A rough-edged course with some good holes and some unmemorable designs.

-Layout Note: In the last couple years, Bart was redesigned to rework its original 15 holes into an 18-hole layout. The redesign preserved most of the original holes (according to a local), adding a couple and splitting one longer hole in two. It is by and large the same course as previous reviews describe.

-Most Amenities: Turf/carpet tee pads are plenty grippy. Numbered DISCatchers. Tees have stone placards indicating hole numbers.

-Birdie Opportunities: Bart is a simple man's course. Clocking at par-55 with an average hole length under 300', most holes are quite reasonably 2ed by a White-level (intermediate) player. That said, it's not stupid easy like some birdie race courses, and the birdies earned will feel nice.

-Creek and Woods: Two natural features that give Bart an edge on some Austin courses. The creek makes a fun obstacle that won't claim discs except on hole (1), while the occasional woods provide real fairways and shady spots to sit, mainly on the back 9. Note that many of the holes have become substantially more wooded and shady since the course pictures here were taken in 2011.

-Loop: Plays as a complete loop of 18. There are also a couple points near-ish the parking lot after (3) and (9).

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Generally short holes with high birdie potential but plenty of ways to mess up. Ranging from about 200-300', give or take, you'll want to put most of these within at least long putting distance from the tee. However, with some medium elevation, initial gaps, and thick rough, there are plenty of things for an errant shot to get caught up in. If you get caught up, it might be a reasonable scramble, but it could also be impossible. The back nine are the more compelling, with consistent use of trees to force shot shapes beyond the beginning or end of flight. All-Star holes are the cliff shot (3), a dangerous perched basket on (8), a beautiful fading tunnel shot (11), and the big downhill closer (18).

The course is perfectly serviceable as an MA2-level par-3s course. There are several detractors mixed in though.

-Trashy: The creek washes a lot of trash and abandoned belongings from upstream. I'm fact, I lost a white disc out here simply because there were so many pieces of white debris that it was impossible to sort one from the other. This is an eyesore and potentially yucky.

-Rough: When you hit the rough squarely, it's thick. Several holes out here where you could be 20' from the basket with no look. I took one putt while literally laying down under a bush. The good news is there aren't very many thorns or poisonous plants.

-Eyesore Fairways: Some fairways I would describe as unnatural. (4) throws over picnic tables, (6) takes a stab over a retention area, and (14) also plays over a big fenced-in bog. Definitely some places where the location does NOT enhance the beauty of the flight.

-Blind Pins: Holes (1), (3), (6), (9), (11), and (12) all play blind. The tee signs don't have distance or a map, so this can be problematic.

-Should it be 15? I'm not taking a definitive stance on this, but my leaning is that this would be a better course with just 15 holes. Some of the short, awkward holes either used to be or could be combined into nice par-4s for a change of pace. However, as my colleague wellsbranch represents, there are also many players that don't enjoy holes not in multiples of 9, so perhaps the new layout is best.

-Flood-Prone: I'm told the creek easily overflows its banks, which I would believe from the trash situation previously described. My guide said it gets muddy, boggy, and nearly unplayable if it's bad.

I always enjoy adding older courses to my list, so it was nice to finally play Bart and get a feel for the Austin DG legacy. It certainly plays in the older par-3 style, but with a decent mix of technical and open that has been aided in the last few years by continued tree growth. It's a fun birdie grab for mid-level players. That said, the trash, lack of tee signs, and some uncreative holes limit its enduring appeal, so it stays at the Typical level for me.

~Similar Courses: Don Davidson Park (Fayetteville, TN); Crockett Park (Brentwood, TN); University of W Georgia if it was properly cared for (Carrollton, GA).

