TODAY September 3rd, 2013 I played Rollin Ridge for the fifth time . . .
The first time I played the course I was impressed. It was tight, wooded, and very challenging . . . all things I love about disc golf. That was 9/3/2011 on my way to Door County for my annual Anniversary/Labor Day weekend. My wife quit after 9 holes because the wind was fierce but she appreciated the course too. It was very solid in its design and the infrastructure had a good start too.
The second time I played the course was the following spring. It had just received a lot of rain and was flooded on the lower holes (4-6 and 12-14) but I still walked through the 6" of water to be able to see the whole course. I wouldn't have done that on just any other course.
The third and fourth rounds I played the course were for a PDGA tourney in the fall (4 months after my last round). It was a different setting and I looked at things completely differently even though both rounds were played from the same Orange (front) tees. Tournament play takes on a whole new perspective and I definitely felt slightly differently about the course when in tourney mode than in casual fun mode.
The fifth round (4th time) I played the course was just earlier today. This is is two year anniversary of having played the course and the infrastructure and the work that has been put into the course has been outstanding. I recently saw the course rise to 8th on the DGCR list and I felt I owed it to the course to re-review the course. I had previously given the course a 4.40 on the rating scale. It had a lot of what I enjoy out of disc golf and some pretty good amenities to go along with it. Then I see the amenities continue to improve and I was happy to raise my rating slightly because of that . . . but unfortunately . . . I still see some design flaws or weaknesses in my mind . . . there are orange tees that (although shorter) are harder than red tees. There are gaps that are simply not fair when considering Orange tee players (Rec/Int). Too many shots are left to chance and not necessarily skill.
Trust me I get it . . . it is very difficult to design according to skill and to know how all designs and basket placements will be impacted by all tees, but that is something that I have witnessed on other courses out there. That is something I view as essential to giving a 5 disc rating on DGCR. While I did raise my overall impression of the course from 4.40 to 4.65 . . . I cannot go any higher unless some of the design flaws (in my own opinion) are addressed.
I have heard the same complaints between Advanced and Pro level players who should be playing Red/Black layouts so I do not think I am alone here in saying this course could be better than it is currently.
Perhaps . . . Rollin Ridge will end up in the top 5 in the country . . . but as of right now I have it listed as my #13th due to what I view as fundamental design flaws (when considering tee usage by skill level).
While I have played most of my rounds from the orange I have looked at and even thrown some drives off of red tees and I did play 1 full round from the black tees just to know what it is like from there .. . perhaps I need to come up for a weekend and play the red tees and black tees completely seperately to give an honest fair opinion but I have stated how I currently feel about the course.
Perhaps another issue coming into play is that all of the course rated higher than Rollin Ridge . . . I have only played once!!!! Perhaps I would have given Rollin Ridge a 5 if my last visit was the only visit to the course. Perhaps some of the other top courses only had 1 tee allowing me only one chance to give a review.
Either way I find this course intruiging . . . made even more so when it rose to #8 in the country!
I do not feel my review is bashing the designers or the owner (and I know him from multiple encounters) but I do feel like I am raising valid points that need to be considered. I only wish I could make a quick road trip to play Brackets Bluff, Flyboy Aviation, Idlewild, Flip City, Blue Ribbon Pines, Rennaisance Gold, The Lodge - Island, Winter Park, Hornet's Nest, The Lodge - Moccassin Creek, Maple Hill, and Foundation Park . . . since all of those currently sit ahead of Rollin Ridge. I so wish a second look at those courses would help me be more objective in my reviews and my ratings of courses.
It will always be in question until I return to those courses to see them a second time.
Who is up for a roadtrip??
