San Marcos, CA

CSU San Marcos DGC

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2.615(based on 22 reviews)
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14 0
Shadrach3
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 5.5 years 318 played 306 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Half Wide Open, Half Random Basket Placement

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 24, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

A remarkably disappointing 18-hole course with humongous safety issues.

-Amenities: Possibly the highlight of the course. Concrete pads, DISCatchers, good signs with info and map. A handful of alternate pin positions as well.

-Split Personality: As many have noted, this course has two dual personalities. Holes (1)-(8) and (16)-(18) are wide open field holes with substantial distance and a little bit of elevation in play. Holes (9)-(15) play straight through the heart of campus in short shots with man-made obstacles. I personally thought the former was much more fun.

-Practice: The (1)-(8) and (16)-(18) are ideal practice grounds. Open and mostly flat, with enough space to rip it out there and no major obstacles.

-Ace Potential: (9)-(15) are full of ace potential. Really short holes, some even puttable. Who wouldn't love to smash chains in the middle of campus?

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: A decent variety of skills required. Long-ish drives will help at the start, in the middle some slope control will be helpful, in the heart of campus you'll have to get precise with your throwing putters, and towards the end you'll need to make decisions about how to handle sloped greens. In terms of obstacles, the (1)-(8) and (16)-(18) stretches have virtually none, except a great tree on (8), though I could see wind creeping in to the picture. In the middle of campus, most holes have a decent number of obstacles, and the shaping is actually quite good. I just wish it was around trees instead of buildings - see below.

Cons:

Um one really, really big one.

-SAFETY: The entire middle of the course is designed around university sidewalks, building, roads, lampposts, tables, and gardens. It's the least co-existent piece of disc golf design I've ever seen. A sample of the issues is below - this place would be impossible to play if there was anyone on campus, essentially.

Hole 9 - throw straight at a driveway and building less than 230' away.
Hole 10 - the fairway is a sidewalk that bends left around a bus stop and building. I didn't even play this one.
Hole 12 - play through a small field surrounded by sidewalk. If you finish inside Circle 2 on the left, you'll literally be in the outdoor dining hall seating.
Hole 13 - play blind over a hill, and also over 3 sidewalks you can't see.
Hole 14 - basket is placed in the center of ornamental bushes. It's either chains or smash the hedges.

-Navigation: First, the course is badly disjointed from (6)-(16), requiring long walks. Second, due to the hilly nature of central campus and the rarity of stairs, it's difficult to figure out how to get to the next tee, even if you can see it on satellite map.

-Interest: Beyond the novelty of throwing straight at a building, there isn't that much to keep you amused out here. No way this course would rise above a 2.0 or 2.5 even if it didn't have the other issues.

-Ugly: To put it bluntly, the open sections of the course are very ugly. Wide open field with sparse grass and trash is no pretty view.

-Parking: Not sure there's any way to park other than paying campus parking fees. I figured it out, but it was annoying.

Other Thoughts:

This campus course is half wide open and boring, half a menace to the student population via randomly dropped baskets in the heart of the college. If it was just the first, I'd be a little more generous, as these kinds of zero-obstacle courses are still serviceable. Due to the second, I can't recommend anyone play here. That said, early on a Saturday morning the central campus was empty and I was able to play all but a couple of holes. I didn't relish it, though, especially when factoring in all the extreme walks. I'll call it Passable, but it's one of the worst 18-hole courses I've been to.

~Similar Courses: For the open half - Hampton High School (Hampton, GA), Lenora Park (Snellville, GA), Columbia State (Columbia, TN). For the campus half - um, nothing this crazy, but maybe a bit of similarity to Calhoun College (Huntsville, AL) or Jefferson County Courthouse (Golden, CO).
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7 0
endermetal
Experience: 9.9 years 40 played 8 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Not a Good Time

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 15, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

CSU San Marcos is a free to play course that plays around and within the university campus. Holes 1-8 and 16-18 are situated on the outskirts of the campus while the middle holes play near the quad.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there are only a handful of courses open in San Diego county. I was pleasantly surprised to find this course not only open, but basically empty when I played on a Friday afternoon. (Edit: I'm not certain if the course is open or not. While the baskets were installed and I didn't see any signs saying the course was closed, I noticed the SD Aces website lists it as closed. My apologies if the course was technically closed when I played.) I initially planned to play Kit Carson, but I found there were several large groups playing, and I surmised it would have been difficult to maintain appropriate social distance at Kit Carson.

