Florence, WI

Florence DGC

2.835(based on 9 reviews)
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9 0
DFrah
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 5.8 years 227 played 224 reviews
2.00 star(s)

"There's Only One You!"

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 20, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

That's what the large sign at the parking lot of Florence Elementary School reminds you of. The school is in the town of the same name in far northeastern Wisconsin, within a couple of miles of the Michigan border. Next to the sign is a porta potty that is available for use.

The 18 holes of disc golf here can be broken down into two very distinct 9 hole courses. The front nine plays in a wooded area north of the school, and has some decent technical challenge. An adequate variety of relatively wide wooded fairways make up this part of the course, with hole lengths between about 175' and 300'. In contrast, the back nine is wide open with only a couple of obstacles in play total. All of the back nine holes are also shorter than 300', other than #15 which for some reason is 550' long. When taken as a whole, the course has decent variety and challenge for rec level players.

The baskets are very old DGAs I think. Or were they homemade? Regardless, they seemed to catch fine and I didn't mind them. They were numbered and painted a red-orange color.

Cons:

There aren't any navigational aids. The paths between holes within the front nine were generally mowed pretty well when I visited, but you'll need UDisc in some places to avoid extra walking. Even if you know where to go, there are 2-3 different times throughout the course where you have to walk back the fairway you just played to find the next hole. Then there's the walk between the front nine and the back nine. This walk sucks, plain and simple. The easiest route would be across a couple of athletic fields - but the problem is, those fields are fenced in and the fences were locked when I visited. The alternatives are to walk all the way back around the school (at least 1/3 mile), or try to make your way through the thicket of weeds and small trees just outside of the fence. I chose the latter option and regretted it. The terrain was unmowed, uneven, and unpleasant.

Several holes also play very near these fenced-in areas. It would be difficult to retrieve any discs that land inside the fence.

Several more holes play quite close together. Hole 16 and 17 basically share a fairway and play in opposite directions.

The course is pretty much flat, and has no water hazards.

The tee pads are natural. The tee signs are just either one or two wooden posts with the hole number, to mark the front of the tee areas. Probably all holes used to have two posts, but some of them have gone missing over the years.

There is a kiosk, but the only thing on it when I visited was a map that was so faded that it was barely legible. There are no other "extras" like practice basket, trash cans, or benches.

Other Thoughts:

This course was a low point of my quest to bag every course in/very close to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Some of that was because this is not a very good course, but to be clear it was also because I wasn't throwing it well. I laughed when I saw that hole 15 is listed as a par 7 here on DGCR. Then I managed to four putt the hole and actually take a 7 (it was a bit windy okay???)

I didn't necessarily expect a lot from this course, but I should have guessed what I was getting into after seeing that this course is only rated at 2.7 on UDisc. This is one of the only courses I have ever seen that is actually rated higher on DGCR than UDisc (still true after this review). It's clear that someone put some effort into this course at some point - which is always appreciated. But as it stands now, the 2.0 rating I'm giving feels generous. There are a couple good holes in the front nine, but not nearly enough to make the rest worth it.

I wouldn't recommend this one unless you're trying to bag every course in the area. It's there if you must though.
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10 0
stealthfalcon84
Experience: 12 years 17 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Worth a try if you're in the area 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 3, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

+ Front 9 is wooded and can be a decent challenge, especially for first time and amateur players
+ The back 9 is wide open, meaning you can 'grip it and rip it' on most of the holes
+ Very LOW traffic. I've played it numerous times and never ran into anyone else on the course.
+ Good use of the existing terrain and space for most holes
+ Some hyzer and anhyzer curves to challenge you, especially on the front 9
+ Beginner friendly and easy to bring your whole family to
+ Baskets and holes are clearly labeled

Cons:

- You have to walk back up the #3 fairway to reach the tee for #4
- Hole 7 fairway/tee intersect the tee for hole 8
- The back 9 are all wide open with very little terrain differences. You're basically playing in fields
- Back 9 aren't often maintained well, meaning you'll have to trudge through some long grass, especially on hole 17.
- Some fences come into play meaning that if you have an errant throw, you might be climbing/going around a fence to retrieve your disc
- No sign pointing to the path for the back 9, which could be confusing for first time visitors (it's along the playground fence).
- Lately there haven't been any maps printed up.
- Only one set of tees and there really aren't any boxes, only two poles for each hole
- Unless you like teeing off in long grass, the tee for hole 17 plain sucks. They should just move the tee up onto the manicured area near 16 and it would instantly be better.

Other Thoughts:

I was one of the students who helped design the course back in 2002 when I was in high school. I finally got around to playing the course about a year ago because I graduated and was off to college before it was completely finished. It's nice to see how the designs we dreamed up in computer drafting class turned out in real life. It was a fun project to be a part of. I can see some things that definitely should've been done differently, but overall I think the course turned out great considering very few of us had ever really played disc golf at the time. If you're in the Florence area, stop in and give it a try. It's nothing to go out of your way for, but it will definitely satisfy your disc golf itch, especially the wooded front 9. There wasn't much to work with in designing the back 9, we just tried to do the best with what we had. When I think of this course I think of it as "The Woods and the Prairie". Since I come back to the area quite frequently to visit family, I always stop in to play the course to work on my chops. I've never seen anybody else playing on it, so you'll most likely have it all to yourself.
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2 1
sdub
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great Front 9 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The front 9 is one of the greatest spots I have ever played. The layout is perfect to make it just challenging enough, and not impossible. It has a good balance with only one or two holes in the open.

Cons:

The back 9 is worse than any horror movie I have ever seen. It is all an open field. It is terribly difficult to find the holes when you start at the pins. It is a long walk from the front 9 to the back 9 as well. There are residential fences bordering the back 9, which leads to the wind catching stray discs into the fences.

