Spoonwood Ridge and The Meadows

As I write this blog entry, the third “nor’easter” in 8 days is forecast to give Western New England yet another blast of Mid-March snow. Be patient, Spring is now officially just 10 days away. Once these nor’easters pass and our mud dries up, we’ll be open, better than ever! Sunday morning League will start up as soon as it’s safe to do so.

I’m sure you all can’t wait for spring to hit the New England Disc Golf Center. Me too! At least I have the honor of passing on nine more reasons to be excited: The new Meadows Course is being carved out the woods around the parking lot, and will soon be ready.

The Meadows Course will be a joy to play. For beginners, it will be a gentle introduction to the game of disc golf. From the front tees, holes will range from 100’ to 220’, and will mix in a few technical woods holes, a transition hole, and some wide open fairways laid out the meadow that surrounds the NEDGC parking lot. This will be a great place to introduce new players to the game of disc golf. We’ll soon be starting a Wednesday night league on this layout, with the target of attracting new players, younger and older throwers, and some women who may not be comfortable playing Sunday morning league rounds on our big course.

The Meadows Course will also have back tees, adding 50 to 100 feet to each hole, making the Meadows a good “red level” challenge for Rec players. I’ve walked the new holes, and I can say they are no “walk in the park” for a rec player. Yes, you will have ace and birdie opportunities, but you better be on your game to score well.

For advanced players, the Meadows Course won’t be just a “boring chip and putt” for advanced players. Yes, you’ll be throwing mids and putters off the tees for you ace runs, but you’re going to have to shape shots and throw with accuracy to get deep in to minus numbers. For you, this nine will be a nice warm-up for the “big course”, or a chance to extend your day with a relaxing and fun round after a run at the big course.

The big course also has a name. We think with our elevation changes and the flora and fauna, “Spoonwood Ridge” is an appropriate name for our big course.

Spoonwood is a common name for the Mountain Laurel that grow in abundance at the New England Disc Golf Center,

especially on holes 3-12. The Mountain Laurel is the office state flower of Connecticut, and we’re really just a couple of errant Destroyer throws away from the Connecticut border. Let us know what you think of the new name.

Also, circle your calendars to be at the course on the Official Grand Opening of the NEDGC on May 12. If you are not already registered to play in “The Grand”, an C –Tier PDGA sanctioned tournament hosted by Pure Flight: check it out.

In addition to the tournament, there will be other festivities going on, plus FREE rounds on The Meadows Course.