Inverness, FL

Whispering Pines - White

2.85(based on 23 reviews)
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8 0
damtroll
Experience: 12.3 years 227 played 11 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Home away from Home 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 27, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Shade! The entire course is densely wooded, which is a definite benefit in the Florida heat and humidity.
The course is definitely a course of contrasts in elevation and difficulty, with the front nine being mostly flat and shorter, with a lot of heavily wooded straight or ending right 200-250 foot holes. Hole 1 is a more challenging 285' foot uphill hole finishing right where you are happy with a par and thrilled with a birdie. The rest of the front nine are birdieable if you hit your line, but the everpresent trees can easily kick you deep in the rough.
The back nine are way more interesting, in my opinion. Hole 10 gives you a 380 foot shot down a narrow 12-15 foot wide railroad embankment with three guardian pines at 200'. The smart play may be to throw off the embankment to the trail on either side, throw down to the base of the embankment at pin level, and putt for a par. Hole 11 is the sole par 4, a 400+ s -shaped fairway where you are happy to par. Holes 12-16 are shorter holes utilizing elevation that you think you should birdie, but the trees may beg to differ. Holes 17 and 18 close out the course with longer, but reachable par 3s.
Rudimentary tee signs, showing hole and distance, have been recently installed. Homemade next tee signs are at each basket.
Undergrowth and shule has recently been removed from the course.

Cons:

The original course is kind of hard to find the first time out there. There is a kiosk with some information, but just go around to the right of the pool to find the first tee.
The tees are rubber mats, which can be rather slippery when wet. They are fairly short as well, which shouldn't be to much of a problem for the relatively short holes which do not require a big runup.
Some of walkways and paths on Holes 10 and 12 are rather steep and potentially dangerous. The guys I throw with use carts, but I would not necessarily consider the course cart friendly

Other Thoughts:

This review is based solely on the original 18 hole course.
I am a fan of wooded courses, where hitting a line is more valuable that 350-450 foot driving distance. I do prefer this course over nearby Floral Park, although I would recommend both courses.
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6 0
BossToss904
Experience: 14.7 years 148 played 1 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Help needed! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 5, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Located in a very large, seemingly nice park with many other activities.
-There are two 18 hole courses on site. I only had enough daylight for one, as there is no indication of two courses online, and tried the newer course, which seems to be quite new based on the other reviews so far. My review is based solely on this new course.
-There is a kiosk with course maps. While not very high quality, this is still more than many courses offer, and is absolutely necessary to have any chance of navigating this course.
-There is significant elevation as far as Florida goes.
-Lots of potential. Unfortunately that's about it for pros here, as there is a lot of unmet potential. While I appreciate any disc golf course, this was disappointing to the point of inspiring my first ever review, despite being my 100th course played. Thus the focus on the cons, which if seriously addressed could help turn this into a great course.

Cons:

-Tee pads. They are just rubber mats which become very slick with any amount water, which happens to pool in the bumpy low spots of several tees. Honestly it is better to just throw from the dirt next to the pads to avoid any serious mishaps.
-Signage. Or lack there of. Other than next tee directors hanging from most baskets, which is definitely necessary for navigation here although far from sufficient, there is none.
-The map. While better than nothing, this thing is barebones, and not entirely accurate. It is a grainy satellite image of basically just a forest with very few distinguishable landmarks. On top of that are rough tee and basket locations connected by straight lines and labeled with the straight line distance from tee to basket. No indication of fairway shape or golf distance, both of which vary immensely from the map. For the most part next tees are fairly close to previous basket, but there are some points where the map indicates this but the next tee is actually 100+ feet away and not visible due to their flat mat status.
-Fairways. It's almost a joke to call them that. Holes 1-5 were short and manageable, and you could actually see the basket from the tee despite zero effort to help them stand out from their surroundings. Pretty much what you would expect for technical woods holes. Hole 6 is where it goes south. A 622' straight line through the forest is what the map indicates. Reality: a winding hiking trail with no more than 100' before the next sharp bend. I think I got there in 7. Hole 7: the map says 334' straight line. After walking at least 400' down the double dogleg fairway and not finding the hole, I went back to the tee to see if the intersecting walking trail was actually the fairway before double checking the map and pulling up google satellite to check my orientation, then deciding to skip it and head back down the fairway to eventually find the basket 100' past where I first stopped. I think I ended up skipping 7-9 because I don't like teeing off if I don't know which way the basket is, and if I have to walk 400' around a bend to even see the "300" ft basket, I'm not inclined to walk back and play it. Moral of the story: hiking trails are not fairways, and gps distance is not golf distance. I have to agree with another reviewer in that it seems like this course was not designed by someone with much understanding of disc golf or the flight mechanics of discs. The only way to play these narrow twists and turns is to either spray and pray but 100% hit trees, or throw mids down the fairway 100' at a time and still probably hit trees. Neither of these options are enjoyable or good disc golf.
-All of these cons culminate in what is arguably the worst problem: navigation. It's hard to find the courses in the park. It's hard to find the baskets from the tees due to lack of signage, numerous blind corners, inaccurate distances and paths, and multiple crisscrossing walking trails sprinkled on top. It's sometimes hard to find the next tee due to their low profile. It's something that can put a stain on an otherwise good course, but here it's piled on top of an overall frustrating and disappointing experience. And all it takes is a little bit of effort to make it a lot better.

