Outstanding bluff-top view of Red Wing, Barn Bluff and the Mississippi River.

Concrete Tees

Park is worth visiting without the disc golf. Feel free to disc golf while you're there.

Long/short tees don't really make for different shot shapes--they just add length. Few real obstacles.

I played this on my way home from the forced sale of my sailboat, which was occasioned by me losing my job. I wasn't having a good day, and I was pretty much bawling the whole way to the course.

By the end of the round, I felt lighter and calmer. I spent a good deal of time looking out over the valley before heading home.

I think the stabilization of my mood says something about the serene power of Memorial Park, and that of disc golf in general.

Regarding the "castle", if you're thinking Windsor or Caernarfon, you will be pretty disappointed. If you're expecting "cutesy little tower", you're right on the money.

+First and foremost, everything about this course starts with its location. It sits atop one of the bigger bluffs above Red Wing. The views from the parking area near tee 1 are great. Many other areas of the course have similarly nice views.
+2 sets of CONCRETE tees. Just wanted to make it known that they are concrete as they appear to have been natural in the past and not in good shape. They are perfect sized for this course.
+2 sets of tees to make 18 holes. 1-9 are the shorts and 10-18 are the longs. They aren't too different from each other but it is better than not having them there at all.
+Course is overall well maintained and pretty even if it wasn't sitting atop the bluff.
+The course has some elevation to it. Nothing too drastic but definitely not flat. Your disc can get away from you a bit if you let it glide.
+Reasonable length for a park style course. It isn't a true pitch and put nor is it a big bomber.
+Shouldn't lose a disc here.
+Bathrooms located near tee 1.
+Other things to do in park: mountain bike/hike on trails, learn about history of local area, check out castle thing.
+Signs were informative enough, especially on 1-9.

-Not as much variation from hole to hole as you might expect. Variety wasn't really there.
-Could have done a bit more to change the alternate tees more. Often times the angle of the shot and/or the distance just wasn't different enough from the first time.
-Not too many trees. Probably wishful thinking but it would have been nice to use some of the wooded areas on the bluffside to make an epic course.
-Can play a bit too close to the roads. We didn't have that issue on our round but I'm sure discs get on the tar from time to time.

+The location of this course makes it a must play. Once you get there, you realize that disc golf isn't the main priority at this park. The views on this park are worth a visit here even if you are not going to play disc at all. In fact, I'm almost surprised that some cranky citizens even let disc golf get installed here. It's almost too picturesque and public.
+There is nothing inherently wrong with this course but also nothing about the disc golf to make it stand out. The course is stuck on a fairly small area in between a circular road. Not a ton of room to work with.

Well-manicured, picturesque course. Mostly short to medium accuracy tester holes with varying elevations. Some holes are wide open and a few have trees you must navigate. Great signage that makes it easy for newbies. Had it to ourselves on a Saturday morning. Great views of the River valley and town below the park. Worth stopping for if you're passing through!

If you only want to launch long distance drives, this is not the course for you. Did not have to fight any winds on our visit but since it's on top of a bluff it would add a very challenging aspect to one's round.

1. Has an amazing scenic view of read wing most of the way around the course and a cool looking castle near the center.
2. Baskets are in great shape.
3. Tee signs show you the layout of each hole and point you in the direction of your next hole.
4. The flow of the course nicely loops around to the beginning.
5. The course is out in the open so you don't have to worry about loosing your disk in foliage.
6. Looks like they cut the fair way grass (Well maintained)
7. Has plenty of picnic tables to eat at.
8. Not crowded before April, since the gate to the road is closed until then.
9. Hosts a tournament every august.

1. Tee pads are gravel and have divots from previous use.
2. Front 9 holes share fairways and baskets with the back 9 holes. ie: Hole 1 with Hole 10. etc.
3. Because the holes share the same baskets, it lacks in diversity.
4. Only trash bins are at the beginning of the course, but since you loop around after hole 9, you can drop your trash off.
5. There was a good amount off trash on the course.
6. No bathrooms yet, they are currently being built.
7. Not a lot of parking.

Over all this is a pretty decent course. The sight up there takes your breath away and the castle in the middle of the course is pretty cool. The way I would say this course works is your front 9 is your warm up and your back 9 is your actual game. It's a shame that holes share the same baskets, but over all the course is well maintained and I had a great experience. If you go before April, you'll need to walk about a mile up hill to access this course, but it's worth it. If you are every in Red Wing I would recommend stopping by at this course.

