Pye Brook Park is a 19 hole course in Topsfield, MA- and it also happens to be my home course. It was built around the edges of a park that was build on top of a landfill. The landfill was created by tossing trash into a quarry. The quarry was created by taking all the land and bringing it to Boston’s Back Bay and literally creating the Back Bay. When Boston built the big dig tunnel, they took some of the “Back Bay Dirt” and used it to cap off the landfill up in Topsfield. So, if you’re still with me here: the dirt on my home course took a round trip to Boston and back over the course of a hundred years or so. That’s a pretty horrible commute! Thankfully it only takes me about an hour to get from Boston to Pye Brook Park on the average Friday for a tag round!
My favorite hole (at the moment) at Pye is hole 5.
Hole 5 from TeePad Pye Brook Park
It is about a 300 foot hole titled “Ace Freeley.” The tee-pad plays from the top of a plateau and the basket is about 25 to 30 feet downhill and 30 feet left. This means the fairway is a steep slope of a hill leading down to a green. The entire left side is woods- which presents a challenge to any right handed player who doesn’t have control over their driver (i.e. noobs).
The reason I like this hole so much is because of the journey it’s taken me on in terms of disc selection. I have thrown intentional “parked” shots (as in, not lucky!) with a large variety of discs along the way- reminding me that “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” When I first began, I would throw a distance driver and rely on the natural fade and hyzer to carry it down and left towards the basket. I quickly realized however, that with my low arm speed at that time- I was susceptible to being blown away by the wind into the trees. In time I moved onto a fairway driver- and soon enough I was throwing a flippy fairway driver, counting on an anhyzer.
Now I throw a midrange. There was a span of about a week, with the fairway drivers, when I started to put more power into my throws- and I over-threw the basket by over 40 feet consistently. This was when I decided to try the midrange disc as a driver. My midrange of choice is the Roc+. I like the slanted rim for a smooth release. I also like that the disc is stable, but not over stable. If I throw it hard with confidence- it’s the perfect “hyzer-flip” drive.
When I first started, I’d aim right and let it fade left. Then I started to aim a little left and counted on it to turn right. With the hyzer flip shot, I can throw it directly level at the basket (which is downhill) and the disc will travel towards the basket with a hyzer angle, then flip up to start to turn right, but then fade left. In essence, the “confidence” and “umph” I put into my shot is translated into the perfect amount of flip and fade for this hole. If i’m throwing discs into the woods- I’m not throwing hard enough, or with enough snap. If my disc is ending up finishing right towards the fields- I’m probably not following through correctly and my form is off.
In short- Hole 5 is there for the taking. If I step up and deliver, it’s an easy birdie. If I shank it left or right, I deserved it. It’s much harder than an open field shot because of the elevation change and the woods/jail on the left. Ya’ll should come down and check it out. Boo yeah.
DG Squared 
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