Ever seen a 360 Degree course like THIS?

[Gamecock]

I'd like some feedback from other disc golfers about our popular local course.

I have to wonder if there are ANY others out there with a layout like this one.

Park Circle Disc Golf Course in North Charleston SC

You will see 2 different layout maps right on the home page for this course...

The Charleston (SC) Disc Golf Club did a wonderful job designing this layout!

While you're visiting the site, be sure to check out its extensive Links page...

Also, its History of Flying Discs & Disc Golf page is probably THE best you will find anywhere! The very large high-resolution photos of early discs are just awesome. Once you see one, you may want to see them ALL!

Below is the promotional banner ad for the page mentioned above.



Thank you in advance for your feedback on course layout, the site and these pages!

 

[taxman]

It is very interesting how the course does laps around the circle. It makes for extra walking which some may not like, it wouldn't bother me though. The one thing that stood right out for me that is a negative is all of the roads. Almost every hole you're crossing a road to get to the next. And at some holes you're throwing awfully close to the roads. Those are pretty important cons in my opinion.

 

[Dave242]

Very unique and very cool! Closest I've seen is playing around a pond with dual pads like you have - Bonita Springs, FL. Not the same though. I like the visibility/exposure this park will give to DG. Hey Taxman, did your mom not teach you to look both ways when crossing roads?

I like how the map has the distances figured to less the 1/4" accuracy!

Oh....and say Hi to Tradd from me.

 

[DavidSauls]

It is very interesting how the course does laps around the circle. It makes for extra walking which some may not like, it wouldn't bother me though. The one thing that stood right out for me that is a negative is all of the roads. Almost every hole you're crossing a road to get to the next. And at some holes you're throwing awfully close to the roads. Those are pretty important cons in my opinion.

There isn't really a lot of danger of throwing in the roads, and the only roads with serious traffic are the inner circle (always on your left), and 4 of the spokes. The walks between holes aren't any longer than most courses; usually a matter of crossing a street.

On the other hand....it's not exactly peaceful, playing amidst the traffic. And 4 times, the crossing a street between holes is one with significant traffic.

My opinion is that it's not a great course, but pretty good use of what they have. There are enough trees and shrubs to make it interesting.

 

[mashnut]

Looks like a fun little course, that's on a unique piece of property.

 

[krallbd]

That looks pretty sweet, nice to see that squeezing a course in doesn't mean it has to suck

 

[Rbuzz9]

PYE Brook in Topsfield, MA http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=626
has a similar layout i believe it was a landfill back in the day that was capped - its like a plateau with all sorts of ballfields on top - very nice town fields. And along the periferie there is a nice disc golf course. Very hilly lots of elevation changes. And there's actually 19 holes

 

[DavidSauls]

I'll add that the layout of Park Circle (subject of this thread) means you'll deal with the wind from every possible angle as you work your way around.

Also, among the drawbacks, is that the parking lot is across the traffic circle from the course, and traffic on the circle never stops. Not necessily heavy, but it never stops.

 

[skippy0420]

The traffic was going to be my question. Other than that it looks like it would be a fun course to play.

 

[cydisc]

There isn't really a lot of danger of throwing in the roads, and the only roads with serious traffic are the inner circle (always on your left), and 4 of the spokes.

I was taught early on by a very reputable designer to imagine the worst throw you could make on a hole and plan for one that is 50% worse. Even throws that are a mere 10 degrees off-line can take a bad bounce off a tree. Those streets are going to see discs on them.

 

[XxInnovaxX]

buzz that course looks boring..have the designers never heard of throwing into trees?

 

[DavidSauls]

I was taught early on by a very reputable designer to imagine the worst throw you could make on a hole and plan for one that is 50% worse. Even throws that are a mere 10 degrees off-line can take a bad bounce off a tree. Those streets are going to see discs on them.

Well, I said there wasn't a LOT of danger of it.

I've only played that course once, and my review was 2-discs, so I'm not defending it. But my recall is that the danger of throwing into a busy street was minimal. Some of the streets have virtually no traffic, and even then it's probably fairly rare. Though I did avoid throwing rollers, for fear they'd take off in the wrong direction and never stop.

If there are discs going into the street, and a local would have to answer that, I suspect really high winds would be the culprit.