There are a few notable positives to CSU San Marcos: The baskets are still relatively new and great catching Innova Discatchers, the teepads are evenly poured concrete, and the signs are colorful infographics. Otherwise, there's not many positive things I can say about this course.

Cons:

Holes 1-6 were unplayable because of 4 foot weeds growing everywhere. If you're going to play these holes then good luck! Locating your disc on a shanked drive would be nearly impossible. The weeds were overgrown on some of the teepads, making a run-up difficult.

Navigation was difficult, which is putting it mildly. The course map I found on the CSU website was outdated, so I had to use a YouTube video for help... and even with the visual aid, navigation was still a problem, with many long walkouts between holes. (UPDATE: There are QR codes you can scan on the tee signs to bring up an interactive course map. I, unfortunately, overlooked this...)

Most of the holes are extremely beginner friendly with minimal challenge or creative shot-shaping required. I ended up shooting a -7 while skipping the first 6 holes, and I'm an intermediate level player.

Hole 15's basket was pulled and I was unable to locate the new position. The original hole 15 seemed like a fun, albeit dangerous shot, so I understand why they removed this hole.

Other Thoughts:

CSU San Marcos feels like a shoehorned disc golf project; the terrain does not lend itself well to a disc golf course. Several of the holes were unplayable. I did not enjoy myself.

I was able to find street parking on Industrial St and was able to save myself a few bucks by walking a few blocks instead of paying for parking at the campus lot.

Only with serious renovations, upgraded landscaping, and a course redesign would I consider checking out this course again. It pains me to say this, but this is the worst course I've played in San Diego County, and I've played a majority of them.
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6 0
Nate32
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.7 years 74 played 60 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 2, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

CSU San Marcos DGC is a 18 hole disc golf course located on the CSU San Marcos University. The campus is beautiful but some of the holes are interesting. Tee pads are great made out of concrete and are looking great. Tee signs are very colorful and very easy to see. Some of the holes do have rubber tee pads though. Baskets are Discatchers and are looking great.

Hole 9 is my favorite hole just because it is a very fun downhill backhand hyzer shot. The Quad holes are very fun little technical shots that play in the quad. Hole 11's tee box was removed and put in a different location.

So this course does get maintained on some of the back holes there is a back basket on hole 13. I came there once and it was in the first position. I came a second time it was in the back position. So its not like they are just keeping it in one position.

Hole 15 was removed. I think they removed it due to people almost getting hit because there are walkaways to classrooms cutting right over this hole. This hole I kind of wished they kept though. That hole looked very fun in the picture. The new hole 15 was placed on the side of the parking lot. This hole is fun but the old hole 15 was much better.

Hole 16 is a great little short hole right on the back side of campus. Hole 17 is the same thing but watch out for rattle snakes. Hole 18 is a great downhill shot that plays right to the basket.

Hole 1 was replaced because of construction but I do not think they bothered to replace hole 2.

Cons:

Map is very key on your first time playing because some holes are very far a part from each other. Also there were rattle snake warnings on the first tee which makes it seems like there are a few. I would stay away from the rocks on the first 3 holes. The second hole was removed by construction. Although I could see the basket in the construction site and it was overgrown by some weeds.

Some of the landscapers were mowing the grass so I had to skip one of the holes. Hole 14 is overgrown on both sides with these nasty bushes that will eat your disc. I almost lost one of my discs in that bush. Unless you absolutely pure the gap.

Hole 17 is a little more overgrown and I believe the basket is blind but I cannot remember. Some hedges on some holes need to be cut. It is a VERY long walk back to your car. I kind of wish they designed this course as a loop. Although, I do think this course is for the students to play in their free time on campus.

