Wheatridge Park reviews
12
0
Trees outgrew the course 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 21, 2020
Played the course:once
Pros:
Comfort while playing 10/10. Short grass, shade, pavilion and bathrooms near hole 1/4/8 tees.
Not losing discs 9/10. The only trouble spot would be if you go over the road on the left of hole 5. Maybe in the trees on hole 7 but the ground is pretty open there.
Tees/Baskets 8/10. Concrete pads and DGA baskets. Pads were a little small for the longer holes and slightly uneven in places.
Navigation between holes 8/10. Pretty easy to follow despite no course map. The course area is pretty small so you can mostly tell where you're going from the start. I will say after hole 1 it's 50/50 on if you should go to the hole 2 or hole 4 tee, and same thing after hole 2 to the hole 3 or 5 tee.
Course was clean and well mowed. Some tee signs damaged, but overall 8/10 on maintenance.
Elevation 7/10. There isn't a ton of elevation present, but it's decent for Kansas and it's used well and with variety. Holes 3 and 9 are uphill, while 2, 4, and 8 are downhill.
Variety of distances 5/10. Holes 1, 3, 4, and 6 are all 200-230 feet, though 3 being uphill feels a little longer. 5 is a pretty long hole, especially with the tight tee shot and 9 feels long being uphill.
Not losing discs 9/10. The only trouble spot would be if you go over the road on the left of hole 5. Maybe in the trees on hole 7 but the ground is pretty open there.
Tees/Baskets 8/10. Concrete pads and DGA baskets. Pads were a little small for the longer holes and slightly uneven in places.
Navigation between holes 8/10. Pretty easy to follow despite no course map. The course area is pretty small so you can mostly tell where you're going from the start. I will say after hole 1 it's 50/50 on if you should go to the hole 2 or hole 4 tee, and same thing after hole 2 to the hole 3 or 5 tee.
Course was clean and well mowed. Some tee signs damaged, but overall 8/10 on maintenance.
Elevation 7/10. There isn't a ton of elevation present, but it's decent for Kansas and it's used well and with variety. Holes 3 and 9 are uphill, while 2, 4, and 8 are downhill.
Variety of distances 5/10. Holes 1, 3, 4, and 6 are all 200-230 feet, though 3 being uphill feels a little longer. 5 is a pretty long hole, especially with the tight tee shot and 9 feels long being uphill.
Cons:
No alternate positions. 0/10
Decisionmaking required 2/10. Use of obstacles 3/10. Most holes either lay out a specific line you have to hit, or have pretty much no line to get to the basket now, which is pretty frustrating and my primary complaint with the course. There are a lot of courses with only very small trees that don't pose much of a challenge and I find myself thinking "in 10 years when these trees grow this could be a good course". This course is the opposite, looking at pictures from 2010 when the course was built, there were some large trees to define the holes, and some small trees that were just kinda there. Now, the small trees have grown up and block the lines that were previously available. This is especially noticeable on holes 2 and 4 (and to a lesser degree on 5, 7, and 9), where you have to pretty much just throw and hope you get some good pinball action. If some of the tees/baskets were moved and/or trees trimmed it could help this course a lot.
Variety of openness 3/10. While there is some variety, it's a little backwards that the most open holes are among the shortest on the course (3 and 6). The lack of lines on some holes as mentioned above hurts this score as well.
Variety of shot paths 3/10. There are far more holes where a left to right shot is preferable over right to left. Hole 6 is really the only exception to this. Hole 7 requires an S through the trees to get close but it's incredibly hard to hit, so you're probably just better off throwing left to right through the gap and then a 120' upshot.
Reasonably challenging all levels 3/10. This would be a decent course for beginners, though frustrating on the longer holes, and intermediate to advanced players can find some challenge to hit the lines that are still there on a couple of holes.
Navigation on the holes 4/10. Tees have very basic signs, though some of them are pretty damaged. Several holes are blind (2, 4, 7) and require you to walk up to see, though they're mostly pretty short so it's not that bad.
Decisionmaking required 2/10. Use of obstacles 3/10. Most holes either lay out a specific line you have to hit, or have pretty much no line to get to the basket now, which is pretty frustrating and my primary complaint with the course. There are a lot of courses with only very small trees that don't pose much of a challenge and I find myself thinking "in 10 years when these trees grow this could be a good course". This course is the opposite, looking at pictures from 2010 when the course was built, there were some large trees to define the holes, and some small trees that were just kinda there. Now, the small trees have grown up and block the lines that were previously available. This is especially noticeable on holes 2 and 4 (and to a lesser degree on 5, 7, and 9), where you have to pretty much just throw and hope you get some good pinball action. If some of the tees/baskets were moved and/or trees trimmed it could help this course a lot.
Variety of openness 3/10. While there is some variety, it's a little backwards that the most open holes are among the shortest on the course (3 and 6). The lack of lines on some holes as mentioned above hurts this score as well.
Variety of shot paths 3/10. There are far more holes where a left to right shot is preferable over right to left. Hole 6 is really the only exception to this. Hole 7 requires an S through the trees to get close but it's incredibly hard to hit, so you're probably just better off throwing left to right through the gap and then a 120' upshot.
Reasonably challenging all levels 3/10. This would be a decent course for beginners, though frustrating on the longer holes, and intermediate to advanced players can find some challenge to hit the lines that are still there on a couple of holes.
Navigation on the holes 4/10. Tees have very basic signs, though some of them are pretty damaged. Several holes are blind (2, 4, 7) and require you to walk up to see, though they're mostly pretty short so it's not that bad.
Other Thoughts:
Overall Challenge 3/10
More exact rating: 2.21
I think when this course was first built I would have rated it somewhere between 2.5-3, but unfortunately the trees have really outgrown the course. It's still a decent play if you're not too far away, but if you're looking for somewhere to play while traveling through I wouldn't recommend this course.
More exact rating: 2.21
I think when this course was first built I would have rated it somewhere between 2.5-3, but unfortunately the trees have really outgrown the course. It's still a decent play if you're not too far away, but if you're looking for somewhere to play while traveling through I wouldn't recommend this course.
3
0
Okay for a small town, but kinda crammed 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 22, 2010
Played the course:once
Pros:
A good recreational to intermediate level course. Unlike a lot of small town courses, this one has decent distance and foliage to add challenge and some tricky lines that you have to hit. Concrete tees and signs, although as of my visit the signs had no distances on them. Hole 5, the longest hole in the park with an OB road and creek to the left, and some trees to the right is particularly challenging.
Cons:
About the biggest complaint for me would be that this park has nine holes crammed into a space more meant for around six. Fairways are practically right on top of each other. The righty route for Hole 2 goes right over the top of Hole 3's fairway. A number of the holes seem lefty-biased. Could be some safety issues on some holes if there are a lot of other people in the park.
Other Thoughts:
Not the best presentation of a small town nine holer, but better than many I've seen. Yeah, the crammed holes are kind of a bummer, but in a small town like Moundridge you can get away with this as if you come here to play, you may very well be the only ones playing. In a larger city with lots of players, a park like this would never be considered for a course. Not a must play by any means, but good for a quick nine, approach practice, or if you're with noobs or the kids. Watch for non-DG'ers as the course is new and right next to other amenities like the swimming pool.
