Planning my Summer '09 Roadtrip - Need guidance

[Greg Layton]

First off, it's the first week of November and I'm already planning a roadtrip for July of next year. I think I'm going to need mental counseling while the snow is on the ground this winter. What will I do to pass the time...

Now on to the meat and potatoes...

I'm thinking an 11 day trip which tentatively lays out like this:

Day 1
GR to Louisville

McCulloch
Dr. James A Dillon
Charlie Vettner

Day 2
Louisville to Nashville

Freeman Lake
Kereiakes Park
Lover's Lane
Frankln - Simpson

Day 3
Nashvile to Atlanta

Cedar Hill
Seven Oaks
Sharp Springs
The Sinks

Day 4 in Atlanta with at least one course for my beginner level wife; I'm thinking Moseley for her.

Perkerson?
JP Moseley (description says good for beginners)
Rosewood Dekalb

Day 5 and 6
Nashville to Richmond
Need 6-8 courses in the Charlotte-Greensboro-Fayetville-Raleigh area

*** I do not want to play Winthrop. I'll be an intermediate level player at best and really don't want to get my ass handed to me. I'll come back and play it in a few years when I'm up for the challenge.***

Day 7
Richmond marathon with one of my friends; we'll probably hit every course in town.

Day 8
Richmond to Wilkes-Barre (3-4 courses)

Day 9
Eastern Pennsylvania playing (2-3 courses)

Day 10
Off Day

Day 11
Drive home. Time will be short, but can probably fit in one course on I-80 between Western PA and Toledo.
---

Atlanta on Day Four, Richmond on Day Seven, and the days in Pennsylvania are set in stone due to family commitments.

So as you can obviously tell I've got a pretty good idea of what I want to do up until Atlanta. What I really need help with is my time between Atlanta and Richmond. There are so many 4+ star courses in SC & NC I don't really know where to start. I'm also up for suggestions on Eastern PA courses... I'm not sure how far I'll be able to get from the Wilkes-Barre area though, so don't send me to Vermont.

I need to get to bed, so I'll open up the floor for suggestions. No suggestion is too crazy, but keep in mind I'd like to stick to the rough city-to-city plan I have now.

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

no desire for the #2 idlewild??

 

[splash_4]

For a beginner course in Atlanta, try Lenora Church Park. Wide open spaces and gentle terrain changes.

 

[Greg Layton]

no desire for the #2 idlewild??

Cinci is close enough for me to take a three day weekend and play Idlewild and Banklick and not be in a hurry while I'm doing it. I'll get down there at some point next year, but it won't be during this trip... plus it'd be out of my way.

 

[DannyM]

Don't know which way you will be coming into Atlanta on, but if coming in from N. on I-85 I'd suggest playing Toccoa Ga. Great mixture of long/short/technical/and some elevation changes. Has long & short teepads. Has a rec center there. Most of the woods sections are not tight, so if you do get off the path somewhat you are not punished.
As for Charlotte/Rock hill....In rock hill just down from Winthrop is Boyd Hill....A fun course, then there is Fewell Park...only 9 baskets, but 2 tees/basket....VERY short...pitch and putt...but your wife I'm sure would enjoy this one <one hole is ONLY 68 ft>.
Charlotte....Hornets nest...Sugaw....Kilbourne. All good courses. Renassaince<sp>...would leave for another time when your skill level is up. Makes Winthrop look easy.
A couple other areas to look at...Asheville has 1 course, but is awesome. Boiling springs SC has a great course. Greenville/Easley/Seneca has some great courses, all very close to each other.
Hope this gives you a few to look into......jealous here...don't get to plan vacations like this with my family...

 

[valkyriefb11]

When you are in Eastern PA I would highly recommend playing Tyler State Park. This is one of if not the best course in Eastern PA. I would also recommend Tinicum Park. Tinicum and Tyler are a little drive apart, but they are well worth playing. (You can check out my reviews on both courses for more information about them) I have also heard good things about Knockamixon Park near Tinicum ... I havent played it yet, but I'm planning on going up this weekend ... Ill have to post and let you know how it is.
-FB

 

[jdawg24]

Day 4 in Atlanta with at least one course for my beginner level wife; I'm thinking Moseley for her.