Other Thoughts:

Although this course is somewhat interesting I do think it needs some work. Various rattle snake warnings on the back side and front side makes it seem like there are a couple roaming around. The course map is very helpful on your first time there. VERY far walks in-between holes.

For example Hole 8 is nowhere near hole 9. You have to walk up to get to the entrance circle then walk to the tee. Not very fun on your first time there.

Although the pictures are a little old this course has gone through a landscape phase. They have made some big changes to how many trees and bushes there are now.

My favorite holes are the quad holes. These holes are very fun unless school is in session. Then this course can get busy.
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10 0
Pierparknut
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.8 years 89 played 85 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 2, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-This course winds its way throughout the campus of California State University, San Marcos. There's quite a mix of holes, from open shots without a worry in the way to short, tricky holes right in center campus.

-Excellent hardware: concrete tee pads, Innova Discatcher baskets, and full color tee signs displaying each of two hole locations as well as a QR code linked to the interactive course map.

-It's a nice walk. Holes 6-8 play next to the athletic fields, and holes 9-14 traverse the central part of campus. The center-campus holes are a great spot for a college student or a nearby resident to get in some quality short-game work.

-Holes 16 and 18 are the best holes on the course. Both are downhill RHBH hyzer shots in the back section of campus, behind the parking garage. They are great holes to run several times in hope of an ace.

-The first seven holes, while void of obstacles, range from 200-400 feet. Sometimes, having nothing in the way is a challenge in itself as there's no frame of reference to dial in your distances.

Cons:

-This university is only 30 years old and is continually evolving. After reading past reviews and then playing the course, it's clear that several holes have been re-routed and several more have been compromised over time. For example, hole 1 has been moved and hole 2 is currently closed due to construction of a new foot bridge over Barham Drive, hole 15 has been moved next to the parking garage, and hole 11 now requires a straight up and down shot due to the giant agave plant growing right in front of the tee.

-Holes 10-14 are serious safety concerns when college is in session. There's a rule against sharp-edged discs on these holes, but all it would take is a slight misfire or a concealed pedestrian to cause an accident. I was not particularly impressed by the awkward shots required on these holes.

Other Thoughts:

-I highly recommend using the interactive course map. Navigation is not intuitive and there are many long walks between holes (Parking garage to hole 1, hole 6-7, hole 8-9, hole 14-15). Thank you very much to whoever keeps this map up to date.

-The first seven holes could really be improved by planting a couple dozen trees. As-is, every hole can be attacked with a spike hyzer. However, the university may plan to eventually develop this property.

-Don't visit with the expectation of playing the full 18 holes. Holes 1-6 and 15-18 are the only holes that are reliably playable, and consequently play over rough, barren terrain. Holes 7 and 8 are probably off limits during sports games, and holes 10-14 play through areas with heavy foot traffic. Weekend evenings and school breaks are the best times to play.
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4 0
thespeedokid
Experience: 9.4 years 110 played 34 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Short course in college 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 17, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Variety of distances. Back ten holes are well kept. Front 8 is good distance. Good tees. Hole signs are good. Back 10 is well lit by the campus. Good for beginners. No one plays it so you can play fast if you know where to go.

Cons:

Front 8 is not well kept. Back 10 is very short. Some holes are hard to find. Some hole signs are missing. Located in college so there is a large risk of hitting people. Going from hole 8 to 9 is confusing. Front 8 lacks trees. The layout of the course differs from the map at the number 1 tee. (hole 16 was moved to where 17 and 18 are. Plus other differences). Some tees are just two markes on the side walk. (Hole 15 is hard to find).

Other Thoughts:

Front 8 is located down by the baseball feild. Back 10 winds through the campus. Good course to play if you go to college here. I would recommend playing Kit Carson park instead.
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10 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
2.50 star(s)

A Tale Of Two Courses 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 30, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

THE CSU San Marcos DGC seems more like two distinct courses. The first eight holes and the last three play through these dusty, , wide open wind swept fields using nothing but length as an obstacle. The middle holes of the course are squeezed into the inner parts of the campus quite cleverly making for some quite interesting although short ACE possibilities.

