Disc Golf Course Review

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New Market DGC Lakeville, MN

Pros:

Complicated holes not found elsewhere. Every single hole that is decried by the other reviews here are the reason to PLAY this course, not the reason to avoid it. And, it's probably going to be windy when you are there. This course is a challenge!

Hole 2, it's become easier due to natural loss of limbs in the trees. It used to be more difficult. You need to be able to throw high and with precision to make the green through the seemingly impenetrable line of trees. A seldom-thrown shot on most courses. Or, there is a cop-out down low to play for a 3.

Hole 6 has a smaller row of trees blocking you, but with extreme hook shot options to both sides. Do you have an extreme hook in your arm, and bag? How about a skip?

Hole 7 is deceptively dangerous from nearby water and odd choppy hilly terrain. You really need to treat it as if it's an island and you must be on the green.

Hole 12 is the reason to come here. This is where I'm throwing multiple discs (if no lineup) to see what I can do. A ridiculously guarded, small green buried in heavy brush with no view of the basket from the tee. RHBH is possible to be on the green. I like to play it with a mando on the trees near the end to make it even harder. Can you go almost 300' down a hill to a narrow gap and then get a flare skip to the green?

Hole 15 is another great, tricky hole. Depending on time of year the lines can be quite hard to find, plus it is well up a hill. Or, if you have the distance, you can do a major spike hyzer, but....to the top of a hill.

Cons:

Lack of signs and proper tees. Can be very muddy, I do agree that playing here after rain (or any place with natural tees) is a bad idea.

Hole 1 is kinda nice, starting out with a massive elevation drop and the need to STOP your disc at the bottom, but the climb to start the round for no more benefit than that is a little off. I wish there was a way to use that hill more effectively.

11 and 13 fairways are a bit tight to each other. Keep your eyes open.

Definitely RHBH-heavy.

Other Thoughts:

This is not a beginner course. Most courses in a little city park are raw beginner courses, and barely an ace run for experienced amateurs. This one is upper-intermediate level. Yes, part of the reason I wrote this review is the other reviews are (IMO) very jaded and wrong.

Stay on the fairway. The first time I played this course, back when it was only 9 holes, grass in parts of the rough was taller than me. I am 6'4".
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Whitehouse DGC Whitehouse, TX

Pros:

--Baskets. They are cheap and flimsy, but they are there.
--Nos. 6 and 9 are the best holes. Six is 73 feet downhill with three trees and low limbs to avoid. Nine is 133 feet uphill on an open but narrowing fairway to a basket with trees right and a baseball fence left.

Cons:

--Safety/poor design. The course is so small and compact (total area no more than half the size of a football field) that you can always see other holes and players, so it's unlikely you'll ever hit another player or get hit, but there would be danger and a lot of waiting if more than one group were on the course. The No. 4 tee is in the middle of the No. 2 fairway. The No. 3 basket is 20 feet in front of the No 4 tee. The 5 tee is 15 feet right of the 4 basket, and the 6 tee is 15 feet from the 5 basket. And 10 is a ridiculous hole. It's 150 feet, RHBH anny with the baseball fence on your right. The basket sits 3 feet left of the fence and 3 feet right of a wooden garden enclosure.
--Really short holes. Only one longer than 150 feet, and several shorter than 100 feet. Those distances are good for young people from the church just starting out, but they're not going to do much for anyone else.
--No amenities (water, map, restrooms). There are a couple of benches near the parking lot, but I can't imagine needing them on a 10-hole, 1,100-foot long course.
--Tees signs are just 4x4 red posts with the hole number and no other information. Several posts are lying on the ground. The front of the tee is marked by another short 4x4 red post.

Other Thoughts:

--On the grounds of Whitehouse United Methodist Church on Main Street.
--Based on the 2-year-old photos on this site, baskets have been and are replaced when necessary, but it appears that all versions of the baskets are and have been cheap. In fact, an extra basket (No. 11?) is sitting 10 feet from the No. 8 tee.
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The Ridge Danville, IN

Pros:

+Some of the holes are really fun. Hole 3 is a short, technical par 3 that runs over a gully, and requires some major thought to shot shaping. Hole 4 goes into the woods, and is a good, tough hole. Hole 7 is a fun straight ahead ace run.
+Some holes are open, and some are in the woods. I like a mix, and this course has a good one.
+There is some distance to be had here. There is at least one 400' hole, and multiple over 300'.
+All but hole 9 have at least some trees in play.
+Easy to navigate. In most cases, the basket finishes right next to the next tee.

