Pittsburgh, PA

The Dips @ Denny Park

2.755(based on 4 reviews)
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17 0
The Red Death 30
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.4 years 88 played 47 reviews
3.50 star(s)

It's Becoming a Pretty Good Course

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 25, 2023 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

NEW UPDATE EDIT: They are quickly improving this course and I'm upping my rating by ANOTHER half star. They had a bobcat out there that has been doing a lot of brush clearing. Most of the largest patches of nettle are now gone. New this time ... There is a course map at the start, steps in several new places, a picnic table between 2 & 3 (who the heck got that up there?) and the walking paths are starting to wear in a bit. Someone is working their rear off. Thank You.

The course is in a good location that can use a course. There isn't much in the radius and the park itself offers some nice woodland in an easily accessible park. Someone has been working their tail off out here making this course look better as its' rapidly improving.

There are now turf tees on every hole. Each hole has two sets of baskets, generally playing Red for Rec and White for Amateur. They did a nice job of leveling those as well, which is a lesson many other courses can learn from here.

There are a couple of really great holes on this course. While the elevation on 2 is ridiculously steep, the drive itself is a great tunnel shot. It is also about 15 floors of straight up elevation so you quickly get a sense of what you are in for during the round. Hole 4 is starting to develop into something. As they clear brush that lane is showing a great drive possibility. They cleared almost all the worst rough off the left edge. This is now a beautiful elevated tee shot down through a valley, requiring some hyzer fade into the trees to hit the green. Needs a bit more brush clear, but is developing well. That 9th hole is fun to throw for sure. That's the course Ace Run (although Hole 1 is certainly possible too.

Cons:

Amenities are starting to show up, but there are not yet garbage cans along the way. That means I'm starting to see litter too. They desperately need a bench up on Hole 8 after asking you to walk up a mountain.

The brush is hit or miss. I played a round here last summer that the nettles were so thick and abundant that it literally "hurt" to throw off the fairway. Forgetting the actual physical irritation, there is still a lot of possibility of disc loss here while the course grows. Almost every hole is on elevation and a few are blind shots. It's a course I get very nervous about playing solo. They are improving this quickly, so this is much better than it used to be, but still does need work.

The fairways on the 2nd and 5th holes can be very treacherous mud slides on the wrong day. They are in process of steps on the 5th Hole and they make a big difference. Not sure they would help on 2 but there are spots there that start getting very steep. I also worry about the erosion and how we'll keep from damaging that hill.

I hate the 8th Hole. Maybe one day that grows into something that is a fun, score-separating type tourney hole. Right now it's just chuck and pray down the fairway. If you fade off to the right at all, your disc is gone. It's a steep hill with thick brush.

This hole in particular is my biggest issue with design here. You finish the 5th and walk right past the 8th/9th changeover to get to 6. You are now halfway up the biggest hill, but then after 6, you walk all the way to the bottom, just to play 7 and then walk straight up the largest hill. I think the intent was to put a 7th Hole out in the most visible part of the park, but it ended up creating large stretches of walk and asking you to walk down to the bottom of the hill and turn around and walk right back up it. They could have had you play 5, then play 8 reverse of what it is now, then play 7 reverse as well. The holes would have been more fun and the worst of the walk eliminated.

Other Thoughts:

It's on the verge of creating a tournament caliber 9-hole course in a darn near urban park, which could expose new crowds to the sport as well. It's probably always going to have a rep because it is one heck of a physical challenge but it's becoming a fun course.
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12 0
Ezemp
Experience: 24.6 years 54 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

It's a hike 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 29, 2022 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Location is amazing. It's 5 minutes off the Perryville exit on 279. There's been a need for a course in the Ross township area for a long time.
There's not a lot of traffic in the park which makes it an outstanding place to get in a quick round without getting held up.
There's a couple really awesome downhill shots throughout this track. There are a lot of big uphill holes and uphill hikes throughout the course but at least it pays off with the opportunity to unleash on a couple throws.
The park itself is really nice. Like I said it's quiet there. The course provides a lot of space to practice and work on throwing in a field. There's a baseball field at the park perfect for this as well as some ample space on hole 7 to get in work. Hole 4 is one of the best holes I've ever played. Worth the trip here just for that. Holes 8 & 9 are really fun. 8 has so much potential but depends on the final design of it. Hole 9 is a really super fun down hill ace run to finish it off.

