The course plays through a beautifully kept park with a great mix of grassy fields and woods. Some of the holes have some nice open distance with enough trees and brush around to make you hit interesting lines. the rest play in woods dense enough to make you hit tight gaps. There is enough dense rough in the woods that you'll pay when you miss your line. There is great distance variety from a few long multi-shot holes to some ace runs if you're accurate.

This course has a nice mix of hole shapes, you'll need lots of different shots to be successful here. I really enjoyed all the cool lines through the woods, especially the shots that brought the ravine into play adding some fun elevation. the course plays balanced with left and right turning shots throughout.

The tees are nice long concrete pads that are level and flush with the ground. The tee signs are informative enough with hole layout and distance. The park is nicely groomed with mowed grass and trimmed brush. The baskets are in nice shape and seemed pretty new.

Navigation is a little tricky in a few spots, some next tee signs would help a lot. The map on this site is good, I recommend printing it or pulling it up on your smartphone your first time here. A few of the longer holes seemed like twiner distances where the pin wasn't reachable off the tee, but the hole wasn't long enough to leave a very challenging upshot.

This course is definitely worth a stop when you're in the area, with a ton of variety and some really fun shots. Beginners might find this one pretty challenging with some longer holes and some thick rough. More experienced players will find some nice challenges here to test different parts of their game.

The course is set on some VFW land that apparently already had developed nature trails, bridges, native grass areas, birdhouses, and a variety of trees and bushes. The course weaves seamlessly from groomed, open areas into the woods and back out again. The open areas tend to be a bit longer and are not necessarily grip-and-rip bombers; you need some placement to avoid the bushy areas and the tree line, and there are frequent sharp doglegs. The wooded holes vary in length but all require accuracy to hit the right line. A couple are ace runs in the 200-250 foot range, but all of them could turn into bogeys if you ricochet off a tree. And then there are some semi-wooded holes that play through a valley with a shallow stream. These are really pretty holes.

All the baskets are bright yellow and visible. The tee signs are pretty good, clearly showing distances and basket locations, although the lines it depicts can be misleading (e.g. making it appear that a sweeping hyzer path is possible when it is really a dogleg hole).

The course design is overall very good, with just about every type of hole you could want to see with a good distribution of left-to-right and vice versa.

On several holes you need to walk the entire fairway to see where the basket is. Other times there are a couple baskets visible. For instance, the 4th tee aims right at the basket for #7, but the #4 fairway actually follows an S curve into the woods that is easy to miss. Bring a map. There are several "Next tee" signs around, but more are needed.

Although it hadn't rained in a couple days, the course was very soggy. Some areas seem to be legitimate marshes (it's clear you're not supposed to throw there), but even the fairways were quite moist.

There are other users of this land, so you'll need to watch out for dog walkers, etc. A dog walker with her kids stood in the middle of the fairway on one hole and never even saw me (I patiently waited for them to ramble on).

The only other con is one they can't help: there isn't a ton of elevation here. That said, what little elevation that exists is used quite well.

This course is really well cared for. It would have been a nice place to be even if I didn't have discs with me. As a course, it is the best in the area, and I bet it was a great course this past summer for the amateur Worlds. I'm sad I only got to play one round here, but I'll be back.

Beautiful piece of property with an amazing course designed on it. Great Hole Balance so forehand and backhand are equal. Long holes with obstacles so that on every hole accuracy is key. I love courses that balance accuracy & distance and this one does it as good as any. Shot variety is essential - I threw numerous thumbers and forehand rollers on this course and needed every shot I could think of.

Some great disc golf holes/shots that stand out:

#5 - Out of the trees through a narrow fairway, across the field through the pines & finally over the hill with a big finish to the right.
#4 - Across field to a narrow entrance into the woods. Back in the wood to a slightly elevated basket on a mound.
#1 - I loved the out of the chute in the trees and across the field & pond shot to start on #1. Only about 300' but looks a lot longer standing on the tee.
(I forget some of the other hole #'s but...)
The Hill to Hill shot across the valley is fun. You are standing at eye level to the basket but it is many feet down to where you will be playing from if you hit an early tree.

Didn't see alternate tees so it may not be very beginner friendly. If allergic to poison ivy then look out on some holes(not really a con just a warning). Watch your footing - I could be slick navigating some of the paths if wet (another warning).
Not really anything I didn't like!

