Ferndale, WA

VanderYacht Park

2.145(based on 14 reviews)
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5 0
royvin
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 8.4 years 202 played 67 reviews
2.00 star(s)

VanderSoggy 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 4, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

-peaceful park
-the back 4 or 5 holes require some decent distance (not always the case with 9 hole courses)
-not busy
-baskets are in good shape and there are even a couple practices baskets by the parking lot

Cons:

-very soggy during rainy season
-rubber tee pads are missing on a couple holes and are in poor shape on the others
-most holes are wide open
-no signage whatsoever, first timers will need to use the online map to navigate
-the hole 5 tee area is a little walk from hole 4's basket

Other Thoughts:

I really should have listened to previous reviewers. This park gets wet in the winter! There was so much standing water by hole 6 that a large flock of ducks was swimming in it. I thought it must be the pond on the map, but nope, this was an additional body of water.
But despite all the wetness, I made it through the course and deem it as reasonable.
For me, VanderYacht falls in the category of 'any course is a good course'. There wasn't anything I particularly liked about it, but hey, it provided a nice place to toss my discs and get some walking in.. it's just a bit too open and dull. The highlight for me was how hole 1 plays parallel with the Nooksack River- it was a good start, but it went downhill from there.
If I lived in Ferndale I'd play it often, but I probably won't be making any more trips here just for disc golf.
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1 1
travelsurflive
Experience: 7.4 years 40 played 21 reviews
3.00 star(s)

wet, straight, good vibe 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 21, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Straight open fairways, nobody else playing, nice people walking dogs and friendly. Wear boots after rains. A few longggg holes!

Cons:

Few water holes near lake/river. Not to challenging of a course. Only 9 hole

Other Thoughts:

Overall fun for a quick game
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3 0
Crossbowdan29
Experience: 4 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

This is my home course. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 28, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

For Whatcom county this course rivals Cornwall.
1. The putting green is a great idea and makes a nice place for working the short game and warming up.

2. As nice as this course is most days it is a ghost town.This may sopund odd as a pro but hear me out, anyone who has had to wait for two or three groups to finish a hole ahead will understand what I am saying. Most days there are only a few players a day not counting sunday doubles.

3. This course really forces you to know your disc before you attempt your shot. The river and pond water hazards are brutal and unforgiving of mistkes and wild throws.

4. Teepads are rubber and well cleared for good footing while driving.

5. Disc catchers are brand new innova brand
with a lot of ace stickers on some.

6. There are a lot of alts for this course. If you are learning this course there are many alts to do that cut the major water hazards out.

Cons:

1. After 8 am the wind picks up and is pretty constant till about an hour befor sunset. If you dont like wind you will hate this course.

2. As much as I hate to say it the dog walkers, are a problem. Dont get me wrong I dont mind holding a shot for walkers or folks crossing fairways. My beef is with the people who pull up let there dog mark the tee and crap on the green and walk away like the animals mess is not their problem. last I checked its an off leash area but the one rule is scoop your poop.

3. You must know your disc. What I like and find challenging at this course a lot of folks hate. The river and the pond will swallow a disc and you have no chance of retrieval.

Other Thoughts:

This is my home course. I have spent many a day learning how to shoot it and adjust for the wind. if you are looking for somthing a little different this is the course for you. Most weekends I will probable see you there. With Cornwall temporarilly missing several disc catchers I have met several players checking this course out for the first time. this one is worth checking out.

Cheers - Dan
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3 0
whatcomhucker
Experience: 11.4 years 2 played 2 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Peaceful Practice Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 14, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

A couple long fairways (500-700ft) are great for practicing your long drives.

No crowd compared to the usually busy Cornwall in Bellingham.

2 Practice baskets in the picnic area were a great idea. Good for warm-up/practice/goofing around.

Cons:

Not much variety, mostly just hucking across the field.

Lack of signage makes the first several holes a bit confusing.

Nearby river and a pond put your discs at risk if you're a novice like me. I skipped a couple for fear of losing a disc.

Other Thoughts:

This is a nice quiet park. When I was there it was just me and some folks going for a jog or walking their dogs. It's a great place to practice putts and long drives but as a course it's pretty plain. I'm still not sure the exact order of the first few holes that kind of go back and forth across the smaller field.