Other Thoughts:

A park with this amount of resources and the rare blessing of elevation in Florida could really be spectacular. Unfortunately, it is more than disappointing. I'm sure it was conceived when someone hiking along the trails thought "Hey! What if we put some of those frolf doohickeys in here??" I have to agree that the second course should not have been considered until the first one got maintenance, tee signs and real tee pads, along with possibly some redesign help. The only reason I might return would be to play the original course which I didn't have time for, because it seems like it might be not as bad as the new one, but it still doesn't sound like too much fun. Or to help redesign if requested. Here's to hoping!
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6 0
MrFrosty
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 31 years 764 played 386 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Lots Of Woods ,,, And More Woods 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 14, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

Once Inside Whispering Pines , I had trouble finding this course . I had to ask the lifeguard at the pool where it started . She pointed me to the far end right side of the pool area opposite where you parked . There is an old kiosk there with a map and some course results flyers . The course itself has your basic Chainstar baskets with basket numbers ion the middle pole , + some next tee signs on the bottoms of some of the baskets . , no signage , but the hold number and the distance is marked on large rubber black pads that are used for the tees . Print The Map ! These pads are hard to see on the ground and will cost you time looking for them . The front 9 is behind the pool and the back 9 is kind of on the left side of the parking lot and back away from the pool .Don't let the 4500' total of this course fool you . This course packs a bite . The whole course sits in the woods and many of the fairways are on existing or old walking/hiking/biking trails .Whispering Pines is one of the few courses in Florida with real elevation . The whole of the course is very technical and narrow fairways .The front and back 9 start and finish near the parking lot , which is nice if you just have enough time to get in a quick 9 . There is a good range in distance , with hole 12 being 166 , an uphill shot on top of a ridge , to #11 , a 408' drive down 2 paths with the basket protected on the right by a number of trees . I swear that when I looked up to throw , 2 more trees jumped out from the previous fairway into my present one . The holes here aren't unforgettable , but some ARE good . #1 starts you off with an uphill 280' drive that will feel more like 315 . #9 is a tight little downhill shot with a shrinking fairway . #13 is a window shot from an elevated tee over a ravine to the basket on the next hill . 15 is a fading 253' midrange shot that ends on a low plateau . 16 is another downhill window shot 191' . #18 is a good finishing hole , 313' , fairly level drive that will eventually break left to right . This course is not a fast one . It took me 65 minutes to complete my 18 . Figure that 4 will take around twice that long or more . The course might not get a lot of play , so you might have it to yourself . The only noises outside of the woods that you might hear you hear are the swim club . Signature Hole : Also the toughest . #10 . A 383' hole , with a path that is 10-12' in width , with trees on either side and also a steep dropoff on both sides . I forgot to mention that about 225' down the middle of the fairway that there are a row of a couple of small trees . If you go down the sides of these hills , it will be hard to ascend and hold the fairway . Still ,there is some fun factor with some challenge here . Since some of the fairways of this course are loaded with pine needles , you can actually skip your discs off of them for an extra 20-30' sometimes . You will also be in the shade the whole time

Cons:

#1 Danger . Not necessarily from path walkers , but to you . This is NOT a course for basic gym shoes or sandals . Hiking boots would be smart here . Since the course is woods and some of these grades are steep and the tee pads are rubber , a good rain might make for a good fall . #2 Navigation . Print the Map . Since the tee is black and barely over the ground , you can be confused on several spots , notably 9-10 , where you have to look for a spot near the parking lot , and 10-11 where you have to slowly decend the steep embankment , walk across the path to a little higher ground where the #11 tee pad is . You also have to backtrack from 15 basket to 16 tee on your right and up the hill . Bring bug spray , as the bugs can eat you alive here . #3 The Rough . Disc Risk : at least medium if not higher . There are some overgrowth here , and a good ricochet off a tree , and it will happen , can cause your prized disc to get caught in it . #4 . Unforgiving fairways . Some of these fairways are damn near impossible to negotiate . If your drive isn't perfect , you are going to have a terrible shot coming back . I would say that the variety that this course offers , is what type of tree you will bounce off of after you tee off .

