Completed and opened to the public earlier this year, I've been craving a visit to Scenic Vista and made the hour drive on a recent weekday. The course is located just outside of Lisbon on a road slig ...
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Completed and opened to the public earlier this year, I've been craving a visit to Scenic Vista and made the hour drive on a recent weekday. The course is located just outside of Lisbon on a road slightly off the beaten path. The park is a beautiful tract of land, heavily wooded in some spots although the course mainly plays in relatively open sections. A very serene environment, and a well maintained park.
A true 18-hole layout with red, white, and blue tee pads that do a solid job of mixing up lines and shots on most holes to accommodate repeat play and most skill levels. Concrete tee pads are a must have on this course due to the rough ground conditions and overall length of the white and blue hole layouts. The red tees could remain natural, but still need to be filled in, smoothed out and compacted with a better material.
Hole 1 starts in the woods, then you make a fairly long walk across the entrance road and play 2-5 around an open meadow, these holes while decent are overall fairly bland. The remainder of the front 9 alternates between wooded and open holes with 7 being a loooooooong downhill layout that is extremely satisfying to play. The terrain on the open front 9 holes feels to be old farmland cause it's not smooth or easy to traverse. You need to watch your feet to prevent rolling an ankle which distracts you from catching up to your shot.
A bit disappointed with the Front 9, I was soon impressed with the Back 9....this is where the course shines and makes me wish the entire 18 hole layout could mimic the scenery and fun level of 10-18. This section plays in more of a matured tree park setting with old log buildings, strips of wooded areas, roads providing O.B. considerations, and an old covered bridge. The holes here offer more variation of lines and challenges while still feeling engaged within the park setting.
There are a few long gaps between sections of the course that disrupt flow, and provide navigation concerns. Next tee direction indicators as simple as colored tape on the basket would quickly solve this.
A unique and well planned course overall, concrete tee pads, smoother terrain, and additional next tee arrows and tape indicators on the baskets would greatly improve the course experience at Scenic Vista. I would recommend playing here for anyone travelling nearby.