Spencer, MA

Luther Hill Park DGC

Permanent course
1.295(based on 7 reviews)
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5 0
Hector Chain
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 222 played 189 reviews
0.00 star(s)

Ew, Luther. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 5, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

If you like to review courses, this one kind of qualifies.

I saw none of the human feces that others alluded to.

If you live in this town, but you're under a court order to never leave town, this may be the best course you ever play.
Otherwise, I got nothing to add for the "pros" section.

Cons:

The baskets are homemade monstrosities, huge wooden poles with big chains and a disproportionately small (and shallow) basket.

There are no obvious tee pads. Right after each basket is a big plank in the ground that appears to be the tee for the next hole...but it's within 5 feet of the basket you just played!

Navigation is odd. It's not a big park, but I was unclear on where to go, and the sketched out map on the site isn't very helpful.

Several holes play right along the drive.

A few holes have had shrubs and undergrowth pop up in the fairway, making the traditional fairway almost impassable.
All in all, this place feels really neglected and probably didn't start off as anything that hot, anyway.

Other Thoughts:

There is some potential for this to be a course like Simonds Park in Burlington, a decent 9-holer with tall trees.

But no need to belabor the point. There is very little reason to come here. Of the 150+ courses I have played, this one is the worst.
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3 0
Startedw165
Experience: 39.6 years 343 played 10 reviews
1.00 star(s)

would hate this as a home course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 7, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Course still meets or exceeds minimum qualifications to be called a disc golf course.
Good use of available terrain. This is a very challenging course to achieve par.
Not sure that any course could require less walking from pin to tee.
Targets are holding up well, some directional arrows still on the trees, some old signs in plastic can still be read.
Throw line boards are suffering, but all were found.

Cons:

Holes # 1,8, & 9 almost require skidding your drive across very stony, unsmooth pavement. That and tree smacks will wear on your discs.
This reviewer noted a very large amount of feces on the course during visits here in 3 different calendar years, 2014 included.
Fairways never cleared of debris, 4 more years of downed sticks and dead limbs add to that noted by others in 2010.
Thorns encroaching on the fringes more now. Few golfers to trample them?
Hole #1 & 2 encourage landing near yards. Blind #9 is dangerous.

Other Thoughts:

No matter which direction you come from, you will drive near a much better course to get to Luther Hill.

Hole 5 does have a fairway. The hole is not through the woods - its a major dog leg right once you get into the clearing below.

Returning here had me pondering "is this my least favorite course ever?" Though in my bottom 10%, it is not the worst. Those I'd rank lower tend to have more than 1 of the following qualities
1. have limited hours of access, such as on school grounds
2. are easy and very short
3. have no defined tee boxes (not a course)
4. have less than 9 baskets
5. are flat & featureless
Luther Hill has none of those problems, yet still does not merit a passable rating.
As a potential home course, Luther Hill ranks even lower to me. One can make your own pro tees and gorilla course layout to resolve aforementioned deficiencies in most cases. Not here. For a home course, only those with limited access or constant crowds would be less desirable.
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2 0
peachpaws
Experience: 27.8 years 22 played 1 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Good place to warm up before spring comes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 13, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Simple and easy course to follow. Each tees have wood block (throw line) for each one.

Cons:

Tee 3 and 5 - heavy wooded - hard to throw good one.
Not a well designed disc golf course. Looks like an amateur came up with it rather than a professional.
Can't find throw lines (wood blocks) when snow covered them.
A lot of feces on snow and dirt. Gotta keep your eyes open when walking through the course and putting disc golf bag on ground.

Other Thoughts:

Would be good place to go in late fall and/or winter before spring.
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3 0
eastcoastf
Experience: 13 played 13 reviews
1.50 star(s)

not worth a trip 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 3, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

short and fast course

Cons:

it's poorly mapped out..some holes it's just throwing through tons of trees hoping to slip it by a tree..your not really playing on this course.

would not make a specially trip to play.

