Least Favorite course rated 4/5 or better?

[bhadella]

Hadella just can't drive the holes. And, is jaded because he gets an Ace everytime he plays there.

Truth! I've aced every single time I've played there (which is once).

 

[InnocentCrook]

dang, you beat me to it!

Idlewild,
Too many poke and hope finishes near the greens on holes, multiple basket types are interesting but dont add to the rating. there are some tweeners. Pretty much every island green is a throw into a grove of too many trees, layup, then throw across the water.
Grass isnt always maintained well in tree grove areas.

Its muddy, murky and dark in many areas, the trees arent especially pretty. I came away feeling, blah.. about it it. I've played 250+ in 40+ states and still feel the same way .

Wait another year or two. The amount of trees that are dead/dying because of the emerald ash borer is amazing. The course is going to seriously open up over the next handful of years.

 

[hoppedup]

For me so far, it's Harmon Hills. It's a nice course, but it just didn't have that "wow" factor for me. I thought the navigation was a bit difficult in places. I'd probably feel better about it on a return visit. When we were making the turn, one of the proprietors asked what our favorite hole was on the front nine. When I said, "8", he replied that everyone hated that hole. Different strokes I guess. And I took a lot of them. I enjoyed the third nine much more than the first eighteen.

We had the course to ourselves and took our time. I don't get frustrated when I'm not playing well anymore, because I'm resigned to playing poorly. I've just enjoyed other lower-rated courses more.

 

[Jenga54]

Vision quest. Bunch of straight/ flat shots with non-dg fluffy stuff.

Vision Quest. The best part was driving up to the property.
Tried a few times to enjoy the place, every time I've left feeling bored. I haven't even lost a disc there to hurt my feelings.

It's a shame to take a million dollar property and not get a real course designer. Makes you realize the value of course design.

 

[ToddL]

There are several 4/5* courses I've played that I think are overrated, but if I had to pick a single least favorite it would be Hippodrome Old Glory by a mile. I would give it 2 stars, and this site has it at 4.07 stars. Just ... no.

Other modestly overrated courses are Richmond Hill (4.05, should be 3.0) and Tyger River (4.07, should be 3.5). Additionally, the Blue Angel Park in Pensacola FL is rated backwards. There are three courses on the property: Pines 3.81, Oaks 3.89, and Palmetto 4.13. The correct order should be Palmetto worst, Pines middle, Oaks best. (I think when I played there a couple of years ago the three courses were rated completely backwards. At least now Oaks has risen to the #2 spot.)

 

[Mando]

Other modestly overrated courses are Richmond Hill (4.05, should be 3.0)

Hmm. That seems a bit harsh.

 

[sidewinder22]

Different strokes I guess.

... and this is why we have subjective reviews vs objective ratings.

 

[Mando]

For me so far, it's Harmon Hills. It's a nice course, but it just didn't have that "wow" factor for me. I thought the navigation was a bit difficult in places. I'd probably feel better about it on a return visit. When we were making the turn, one of the proprietors asked what our favorite hole was on the front nine. When I said, "8", he replied that everyone hated that hole. Different strokes I guess. And I took a lot of them. I enjoyed the third nine much more than the first eighteen.

We had the course to ourselves and took our time. I don't get frustrated when I'm not playing well anymore, because I'm resigned to playing poorly. I've just enjoyed other lower-rated courses more.

It sounds like the course was above your pay-grade...not the course's fault.

 

[K_Sauce]

For me, it's Turtle Rock in Markleeville. I would definitely choose to play Kirkwood, Tahoe Vista, or Zephyr Cove among Tahoe courses over this one. I find the course to be set overly difficult every time I'm there. I prefer a variety of shots with some birdieable holes to go along with the more difficult ones. Also, I think it lacks the epicness of the other courses in Tahoe. This is just my opinion. Plenty of people really like the course, not just evidenced by the ratings, but also from feedback I've gotten directly from people.

 

[wellsbranch250]

Williamson County, Austin TX Metro area

The course is one dimensional, Challenging, and that is it.

Little variety when compared to other 4 star rated courses, no water and no elevation. No character, as its a minimalist course with few extras. No benches, no tee signs other than hole #, no practice area, no extra pin placements, one set of tees. Its just a difficult wooded course with marginally better than average raw beauty. I want more than that from a course. Before I moved away from the Austin area, i had played 15 area courses and I rate it 5th best in the area behind Circle C, Bible Ridge, Searight and Brushy Creek. And i never played East Metro or Roy G, which i know are both excellent courses as well.

Its shocking to me that a course like Austin Ridge Bible Church with awesome variety, epic holes, awesome beauty, more challenge, more character, is rated lower.

 

[BrotherDave]

For me so far, it's Harmon Hills. It's a nice course, but it just didn't have that "wow" factor for me. I thought the navigation was a bit difficult in places. I'd probably feel better about it on a return visit. When we were making the turn, one of the proprietors asked what our favorite hole was on the front nine. When I said, "8", he replied that everyone hated that hole. Different strokes I guess. And I took a lot of them. I enjoyed the third nine much more than the first eighteen.

We had the course to ourselves and took our time. I don't get frustrated when I'm not playing well anymore, because I'm resigned to playing poorly. I've just enjoyed other lower-rated courses more.