Perkerson?
JP Moseley (description says good for beginners)
Rosewood Dekalb

Perkerson is a must play if A - it's in the ground by then or B - you happen to be in Atlanta on a wednesday during your trip (it will be setup with temp baskets for summer league)

JP Moseley is the worst course in Atlanta for beginners, IMO....that's an old description from the original layout which was 18 x 300' holes....now it's been stretched very long & is rough around the edges.

Definitely play Redan - good for all skill levels....and i'd recommend lenora park, which is 15 minutes from redan & a great beginner course.

The other to potentially check out is East Roswell - all wooded (great in ATL summer heat) and multiple teepads; very challenging but red teepads can be beginner friendly

 

[nosajeel99]

When you are in Eastern PA I would highly recommend playing Tyler State Park. This is one of if not the best course in Eastern PA. I would also recommend Tinicum Park. Tinicum and Tyler are a little drive apart, but they are well worth playing. (You can check out my reviews on both courses for more information about them) I have also heard good things about Knockamixon Park near Tinicum ... I havent played it yet, but I'm planning on going up this weekend ... Ill have to post and let you know how it is.
-FB

I haven't yet played Tyler, but I think that it would be worth a stop in Eastern PA. Nockamixon is a good, good course. Some holes aren't "beginnger friendly" but it is a lot of fun. Allentown, PA has a good number of courses as well, so if you make it up that far, check that out. If you want some more input, just ask.

 

[splash_4]

And one other Atlanta area course that should be open by then is Alexander Park in Snellville (a burb of Atlanta.) It is supposed to have 2 pads and three pin locations per hole. I also understand that there will be a mixture of wooded and open as well as some terrain challenges.

 

[Mando]

Alot of people will tell you that Charlotte is the mecca of disc golf, but as an intermediate, I would much rather spend my time in the triangle instead.
Burlington-CedarRock/Wellspring
Chapel Hill-UNC DGC
Raleigh-Buckhorn
Durham-Valley Springs

 

[gottafixit]

I'm assuming your referring to richmond VA, and i'm sure your friend knows the area course, but i would suggest three others one in each the west north and east directions. West in charolettesville is Walnut creek, to the east in Williamsburg is New Quarter park, and North in Spotsylvania is the grange Two full 18's and a mini 18, Not that Bryan, gillies, and dorey aren't great, just a few more options for the fairly close area.

 

[Greg Layton]

Don't know which way you will be coming into Atlanta on, but if coming in from N. on I-85 I'd suggest playing Toccoa Ga. Great mixture of long/short/technical/and some elevation changes. Has long & short teepads. Has a rec center there. Most of the woods sections are not tight, so if you do get off the path somewhat you are not punished.
As for Charlotte/Rock hill....In rock hill just down from Winthrop is Boyd Hill....A fun course, then there is Fewell Park...only 9 baskets, but 2 tees/basket....VERY short...pitch and putt...but your wife I'm sure would enjoy this one <one hole is ONLY 68 ft>.
Charlotte....Hornets nest...Sugaw....Kilbourne. All good courses. Renassaince<sp>...would leave for another time when your skill level is up. Makes Winthrop look easy.
A couple other areas to look at...Asheville has 1 course, but is awesome. Boiling springs SC has a great course. Greenville/Easley/Seneca has some great courses, all very close to each other.
Hope this gives you a few to look into......jealous here...don't get to plan vacations like this with my family...

Thanks Danny, looks like some good stuff. Maybe I can get her dad out on the pitch & putt course, too. Thanks for the warning on Renasaince. It's not that I want to play easy courses, it's just that when you're playing 4 courses a day you don't want to be overmatched because your body is going to be tired to begin with.

I'm assuming that Toccoa = Stephens County/Rose Lane?

 

[Greg Layton]

When you are in Eastern PA I would highly recommend playing Tyler State Park. This is one of if not the best course in Eastern PA. I would also recommend Tinicum Park. Tinicum and Tyler are a little drive apart, but they are well worth playing. (You can check out my reviews on both courses for more information about them) I have also heard good things about Knockamixon Park near Tinicum ... I havent played it yet, but I'm planning on going up this weekend ... Ill have to post and let you know how it is.
-FB

Yeah, Tyler is a must play just because it's on the front page. I'll make sure to hit Tinicum too. Nockamixon looks pretty wild... I'll wait for your review on that one before I go out of my way.

