A nice 9 hole course located in a small, well groomed park that is nestled into a small valley on the edge of Lake Ripley just outside of Cambridge, WI.
There is a park entrance fee ($2.00 Adults $1.00 Kids 12 & under), with an option to purchase a season pass for $25 (covers all the occupants in the vehicle). The course is free to play outside of their open season (from Memorial Day to Labor Day) and the course will be closed (baskets removed) "early in November".
The course winds around the perimeter of the park and has a nice variety of elevation changes and basket locations that makes for some challenging play especially for an intermediate level RHBH player like myself - thumbs up to the course designer!
The biggest cons for the course (other than the park entrance fee) are:
1. The lack of clear marking for the course layout, which makes finding the next tee pad/hole difficult the first time you play it.
2. Lack of garbage cans on the course.
3. Leveling of the ground in the tee boxes should also be a normal part of course maintenance. I "Torqued" my back muscles (9.12.13) stepping into a depression that I didn't notice while I was driving on the 8th tee.
4. Lack of bathroom facilities in the park after 5 pm. (And out of season)
5. Though there is an updated tee surface (and size) on hole 1 that is a distinct improvement over the existing grass/dirt pads, the remainder of the tee surfaces are still not completed and many of them are in poor condition:
A. Dirt pads that readily become a very slippery surface when damp
B. Non level tee pads - especially evident on holes 8, 9 and 6
C. Eroded surfaces that are uneven and potentially dangerous to use. I often
choose to play from the area adjacent to the worn pads to get better footing
with less chance of injury. (Especially evident on hole 4).
6. During special park events and other times throughout the season, there is the possibility of having unexpected obstructions to play eg:
A. Cars parked on the course
B. Picnickers on the course - a table has been put within hole one's driving area
this year (2016) for some reason (and should be relocated for safety).
C. Soccer players hanging out within the driving region of hole 1.
7. A large pile of burnable debris within the fairway of hole 9 that grows in height and width during the season and routinely captures discs - putting the person retrieving the disc in risk of personal injury.
8. Holes 5 and 9 have an out of bounds on their right sides that is the park perimeter which is surrounded by a chain link fence. Errant drives that land on the other side require the assistance of either someone on the other side kind enough to return your disc or else someone who is skilled at fence hopping (another potentially dangerous activity) as there are no unlocked gates to allow easy retrieval.
Aerial map of the course layout and other info:
http://cambridgecap.net/RipleyPark.php#DiscGolf
Tee Locations:
1. The first tee is located downhill from the main parking lot, not far from the practice basket that you can see near the left edge of the soccer field at the bottom of the hill.
2. The second tee is across the street from the first basket, toward the tennis courts.
3. The third tee is visible on the left as you play hole two, and the hole skirts to the right of the tennis courts.
4. The fourth tee is near the park entrance, (to the right of the "toll" shack from the third basket), the basket is downhill.
5. The fifth tee can be very easily missed. It is uphill and across the road from the fourth basket, and sits next to the park boundary chain link fence.
6. The sixth tee can be missed as well, as it is tucked behind the row of trees across the gravel service road from the fifth basket.
7. The seventh tee is downhill from the sixth basket, skirting along the top of the stone wall, and sits near the gravel service road.
8. The eighth tee is near the fence line from the seventh basket (moving away from the park entrance).
9. The ninth tee is located on an angle back from the eighth basket, close to an inside corner of the chain link fence park border.
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