• Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
    It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)

Marion, NC

Universal Park DGC

2.175(based on 3 reviews)
Filter course reviews

Filter reviews

Filter reviews

Universal Park DGC reviews

Filter
11 0
Bennybennybenny
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.3 years 306 played 289 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Universal Effect

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 10, 2022 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-The property terrain is spectacular and to be fair, it is used quite well on the course. Elevation movement is frequent, with several holes offering pretty significant elevation changes. #3 has the best of it. It is a very fun downhill tee shot in the open with a view of the creek behind the basket. #10 is my favorite hole. Significant uphill 205' that plays close to 300' due to the elevation rise. This is by far the best wooded hole on the course. It's wooded and straight, but the width of the fairway is generous.

-Disc catcher baskets. They always catch well. All in good shape. One of them is a hanging basket.

-Good use of water. #8 is a well designed par three over an inlet of the pond. Fairway turns to the right, and you can't really avoid throwing over the water on this hole due to the woods on the right side, so you'll have to throw a left to right sidearm or turnover. Creek comes into play on some holes.

-Tee signs with hole information and diagrams.

Cons:

-Still incomplete. The lack of real fairways creates a universal effect at Universal Park. You can't avoid them. So many of the holes don't have real fairways and have far too many trees still. You see it immediately on the first hole. Straight downhill and short, but way too tight. #5, again too many trees and the basket is blinded by a wall of them that you see straight ahead up the hill down the fairway. #9 could be an excellent hole. But instead, it's a 300' par four with no line to the pin. This hole would be much better if the fairway was at least 20' wide the entire way through. You'd be throwing up and over a large hill on a hyzer, but instead you are trying to pitch up the hill and hope you have some sort of logical line for a 150' approach. I hate the concept of throwing two putters on a 300' hole, because I can throw 300' in the woods when there's an actual fairway. #13 is about 300' and has you pitching about 100' straight and turns left after that. You'd have to throw 100' straight and 200' left to reach this down a tight trail. #14 has no line to the pin at all.

-Some overgrowth in many places. #4 is pretty much unplayable. There are tons of weeds on the left side. The right side is where the creek is and there's no safe entrance to the creek if you land in there. It's hard to retrieve discs from there and almost feels that it isn't worth it. In order to reach the green, you have to throw past the weeds and over the creek where the fairway starts to close up due to so many trees blocking the other side of it where the basket sits. Lots of vegetation on #7 and #8. The walk to #18 has you crossing a path with extremely long branches with thorns that extend across the path.

-You have to cross the creek a few times and a couple of the crossing points are dangerous due to there being no stairs or bridges. Just logs. They are harder to walk across when wet.

-Many overhead branches hanging above.

Other Thoughts:

-When courses are on the shorter side, I want there to be a way to get to the hole in one shot. Many of the holes here, that is under 300' don't grant you that opportunity because many of the lines, at least once you get to hole #9 do not make any sense. #10 is a nice hole. #18 is a wide open finisher. But those are the only logical holes after hole #8. #11 is a 188' steep downhill across the creek. Could be an excellent ace run, but there's no real line to the pin. An obvious disappointment.

-Universal Park is not going to be one of the best courses in the area unless it is redesigned and more cleverly thought. It isn't fun, except for a few holes. The land is definitely suitable for a hilly and wooded course. Which it is hilly and wooded, but it isn't fun with its lack of fairways.

-I don't recommend. Short course that's overparred out of overcompensation for the lack of fairways. Just not how disc golf is or should be.
Was this review helpful? Yes No

Latest posts

Top