During this week I asked several players from other regions what they thought of the four courses used for this year's Worlds. I found the responses varied depending primarily on personal preference and personal playing strengths.

I'd like to start this thread for all of those players from outside the MADC region to voice their appraisals.

Understand that the versions played this week were lengthened to provide more challenge (primarily at Little Lehigh) which resulted in a lot more walking than usual. Also understand that the OB lines were a little more punitive because of some of the PDGA's brass dictating where to draw the lines (while more punitive the lines probably kept play moving). In any case I'm looking for constructive criticism as well as what you liked and disliked.
What was your favorite course?
What was your least favorite and why?
Favorite hole? Would you reccomend these courses to friends if visiting in the area?

In any case I hope you all enjoyed your visit here in MADC country.

I enjoyed my visit. Pennsylvanians are very hospitable people.

The courses:

Tinicum - nothing memorable really, but well-designed given the terrain. Liked 2,5,13, and 15 (I think). They were well-designed par 4s for my level at least. I also liked
18. Holes #1 and #11 could be changed. They were very difficult to take anything but a 3 on.

Nock - I don't like this course that much because of the randomness of the inevitable kicks. HOWEVER, if you are throwing very well on this course, you will be rewarded. The difference lies on how the course treats all those who don't throw that well. Loved hole 13 and 17. Liked a lot of others. Others just remain a blur in my memory.

Lehigh - Gorgeous. Well designed and very fair. A choice course. I'd put up with the walks to play it on a regular basis.

Jordan - Another excellent course. In many ways my favorite. Not one poorly designed hole and hole 14 is a jewel. It was fascinating to watch people play the hole and make the risk/reward decisions.

As for the OB. I heard alot of people moan. But screw em. ;) It was fair and simply demanded good shots.

Favorite course - Jordan, but just slightly over LL

Favorite hole - Jordan #14. Eighteen holes like that is what golf should be about.

Least favorite course - Probably Tinicum, but given the land, it was a pretty good design.

I was not a competitor, but I was in the hotel and around golfers all week and asked their opinions about the Pro Worlds 2005 courses.

Prior to Worlds, I expected a ton of criticism about the Nockamixon course but I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. A lot of that can be attributed to the incredible job that Brian Frederick and Co. did to get the course in shape. Most people recongnized that it was a world class disc golf course with a challenge like no other, and appreciated it as such. Of course, there was the usual griping about rocks. This is something that is common in Pennsylvania and New England and it seems like most out-of-towners aren't used to it. For the most part, you'll find the rocks only if you stray well off the fairway. The exceptions are holes 3, 10, and 18 - and these were the holes most often mentioned that needed improvement. The approach on hole 3 is not defined enough, and the basket on hole 18 was moved a few months ago to a longer position with a very small defined fairway to it. Golfers are currently averaging around 4.5 on that hole, making it a grey area par four/par five.

Tinicum did not receive the accolades it should have. There wasn't one bad thing said about it, but no one went out of thier way to praise it, and I think it really deserves such.

Surprisingly, Jordan Creek was the favorite of many golfers. It was the shortest course, but had many memorable holes. For ten years I've been saying that the signature hole was 10, which plays from an elevated tee down the pipeline cut to the basket just in front of the Jordan river. However, the new hole 14, with an elevated tee and crossing two water hazards, takes that prize now. It seemed to be the favorite hole of the entire compeition for a few golfers.

The Little Lehigh Parkway course is no doubt one of the prettiest courses ever. It certainly made for a great Finals course. For regualr play it was a little grueling for some divisions, with an 8,000 foot layout and some long walks between holes. Additionally, in my personal experience, I have found the scoring variation is not as good there. Whereas at many other courses I might shoot 5 strokes better or 5 strokes worse on any given day, it seems like I always shoot nearly the same score there.

I would say my favorite of all the courses was Lehigh. It was a joy to play on, almost all of the par 3s asked for a different shot, and most of the par 4s required strategy or excellent upshots.

My favorite holes of the tournament were:
Hole 7 at Lehigh. I love that there was a layup AND a gap to go for the green off the tee. With almost certain OB if you did not make the 6 foot wide gap. It made "going for it" a real risk reward situation.
Hole 6 at Jordan. Nice hole. Challenging for the righty who goes for the pure hyzer, and the basket placement adds to the drama.
Hole 2 at Tinicum. This is about the only hole I liked at Tinicum. I felt the course was very righty biased, and this lefty only lost strokes on the field here. almost all of the short holes favored a righty hyzer, definitely a let down in my book. I also liked hole 18 at Tinicum.
Hole 16 at Nockamixon. I thought this hole was beatiful, fun and challenging. I liked a lot of the holes at Nox, but I also disliked a lot of holes, like 3, the last 50 feet of 9, the last 100 feet of 10, the drive on 11, which really never felt like you were aiming at a fairway, 12, where I skipped OB with a perfect drive - put up a lip for discs to stop before rolling off the edge of the green, and hole 18. The rest of the course was challenging and fair.

As far as course favorites, I would have to say Lehigh, then Jordan, then Nockamixon, then Tinicum. While Nockamixon was tough, it seemed tough to left and right handed players, whereas Tinicum just seemed righty biased, and punished good shots with some sketchy OB on hole 10.

In general, a good range of courses, none really overlapped, and a heck of a lot of par 4s. I enjoyed playing the par 4s a lot.

My favorite course was Nocka. I like courses that make you think and demand a wide variety of shots as well as imagination and patience. It reminded me of links golf, where very similar shots can give far different results. I also appreciate playing courses where danger lurks on every shot.

Jordan comes next due to its variety. 13 potential deuces, however more than enough trouble to avoid the "deuce or die" mentality that unfortunately permeates our sport. I especially liked holes 3, 9, 10 and 14.

Lehigh was the prettiest, however the four rounds I shot there were nearly identical in score and shot selection. Hole 10 is a wonderful golf hole, while 17 is gorgeous.

I enjoyed Tinicum as well. It is so fun to play a course where you get to rip your tee shots, and every hole has a legitimate route. Hole 7 on the mound is an all time favorite. :cool:DD

Hole 2 at Tinicum. This is about the only hole I liked at Tinicum. I felt the course was very righty biased, and this lefty only lost strokes on the field here.


Tinicum was designed by a left handed golfer, Joe Mela. And if you ask him, he will tell you there is no lefty or righty advantage to be had at Tinicum.