Pros:
Pros:
- A relatively new course in the Pittsburgh area that is home to so many other top-10, top-20, top-50 courses in Moraine, Deer Lakes, and Knob Hill), this course is nine holes and somewhat out of the way, though at the same time only about a minute from the exit off the turnpike.
- The course is well groomed, as other reviews have mentioned, with benches and even brooms on all or most of the teepads. The brooms come in handy in the fall when leaves are down and slippery. The teepads are rubber and so long as you brush the leaves off, they grip reasonably well.
- 2MRE offers multiple teepads (two) so beginners aren't overwhelmed. They're white and red, but the white tees often feel like they've got a little blue tint to them, so they offer a reasonable challenge. I don't know what the course record is but I have a hard time imagining someone shooting nine down. There are just too many tiny tunnels.
- The course has new Discatcher baskets and ample, good signage on the teepads and pointing you towards the next tee. Everything is in good shape. The course also has a practice basket near the parking area, though it's set on top of an area with some roll-away, so it's probably not going to see as much use as it could. The practice basket would make a great CTP to settle a match that finishes even.
- There's a good variety of holes here, and a good use of elevation, and terrain. Holes include uphill, downhill, and valley throws. They include very narrow tunnels to wide open, windy fields (and the ninth has a combination of wide open fairways with devastatingly thick rough). You'll likely throw a surprising variety of plastic and shots for a nine-hole course. You can still play reasonably well with five or six discs, but that assumes you don't put yourself in any situations you didn't anticipate.
- The first hole is a true, albeit short, par four that requires good placement off the tee, leaving an easy upshot. The second is a tight par three over a valley. The third plays from the trees to an open field, and back into the trees. The tee shot on the fourth, a par five, requires threading a needle AND getting good distance to set up a shot into the woods. Then you have a long but downhill par three, then the seventh, a unique par four that will rewards a GREAT forehand (something I don't yet have) second shot. The seventh plays across a field to a basket protected by thin trees (going up and over may be the best approach, if you have that shot), and the eighth is an ace run par three downhill with nasty bushes long. The ninth is again a true par five, with thick schule left and right (and a trickling creek that's four feet below the fairway to the left as well), through a narrow gap at 150' out, to a reasonably well protected basket.
- None of the approaches - either on par threes or second or third shots on par fours and fives - are boring. They all play to protected baskets of varying degree, with different sorts of terrain. On the sixth you have a steep drop-off left and short. On others the green is flat but well protected by some thick guardian trees. On others, roll-away potential exists. Leaving your upshots in good positions might determine your putting success more than your actual putting abilities, and a good approach game will go a long way towards scoring well.
- The targets are easily visible, and the practice basket near the parking lot is in the open. The tee signs are adequate, visible, and new enough that they're still in great shape. Pars are appropriate, with no easy birdies. There's a map at the beginning, but as mentioned earlier, the flow is relatively simple and aided by "next tee" signs.
Cons:
Cons:
- The flypads are sometimes lumpy or angled. Footing becomes a weird issue then, when you'd like to run up on a par five tee shot but don't want to twist an ankle doing so.
- There don't appear to be any alternate pin positions (yet?). This could change things up. Though I think you can easily play 18 or 27 in a day and be fine, alternate pin positions would make the course worth more of a stop if you could look forward to a slightly different layout and more repeat visits. I imagine the locals feel similarly.
- As other reviews mentioned, there are no bathrooms or other amenities on the course (drinking fountains, shelters, etc.). There is a bike path that wanders through the park, but I haven't seen anyone using it except one woman walking her dog once, and an older couple on a stroll.
Other Thoughts:
I'll tell you right now - I don't take off points for being nine holes. You can see that it's nine holes in several places on the information pages for the course, and you're welcome to factor that in to how you read these reviews. I can only review the nine holes that are there. Yes, to get 18 in, you have to play them twice. Some people like it, some don't. It's not for me to judge THAT - just to judge what I think of what exists.
So, all that being said, I'd truly rate the course about a 3.75. It's very good, but not quite to the level of the other Pittsburgh area courses. It's well worth a stop if it's not too far out of your way, but I think it's tough to justify fitting it in if you're not passing near by.
In the end, I'm rounding up, because it's probably closer to a 4.0 than a 3.5, and I'm comfortable with that.