Bellinghamsters should check it out if only for the opportunity to play at a more leisured pace and get more throws in compared to a day at Cornwall.
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2 1
northwestblazinfire
Experience: 14.2 years 13 played 10 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Water hazard leaned the hard way 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 27, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Open
Awesome pratice baskets set up
some cool looks, Over the pond
some big shots
well maintained with good tee pads if its dry
nice baskets

Cons:

Kinda simple
Not enough trees or too open
very soggy
does not live up to the lands potential

Other Thoughts:

Good open field practice, i really like the putting baskets, that should taken into considertaion when planning any serious course. overall this course is about a par
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6 0
WA KID
Experience: 20.3 years 23 played 3 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Fair Course for locals. Not worth the effort for travelers 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 8, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Little to None course Traffic. Decent Distance on majority of Back Teepads. Good course for wind practice.(In Whatcom Wind Practice can be hard to find lol) Great Baskets and Practice Baskets.

Cons:

Soggy 2/3 the year it seems. The only obstuctions or hazards are barely used and not well either. Most Potential land for decent holes not used up. Don't know why. Front 4 same shot over and over. Gets old and boring ehhh? lol.Tall grass and overgrown edges of the fairway make playing the course take foreverr.

Other Thoughts:

It's too bad the baskets can't get relocated to somewhere with more potential and for that matter any potential at all. The only time this course is fun is in the Summer while playing an alternate course called "The Dark Course" :D
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2 5
geezergolfer
Experience: 15 years 6 played 5 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 10, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

The grounds were freshly mowed and we had a sunny day. This course offers some good opportunities for distance throwing as well as some need for some short tactical shots near water.

Cons:

This course would do well to create a map and tee off posts.
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4 2
junchieve
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

VanderYacht Park Ferndale, WA 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 5, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

In the summer of 09 me and my buddy played here almost everyday. The biggest Pro in my book is the fact you never have to wait on anyone. If you like to wait behind 3 groups go to cornwall. That fact alone negates pretty much all the other cons. Yes, this course is very wide open, but I try to take advantage of this. If there was ever a course to practice drives this would be it. You could throw all your discs and there would be no one waiting behind you.

Cons:

DO NOT PLAY HERE IN THE WINTER/FALL/EARLY SPRING YOU WILL BE DISSAPPOINTED. One thing you have to understand is that this area of Ferndale floods every year, so that means that the park will be flooded every year. I came out here early March and conditions were finally starting to dry up. Little advise don't play hole 8/17, just skip it, TRUST ME. There are times where you have to wait on dogs and other people but its not that bad.

Other Thoughts:

Overall I really like this. Not because it's a technical course (it's not) but because I have the opportunity to practice without having people waiting on you. Now if you want more technical then go to cornwall 10 miles away, in fact I hope you do because then if leaves the course wide open for me :)
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9 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 46.4 years 1562 played 1507 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Is it a recreational or a demanding course? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 16, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great new Discatcher baskets with the yellow band on top. Two rubber Flypad teepads on each hole for longs and shorts. They didn't change the difficulty of the hole all that much, usually just made it longer. I agree with previous reviewers who commented that the designers couldn't decide whether they wanted a family/beginner or a longer course for the more advanced player. Instead, they have a course which is too long for beginners/families to enjoy and too open and simple for more advanced players to really find to their liking. Only the two holes near the parking lot have any trees to contend with. There is not one, but two, practice baskets. Personally, I would pull one of these and make another hole somehow shortening # 8 and # 9. # 8 is altogether too difficult of a hole for this course and # 9 is just long and boring. On the other hand, I really liked # 7 where from the long tee, you're throwing across the pond. It's short enough that most every recreational player or better can clear it with no worries but still provides that little rush for some of us wienie armed old men. Probably just for me and the 10 year old girls. # 8 is a monster hole for anyone. It plays to a very narrow fairway with a thick brush OB on the left and the length of the pond on the right. Even from the shorts, I decided the risk/reward was not worth risking losing my driver. # 1 is another scary throw with the Nooksack river on your right side the entire fairway.

Cons:

There are no signs anywhere. I debated a while whether to start south or north of the parking lot. Finally, I went the right way and played north. The course was easy enough to follow. I saw no numbers on the rubber pads. That would have helped me. Spring for some stick on numbers or at the very least, how about a club member with a sharpie writes the number on the basket somewhere. The day I played, some of the course was standing water. # 2, 3 and 4 had much standing water as well as # 9. I don't know how much rain they've had up there. I was thinking about calling this a three seasons course but maybe I was there after much rainfall.

Other Thoughts:

I found for me, many of these holes very easy to par, but too long for me to birdie (I'm only throwing about 275'). I think for this reason and the openness of it, I would quickly tire of playing here.
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6 5
Bobbily
Experience: 22.4 years 39 played 22 reviews
0.00 star(s)

Ridiculously awful 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 6, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Baskets. One reasonable disc golf hole. That is truly all I can come up with.

