Course Reviews

Rated
by Olorin on Nov 12, 2010 at 3:54am

One of my Top 5 Favorite courses!

My Rating = 9.6 (out of 10)
It’s currently my #4 Favorite of all the courses I’ve played.

Played Feb 2010

Pros-
After a scenic drive in the VA countryside your anticipation builds as you drive up to the lake, and you’re not disappointed because this course has it all. The terrain is fantastic! The lake is in play on 4 holes and in view on several more. On hole 1 you see the lake on your left with a side sloped fairway that sucks discs down to the water. Hole 2, from the Blue tees, has a fantastic and somewhat risky drive through the trees over a finger of the lake. Hole 17 has the lake on the right, an 82 ft elevation drop, and a creek next to the basket. Hole 18 with the basket in the long position is a majestic hole! From the Blue tee only the very longest throwers will risk driving straight at the basket; the rest of us mortals will have to avoid the lake on the left with our drive, then throw over an inlet of the lake again to get to the green. The majority of the rest of the holes play in the serene and beautiful woods which are filled with old growth trees. You’re really out in nature and totally away from the cares of the world. There are a few more open bomber shots as well, though, for good variety. There are also lots of big up and down elevation changes making for some cool shots. There’s a good mix of left, right, and straight shots too. Holes 16-18 from the Blue tees may be the best finishing holes I’ve ever played. With 2 sets of tees and 2 basket positions per hole, there is great variety that caters to many skill levels. Six holes also have 2 permanent baskets (4, 5, 7, 12, 16, 18). The tee signs are first class with detailed maps of the tees and basket positions. There is an excellent map and score card available online, and a good message board at the course. Make sure to check there for the current basket positions. With the multiplicity of layouts this is a very helpful feature.

Needs improvement-
-The tees are the biggest area needing improvement. Most tees are dirt or grass, but a few have crushed gravel. Some of the dirt tees can get very muddy and slippery when it rains or when the ground thaws. This is my only real disappointment with the course, so I think that concrete tees would be the most important improvement they could make.
-Because of the terrain 11 of the baskets were hard to see from the tee, so make sure to bring the course map.
-The baskets are mixed between shorts and longs, so it can be hard to figure out where you’re aiming. I’d suggest that you make sure to mark down the current basket positions from the message board so that you can know where to throw.

Other thoughts:
*Course Level: White-Short = White level; White-Long and Blue tees = Blue level.
*With 2 tees and 2 basket positions there are endless possible combinations. My personal preference is that, at least occasionally, the baskets be set up in either all Long or all Short positions, but others like the tremendous variety available by mixing them up.
*Favorite hole = 18, Blue tee to long basket, par 4. It’s a gorgeous hole with the lake all along the left side of the fairway and manicured grass on the right. There’s plenty of risk vs. reward trying to decide where to go across the lake. Do you play it safe and stay to the right, or should you try to get your disc closer with the increased risk of going in the water? Then your second shot has to get across still more water. What a fantastic finishing hole!

With it’s beautiful, peaceful terrain, water holes, challenge, variety, and elevation changes Walnut Creek is one of my Top 10 favorite courses! I always enjoy the course and I play it every time I have a chance. I consider this a destination course that is worth even a long trip to play. Walnut Creek is on my short list of “Must Play” courses, so make sure to play it!

A note about my rating: My rating is a subjective measure of my enjoyment of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the quality of the course. My ratings are given “on the curve” in relation to all other courses I’ve played.

Files with Hole-by-hole ratings, and a more detailed Overall review are available at dgcoursereview.com under the screen name “Olorin”. You can also read more of my review philosophy and rating notes at http://sites.google.com/site/discgolfcoursereviews/Home