Seven Springs Mountain Resort

[Jeff_LaG]

Hey all,

FYI, the lame 9-hole pitch-n-putt course which plays around the base at Seven Springs Mountain Resort is being upgraded! World class course designer J. Gary Dropcho reports that a lift-served championship 18-hole course which he designed will open later this month. Here's the skinny from J. Gary:


You ought to also play the new Championship 18 hole course to open at Seven Springs this Fall. I'm hoping the signs and baskets will be in the ground by 9/14. It's a par 64 layout with Red, white and Blue tees, front nine plays down the mountain after a $4 lift, and the back nine plays down the mountain after another $4...or pay $12 and play all day. Some beautiful downhill, some water, some par fives across the hill, open, tight, elevated greens and tees.



The lifts will supposedly run from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 26, 2008. As soon as the baskets are moved, I'll be heading out to check it out...I can't wait! :cool:

[Jeff_LaG]

Here is an update from Jamie Forys, Seven Springs Mountain Resort Activities Director, on Wed, 10 Sep 2008:


We are working on signage currently. We don't have an exact open date as of now. We should be getting the holes up next week and the tees will be marked soon. We have many projects going on currently and it is taking longer to get this installed than initially expected. We will be sending a Priority 7 e-mail out when it is up. If you would like to go to our website (www.7springs.com) and sign up to be sent the Priority 7 emails, that will tell you when we are open for operation.

Thank You for your inquiry and we're looking forward to seeing you when you come to play.

Jamie Forys

Activities Director

[kUrTp]

Can't Wait for this...I've talked to Jamie Forys about two weeks ago and she said that the Owner is very particular about everything. The tee signs have to be right before they get installed. They aren't going to do it cheaply...they are doing to make them look good.

The day the course is open is the day the subaru will be heading down to Champion, PA.

[jmc2442]

Im pretty amped too. The Poole's and I wanted to go Labor Day weekend, but we were informed of the news that the poles had not been installed and the course wasnt open... Instead we went to DUUUUUUUUUB-V and got <font color="orange"> CRUSHED </font> .

[Jeff_LaG]

From: Jamie Forys, Activities Director, Seven Springs Mountain Resort


The holes are currently placed. We are still working on signage. The signs are getting held up in the approval process for the materials, but we hope to have some of it up by this weekend. We have not determined an official opening date yet, but we will have course maps and score cards ready for this weekend and you are welcome to play. Just stop into Adventures to pick them up. It starts at the top of the Polar Bear Express Chairlift and you can purchase a chairlift ticket at the Alpine Slide Chairlift. Let me know if you need any more information. Thanks for your interest.

[Jeff_LaG]

I am meeting J. Gary out there tomorrow (Saturday October 4th) around 11-11:30 AM if anyone wants to join us. :cool:

[Jeff_LaG]

The course is PHENOMENAL. It is easily the best ski hill course I've ever played, primarily because 1) You don't have to CLIMB up the mountain like you do at IUP, Timber Ridge, Campgaw, etc. and 2) Unlike Sugarbush (VT) Snowbowl (Flagstaff, AZ) and other mountain courses you don't have hole after hole where lost discs are a real hazard.

You really only have one hole at Seven Springs (the appropriately named "Goosebumps") which plays some 810 ft. straight down a very steep double diamond expert slope where you can lose one. It's a really wide slope, but there's heavy rough off to the sides and fairway placement with a putter or midrange is probably the preferred strategy.

Without a doubt this is one of the most "FUN" disc golf experiences you will ever have. You ride the chairlift up, play the front 9, ride the lift up again, then play the back nine. The wow factor is off the charts on many many holes - you step up to the tee and just gasp. With the extreme elevation changes, water hazards, beautiful scenery (which right now features fall foliage) it's just an awesome experience.

For those familiar with the mountain, the course plays on the front side above the lodge. About half the holes are up on top of the mountain by the Avalanche, Tyrol, and Cortina lifts, including two shots OVER the snowmaking ponds from the blue tees. The other half of the course plays down Goosebumps, and on the lower half of the Avalanche, Tyrol and Stowe Trails. One of the coolest par three holes you will ever see is #6, which plays down "Corkscrew." This is one of those switchback trails with horseshoe curves that you see at some ski areas, and it just has to be seen to believed - it is so cool!

The lifts are running on Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 26th, and I highly recommend checking out the course. "Autumnfest" is going on right now so there is food, BEER, music, the Alpine Slide, mountain biking, and tons of other stuff going on and people everywhere down at the base. You can hear the band jamming even up on top of the hill.

Attached is a picture of the scorecard, and course map. The course map scanned in black and white, but it is in full color on 11" x 17" and they give you one at the lodge when you buy your lift ticket. Note J. Gary's course record of 61 from the blue tees - see if you can beat it! If the blue tees are set for 950-rated Blue level players, I'd say the course came out just about perfectly.

There is one fly in the ointment, which is that there are no tee signs and the poleholes are not numbered correctly. However, the tees are clearly marked with colored flags and spraypaint on the ground and if you use the map which they give ya, you should be able to figure out the course without much difficulty.

If it weren't 200 miles from my house each way, I would drive back this weekend to play the course. It is really THAT good and that much fun!

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/8668/sevenspringsyu0.jpg

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/8162/sevenspringscoursemapql8.th.jpg (http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sevenspringscoursemapql8.jpg)

[Jeff_LaG]

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm284/gunkamania/methrowing.jpg

Hole#11 is 270 feet, and about 260 to clear the water (that bank is steep) As we walked up to this hole we could could see the bright reflection of the basket in the water - stunning!