Cons:

Where do I start. Picture putting a basket in the middle of an open field. Now through at it 9 times. There you have this disc golf course. There is literally one or two obstacles on the entire course!! And I can name them. The tree on 5 and the pond on 8. This course is not worth the 2 minutes drive from the interstate. Just go to Cornwall instead, or better yet, Mossy Roc.

Other Thoughts:

Wow, I don't get why this is rated above a 2 by anyone... This is not disc golf. I have a target I can put in the middle of the soccer field behind my house and have the exact amount of fun.
I heard its a new course, well, its gonna need a LOT of work before its even passable.
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7 1
ChampViking
Experience: 21.8 years 18 played 2 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Context to 11/26/09 Pics. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 17, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Update to my review after multiple rounds over multiple years:
Currently longest holes in greater Bellingham area, NSRA likely has a few longer holes. No wait times or crowds at all, rarely is one waiting for dogs or fellow park users walking on trails - which only comes into play on half of the course on the well maintained trail which link holes 5-9. I sometimes have as much fun playing putting games on the two Discatcher Pro practice baskets that are semi protected from the wind by a semicircle of trees. Views of the grain plant and great sun exposure provide some unique feel to this course.

Cons:

#1 is Dog Poop. Close #2 is flooding and Close #3 is the teepads. The T-pads that are made of rubber are now dangerous due to the incredible moisture around this course, and I no longer use them, The thick grass stays marshy after a flood, and there is a seasonal pond that develops near the permanent pond which is a hazard for hole 7 (optional) and 8 (very possible to go in that pond off either tee). I have yet to get a call back on any of my multiple disc's I have sacrificed to the pond, and have observed fellows swimming in this "no swimming pond" retrieving discs. It is often difficult to locate discs in the times when the fields are not mowed, which is typically whenever the pond is present. VanDerYacht lacks seclusion of any kind and the fact that there are a few homes lining portions of the course always makes me feel like I'm being observed like a stranger in someone's neighborhood, and not left alone or welcomed like an Oregon neighborhood course like Rockwell or Westmoreland.

Other Thoughts:

I vote we ask to pull the rubber mats that are used as T-pads and replace it with Gravel. Hole 8 plays quite punishing with brambles on the left and pond on the right. Some of these holes feel like throwing in an open field to a randomly placed basket. You many have to sacrifice a disc to the fenced in yard of a homeowner off right side of hole 2 if you go too wide. I enjoy the straight shot of hole 1 . Throwing around the tree on hole 4 gives this course some character. You will notice the houses built on cement columns nearest the course when arriving, testament to the mighty Nooksack river which is accessible at this course and floods this course yearly. This course has little in the way of elevation, similar to Cornwall park. One of the saving graces of this course may be it's close proximity to Riverside Disc golf course on the opposite side of the same river.
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5 3
bananaco
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

More disc golf in Whatcom Co, 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 7, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

A well manicured course for how new it is. Tee pads are all thick rubber mats and the baskets are new Discatchers. Wide open fairways are nice! Much appreciated after playing a technical course like Mossy Roc. You can chuck your disc real hard and not have to worry about losing it in the rough. The holes are laid out so there is little conflict with other park users. I am an experienced player and had fun and so did my girlfriend who is just learning. The course is big enough and the holes are long enough to keep players spread out.

Cons:

The water hole (10?) A pond sits to the right and there are trees on the left. Also there is a path the entire legnth of the fairway. This hole could be moved in my opinion (its a big park). There was a dude skimming discs out of the pond and he was going to start a small business from it.

Other Thoughts:

This is a good addition to the other courses in the county. Whether you are an ace or a beginner you will have a fun game. I live in Bellingham and think it is worth the drive once in a while. I hope to see more players out there nest time.

Props to the designers.
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12 0
JR Stengele
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.5 years 255 played 191 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Vander Yacht Park DGC 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 6, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

As soon as you pull up to Vander Yacht Park in Ferndale (just seven miles north of Cornwall in Bellingham) you can't help but notice the large open fields and brand new DISCatchers all over the place. Before you start playing the course there are two practice baskets allowing either several people to putt at once or a smaller group to putt back and forth saving a little time and effort which is great! Besides the beautiful baskets, I also quickly noticed the slick new Fly Pads with both short and long placements on each of the nine holes. These alternate tee pads help to make the layout of the course more challenging for the advanced/open players where the shorter tees are more appropriate for amateur/recreational players (Although it is best to play both sets making a complete 18 holes).