Cons:

-The biggest con here is safety. If the walking trail is busy at all, this course is unplayable. Most of the holes tee off from the trail, and some throw over it. Hole 1 even has a mostly blind shot over the trail. Playing here on a nice March day though, the park was pretty empty. Just utilize caution and common sense when playing this course.
-Hole 9 is one of the worst holes in the county. It's a wide open 340' shot with a busy road on one side of the fairway, and the parking lot on the other. It's boring, dangerous, and just plain bad.
-Nothing much to look at, this park. It's pretty much just a walking trail and a disc golf course around a building.

Other Thoughts:

=The only reason I didn't rate this course lower with all the safety issues was because this course is actually pretty fun to play! It's a little quirky at times, and there's still hole nine, but I did have an enjoyable time playing here.
=On the aforementioned hole 3, if you are unable to throw over the gully and your disc start rolling... bye-bye, Buzzz. On a similar note, there is a small but nasty pond on hole 6. If you want to keep your disc, stay out. However, the thick woods should do a decent job of keeping your disc safe from the algae infested water.
=Not sure about bathrooms or other amenities. There is at least one bench. Congrats, Gary Eakin Park, you have a bench.
=Not a destination course for sure, but it's a decent niner to bag on a non-busy day.
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Sara Collins Elementary DGC Greenville, SC

Pros:

Sara Collins is a large, gorgeous elementary school campus with lots of recreational activities for students. Amongst the activities are two baskets placed alongside a soccer field. Now, I get to tell you more what two baskets in a field look like.
- Two baskets placed on a slight hill. Good for target practice.
- When school isn't in session, soccer field can be used for practice throws.
- Because this is a practice area, there are not designated tee areas. It's just two baskets to throw towards. As such, you can be creative with your approach shots.
- Nice playground for the kids. The adjoining property also has a nice playground along with more paths to walk or to run on the track.
- Good place to introduce kids to disc golf. Fabulous!

Cons:

Somewhere it listed this place as having three baskets. Only two discs exist. Based on my grade school math, that means one basket isn't here.
- May be hard for anyone to drum up interest when there isn't a true flow to the course. You try convincing a group of kids where the arbitrary tee pad is located for a round.
- It could be used for practice in off-hours but, that's not likely for anyone. You've got to walk a long way around to get to the gates, assuming they're unlocked. A lot of effort to practice in a relatively small space. Even if I lived across the street, it's not worth the hassle.
- Baskets seemed in good shape so there's that.

Other Thoughts:

The best thing Sara Collins has going for it is that you're close to many other solid courses. Maybe a kid will like the game, then you bring them to one of the area's 9-holers. Then when they're ready, bring them to Timmons. And that's how it should work!
- There is enough room between the two campuses that you could make a decent, kid-friendly course. It's a shame this is what you get instead.
- I played here for the sole purpose of saying I played here. I found a spot 150 feet from each basket and threw simply so I could say I played both holes. Pitiful, I know.
- Unless you are a student here, nobody has a reason to play here. Based on the fences and fortress feel, it seems outsides aren't welcome anyways. So, no loss skipping this layout.
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Athens Regional Park DGC Athens, TN

Pros:

Pretty much every hole had two tees and two baskets. If you can't find a challenging layout that's perfectly suited to you, it's not the course's fault. There were open shots, shots with and without water in play. There were some tough, wooded holes on the hillside. The course opened up on the back with awesome views. Hole 15 was huge fun. Hole 16 was diabolical - getting around that right-turning corner with the huge rollaway potential! Just a really fun course.

Cons:

In the woods, I had a little trouble imagining the right line on a couple holes, but it was my first time there. I think if I got to play it a bunch, the challenge would be awesome.

Other Thoughts:

I was passing through from Huntsville to Knoxville and am super glad I stopped in. I have no problem giving it a 4. We have higher-rated courses here in town that weren't nearly as good as this one. This is a course that I really wished I lived closer to and could get to know.
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Sheltered Acres DGC Sheridan, WY

Pros:

Beautiful location with grass, trees and river.