This course made the Rochester Am Worlds trip worth it and it is what all course should strive to offer. Amazing design on a perfect piece of land. Would love to get back up in the area and play it again.

-amazing terrain for disc golf and great design
-great variety of hole types and shots
-even mix of right & left holes
-variety of distance but lots of longer holes
-big open bombs (1,4,12,14,18), tight wooded technical (2,3,5,10,11,16), open fairways with tree lines (1,12,13,18), blind baskets (4,5,7,8,11,12,13,15) and the creek comes into play on 6,9,16
-supposed to have 3 tee levels
-a number of holes that make good use of the very limited elevation (5,7,8,9,10,16,17)
-plenty of parking
-porta-johns and trash cans at course entrance
-well manicured, grass regularly cut
-new layout is great, new hole 6 is awesome and picturesque and some of the repetitive holes on the old back 9 are gone now
-great new concrete tee pads and signs, finally! whiners can't whine anymore!

everything i used to have listed here is pretty much taken care of. it's too bad that the old hole 2 isn't there anymore. there's really not much to complain about here.

supposed alternate tees are no longer marked. some stakes could be put in for a shorter layout...

navigation is pretty good now with the signs but i totally missed hole 11. a next tee sign after holes 9, 10, 11, 16 are in order.

easy to miss the VFW driveway from the street, the turn comes up fast. know your directions to the course.

This course was always amazing but now it has reached a new level and is nearly perfect. It is long and challenging but totally worth it. The plot of land is large and the design ingeniously weaves around two long strips of open field lined with trees and thick brush around and between them. Some holes follow the open lines, some go through the woods, some throw from the open into the woods and vice versa, one throws out the woods across the open space and back into the trees to a dogleg right to the green. Just a great amount of variety and different kinds of lines with a gorgeous, isolated outdoors feel.

Now that this course has concrete tee pads and new signs it has the amenities to go along with the stellar golf that was always here. The navigational issues are largely rectified by the new improvements but hole 11 is easy to miss, especially if you are used to the old layout.

It is really unfortunate that hole 2 had to go. At least it still gets installed for tournaments but the logic behind removing it still irritates me. At least there are great new holes to replace it.

This is now the undisputed premiere course in Rochester. A fantastic upgrade to an area with a solid line-up of courses. If you can only play one course in Rochester, this is it.


**Like this review? Hate it? Message me and let me know why! I want to make them better!**

Updated 8/7/24
- two cement tee pads and two basket for every whole
- New signs that are up to date with the new layout at every tee
- a good mix of wooden and open holes
- great scenery
- most hole require contol of throws.
- good variety of hole designs
- good directional signage pointing to the next tee throughout the course
- well maintained, with clearly defined fairways even on the wooded holes.
- a couple of the holes (1,15,16) utilize water hazards which are manageable especially if you are using the appropriate tee.

Like I said there is a little bit of everything on this course. Some holes are open and some are not. Some holes start in the open and go into the woods. Some holes start in the woods and lead into the open. Some holes are up hill and some are down hill There is water but there is not much danger of losing a disc. With multiple tees and baskets thie course can be quite long or it can be just average if using the shorter tees and baskets. On holes 1 and 13 they have added an extra long third tee for those who really want some distance. With 4 different layouts (2 tees and 2 baskets) everyone can participate at Parma. Come and check it out.

Great wooded course, beautiful holes, and well maintained. Long tee pads. Lot of different looks, open and tight. Really great course design.

Some wooded holes have a very narrow flight path, it is a great challange. There are some joggers running through the park, so you have to be careful.

Most enjoyable course I played in the Rochester area!

Short holes, long holes, tight holes, open holes, lefty holes, righty holes, concrete tee pads, quality multi-chain DISCatcher baskets, legit par 4's, OB territory... Parma has most of the ingredients of a top notch course. You better collect your birdies on the short holes because the long holes loom, handing out bogies like candy on Halloween. Hole #5 is touted as "the hardest hole in Rochester" and exemplifies this course: you have ~120' RHBH anny line to hit to get out of the trees, then ~200' of field to navigate with a few pines in the way, finally the basket is tucked away downhill on a 90 degree right turn with a wall of trees and brush guarding a straight approach. Carding a 3 on this hole is quite an achievement.

