Pros:
(1.785 Rating) A nice church grounds course.
- HOLE SIGNAGE - I don't think I've ever started a review by commenting on hole signage, but it really stands out, and it's a bit of an initial wow factor after arriving at tee (1). They are beautifully handcrafted wood signs and they are painted gracefully. They are accurate and tell you all the information you'll need. Major kudos to the person who made and designed these.
- QUICK PLAY - Three exhausted souls blew this course in 45 minutes. This probably translates to a group of 4 in under a hour.
- LOCATION - located 5 miles from two other 18 hole disc golf courses. For course baggers it's an easy way to check off another course. In addition the course is only a few minutes off of I95.
- NAVIGATION - So easy to navigate without a map. You may need to run up fairway a few times to get a better look at a blind basket position but other than that, the layout stacks the holes one after another. This does however lead to spacing issues, see cons.
- GROW THE SPORT - No doubt will this course aid in growing the sport by offering easy access to learn the game at a skill level friendly course on a Church Campus. Perhaps not the most ideal course for beginners but way better than taking them to Malabar or Palm Bay Regional.
Cons:
There are some definite minor issues with Covenant but most are correctable.
- BASKET/TEE SEPERATION - The next tee is often located right next to the adjacent basket. There are many instances where the tee and basket are separated by less than 30 feet. In addition the tee shot on (9) can put the occupants of tee (1) in the path of fire.
- PALMETTO BUSHES - Like a lot of courses in Florida, The Covenant has some pretty substantial palmetto bush patches. With several baskets located right on the fringe of these baskets, you will likely find at least one during your round. So expect to walk away with some cuts after extended searching.
- CHARACTER - Other than amazing signs, there really isn't any other extras or comfort items on this course. Several tees are also out in the elements. It would be nice for the course to take the next step and add a few benches and a practice basket.
- NATURAL TEES - The tees are very subpar. Tees (6 thru 9) are all located adjacent to a mound and are exceedingly short, sandy and not level. I quick cheap temp fix would be to add rubber mats if concrete tees can't be installed right away.
- UNIQUENESS - Like just about every 9 hole layout, The Covenant lacks the uniqueness of your average 18 hole course. The course very much favors RHBH players. Holes (2, 3 and 4) are all short tunnel type shots. Holes (6,7 and 8) are all the exact same shot of slightly different lengths. The hole distance does very a little, but 190 - 330 feet would be below average. Water is in view on a two shots, but it's really not in play.
- ELEVATION - Less than 10 feet on any one hole, but for what's there, it's kind of used well at the baskets. There's a berm running along the perimeter of the soccer fields and at the slope of the berm you'll find the location of 4 baskets. This feature alone will affect your putting in at least a minor way. Hole (4's) basket is also located on way looks to be an five foot high dirt pile. In addition, there's also a great opportunity to make 10 foot down shot on tee (2) if the tee were located about another 15 feet farther back onto a mound feature.
- WIND - Holes (5 thru 9) play around what appears to be soccer fields and a retention pond. The wind was howling through these holes and it will very much affect your play.
- RAW BEAUTY - A touch below average. The pond IMO was not the best looking retention area. Playing along open fields also doesnt add to a course beauty.
- DIFFICULTY - The Covenant I think is slightly below average in difficulty. There are a couple 300 footers, but there are also several in the low to mid 200 range. Advanced players should be under par on this course on a routine basis.
Other Thoughts:
A bit of an afterthought after playing Palm Bay Regional, but to me, it was worth the mini detour to check out another course. It's cool to see that so many churches with a little bit of extra land are starting to sprinkle out these courses.