Loretto, TN

Loretto DGC

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2.835(based on 3 reviews)
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5 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.8 years 694 played 680 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Nice Design, But Missing Everything Else 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 1, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

(2.388 Rating) A medium length light to moderately wooded course.
- DESIGN - Of the three course currently in Lawrence county, IMO this is the most thoughtful design. Lots of well guarded baskets using pockets breaking left and right. Great variation in hole lengths hole to hole. A few bomb-it plays and also a few short technical lines. I loved the holes with split personalities with portions of both open fields and heavy woods. I would like to give credit to the person who designed this course, but none is currently listed. It was done right considering the land that was available and I was not expecting a layout this thought-provoking considering the neighboring courses.
- CHALLENGING - Kind of a tweener between upper Recreational and lower Intermediate. I think the labeling of lightly wooded is a touch harsh considering the number of moderately wooded holes and a few heavily wooded holes. As stated above, lots of well guarded baskets. The pockets on holes (7), (11), (13) and (14) can lead to extra throws with aggressive misfires and I personally finished 2 over on these 4 holes as an Intermediate level player.
- UNIQUENESS - Surprisingly way more than I was expecting. Four par 4s in the 500 to 600 foot range. The par 3s vary from 400 to low 200s. Holes twist both ways and there are several pockets to hit and a couple tunnel fairways. There are a few mini creeks to avoid and elevation on several holes exceeds 20 feet.
- CHAINS - Veteran baskets that were in stellar shape as of August 2018. On my previous rounds on these baskets everything stuck, but on this round I had two near center chain-outs. Perhaps I got unlucky
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - Although only one turf tee per hole, the skills required should allow an adequate enough challenge for Intermediate players and also perfect for Recreational players, These two groups make up the largest portion of the disc golf community.

Cons:

There's a lot of work to be done.
- TEES - Horrible and getting worse. They are turf and they appear to be living a second life with the previous life being some other playing field. I don't think one tee surface was level. Weeds are starting to grow through the pads and I figure they will all disintegrate within two years time. The surface was so bad on a couple holes that I teed to the side. The tee surfaces probably makes the course 1 to 2 throws more difficult.
- NAVIGATION - Very bad. Anyone who strays here without a map will make several wrong turns. There were no tees signs or hole number markings at the tees. There were no directional cues between holes. The only markings I found the entire time was on the baskets. Players need to download the course map to get around here on the first play.
- CHARACTER - In addition to poor tees and navigation, the extras are basically non-existent. There's a practice basket and a spindle in the woods on tee (15), that's it. No multi-tees, alternate baskets, course map, signage or seating. Shelters and restrooms may be in the park, but they are not near the layout.
- MAINTENANCE - The course was mowed on my appearance but the wooded areas needs a lot of work. Lots of tree debris down everywhere in the woods. Also as noted above, the tees need to be maintained better.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - doable for newer players, but not ideal. Just a bit too technical and too long to be an ideal fit, plus there are scores of course all over the region that fit the beginner friendly billing better. I'd recommend somewhere else for the newer player. Nearby Scout and Hope and St Joseph are both better beginner courses.

Other Thoughts:

My favorite designed course in Lawrence county. Unfortunately, so rough around the edges that I actually prefer both St. Josephs and Scout and Hope slightly more overall and I have given them all 2.5 ratings as of this review. Loretto has a ton of growth potential however, as all the infrastructure items other than baskets, are sub-par. If I lived in Loretto I'd happily play here every day and I'd organize groups to start improving this course. Signage and tees are the first things that need to be addressed, but also adding a few benches, alternate tees and alternate baskets could help spruce the layout up a bit. I liked the course, but it has a long way to go.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - About average or a touch below. The front nine was my favorite with several wooded shots and moving elevation. The back nine was a touch too open for my personal preference but still nice enough to score average marks in most instances. What bringing this course back a bit is the lack of maintenance in the woods and the sad look of the disintegrating tees. Also ball fields are in view on a few holes.
- TIME PLAY - About average. This one took me an hour solo. Figure 120 to 140 minutes for a foursome.
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4 0
bjreagh
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 28.2 years 353 played 321 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 7, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Course is set in area of land that for the most part (18 excluded) is purely for disc golf with no other contending activities. It has a nice mix of open, partially wooded, and very wooded (though it favors open). Varied hole length stood out to me also as a strength- some under 300' to several over 500'. Overall, I thought the design was pretty good and made good use of the available land.

Great baskets, first time I have played on Dynamic Veteran baskets (like Discatchers or Prodigy in style, but better than both imo as far as banded top baskets go), they catch very well, are visible, and the tray bottom has a unique pattern to it- nice touch! Practice basket included.

