of very tight woods tunnels, several plays from the open into the edge of the woods, and some mostly open shots. I would estimate that length varies from about 200' to maybe 700', so you'll have both putter shots and some full drives. I think one area that really stands out here is the variety of greens. There are typical open greens, some greens barely snuck into moderate woods, some greens with danger left or long, a couple of greens where low ceilings come into play (used especially nicely on (10)), and one elevated basket.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Plenty of shapes and distances to be had on the par 3's, and some good multi-shot holes as well. There are some very tight tunnels (including one to start off on (1)), long straight drives with a couple of trees to beat (good example is (3) about 330' with woods to the right and a late mando on the left, or the beastly (17), which is straight with a pocket green and a telephone pole in the center of the fairway that will get lots of battering), left- and right-turning shots, and shorter straight shots with a concealed basket. The par 4's aren't very long, all quite birdie-able, but have their own challenges--two mandos on (2), super-dense tunnel approach and green on (5), and low ceiling on (16). The course's signature hole is definitely (14), the only par 5, which is somewhat u-turn shaped. Starting in the woods, it's about 250 feet down a straight tunnel to get out into the open (but too long or too short and you'll be cut off from the ideal second shot). From there, it's a long left-turning look (I'd guess 400 feet or a bit more) to a fast green with OB on three sides and a basket elevated to probably 12 feet. Overall, players will have to use a wide variety of shots, but will still have some flexibility to draw on their strengths.
Cons:
By its nature, the Compound doesn't have all of the "comfort" features that some normal courses do.
-Amenities: Nothing was bad, but a lot of players won't like the lack of amenities. Tees are natural (still have plenty of grass). Baskets are a hodge-podge that catch at a respectable level--they should get all of your centered putts. There aren't benches or trash cans except at the start of the course. There weren't tee signs when I played, but the owner told me he was putting them in that weekend. On the flip side, there were a couple of helpful next tee markers and all the mandos were very clearly marked.
-Rough: There are some patches that have been purposefully left very thick as a risk-reward choice. I thought it made the course more exciting, but it could also make it more painful.
-Private Course: Pay-to-play ($2). Also, you can't just waltz in any time, but Hayden is more than happy to set something up with you and is also planning to announce open play days. If you do make an appointment with him, you'll get a friendly tour guide to give you a VIP throw-through of the course.
-So-so Scoring Separation: Small con. For my taste, there are too many of the mostly open holes where things can't really get worse than a par unless you make the mistake of the year. Maybe that's just a personal philosophy-of-disc-golf kind of thing, though.
-Amenities: Nothing was bad, but a lot of players won't like the lack of amenities. Tees are natural (still have plenty of grass). Baskets are a hodge-podge that catch at a respectable level--they should get all of your centered putts. There aren't benches or trash cans except at the start of the course. There weren't tee signs when I played, but the owner told me he was putting them in that weekend. On the flip side, there were a couple of helpful next tee markers and all the mandos were very clearly marked.
-Rough: There are some patches that have been purposefully left very thick as a risk-reward choice. I thought it made the course more exciting, but it could also make it more painful.
-Private Course: Pay-to-play ($2). Also, you can't just waltz in any time, but Hayden is more than happy to set something up with you and is also planning to announce open play days. If you do make an appointment with him, you'll get a friendly tour guide to give you a VIP throw-through of the course.
-So-so Scoring Separation: Small con. For my taste, there are too many of the mostly open holes where things can't really get worse than a par unless you make the mistake of the year. Maybe that's just a personal philosophy-of-disc-golf kind of thing, though.
Other Thoughts:
This course was a hard one to rate due to its private and non-uniform nature, and forced me to determine what I most value in a course. At the end of the day, the tees and baskets weren't noticeably bad, and the solid variety at the Compound earns it a "Very Good" despite its flatness. I had a fun round with course owner/designer Hayden and a couple other guys, and I think it's definitely worth trying to do the same for folks in the region.
-Developing: As of 7/3/20, there is still some basic work to be done. Two holes still need baskets, one woods hole needs some clearing, a couple of greens could use slight thinning out, and tee signs were about to go in. I'm confident enough that these will be done in the next few weeks that I'm rating the course based on how it will look with that work. Some of the hole shapes could also change slightly with more testing. PM me if you think anything in this review is outdated or incorrect.
-Navigation: I think it will be so-so. There's a couple of long walks from (3)-(4) and (16)-(17). I also got turned the wrong way on a couple of tees, but that shouldn't be a problem with tee signs. Having been guided, it's tough for me to say how hard it would be to spot the next tee on my own.
-Developing: As of 7/3/20, there is still some basic work to be done. Two holes still need baskets, one woods hole needs some clearing, a couple of greens could use slight thinning out, and tee signs were about to go in. I'm confident enough that these will be done in the next few weeks that I'm rating the course based on how it will look with that work. Some of the hole shapes could also change slightly with more testing. PM me if you think anything in this review is outdated or incorrect.
-Navigation: I think it will be so-so. There's a couple of long walks from (3)-(4) and (16)-(17). I also got turned the wrong way on a couple of tees, but that shouldn't be a problem with tee signs. Having been guided, it's tough for me to say how hard it would be to spot the next tee on my own.
2
2
HKujala
Experience:
67 played
1 reviews
The Compound 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 11, 2020
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
-Private Course
-Basket are different, but catch well
-Two iconic basket layouts
-Shots of different shapes are needed to conquer
-A great compliment to all of the course in the immediate area
-Basket are different, but catch well
-Two iconic basket layouts
-Shots of different shapes are needed to conquer
-A great compliment to all of the course in the immediate area
Cons:
-Basically flat
-House layout makes a couple walks between holes long
-Hole 2 is next to a major roadway
-Hole 13 needs to cleared some more to make lines more attackable
-House layout makes a couple walks between holes long
-Hole 2 is next to a major roadway
-Hole 13 needs to cleared some more to make lines more attackable
Other Thoughts:
-Teepads are natural (not good or bad)
-Dogs are on property
-Dogs are on property