The course features DIScatcher baskets, great tee signs featuring colorful maps, PARs, distance, etc. The tee pads on the field holes are concrete although maybe a bit short. On the campus holes, you're mostly teeing off from sidewalks although they are in some places cleverly marked with these little round SCU San Marcos markers which are inbedded in the sidewalks.
The campus holes were my favorites featuring many fun little ACE runs. # 9 was a simple little 201' downhill shot. # 10 is a 153' uphill shot requiring an anhyser throw. # 11 is just a 128' ACE run when there are no co-eds blocking the throw. # 12 sign says it's 264' but I think it's much shorter. The basket here sits right in the middle of probably the campus' most popular lawn gathering and meeting spot. # 13 is a 163' uphill ACE run while # 14 is a great 178' throw just waiting to be ACED.

Then you come to the signature hole on this course, IMO, # 15 is just a simple little flick/touch shot over a railing, 141' to a basket kinda hidden behind a tree. You can throw a simple little tomahawk for a birdie or an anhyser around the tree for the ACE attempt. Fun little throw!

The course then ends with 16-18 on the far side of the parking garage. # 16 has been re-located due to the construction of a new campus building due to open in fall of 2014.

Cons:

The open fields holes fairly boring. The terrain here is ugly. There's a sign at the beginning warning you to watch out for rattlesnakes.
Holes 7 & 8 are closed when there is a track meet in progress.

The campus holes 9-15 would be nearly impossible to play when students are present. I played on Sunday morning and no-one was around. It also might have been the Sunday of spring break.

Other Thoughts:

This is actually not a bad little course for a college campus. It would expose a lot of students to disc golf. I'm a little worried that exposure might just be drilling one in the forehead with an approach shot of the campus holes. I sincerely hope the San Marcos student disc golfers are considerate players and are willing to skip holes when students are present. I'd hate to bypass # 15 anytime. I love that little toss!
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3 1
hyper_hippo18
Experience: 11.5 years 6 played 5 reviews
3.00 star(s)

fun time 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

-has fun short and long holes
-beautiful scenery
-fun if you are a student there

Cons:

-def not good during school hours
-some of the short throws feel useless, like why even put a hole here
-should have a beer start location sign

Other Thoughts:

had a great time. could play thru twice. pay to park on campus or risk towing by ralphs...which ever. overall a decent course.
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4 0
Spmurphy23
Experience: 12.9 years 7 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Undy Run at CSUSM 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 16, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This is a great course for begginers because there are some shorter baskets. It is also free and in beautiful San Marcos where the weather is great. I love playing here in the late afternoon because it sits up on a hill and the view is great. Also it's fun to play during the California State Universities do their annual undy run. 18-25 year old women running around the campus in their underwear. Didn't play well but the view was great!! :)

Cons:

It is a little on the easy side which makes it a little boring sometimes. It's hard to access too because it is on the University and parking is bad,
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5 0
nuttinbutchain
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 44 played 23 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Putter/Midrange holes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 20, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice baskets and beautiful campus. I only played the campus holes (holes 7-16). Layout is pretty easy to figure out, but a map may be recommended to play the other holes located on the outskirts of campus. This would be a great course to take a beginner out to or to work on your midrange/putter game (most holes less than 200 ft). Most holes should be birdies for the intermediate to advanced player.

Cons:

As an intermediate player, I found these holes to be too short (most holes less than 100-150ft range), which didn't keep my interest. Keep in mind I only played on the holes located within the heart of the campus (which is still a majority of the course). There are a couple of longer holes located on the outskirts of campus. Also you have to pay for parking on campus.