Other Thoughts:

The course is a tough technical . I would personally like to see a few of these trees exit the existing fairways and have some of the rough cleaned up . The park itself is nice and well taken care of A pool with a reasonable cost to swim , . tennis and basketball courts .. Lots of extra land already gives me ideas on spreading this course out a little .Plenty of woods here . Thank You Whispering Pines for letting me try your course out . My Recommendation : Newbies , 2 disc locals , and families should avoid this course . The avid local , intermediate , and even pros might enjoy the challenge here . As for travelers , coupling this with nearby Floral or Okahumpka would give you several courses to try nearby from I-75 . I might say to give this course a try , if not just for the sake of some hills .
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3 0
SpeedoJosh
Experience: 3 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun with some challenge 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 22, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fun course. Isn't a quick course, so good for a morning of fun.
It's typical Florida woods, so lots of pine trees and brush.
Next basket direction is marked well enough. Tees are rubber pads with hole number and distance marked on most.
Some challenging holes which will test your ability, and definitely some holes where a bad throw will lead to a search through the woods.
I had a good time, and will play there again.

Cons:

As mentioned, it is pretty thick. So not many opportunities for big throws to air it out.

Kind of hard to tell where the basket is on a few holes unless you get a map.

Other Thoughts:

There are two 18 hole courses here. The main one starts just behind the pool, and is likely the one everyone has reviewed. It is a decent course, and worth checking out.

The second 18-hole course starts to the left of the basket ball courts in the woods. That course (or at least the front 6-8 holes) is bad. It seems like a 2 foot wide running trail in the middle of over growth, with trees blocking the way. The margin of error is zero. Your disc will end up in the thick woods on more than one occasion. Whether it's because you didn't throw it perfect or because you hit one of the many trees blocking the path. The location of the basket is a guess on more than one occasion.

We played 5-6 holes, then just walked out. Feels like either someone who doesn't play DG built the course, or someone who throws a certain way built the course around their self.

Instead of building another 18 holes, they should of invested the time/money into the first 18 hole course and made it even better.
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6 0
superium
Experience: 15.8 years 138 played 9 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Walkpath Fairways 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 3, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

18 holes, secluded, heavily wooded and technical compared to other Florida courses, elevation changes.

Cons:

Rubber tee pads are not in the greatest shape but since most holes are short, its not that big of a deal.
Signage is non existent. There's arrows on the baskets and hole numbers and distances on the pads. Course is not terrible to navigate but not the easiest. Baskets blend in very well.
Fairways, Ughhh yeah more like unfairways for at least half of the holes.

Other Thoughts:

This could be a real nice tight wooded technical and clean course but for no reason it seems like it is unfinished or abandoned.
Even being short holes, the fairways themselves are still not fairways yet walk paths with trees in between. Holes 1, 10, 11 are fine examples of what's wrong with this course as well as a handful of other holes that have an unnecessary tree or three down the "paths".
Out of 100 or so courses I have played, this is one of the most disappointing for being such a great and unique piece of land especially in Florida. I feel like a weekends worth of work making true fairways would benefit this course greatly. Adding tee signs and concrete pads would make this course close to 4 stars YET another course was recently installed and I think they will both suffer due to not focusing on perfecting each.
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16 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.8 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Calling Daniel Boone!

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 2, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Whispering Pines is one difficult course to locate. We drove from one end of this large park to the other end trying to find the course. It's amazing that you never see any trace of this course from the park's road. We finally located a kiosk that had something about disc golf on it and a poor excuse for a map. Finally, a maintenance man drove by and we asked him where the course was. He was hesitant but finally told us it started out behind the pool. And thus I started my adventure.

The brush in this park is very thick but the course did have some legitimate fairways although they were often very tight and technical. Throwing straight for about 200' is a prerequisite on this course.

The DGA baskets have an orange # on the inner pole. It makes them easier to spot in the thick forest here. Most have the next arrow signs hanging below the baskets. The pads are rubber mats. Most of them have the hole # and distance stenciled on them. That serves as the tee signs and makes them difficult to locate because there is nothing sticking up to see. The front nine is better signed and easier to navigate than the back nine.

