Northeast states

[Monocacy]

Iron Hill (DE #1)
Stafford Woods (NJ #1)

Iron Hill is a must-play and Stafford Woods is a very enjoyable course. Each is close to I-95/NJ Turnpike.

Also consider Muddy Run SP (4.63) in Holtwood, PA, a fantastically enjoyable and challenging course a pretty hour's detour through Amish country. And maybe Mill Brook (4.05) in Churchville, MD, also not far from I-95.

Drive back and hit any of the following...
Pinchot State Park (PA #10)
Seneca Creek State Park (MD #1)

Now you are in my neck of the woods. Seneca Creek is a fantastic woods course. My other favorite in Maryland is Patapsco Valley SP (4.01), just off I-70 west of Baltimore. Patapsco is a fantastic wooded bomber course, but with no tee signs it can be tricky for the travelling player without a guide. I usually recommend a short-to-short round at Patapsco to scout out the landing zones and long basket locations before taking on the 9,200' long-to-long ("Green Monster") layout.

Clark's Run (4.00) in Leesburg, VA is a very challenging woods-and-steep-stream-valleys course about an hour from Seneca Creek. From Clark's Run you can head south on I-81, avoiding much of the often-horrific traffic around DC. I-81 is a beautiful drive down the Shenandoah Valley, with lots of good to outstanding disc golf stops along the way.

Pinchot - Quaker's Challenge is very good woods golf with elevation. Boulder Woods, on the other side of the lake in the same park, is a fun par 3 woods course.

These two dream Virginia stops can be added to either leg:
Hawk Hollow (VA #1)
The Blockhouse (VA #4, #7, #12)

Hawk Hollow is a must-play, but be aware that it is closed certain times of year so check first. Blockhouse is solid woods golf, especially Sunnyside which has more variety. The Tiki course is a blast, too.

OR a slightly more feasible option is to fly to Boston and drive to New Haven to hit...
Maple Hill (MA #1)
Pyramids (MA#4)
501 Disc Golf (two reviews away from being MA #1 or #2)
Wickham Park (CT #1)

I was up this way recently. Flew into Providence RI, played Willow Valley (fun way to bag RI), Nichols Field, Rockwell Park, and Wickham in CT (Nichols Field was my favorite of the three), and then Rapscallion DGC and 501 Disc Golf in MA before flying out of Boston.

Rapscallion was fun, 501 and Maple Hill are must-plays, and Borderlands is also good.

Good luck!

 

[notapro]

I think we just missed each other on this trip, Scott! I was playing in MA when you were in CT, and vice versa. My trip was:

Maine: Sabattus - Hawk, Falcon, then Eagle

I shared the same sentiment with you on this one in the beginning. Hawk at 5 holes at or below 211'? Half of the Falcon holes are shared with Eagle? Hmmm... not very impressive.

Eagle, however, was the real deal. That course ate me up, and I was glad I went to Sabattus just for that. Shared fairways still suck though. Got thrown on more than once. :\


New Hampshire - Sunapee

This was fun, appreciated the chairlift. Some cool holes that stood out. Would play again!


Vermont - Magic Mountain

This mountain did not have a chairlift. I got my workout here, but it wasn't ridiculously strenuous. Some great golf here, the wooded uphill hills are cool, and the downhills are sweet. I owe DoWork some feedback.


Massachusetts - Pyramids (18 White & 6), Maple Hill (Red & Blue)

Pyramids was a good time. The course is dated from 1988 but it still holds up! Shot better on the wooded front than the open back, go figure. I would hate to play there if it's busy, though, those holes are right on top of each other. Putter course was sweet, I've played much much worse courses. :|

Maple Hill was indeed as good as advertised. I played the Red to warm up and had a blast. Played Blue for a challenge and had a blast. The courses really seemed well designed to the stated level. Kinda like Lemon Lake - Red, White, Blue, and Gold. But.... Maple Hill has lots and lots and lots of shared fairways. I have mixed feelings on this. It's great that there are so many options, and holes are very different depending on the course, but there were multiple times I had interference or was thrown on. I would hate to see what it's like when it's busy. Maybe it's better because everyone was to wait anyway?

