Amesbury, MA is home to a gem of a course. Getting the negative out of the way first- some of the tee pads are in rough shape. There, I said it. Now for the rest of this review, I’ll focus on the positives.
Quality drives are required on most of the holes to even think about birdie attempts, yet the course doesn’t beat you down on most days. Seeing that the course is named “Amesbury Pines” there ARE a lot of trees, so there’s always a chance that you play pinball and hit more trees than fairways. That being said, the fairways are fair. This isn’t the super tight technical course it once was ten years ago. In my opinion, it’s grown and matured into what is currently is. Others might prefer the challenge of the smaller gaps, but all the foot traffic over the years have given the course definition. It is neither right hand friendly, nor left hand friendly, and the fairways are a fun challenge.
My personal favorite hole is number one. When you get to the Pines, you step up and look out about 360 feet and see the first basket. It’s more or less straight ahead, but is well guarded with huge pine trees (go figure, right?) on both sides. I find the best shot for me (right handed back hand) is a slight anhyzer with a beat up Nuke hitting a small gap on the left and using the “S” curve for distance. I’ve had more success by throwing a Roc straight up the gut, but this leaves me with a 70ft. jump putt. The semi-risky Nuke shot leaves me parked if it stays clean.
Coming in a close second to hole one, is hole number five. This one is just a long straight shot that I love to hit with my Lat 64 Flow. It’s 320 feet away and is the perfect distance for a hard, level throw. Of course it’s also guarded by pine trees on both sides, but those ‘open up and rip’ type of holes always stick in my mind.
Essentially this course has got it all. It has a few water holes (even more if you play the alternate holes), a few short holes, and a lot of variation through the trees. The design packs in quite a few holes (a full 18) in a pretty small park. There’s a gazebo right in the middle of the pine area, and out in the open there are a few baseball fields as well as a playground for the kids. Aesthetically it is nice with a pretty good job done by the town mowing the lawn and picking up fallen branches inside the main course area. There are even a handful of home made baskets peppered around. Granted, the quality of the basket is sub-standard, and it facilitates a few random spit outs. However, if you’re in range, and you putt at center chains, you’ll be fine. I don’t mind a homemade basket, since it’s an equalizer for everyone playing. Nobody can skip a hole, and everyone has to play to that particular basket- so there’s no use complaining. Plus, it’s ten times better than an object course where all you get is a “thud” as your disc hits a pole.
The Pines rule. If you disagree, I will fight you. On the disc golf course. Through a game of disc golf. Of course, we will have to play at Amesbury Pines as well. So bring it on. Please???
By the way, the street address for a GPS is 5 Highland St. Amesbury, MA 01913.
DG Squared 