Burlington, Ma (Simonds Park)

[John Mucciarone]

21 today with Stroika.

3 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 (-6)
3 3 4 3 3 2 2 2 4 (-1)

[Matt Stroika]

it may have been the record.

chris shot 21 today. he birdied the first 2 and last 4 holes.

course record should be in the teens eventually. simonds park rules!

Mooch tied the 21 today missing the two easiest holes on the course (1 and 6). I agree with Phil, the record will be 18 or 19 by the end of next season. We saw a few others out on the course.

Hole 3 is a bit dangerous. There were several pedestrians cruising past the basket which is fairly blind from the tee. Town of Burlington might want to put up a sign or two on that corner warning others of discs in that area.

Nice shooting today John. You got me by one on the day!

[Justin Anderson]

That is funny that the 3's were on probably the two most birdie-able(?) holes on the course. Nice shooting. I'm thrilled people are having fun there even if it's not a par 65 course.

[Sandy Redd]

Im thinking of playing tomorrow around 330, I will leave work early to go get a round or two in, if anyone wants to join me.
Sandy

[Sandy Redd]

Well im going to go play at 3 should be there at 330 if any one wants to meet me there Call me 704-763-8214, i should be playing 18 holes.
Let me know
bigredd

[Sandy Redd]

aced hole #1 right out of the car.
I wish I would have have finished alot better, shot a 25
1-3-4-3-3-3-3-3-2=25
crappy, but with an ace

[Justin Anderson]

Nice job on the first ace and on the hole I was always hoping to get first!

[Eric Kevorkian]

Nice hit Sandy. You beat me to it.

First/only time I played there, hit basket on first throw. Hole 1.

[Justin Anderson]

I heard my disc hit metal one time but I found my disc within 3' of the pole so I must have only hit the pole below the basket.

[Matt Stroika]

Got myself a tie of the record today with my first two on hole two.

2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 (21)

[Matt Arminio]

Got a chance to play here for the first time today. Fun course.
Lots of roc shots which i love.

[Justin Anderson]

Got a chance to play here for the first time today. Fun course.
Lots of roc shots which i love.

Those are actually Buzzz shots
But seriously, thanks for checking it out. I love hearing comments from people checking out the course.

[Justin Anderson]

I'm looking to get the elevation changes on each hole. Is anyone willing to loan me (or know someone who has) a hiking GPS that does elevation changes?

I realize Simonds is pretty flat but I'd love to include that on the signs I'm woking on.

[Ed Hovestadt]

Just enough wind to make things interesting at lunch today.

Round
2-3-3-2-4-2-3-3-3-25
3-3-2-4-3-3-2-3-3-26
total 51

So grateful this park is so close to my work.

[Justin Anderson]

Wow, I haven't been on here in a long-ass time.
Here are some Burlington/Simonds Updates.

Poison ivy spraying:
I just got word that someone should be spraying the woods for poison ivy this weekend.

Trimming on #8:
They finally got in there with a truck and trimmed the branches hanging over the dogleg on #8. You can see the deep tire tracks where they must have got a little stuck. I've also been clipping anything small on the right-hand side after the turn.

New/On-going Requests:
I'm going to ask AGAIN about the stone dust. I really thought we would have this long ago. Money was set aside for completing the tee pads and it makes me sad to have these look as they do a full year later. I'm also going to ask about adding a 2nd set of tees. I'm going to try to do this myself but they really want to do all/any work in there.

My solo projects:
Over the last two weekends I've been clipping the roots getting exposed on tees 3-9.

Tee 6:
I've also been trimming behind tee 6 with hopes of backing that up or just having the alt tee be 20' or so behind the current tee.

Basket 4:
I'm going to move basket #4 a bit closer to the street at somepoint...so you can see it from the tee...where it was supposed to be originally.

Alt 5:
This is probably the most "exciting" change and no, it's has not been discussed with the town. I've done enough trimming that you can now see what will be the alt 5 fairway. walk from 4's basket towards the street and you should see what I'm talking about. The new/alt fairway will meet with 5 by the two big trees and rocks just before the green. I've destroyed my tree trimmer so I need to get a new one and buy a small saw. Hopefully I can get this done without drawing too much attention.

Ok, enough blabbering for now...