I didn't have time to check out 501 disc golf... some other time hopefully!


Rhode Island - Willow Valley

I liked this course too! Surprise! I was a little worried that it would be repetitive due to the terrain, but it's definitely not. Sweet par 4s, tight wooded/rock holes, elevation changes, good stuff. Hole 17 is especially memorable. I got the feeling that it was someone's pet project in the backyard type of private course, but it's much more.


Connecticut - Nichols Field

Possibly my favorite course on the trip. Just a cool hilly wooded course with generous fairways where necessary, some really sweet Par 3s, 4s, and 5s. Hole 13, followed by Hole 14, fantastic. Just really tickled my fancy.


New York - Parma

Not bad at all! I was a little dubious after seeing the location, but this course brought the pain. Many par 4s, elevation here and there, water hazards, a smattering of woods. I left feeling satisfied for sure; the design is great for the land, even with a large helping of "open" holes.



If I had to rate the courses...
Sabattus Falcon - 3.5
Sabattus Hawk - 4
Sabattus Eagle - 4.5
Sunapee - 4
Magic Mountain - 4
Pyramids (White) - 4
Pyramids (Pink) - 2
Maple Hill - 4.5 or 5... the shared fairways get to me, but it should be a 5
Willow Valley - 4
Nichols Field - 4.5
Parma - 4

Good times!

 

[sidewinder22]

Rebooting/hijacking this thread to see how the trip went and any other feedback the forum has. I am in Raleigh, NC and haven't played any northeastern states. I have a potential business trip next year (you can't start DG planning too early) in New Haven, CT. Options...

Drive there and hit any of the following...
Iron Hill (DE #1)
Stafford Woods (NJ #1)
Thompson Park (NJ #3)
Leonard Park (NY #17)
Cranbury Park (CT #2)
Veteran's Memorial Park (CT #5)

Drive back and hit any of the following...
Greystone Woods (NJ #2)
Jordan Creek (PA #7)
Little Lehigh Parkway (PA #22)
South Hills (PA #12)
Pinchot State Park (PA #10)
Seneca Creek State Park (MD #1)

These two dream Virginia stops can be added to either leg:
Hawk Hollow (VA #1)
The Blockhouse (VA #4, #7, #12)

OR a slightly more feasible option is to fly to Boston and drive to New Haven to hit...
Maple Hill (MA #1)
Pyramids (MA#4)
501 Disc Golf (two reviews away from being MA #1 or #2)
Wickham Park (CT #1)

Maybe I'll just take a month off for this trip and play all of 'em.

Hope you are in good shape...

Going Up:
Lake Marshall, VA
Mill Brook, MD
Iron Hill, DE
Stafford Woods, NJ
Nichols Field, CT - probably should be #1 in CT.
Willow Valley, RI - I liked it a little more than Nichols.
501, MA - I prefer it over Maple Hill.
Maple Hill, MA
Otter Brook, NH

Coming Home:
Frost Valley, NY - if maintained IMO the best course in North East.
Warwick, NY
Nockamixon, PA
Muddy Run, PA
Quakers Challenge, PA
Ditto Farms, MD
Walnut Creek, VA
Hawk Hollow VA
Mayflower Hills, VA

 

[KenanFlagler01]

Lots of love for Nichols Field. It looks like the only reason it's not #1 in CT is that it needs one more review. It's 4.30 rated now with 10 reviews. I guess I'll take it for the team and write that review to push it over the top!

 

[discNDav]

any advise on playing 501 and Rapscallion for the first time midweek?

 

[Monocacy]

any advise on playing 501 and Rapscallion for the first time midweek?

Have a blast?

Cell signal is sketchy at 501 so you might want to print/download a map. Gawd that's a fantastic course.

Rapscallion has one tricky bit of navigation - after the first few holes you cross left over the road, play a few more holes, then cross back in the same place to finish the course. I think they had a map posted near tee 1 but don't quote me.

You can get a "to go" beer at Rapscallion to maintain hydration while you play . . .

Have a blast!

 

[discNDav]

501 was fantastic, I'll do a review next week. Thanks for mentioning Nichols here, I went there too.