Lufkin, TX

Kiwanis Park

2.385(based on 13 reviews)
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6 0
DesertFox
Experience: 11.8 years 130 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Kiwanis=Fun little course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 20, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

1) Kiwanis is situated right in the middle of the town and is beautiful, especially during springtime! Very peaceful with only a few park patrons coming by to walk/jog, further explained in the Other Thoughts section. The holes make a loop around the park and start and end at the parking lot by the Tulane Road side of the tennis courts.

2) Although most of the holes are on the short side, most have just enough trees to not make every one a straight shot to the basket. Easy enough for the beginners with some challenge for the experienced players. There are two creeks that run down the entire park and have enough presence to make you think twice on some shots, #6/15 and #16 come to mind.

3) The park is maintained and the grass is kept mostly trimmed, while the banks on the creeks are completely mown down every once in a while. Some might say that there should be a tree or a branch cut down here and there but I think it adds to challenge of course. There are alot of shots that will test your mid range/approach game.

4) There are many restaurants in the immediate area to fill your empty stomach. McDonalds, Papa John's and Subway among others are right across the park on Timberland Drive.

Cons:

1) The dirt tee pads will put off most veteran players that are used to nice concrete pads, although they're only really bad in the rain otherwise they'll just dirty your shoes. Nothing too bad but still a Con to most.

2) There are no hole signs on any of the tees and might confuse new players and first-timers to the course. The Main Sign on the course is also out-of-date and needs to replaced with the new layout of the course. I assume it will be eventually but for now it's a Con. Given all of that, it's still pretty easy to navigate around and find your way through.

3) If you happen to chunk a disc in either of the two creeks, there's a strong chance that you will either not be able to see it, or not want to get it because the water quality is suspect some days.

4) The baskets are pretty old Mach 1s, and there are a couple that are bent/damaged. #3/12 in particular is tricky to putt, but is still possible to make them in there.

Other Thoughts:

Like stated in the summary Kiwanis is designed to be a "Junior/Recreational" Course with some challenges and OB to keep it from being too easy. Don't expect it to be a world beater or it will let anyone down, it's made to be what it is and it's exactly that.

Also, it's been redesigned to be more safe for the park patrons as before with the old course there were a couple of holes that went straight through the more busy parts of the park, but that has been addressed with the redesign.

There really isn't a strong need to carry distance drivers on Kiwanis, one could make due with just putters mids and fairways. While Kiwanis isn't very long both distance and time wise, it's always helpful to carry less discs and help your shoulder/back out!

Final Thoughts: Overall Kiwanis isn't a must-play course, but if you're in the area and have an itch to play it's a solid choice. When Morris Frank is completed most will flock there and with good reason, but Kiwanis can be fun in it's own right and I'll keep playing here and enjoy it every time. Don't let the Con section fool you, it's still very much a fun course to play with your buds!
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3 0
dagger1504
Experience: 19.4 years 9 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Good Challenge 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 27, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

--Nice shade from all the trees
--fairly short holes (good for beginners) yet with all the trees it is a challenge.
--9-holes make for a nice quick game
--Plenty of places to eat nearby
--Hole #1 & #9 are fairly close to each other.
--Rarely any other people playing disc golf

Cons:

--Not designed by Disc Golf players but instead by city park workers (I think they did an alright job though)
--No set Pars for each hole...most are probably a par 3
--Although a good challenge, ALOT of trees.
--Located in public park, can be crowded with kids/birthday parties, especially Hole #2, which is really close to "water park" area.
--Holes and tees may randomly disappear (stolen? repaired?)
--Creek is more of a sewage ditch, very dirty and is an obstacle on many holes...disc may get lost in it.
--No map of the course (if there is one it is probably outdated)
--No good transition between hole #2 & #3. No bridge but you do have stepping stones and bricks to cross to other side of creek.

Other Thoughts:

I have seen this course go from having very few tees and baskets missing to being organized and playable. My friends and I would just guess where the tee would be and we would have to use one basket for multiple holes.

It has gotten a lot better and every time we play it we have fun. We are not experts in any way but we do like to play and this course always poses a challenge with the trees, creek, and little kids running running around.

This may not be a traveling destination but if you are in the area it is worth playing. Play a round, go across the street and get some McDonalds (you will smell it while playing) and go back to play another round.
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3 0
sidewinding
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.8 years 81 played 68 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 27, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

There is a large course map, with distances, on a sign at the parking area. I snapped a photo of it and used it for reference the first time I played.

Each tee has a short white 4x4 post that tells you what tee you're on but no other info. This assists the first timer in navigation because all you have to do is look for the next white post.

This course is set in an old city park, with huge pine trees throughout, so it is very pretty and shady. I played three rounds back to back and it was 99 degrees and high humidity so the shade really took this course to the next level.

The design was very fun and pretty challenging due to the trees and creek that comes into play on some of the holes. This is definitely not your average pitch and putt nine hole course.

Cons:

Dirt teepads.

This is a multi-use park so you have to be extra careful to avoid the other park patrons. Hole #1 has you throwing between a picnic area on the right and a pavillion on the left and there were birthday parties at each when I played. Hole #2 has you throwing back between the same pavillion and a water splash park. I had to lay up on this hole as not to decapitate any tiny splashers. Just about every other hole has you throwing across the sidewalk that winds back and forth through the park. Hole #8 has you throwing over a parking lot and around a tennis court.

The creek is pretty easy to avoid but if you happen to go in there, the water is extremely nasty looking and the banks are very steep and deep.

After you finish hole #9 you have to walk around a series of tennis courts to get back to hole #1 and the parking lot.

Other Thoughts:

I was just passing through town when I played this course and was pleasantly suprised by it. I will probably drive a little out of the way to play it again in the future. Hopefully next time will be during the week and I'll be able to be a little more aggressive on each hole since there shouldn't be as many people using the park.
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