The underbrush here can get super thick which can result in lost discs. Hole #4 could lose a tree or two to open up a realistic approach line for perfectly thrown tee shot. The teebox for #7 is easily exposed to throws on hole #6. I never noticed markings for the supposed short tees. The transition from #10 to #11 is tricky.

There's an alternate version of hole #1 that plays over a pond which is used for tournaments and (a) makes the flow of the course better and (b) is just a better risk/reward golf hole. Several of the holes have been tweaked in recent years in preparation for the 2011 PDGA AM World Championships. As of this writing the course is in fantastic shape; there's not much more you could want in a challenging golf course than what Parma has to offer.

best overall course in rochester, hands down. although there are many other courses i love, this one makes the best use of land and has an excellent new layout as of last summer.
- has new cement tees in beautifully maintained park winding through two fields and woods that have some elevation changes.
- the fields and the wooded holes have no repetition, making you have to throw many different kinds of shots and giving you a great challenge.
- has 4 completely new holes with several others altered (new: 6, 11, 12, and 17).
6 goes through some trees over a winding stream to the basket not far from the water's edge; 11 is an uphill shot in the woods to a plateau with the basket protected by some small trees; 12 tees off on the edge of the woods, out over a long grass section that is o.b., across the field where the basket is in the woods with a small opening and is most likely reached by a thumber; 17 is down on the side of a ridge where the tee and the basket are on the side of the hill and the basket can be reached with a good anhyzer or sidearm
- has very memorable old holes.
have read that the original hole 1 will be used in tournaments, which involves teeing off in the woods out over a pond. On hole 4, you tee off in the field and the entrance to the fairway is several hundred feet away under a willow tree with the basket further back in the woods on a little mound. Another includes 9, where you tee off on the edge of the field, down over a plateau, over the stream and a small brick wall to the basket. There are so many others, but the last I'll describe is the valley hole, number 10, which is a short 200 something foot hole where you tee off on one side of the valley and the basket is on top of the other side.

- not much, but with all the rain we've had, some of the wooded holes are a breeding ground for mosquitoes. do NOT play this course without bug spray

this course is a must visit in rochester, along with several others. very happy to only live 10 minutes away.

Really a great mix. There's good elevation changes, a wide open field, some great wooded shots, righty throws, lefty throws... Just great. Brand new tee-pads and signs are a huge plus!

It's really not a matter of wanting to use all the discs in your bag, it's more out of neccessity.

The new layout is just great. I miss maybe one or two of the old holes, but the new ones more than make up for it.

I don't have a huge arm, so it seemed as though I did alot of drive, drive, putt as opposed to drive, approach, putt. Made it pretty challenging for me personally, and I scored a little higher than I like initially. After playing more rounds and accepting the challenge, rather than fighting it, the course took a shine for me.

Stronger arms will love this one.

A little tricky to navigate. Make sure you have a current map, or a guide if you're new to the course.

The old layout had a great hole over a pond, but they've gotten rid of that, leaving only a small stream as any potential water danger. Wish there was a little more risk, but I'm just getting picky.

With the Amateur Worlds coming, this course has been evolving quickly, and I have a feeling it will be the favorite come next summer. It has rapidly gone frome an average course, to a true force to be reckoned with. Even if you've played it in the past, it's worth the trip to re-test your arm at Parma.

fun course, great mix of wide open fairways & tight woods shots. lots of elevation changes. one of the best courses rochester has to offer!
fairways are well kept & wide open for

tight wooded shots take up half the course--need a spotter in the winter, easy to lose sight of your throw. 1 port-o-john @ 1st tee (near parking lot)

truely the best "17 hole" course in rochester. its a long drive from the east side of town, but totally worth it! hole 9-over shallow creek; a hole-in-1 shoot out every time, hole 10-great hole for leftys, hole 12-shoots across a huge field ending up in the woods---awesome!
if visiting from out of town, or living here, this course is definately worth the trip, every season is fun to play in parma!

