30 courses, 10 states, 10 days

[Greg Layton]

oh yeah, and why are you spending so much time in Kansas? that's a state i usually drive through as fast as possible!

I grew up in Kansas.

The first part of my trip is seeing some college friends back home and spending time with my grandparents.

 

[Greg Layton]

i hate you because i want to be you! take pictures man, post 'em...i'd love to see the SD courses... god i'm so jealous...

I just bought an Asus 4G EEEPC just so I could blog from the road. It'll be fun to post pictures and recaps to my blog along the way.

 

[davetherocketguy]

[JEALOUSY]
You suck. Your trip sucks. I hope your arm falls off.
[/JEALOUSY]

Okay...Didn't really mean that but it made me laugh. If you can hook up with a local to either play with or follow at Rum Village be sure to do so. The signs are pretty heavily vandalized unfortunately and some tees are tough to find. Be sure to follow my notes on my course review when you get there.

That looks like a lot of fun.

-Dave

 

[Innovadude]

Pickard will be great choice.
Be prepared..I have all the time in the world on my trip, but it sounds like you have to keep on track. Get maps from online and take them with you, even if it says it has signs. That can save you hours. Check course websites for times/whether they are open or not/etc. Have backup course in mind for every course just in case..about 1/30 courses are impossible to find/navigate or are closed for one reason or another at any given time. Enjoy

 

[Greg Layton]

Pickard will be great choice.
Be prepared..I have all the time in the world on my trip, but it sounds like you have to keep on track. Get maps from online and take them with you, even if it says it has signs. That can save you hours. Check course websites for times/whether they are open or not/etc. Have backup course in mind for every course just in case..about 1/30 courses are impossible to find/navigate or are closed for one reason or another at any given time. Enjoy

Yeah, most days are going to be really tight. I've got things planned out in 30 minute increments which obviously doesn't leave a lot of time for unexpected delays. I'm definitely going to be printing off maps and reading local DG boards in advance in order to keep variables to a minimum.

 

[Greg Layton]

I just did the math on this... it'll come out to right around 4,330 miles. 1,290 of that will be a marathon sprint from Michigan to Kansas. Man, I can't wait... just another week away.

 

[Greg Layton]

While looking over my route I just realized that I can easily fit Water Works in KC into my schedule since I'll literally be driving right by it. So I'll drive all night then get out of my car at 8am on Friday and play one of the most legendary courses in the Midwest. I'll make sure to have my camera batteries charged so I can get some pictures uploaded for the website.

It's hard to concentrate on work when I know I'll be out on the road in a couple of days.

 

[Greg Layton]

Also I don't have to commute to Laramie on 9/4 if you PM me for my number I would be happy to guide you through Dry Creek.

PM sent.

 

[t i m]

I recently made a shorter trip with my brother -- six days, 700 miles, a dozen courses, and 350 holes of disc golf... I started by plotting the few non-negotiables on the trip (in this case, Warwick and visiting a friend in NYC), and then made a list of "top courses" in NY/NJ/DE/PA/VA/MD, etc... I culled the list of top courses from various "top courses" lists from touring pros, disc golf message boards, etc... and the cross-referenced those with the courses that with the DGCR course descriptions to pick what I thought I would most enjoy. I then used the DGCR course map to just kind of click around and look for an optimal route... then got suggestions from locals and edited the route based on their suggestions and based on where good camping was located for each night.

It took quite a bit of doing to get the details together, but we got to play some amazing, amazing courses... it proved totally essential to have printed off course maps for every course in advance -- otherwise, we would have never played half as many holes, because we would have spent so much time trying to find our way through the courses. DG course layouts are not great, and maps (while not always up to date) at least give you a place to start.

I wish you well in your trip. Some other advice: plan one or two signature courses to play more than once. What I've learned is that there are few things more frustrating than playing an amazing course -- figuring a lot of things out your first time through -- and then having to drive away, not knowing if you'll ever get the chance to go back and improve upon your initial mistakes.

There is a tremendous emotional benefit to having the chance to replay and "beat" a great course. So to keep the emotional high of the trip, pick a top-tier course every few days on your route and plan to play it twice. It may mean you have to skip some lesser course, but the perk of playing better -- of "winning" against yourself -- is totally worth it.

 

[ERicJ]

Gotta have maps

it proved totally essential to have printed off course maps for every course in advance -- otherwise, we would have never played half as many holes, because we would have spent so much time trying to find our way through the courses.

Having just done 184 holes on nine courses in three days in Denver I totally agree. This is just another reason that DGCR rocks, to have all that information available in one place. If I was on a schedule I would probably intentionally skip courses for which I didn't have a map.

Some other advice: plan one or two signature courses to play more than once. What I've learned is that there are few things more frustrating than playing an amazing course -- figuring a lot of things out your first time through -- and then having to drive away, not knowing if you'll ever get the chance to go back and improve upon your initial mistakes.

There is a tremendous emotional benefit to having the chance to replay and "beat" a great course. So to keep the emotional high of the trip, pick a top-tier course every few days on your route and plan to play it twice. It may mean you have to skip some lesser course, but the perk of playing better -- of "winning" against yourself -- is totally worth it.

Another very good point. In my short DG career I've played a good number of courses only once and just know I could do better the second time around. In Denver I got the chance to play Westminster twice. Under pretty much identical conditions my first round on Friday was a 61, and my second time through on Saturday I shot a 54. Felt sooo much better on Saturday.