Although our fellow reviewer below stated the grass was long when he played I was fortunate to have it recently mowed which made it much easier to locate my disc. Maintenance was apparent as most trees were trimmed although there were some serious rough patches on the edges of holes 1/10, behind holes 3/12, left of holes 8/17, and to the left of holes 9/18. The park had a few garbage cans which helped to eliminate some of the trash although I still found people leaving stuff on the ground in the parking lot which kills me being that there was a garbage can 15 feet away.

As far as difficulty, the first four holes were short and gave players a chance for a birdie and maybe perhaps even an ace. Holes 1/10 although somewhat short was still challenging due to a tight fairway with rows of trees on either side as well as a river to the right. If you are not accurate you WILL lose a disc since the right edge just drops straight down into the water. The next three holes are much more open. Holes 5/14 start off a little tight but has you throwing a hyzer into the trees where the pin is protected. Holes 6/15 is wide open and holes 7/16 has you throwing another hyzer around some wetlands. Hole 16 or 7 long is one of my favorites as you find yourself throwing over a pond and when the wind is up (like it was today) it can be challenging. Holes 8/17 are the most difficult on the course, with extremely tight fairways and a pond that is very much in play on the right. If you can par this beast (especially on the long placement) you should feel great! Holes 9/18 is just pure power. The long position is par 3 and around 800 feet.

Cons:

Since the course is new I am sure it is still a work in progress. With that being in mind, a kiosk with a map on it and club news would be fantastic and desperately needed. Tee signs would be great as well although if a kiosk in built you really wouldn't need to put in signs and it would be much cheaper. However, an arrow showing first timers where to go after holes 4/13 would be helpful and maybe a couple more garbage cans.

Another thing that stood out was the gravel walking path which intertwines throughout holes 5-9 and 14-18. Several park users wander through during a round (usually with at least one dog) and tend to just stop so I found myself waiting from time to time. Eventually a permanent dog park will be going in towards the far southeast corner of the park (near holes 6/15 and 7/16) so this will hopefully eliminate the waiting time as well as the dogs running throughout the field.

Last, a few of the tee pads could be more challenging. There really was not much of a difference between the short and longs (with the exception holes 16 and 17) except distance. It would be great to see a few of those pads or pins get tucked more into the trees and bushes that surround the park (although with all the restrictions they did what they could).

Other Thoughts:

My hats off to Big Mike and the Parks Department for getting this course put in the ground. The course has a lot of potential and is a great place to get in a quick round or practice your skills on. When the wind is up (like it was today) this course can be challenging, but not enough to be frustrating. The baskets and tee pads are great and the flow of the course is great. Hopefully more land can be used up in Ferndale, and more courses can start popping up to help compliment this little gem.
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10 2
Thomashasfun
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 22.8 years 496 played 494 reviews
1.50 star(s)

VanderYacht 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 23, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

VanderYacht Park is a brand new disc golf course located in Ferndale, about five miles north of Bellingham. The first four holes are on the north side of the park while the last five holes are on the bigger, south side of the park. Holes one through four are fairly short and wide open, while the final five holes are quite long that play in an open field. There are two teepads to make eighteen or to use as the amateur and pro tee pads and teepads are the rubber with painted on numbers on the ground to let you know you are on the right hole or not. The course plays near a river and also has a medium sized pond in which alot of holes throw around and the pro tee for hole seven throws across the pond. The local disc golf club donated money for two (yes two) practice baskets that were placed next to the parking lot so multiple players can warm up before a round. The baskets are all brand new Innova disccatchers with that big yellow band on the top.

Cons:

The course starts out as a friendly course and by hole six it becomes wide open with tons of length. Navigation is fine for most of the course but there is a huge walk from hole four to hole five and hole five to hole six and not knowing your way around the place as a first timer it can be hard as there are no tee signs or next tee markers. The disc golf portion of the course is just wide open fields with tall grass and by the end the course is pretty boring with exception to holes five and seven in which one basket is placed in the trees and makes you throw a dogleg left and hole seven has the pond and the tree line in play. There was more trees and obstacles that could have been put to use here that would have given the course more life.

Other Thoughts:

It seems as if they architects of VanderYacht Park couldn't decide whether they wanted a short and open family friendly style or a very long and open advanced or pro style course but this was done on purpose and it makes sense as the whole family can use holes one through five and advanced players can have a challenge on holes six through nine after ace running the first ones. If you are a novice player, skip holes six through nine as these are long and danger awaits at the pond. I wouldn't drive out of my way to play it and can't endorse it as a great course but it's better than nothing I suppose.
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