I was informed that this is the up and coming masterpiece of the Rochester scene. Thats an understatement. This course while still a work in progress and missing signage and prone to navigation issues still is an unforgetable mix of perfect par 3s, interesting par 4s, bombs, and a few unique holes I have never encountered anywhere else. Despite my getting lost a handful of times the quality of design and the uniqueness of the holes kept me smiling. Usually such nuisances ruin my round and kill my mojo....no bad karma here at glad Parma. For every moment I was lost I was delighted when I encountered the next tee and all was forgiven.
A mixture of tight woods and open carpet like manicured grass lawns make for the perfect canvas. There are undulating elevation shifts in the woods that form baby valley holes, cliff tee shots, fast greens, uphill basket locations, and a massive bank in your face of one tee requiring a different tee shot. A pleasant stream that steals strokes but won't steal discs meanders through a few holes. A few strategy holes where you must execute shot to shot to score well to earn your par 4. I really liked holes 4 and 5 as you transitioned into and out of the woods on these holes and placement shots were key to get par. 5 was especially difficult with a tight line out of the woods to a gusty field and then a blind approach down a bank and to a wooded green.
12 threw from woods to field and then forced a sharp anny or a tight flick back into a woodline green.
There were 2 open holes that skirted woodlines and punished early fades harshly with either a cliff drop off or thick schule (8&13).
One completely open huge drive to a semi protected basket (14)....I think if you can provide one of these holes on every course it's a good thing.
#1 provides a choice of going R or L around a schule thicket.
#7 is a wild straight up a bank to an open fairway defined by evergreens.....seems easy but how do you tee off here?
#18 is a finsher that is attainable with a good drive but is one of those long straight open shots that if you turnover or fade your sitting behind brush and wondering why you didn'y play it a tad more conservatively.
Every shot has an element of risk and uniqueness where you could birdie or bogey based strictly on your skill and execution. A completely fair design that punishes foolish players and limits lesser players to bogey golf and rewards execution and superior skill.
Where this course really shines is in the creative and wonderful par 3s. Every Par 3 here brings different elements of danger into play with danger and reward in every shot utilizing water, elevation, tightness, fast greens, and choices to make for some of the best assortment of par 3 golf I've found on one course. All could be aced or bogeyed. These holes were the strongest element of the course.
Quite simply not a badly designed hole on the course. Every hole is either forcing you to try something unconventional, demanding you perform at your highest level or tempting you try something risky. Thats good design and my hats off to whoever came up with the concepts here.
I should add very nice new concrete tees throughout the course. Will be the jewel of the Amateur Championships in 2011.

Obviously the signage was nonexistant (but I'm sure they may still be tweaking basket positions/par and the signs will be in shortly) Problem solved when I went back to my car and got my phone and used the online map.
I really wish that the old 2 was somehow allowed to exist..a very fun looking hole
I can't bash this course it's amongst the best use of parkland and there are no activities in the areas of the park except for a few people walking dogs. You get lost in your round out there and thats a good thing.

I would have enjoyed a few more longer woods holes of the landing zone par 4 and 5 variety. Seemed the long holes were in the open and the shorter holes were all in the woods. I am a fan of throwing big tee shots through the woods. I'm not sure these woods are capable of that as they seemed less mature and perhaps the lanes just are not there.
Some tough Transitions and a simple rule of thumb is that whenever you feel lost of where to go...simply go left. Every confusing transition you will find that if you go left you will find the next tee. Oh and print out a map or have a guide. Don't let all the comments about navigation scare you away...this is the one to play in the Roc and will be for years to come.

Wonderful course layout with a mix of just about anything a golfer could ask for. plenty of tightly wooded fairways, open long driving space, elevation change, distance variation. lots of tricky shots and plenty of trouble to get into. an all around great place to play.

No sinage/course direction to speak of. without a map I wouldn't have found half of the tees/baskets. but once you have made it through one round, future navigation wouldn't be an issue. 1st timers, bring a map for sure.

with some nice signs and direction this would be one of the very best courses I have played so far.

Layout - Hole Design:
Very good layout and variety of holes. Short and technical and long and open are mixed. Most of the holes are fair. 9 and 10 throw from elevated tees to a basket and are beautiful. I loved hole 6 as well. Throwing a long a mowed creek to a basket 340' away. This course has forced uphill overhand shots as well. The open holes were mowed short and nice and a lot of the prickers that surrounded trees in the fairways have been removed. There is a raised basket and a few baskets on the sides of hills. This adds to the variety and required up and down hill shot making abilites. There is even a hole 1A for tournaments over a little pond (old hole 2).