Other Thoughts:

Overall I would not go out of my way to play this course again. However if I lived nearby I would definitely come here to improve my midrange and putting game. Another thing me and my friends ended up doing was shooting from other spots besides the official tees. You can get creative and come up with some interesting "unofficial" tee spots (throwing from longer spots, going to the 2nd story of buildings and throwing off, etc...get creative). Since we played at night on a weekend, we had the entire course to ourselves and were free to do as we pleased. The campus is lit at night, but a flashlight is recommended if you decide to play in the evening. Since I didn't want to pay for parking, I parked at the CVS located across the street from campus and walked in. It was another 5-7 minute walk into campus, no biggie. I've read its advisable to either play here at nights or on the weekends to avoid the student crowd and this is probably due to the fact that a majority of the holes cut through campus. Worth checking out at least once if you're in the area, otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to play this course.
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5 2
patdb23
Experience: 16.7 years 44 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun course to play 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 12, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The Discatcher baskets and signs are new and look really nice. Open course with a few obstacles on a college campus. Fun course to play with friends while traversing around the campus. Really like some of the shorter holes to test out putter control tee shots.

Cons:

n/a

Other Thoughts:

Thank you San Diego Aces.
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7 0
DocHaole
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.7 years 79 played 48 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Mixed Bag 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 6, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Scenic course that winds through the campus. Definitely a change of pace from your average public park DG course.

- Fairly simple navigation with good tee signs and good tees.

- It's a fun course for beginners with the potential to introduce the sport to thousands of potential new disc golfers.

- Good use of obstacles and elevation where available.

- Baskets are new and in great shape.

Cons:

- Some of the holes are super short, however if you approach 9-16 as putter only it can still be interesting.

- Major safety concerns with the campus holes. Holes shooting over stairways waiting for a student to round a corner. It is acceptable provided everyone uses putters or round edge mids but if some newb trys to throw a katana 150' around a blind corner they can have a serious problem.

- It lacks the wow factor to bring me back, but I'd still play if if I lived close.

Other Thoughts:

It's a fun change of pace to play on a college campus and it is a good opportunity to give the sport more exposure.

I appreciate the work that went into putting a course here and I love the DG vibe in this area, but I'll probably stick to the other courses nearby.
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5 2
D_Fresh
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Bring a map 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 11, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Starts strong with some nice par 3's. and a good size par 4. hole 9 was confusing to find becuase it was so far from basket 8.

Cons:

Hard to find where the next tee box is.

Other Thoughts:

Weekends much better then the week days when school is in session. Weeds are really tall on the first 5 holes.
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11 0
onemilemore
Experience: 13.1 years 43 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Some good, some bad... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 16, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Holes 9-16 on the actual campus are a lot of fun. Short, but nice use of elevation.
-Good for beginners, like myself. Shot my best round ever, so it was a confidence booster.
-Great views from the top of the campus to the coastline.
-Excellent signage that points you to the next hole.
-Used a variety of discs, rather than the typical driver/mid-range/putter combo.

Cons:

-Holes 1-4 are extremely overgrown. Use your brightest discs, and spot them closely, or else you'll be hunting for awhile.
-Lots of rocks and concrete. Bring your most durable plastic.
-Some of the par 3s should really be par 2s, so it pads your score a bit. I suppose this could be seen as a pro, too.
-The rubber tee pads are short, which makes for an awkward run-up.

Other Thoughts:

The thing I look for most in a course is replayability. As in, "Would I play this course over and over if I lived here?" Overall, I would say no for this one. The beginning of the course is annoyingly overgrown, and I could see the campus being crowded midweek. Also, the first 6 holes are not particularly creative, requiring mostly straight shots. That being said, the middle of the course, as other reviews have said, is the bread and butter of this place. A lot of fun, and with enough variety to work on some technique. I am sure more experienced players would not enjoy this course, but if you're a beginner and the in the area, it's worth a shot.
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2 14
Vikings
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Great course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 9, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Great baskets
-detailed tee signs
-18 hole course
-great scenery
-innovative hole design 9-18
-Nice campus

Cons:

-long walks between holes
-may lose discs in the first 6 holes because of the weeds
-some holes closed during track events

Other Thoughts:

Fun course to play as a beginner, a full 18 holes that are different and unique. Back 9 are the most interesting and worth checking out!! Play on the weekends because there will be no distractions. It's a fun thing to play with friends as you enjoy the nice campus and scenery.
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12 2
Danger
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.7 years 105 played 68 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Good exposure. Thats it. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 7, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

-DISCatcher baskets
-Tee signs & pads/markers
-Exposure to thousands of college students
-Some wacky 'urban' scenarios
-Night Play OK on holes 9-16 (only opportunity in SD?)

