Weldon Spring DGC is a short 9-hole track that snakes around the north and east sides of a nice park. This course is a great challenge for new players, with a great combination of low disc-losing risk and a good level of obstacles to navigate.

Location of Weldon Spring City Park is just a little ways from I-64, with the research park junction just north of the bridge over the Missouri River likely being the way most people get here. From there, just a couple turns get you to the park. Once parked, you'll walk along the east side of the park past a (currently under construction) shelter/bathroom, and see hole one along the walkway. There aren't gas stations or food options close to the park, but nearby 64 exits have more; if you're coming from the east, Chesterfield has just about every fast food chain imaginable. If you're making a day out of golfing, College Meadows, Railroad, and Laurel are close by, and further up 64 or nearby highways are also the St. Charles County Parks trifecta of Indian Camp Creek, New Melle, and Quail Ridge.

Park Amenities are very nice, with the park clearly getting continued attention. There are bathrooms near the parking lot by the maintenance building, with more under construction by the new pavilion. THere are water fountains available as well. There's also a nice playground and multiple baseball fields, along with a catch and release pond and walking trails. This park clearly gets great upkeep, which bodes well for the disc golf course.

Course Equipment is great considering how fresh this course is. Being a Dave McCormack design, you have brand new Titan baskets. The tee signs have all the info you want, including par, distance, a hole layout, and next tee directions. The tees are natural with a couple pavers noting where to throw from; given the look of the rest of the park, I'd be shocked if these don't get an upgrade.

Course Design revolves around short, accessible holes, partially due to the amount of space available, but likely also to attract new players. While there are certainly tight fairways and gaps at times, the distance makes it so that no one should be getting high numbers on their scorecard. The mix of wooded and open holes made for one of my favorite rounds at a course that averages under 200 feet a hole.

Elevation plays a little bit of a role at Weldon Spring. Hole 1 plays a little downhill, as does hole 7, with these holes being vastly different in terms of openness. Hole 9 plays uphill, as does 2 to a lesser degree.

Shot-Shaping actually plays a little bit of a role as well. Hole 1 is clearly encouraging a gently right ending shot, though you can also spike a RH hyzer as well if you want some pepper on your eggs. Holes 7 and 9 are very tight, and require a pretty dead straight shot to have a good chance at birdie. Hole 5 also kind of encourages a right ending shot with a larger tree to the right of the hole. Hole 4 probably favors a righty BH given the tree gaps. The other holes definitely allow some variety of options that can get a positive result off the tee.

Hole Variety is surprisingly in great supply for such a small 9 hole course and park. Holes 1, 5, 6, and 8 are very open with small obstacles such as ditches in front of 8's pin and the line of trees along the right side of 1's fairway. Holes 2, and 4 have trees to navigate after having a little space off the tee. Hole 3 has tight gaps right off the tee with a mostly open fairway. Holes 7 and 9 round everything out with very tight fairways. All in all, you have a bit of everything here when it comes to obstacles!

Difficulty definitely leans towards new players, though 7 and 9 will likely give new players a hard time at first just because of the thick foliage running along the tight fairways. As an intermediate player, I found the course to be very easy on a quick round without a warm up. That being said, it was very fun given the variety the course offers. I really think this is a great course for new players to learn accuracy on given the differences between all of the holes.

Tee pads are natural right now at Weldon Spring, which isn't the most ideal option in the long term. Given how the rest of the park is cared for, I'd be shocked if these were not upgraded soon.

Distances are the one spot that may keep everyone from enjoying this course, as the average hole length is under 200 feet and the max is 231 feet. This will feel like a warm up course for non-new players, though on the flip side, many players will be able to leave the drivers in the car for a lighter bag.

Proximity to Pathways comes into play in a few spots, mainly in the area around holes 4, 5, 6, and 7, where there's a junction point between a few paths. I played pretty early in the morning but was still sharing the park with a few pedestrians out walking. Hole 4 has the path running along the right side of the fairway, while hole 6 plays towards a path as well. I could see a bad kick on 7 making it on a path as well. The nice thing is that all of the paths are visible from each tee pad, so this is solved as easily as looking before you throw; your tee shot might just get delayed a bit.

This course was such a pleasant surprise, as I didn't even know a course was going in this park until I saw pictures posted online last week. I figured I'd get a quick birthday round in this past Saturday to bag a new course, but my expectations were far exceeded.

To be clear, this is a very recreational 9-hole course and will not provide much of a challenge to a good percentage of players. That being said, I'd argue this type of course is just as important (if not more so) than the elite courses of our sport. Everyone starts somewhere, and I would have loved to have this course to learn shot shaping on. This course punches above its stats, and seasoned players can use this course as a fun quick warm up before going to play tougher nearby courses like New Melle, Quail, or the Creve Coeur Lake complex.

St. Charles County is on track to get three new courses this year. The new nearby Missouri Bluffs Park will be getting a new wooded 18 courtesy of the St. Charles Parks Department, whose current four 18-hole courses make for a stellar resume. Also, McNair Park in St. Charles will be opening a new 18-hole course as well, also designed by Dave at Gateway. As fun as it is to keep getting new and challenging 18-hole courses like these, it's always nice to see courses like Weldon Spring go in as well.

If you're passing through on 64, take a half hour and get a quick round at Weldon Spring. I'm glad this course is now a part of the St. Louis line-up, and I hope the parks department over in Weldon Spring like the numbers they see on the course this year.

Brand new Gateway Titan Pro-24 baskets.

Brand new tee signs with directional arrows that all appear to list correct distances.

Park is very well maintained.

Bathroom & drinking water on-site.

Great course for beginners with very low probability of losing discs.

Very quick to get around.

Easy navigation.

Teepads are grass/dirt with two concrete markers to define tee area.

Course is a little rough because it's brand new, but should only improve with time.

None of the holes are very long, but there are a few tricky lines to hit with tight gaps & low ceilings. Overall, it's a nice course to practice upshots and for beginners.

Hole 6 fairway has a lake bordering the right side, but it's only in play for a very errant shot. Other than that, not much worry of losing a disc.

The tees are grass/dirt and will definitely be slippery when wet.