Reed Park

Solid course. Front 9 is short, technical and in the woods. Back nine is is longer, more challenging and lightly wooded. Placement and shaping shots is necessary to be successful. Great layout for nav ... show more ›

Solid course. Front 9 is short, technical and in the woods. Back nine is is longer, more challenging and lightly wooded. Placement and shaping shots is necessary to be successful. Great layout for navigation and good tee signs. Flat course with the one water hazard on the last hole...throwing over the side of a lake. Course maintenance is impressive and noteworthy. Excellent tournament course.

This course is one of my favorites in the area. Being from the Tri-Cities area, this is a refreshing change of pace. The course is extremely well maintained and really adds a very professional feel to ... show more ›

This course is one of my favorites in the area. Being from the Tri-Cities area, this is a refreshing change of pace. The course is extremely well maintained and really adds a very professional feel to any round. A good mix of technical shots, that are tricky but not impossible. Overall, a very, very solid course.

Awesome course, well maintained and beautifully designed. Many of the shots look very tight / restricted from the tee pad but actually have decent landing zones when you walk out - pays to know the c ... show more ›

Awesome course, well maintained and beautifully designed. Many of the shots look very tight / restricted from the tee pad but actually have decent landing zones when you walk out - pays to know the course. A lot of the baskets are "in jail", but still allow for easily makeable putts. Wish there was a little more room off the pad to throw out over the lake on the last pin, but you can't have everything. Great time playing this one with Ron Simpson for my 70th course!

Agree with others that numerous holes only offer a single line. The course is well designed for a flat course and well maintained(the dead could be stripped from the course throughout though). Meaning ... show more ›

Agree with others that numerous holes only offer a single line. The course is well designed for a flat course and well maintained(the dead could be stripped from the course throughout though). Meaning it seems each hole has a standing dead tree or trees in the fairway. Do not get off the fairways on this course the rough is HELL.

This course is so smart; so much so, that I can even pardon the few smart-alec features like the "smirking" tree trunks on #18 tee. The Gratiot Co. community and DG friends have made a park that is fi ... show more ›

This course is so smart; so much so, that I can even pardon the few smart-alec features like the "smirking" tree trunks on #18 tee. The Gratiot Co. community and DG friends have made a park that is fit for a Norman Rockwell painting. The longer/tight fareways are bordered by well kept areas where the challenge is to your line-shaping skills not your disc-finding or injury-avoidance skills. After playing this course you will want to find the maintenance crew and give them a hug. June edit: the rough on some holes soon grows "ruuufff".This is no doubt intentional, as the care given to the fairways shows it is a design choice. Your choice will be, long pants, bloody legs, or declare a lost disc. Dismissing the course might be an option if you "cry uncle".

In one of the nicest parks i have been too and so very clean. Course is pretty sick good use of the land lengthy holes make for a challenge good defined lines in the woods with excellent use of surrou ... show more ›

In one of the nicest parks i have been too and so very clean. Course is pretty sick good use of the land lengthy holes make for a challenge good defined lines in the woods with excellent use of surroundings open shots using the bushes and defined trees as obstacles pretty awesome. I love #18 a signature type hole over the water very sweet. Only things i could see better more use of fhe water, elevation (if there was anything), hole #11 i believe says short and long i didnt see a short pin and was slightly confused on my first way through.park is so very clean camping right there by the course would make for an awesome stay with possibility of glow golf. Very kinda scenic i wish it wasnt so far away from where i live but i will definitely return again love the course and the park. Very nice work mr. Keith aten.

SUMMARY: Beautifully groomed. Bring your mental game. Many birdie cages. More forced than technical. Note: I am not a >900 rated player. I golf to have fun and to enjoy being outside. My reviews r ... show more ›

SUMMARY:
Beautifully groomed. Bring your mental game. Many birdie cages. More forced than technical.

Note: I am not a >900 rated player. I golf to have fun and to enjoy being outside. My reviews reflect only those elements that challenge, frustrate, and/or excite me. YMMV. Also, as this was my first time at “The Vines” I threw multiple drives from every tee pad, experimenting with line optimization. I normally do not do this, but Reed Park proved to be a special case.

DETAIL:
The Good:
I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with the grooming of this course. I do not know who is responsible for maintaining it, but they are owed due recognition. The fairways were clear of almost all debris, save a few stray twigs. Deadfall was absent throughout the playable course. Most inter-hole pathways were obvious, wide and accommodating. Tees were spaciously buffered. Vegetation was clearly ADDED in some places, not just infinitely cleared as default some courses. There was almost no trash – not even cigarette butts and (beer) bottle caps. The list goes on, but the point should be clear: This course was nearly immaculate! Trash cans at every hole helps, but it is clear that at least one somebody really cares about this course.

