Pros:
(2.771 Rating) A good parkstyle course that's been improved over the last few years.
- UPGRADE TO 18 HOLES - Sometime in the last few years, McNeill got expanded to 18 holes. Not only that, many of the original holes appear to have gotten tweaked as well. From looking at the old 2016 pictures, this course looks a whole lot better and the baskets have been upgraded to pro 28s as well. Two thumbs up to those involved in making this course better.
- AMENITIES - In addition to the 18 hole layout and Pro 28s, the course also has intermittent benches spaced through-out, alternate basket placements and a posted course map. Off the course there are restrooms and shelters nearby, although these are not directly along the layout. The tee signage is ok, but I think a couple signs were missing the new basket placement measurements.
- NAVIGATION - The presence of the course map here, cures many of my grievances regarding navigation. I got lost for a moment after (10), but I consulted my picture of the map and was back on track. There were a few navigational cues below baskets, but due to the open park style nature of the course, a first timer like me can and will stray in the wrong direction. First time players will need a map to limit the navigational errors.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - I scored this attribute at around 65 percentile. McNeill is generally a well-kept rolling parkstyle landscape. A few holes had a little pop to them, but some others were also a bit bland. The overall sum of the parts produced a better than average aesthetic atmosphere, but not calendar worthy nor to the level seen at nearby Eiffel Tower Park.
- CHALLENGING - The tweaked and expanded layout felt like an MA2 level course. There is good length on a bunch of holes and it had me trying to add extra juice numerous times. A few baskets are well protected, although many others are not. Overall I thought the gameplay was just good enough to be a pro.
- HOLE VARIETY - The overall variety was also just good enough to me to be a pro. As noted, there is some good length among the par 3s with a handful of them nearing 400 feet long. Also, some low 200-foot par 3s adding to some ace potential. What's missing are some multi-play par 4s. Seems like that element easily could have been intertwined a couple times. Mostly parkstyle shots, but a couple have a substantial wooded aspect to them. Some decent elevation change in the 30-foot grade change range and there are a few mini creeks to gameplan around.
Cons:
Second fiddle status
- SIDEKICK - To players coming to Paris with time to throw only one course, I think 90 percent of them will enjoy Eiffel more. The exception would be to those that unequivocally hate woods courses as Eiffel has double to triple that element. I don't think Eiffel is exponentially better than McNeill, it just seemed that that one was a nudge better in almost every attributable quality.
- NEW PLACEMENT ON 15 - The new long placement on (15) is a terrible tweener placement. MA2s thru Pros will end up scoring a three, 95 percent of the time. It's impossible to get close due to the trees, low ceiling and uphill finish. It's also too short to be a par 4. I wished the basket was in the other much better placement.
- OUTDATED TEE SIGNS - As noted above, the signs are outdated on several holes if not a majority. Hopefully new signs are in the works.
- TIME PLAY - It took longer than I was expecting. I got unlucky and played on a day when the gate wasn't open yet. But even if it had been, the parking is still several hundred feet from basket (18) and tee (1). The course has also been lengthened considerably.
Other Thoughts:
I liked this one, but was not blown away. It'll work just fine as a local league course and pair well as a second course for city tournaments. No need for players to travel more than an hour out of the way to play here. I realize I did this, but I came here on a vacation to visit the Land Between The Lakes, and McNeill is nearby. Anyways, a weak 3.0 "Good" course to me. Other similar courses I've played include Lover's Lane in Bowling Green, Freeman Lake south of Louisville, Crockett in Nashville, Katherine Legge in Chicago and Dallas Island near Chattanooga.