So I had my first game of disc golf of the season this morning. The weather was perfect except for the wind. It was way too windy to get in a good game but I still played a full 18. The first game was played at the Prairie Center Disc Golf course in Olathe, KS. It’s not my favorite course in the area but as I live right down the street, it’s the course I play at most often. Anyway, my score was abysmally high so there’s really no need to disgrace myself by sharing it but I will share something new about the course itself.

Anyone who has ever played disc golf at prairie Center knows the joys and horrors of the back 9. The back 9 of Prairie Center has some great holes that are a blast but there’s also a slight problem with them. Whoever designed the course wrapped holes 12 through 16 around two soccer fields and the parking lot adjacent to them. Hole 15 actually played across the corner of one of the fields. As you can imagine, this led to some very irritated Soccer moms and disc golfers both. I’ll admit there was nothing more entertaining than narrowly missing a soccer mom with your Cyclone or Wildcat as you drove from the hole 12 pad.

Notice I said was? Apparently some of the soccer moms got tired of the bombardment of their children by our discs. Holes 12 through 16 have all been redesigned since last year. New placements, new pads and best of all, new pins. I believe there are new pins on all the holes as well. Very nice! Over all, I’d say that whoever designed the new holes did a pretty good job. The distances were kept pretty consistent and the new holes are fun. My only complaint is that my favorite hole (12) is no more. The most interesting part is hole 15. If you’ll glance back up at the top, you’ll notice the title of this post: Can you say Water Hazard? Well, hole 15 now is the proud owner of a water hazard. Let me give you some history first.

Used to be, hole 13 and 14 were next to this medium sized drainage pond. It has always been a pretty nasty pond, filled with an over-growth of algae and frogs. Generally speaking, if your disc went in the water, it stayed there. You just weren’t willing to go for a swim. Anyway, the end of hole 15′s pad is about 5 feet from the edge of this nasty pond. The pin is across the “corner” of the pond and up a hill. Overall, I’d say there’s maybe 100 feet or so of pond water to throw across. It’s an essentially easy throw and really shouldn’t present a problem for most experienced players. The problem, as I see it, is that in-experienced right-handed players are going to lose discs by the dozens. I was even hesitant to throw a good disc for that drive. I used an older disc that I found many years ago. In other words, I wouldn’t feel the need to take a dip if the disc hit the water. So, is the water hazard good or bad? For me, it’s just fine. I think it’s kind of fun without being too stressful. However, I play with several players who are not as skilled as I am (not that I’m a pro or anything) that will find this new water hazard to be dangerous for their pocket books. In other words, I think whoever designed the course made a bad choice. Water hazards are fun for experienced players but not for all. Losing a disc just isn’t the same as losing a golf ball. Having said that, I still like the hazard.

Anyway, that’s about it. For those who are wondering at my abysmal score, I finished the game with a hefty 67 which is 13 over professional par. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I’m definitely out of shape and out of practice. Also, next time I’m over there (hopefully tomorrow morning) I’ll be taking a picture of the new hole to add to this post.