 

[Greg Layton]

Perkerson is a must play if A - it's in the ground by then or B - you happen to be in Atlanta on a wednesday during your trip (it will be setup with temp baskets for summer league)

JP Moseley is the worst course in Atlanta for beginners, IMO....that's an old description from the original layout which was 18 x 300' holes....now it's been stretched very long & is rough around the edges.

Definitely play Redan - good for all skill levels....and i'd recommend lenora park, which is 15 minutes from redan & a great beginner course.

The other to potentially check out is East Roswell - all wooded (great in ATL summer heat) and multiple teepads; very challenging but red teepads can be beginner friendly

Thanks for the heads up on Moseley; you might want to go in and change that description if you know it isn't accurate anymore. It'd be misleading for tourists like me.

You bring up an interesting point with the heat... I had extremely good luck with the weather during my trip last summer. Rain or several 90+ days strung together could easily ruin a trip like this. Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off again. If not, at least there will be sweet tea to console me.

 

[Greg Layton]

I'm assuming your referring to richmond VA, and i'm sure your friend knows the area course, but i would suggest three others one in each the west north and east directions. West in charolettesville is Walnut creek, to the east in Williamsburg is New Quarter park, and North in Spotsylvania is the grange Two full 18's and a mini 18, Not that Bryan, gillies, and dorey aren't great, just a few more options for the fairly close area.

Sounds good. I haven't sat down with him and figured out what we'd play, but the more options we have the better.

 

[DannyM]

Greg....Yes...Toccoa= Rose Lane.
And I fully understand if you are playing that many courses in a day you don't want to be so tired that you can't enjoy it at the end of the day. Charlotte is 1.5 hrs away from me, so when I go up to play, I either play 1 hard course <Renny>, and then 1 easier, or play 3 easier. Asheville is also that way, not that it is super difficult, but because of the elevation change, after playing it you will be a bit tired.
Another area you may want to look into while you are in the southeast/Ga. area....Augusta. That is where the new Disc golf center is. And there are MANY courses all right there. If you decide going there one that is a MUST play is Riverview park. Again...jealous....love to be able to play a several state disc golf vacation. Although I do consider myself fortunate in that Charlotte, or Augusta is just slightly over an hour from me and I have that many diverse courses to play.

 

[sir chingalot]

Man you need to come out to Colorado and go for a mountain run!! thatll test every skill and disc in your game!! Some 1,000ft holes, epic sceneary, wonderful people, weather will be primo at that time too. And im from MN dont get discouraged in winter i've had some of my most fun and best shots in winter!! wait till you get to skip it of some of those frozen lakes and streams whole new game!! good luck!! check out Sun dance and Beaver meadows in Red feather CO. Frisco CO. Empire, aspen, etc

 

[arrdee33]

bowling green

hey, just recently made a trip to bolwing green. of course everyones opinion differs, but i played lovers lane, keriakas, hobson grove, preston miller, and basil griffen......i would suggest you SKIP lovers lane and play hobson grove, or preston miller over lovers lane. hobson feels like your on a haunted plantation. preston miller had bad reviews on this site, but to each his own, i thought it was great for accuracy.

 

[DWill]

Day 8
Richmond to Wilkes-Barre (3-4 courses)

This is a rather long drive, so I think you can hit more than 4 courses. Here's my recommendations, from Richmond, Va to Harrisburg, Pa, along the I95, US15 to I81 corridors:

The Grange - 2 18 hole courses
Loriella
Giles Run - 2 tees and 2 pins per hole
Seneca Creek - 27 holes
Codurus - 2 18 hole courses, plus 2 9 hole courses
Boulder Woods and Quaker Challenge at Pinchot State Park - 2 18 hole courses

 

[Aaron D'Angelo]

In the Richmond VA area, I would definately echo Gottafixit. Hit New Quarter in Williamsburg (and Newport News is just down the road), Bryan in Richmond and Walnut Creek in Charlottesville at the least, and definately make some time for the Grange in Spottslyvania, VA. Let us know when you're in the area. I am sure some of us could come out and throw a round or two with you!