Trash removed by me:
Beer can (Bud) - Hole #1 | Beer Can (Coors) - Hole #9 | Pop can (Arizona tea) - Hole #4 | Gatorade bottle (full) - Hole #18 | Shoe (rebok) - Hole #18 | Plastic Coffee cup (McDonald’s) - Hole #18

Hole variety is pretty good. It did not measure up to other reviewer’s evaluations, in my opinion, but more on that later. Above all else, the course designer should be credited with being a placement and perspective genius. What I mean by this is that, more often than not a hole will appear especially narrow or difficult from the tee pad. Frequently, I felt a hole demanded a shot that seemed limiting to distance and/or counterproductive, if only to clear a few sentinel trees. This was mostly due to minimalistic hole diagrams and devious fairway framing. Careful placement, however, was well rewarded and made for an interesting mental game. My tee pad confidence was constantly under attack here. That said, the resultant upshot ease and frequent birdie opportunities provided an opposing balance. It made for hole-by-hole drama that I am unaccustomed to, but thoroughly enjoyed, and will hence seek to find in every course I play in the future.

The (nit-pickey) Bad:
Rough Vegetation:
The rough is, well, rough and that purple, thorny, devil weed is EVERYWHERE. As others have warned, keep it on the fairway if you value your skin. I did not see anything toxic/poisonous, albeit in December.

Muddy Tee Pads:
The tees were a little short for my run up. Normally, that can be managed by backing up a bit. Unfortunately, the earth around the tees was silty in composition. Too often this meant mud – the banana peel slippery, diarrhea gushy kind. Some gravel around the edges would go a long way.

Misleading Navigation:
The obvious path from tee to hole on #18 was lost on me. If it exists, it could be presented better. I decided to walk the pond shoreline, as it seemed somewhat traveled and the most direct route. The bridge from parking lot to hole #1 was so far as to interrupt flow. For what it’s worth, it would be a beautiful addition to provide a raised walkway along the rim of the pond, and far enough off-line to be out of harms way. Similarly, the walkway from hole #15 to hole #16 was a rabbit trail compared to others. It should be widened for continuity sake. Furthermore, the map becomes progressively less accurate over the play of the course. Most certainly, hole #18 is NOT where the map says it should be.

Unseasonably Rigid Chains:
The baskets are in good repair but it looks like the galvanizing is starting to oxidize. This makes for chain links that do not pivot smoothly against each other. The result is a stiffening of the neutral state that resists deformation from impact. Adding to near freezing temperatures, the basket chains are more prone to kick your disc away than swallow it up. Aim low, if you can.

Putting in Prison:
I wasn’t counting but many baskets are protected against aces by anywhere from 10 to 20 small diameter trees. Some people, like me, refer to this as Jail where putting from outside the barrier is like putting through the bars of a detention cell. I don’t mind some of this, but there should be at least one fairway-size window and “the circle” should remain clear. Reed park often crowded and/or heavily encroached upon the hole.

Shot Sculpting:
This is the biggest let down of the course for me. While I praise the course designer for his/her vision, I also recognize that the execution of said vision was pulled off by a narrow margin. Key word: narrow. The first 30’ or so off the tee pad are often choked from two, if not three directions (left, right, ceiling). Basically, I felt forced to hit an early accuracy window. Sometimes, the danger was immediately apparent; a tree or two, right off the tee. Other times it was not clear why until the disc had moved forward a couple hundred feet, where the canopy dropped to smack my disc out of the sky. Too often distance options were stifled by low ceilings. Even where fairways begin wide open, low hanging and expansive canopies negate hyzer spike routes or flex shots. In some cases, the difference might have been a single branch. This made for more “laser” shots than I care for. Notably, I estimate that I had +/-10* of freedom off the hole #12 tee pad. Hole #4 was like chucking plastic down a throat made of boney trunks and toothy branches. The overall effect was a course telling me “my way or the highway.” I prefer holes with options (OTHER than thumb/tomahawk).

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
I was challenged by this course. Not because it was particularly challenging, by design, but because options for success are few and those available are tightly restricted. This reduces re-playability for me. Yet, it is so well maintained, both physically with landscaping and mentally through dramatic gameplay, that I am compelled to return as if to tryst with an old girlfriend. This is a twice-a-year course for me, currently ranked #1 on that list.

