Sunday, November 1, 2015

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park Disc Golf Course – Ashland, NE



I had time to play a second round the morning I was visiting Omaha. This course is about 30 minutes from Omaha, so again, not a terrible drive on a pleasant morning. It’s in a state park, the kind you have to pay $5 for, just a warning. I pretty much never complain about paying to play disc golf, especially when you can see your money at work on the course or park. This park is massive and it’s also REALY well kept. The guy at the guy taking money at the gate chatted me up about fishing when he saw my Minnesota plates – really a nice guy. He told me when I was done playing disc golf, I should drive to the end of the park and climb the huge tower for the best $5 view in Nebraska. I assured him I would.

I found the course pretty easily (using the map the front gate guy provided and circled). It’s behind a green house, and the first tee is RIGHT behind the green house. Like dangerously behind the green house. Also the first basket is a blind shot to the right, directly behind the green house. A little scary for the first shot of the round. I had been playing earlier, so I was warmed up, but geesh, I was a little scared to throw the first hole. 

The second and third holes were a little unusual, but after that, the course is pretty nice. Really nice, actually. It’s got nice big open shots up, down, and across hills. Good basket placements for some fast greens, some water hazards and creeks to navigate. It’s got some finesse holes and some bombs.

The tees are pretty well marked with signage, although they’ve made some changes out here, be warned. They have written numbers in the concrete pads that don’t always line up with the number on the sign next to it, nor the basket. The distances, therefore, are also not accurate, but they’re about half right. And there are multiple basket placements for each hole. Again, those are just amenities on the course – it’s still a really good course. 

I also love how the fairways are cut out of the prairie grass to class it up a little bit. They’ve done pretty fantastic work on this course (after you get past the first two or three holes). This one is worth the drive from Omaha to check out, even with the five dollar park entry fee. I played pretty well here, also (which helps my opinion of the course hahaha). One or two over, which I was really happy with.

After the round, I drove to the end of the park to climb the tower. It looked like it was going to be an awesome view form the top of this huge structure. Sadly, when I drove up to it, there was a sign saying it was closed due to wasp infestation. I half considered jumping the rope and checking it out anyway, but I had just seen a special on Japanese Giant Hornets (they can kill 40 honey bees in a minute!), so I opted to steer clear. I bet it’s nice though when it’s open!

Thanks for a fantastic round, Eugene T. Mahoney. I like what you’ve done with your property.


No comments: