Lexington, KY in September

[Monocacy]

Just found out I might be in Lexington, Kentucky for a few days in late September. What are the must-play courses in the area?

Also if I drive out from Maryland, what would be good courses to hit along the way? Orange Crush and Seth Burton look like fun.

I prefer challenging wooded courses, long or short, doesn't matter, but I'm happy to play any well-designed course. Bonus points for courses with elevation, and for courses that reward accuracy and line-shaping over raw distance.

I'm also seeking recommendations for fun 9-hole or 18-hole short courses for quick bagging, either in Lexington or along the way.

I have played many of the Cincinnati-area courses - Idlewild, Lincoln Ridge, Mount Airy, Osage Grove, Winton Woods, etc. - so I am looking to try something new. I also played the Black Course, Yellow Course, and Pike Lake during the Cincy trip.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

 

[tallpaul]

Schedule a meet up with a local before hand and play Veterans Park DGC. Very nice course, but tough to navigate without someone local.

 

[Monocacy]

Thank you for the recommendation! Looks like a fun course, aside from navigation issues.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Yea Vet is a nice course but take a throw away disc or a retriever. It has a couple holes around a creek, including a tough blind shot to a small green with water left and long. Jacobson is decent. I have heard good things about RineyB.

 

[Monocacy]

brutalbrutus, thank you for your recommendations.

Has anyone played Riney B recently? Recent reviews mention missing tees and baskets.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Never played it myself. I just remember one of locals telling me it was nice when I was down there for an event.

 

[InnocentCrook]

It's been a few years since I played Riney B. Seems like reviews are kind of mixed, but I really enjoyed it.

 

[Monocacy]

Thank you, InnocentCrook. Yes, reviews did look mixed. I would love to hear about the current state of the course from a local. Anyone?

 

[brutalbrutus]

A couple recent reviews of Jac and Vet.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=6773&page=1&mode=rev#73105

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=891&page=1&mode=rev#73162

 

[Monocacy]

^^^ Thanks, BB

Update: The plan is to drive from Maryland to Lexington with spousal unit and dog, stay in Lexington until Monday, and drive back with the dog on Tuesday. Dog is delighted to play as many courses as possible. Spousal unit is supportive but not a disc golfer, so park-style courses rather than epic beat-downs would be most suitable for the outbound leg.

I welcome your opinions, comments, and suggestions.

Saturday: Drive from Maryland to Lexington with spouse and dog. Probably hit Seth Burton and 1 or 2 of the other options.

Seth Burton Memorial, 18 holes, rated 3.82
TA Travel Center, 9 holes, rated 3.25. This sounds like a fun, quick play - 9 island holes at a truck stop.
Armco White, 19 holes, rated 3.60. DGCR page is marked "No Pets". Is that just the camping area, or are dogs not allowed on the course?
Ironworks Hills, 18 holes, rated 3.90

Sunday and Monday: Hang with spouse and friends, and try to squeeze in a round or three. Four courses are within 5 miles of the hotel:

Jacobson Park, 18 holes, rated 3.75
River Hill Park, 9 holes, rated 3.00
Veterans Park, 18 holes, rated 3.27
Shillito Park, 18 holes, rated 3.17

Tuesday: Drive back with the dog, spousal unit stays in Lexington. If the weather is bad I'll just take the most direct route, picking up any courses I missed on the outbound leg.

If the weather is good I am considering a detour through Tennessee to play Harmon Hills. It will cost a couple of extra hours on the road, but the course sounds amazing (but see question below).

Morristown Kiwanis DGC, 18 holes, rated 3.77. About 45 minutes from Harmon Hills, this seems like a short, technical warm-up round.
Harmon Hills, 27 holes (plus Tiki course?), rated 4.79. This would be the highlight of the trip. Obviously.

Questions about Harmon Hills:

1. US Women's Disc Golf Championship scheduled to begin 9/21. Will the course be available to play on 9/19?
2. Blue Heeler on site. Will it be OK to bring my dog?

 

[curveball4]

Morristown Kiwanis is exactly what you've described & should be a quick play if you're by yourself. It's definitely the shortest of the 4 Morristown courses. As for Harmon, here's the schedule they have posted-
http://www.uswdgc.net/schedule-1/?view=calendar&month=September-2017

It doesn't show anything on the 19th but I'm sure there will be people practicing. I would suggest contacting Tim Barr the TD. He's a great guy & should be able to answer any questions you have.
I hope you get to play it, it's a super fun kick-your-butt type of course. I haven't been up there since last summer but I didn't know they had a Tiki course. They have a shorter glow set up but I don't know about Tiki.
And you should be fine with your dog. But I can tell you from experience if you have food in your bag you better keep an eye on it!