Cons:

Very steep hills. You will test your legs a lot during play here. The course flow is wonky. I feel like the space could have been utilized better than it's current design. There's opportunity for a couple really cool safari holes and I understand why some of the holes had to avoid certain areas but I just get a feel that part of this course is backward. It's difficult to explain until you play it. Hole 1 is kind of dinky uphiller. Hole 2 then it goes to a massive uphill. Hole 3 is a filler par 3 that's just feels like a filler. Hole 5 seems to have an odd placement. There's a very long walk to get to 7. Hole 8 needs a ton of work. The final design on this hole could make or break the course.

Other Thoughts:

The course is designed for white and red skill levels. Which isn't necessarily bad it's just not super great. The design here isn't finalized though the basket locations seem to be. I hope after further calibration justice will be served to holes 5, 6, & 8. Otherwise I feel like it's a must stop if you're in the Pittsburgh area looking to shoot a quick 9
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12 4
chris deitzel
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 31.2 years 286 played 54 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Give it some time 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 29, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

2 sets of baskets per hole. 2 sets of tees per hole. Nice park with plenty of parking and bathrooms. Some good holes that will be playable by all skill-levels. A few nice holes in a nice park with a a few old-growth trees.

I really liked hole 1, 3, 7, and 9. I thought all 4 of those were excellent holes that played as well and looked as nice as many of my favorite holes in town.

Cons:

Extremely hilly with unimproved tee pad areas. Extremely steep slopes that were wet and muddy when I played. I fell twice just trying to navigate the paths between holes. The green of Hole 5 is on a giant hillside that is sure to cause a lot of footing problems for drives. Both times I had to improvise my putt from this hill to try and get a legal stance while not falling. You never really get a downhill hole for all the uphill walking that you do. 4 and 8 are downhill but not really satisfying. I didn't like 8 at all, even though it could be the highlight of the course, because of too many trees in the first part of the fairway that didn't really open up to an apparent landing zone. And the second shot, which is the biggest downhill shot on the course, played completely blind for me both times through with no view of the actual disc flying down the hill. The hole just played really awkward and I didn't like that I had no idea where my disc was going once I released it on my second shot. A little tweaking to this hole and it could be phenomenal. For all of the uphill climbing, more rewarding downhill holes would be appreciated.

The worst part of the course for me was walking down to the tee of 7 after 6, only to have to climb back up twice as much. There had to have been a better way to route this course?

Other Thoughts:

Overall it was an ok experience. The hills are too much for me to make it enjoyable. The tee pads are dangerous at the moment and just walking the course is a bit tricky. It will be a few months-years before I come back to play here as there are many better (easier-walking) options in the area at the moment. But I imagine in time, if the erosion issues and paths are improved, it will be a very good course. A bit too short on many of the holes for my liking, but I'm sure others will enjoy it. It's new, it's raw and it's rough. Don't even attempt to take a cart. Seriously.
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2 3
scpeterson
Experience: 14.4 years 62 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Lots of potential 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 5, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

Lots of interesting holes, with one monster hole (8). Good mix of trees and cleared areas. You will get your steps in on this course. Separate red and white tees and baskets.

Cons:

Not yet complete, so the tee markers are stakes at this point. The stakes are marked with numbers and colors. No tee pads yet. Paths between holes are not yet fully established.

Other Thoughts:

Since the stakes are marked with colors and numbers, it is possible to navigate even though the course is t finished. . There's a LOT of potential with this course. I can't wait to see the final course.
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