Given the space, I liked the way it was laid out. The hole lengths may not have been long but the wind conditions atop the bluff made the course challenging and fun.
Well-maintained, good use of the trees that were there.

Not crazy about the natural stone tee boxes.
Little too close to the roads in some places. I could see that being an issue on a busy day.

Stopped by the course while on the last leg of a day road trip along the river. Beautiful view from above. Fun trying to negotiate the wind, but managed an ace on #6! Only my 2nd ace ever. A fun course. Was the only player on a Monday late afternoon. Will definitely try to get down there and play again.

The views of Red Wing are spectacular. Nice baskets. The course is never really that busy unless there is a mountain bike race, then it turns into a parking lot.

The natural tee pads and lack of variety of shots on the course. The city won't allow any expansion into the woods but there is definitely enough room.

Definitely worth checking it out if you happen to be in the area.

Great scenic views of Red Wing, the Mississippi, and Barn Bluff.

Each hole has a detailed sign showing hole number, tee and pin placement, and out of bounds areas. The fairways are all nicely manicured. Navigation without a map was easy.

We went on a Sunday afternoon, and there was no one there. Crowding shouldn't be an issue.

There's a mysterious castle in the middle of the course.

The tees are dirt and very worn. Most of them have a 4x4 marking the end of the tee sticking out of the ground multiple inches, making it easy to trip.

Instead of a 9 hole course with alternate tees, they tried to pass off the long tees as holes 10-18, reusing the same baskets for all of them. In addition, with possibly one exception (hole 18) the long tees don't significantly add to the challenge or line of the hole.

Much of the course is very close to the road. I almost hit a car on one of my drives.

Probably the biggest issue with this course is the uninspired hole design. Almost all of the holes are 200-300 feet with about 3 mature trees which are easy to navigate around, and a 30 foot wide fairway. No tree holes, no significant elevation changes, no doglegs, no water hazards.

We went because we were near Red Wing this weekend for rock climbing at barn bluff. It's probably worth it to do this course once for the great view, but I won't seek it out in the future.

Gorgeous views of Red Wing and beyond

Very well maintained fairways and grass

Well marked signage of each hole including distances and a diagrammatic map with the tees, pin, and hazards such as trees

Some elevation challenges, but there could be more dogleg or wooded holes

Windy conditions can take away from one's game

Tall grasses around every fairway can make errant disc searching frustrating, so I would recommend just never taking you're eye off where it lands.

Well worn dirt tees have become hazardous craters. I nearly tripped on the follow through on the second tee.

This was my first time playing at this course. It certainly plays up the highlights and challenges of the bluff lands of Red Wing while providing gorgeous views of the surrounding area as an amenity. The course is well laid out for its site but lacks diversity. Most holes play the same, that is throwing down a narrow mowed strip of open fairway to the basket with the occasional tree. If you want to work on playing in the wind, have a leisure round for fun, or just work on your game this course will do the job.

-Alternate Tees
-Natural setting
-Easy to navigate

This 9 hole course sits on top of a hill in Red Wing. The views from where you park and the old water shed and tower add a great vibe for the course. The course itself is wraps around the pastures and uses the elevation changes that occur to add some value to the holes. There are two set of tees which the alternate (which they number 10-18) are longer and generally speaking a little tougher. There are two sets of tees then for each basket.

-Terrible tees
-Road comes in play on a couple holes
-No amenities

Let's address the tees first. I like natural tees. I am not a must have concrete guy. The tees need to be addressed. Firstly, the are all so sunken for play that they all are retaining water. You had to play from next to the tee. Next to the tee, where people have been playing because of the water, was also retaining water. Which means this problem has been long term. Secondly, the tees are so sunken in that the wood to mark the foot fault line is now a safety hazard. You would most likely trip and fall if you used the tees and had a strong follow through. Either repacking them or moving them slightly would fix the problem (for now) without having the spend the money on concrete.

The road come into play on a couple of the holes. Not really with a controlled throw but if it was windy on the top of a hill, or a casual player could easily throw into the road on a few holes. I actually saw two guys park there car to the side of hole 2 and walk down the hill while I was playing Hole 2. When I drove past when I was leaving, they were coming up the hill with 5 discs in there hands. Some people obviously throw into and over the roads.

The bathroom/shed thing by Hole 1 and boarded up and close. So when you drive around the curving roads to get up here for a few minutes make sure you have everything you want/need with you. It's straight up nature up here. The courses as a whole from the true tees "1-9" is relatively easy. The alt tees or "10-18" are more challenging but really more on length than positioning.