Pads:
GREAT! They were 14-16' long I believe in some cases on long throw holes. Some people get confused because they try to use the entire run up. Dug into the ground to aid the step off.

Extras: Porta john, ample parking, benches.

Trash cans! =1 I think. The portajohn isn't the greatest. No tee signs or next tee signs so you can get lost or skip holes like I did in a practice round. (I hear they are ready for install). A few "fair"ways need a little more fairing. Especially for worlds. I dont think you should have an part of a hole that is just "huck and luck" where you throw "at" the green on an upshot and "hope" to miss a tree. Less than 10 total small trees taken out on , 4 green, 5 (old dead pines on left), 6, especially 11 would make the course almost perfectly fair all the way through.

I really enjoyed the new update to a course that I previously rated a 2.5. With signage and some retaining walls on the hill edge holes and removal of some trees I would probably rate this course up again to 4.5. Definitely a must see on any visit to Rochester. This is an advanced level course for sure. I like that there are a lot of pine trees that wont lose leaves in the winter...keeping the course difficult. I think its a shame that some of the new holes cut across the old holes fairways. Like #12. There is room for another 6 holes! out there in an already mowed field. I think you could have had 2-3 900'+ fairways for tournaments that you could spit in half to have extra holes in day to day play or vice versa. Otherwise a great job on the course.

Diversity in hole length, look, elevation, and obstacles.
Holes that can actually play as legit tournament Par 4's!! (Huge bonus)
Nice long concrete pads. Very nice baskets.
Excellent mix of shots... uphill, downhill, water hazards, hyzer, anhyzer, flex, even some places for thumbers, tomahawks and rollers.
Beautifully maintained and mowed fairways, and creative and well placed pins.

No sign-age that I could see, and the map I picked up was wrong.

Awkward navigation between a few holes (especially 1 to 2 and 6 to 7 if I remember correctly)

Some of the rough contains some nasty prickers that cut up my friend pretty badly when he tried to retrieve an errant shot.

This course is extremely well balanced. One of my biggest complaints about most courses is that I always end up throwing a Roc, Gator or Rhyno off the tee. As someone who throws to lengths of 325' with a midrange 450' with a driver I often don't get to bust out the Teebird and Boss as much as I'd like to.

Right away on hole 1 I got to drive a nice 350' hyzer skip shot for an easy deuce. Hole 2 and 3 where then a nice change of pace with much shorter distances but very tight lines to follow allowing me to throw a Roc and then a Rhyno off the tee. 4 and 5 were big time highlights for me on this course. 4 is a huge 700 ft bomb that requires an accurate drive of about 430' across a mostly open field to get to the opening of the woods. Once in the woods you still have a very tight 270' to get to the well protected and perched basket. I managed a 3 on this with a Boss, Roc and 40' jump put, though I know that I just as easily could've ended up with a 5. All it would take is one slight miscalculation. #5 is the standout hole on this course in my mind... A par 4 that depends on both finesse and accurate power to achieve a birdie. RHBH (like myself) will be forced to throw a controlled 200' anhyzer on a tight line to clear through the first section of woods. If you succeed at that you still have a difficult shot across a field with scattered obstacles and down a slight hill and to the right, tucked among trees and thorns (but with a nice 30' landing zone) is the basket. I attempted a Roc anhyzer for my second shot, but left it short, missed a 30 ft putt and took a par. Next time I think I would actually play my second shot as a Teebird skip shot (RHFH) to get it down and to the right far enough.

There are other amazing holes and fun holes at this course, but I definitely enjoyed 4 and 5 the most. As Rochester continues to get ready for AM Worlds 2011 I assume signs will go up and this course will get better and better. With a little more work This course will be a 4.5 possibly a 5.0.

UPDATE!!! Played the course after it had been all fixed up with signage for AM Worlds and it was fantastic. This is now a MUST PLAY for anyone going through the area.

Great tee pads, fantastic variety of shots, beautiful scenery, always perfectly mowed.

Any time a vandal breaks something this place is nearly immediately fixed.

this course i loved, and keeps better better. There's something for everybody. There are only a few spots on the course that have elevation changes and you spend a goof chunk of your time weaving back and forth across those areas to get the most out of it.

