Pros:
Every small town seemingly has its own Memorial Park. Every small town nine-hole disc golf course seemingly has the same generic layout. So, color me surprised when this course turned out to be a fun, scenic short course.
- Don't let the course's first impression, or second or third, fool you. The first two holes immediately feel like fillers - throw one direction across a field, turn around and throw straight back where you started. This after you've got a long walk (relatively) from the parking lot to the first hole. Trust me, it gets better.
- The final six hole are a fantastic, scenic, ace-run stroll through the park. You're throwing putter, mid-range, or approach discs on every hole, but you're in for a treat.
- #4 is an excellent, dogleg right shot. Between #3 & 4, these are the only two holes that require some skill/challenge to get close to the basket.
- #5 is a downhill, 181-foot ace run. Don't land in the creek behind the basket. You'll want to throw a second disc here.
- #7 is a downhill, 112-foot lag putt shot. If you've never aced a hole, grab 5 discs and throw. Give it a little time, and you should nail one before too long. I don't believe in par 2s, but this is a par 2 if I've seen one. A 3 is a lost stroke.
- #9 is the signature layout. 226 feet downhill, slight dogleg left. Small creek to the right of the basket. Large, exquisite stone bridge behind the basket. If you throw long and slam into the bridge wall, you're still in putting range.
- Starting at hole #3, every hole should give you pause to want to throw a second disc for fun.
- Course tilts completely to fun on the fun vs challenge scale. As such, this is the perfect course for beginners and/or kids.
- Extremely short course - nine holes total just under 1,700 feet, average 188 feet per hole.
- Excellent for a quick play. The slowest part of your round is the long transition from the start of the course to the end, and the walk that ensues to your vehicle. It's an approx. 800-foot walk. It only seems excessive when it's half the length of the entire course.
Cons:
The cons are holes #1 & 2 and how out of place they feel. They're isolated from the rest of the course. #1's basket is essentially in someone's backyard. And they're boring holes. Seeing the wooded area behind #4 & 6, I'd rather have a couple more holes there.
- Navigation could be better. I only did find hole #1 by back tracking on the course. Again, baskets #4 - 9 are all close together. The other three are somewhere else. A couple of signs/markers is all that's needed.
- Park maintenance could be better. Trash accumulating in parts.
- Course has areas that will get extremely muddy after rains.
- Not a lot of challenge. Experienced players can do well here carrying just two discs for their rounds.
- If the course is ever crowded, you will need to keep an eye out for flying discs on other holes. Overall, course seems that it's mostly isolated from the rest of the park. The only other amenities are the public swimming pool and several picnic shelters.
Other Thoughts:
Memorial Park is an excellent course in terms of its intended goal of being a short, family-friendly design. Call me surprised that I really liked a pitch-n-putt, sub-1,700 foot course, especially considering how flat it starts.
- If I lived nearby, this the type of course you'd want to practice or play a lot. You could just loop through holes #4 - 9 searching for a cubby ace. You can make a good safari layout or use the different baskets for practice shots. With the slopes and baskets at different elevations, you can get a healthy variety of looks and feels.
- This is an ace-race tourney course. With more open space throughout the park, bring in 9 temporary baskets, and you can make a fun ace-race layout.
- The course comes very close to hitting its target. Holes #1 & 2 stick out like a sore thumb for being out of place, both figuratively and literally. It's probably unavoidable to have these two holes, but I do believe there are better options than these.
- Overlook the simple design of holes #1 - 3. Enjoy the layouts and scenery of holes #4 - 9. If I were rating solely on fun factor, the course would get a much higher mark than this.