The Eagle

Fun wooded course in a slightly sloped park. The terrain mostly plays as flat. Trees line every fairway and there are no open shots. Off the fairway is bad, but not terrible and there is usually an op ... show more ›

Fun wooded course in a slightly sloped park. The terrain mostly plays as flat. Trees line every fairway and there are no open shots. Off the fairway is bad, but not terrible and there is usually an opportunity to save par on an errant drive if you get creative. There are a lot of short par 4s (around 425 feet) which creates birdie opportunities. A good player could probably eagle a few. Perhaps that's why it's called the eagle! Unfortunately the baskets on holes 16 and 17 were missing on my round. The course wraps around a large dog park and there is a nice walking trail as well.

Overall this was a very enjoyable course. It's not that difficult, but there is just the right amount of challenge to keep you engaged. There are no "signature holes" per say and a lot of the holes are similar in style. If you like to be challenged with tight line wooded shots in the 300-400 footed range, this is the course for you. A few easier holes under 300 feet will help your score too.

A beautiful course that will challenge advanced level players. PROS: + RAW BEAUTY + Wow, I was not expecting this course to look this stunning. Before my visit, the course had not yet been fully ... show more ›

A beautiful course that will challenge advanced level players.

PROS:
+ RAW BEAUTY + Wow, I was not expecting this course to look this stunning. Before my visit, the course had not yet been fully photographed. Several fairway designs are definitely worthy of pulling out the camera and snapping a photo. Hole (13) was my personal favorite with an undulating fairway that parallels America Lake. Hole (18), another eye pleaser, has a large guardian bamboo patch.
+ CHALLENGING + A very challenging layout that will please higher skilled players. Every hole will require some shot shaping and there are a couple of occurrences where the razor thin lines cross into poke and hope territory (see cons, flawed holes). Most of the lines however are fair and have nicely defined lanes in the 10 to 25 foot width range. In addition to the tight fairways, the hole lengths are longer than average and several of these wooded par 3s exceed 350 feet in length. As an intermediate player I doubt I would ever average below par here, but I think players at a 935 rating should average around even par. Although the course reads advanced level, it's not championship level difficult like the blues at Inverness in Birmingham.
+ UNIQUENESS + Above average but with two grievances. To start, four par 4s. Two of the par 4s dogleg, one in each direction. Lots of tunnel shots, like 18 of them. The lanes on these tunnel shots vary from 25 feet wide on the wider ones, and down to poke and hope lanes on the narrow ones. Lots of nice undulating elevation. Nothing that major, perhaps 20 to 25 feet max, but its present is on numerous holes. There is water in play on three holes, but always along the right side of the fairway. A vast majority of the lines at The Eagle break left, which to me, is a design flaw. I find that the great courses will have a near even mix of right and left breakers and of varying distances to challenge a skilled player's full arsenal.
+ NAVIGATION + There has to be 30 to 40 large white directional arrows out here. It really helped with navigating this layout. The tee signage unfortunately didn’t have next tee directional arrows and there was no course map on site. There is a map online, but it’s not the best. But, even with these issues, all a player really needs to do is stand at the basket and turn until they see a white arrow. I didn’t look at the DGCR map one time.

CONS:
The Eagle is lacking a little refinement and some basic amenities.
- TEES - Gravel in most instances but also a couple of natural tees. I really didn’t have too many issues with my footwork during my November 2017 round, but this element will continue deteriorate over time.
- FLAWED HOLES - I’ve played much more difficult courses and have loved them. The Eagle unfortunately has a few challenging holes that cross the line between fair and unfair. Hole (1) for example has a wonderful 15 foot wide tunnel shot for the first 250 to 300 feet. Then it turns into a poke and hope for the last 75 feet. Hole (14) according to the sign has two lanes to the baskets. The left lane is one of those lines that requires a disc to have autonomous roadside adjustment system to avoid a couple trees on the natural s’n or arching trajectory. The right side of hole (14) is open and over the water, but it plays over a couple fishing docks. Hole (18) is a deep left pocketing par 3 that has no line anywhere near the basket. A mando along the left forces plays well right. The optimal and only gap still leaves at least a 100 foot uphill putt on even the best throws.
- CHARACTER - A lot of the standard items like those seen on established courses are missing. Benches are absent for this moderately hilly 6,000 foot layout. No alternate basket placements, no practice basket and no second set of tees. There is a community board with course map, but the map is so small it's near impossible to read.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY – Beginners, novice and some recreational players (850 player ratings and lower) will probably not like this course and they should stick with the other course in town, North Jasper Park. The length and tighter lines will punish bad throws and it will leave a bad taste in the mouth for those not ready for an advanced level beat down. The course would really benefit by adding a second set of shorter tees. I have a feeling that many players in town have checked out this course out once and then went back North Jasper Park.
- QUICK TO PLAY - Not a quick play. Although not terribly long, there are lots of trees and a few nooks that will conceal the location of a disc for a moment. Figure a group of four skilled players could be here 2 ½ to 3 hours to complete a round.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
The Eagle has a lot going for it, such as the land the course graces. Players that like beautiful challenging courses will enjoy this course. On the flipside however, players that aren’t ready for advanced challenges will likely come away defeated. As a whole, the course feels a bit incomplete. The course would really benefit the most by adding rec tees and also concrete tees in general. The Eagle is on my radar for a re-evaluation, there's a lot of room for growth.