Course Guide: Treehouz, Ridgedale, MO
Doglegger Emily by 19’s basket at Treehouz
Some of the houses at Treehouz, including a treehouse, the Journey Post, and the trophies for Journey Post’s First Stop.
About three weeks ago I made my first visit to Branson Cedars Resort, home of Treehouz Disc Golf Course and The Journey Post. The occasion was Journey Post’s First Stop Presented by Prodigy Discs. I chose not to play in the tournament for a few reasons, including the difficulty/length of the course, which I think was a good decision at the time. I’ll be ready for it before I know it though! Anyway, since I didn’t get to play very many of the holes myself, my analysis is based mostly on observation of the Advanced division players, specifically my boyfriend Adam Morrison, and our friend Brad Bullerdieck from Columbia. I also had the pleasure of following the Advanced Grandmasters card for a few holes, and of watching the Pros from afar!
Will Schusterick putting on Hole 16. Paige Pierce throwing a warm up drive on Hole 18.
Ring of Fire on Hole 19 during the First Stop
So, a little background on the course. Treehouz is located in Ridgedale, Missouri, between Branson and the border to Arkansas. Its 19-hole course’s par is 60, and is a total of 7,407 feet in length. The course uses DISCatcher baskets and has multiple tees and placements on some holes. Treehouz is pay-to-play: $5 per person for a full day.
Journey Post owner Jaysin Smith designed Treehouz in 2012. Smith said his vision while designing was to create a, “championship level course with a lot of elevation change and a mixture of wooded holes, open holes, and hazard holes; as well as long and short holes.” When asked what other courses inspired him, he referred to Sioux Passage in St. Louis and Hole 1 on Water Works in Kansas City, in terms of their length and elevation changes. (These courses are particularly iconic for Missourians.) He also wanted to incorporate the difficulty of water hazards as seen at Fountain Hills in Arizona. After seeing this course, I’d say this course definitely lives up to his expectations. As if this isn’t enough, the resort is considering adding more holes, pin placements, and tee pads to make the course larger and more accessible for players of all skill levels.
Just for comparing holes and getting a sense of direction, check out this map of the course from Disc Golf Course Review: http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_files/5830/993ec582.pdf
Now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s get to the pictures!
1. Your disc’s placement in the fairway is critical to playing this hole well. If your disc lands too far to the left, or too short or long, you have to make a difficult upshot down to the basket on slanted ground. If it is too far right, you end up in the woods. Even worse, I saw a few players land their discs in the fairway, but they ended up rolling into the valley on the right!
2. Knowing how your discs behave in the wind and with large elevation changes helps significantly on this hole. It’s challenging from both tees. The view definitely makes it one of the favorite and most iconic holes on the course.
3. Beware of this hole’s water hazard, sloped terrain, and tree placement. Although this is one of the shorter holes on this course at 337’, it can be deceivingly difficult.
4. This hole is all about placement. With the water hazard so close to the end of the hole, you must decide from the tee where you think you’ll have the most success with an upshot. Landing near the water’s edge gives you a straight shot at the basket, but possibly an intimidating putt toward the water. Landing to the right (the path is not OB) is more technical with the trees and the slope, and may lead to a more difficult hyzer upshot because of the possibility of skipping toward the water. However, this positioning will probably allow you to land you closer to the basket and prevent you from putting toward water.
5. You wouldn’t know it from the tee sign alone, but it’s obvious what the challenge is from seeing the terrain of this hole. Be sure to know how your disc flies and how it lands—or you’ll be rolling down the hill!
6. This hole’s hard turn to the left is sharper than it appears from the tee—the sign gives insight into the degree to which your flight path should curve. If you’re too narrow, you’ll hit the trees to the left. If you’re too wide, it may hit the trees and not come back in bounds. Trees surround the basket, and the green slopes toward the water.
7. This hole combines a water hazard, sloped landing zones, and guardian trees to make it technical. The lower left picture is of the placement designated by the yellow circle on the right and is represented by the basket on the tee sign illustration. The lower right picture is of the left placement, which is not shown on the sign.