The course as a whole was a fun play. I am not trying to diss it. That's why I didn't add more cons. It's unique views of Red Wing and the old tower/building on the course adds to the flavor. It does however lack the challenge that I was hoping for. It would good place to stretch your legs and play 9, if you were passing through, however it is not a destination course. With a little love this course could be solid. Fixing/moving the tees and adjusting the basket placement on a couple holes would kick this courses rating up for me a notch or two (potentially more with real love). But as of right now, it's just a decent course in my opinion. Without improvements, it's a "one and done" for me.

I hope this course starts getting the love for the park district and the locals it deserves. It's potential is there, it just needs to be unlocked.

The course is on top of a bluff and offers some spectacular views.
The course itself is pretty straight forward.
There is elevation change, but the holes are generally straight.
There are two tees per hole which allows for you to play 18 from different tees.

You need to watchout for traffic on the road since many vehicles come up for the view.
The drive up to the park is kind of a pain. Be careful rounding corners.

The course mixed in with the view makes it one heck of stop!

1)Dual tees acting as seperate holes. Only some of the holes are changed dramatically enough to call it a different hole in my opinion, should just be considered long and short tees not front and back, but the signs are already made up that way and not changable without new signs.

2) Very nice composite signs. Clear description, distances listed, and an ok map of each hole. COuld use a little more detail in the map part of it, I guess it is something with the design of the sign that keeps it from being clearly descriptive.

3) Very scenic property with two scenic overlooks. One at the last switchback in the road and one by the first tee in the farthest corner of this park. When I was there my whole walk up the road to the back of the park I heard Eagles/Hawks overhead. I saw three bald eagles circling when I reached the top and squawking loudly. I simply can always appreciate a good big bird sighting.

4) Challenge on this course is adequate, some trees forcing you to pick specific lines, plenty of distance from the long tees (back 9). Short tees (front 9) are adequately long to challenge an average or worse player, but the longs are long enough that you had better be a pretty good distance throwwer to plan on shooting around par.

5) Shelter and bathrooms near the first tee. Bathrooms are closed in the off season, but I doubt many people make the trek up the hill to play in winter. Let me tell you it was an effort.

6) Course does use the rolling terrain very well. When you climb the hill it feels like it is flat as flat can be when you reach the top, but the way the holes are laid out, the rolling terrain and sidehills really does make this a better course than it first appears.

7) Course provides you with a spot to throw the disc a long way. Now I do not endorse doing this because it would be dangerous or deadly for people or animals below, but I have never ever ever wanted to throw a disc away more than at this course. I wanted to launch one of the scenic overlook by the first tee. I bet I coul dhave thrown it 1/2 a mile into the city. I just had images of the disc breaking through a window or hitting a little Schnauzer. I did not want the name of this game to be tarnished by some idiot launching discs off a bluff, but man did I want to do it.

9) This course looks to be well maintained and I didnt see any complaints from other reviews, so I would assume the grass gets mowed, it looks pretty clean and the turf is proabably in pretty good shape. The trees are healthy too. I also could assume that the grass tees are in adequate condition because I doubt the course gets a ton of play, but the teeing areas may be suffering from a little compaction.

10) There is adequate changes in distance of holes to force you to use different discs, and the elevation definitely helps change some shots.

11) Unique character with the silo or old tower at the top of the bluff. I love the charm those things add to parks.

12) The mythical 19th hole!

1) Course is too open in my opinion, perhaps the trees that are in your way seem much more intimidating in the summer when they are fully leaved out, but when I played they just didnt seem to be that challenging to shoot around.

2) A few of the holes are long walks between holes, that may be in part to the long tees being considered part of the initial plan, yet you end up playing front 9 then back 9. So what I am saying is flow would be a little better if the difference between the short and longs wasn't so much. Many of these holes were an additional shot (125-260')

3) Road to the top is not plowed in winter. I will not factor this into my rating but it should be mentioned. I understand why they do not plow that road, because if they did they would most certainly have people going in the ditch all the time or hitting other vehicles. It would probably turn to glare ice every time they plow because it probably gets zero sun.
On this same train of thought . . . teepads are not shovelled in winter. Understandable again what with the rare person (yes I am crazy or determined enough to do it) wanting to climb that hill to play that course. I tell you what though . . . it beats the alternative of Minnesota State SE Technical College!!!

