Okemo Mountain Resort opens new 9-hole course

On July 27th, 2009 Okemo Mountain Resort added 9-holes of championship golf to the activities at Jackson Gore. With the completion of this new course Okemo now boasts 45 holes of golf at 3 separate courses. Yes, Tater Hill offers 18 holes of Vermont beauty, including the challenging 15th dog-leg hole (I say go for it every time, the 15th is no place to play it safe). Yes, Okemo Valley Golf Club offers a Heathland-style course unlike any other resort course in New England. However, I'm writing today to talk about Okemo's newest addition The Maples. Designed by resident expert Adam Ford and Spring House Mogul K.C. Gandee, with help from Okemo's own mountain operations crew, The Maples offers an educational twist at every tee box. As you work your way around this par-3 course you'll learn about the maple sugaring process that has put Vermont on the map for years.

Here's the catch. Leave your clubs at home, put on your Birkenstock footwear, grow your hair out a little bit, splash some patchouli on, enjoy a Bob Marley tune on your way to the course, and reminisce about the best Phish show you ever saw as you work your way to the start of your DISC GOLF EXPERIENCE.

Your golf game starts at The Spring House where you can pick up a score sheet, greens fees, and rentals for a recession-friendly price of only $5. If you brought your own the price is only $2 for the greens fee! Head out through the courtyard at Jackson Gore to the first tee, located just off the Coleman Brook Express lift. The course will take you up the hill, across the field that is "Inn Bound" in the winter time, and across Coleman Brook on the 8th before ending up by the Snow Stars learning area for the 9th 'hole'.

A few words of wisdom from someone who has had the opportunity to play:
Shorts - good
Shoes - necessary (okay, you can still wear sandals or flip flops, but you might end up in the brush looking for your disc)
Tie-dye shirts - not necessary, but really adds to the experience
Discs - rentals include "The Panther" a long range driver, "The Shark" a mid range disc, and "The Aviar" for your putting and approach shots.

Holes 1 & 2 - do yourself a favor and play to the far right. This will keep you out of the brush (maybe)

Hole 8 - This is where I laid up and played across the bridge instead of through the trees and over the river (sounds like the way to grandma's house). I would suggest this technique for you and your golf buddies. If your buddy (K.C. Gandee) decides to play over the river, make him look for his own disc. Don't help. You're playing against Par, but you're also playing against your teammate.

One more thing. When course designer K.C. Gandee teed off on hole one he looked like this:









But by the time he got through the 8th hole he more closely resembled this:















Disc Golf will change you!

All joking aside, Disc Golf is fun for the whole family. It took us just under an hour to clear 9 holes, and that included a little search and rescue for some 'misplaced' discs (see the note above about holes 1 and 2). We had a great time testing the course and I'm sure I'll be out trying to improve my score sometime next week!