(2.657 Rating) One of Austin's oldest courses and still has that classic course feel.
- UNIQUENESS - By far the best thing Bart has to offer is the holes themselves. In terms of variety, it's well above average. To start, a majority of the baskets are blind, Pin locations are generally guarded well and requires a certain shot angle to enter from on many holes. The fairways range from open to moderate to narrow. There are several holes that have a creek element and ravine in play. There is one moderate length dogleg right par 4 as well. I found 15 to be great bomb it hole as I max out at about 400 feet. In all, the course is up there in uniqueness when comparing other courses. It is missing a par 5, there are no pond carry holes, none of the holes I find to be exceedingly hard, but I also don't find any to be gimme's either.
- ELEVATION - Although the course only varies by 30 to 35 feet or so along the entire layout, the use of what elevation that is there, was done well by the designer. Several holes use the creek valley as a hole design element. Hole 7 for example is a sweeping shot along a flood control mound structure that also uses the bend in the creek. Hole 8 plays parallels to a sloping ridge line, This is just to name a few examples, elevation is worked into more than half the holes. Although the total elevation is not much compared to some parts of the country, its above average for the Austin area.
- DIFFICULTY - A touch above average, Most advanced players should be around course par or a couple under. Intermediate players should typically finish a few over course par.
- CHILL AREAS - Hole 10 tee is surrounded by a dense tree canopy and has a picnic table. A great midway point to take a pit stop and relax.

Bart has got some fixable issues but probably also a few non-fixable ones.
- OVERGROWTH - The weeds, grass and general overgrowth outside the fairways is out of control. plan on spending significant time searching for you disc.
- FORGIVENESS - In addition to the overgrowth, the tree canopy has condensed in some spots really tightening up the line. To make matters worse, this occurs on several shots along the creek/ravine. Thus, if you miss your line, it can be a perilous journey to retrieve your disc.
- TEES - They are bad. Most of the courses in Austin have concrete tee pads and this course is an exception. They are pitting on a few holes and if it rained recently, they will track a lot of mud.
- NAVIGATION - Its tricky just about everywhere. I will suggest downloading the DGCR map, although not the best, it's better than nothing. Coming here as a first timer without a course veteran or without a map is a recipe for disaster.
- CHARACTER - Despite the courses is age, not much exists to show a continuous pampering improvement. There is no hole or course maps, just posts with numbers. There is no practice basket. A majority of holes don't have seating although there are a few picnic table. The course doesn't have extra pin placements or extra tees. A majority of the tee boxes are not shaded. There is a porta potty, yea....
- 15 HOLES - Wait what... Yep only 15, last time I played my group replayed 4,7 and 15 as it makes an easy 3 hole loop. My obsessive compulsiveness doesn't let me play 15 holes.
- RAW BEAUTY - Normally one would think that playing threw a creek ravine would be beautiful thru and thru. And it is, in spots and from a distance. However, much of this raw beauty is ruined by the amount of trash and construction waste scattered along the course. The creek along 2 and 3 is a good example. Here you'll find heaps of reinforce concrete with rebar sticking out or broken masonry block and bricks, glass bottle shards along the river bank and plastic trash everywhere. It's quite sad that probably once a beautiful place was ruined over time by numerous irresponsible people. It would take quite a massive effort to fully repair the damage mankind has done to this area.

I really enjoy Bart. Uniqueness in a layout is one of the more important thing to me and this course delivers. If this is also the most important thing to you, you will enjoy this layout. However, Bart is not the top course in the area. if you're from out of town, id have to recommend a bunch of other courses to hit before this one. To name a few, they are (Bible Ridge, Circle C, and Williamson County) Roy G and East Metro are also held high among my Austin friends but I haven't played them yet.

The course is located pretty close to downtown. It's an old classic par 3 disc golf for the most part. It has some nice rolling hills, woods, water, and rough. Overall it has a great mix of fun holes.

Hole #3 has an elvated tee where you can let a huge bomb go.

I really like #7. It's a nice RHBH turnover shot. On and over the sidewalk to the left is out of bounds. There is a decent sized ditch/water to the right. The basket is up the hill and elevated on a mound. Fun drive and great putting green.

There is one nice par 4 in hole #12.

The tee pads are really bad. They are dirt and many are uneven.

The course is very difficult to navigate. There are no tee signs and the tees are difficult to locate.

The baskets are in very rough shape.

The errosion needs to be taken care of. It's pretty bad.

Quite a bit of litter scattered around the entire park.

Print a map prior to playing. If you don't you'll be looking.