7B. Hole 7B was temporarily used for Journey Post’s First Stop Tournament. Orange flags on the edge of a putting green designated the tee. The fairway curves to the right and slopes upward. Past the curve, trees line the fairway.
8. Hole 8 is characterized by its steep uphill fairway and dense trees. I saw several birdies on this hole during the tournament. I took a 4 using only a midrange when I snuck this hole in between rounds.
9. The slope of this fairway in addition to the trees makes the line of your shot very important. When preparing to throw, consider how throwing uphill will affect the stability of your disc, and how your disc will roll when it lands.
10. The biggest challenge on this hole is the combination of the OB on both sides of the fairway and the trees that surround the basket. Accuracy in your line is key!
11. Hole 11 is also characterized by having OB on both sides of the fairway. The basket is located on a putting green with a pretty steep hill behind it (the bottom picture is taken from behind). Be sure your upshot doesn’t roll!
12. The gap to hit on this hole is very narrow and makes for a difficult shot (especially for righties). From the tee, the basket is barely visible, as illustrated in the center photo. Because you have to step off to the left of the pad, as seen in the far right photo, it can be difficult to judge the angle of the throw. If you’re unlucky enough to hit a tree or an “invisibranch,” you could be in trouble if your disc decides to roll. Off to the right of the fairway is a fairly steep hill covered in trees—not a place you want to end up!
13. I think the photo for this hole really says it all. The fairway is pretty narrow with pretty dense trees on both sides and behind the basket. The ground slopes a bit to the right, but not enough to make a significant difference on how this hole plays out.
14. Some call it a fishhook, Adam says it’s a “P” for Prodigy, and I say it’s a question mark for “Where is the basket?” when you’re standing on the tee. From the tee, the fairway looks like a hallway that goes all the way to the tee for hole 15. The trees get less dense 200 feet or so down and to the right of the fairway where the basket placement is. The ground is sloped, so make sure your discs aren’t going to roll!
15. I think the tee sign and the photos of this hole really speak for themselves. I’ll let you figure this one out.
16. Because of the OB on the left, righties need to be especially aware of the distance, wind, and the line you’re throwing your disc on. Knowing that your disc is prone to rolling on this smooth terrain may impact your disc selection!
17. This tight shot is especially technical because the fairway is uphill. This means your disc is going to be more stable.
18. In most cases, the OB should not make much of a difference on this hole if your disc goes where you intend. If you have the arm for it, you’ll want to make sure you get across the valley in the fairway. The closer you are, the more level you’ll be with the basket.
19. My advice for this hole is similar to hole 18. I would recommend trying these two holes as well as hole 2 out before playing them competitively just to get a feel for how the elevation changes effect how far you are able to throw. Additionally, you’ll want to get a feel for how your disc acts when it lands on the putting greens.
dgNOMAD New Logo & Glow Chains!
This won’t be news to any of you who know JT here at Dogleg DG, but I’d like to let the rest of the world know that his design came out on top in the search for dgNOMAD’s new logo, and we think it rocks! Thanks also to everyone else who sent drawings, there were several contenders.
If you need need any logo or promotional work done you can stop looking, JT did an excellent job for us. From concept to revisions to final drafts, as well as staying in touch and putting up with my busy schedule, he was on top of it all. The new logo looks awesome printed in black on our red carry bags, and the color version does a great job displaying the “UV-ness” (JT coins terms as well as designs logos!) of our newest product, retrofit Glow Chains. Our Glow Chains snap easily to any existing basket or target in under a minute and give glow golf a whole new meaning! Check them out here .
And speaking of Glow Chains, if you’re in western Pennsylvania or Northeast Ohio you can see them in action at Young’s Run DGC during Valley DGA’s Glow Throw! The first of the monthly events is May 10th, check in a 7:00 for the first 9 and after dark the Glow Chains are coming out for the next 9! If you miss this one try back, there’s one every month May to November. More info at ValleyDGA.com or email info@valleydga.com.