This course is a fantastic little gem. While the terrain is fairly level, the course is as superbly designed as it is maintained (particularly for a donation-to-play course!) and requires versatility ... show more ›

This course is a fantastic little gem. While the terrain is fairly level, the course is as superbly designed as it is maintained (particularly for a donation-to-play course!) and requires versatility to play well. Most holes are not overly long throws, but the tight lines and occasional low canopies will still challenge advanced players. Hole eighteen requires throwing over water. The park itself is also rather nice if you happen to have a non-disc golf playing family to bring along or want to do other things between rounds.

This course is actually quite fantastic. It is well maintained, easy to navigate, has a great shot selection. For being on flat ground to add difficulty there is a low ceiling on many of the holes o ... show more ›

This course is actually quite fantastic. It is well maintained, easy to navigate, has a great shot selection. For being on flat ground to add difficulty there is a low ceiling on many of the holes or skinny opening fairways. This course requires good shot selection, power, and accuracy to do well. I almost lost a disc but after a 10 minutes I found it stuck in the tree I had seen it go in. Holes 11 12 and 13 were my favorite. With the land how it is the designer really made a fantastic course. The park is great too, well kept and great facilities. I think we have Pete Little to thank for a lot of this. I'm not sure who designed it but he deserves a big thank you as well!

I played this course for the first time and i hated it. the fairways were over grown. i liked the benches and trash cans on every hole. lots of large thorns on the wooded holes and russian olives as w ... show more ›

I played this course for the first time and i hated it. the fairways were over grown. i liked the benches and trash cans on every hole. lots of large thorns on the wooded holes and russian olives as well as raspberry bushes that were large with their thorns on them too. i rather go there for the swimming in the lake then playing disc golf.

Very well maintained course! Benches and trash cans at every hole. Played this course for the first time last year and HATED it!!! So happy i went back again, now one of my favorites. Hole 12 is Bruta ... show more ›

Very well maintained course! Benches and trash cans at every hole. Played this course for the first time last year and HATED it!!! So happy i went back again, now one of my favorites. Hole 12 is Brutal! 18 is amazing just wish that one tree was gone or center tee pad between them better. All in all wonderful course.

This course has a good variety of holes, and forces you to reach deep into your bag: always keeping it interesting. It is however, still very new, and if you're not in the middle of the fairway, you'r ... show more ›

This course has a good variety of holes, and forces you to reach deep into your bag: always keeping it interesting. It is however, still very new, and if you're not in the middle of the fairway, you're almost guaranteed to have a lengthy search on your hands.

Hole 12 is insane, and not in any new-age lingo good kind of way. It's 400+ ft. with an offset fairway gilded closely by trees to the left, right and above. A bogey on this hole is a godsend, and it's not unusual to be playing with a group of reasonably experienced players and see the average score at a triple-bogey. It doesn't fit at all with the overall flow of the course (every other hole is designed well and provides a challenge without being frustratingly difficult) and makes for a depressing round-breaker midway through the course. Other than that, however, make sure you use a spotter for any and all blind shots, and you should be up to enjoy a beautiful round of disc golf!

This course has amazing potential and layout! When all the trees grow in it will be a really hard course. This course also has every typer of disc golf shot there is so it doesn't just favor a lefty o ... show more ›

This course has amazing potential and layout! When all the trees grow in it will be a really hard course. This course also has every typer of disc golf shot there is so it doesn't just favor a lefty or righty. Tight tee shots and tough lines will make it a must go to course! The most epic disc golf hole too! #18 over the lake. I've played many courses but none with a hole this epic! Also the park itself is really well kept and has plenty of bathrooms and warmup areas! Just make sure you hit your shots and don't go in the rough because it's hard to get out!

This course is nice and well maintained.There is a box for $1.00 donations for park maintenance located at the first hole. Scorecards seem to be stocked on regular basis. There is benches and trash ca ... show more ›

This course is nice and well maintained.There is a box for $1.00 donations for park maintenance located at the first hole. Scorecards seem to be stocked on regular basis. There is benches and trash cans at every hole. There is just a few trees and/or tree limbs that need to be moved on a couple of holes.The one right at end of tee pad on 18 needs to be taken out or the tee pad needs to be a little more angled between the trees.Other than that,its a great course.some nice tight fairways on some holes and challenging shots to get to the pins.

The course is good amount of woods and fields. It challenging but gets long on the back 9. The aesthetics of the course is great with benches and trash cans. The course is well taken care off. Control ... show more ›

The course is good amount of woods and fields. It challenging but gets long on the back 9. The aesthetics of the course is great with benches and trash cans. The course is well taken care off. Control shots are needed or could lose some discs. Also make sure to have bug spray the mosquitoes can carry you away. The back 9 s rough is full of pickers and other poking plants. Pants are a good idea in the summer.