Cons:

-Long boring holes (with tiny tee pads) in fields of brush
-Tiny short holes (with infinite sidewalk tees) in high traffic areas
-Tee Signs in finger-breaking front-left corner of the tee pad
-Long walks between several holes
-On a college campus, so everything about it is inconvenient

Other Thoughts:

This campus course is the first of its kind that I have been exposed to. It begins in dusty, overgrown fields of weeds that skirt around the pristine athletic facilities, then works its way through a section of campus, and ends with two more random field holes.

This course has multiple personalities. The first segment through the brush was enjoyable enough on the first two holes, however it became repetitive quite quickly. The throws are flat (or slightly graded), and completely open. During our spring visit, some of the flowers were over 6 feet tall, and it was a miracle that we were able to find our discs. On a 550' hole, your perception of where the disc landed and where it actually landed can differ greatly, so keep an eye out because you wont be able to see your disc until you are standing on top of it.

Holes 6 - 8 are also open, but are not in a brushy area. These work their way around the track, so lighting may make them possible to play at night. The putting green on hole 8 is by far the most pristine putting green I have ever encountered.

After hole 8, you need to walk about 1/4 a mile up the hill to the campus proper. An open field shot next to a building leads you to the front area of campus, where several more holes exist. These holes are all pretty short and require no angling technique, so a putter is all that is necessary.

While I totally understand that exposure to the sport is awesome and I should appreciate it, holes just should not cross the main stairway into campus. Holes should not play across the main quad area of campus. Holes should not play across the OTHER main stairway into the area. Many of the ADA access ramps onto campus also had holes over them. We played through a very dead campus (sundown/night) and dealt with no crowd issues, but I can only imagine.

There was one pretty cool throw over a railing to a pin on a tiny green about 120 feet away. It was interesting because you had to elevate your arm enough to get it over the railing, but it was kind of lame because you were throwing the disc about as hard as you would throw a paper airplane.

After meandering through campus, should you feel like playing two more holes, you can walk through the parking garage and across another large parking lot to play the two remaining dueling fairways in an empty field. After finishing these holes, you are now just about a third of a mile from the beginning of the course.

I recommend parking in the garage if you play this course, as it is kind of halfway between the beginning and the end. Plus, if you don't feel like playing the last two holes, 16's basket is right by it.

Don't get me wrong, if I were a college student here, I would love the fact that I have a course right outside my class. That being said, it is not a good course, people should not be going out of their way to play it, and in a way, I think it may almost provide negative exposure to the possibilities of what the sport can be. However, I am always a fan of a good train wreck, so there was no way I could miss this opportunity.
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9 1
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Half n half 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

The course plays around a scenic college campus with nice views of the surrounding hills. Half of the course plays through open desert areas with lots of sand and rocks, and scattered low plants. This part of the course mainly uses wind and some small elevation changes as obstacles, with a couple longer holes that let you open up and throw some long drives. The middle of the course plays through the campus proper, with shorter technical holes playing around buildings. There is lots of sidewalk ob to contend with, and some fun elevation changes through the terraced quads. This part of the course is nicely manicured with lots of nice flowering plants and green grass.

The course equipment is in great shape, with nice custom discatchers that are still new. The signs are clear and informative, with hole distance and map, and an arrow to the next tee. The land available for the course was used quite well, it's not ideal for a disc golf course but it was turned into a fun place to play and to expose the college students to the sport.

Cons:

The biggest con here is the fact that the middle of the course is completely unplayable if it's a busy school day, as most of the shots play along or across main walkways through campus. Even in the summer with few people around, we had to wait on several pedestrians. There are also lots of opportunities to hit buildings and cars, hopefully that doesn't happen enough to get the course pulled. Several of the signs are placed quite poorly, where they are right where most players would hit their hand if not careful. The tees that aren't on sidewalks are tiny rubber pads that are too small and not at all level.