[Nat Fairbanks]

Poison ivy spraying:
I just got word that someone should be spraying the woods for poison ivy this weekend.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Everything else is nice and all but as I sit here looking at the first bubbles showing from what will most likely become my third bout of poison ivy this year I can't wait to see that insidious weed pushed further back off the fairways!

-Nat

[Justin Anderson]

I've had two quick meetings with my Burlington grounds crew guy. I'll leave out the stuff they're supposed to get done since everything takes forever. Hopefully we'll have some positive changes coming soon. The poison ivy spraying didn't happen and he's not sure why.

What I did on my own on Saturday:
Board from #3 tee was removed and left on fairway so I re-dug the trench and replanted tee 3. This happened on #5 last year the day after the tees went in. Damn, I hate these kids.

Dug new hole and moved #4 basket. The basket is now 10 paces back and to the right. This will be obvious because you will actually see the basket from the tee now. I also cleared around 4's new green.
I dug a deeper hole for #5 basket and replanted it. I know 4 and even 5 might get toppled again but hopefully the troublemakers are lazy and re-digging will keep them upright for a bit.

Marked 3-9 new tees with orange flags. Hopefully the flags will last until the grounds guys can get out there. I'll share location info once everything is finalized.

Sawed and clipped remaining trees at end of 5's fairway (edge of the green). 5A fairway may only need a tee box and clearing of already cut branches and trees.

To Do List:
Chop two trees for new #3 tee.
Clear some trees before #6 green to accommodate new #6 tee's approach and continue to try to back up the current tee.
Clear some trees before #8 green to accommodate new #8 tee's approach.

[Matt Stroika]

Thank you Justin.

[Justin Anderson]

Thanks Matt. I'm trying to do something Simonds-related every weekend so I can get the course to finally match my vision before the end of the year. I find this focus more rewarding than getting my ass handed to me at most tournaments as in years past

Anyone play the new basket placement of #4 yet? I moved it and didn't even play it. It's a little closer to a tree than I'd like but I needed to make it visible from both tees.

[jeremy hastie]

I started to play a round yesterday after work. I liked 4s new placement, It was nice to see it from the tee. I was gonna try the new fairway for 5, but saw some smoke down near the basket. I walked down there and some kids(12 or 13 years old) had built a fire on the trail between basket 5 and 8....They took off when they saw me....I broke up the fire and smothered it as best I could with dirt. I also noticed the basket on 8 was knocked over. I tried to straighten it and put it back in its hole as best I could, but I didn't have a shovel.

But I liked 4s new placement and the new 5 fairway looked fun.

-Jeremy

[Justin Anderson]

Hey thanks Jeremy. Sadly, I didn't get a post-update email so I didn't see your note until yesterday. I love that Simonds is in your location list. That's got to be a first. We should play sometime.

I hit Simonds last night and played a round.
Sadly, I got a 5 on #4 so couldn't really enjoy the new basket position so much:
2-3-3-5-2-4-2-3-3=27

They still haven't sprayed for poison ivy but I really never come in contact with it unless I'm clearing brush. It looks like they did a lot of brush clearing in weird places like between the basket of 4 and fairway of 5.

WHAT I WORKED ON:
-Found all new tees' flags were still in place (won't be approved until ~7/21).
-Chopped a few roots on tees 3 and 4
-Found basket 5 a bit unlevel and tried to add dirt and repack.
-Found basket 8 was still toppled.
-Decided to move #8 basket back and just kept clearing (a lot of clearing!) until basket was placed 40 paces past original location.

New #8 Pin Position:
As you turn the corner on #8 you can see the pin in the distance but your first thought will be "Who the F stole the basket?" This was sort of an impulse decision. I was originally going to put it just above the rocks behind the former green but I felt like I could really extend it with 30min of trimming. It still needs some minor clipping and a lot of trampling. I would have loved to go a little further back but that would create issues with errant throws on 5 ending up near basket 8. I did not plant #8's basket as deep as I should have. Hopefully it will not be toppled. So #8 has gone from 197' (2nd shortest) to possibly over 300' (2nd longest). Dueces on #8 are a thing of the past and a 3 may now be considered a birdie.

I might head up again tonight.

To Do:
Clear 2 young green trees for new 3 tee's fairway
Continue clearing behind #6's tee
Clear left side of 6's fairway for entry to green from new 6 tee
Finish cleaning out chopped trees/branches on new 5 fairway

[jeremy hastie]

Hey,

Yeah, I love the course, perfect length for a lunch time round. I work in the area so if you are ever around on a weekday evening, I get out around 6.

