Pros:
Pipestem is an enjoyable beginner to mid-level course. Set within the confines of a tremendous state park, Pipestem offers some great scenery along with some good disc golf.
- Very good for a beginner to mid-level course. This state park offers many different amenities, including disc golf, that this could be plenty of park-goers first taste of the game. Throw in campers, many of whom are families, and you've got a need to keep this course tame.
- If you're wanting to appeal to all players, from the beginners to more experienced players, you need to have fun hole layouts. This course starts off on the right foot with hole #1, an enjoyable downhill throw from a hill overlooking an amphitheater. You also return to this same spot for hole #10, this time throwing to the left side of the amphitheater.
- The front 9 loop is mostly open whereas the back 9 is more wooded. Strategically located trees present obstacles throughout the front 9 (throwing around big trees on #4 & 6 and around the edge of the woods on #9, for example). There's more margin for error on the front side. The back side places much more emphasis on accuracy, not that there aren't still chances for birdies.
- Course has some solid elevation layouts, both uphill and downhill holes. In addition to holes #1 & 10, #9 is another solid downhill shot. It's a dogleg left (234 feet from the white tees) going around the edge of the woods. A high, sweeping fade shot is a good option to try and get close to the basket.
- As for the uphill holes, I enjoyed #15 the most. It's a 175-foot dogleg left that offers several lines to the basket. If you want a challenge, #17 is a narrow-upshot layout, playing much longer than its listed 262 feet. If you miss the fairway here, on either side, you get to add the challenge of throwing out of thick woods while still throwing uphill.
- There are solid views throughout the course. The back 9 especially has a strong nature feel. You're almost completely secluded from other park activities while playing. My buddy and I saw five deer while playing #14. We were able to get within 25 feet of them before they lost interest in us.
- The park itself is the highlight of this course. My buddy and I camped here, so it was nice having a 3 minute drive to the course. Add in to that a gluttony of amenities and experiences at this state park (who knew a state park's restaurant would deliver pizza to your campsite?) and it would be very easy to make a weekend at the park. The park offers every version of golf that I know of - disc golf, ball golf, mini golf and foot golf - along with having something called a Gaga pit. Naturally, it's used for Gaga ball.
Cons:
The biggest negative about the course is that it has so much wasted potential. The front 9, especially holes #4 - 7 seem like a total waste of space. I get that the course wants to loop back to the same spot for holes #1 & 10, so they had to get two nine-hole loops. To do that, the options were limited on the front side. It would be much more enjoyable to have more nature-esque holes by taking advantage of the space on the back 9.
- This space is primed for a separate/overlapping advanced-level course. There is so much unused space that could be used for epic hole layouts. There are plenty of course designers who would love to have a chance to turn the unused land on the back 9 into something great.
- As boring as a couple of the holes on the front 9 are, I strongly disliked everything about #16. It's a 278 foot, narrow fairway, dogleg right hole that slopes downhill to the left. Everything seemed slightly off about the hole. It's a tweener design in that it's way too simple for its posted par 4, but it's too unnaturally tough for most players as a par 3. I also didn't like that you can almost be rewarded by missing the fairway (going too long or to the left) versus staying on the fairway and having an even tougher angle. I had two relatively poor shots and still had a very makeable putt for a 3, being somewhat rewarded for missing the fairway and having less trees to deal with.
- There seemed to be little to no variety in the shots from one tee length to another. On almost every hole, it seemed the short tee (yellow) was a slightly shorter version of the mid-level tee (white), which was placed slightly ahead of the long (blue) tee. If there are going to be three different tees, it would have been nice to have some different looks/angles for the tees to add a little bit of variety.
Other Thoughts:
Pipestem is a solidly decent course. For a course that had enough simple holes, I found myself enjoying the majority of my round. And that should be the goal of most courses.
- This is mostly a mid-range course. Average hole length ranges from 264 feet from the long tees down to only 205 feet from the shorts. #13 is the only hole longer than 400 feet, and that's a downhill layout.
- There are plenty of chances for birdies and ace-runs at this course. Advanced players are going to have a field day here. On the flip side, having easy holes help appeal to beginners.
- When finishing a round, I suspect many a player have been tempted to throw a couple final shots down the hill back at the tee for #1/10, only to regret the decision after having to walk back up the hill again after retrieving those discs. That said, this is one of the better opening holes, at least aesthetically, that I have played.
- The course does a good job at being a solid course for its intended audience. This was good for a quick round as part of four courses I played in the region that day. If I were to return to this park, it wouldn't be just for disc golf; but, I would make sure to take in a round or two on the course.