 

[Monocacy]

Morristown Kiwanis is exactly what you've described & should be a quick play if you're by yourself. It's definitely the shortest of the 4 Morristown courses.

Awesome, thanks!

I would suggest contacting Tim Barr the TD. He's a great guy & should be able to answer any questions you have.

Will definitely contact Tim and the owners to make sure everything is OK beforehand. Thanks for the link!

I hope you get to play it, it's a super fun kick-your-butt type of course. I haven't been up there since last summer but I didn't know they had a Tiki course. They have a shorter glow set up but I don't know about Tiki.

Yes I am very excited to play Harmon. I wonder if the glow course and Tiki course are the same. From reviews it sounded like the Tiki targets are tone poles made from painted metal cylinders.

And you should be fine with your dog. But I can tell you from experience if you have food in your bag you better keep an eye on it!

Sounds like the voice of hard experience. My dog has accompanied me on several disc golf road trips, and (fortunately or unfortunately) is far more interested in critters than food. Especially in the evening when deer start moving around.

Thanks again for a very helpful reply!

 

[curveball4]

Yes I am very excited to play Harmon. I wonder if the glow course and Tiki course are the same. From reviews it sounded like the Tiki targets are tone poles made from painted metal cylinders.

I've never noticed any tone poles but that doesn't mean they aren't there. For glow they have shorter pin placements with lights


Sounds like the voice of hard experience. My dog has accompanied me on several disc golf road trips, and (fortunately or unfortunately) is far more interested in critters than food. Especially in the evening when deer start moving around.

Thanks again for a very helpful reply![/QUOTE]

The dog at Harmon is who you have to watch out for!

 

[Monocacy]

Trip report: Courses played and quick thoughts.

1. Orange Crush: Spousal unit suggested playing Orange Crush rather than Seth Burton. Man, that course is a) a ton of fun and b) a serious workout. Props to spousal unit for serving as spotter and dog wrangler. With a spotter we were able to play the course in less than 2 hours.

2. TA Travel Center: With reasonable expectations, this course was really fun. A par 2 course at a truck stop! Quick play, obviously. Tee pad was missing from one hole, so we played it safari.

3. Jacobson Park DGC: This was a beautiful course in the rolling Kentucky hills. The beginning of the course was fantastic, but it petered out towards the end with a bunch of mostly-open holes. As a bonus the course wraps around an immense dog park with friendly dogs, so our dog got some exercise and play time before we hit the course.

4. Miller Park DGC: We met a friend from Knoxville, TN here because the course is almost exactly halfway between Knoxville and Lexington. This is one of the best 9-holers I have played, although it should be noted that we played on a weekday. If the park was crowded I could see a number of potentially serious safety issues.

5. Morristown Kiwanis DGC: A perfect old guy course – very technical but with fair lines, and the longest hole was downhill and around 330'. During the day the course was filled with retirement-age old guys (and gals). The course had a freaky lunar-landscape-with-trees-and-sinkholes vibe. I enjoyed this course very much, and it was an excellent warm-up for Harmon Hills, which is about 45 minutes away.

6. Harmon Hills: Wowzer, this course was fun, gorgeous, and challenging. One of the most enjoyable courses I have ever played. I played the back nine first, which was very nice if rough around the edges.

Holes 1-18 were in tip-top shape for the US Women's Disc Golf Championships, which starts later in the week. I saw a few of the top women practicing. Notably the signage on the first 18 was excellent for the USWDGC. I could see the course being less enjoyable without the excellent tee signs if you did not print out a map beforehand (which I did not).

But man, Harmon Hills is fun to play. The owners asked that I keep my dog on leash to make sure that she got along with their two dogs. Fortunately the dogs got along nicely.

Eastern Tennessee is ridiculously gorgeous, and there were a lot of courses in the area that I would have liked to play. As it was I did not get home until 1:00 AM on a workday. Clearly I need to take another road trip to this beautiful part of the country. Panther Creek is one course that I was particularly sad to drive by without playing.

 

[Monocacy]

One more thing: Harmon Hills includes an 18-hole par 2 course with tone poles. This is a bit rough around the edges but quite fun. The par-2 course is in a small patch of woods between holes 11 and 12 (or maybe 12 and 13, I forget). Favorite shot was a "top of the world" par 2 that I parked with a Harp forehand sky anny.