4) Layout was a little confusing after holes #1 and #2. You get to a spot in a fairly open field where you can see like 5 baskets and 5 tees, but it seems to be confusing as to where you are supposed to throw. I suppose in summer you would maybe not have as much of an issue because you would see foot traffic and you also would be able to see where things were mowed and not mowed. Under 10" of snow I couldnt see a darn thing, and the footprints by the guy who had apparently played (in snowshoes none the less) before I played but after the snowfall had been covered by the blowing snow.

5) Course is mostly open and the whole walk up the mountain I was thinking I was headed for a heavily wooded gem. I would like to see them incorporate some of those wooded areas into the design more, but perhaps it is a state mandate or something that those woodlands are untouchable. This is the only missing variety.

Can you find the mythical hole #19. There is no sign and there is no basket (it is more of an object hole). Start at the 16th tee (which is the first post you see when you get to the split in the road. It winds itself back and forth down the windy road all the way to the bottom and finishes at the flagpole at the main entrance. The only issue is that the woods is considered OB, so you must stay on the paved area or suffer penalty shots. It is a par 25 and measured 3750 (yes I actually paced it off the whole way down because I wanted to see how far up I walked to play this course). See how much distance you want to bite off with anything off the pavement being OB!

All in all this was a fun course, a few frustrations along the way and (all the way up), but hey it was good exercise to walk 3/4 of a mile up and 3/4 of a mile down on top of the whole course. I am glad it wasnt a horribly designed course or something because that would have really pissed me off, but it was worth my trek up. Most wont put forth this kindof effort to get to a course especially in winter, but I am a course whore and I was determined to play it when I read that it was open all winter despite the "long hike up the hill" as mentioned in the course description. I am headed over there to change that wording to more detailed description. I don't want to discourage people from doing it in winter, I just want to make sure it is accurate and descriptive.

Wind will also play a major role in your shot making abilities the day you play this course. You are hundreds of feet up in the air on a relatively flat piece of land. It almost feels wierd. It's like an oasis after walking through the mirage. I walked all the way up this 3/4 mile ice/snow covered road and then I find this flat prairie area (not what I was expecting by any means)

WARNING: This course was played under 10 inches of snow so please keep that in mind when evaluating my review. If something I have said is inaccurate please let me know I would be happy to change it, but I used my best judgement about the property and think my statements will be pretty true.

I really liked this course because it was in a very unique setting. It is located at the top of a bluff which means you can see a lot of red wing and it's just really beautiful up there.
That being said, I also liked this course because it has excelent flow from hole to hole. You can't miss the course if you drive up the hill because that's pretty much all there is up there. And a random old watchtower.
Anyway, every hole has two tees, one for the front nine and one for the backnine is how they are labelled.
The tees for the front nine have good signs, it shows distance for that hole and the corresponding back nine hole as well as a nice picture. The tees for the back nine also have a post with the number that tee is.
There is a good variety of distance here, some shots are short and some are long. There are a good amount of obstacles in the way as well as different sorts of elevation changes you have to worry about.

It was really really really windy up here when I was here. This normally wouldn't be that bad but because you're on a bluff there is a chance you could end up throwing it off the bluff, that being said, it'd have to be a really really bad throw.
The road to the park is closed during the winter so if you want to play during the winter or spring, you'll have to hike up the hill, which seemed like it was a good 20 minute walk.

If you are in the area, make sure you play this course. If you don't like the course, at least you'll get some spectacular views and get to look at the weird stone watchtower that looks about 100 years old.

This course is better than I thought it would be. It will definitely challange your putting. Every time I went while I was in town it was crazy windy. The course is short but the holes are fun and present some challange because there is some elevation change. The design is decent for being in such a tight space. There are really good tee signs at this course as well. I also think I remember there being 2 sets of tees on some of the holes.

The course was never busy when I was there so it would be a good place to play some safari golf too.

I'm just being picky with these... The course mostly short and does not require you to throw a multitude of different types of shots. The other general bad thing about this course is that it's in a multi use park. There wasn't anyone else using it when I was there because it was cold outside but it looked like it could get a bit crowded with picnicers.

This is the only decent course in Red Wing. The other course isn't worth the drive, in my opinion.

A comment regarding my evaluation of courses. I am not trying to insult or hurt any ones feelings when I review a course. I'm just trying to evaluate the course on what I feel are important characteristics of a good course. Disc golf has become a large enough sport that I feel we should strive for better than we have now. Just putting 18 holes in a park isn't enough. 18 pole holes does not make a disc golf course. It requires tee's, signs, maps, solid course design and constant maintenance. Any less than that and we will never advance the sport to a reputable level.