Other Thoughts:

web tells you to park/entrance (at park street)..this is for the beach area which gate is closed during off season.

you want to turn onto lake st (street after or before park st) depends which way you come..and then turn right at rene st. right before school..park and you have to walk right to get to hole 1.
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3 0
tracrat78
Experience: 15.8 years 23 played 4 reviews
0.50 star(s)

nelp 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 30, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

uses all your tight course skills
free
park your car,12 steps to the first tee
nice views of the lake on a couple of holes
Spencer PD....an Officer on patrol in the park stopped to ask how our round was going (he wanted to know if anyone had gotten a hole in one yet) then wished us "good luck on our round"...very cool!!
**tee boxes rite next to privius catchers

Cons:

dirty
found human sh*t in the #3 fairway
(animals don't use napkins)
the catche were trash cans (not the catchers but what was in them)
bring one or two old discs meny of the holes use the road for fairways or are next the fairways if you clip a tree or short throw your disc will get chewed up
**tee boxes are rite next to the catchers # 7 tee is behind # 6 catcher
if your a first timer don't start here

Other Thoughts:

only been playing for 2 years
but i know what i like
the park was not fully open but it would take more than a day to get this course ready to play
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12 1
Dave242
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 29.8 years 393 played 271 reviews
1.50 star(s)

C = Averagely Weird 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 27, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 9 hole courses:

1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == C+
(Quite a few holes have narrow gaps early and will therefore punish you with at least one extra stroke if you are off your line. On the other hand, there are a few holes that are just made up of random routes through the woods and around corners that might be good for Frisbee play, but not for disc golf.)

2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == D+
(Ditto #1. Only 3-4 are really reachable and many are just poke and hope holes)

3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == C+
(Overall, the course is very wooded which is nice. The vast majority of the holes finish to the fading to right. There is some mild terrain which is nice. But the randomness (including the goofy targets/baskets) take away from any feeling of purposefulness in the design.)

4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B
(The woods the course play through are beautiful. You do see nice New England houses and fields as you play through, as well as playing along/through a picnic area (dangerous) by a nice pond, so seclusion is only medium.)

5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == C-
(There are a few multi-throw holes, but other than hole 9 they are not good disc golf holes. But, it is a bonus nonetheless to have these....especially on 9-holer.)

Other Thoughts:

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well this course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. See my profile for specifics on my rating philosophy.

I fancy myself as a connoisseur of good course design and I am a competitive Blue level (950-ish rated) with mid-level power (accurate to 300' with max D of 360'). Since I have played a decent number of courses (150+ 18-hole, 90+ 9-hole as of late 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me.....and that's the fun of things here.
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18 0
solomon.trenton
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 89 played 67 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Good Warmup for Pyramids/Maple Hill 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 12, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

The navigation is relatively easy. Arrows are painted on some of the trees to help with the fairways. I had to walk the holes before I threw just to make sure I was throwing down the correct alley. There is a course map located on every basket except for six. Not only do the home made baskets (made out of old telephone poles) look cool they catch quite well. All the tee boxes are marked by a 4x4 bolted to the ground with "Throw Line" painted in red on it. There is a bathroom and multiple picnic tables throughout the small park which is next to a beautiful lake (holes 4 and 5 run along it). Maple Hill and Pyramids are only about 15-20 minutes away so use this as a warm up for them!

Cons:

The tees for the next hole are right on top of the basket so if the course is busy (which I doubt) be careful. There is a ton of downed trees on the fairways and in the rough. My guess is that clean-up from last year's ice storm has yet to reach the park. While the baskets catch good if you don't hit the chains on the lower half your putt will bounce out. The chains are thick and heavy, similar to those used on large farm equipment; from what I was told. There is quite a bit of trash in the baskets and scattered throughout the course.

Other Thoughts:

There were ATV tracks throughout the course, so I don't know how much of a pain they would be if they were actually riding. There is also a skate park next to hole 1. It looks to be quite complete too. When you park and walk through the gate follow the road, go to the left and hole one is on your right.
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