# 10 gets my vote as the most difficult hole here. It's 358' down a raised road bed about 15-20' wide. This raised road is anywhere from 6' to 15' above the surrounding land. Without resorting to just throwing my putter about 50' at a time, I would never, ever get to the basket without tailing off into the rough below. Definitely not my personal favorite type of hole.

Actually, my round went into a deep funk here. The next arrow sign pointed the way to # 11. I never located it. I found 17 and 18 right below #10. I stumbled around and located a few other unmarked tee pads and baskets but was never able to get on track. Finally, lost hungry, thirsty and scared, a jogger passing by pointed escorted me back to the parking lot and my patient, waiting wife.

Cons:

Poorly signed. # 1 says nothing so you have to walk up and read the # on the basket.

I hated # 10. IMO, that's a horrible, unrealistic hole.

The back nine is poorly signed.

I hate courses that play over walking/jogging trails, BMX trails, cross country ski trails, horse trails, snowmobile trails, nature trails or any other kind of marked trails. The back nine here played around three separate walking trails that were all signed (confusingly signed I'd say) making navigation a nightmare to me. After playing almost 1200 course, I like to think I can find my way around a course.

Good luck locating the course. Hint, hint! It starts behind the swimming pool.

Other Thoughts:

The front nine was a decent, technical course with challenge. The back nine was a total waste of my time. # 10 was an ugly hole. Climbing down from the # 10 basket was a slippery slope with leaf covered hills.

Thus is one course that I wouldn't care to call my home course. I prefer to call it the 1191st course I've played and leave with almost 100% certainty that I shall not ever be returning and won't be left huddling in the woods trying to rub two sticks together to start a fire, Tom Hanks style.
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11 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.1 years 652 played 629 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Dense Forest 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 31, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

(2.712 Rating) The most heavily wooded course I've ever played as of this review (108 courses)
- RAW BEAUTY - Bay far the most redeeming quality of Whispering Pines is its natural beauty. Wonderful terrain changes for a Florida course this far south. Fully wooded with vibrant vegetation and superb natural fauna. I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker on the back 9. (Woody the Woodpecker for those that know the old cartoon)
- CHALLENGING - Despite the short length, this course is tough. League postings at the community board showed not one of the 25 course regulars with a sub-par handicap. Advanced players will probably struggle to crack par. Having a good mid range recovery game will be key to shoot low.
- SHOT SHAPING - Your discs will need to work some magic. There is typically only one angle of attack on every hole. You will have to release at the right speed and angle, and make sure the ending curves correctly to avoid the thousands of trees in play. Good luck.
- ELEVATION FOR FLORIDA - Great elevation changes for a south Florida course. There's probably more elevation here than at the nearby Floral and Quarry courses combined. A nice 25 foot up shot on (12) followed by a nice down shot. However, several regions of the country would consider this course flat. No more than 30 foot of change on any one hole.
- CHILL AREAS - The entire course is entirely secluded and has an overall Zen feel. There are a few tee areas with seating and there's shade at all of the tees as well.
- SPACING - Well spaced out holes with no chance of running one into another fairway. The drawback however is that a few of the holes have longer walks between basket and next tee.

Cons:

This course is beyond heavily wooded. Note, the DGCR photos only represent about half of the current course layout. It's been partially redesigned and is even more constricting than the photos represent.
- DESIGN - I'm not sure of the design constraints, (For example, not being allowed to cut trees down) but as it sits, I would say several holes are poorly executed and are flawed holes. It's almost as if the baskets and tees randomly fell from the sky and you have to figure out how to get from point A to point B. Several holes have their widest lane at around 4 feet. A few holes don't have a discernible angle to the basket. A couple wider holes, with 6 and 8 foot lanes, have a tree left in the middle of the lane, way down fairway. I like to refer to this type of hole as the "Middle Finger." Hole (10) "Three Middle Fingers" looks seemingly awesome from tee. It's a straight 350 foot hole along a 15 foot high ridge with a 12 foot wide lane. Scores of trees, left, right and top form a tunnel. In addition, there are three 4 inch diameter trees mid fairway, making four 3 foot gaps in the 12 foot lane. The random statistics to make this gap, and that's if you keep it low while staying in the 12 foot wide lane, is 44%. If you fail to hit the lottery on your shot, you will be greatly punished. Your upshot will have to get back on top of the ridge but it's almost entirely blocked off from the fairway lining trees. Hole (11) is another poorly designed hole called "The Beast." From tee it looks like a 400 foot poke and hope shot. But there is a lane there. It just makes 4 solid turns and is 6 to 8 feet wide. After (11), I actually began to like a bunch of holes.
- FORGIVENESS - One of least forgiving layouts I've ever played. I may have scored a few birdies here, but I still hit a tree on every freaking hole.
- OVERGROWTH - I played in early March and the overgrowth was already coming back with a vengeance. If you play here during the summer peak overgrowth, it's probably because you hate fun.
- NAVIGATION - Passable, but I've experienced much better on other similar type courses. To start. printing or downloading the map to your phone is a must, and I repeatedly checked mine. There are a bunch of directional ques along the layout, but it's not enough for this wooded course. I got lost for a few minutes between (10) and (11) as the map is a little bit off. The tee is farther south, or that is if down on the map is south. There's no north arrow on the map.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - Way too difficult for beginners and many recreational players. I could also see higher skill lever players also not liking this course if they don't like heavily wooded technical courses. Floral Park, farther south, will draw a much wider swath of skill levels.
- CHARACTER - Probably about average as a whole but lacking in some aspects. The teeing experience was not the greatest. Although shaded, the tees themselves are rubber mats. Several were lumpy and uneven. Hole number and distance were on the mats and it appears some were beginning to fade. In addition, there are other things lacking, like no extra tees or extra basket placements and no practice basket. There was a little bit of seating, but there could have been a few more benches.
- UNIQUENESS - 18 very technical wooded shots. Just about every shot has to be played from just one angle. There is no water along the course to force a line. Not that there's a need for another hazard. No par 5 or dogleg holes either. There is however a bit of elevation, as mentioned above in the PRO comments.

Other Thoughts:

Whispering Pines needs a serious redesign, as the land it graces is stunning. The course feels like a polar opposite to nearby Floral Park. I applaud the locals who brave to play this course day in and day out. I'm sure by now all these players are precision masters.
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9 0
thrembo
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 48.8 years 242 played 194 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Not For The Faint Of Heart 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 25, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Tight and heavily wooded and featuring hills, ridges, cliffs, bumps and a hole in a hole (15)! Challenging. Some of the narrowest fairways that I have ever seen (And my home course is the technical Preserve course at NPC). Fun. If you don't let it wear you down or get in your head. Scenic. Very pretty course with a good variety of tree and plant types.

Cons:

Unfortunately, there are some cons.

No tee signs at all. There are hole #'s and distances on the passable mat tees, although some of the distances seem off.

There are some hikes between holes, and blind/hard to see pins that require first timers to walk down some fairways. Navigation can be tricky. Use the map!

There are apparently baskets and tees still in the ground from extinct courses or future ones perhaps that make navigation even tougher if you stray from the main course.

The course can have some harsh roll-aways if you don't land flat. Not really a con as that is the price to pay for playing a hilly bumpy course, but it can become frustrating.

The terrain can be harsh with steep difficult climbs in places. I would wear sturdy hiking type shoes and recommend that weak constitution types avoid this course. Also, I would recommend that beginners stay far away as this course would discourage most new players.

The course intersects with several popular hiking trails. There were way more hikers than disc golfers on a nice Saturday morning.

Other Thoughts:

I like rustic disc golfing, and this course has that in spades. It is not for everyone (DGCR user R2sandman described this course as "whack" after playing it). All of the local dgers that we ran into on the other nearby course said that they played this course once and were done with it. So I guess it never gets too busy either. If you go bring your big-boy game and bring durable discs as tree hits are inevitable.

I believe that this course needs to be modernized. Put in some concrete tees, tee signs, better navigation aids and tweak it a little bit and this course will rival the best in the state.
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2 0
MorGunz
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Great park with great potential for improvement 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 26, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

The land is beautiful and heavily treed. Nice changes in elevation. 27 holes available to play. First 9 are supposed to be the easiest and the new last 9 are supposed to be the hardest.

Cons:

Course lacks proper signage. It's not obvious where the first T is located. Pads are in need of leveling. Steep paths on some holes are dangerous and not cart friendly. My biggest issue is with the lack of proper lanes. Too many scrub trees in the flight path. Unless you are a pro or extremely lucky you are going to hit trees on most holes. A couple weekends with a crew and chainsaws and this place could be really be cool to play.
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7 0
markmcc
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 278 played 254 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Midranges and Putters 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 26, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a tight wooded course that really gives you a chance to work on your tunnel shots with midranges and putters.