The course is not terribly challenging, and the open field holes get pretty repetitive and boring. The ones that are torn up for construction are completely wide open across torn up dirt with no obstacles at all. Parking is an issue, campus parking is enforced 24/7 so you have to pay to park at lots that aren't all that close to the end of the course. We ended up parking by the Blockbuster and starting at hole 6, and that worked pretty well. There are some long walks between sections of the course, make sure you print a course map otherwise it's pretty tricky in spots.

Other Thoughts:

If I were going to school here, I'd play the section of the course going through the campus all the time with just a putter. There are some really fun holes that will work on your short game in this part of the course that make it worth playing. I love that so many students are exposed to the sport with the baskets and signs right where they walk between classes. Overall, the course doesn't really present too many challenges to more experienced players, and the parts that aren't on the campus are nothing special, but it's worth a stop if you're in the area.
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9 2
sooner_fan_84
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Novice Players Only 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 8, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

I have don't have any pros for this course with the exception that my girlfriend shot under par here. It is a good course for the Rec to Novice players. Not a competition level course.

Cons:

I will start with course design. The first couple of holes are in a huge open area that could have been utilized much better. On several of these holes the tee sign is much too close to the tee pad. They should be moved so that there is no chance of your arm hitting them in your follow through. The tee sign acts more like an obstacle rather than being informative.
The play through the campus is scenic but not good for disc golf. They have signs stating that they want you to stick to the sidewalks but as I watched the other groups throw, they were constantly searching for there discs in the flower beds because of errant shots. This will happen often because this course attracts the novice level players.

Other Thoughts:

Avoid this course if you are serious golfer. If you are the novice level player just bring your mid-range drivers and putters and you will get a fun experience and some practice to go along with it. I will not recommend this course to other. It is not worth the drive from San Diego.
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5 4
rizbee_jr
Experience: 20.3 years 215 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Another great San Marcos course. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 10, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course was in the works for a loong time. Lots of hard work made it possible and the wait was worth it. This designer knows how to use the land he's given. Great job Dad!

Cons:

A few long walks. Kinda sucks that a few holes aren't there. But they will be soon.

Other Thoughts:

But seriously, unbiased, this course makes use of the land that is available very well. It may not be the most challenging and exciting course ever, but it is fun and makes great use of all the campus.
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2 10
socalproshop
Experience: 3 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Weekends only 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 13, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice scenery. Long overall distance of course. Super Duper fun holes with tons of different obstacles!

Cons:

You can only play weekends unless you have really good insurance and a bodyguard. There is no free parking anywhere; but there is no parking enforcement on weekend :] Impossible to find all holes the first time you play unless you have a map.

Other Thoughts:

If the campus was empty 7 days a week this would be a 5 star course!... for those of us who have crappy discs that don't go over 200' :]
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7 1
mikethrice
Experience: 15.8 years 19 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

checked it out 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 31, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

close to freeway. free. variety of distances and elevation changes. 9-16 are the heart and soul of the course..short with obstacles. but dont try to play during school hours. weekends or late nights only

Cons:

at busy college campus. pay to park. i walked from the starbucks down the street (ten minutes away ) only holes 1-6 and 9, 17 and 18 and disc golf exclusive. all the others need to be played with caution. so weekends and holidays

Other Thoughts:

hole 1- i liked that the basket was on a sloped hill

hole 7- i like how the basket was in between those trees. i ended on the edge of the hill so i had a blind second shot. it was interesting. also if you see a cement water channel on the hill to the left of the tee. be careful not to land your disc at the edge of the hill because there is a grate that the disc can fall through and it doesnt look like you can get your disc if it falls through.

the walk from 8 to 9 is long

hole 9- nice and disc golf exclusive-tree in way

hole10- nice uphill shot(weekends only)

hole11- short but trees in the way. nice

hole 13- nice short uphill (weekends or spotter)

hole 15- short but lots of elevation and obstacles. metal bar. stairs and such

hole 16- short but plenty of trees in the way

hole 17 and 18 are really far from 16 and are located in rattlesnake country. not worth it

(it probably makes more sense to park by the blockbuster and walk to hole 9 to start with...and finish at 8. then walk back to your car..that ways its free
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