This place NEEDS SIGNS. I'll give this an extra .5 rating when it gets them. Here's why:

The only real problem this course has is that until you know where the tee pads are, it's really hard to navigate.

Part of this comes from the fact that they had to remove Old Hole 2 from casual play via the VFW's request. It makes sense if you know the story...but I don't think golfers were warned adequately (how about posting a sign on the board?) and when the new rules weren't followed the town said to take it out.

Now you have to walk backwards from the basket on one, past old 2's basket to current 2's tee...If you'd never played there before you'd walk to hole 4's tee and assume that you're shooting towards the basket that you can see...you're not. That's hole 7's basket..you need to shoot down the fairway and hook left into the woods.

And also the new hole 11 (fantastic addition btw) is an entirely different route than it used to be on the old layout and different from the initial new layout...once you finish 10 go left and left until you see the new hole...then follow the deer grass along the woods to the right.

"short" tees are either missing or hard to see/find on most hole

Parma will be getting better over the next year as fairways get trimmed up (on the new holes) and basket placements get a little more permanent. Hole 5 currently has an "unfairway" but it's the same for everybody so it's kind of a moot point.

With a little more TLC, and some signage, and proper "shorts" I will eventually give parma a 4.5 disc rating. It's rochester's crown jewel and it really is awesome.

Nice combination of open and wooded holes. Lots of "signature" holes, and a wide variety of right/left straight holes. The teepads are concrete and some of them are the longest I've ever seen. This is the best place around to show your stuff as each hole offers a variety of flight paths and routes. Players with strong forehand/backhand/tomahawk/thumber combinations could probably put together good rounds here.

BUGS were pretty bad, and the PRICKERS were the worst I've seen. Watch for big bushes in the fairways as these are almost completely covered in prickers. Can make retreiving a disc rather difficult.

This is in close vacinity to Baker Farm or Basil Park so you can squeeze in 2-3 rounds to make a road trip worth it.

The holes in the woods are awesome. Great use of elevation and small stream. Cement tee pads are wonderful.

Navigating the course was very confusing! It's a long walk from the basket to the next tee in some spots and there's no indication of where to go. We wasted at least 30 minutes just trying to find our way around. I'm not too crazy about some of the holes that are out in the open but I suppose the variety is good.

I'm certainly going to play this course again. Finding my way around will hopefully be less frustrating having done it once already.

*** Regarding the map: the one on grdgc.org is NOT up to date. Get the map from here on dgcoursereview! ***

Utilizes landscaping and elevation changes to it's maximum potential. I thought the old course was one of the most aesthetically pleasing courses, but the new layout improved the courses beauty even more.
The landscaping is very well maintained.
Great variety of holes and challenges.
Nice small town course that has become a hidden gem.
New large concrete tee pads.
All of the changes improved the course, I thought I would miss the old hole 2, but all of the new holes are better than that hole.

The only real con is navigation. There are no tee signs and no navigational signs. You have to have a guide the first time playing here or you will get frustrated.

With arrows pointing to the next tee and some decent tee signs this would have been a 5 star course.

Course had to sacrifice some beginner friendliness to create a more challenging course suitable for tournaments.

Porto-potty at hole 1.

Baker and Ellison are great, but I think Parma may have surpassed them as Rochester's best course!

The new concrete tee pads are nice they are all a good length too. The course still has a great mix of elevation. They took out three of my least fav. holes where you play three in a row with the woods to your left. Those are gone and they replaced them with holes that are more thought out and use the terrain to their advantage.

The bugs can get a lot much! Im also sure that the entire course is made out of prickers. The last thing is this course is now highly challenging witch can make it highly addictive. Since it opened two weeks ago i've played it almost every day.

This is a great course that has just gotten better. I know if you have read my last review of this course i still gave it a 4.5 i think i was misstaken. This new version of parma or NP as i now like to call it, has showed me what a 4.5 should be.

New concrete tee pads, are in and done very well. Some new pin placement has changed the map of the course, so to get the current one, go to Rochester disc golf club page, and download the color map, which seems to be up to date. Short drive from Rochester. Good variety of holes, open and wooded. Well maintained grounds. A must play.

Bugs! Some signage would help a great deal for first timers, although the map is pretty good.

My new favorite course in the Rochester area.