Start at the large parking area for the swimming pool at the north end of the park, and walk around the pool fence until you find the first tee. Tee pads are rubber mats that are decent, though there are some lumps and bumps in them. Hole number and distance are stenciled on the pads, and there are no other signs. All baskets did have useful "next tee" arrows.

This course is mostly short, tight holes in the 190 - 250' range. In addition to the tree-lined fairways many have one or more tree in the middle that introduces an element of luck into the holes.

The front nine is made up of very similar holes, with the only variety being the basket placement a bit right, a bit left, or straight ahead.

Hole 10 is quite different with both the tee pad and the basket up on top of a levee type ridge, with big drop-offs on either side. The top is quite narrow and it is a real trick to keep your drive on top.

Hole 11 is labelled as "The Beast" and that is a good name for it. It is the only par 4 hole and the only hole over 400'. The drive is blind and requires a right turn then a left fade to position yourself for the second shot. Miss it by even a little and you're in the thick stuff and probably working on a bogie or worse.

While the front nine is pretty flat the back nine offers some good elevation changes, which add another challenging element.

Hole 18 seems like a gift as you drive down a dirt road that seem positively wide open compared to the other 17 holes.

Cons:

There is a good bit of similarity to the holes on this course. Holes 10, 11, and 18 introduce some variety, but for the most part this is a short, tight, woods course.

If you like to air out your drives, this is not the course for you.

There are no tee signs and you will find yourself walking forward on a number of holes to spot the basket.

The rubber teepads are pretty good, but on one hole I did catch on a bad spot and stumbled off of the front.

Other Thoughts:

This is a great course for working on precise drives down narrow fairways. I enjoyed the course as I don't often get a chance to play one this tight.
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2 0
blueblur
Experience: 35.7 years 196 played 11 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Skip front 9 and play back 9 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 28, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Back 9 is interesting golf. Holes 10-13 are really fun and different than most courses in Florida. Shade for the whole course is nice. Gorgeous walk in the woods. Nice elevation changes (for Florida).

Cons:

Front 9 is a series of tunnel shots through ridiculously tight fairways with thick underbrush and trees on the side. It is frustrating golf. Imagine Charlotte Disc Golf with "fairways" that are as narrow as 5 feet. Many reviewers describe this as challenging, technical, etc. I don't mean to offend, but I think these holes are poorly designed. It is poke and pray golf at it's worst. This is old school disc golf course design that should be fixed with wider, "fair" fairways.

Other Thoughts:

With the quality and amount of land available, this could be one of the best courses in Florida. Perhaps the designer was told he couldn't cut down a single tree. If this is the case, it explains a lot about the design and would make the situation more understandable.
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6 1
reposado
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.7 years 278 played 273 reviews
3.00 star(s)

pros and cons 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 1, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

This one will test you. It's tight and technical. It won't test your arm, and there's aren't any true par-fours, or really even any long threes but it will test your accuracy and punish deviations. It actually has a bit of a North Carolina feel, and I don't mean just the pines. The way the fairways are constructed. The way the fairways are constricting. It should all seem somewhat familiar to those experienced in the Tar Heel State. There is even a bit of well used elevation.

The flow is incredible, helped along by top-notch maintenance, especially in the front nine. The course takes a very natural flow through the woods with clearly delineated paths between holes and navigation aids where needed. This is especially true of the front nine, where the word pristine would not be an incorrect description. The fairways are a perfect size and there are some nice throwing lines in a variety of directions.

The back nine gets a bit crazier. 10 and 11 are the two beasts of the course. 10 requires a very straight long throw along a raised area and if you veer off the fairway, trouble is immediate. The path back to the fairway will be both uphill and tree-covered. 11 is more of a zig zag with shorter paths linked by sharp turns. Definitely fun in a novel way.

The holes are at the best when they involve the elevation present in the back half. There's a really cool hole that's just a short throw over a pit, with trees that should be able to be thrown over, but the danger is really from how small of an area that pin stands on, and how likely a roll back is, especially if a tree is even glanced.

Technical holes. Check. Tight fairways. Check. Interesting, signature-type holes. Check. I feel like the front nine is a 3.5 and the back nine is a 3.0. There's a lot to like here, and if giving out 3.25s were allowed, this is a perfect course to receive that mark. I debated 3 vs 3.5 the entire time I was writing this. I do think that the present score relatively underrates it in the area, but I would never allow that to affect my rating. It's almost a 3.5. And it could be, eventually.