ERic

 

[brokenfixed]

Tim you still got that list? I was thinking about doing a road trip up to NY from south Jersey

 

[Greg Layton]

I just posted the first of many blog entries regarding my trip. Follow along with my journey at http://takesthestairs.blogspot.com

I'll be playing Water Works in KC later on this morning.

 

[t i m]

Tim you still got that list? I was thinking about doing a road trip up to NY from south Jersey

I'm not sure where I put my list of "top courses" in the area -- but most of the ones that made the list are on the roadtrip schedule...

The great courses I had to skip to make this possible were the courses out near pittsburgh (Moraine, Deer Lakes, etc...), as well as Whispering Falls in southeast PA, and Seneca in MD... but since my brother had already played those courses, it wasn't a big deal to miss them.

Here's the original trip itinerary -- it changed slightly on the fly, based on what we could get done. If you want a lot more details, I kept got a lot of feedback and posted trip details on the discgolfreview forums, as well as posting an overview and quick comparison of all the courses on the trip.

For a rough map of the proposed roadtrip loop, go here: www.tinyurl.com/discglory

Day one (Wednesday, Aug. 13) -- 99 holes today, or however long daylight lasts
Leave D.C. in early a.m.
Drive 100 miles to play Codorus (Hanover, PA -- 54 holes + 9 holes of mini disc golf)
Drive 27 miles to play at Pinchot State Park (Lewisberry, PA -- 36 holes), play until dark.
Camp at Pinchot State Park.

Day two (Thursday, Aug. 14) -- ~78 holes today
Get up and drive ~90 miles to play at Jordan Creek (White Hall, PA -- 18 holes)
Drive a few miles to play at Little Lehigh Parkway (Allentown, PA -- 18 holes)
Drive 15 miles to play at Nockamixon in PA (Quakertown, PA -- 14 holes, play three times or more, until dark)
Drive 20 miles to Tinicum Park and camp there.

Day three (Friday, Aug. 15) -- 72 holes today
Wake up play Tinicum Park (Erwinna, PA -- 18 holes)
Drive 90 miles to Warwick state park in NY and play three rounds from different tees (54 holes)
Stay somewhere near Warwick (Wawayanda State Park in NJ?)

Day four (Saturday, Aug. 16) -- 54 holes today
Play one or two more rounds at Warwick
Drive 18 miles to Play Campgaw in NJ (18 holes at a ski resort area, play once or twice, time permitting)
Drive 30 miles to Manhattan in NY and spend evening/night with a friend in the city

Day five (Sunday, Aug. 17) -- 0 holes today
Spend the day in NYC and crash with friend again

Day six (Monday, Aug. 18 ) -- between 72-90 holes today
Get up early, early a.m. and escape traffic
drive 75 miles to play Tyler State Park (Newton, PA -- 27 holes, play twice)
Drive 75 miles to play Iron Hill (Newark, DE -- 18 holes, play twice if possible)
Drive 105 miles home to my house and crash. Hard.

 

[t i m]

Tim you still got that list? I was thinking about doing a road trip up to NY from south Jersey

I can't stress highly enough how good the disc golf is in and around Allentown, PA. If I were trying to plan a quick trip, guaranteed to be impressive/fun/exhilarating, I'd just spend a long weekend in Allentown and play disc golf sunup to sundown.

 

[nosajeel99]

I can't stress highly enough how good the disc golf is in and around Allentown, PA. If I were trying to plan a quick trip, guaranteed to be impressive/fun/exhilarating, I'd just spend a long weekend in Allentown and play disc golf sunup to sundown.

Second! Allentown has some really, really good courses. Jordan Creek is one of my favorites.

 

[brokenfixed]

hey Tim dont even tell me you played nockamixon more than once dude, that place is trecherous..haha...not to mention tyler and iron hill. I could see playing tyler twice that place is great, long but great. Iron hill pisses me off on some of the later holes, its just too thick for no reason. I was gonna play that one twice one day and by the end i was more aggrevated than tired.

I was hoping you'd have more info on NY, I play PA and DE parks every weekend and was looking to take it up north more but theres only 1 or 2 that look promising in NY

 

[Donovan]

Greg,

Oddly enough I will be in Sturgis SD on the 4th of Sept too. I will keep your picture in mind in case I see you at Mt Rushmore. It looks like our plans just might work out that way. I hope your trip is going well.

 

[Greg Layton]

Thanks Donovan. I'm planning on making it there around 4:30 or 5pm. I'll be wearing a Cubs hat if that helps.

I've made it to Water Works and Herman Hill so far. I'll be playing in Glenwood in Parsons tomorrow before really getting into the meat of my trip on Monday. I'm currently out in the sticks without internet access so I won't really be able to blog much until Monday night.

 

[Donovan]

Well my bald head is hard to miss. I will try and have on Disc Golf Center T-shirt on. Ash gray with the big red Phoenix on the back. I would have loved to meet you at Spearfish, but I have feeling my family does intend to spend time with me on this trip. We'll see how it all works out, but don't schedule anything around this; you have enough to worry about. I will be reading your blogs as often as I can!

 

[Innovadude]

Second! Allentown has some really, really good courses. Jordan Creek is one of my favorites.

Little Lehigh is sweet..but GET...A...MAP! or you won't be able to play it. (as of 3.5 months ago at least. Crazy long blind walks, I spent 2 hours searching and 1 hour playing. Hit F.E Walter Dam too.

Campgaw can't be missed, and Rochester/Buffalo have a sweet amount of good courses to pick from.