Other Thoughts:

This is the course nearest my house. I play it maybe twice a week during the summer. When I play, I only play on the front 9, usually two or three times. The front 9 never gets boring for me. The back 9 on the other hand, I avoid like the plague.
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2 0
crusadersounds
Experience: 14.8 years 118 played 7 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Not much to work with 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 29, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

There isn't a lot to work with here, but they made use of some tight spaces on the front nine providing variety from dead straight fairways, to doglegs and fading shots. A couple of protected baskets added challenge to this course on the front nine. Wind doesn't seem to affect your game at all...until you get to the back nine where the openness creates a completely different type of course than the front nine.

Cons:

The course is at an elementary school and directly between the tee and the basket on the first hole is a fenced in area that is usually locked. This forces you to either throw around for a probable four or risk throwing over...which isn't likely to happen. The tees for three and four are right next to each other and they go the same direction which means when you get to the end of three, you have to walk back up the fairway to four. The back nine is relatively bland with the only challenge being distance...and residential fences jutting well into the fairway. Tee signs seldom give you a clear idea of which basket you're throwing to.

Other Thoughts:

This course was a great Saturday away from my home course, but probably not one that I'd drive to if other courses were as readily available. For the space and limited variety given, they did an ok job on the layout. Clear maps at the kiosk would be a HUGE help as many holes are confusing and sometimes, the basket isn't even visible from the tee, though three or four other possible baskets might be. The long walk between 9-10 makes you choose whether or not you really want to play all 18. Overall, this is a decent course and if you're in the area, drop in for a quick round. We played 2 full rounds in under an hour and a half.
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5 0
koogs
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.6 years 130 played 19 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Good nine, bad nine 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 24, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

18 good, homemade baskets. The first 9 holes are nicely done, going into and through a small, wooded area.
Very friendly and helpful locals.

Cons:

The second 9 holes are either wide open or have a single obstacle, such as a fence or a clump of brush. The tee areas on the first 9 were ok, but out in the open of the second 9, the grass was long and tee 17 had knee-high weeds to contend with. Really hard to get good footing. The lack of signage had me throwing at the wrong basket twice.

Other Thoughts:

I pass through Florence about once a week in my semi and I've always wondered if I could get to the course and find a place to park, so I finally decided to try it. When I got to the school, I went to the office for directions to where the course started and where I could park. The guy in the office came out and got in his truck and led me down a private road (he had to unlock 2 gates), to where the course started and where I could park. I enjoyed the first 9, but the second 9 were really not worth playing. The only reason I played it was because , like I said, I pass through. If I had to make a special trip, I wouldn't play it again, or I'd play only the first 9.
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7 0
superberry
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.9 years 332 played 95 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Applaud the school kids that designed ALL of this 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 3, 2006 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Designed as part of a school project. ALl in all they did a great job. They even built the baskets and they are nearly spot-on to the DGAs! The baskets are really great for a shop class project. The design around the land surrounding the school is very creative. There are some really nice and thick woods that force accurate and tunnel drives. The use of recreational areas such as fences and playgound equipment make things interesting on the back 9.

Cons:

MAJOR design flaw has fairways that cross one another. With the LOW traffic here it is not a concern that comes into play, but this is one thing you should always avoid. The inexperienced designers also made a few flow errors by introducing holes in which you must walk back up the fairway of the hole you just finished to play the next hole. The back 9 plays mainly across a playground/ballfield area and gets a bit repetitive and is unimaginative although best use of the available spaces. There is no real elevation here at all. No water hazards at all. No real unique features of the given terrain that are available or have been brought into play to make this memorable.

Other Thoughts:

I really do give credit to the school classes that designed and built this course. Despite some errors and a somewhat lackluster course (relative to other high caliber courses), they did a great job. It's worth a play if you're in the area, but don't go out of your way.
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2 2
setebos
Experience: 14.8 years 21 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Interesting course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 3, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice variety of holes; the front 9 is primarily wooded with a mix of hyzer and anhyzer shots; the back 9 is all in a big field, but despite my initial skepticism regarding its openness, it ended up using the space well for some rather challenging holes. It's also fairly well marked.

Cons:

Goes around a school, so you have to be very careful not to lose any discs over a fence or in private property. The walk from hold 9 to 10 is pretty long and not well marked.
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3 0
matrathvy
Experience: 24.8 years 108 played 9 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 14, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

A very well designed set of holes. Each hole has its own special difficulty.

The front nine in the trees is fun to play, may even see the wildlife there. The use of trees is a needed skill here.

Not only are you playing nature here but also buildings and fences, the course is on the grounds of an elementary school. There are several holes were if you don't have ultimate control and planning you will have to climb a 7' fence to get your disc.

Cons:

Not only are you playing nature here but also buildings and fences, the course is on the grounds of an elementary school. There are several holes were if you don't have ultimate control and planning you will have to climb a 7' fence to get your disc.

The wooden posts that mark the tees are too close to each other, forces a bottleneck kind of feeling.

The 15th hole is a 541ft. hole and marked as a par 7, can be played as a 4 or 5 though with the right drivers.

Other Thoughts:

All together a good course for a lightly populated area, very worth playing often (if you are in the area).
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3 1
RadialTires
Experience: 17 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 23, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Lots of variety. Nice mix of wooded and open holes. Plenty of hyzer and anhyzer shots.

Cons:

The flow of the course is sometimes confusing on the back 9. I don't care for the wooden post tee markers

Other Thoughts:

Overall one of my favorite courses. Sad that I don't think it gets the use that it deserves. If you're in the UP or Northeast Wisconsin, check it out.
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