Turf tees did just fine. (maybe/likely could be upgraded to concrete in the future???)

Navigation will be fine once things are worn in, tee signs are in, and some other navigational aids added. But use the map and you will be fine.

Cons:

No tee signs yet. Not knocking it for that, just a current fact that I hope will change soon, and think it will.

A touch of repetition with a handful of long wide open drives that mostly make up the back. And I thought 13 was almost a copy of 11.

I personally had a bit of trouble navigating in the wooded area at times, especially finding #9 and knowing which way to throw. Again, things that should improved as the course breaks in. (Use the map for now.)

The woods was also getting grown up already (played in summer, so to be expected) but the pics on DGCR taken in early spring look much nicer.

The mowing of the open holes was much better on the back 9, but the front had some questionable mowing patterns, like the mowers weren't sure yet exactly what and how to mow fairways and paths. Also some debris could be cleaned up. All things that will likely work themselves out in time.

Hole 18 closely borders the outfield fence for the baseball field. And the basket placement is around the corner of the fence, so you have to bring the fence into play. Not ideal if there happens to be a game going on. I understand ending up at the parking lot, but it appears the basket could have been placed in a different spot to avoid baseball interference. I flew my approach over the corner, but did not make it over the 2nd fence- thankfully there was no game and there was also a gate that was open. The road for 1 is in play, though not a busy road. *(wericsson mentions alt pins depending on the day to avoid these potential hazards- good idea if that is the case.)

No restrooms, water fountains, and does not really come back to the lot until 18. Decent hike and the openness can be extra hot in the summer so come prepared with plenty of cold water.

Other Thoughts:

This course is very new and I tried to take that into consideration. I am fairly confident, based on the continual improvements of nearby newish St. Joseph course, that things will continue to be added and improved here also. This course has the potential to be a hidden gem, and is probably already the best in the Southern Central TN area.

I would definitely play here again (nearly 2-hour drive for me fwiw) as it offers plenty of challenges and interest to merit multiple rounds. Coupled with very nearby St. Joseph, this area now has 36 holes of decent disc golf!
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4 0
wericsson
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.4 years 54 played 45 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Look sir, trees! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 22, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice new Veteran baskets. These might just be my favorite sort out there, aside from maybe Mach X (we have a love-hate thing).

Pretty much nailed the mixture of wooded and half-wooded and pure open, short and medium and long, etc.

There are seven fully wooded holes taking up pretty much all the woods on the city's side of the property line. While all are par 3s in the 300 foot or less range, they demand a variety of technical shots, from big sweeping curves to sculpted shots through tee gaps wide enough to be fair but little else.

There are also plenty of opportunities to open the throttle on a driver, with a couple par 3 holes around the 400' range (one open, the other open partway before narrowing through the treeline to a wooded green) and four par 4s. The first one also happens to be the very first hole, with a mostly open first shot before the second narrows downhill to a triangular green between the woods and an OB road, for a total of 635 feet. The next par 4 doesn't come until hole 14, a nice 535' play that runs along the treeline, then dives into a wooded pocket to the right on the second shot. 15 and 18, while not quite as memorable, are also legit par 4s, rather than my pet peeve, stretched out one-shot holes just a bit longer than par 3s.

Some holes now have alt pins already: 1, 17, and 18 have new weekday locations that take the road, fields, etc. out of play, and 8 also has two different pins for two different lines. Knowing how the club rolls, there'll be a steady trickle of more and more.

Cons:

Concrete tees (there are turf squares down now) and signage are to come; the course is yet pretty new, and a few things might have to change before all is finalized. Likewise, there are some rough areas of bare ground that were cleared recently and so don't have grass (and are kinda eyesores), along with some big brush piles (for which I share some guilt), etc.

Navigation is a bit tricky, with some unexpected turns, gaps, etc. This will improve once signs go in, but in the meantime, bring a map.

18 (long pin) runs right along a baseball field. While I think roller anyway, the ease with which other people's discs can wander over the fence is unfortunate. Likewise, the long pin on 1 plays along a road, although it isn't tremendously busy.

Other Thoughts:

While a few holes are just too bumpy, this course has some great opportunities to play rollers.

Hole 1 is an awesome hole, but man, it's a rough way to start a round if you don't loosen up first. I guess you could start on hole 4 if you wanted.

Best LCDC design yet hands down, and the toughest of the 3 courses in the county.

I went ahead and reviewed the course as it is, knowing full well that it's got improvements yet to come, since it's unofficially open for business, hosting league, doubles, etc. That said, I anticipate going up on my rating once it's in a more finished state.
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