Northampton State Hospital

The course is super well designed. The first 8 holes are pretty wooded and then there are a few holes that play through a field which is a nice change of pace. Most holes have a short and long variati ... show more ›

The course is super well designed. The first 8 holes are pretty wooded and then there are a few holes that play through a field which is a nice change of pace. Most holes have a short and long variation although some of the long tee pads can be a bit hard to locate. I play this course pretty often, but I can definitely see how navigation could be an issue. After hole 12 you should probably use UDisc to help with find the next several holes. The only other issue I have with this course is how overgrown it can get in the summer. There have been a few years where the upkeep has been pretty good, and i don’t think it has ever become unplayable, but it is in its best condition in early spring. Overall it is a great course and is where I play basically all of my disc golf.

The layout is a B+ but it's pretty unplayable from late spring - early fall because it gets very overgrown. I wish the town would provide some grants for upkeep because it's an unfair burden to place ... show more ›

The layout is a B+ but it's pretty unplayable from late spring - early fall because it gets very overgrown. I wish the town would provide some grants for upkeep because it's an unfair burden to place on the volunteers. I feel bad giving a 'C' because it has the elements of being a fun and challenging course but this place notoriously swallows discs, even the good throws!

Let's get this out of the way: I've never played a course with tougher foliage. The first eight or so holes were lined with brambles so thick that a disc more than a few feet deep in the bushes would ... show more ›

Let's get this out of the way: I've never played a course with tougher foliage. The first eight or so holes were lined with brambles so thick that a disc more than a few feet deep in the bushes would likely be lost forever. DO NOT underestimate how horrible it is to retrieve an errant disc...

That being said, the layout of the course is excellent and takes you through moderately hilly terrain with well utilized trees as obstacles. The layout keeps you mostly off the beaten path that dog walkers use. A lot of the front-9 nets are placed on slanted terrain, which resulted in painfully frustrating rolling discs for our entire group. There are some well-worn tables placed throughout the course that make for nice breaks. There's also plenty of shade throughout most of the course so, for the first time ever, no sunscreen required for this guy.

Signage is a problem. It was often hard to find the tee and equally challenging to find the basket associated with the tee. Often the only way we found the next hole was by walking down trails until we found the correct one. It really wouldn't take much to get this improved. If you live nearby and like disc golf, you should get in touch with a local club and see about doing some maintenance.

In closing, it's been two weeks since I played and I'm still healing from all the cuts and scratches I got from the brambles... :*( but these battle wounds were worth it

I really enjoyed this course, a great variety of holes. The apple(?) trees were all blooming with the little white and pink flowers, it felt kind of like playing disc golf in that scene from Hero. I ... show more ›

I really enjoyed this course, a great variety of holes. The apple(?) trees were all blooming with the little white and pink flowers, it felt kind of like playing disc golf in that scene from Hero.
I gave the course a B. I got turned around a couple times looking for the next teepad, number 7 in particular. Also, a par on the signs would've been nice.