We must have similar tastes because I also thought the 3rd Nine was way more fun/interesting at least compared to the first 18. I still thought it was great though, I just wish I knew the holes better and the tees were updated to some more uniform concrete. I also kept worrying about that dog that bites people when they pet it. :\

Hmm. That seems a bit harsh.

Yeah I don't mind calling Richmond Hill a 3 in a vacuum but I draw umbrage at rating it lower than Tyger River. Richmond Hill, as monotonous as it is, is clearly superior IMO to Tyger River.

 

[BigAl724]

Shawshank DGC, Huntsville, Texas

This was my first thought. I really enjoyed playing there but it didn't meet my expectation of a top 20 or so course. The maintenance and character is awesome no doubt, but the technicality of the course isn't comparable to many other courses rated around 4.5 out there.

 

[BigAl724]

The Woodshed. While the property is very pretty, I was astounded how far below my expectations this course was. Most of the course was either wide open or so tightly wooded that it was tough to see a fairway. And the tee pads were awful. I believe this course was in the top 10 at one point when I was new to the site (2008 or so).

I was disappointed I didn't get to play the Whippin Post, which looked quite a bit better.

Whippin' Post is way better IMO. My brother and I visited Paw Paw with high expectations a couple of years ago. We both were a little disappointed with Woodshed given its rating but still enjoyed our round. And then we played Whippen' Post, which the owner mowed right beforehand so it was in great shape. One of the best round I've ever enjoyed. A truly epic course.

 

[brutalbrutus]

This was the course I learned on, so I have a soft spot for it, but its not a 4.
I'd give it a solid 3.25, and it was probably a 3.5 when it was really cleaned up for Worlds.

For me, locally, the Hambrick is the same.
I find that course to be really boring, and at most I'd call it a 3 (its currently rated 3.92).
But its more a 2.5-2.75 to me.

I agree about Hambrick. Maybe a 3.25 if they ever replace those old baskets. It has some good holes but several are just blah. If ever the term addition by subtraction would fit a disc golf course it could be this one. For instance the elevated basket and the one after it could be removed(they are kind of a safety hazard for tourneys anyway and course flow wouldn't be changed much) and there would still be 25 holes. I haven't played all of the letter holes because the only times I have been there were for the Ice Bowl and the Westside challenge. Also, it doesn't help that one of the better temp courses around is right across the damn and is only open a couple times a year. The Hoover Westside course is so much fun, even for a fat guy on a hot day. I was miserably hot, worn out and played like crap but I loved every minute of it.

 

[Tripper]

There are several 4/5* courses I've played that I think are overrated, but if I had to pick a single least favorite it would be Hippodrome Old Glory by a mile. I would give it 2 stars, and this site has it at 4.07 stars. Just ... no.

Other modestly overrated courses are Richmond Hill (4.05, should be 3.0) and Tyger River (4.07, should be 3.5). Additionally, the Blue Angel Park in Pensacola FL is rated backwards. There are three courses on the property: Pines 3.81, Oaks 3.89, and Palmetto 4.13. The correct order should be Palmetto worst, Pines middle, Oaks best. (I think when I played there a couple of years ago the three courses were rated completely backwards. At least now Oaks has risen to the #2 spot.)

I absolutely agree about Old Glory. Wide open field, holes delineated with rope islands, terrible navigation. Awful just awful.

Have to disagree about Harmon Hills though. That course is epic. Everything a course should be. The tee pads could be a little bigger but i take a 2 step run up so they were fine for me.

 

[ToddL]

Yeah I don't mind calling Richmond Hill a 3 in a vacuum but I draw umbrage at rating it lower than Tyger River. Richmond Hill, as monotonous as it is, is clearly superior IMO to Tyger River.

You're probably right on that.

I think people in our area got excited about Tyger since it was the first course in the region that had more than 2 long, open holes. I have a little backlash hate against both of those courses. They're both fine, and I'd rather have them than not, but I don't go out of my way to play them. Neither of them are very close to a 4* course.

Have to disagree about Harmon Hills though. That course is epic. Everything a course should be. The tee pads could be a little bigger but i take a 2 step run up so they were fine for me.

Harmon or Richmond? I think Richmond Hills in Asheville is weaker than a lot of people think. I actually haven't played Harmon.

 

[Mando]

I actually haven't played Harmon.

Probably the closest comparison is Brakewell...pure golf.

 

[Mark R]

Idlewild has a few great holes, but it also has too many too-narrow uphill right turns.

LaMirada is a shade overrated, mainly a city course.

Leviathan is underrated.

 

[Mando]

I'm glad I read this thread; the next top ten course I was planning to play was Idlewild.
Sounds like it might be about as much fun as a root canal for a rec level player.

 

[GoobyPls]

Handyman Ace Hardware is the only one I've played. I live almost walking distance from it, but I'm in no hurry to go back. I can see why it's rated so highly, with a variety of tightly-controlled shots required, but it's way beyond my skillset. Most annoyingly, it seems like they hardly ever cut the grass in the fairway. I spent more time looking for my drive than actually playing. Toward the end of the round I was intentionally choosing the wrong driver for the hole, just because it was brightly colored and I could find it in less than five minutes. Plus that creek is nasty.

I still gave it a 4 though.