Cons:

The first hole could be easier to find. There's that nice big arrow pointing towards the first hole on the side of the pool. What I would like to see is a nice arrow on the kiosk pointing towards the existing arrow. It's really the only flaw in the navigation here, but it's an easy fix. The directions here say the right corner of the swimming pool, but that's vague enough that's I'd like an arrow. (Although that direction is very helpful in finding the correct area of the park.)

But that's an issue that affects the play only once. A more significant con is the amount of poke-n-pray shots. Other reviews mentioned that the park won't let any trees come down, which is a shame, because just a few small trees are keeping this from being a true 3.5-level course. You know what I mean: an otherwise perfectly tight, challenging fairway has one or two thin trees left standing in the center of it. It's not that many trees either. I'd say cutting the right 20-25 over the whole course would be game-changing.

While a lot of the back nine holes are tough and interesting, they are often "weird" tough, and not tough in the sense of championship-caliber course. Weird angles. Weird obstacles. A bunch of not-really-golf-shots. Fun and often creative but just not the kind of holes I would think of if someone described a course as tough with no further explanation. There's not a real par-four here and there isn't much distance, with all but three holes measuring in under 300 feet.

So while you should not expect to find a true challenge of disc golf skill in the conventional sense, it also is very beginner-unfriendly. For those that are just learning to disc, this course is probably a pass. The only issue for most traveling players is going to be the blind throws. The tee signs aren't that helpful. It's a course that probably plays much better for locals, but visitors will occasionally have to throw at areas that they hope feature a basket. The front nine is not so bad here, as the fairways offer very natural lines that can bee seen even if the basket isn't. The back definitely has some holes with guesswork, or require scouting. Part of this is because the fairways disappear in some places, and the immaculate nature of the front half is not continued.

Other Thoughts:

For me, Whispering Pines is better than a bunch of area courses that are rated higher. Before comparing the raw numbers, look back and find that Whispering Pines has a bunch of low numbers from years ago that are bringing the average down. It seems clear that those ratings date to a time when the course wasn't as good as it currently is(as do the uploaded pictures here). In my opinion, this is a significantly better play than Floral Park or anything in the Tampa area besides Medard and Cliff Stephens. To sum up, this is a recommended spot for travelers that play above a beginner-level and take the relative ratings with a grain of salt.
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1 3
owvanguard
Experience: 15.8 years 170 played 34 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Wood Ridge 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 10, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course keeps drawing me back. It is in a lovely wooded area and there are several natural ridges that are utilized with excellent course design.

Cons:

The first hole is not easy to find and for a first time player some of the next tees need signage

Other Thoughts:

This course is all in the shade so for Florida it is a very cool course.
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6 0
Dana87
Experience: 12.1 years 27 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 25, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course was a lot of fun to play. We really liked the rare (for Florida) elevation changes. Hole 10 was like playing on top of a levee and was as interesting as it was tough for us. Hole 11 had the basket high up on a ridge. The front 9 taught us to throw low straight drives.

Cons:

It was a pain to find the first hole. Unforgiving fairways. For someone like me who always manages to hit a tree in front of me, it was frustrating at first. The back 9 is too hilly for a cart. I like to bring my cooler and an extendable long pole that isn't practical without the cart.

Other Thoughts:

If you are looking for a well manicured park with great signage and cement tees with long open holes, Floral Park to the south would better suit you. However with the short tight elevated holes, Whispering Pines is a great compliment to Floral Park. Play Floral early in the morning before it gets too hot and then head to shady Whispering Pines.

Don't bring your cart. Instead park to the back of the lot near where the 10th tee is. This way you can leave your cooler in the car and freshen your drinks at the midway point.

While the 3.5 rating I gave it may be ambitious, the course deserves to be higher than a 3 due to the rare elevation for the area. Only the back 9 of Edward Medard Park in Plant City approaches the elevation changes.
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3 2
Christianlamb
Experience: 5 played 5 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Awesome course!!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 21, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

A true GEM for disc golfers who are wanting to improve their game. The course is laid out in a beautiful heavily wooded park that actually has the best elevation I've seen in Florida. The holes are very intelligently designed to make the most of the elevation and tight openings in the trees. Each hole from #1 to about #11 get progressively more difficult and challenging (if you love a challenge then you will love the course). Some truly memorable holes.... one with a tight tunnel shot on a ridge with about a 10 ft wide fairway and about a 15 foot drop off on each side.... another shot where the basket rests at the top of a 25 foot high ridge with only about a 4 foot wide green and another 25 ft drop off on the other side.... and then the next tee is at the top of that ridge with the basket about 300 feet down another tight fairway. And the best part is that you are completely isolated from the rest of the park in a dense forest.... very tranquil! :)

Cons:

Not a beginner friendly course!! My friend who played with me commented that we would have hated the course about a year ago when we didn't know how to throw a midrange on a straight line for 280 ft. Not a course where you need your drivers. Probably only one hole that I threw a driver, but not all courses need to have every shot for it to be a great course. :) One thing I would add to the course is more signage to show distances and maps of the different holes. Also, we didn't find any signage to point us to the next hole, but we didn't get lost once so it is not hard to stay on the right path.

