Centralia, WA

Rotary Riverside Park

1.255(based on 2 reviews)
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8 0
Scott02
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Lost

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 26, 2024 Played the course:once

Pros:

New baskets

Cons:

Everything but the new baskets. By far the worst course I've ever played, bad enough to write my first review ever. I read an article before playing there that the course was made with a $4000 budget by a boy scout going for his last badge and it took him a year and a half to set up the course. I feel bad raining on this kids parade if he reads this but he really should have played at some quality DG parks and taken notes before taking on this endeavor. The first 3 holes are all sharp dog leg rights around walls of foliage, very favorable to lefties or RHFH flickers. Tee 4 was perfect if it had a real tee pad. Hole 5 would have you throwing directly past a children's jungle gym area and it's like 370ft so you're inclined to put some power into the throw, less experienced throwers likely hyzer right at children regularly on this hole. Never thought I'd see a hole designed so poorly. It gets worse from there, I had absolutely no idea how to finish the second half of this course. I spent 10 minutes just wandering around trying to make sense of it with no luck. The signage at each tee is the same image, a top down view of the park made in msPaint. Each sign showing an x for the teepad and a circle for the basket which doesn't sound that bad on paper but it's about as useful as standing at a "teepad" and picking which basket looks appropriate to throw at.

Other Thoughts:

According to Google reviews for this place, it sounds like a more experienced course captain has taken over to fix these issues in the coming months. So keep an eye out for reviews mentioning those course updates before wasting any time driving here. The area has plenty of good terrain and old growth to make an excellent 18 hole DG park, it was just a bit too much work for a boy scout to pull off without heavy equipment to clear out the overgrowth on the edges of the existing park
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19 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.8 years 694 played 680 reviews
1.50 star(s)

A Rotating Mess

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 9, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

(1.707 Rating) A small park niner with tee directional issues.
- CHAINS - It has never been a good sign when I start off my pros mentioning the baskets first. There are new MachVs, (I think), on every hole. To me, this is the courses strongest aspect.
- QUICK PLAY - The only other Pro to me was how quick the course went. I cranked this one out in the rain, in 20 minutes. Groups of 4 will be finished in well under an hour.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - The course is somewhat beginner friendly. Most holes have a zero chance to lose one. A couple early holes have some tall grasses to avoid and one hole has a creek in play if its grip-locked well right.

Cons:

Lots of minor and moderate issues, but no epic fails.
- SIGNAGE AND NAVIGATION - Anyone coming here without a map will struggle to figure this one out, but will likely eventually finish the round. The course had been open for at least a half year prior to my appearance. No course map posted for my appearance and the tee signs were limited to a numbered wood post. I had to refer to my nav app after almost every hole. The navigation was frustrating, but not appalling.
- TEE AIM - I'm baffled as to why three tee shots had the tee aligned way off from the direction most players are going shoot towards. Holes (2), (3) and (6) all hook way right of where the tee points. (2) and (3) were misaligned by more than 45 degrees. Oh well, it is what it is. The pads are natural with timbers outlining the front. It shouldn't be too hard to correct if those in charge feel inclined to do so.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - I went with 30 percentile. Just not a big enough course footprint nor a vast array of defining elements to score higher on my ledger. There are several monster Douglas Firs occupying the layout that were just as big as the giants that I saw at Pier Park in Portland. Those were neat to walk amongst. But other than that aspect, the park is flat and non-descript.
- HOLE VARIETY - For a niner, the gameplay dynamics are ok I guess. There is a mix of tree coverages, so thankfully it's not just bland open field shots. Several tee shots hook right. I believe I counted 5 of them, thus it's quite a bit off balance in that regard. Water comes into play twice and elevation change is no more than 10 feet on any one hole. Hole distance variation is mild, ranging from the mid 100s to high 300s.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - The challenges presented here are most ideal for MA3 level players. I figure MA2s like myself would average 3 down or so. Note, my terrible 1 down was achieved in a light rain. Anyways, I liked the tree weaving on a couple holes, but a couple of the hard right turning plays seemed a bit flawed and near impossible to get close on the drive.

Other Thoughts:

Rotary Riverside needs some adjusting. The effort partaken thus far is rather half a$$ in my opinion. This should have been a solid 2.0 course on my ledger under the same budget and park usage constraints. In its current state, a tweener 1.75 course to me. Ignoring the pacific northwest tree environment, the deliverables reminded me of courses like DeBusk in Dallas, Lifepoint in North Alabama, Linza Graham in Southern Indiana and Calvert City Park near Paducah Kentucky. I could name more, but I doubt many will have played any of them, unless they are a course bagger like me. No need for any others to seek this place out except for course baggers and for locals within a 10-minute drive.
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