Love the fireball stamped concrete tees.

Baskets are in great shape and easy to find.

Cons:

The walk path impacts 90% of the holes.

Baskets not set in concrete and #5 was at an angle. I was able to push it back to plumb.

Other Thoughts:

Based on the size and limitions of this park, the designer has done a nice layout. I kept thinking how I would layout 9 holes here and I could not come up with something better.

There were only 3 other people in the park and it made the course really hard to play. It took a dog walker 15 minutes to clear out so I could play #4.
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Paulie Bagwell Memorial DGC Pine Ridge, FL

Pros:

New course in area that was needed, new short pads added in February 2024. New t pads to be add by summer of 2024

Cons:

Nothing bad to say about course, if anything the restrooms are all the way in back of park, opposite end of dg course

Other Thoughts:

New course as of 1/29/2023
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Jackson Park Chicago, IL

Pros:

While there are a ton of courses in the Chicago suburbs, the city itself has lacked an 18 hole course since Edgebrook pulled baskets years ago. Jackson park is located in the near south side of the city; about 7 miles south of the loop. Finally, city dwellers have a real course to call their own.

The course provides surprisingly good variety with nearly half of the holes playing in scruffy woods with tight fairways and the rest playing through mostly open parkland. The wooded holes are generally on the short side (roughly 180-250') while the open holes range from roughly 200' to 450'+. Probably half of the park style holes have enough trees to force you to shape a shot. There are a few legitimately fun drives in the wooded section.

Cons:

The course is not really a permanent installation (yet?). Tees are either natural or use existing asphalt walking paths. Baskets are portables and tee signs are temporary. I remember at least 4 different types of baskets. Most had a single layer of chains, a couple were 90s vintage, and maybe two were top end. One basket (18) was tipped over and another (12) was completely disassembled. Many signs were illegible.

Routing/navigation is less than ideal. I usually have no problem finding my way around a new course, but udisc was essential here. Holes 1-3 are on the north side of Hayes Drive, as is the parking lot. After 3, you cross Hayes (fairly busy and no marked crosswalk) to play the remaining 15 holes. 18 finishes close to where you crossed the street, so you are left with a 1000'+ walk back to your car. There is likely a way to add an 18th hole on the north side of Hayes and remove/reroute 2 or 3. I think that would be a big improvement over the current death march. There are plenty of non-obvious transitions and 6-8 and 15-17 are in the same general area, resulting in opportunities to play from the wrong tee or to the wrong basket. I saw a few bricks with arrows and arrows hanging under cages to point you to the next tee, but it would still be very difficult to get around without udisc or a guide.

At about 4800' for 18 holes, this course won't challenge most players. Hole 18 is a 425'ish, wide open tweener for the red/white skill level the rest of the course plays to. The rest of the holes are par 3s averaging just over 250'. The course is almost entirely flat. There are only one or two holes with enough elevation change for it to affect your drive and every green is flat as can be.

Storms have taken down a few mature trees in the wooded section. When those are cleaned up, the few affected holes will lose some character and challenge.

Other Thoughts:

Jackson park has a lot going on. There are three beaches on the east side of Lake Shore Drive, the Museum of Science and Industry at the north end, a ball golf course at the south end that 7-9 are adjacent to, and all the usual park activities. I expect the empty parking lot I found on a Saturday afternoon in March is packed on beach days. The World's Fair of 1893 used the area that is now Jackson Park and there are a few remnants left (although not by the course).

Although the course isn't pay to play, it cost me $7 to park for 2 hours in the lot. I didn't see any opportunities to park for free adjacent to the course. The nearest El train stop is probably 3/4 mile away at 63rd street. The Woodlawn neighborhood, east of the park isn't the roughest neighborhood, but it isn't the safest either. The wooded portion is a couple blocks from the center of the El Rukn/Black P. Stone Nation's old turf. I didn't feel unsafe at any time, but don't go wandering around like a tourist.


This course has existed for a few years now as a work in progress. Hopefully the city eventually approves a permanent installation.
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Hurricane Bridge Park DGC Milton, WV

Pros:

This may be a little early to call it a 5 star course, but I am basing it on what I see.

This place is a gem. I put it up there with Idlewild, Hidden Ridge, Flip City, Holler, Harmon Hills.