Trevor at Valley DGA has done a great job helping spread the word on our new chains to some neighboring clubs, anyone else who is interested in a club purchase for glow leagues or tournaments (or just to get a discount!) should definitely let me know. Club orders get 10% discounts and free shipping, email club@dgNOMAD.com for details.
Last but not least, there’s still a week left before our next drawing, register to win either a set of dgNOMAD Glow Chains or one of our revolutionary ultralight portable NOMAD Disc Golf Targets! These little guys are under 3 pounds, available in 6 standard and 4 Glow colors, and let you take a target places you never thought possible…toss one in your backpack, on your dash, or even on your bike handlebars and you can throw anywhere! They have regulation size target zones, and in fact are the only PDGA approved Object Targets on the market. In addition to being made in the USA, our targets are economical so you can grab one for yourself and give the kids their own!
Enter the drawing for free stuff here.
Thanks for checking out our new product!
Jeff@dgNOMAD.com
Dogleg DG (& JT’s beard) featured on Go Ham’s TWIDG!
Earlier this week, Dogleg JT’s article “Prodigy First Run D1/D4 Full Review” was featured on Go Ham Disc Golf’s “This Week in Disc Golf (TWIDG)” weekly YouTube segment! What also got a mention in Go Ham’s video?… JT’s beard! Lol. Check it out around the 3:10 mark!
Here at Dogleg, we get pretty excited whenever we get featured on Big John’s vids. A BIG thanks to him for giving us a shoutout and featuring us once again in a vid! Check out Go Ham’s YouTube channel here.
Read JT’s “Prodigy First Run D1/D4 Full Review” post here if you haven’t already. It’s an in-depth review complete with video clips of us throwing and several pics.
Four days until my tournament. Nothing left to do but panic!
If you have read any of my earlier posts, then you know I am organizing my first tournament. I decided to go with an a-typical tournament format in the hopes that I would create something fun and memorable for all players involved.
The tournament is really coming together. In my last post I talked about finding local sponsors to go along with my more national “disc golf” sponsors. As an update, the local sponsors didn’t pan out as well as I had hoped. No worries though. I got a few more prizes and hopefully those companies will benefit from the donation and be willing to donate again in the future. I have over fifty people pre-registered and over 35 prizes to give out.
One thing that I found was that I kept going over things that needed to be done in my head and thinking “Oh yeah, I’ll do that later.”
When I decided to actually sit down and make a list of things to get done, I was overwhelmed. I walked through the player’s experience on tournament day in my head. Here is what I am looking at with four days left:
- When they show up, where will they go? – I’ll need a table for registration and one to display the prizes.
- How do I split them up into random partners and cards? – I need to get some poker chips and write numbers on them (I also considered ripping a deck of cards in half)
- How am I going to communicate all of these crazy rules? – I made a score card specific to the tournament with the “special” rules on the back. It only cost me $2.80 to get them printed on card stock. I also made a one-page list of the holes and what is different about each, to post around the registration area.
- What the heck am I going to say at the player’s meeting? – I wrote up an outline and listed all of the sponsors so that I don’t forget to thank anyone.
- How are players going to mark their longest putts and CTPs? – I bought four dowels from a hardware store, cut them into four pieces and made duct tape flags to make 16 markers.
- Anything specific to the tournament that needs to be done? – I needed to buy some field paint to mark a drop zone for a mando, a putting circle for one special rule, and specific distances from baskets because we will be using a putting game for a tie breaker.
- What else am I forgetting? – I committed to sending pictures of the winners with their prizes to companies that donated. Too bad I don’t have a very good camera. Maybe someone would be willing to come take pictures and/or videos. I posted it to the facebook and disc golf scene and the wife of one of the players is going to help me out.
So that’s it… If I continue to check more things off of my list than I add every day, I should be ok. I am sure that it won’t go completely as planned, but if I roll with the punches, I am hoping that it is a fun tournament for everyone involved.
Dogleg Disc Golf 