Funabashi City Undokoen reviews
4
0
Half Bath Studio Course 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Mar 21, 2017
Played the course:once
Pros:
- free course
- free parking
- constructed tee pads
- well maintained Discatcher baskets
- protective netting around OBs, trouble areas where errant throws could hit cars or wondering pedestrians
- numbered tee posts with distances
- ace runs galore
- bathrooms on location
- benches and a netted rest area
- uses some variance in elevation to create added course difficulty
- clean course with landscaped steps and rope railings
- shoe cleaning metal grating at most holes
- easy to navigate 9 hole loop, basket # 9 leads to tee # 1
- free parking
- constructed tee pads
- well maintained Discatcher baskets
- protective netting around OBs, trouble areas where errant throws could hit cars or wondering pedestrians
- numbered tee posts with distances
- ace runs galore
- bathrooms on location
- benches and a netted rest area
- uses some variance in elevation to create added course difficulty
- clean course with landscaped steps and rope railings
- shoe cleaning metal grating at most holes
- easy to navigate 9 hole loop, basket # 9 leads to tee # 1
Cons:
- short 9 hole course, 802 ft total
- overlapping fairways
- short/small tee pads
- barb wired fenced OB bordering a few fairways
- mostly dirt course, muddy hillside is hazardous when wet
- overlapping fairways
- short/small tee pads
- barb wired fenced OB bordering a few fairways
- mostly dirt course, muddy hillside is hazardous when wet
Other Thoughts:
The Funabashi course is actually a JFDA (Japan Flying Disc Association?) location. The course was super short, like you could attempt a jump putt off the tee for a few, crammed into a tiny area atop a small hill, and most fairways overlapped each other. A few holes run near fenced off OB hazards. When players run these baskets they risk loosing their discs.
That being said, all the other small details of the course were really well thought out. Fairways had nets to protect cars and pedestrians from stray discs, metal grating to scrape the mud off your feet at most holes, and legit Discatcher baskets in good condition. And real constructed teepads! This is the only course in Japan that I've played with actual real hand-made tee pads, albeit they were very short. The pads were a mix of concrete/brick/rubber/wood. Unfortunately, they're barely big enough for only the smallest of X steps. There were even a set of doorless toilets on location. Avoiding eye contact with a someone taking a dump surely adds an element of difficulty to making those outside the circle putts.
There wasn't to a lot to go on for this course besides the address of the park, so I decided to wing it and drive there to find out myself. This was not an easy task, Funabashi Undoken is a decent sized (for Japan) multi sports complex. Eventually, after 20 minutes of driving around the park I found a yellow rimmed discatcher. I fleshed out the course information page and dropped a pin at what I think is the most useful place to park, the lot nearest tee 7. The park is free and open from 6am-8pm. Parking was free as well.
Overall, I got the impression I was walking into a private senior citizen workout loop when I stepped on the course. All the equipment was nice, but the area was just way too small. Hole 6 was probably the signature hole and my personal favorite of the 9. My rating for a course of this size is usually a .5, but I bumped it up to a 1 because of all the small details they got right. Fun course, but don't get your expectations too high.
That being said, all the other small details of the course were really well thought out. Fairways had nets to protect cars and pedestrians from stray discs, metal grating to scrape the mud off your feet at most holes, and legit Discatcher baskets in good condition. And real constructed teepads! This is the only course in Japan that I've played with actual real hand-made tee pads, albeit they were very short. The pads were a mix of concrete/brick/rubber/wood. Unfortunately, they're barely big enough for only the smallest of X steps. There were even a set of doorless toilets on location. Avoiding eye contact with a someone taking a dump surely adds an element of difficulty to making those outside the circle putts.
There wasn't to a lot to go on for this course besides the address of the park, so I decided to wing it and drive there to find out myself. This was not an easy task, Funabashi Undoken is a decent sized (for Japan) multi sports complex. Eventually, after 20 minutes of driving around the park I found a yellow rimmed discatcher. I fleshed out the course information page and dropped a pin at what I think is the most useful place to park, the lot nearest tee 7. The park is free and open from 6am-8pm. Parking was free as well.
Overall, I got the impression I was walking into a private senior citizen workout loop when I stepped on the course. All the equipment was nice, but the area was just way too small. Hole 6 was probably the signature hole and my personal favorite of the 9. My rating for a course of this size is usually a .5, but I bumped it up to a 1 because of all the small details they got right. Fun course, but don't get your expectations too high.