-2 Tees every hole.
-2 baskets every hole.
-Long open holes, shorter technical holes, long technical wooded holes with tight fairways.
-Excellent use of the elevation and water provided.

This might be the one course in our region where I would say that 6 figures+ has went into development. Incredible how much care has been taken to make this place a possibility.

Cons:

I don't live near enough to this place. Only true con at this point is that it is so new that there isn't ample grass everywhere.

Other Thoughts:

Thank you Johnny and the local club for making this course a reality. Truly can't believe that we have this course in our region. Will add more to this review this week. Mostly using this as a place holder.
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Squirrel Lake Park Matthews, NC

Pros:

-Use of elevation. The elevation utilized at Squirrel Lake is brilliant. Good mix of up and downhill. Multiple holes exceed 20' in grade change. #9 is probably the signature hole if you love elevation the way I do. This is a tight downhill tunnel over a dried creek off an elevated pad. This is my favorite hole. It's a little more simply put, but it's a fun one to throw some putters and mids on.

-Well designed par fours. While none of them exceed 440', all four of them are very technical and require different shot shaping strategies. #10 was my favorite of the par fours. This one is tight, probably the tightest of the four par fours. It's a slightly downhill dogleg right. The landing zone is only about 180' from the tee while the total length is about 440'. I'm a righty with very limited sidearm ability. That was my only option due to the sharp turn and the tight fairway. It's ideal to throw a lower speed fairway that's overstable.

-The variety of fairways make for a for a round with the entire bag here. The first two holes are both dogleg left par fours. The first hole has a much more severe turn than the second, allowing a little more opportunity for distance. The only straight holes were #3, #8, and #9. The rest all had a least a slight turn to them. While Squirrel Lake is exclusively wooded, and designed to be an accuracy tester that tests your shot versatility, it does end with a wooded hole more suited for power. #12 is a slightly uphill 360' par three that's mostly straight and fades a bit left to the green. This is a well thought out driver shot. Tough finisher as it's a long par three, but the fairway is probably the widest of them all.

-Well taken care of. It's in a safe part of town and the locals keep the course in good shape. Plenty of benches in case you get tired.

-The concrete tees are long and level. Nice disc catcher baskets.

-There's a greenway for park attendees. Nice option to walk through the woods. There's also a tree with some bird carvings into it, very cool piece of art you don't often see! You'll see it when you finish #12.

Cons:

-Gets swampy. #11 was very muddy and wet when I played since it's on the lowest part on the course in terms of sea level and also has a creek. While we are at it, #11's green is awfully close to the greenway. Hate to say it cause I enjoyed this hole and the looks of it. It's just more hazardous.

-Parking lot is very small for the park. Often times, you may find yourself parallel parking on the side of the gravel road, which goes pretty gradually downhill. I had to parallel park and it was tough getting out since there was a car in front of mine and one behind me.

-I usually don't mind shots near roads because as long as there is nothing coming, there's nothing to worry about. But since the side of the road is basically parking lot #2, there's a chance you'll have cars on the side of #6's fairway. The previous reviewers already said it, #6 is very close to the road

Other Thoughts:

-Few weird fairways. I'm somewhere on the fence between Shadrach and Wolfhaley. I do agree that #4 is a little bit mystifying with its tight trail and its early left fade from the tee. It's not designed for a backhand thrower at all. It's clearly designed to be a sidearm hole where right handed throwers will be flicking something understable. I don't think it's a bad hole, but very limited opportunity for birdie for a 275' footer. #5 is the opposite. Very gentle right fade down a very narrow path. I don't think these holes are impossible; I think they serve some sort of purpose, but they can be a bit frustrating.

-Course is heavily populated with squirrels. I saw tons of them when I played. I got really close to a few and they startled me as they ran off when I got real close.

-You'll see better elevation here than you will at The Scrapyard and Dry Creek and you'd see a better mix of it than you would at Cane Creek (even though Cane Creek has a few bigger hills). It's a little bit more welcoming for newer players than the courses mentioned as well, despite some odd shaped fairways. There are no daunting water carries and the shorter par fours make for more options on how to navigate them. It's still enough to challenge, which makes for a fair challenge. You'll be wanting to practice some flip up shots and some backhand anhyzers.
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