 

[Gamecock]

It is very interesting how the course does laps around the circle. It makes for extra walking which some may not like, it wouldn't bother me though. The one thing that stood right out for me that is a negative is all of the roads. Almost every hole you're crossing a road to get to the next. And at some holes you're throwing awfully close to the roads. Those are pretty important cons in my opinion.

Thanks for your input. Because the course was designed so carefully, discs landing in a road are actually rather rare even for beginners or never-evers.

In person, the fairways are much wider than they may appear in layout maps.

 

[Gamecock]

Very unique and very cool!

Thanks! We're rather proud of it ourselves and consider it a MUST play for any visitors who are passing through town. Very close to Interstates 26 AND 526!

Closest I've seen is playing around a pond with dual pads like you have - Bonita Springs, FL. Not the same though.

If the lake was always on the left, I bet it would swallow up discs steadily.

I like the visibility/exposure this park will give to DG.

Good point! It is very good exposure and locals almost always see a few people out there playing at any given time. On the other hand, for other people who don't drive by very often, they might not even realize there is a course located there. Many are surprised to find out this course exists!

I like how the map has the distances figured to less the 1/4" accuracy!

Yup, that map will attract yardage freaks who want to know exactly how far to throw. The pins do get moved regularly, so it's not always accurate.

Oh....and say Hi to Tradd from me.

Will do. Man, has he got a BIG Arm! In fact, I actually saw Tradd throw a disc over the centerfield wall at a Charleston Riverdogs (baseball) game from well behind home plate at an exhibition our local club gave. I just missed capturing it on my video camera. If I had, he might even have become a STAR on YouTube by now! LOL

 

[Gamecock]

Looks like a fun little course, that's on a unique piece of property.

It really is fun and most of the time you don't even notice the traffic at all, except when you are crossing the streets. Even then, several of them get very little traffic at all. It is unique property. In 1913 (ultra-modern for the Charleston area, which dates back to 1670), Park Circle was just the second "English Garden City" style planned community in the country.

It would be nice if more communities had a park like this one and put in a disc golf course around the outer loop of green area islands like we've done here. Maybe there are some disc golfers who are also community planners?

Thanks for your positive feedback!

 

[Keokuk Discer]

Are the alternate baskets in place or are those just where they would be when in use?

I can foresee a lot of people waiting for other people to clear baskets with them all bunched up like that. Maybe completely different baskets for each hole would be better than having for instance 1 and 10 shooting at the same basket. Maybe even just a 9 hole course would have been better.

 

[bettsjc]

The 360 course seems like a nightmare to me. First of all, overlapping 10-18 over 1-9 means lots of congestion and the dangers of playing into a group you didn't see playing. Crossing over a road after every hole seems like a chore. The course would be tremendously noisy with constant flowing traffic and goes against that whole "getting out into the outdoors" feel you get with a course in a park. Plus the added too-much-fade ending up in the turnabout danger on every single hole.

Positives(probably mentioned before);
-Varying wind direction/conditions,
-Unique course
-Great layout if there is really nowhere else to put it

I would still play this course if it was the only course within a half hour drive from my house, but I do enjoy the seclusion you get from playing a course in a park or wooded area that stays mostly away from the business of city life.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I like that Circle course. That is very cool looking

 

[Gamecock]

I was taught early on by a very reputable designer to imagine the worst throw you could make on a hole and plan for one that is 50% worse. Even throws that are a mere 10 degrees off-line can take a bad bounce off a tree. Those streets are going to see discs on them.

That's a good rule of thumb for course design! In this case however. it very rarely happens. Lots of close calls (sidewalks are OB, not just the streets), but it takes a really bad shot to land in any part of a road. If you try to cut the corner of a dogleg, which only big arms can do, you have to take that chance.

Some pins can be placed closer to a street than others, which is one factor. Wind is another factor that makes it more likely for a disc to land in a street.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Gamecock]

buzz that course looks boring..have the designers never heard of throwing into trees?

That's just it, it's NEVER boring! The back nine tees are different enough to make the second go-round seem quite different. I know one guy who said his group went around 10 times in 1 day! No way they would go play it that many times if it was actually boring or repetitive. Many trees come into play.

On 1 hole (#3), the original pin placement was almost unfair and pars were hard to come by. Eventually, that was changed to allow chances at birdies.