-Jeremy

[Justin Anderson]

Thanks again for playing Jeremy.

So there's been loads of work going on the last couple weeks. This guy Connor who isn't on NEFA is pitching in, in a huge way. He's taken it upon himself to clean-up the course and clear anything that I started and it's been really great. We met-up last night and cleared behind 7's basket.

Here's what's happened lately:

Hole 3 (first woods hole, many play this first)
Cut and cleared leafy trees to make alt tee a straight shot
Alt tee is against the street by the telephone pole

Hole 4
Basket moved back and to the right and new green cleared (mentioned this before)
Connor placed a bunch of logs and branches to line left edge of 4's fairway and to encourage players to walk to the left of that to get to tee 5.
Alt tee is close to basket 3 walking towards tee 5

Hole 5
Clearing continues on alt tee's fairway. It's playable but still rough.
Basket hole has been redug after local punks toppled it.
Alt tee to right of basket 4. Walk towards street and turn left.

Hole 6
Clearing completed behind tee. Tee will be pushed back about 50'.
This will obscure the basket so that might get shifted.
Alt tee entrance to green 90% cleared along with overgrowth in middle of fairway.
Alt tee has been cleared and marked near basket 5.

Hole 7
Last night Connor and I cleared behind the basket. There is a thin tree spraypainted yellow. That is where the basket will be moved to if play-testing goes well as it did last night.
Current tee will be moved back 10' or so if I can find a good spot without thick roots.
Tee will not go back far enough that drives could bounce off large tees on either side of current tee and into the street.
Alt tee is behind the current tee on Church Lane side by large rock.

Hole 8
A week ago I went in to fix the toppled 8 basket.
I cleared behind 8's green and just kept going. I dug a new location for the basket far past the original location.
Connor cleared a ton of the undergrowth on the way to the new basket and established a better green. He also cleared out the new 8 alt tee and fairway including an entrance to the old green from the new tee. I'd like to clear some more but leave the large bush alone.
The alt tee is back and to the right if you are standing at the orignal tee looking towards 7's tee.

The Big To Do's (taken from above):
Get new tees approved (next week) and installed
Get signs printed (need tees approved first)
Finish new 5's fairway
Move 6's tee back
Move 7's tee back (if possible)
Move 7's basket back
More clearing of 8

The Pitch:
If you haven't played Simonds yet get out here while things are changing.
If you've tried it but didn't care for it wait a little longer and then you'll see some big changes once I'm done.
At completion the course should end up nearly 320' longer.

[Jeff Woodcock]

great job, justin. i used to play simmonds all the time this early spring. i haven't been there in a month or so. i can't wait to get over there and see the changes.

[Alan MacLean]

Justin, you're an animal!!!

I just played Simonds for the first time since there was still snow on the ground. Holy S a lot is going on there now. I didn't even know of all these changes until I met 2 players (Tim & Nat I believe) on the course and they pointed me to this thread. So my thoughts...

#3) I play this hole 1st b/c of the parking. Wish I knew there was an Alt. tee for this hole.

#4) The basket relocation was huge! Not only did moving it make visualizing the shot from the regular tee a million times easier, I like the Alt #4 tee which I've unofficially been playing for a year now even better. Plus the clearing was nice so that there's a true "green" there.

#5) Again wish I knew there was an Alt. tee but it makes sense as the two players went parallel to the road after #4 which I thought was weird. But whatever, regular #5 is my fav. hole on the course.

#6) This is where I started to catch on that something was going on. I saw the two guys appear behind #5's basket and stay there and drive. So when I finished #5 I went behind the basket and sat the Alt. Tee. Sweet! New tee box! I then proceed to play the Reg. Tee and overshoot the basket by 80 feet

#7) Like the idea of the new pin placement. Especially if it is in a less damp area in the spring than where the current basket is. This is also where Nat and Tim told me about alt tees on the 6 wooded holes and the full on Stretch Armstrong lengthening of #8.

#8)

#8 you can see the pin in the distance but your first thought will be "Who the F stole the basket?"

My first thought - "Who the F stole the basket?"
Second thought - "Damnit Justin moved the basket".
Third thought after seeing I parked #8 maybe 3 feet behind the hole of the old pin location - "Damnit Justin robbed me of an ace!" Still got the 3, but you owe me an ace...