Other Thoughts:

Probably my favorite course at this time, since I know playing this course will make me a much better player who can throw tight and straight lines. Would actually rate this a 4.0 or 4.5, but since the course has such a low rating currently I just wanted to boost it up a bit so it gets its recognition. ;-) Definitely a must play!!!!
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4 0
GrEaTeRNaTeR
Experience: 13.6 years 19 played 19 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great new challenge 4 me 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 11, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is hands down one of the more challenging courses ive played so far with its tight tunnel fairways and hilly terrain. I found myself using shots that i wouldnt usually use even in the densely wooded courses of Upstate New York. This course truely is what seperates beginners from vets. i had a few blow up holes ( #11 being one of them) that really tested my frustration but hey! thats what makes it fun when u can come back with a few good shots down the line.

Cons:

This course could use some signage to the next tee's or even an arrow or two, my brother in law and i got a little turned around trying to find a couple tee's in this tropical paradise like forest. Yet again if u open your eyes a little and look around they are not too far from where the previous shot hole is.

Other Thoughts:

All in all this course is great for tunnel shots, technical shots and can even give some of the younger crowd a workout with its terrain
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2 1
Lee34
Experience: 26 years 3 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Diamond in rough. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 4, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Seperated by other park activities,good elevation for florida.Friendly locals,very good technical course.

Cons:

Can be a bit challenging to get up and down steep hills covered by pine needles.But well worth the risk for me.

Other Thoughts:

Nice place to visit if you want to play real disc golf,not just a grip it and rip it course.This course has improved my game by teaching me control and strategy.One of my favorite courses.
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2 0
DelightSquad
Experience: 13.6 years 43 played 8 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Misunderstood and lonely 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 18, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

WP is a shorter, more technical layout with unique elevation changes and gut shots.

-mid range/putter training grounds
-excellent risk/reward lines
-shady canopy
-benches
-waste bins
-some signature holes
-unique to florida

Cons:

I can sympathize with the grudges put on this course. Can seem insanely tough and treacherous.

-tiring physically
-lost disc potential
-some holes can really become nightmares
-dangerous wildlife

Other Thoughts:

In my opinion this course doesn't get the respect it deserves. the day we played was hot as heck but super fun, with one putter ace and plenty of fun navigating the elevation and ridiculously tight, but beautiful and framed holes.

This course could be a mini Magnolia DGC with more cleavage.

Check it out, get ready for #11, and enjoy the challenge or you'll be disappointed.
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2 1
sasquach
Experience: 12 played 8 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Getting Better?? 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

A real challenge.
Tees now have rubber pads.
Nobody around on a beautiful Sunday.

Cons:

Hole 10 is unplayable due to trees and DANGEROUS due to a steep ridge.
Not a single driver needed for the round.

Other Thoughts:

This course had not been reviewed for 1 1/2 years so I thought maybe it would have been improved. I found it to be an OK short course. The front 9 is OK. Still lots of trees. The back 9 has a lot of dangerous climbing up and down a tall ridge. Pine needles made it like ice.FOR YOU OLD GUYS LIKE ME WHO USE CARTS LEAVE THEM HOME. COURSE IS NOT CART FRIENDLY. I will probably give it a try again in a couple of years and see how it goes.
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2 1
amanandhisdiscs
Experience: 7 played 6 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Unnecessarily Tight 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 13, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

- PLEASE NOTE: first hole starts to the right rear of the swimming pool
- a couple of uphill/downhill shots that are noteworthy
- beautiful winding course through the woods
- arrows direct you to next tee
- lots of potential for future development

Cons:

- nearly every hole is littered with trees
- extremely tight fairways
- NOT an amateur-friendly course
- hole lengths and numbers are written on bucket lids which may or may not be present at any given hole

Other Thoughts:

we randomly met the couple that created the course and they even stated that improvements were needed...they simply had to get the pins in the ground...
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