Overall I 3'd every hole for a 27. Can't complain. Course looks great, keep it up and PM me if you need help on some of those big projects one night.

[Nat Fairbanks]

Nice meeting you out there Al. That was Tim and my first round on the alternate tees, they are a nice change of pace. Justin and his work at Simonds Park has added at least four new players to the sport. Tim convinced a bunch of us from work to play and we were hooked. I played disc golf for the first time at Simonds in March and I've played there ~30 times in the four months since then, along with several more rounds at Muldoon and Devens.. It's fantastic that Simonds keeps getting better and better thanks to Justin and everyone else who has worked so hard on it. Thank you!

-Nat

[Alan MacLean]

Hey Nat,

Simonds is probably the most perfect place to learn all shots. Muldoon is perfect for learning how to throw putters and a nice Roc or Buzzz, which I argue is more important just because Ive seen some of the best have this part of their game perfected and I know I'm still not there yet. Ive been playing for 2 years now, got hooked from a friend at Muldoon and just hit my first ace there a month or two ago on hole #1. The first 9 at Muldoon are amazing to learning control. Get that down, learn how to throw a putter slightly harder to go 100' rather than a soft midrange/driver (trust me it works), then retry Simonds. Even over the course of the last year, hole #6 at Simonds has changed from a Speed 10 Beast I could flip easy to a ~Speed 4 midrange and after overshooting it by a mile today, will be going to a Speed 1 putter next time out. But overall that course is great to develop your game, practice putts, and even with the new holes, mix it up a bit.

I love what I'm seeing out there so I'll def be around the course some more lunch breaks. See you guys around.

[Jeff Woodcock]

i just played the alternate tee locations for the first time with much enjoyment. i like the new fairway for hole 5; that tree in the middle of the fairway makes it interesting. i really like the new basket location for hole 8 for a couple reasons. first, the hole is longer and more challenging. i tried to sneak my drive through the trees down the fairway instead of playing the big hyzer, but i couldn't succeed. i can see the opening and it it very tempting. second, i like how that part of the woods is now more open, so kids can't hang out and smoke pot, start fires, and damage the course. my one suggestion would be to add a couple trash cans around the course, maybe around basket 8/alternate tee 6. just a thought. does the town take care of the brush you have cleared and piled up around the new 5 fairway? great job, i can't wait to see it finished.

[Justin Anderson]

Wow, so much posting all of a sudden. I'm not getting my thread updates so I'm sorry I haven't replioed sooner. I'll do a bulk reply for everything from Alan and Nat since I posted last time.

Alan, I'm glad to see you're getting out there again. Nat, that's great Simonds has created some new players. A long time ago Someone from the town asked me what I would get out of playing. I said a course 20min from home and I dreamed that one day I might meet someone who loves the game and said they first started playing at Simonds like I did at Pye Brook.

Yesterday was supopsed to be the day to approve the new tees. I got a call from my Parks guy and apparently he was actually installing them. He had spraypainted a 6' diameter around each basket which i noticed the night before and by now there should be woodchips in that circle. I'm hoping it looks great. I'll paint the short tees red and the long ones white. I'll measure distances and plug those into my signs which are 70% ready to print.

Sunday and Monday I worked on the fairway of 5A. It's no longer a RHFH S-turn. Now you've got a dead striaght RHBH option as well. Lots of trampling needed so go out and play. I also need to move the old tee for 7 back, basket for 7 back, and old tee for 6 way back. I promise maps on the DGCR course page very soon. Maps and plastic will also be at the snack stand in the next month I hope.

I have to run and there are so many more thank-you's I need to dole out for ALan and Nat's comments but I'm hoping to get up there for some work and a lot of pictures this weekend. Thanks for playing guys. PM me. I'd love to play a round and talk your ears off!

[Justin Anderson]

I ran through the course last night as it was getting dark. No woodchips yet but all the new tees are in (thugh I didn't go over to 1). They're painted white (which may change) so they're easy to see. Many of the fairways look groomed (especially 5) as though the P&R summer kids were trying to clear out the pine needles or something.

More soon and I'll try to get an updated map on DGCR this weekend.
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.ph ... 41&mode=lf

I might be up there tonight working on 6 and/or 7.