This course & park needs some TLC. I enjoyed it but it definitely needs some work.

I actually like this land a lot better than Roy G course.

First 5 or so holes are fun to play, a few others are good as well. Neat out of bounds areas (thin sidewalks, ect). Good for about an hour or so game play. Close to conoco.

Hard to locate tees. Have to check baskets for numbers. Tees are just ruts in the ground, most are not even visible.
only 15 holes. Easy to lose to discs on 10 i think it was. 1 is not even close to the park, its basically on its own. Rusty baskets.

Hole 1 is not even in the park basically hahah, you have to keep goin down 51st till the very end of the park (nowere to park). Correct it is right past tennis courts, but you still have a bit of a walk to get to it. When you reach 15.... keep walking strait. Took me 20min to find it.

Good course to play if you are local to the area. I did enjoy holes 1 - 5 i think and 7-10. Ended up skipping 12 - 14 as they didnt seem unique enough to play while i was in a bit of a rush. Did play 15.

Over all, if this course would just get some concrete tees, better number placement on the baskets, good signage and a bit touching up.... maybe 3 more holes, it would be an excellent course to play when you are just lookin for a good ole time.

Challenging course, good mix of elevation changes, lefts and rights
Tight wooded holes as well as a few more open shots
Baskets are old but in good shape for the most part

Park can be crowded
A lot of the water hazards are pretty nasty
Could use some tee pads and tee signs, maybe some benches
Navigation is fairly tricky

Not a bad course, will definitely play again, but it could use some improvements.

One of, if not the, oldest disc golf course in Austin. Holes have lots of character, a number of ace/birdie runs. Also has holes that you're happy to par. I was very pleasantly surprised at how fun Bart was to play the first time. I have been back several times. I guess I would call Bart a disc golfer's dg course. Technical lines, player is usually rewarded for hitting those lines.
Some changes in elevation make for fun and memorable shots. Creek comes into play on several occasions, usually to the tune of a couple knee-nocker putts.
At times you're letting the big guns fly and others you're going to old faithful one more time.
Lots of memorable holes, you will remember most after only playing once.
This course has you throwing over a fairly busy road, other manmade objects, over overgrown creeks, around barbed wire fences, over wet water collection areas, some elevated tee boxes, ...
No crowds, easy to get to, plenty of parking. Can be played in an hour or so most days.
Cool crowds when you do run into people- in my experience. Truly an Austin course no matter how run down.

No course signs,
Teepads are terrible, dirt - don't bother if wet.
3 holes missing baskets
Course and creek are badly overgrown. Can lose a disc if you're not really paying attention. Reminds me of an old casino - lots of fun in its heyday but worn down. Burned out light bulbs, chipped paint, maybe sheet of plywood over a window or two.
Not in a great area of town, some trash & usual vandalism on the course.

This course is worth going out to and playing. If it was 18 holes and the course was a little more maintained I could justify rating Bart 3.5, Teeboxes would bump it to 4. Ideally you would play a round with a local the first time as it's tough to navigate based on well worn paths alone. Good news is Bart's on the list for renovation after Searight. Should get some nice teepads and signs at a minimum. I suspect adding the 3 missing baskets and possibly other improvements to the course are on tap.

If I only had 2 days in Austin, Bart would probably not be on my list. If I had a week in town, it definitely would.

I will make a point to come back and update this review/rating following the course renovation. The crew who did Circle C will be working on it so you should expect a huge improvement to yet another Austin dg course.

Some hopefully helpful Info:
Park at the lot on 51st. Across from the huge water tower.

Start at hole 4 - closest hole to the parking lot, up the hill. Typical to finish by playing 1,2,3 twice.

Alternate tee boxes are: 1) under bridge near creek 2) remains unchanged 3) down the hill across the creek to right near picnic table.

Great shot variation-- from long 600' hyzers off a hill to anhyzers off a different hill and over a drainage gully. It has a good mix of wooded holes along the creek and more open holes closer to the entrance. There's this finesse hole of around 180 feet through sporadic woods and the pin is on a hill right above the creek. You are usually in the position to shoot for birdie, but how much do you really want it?! Luckily the water behind that hole isn't very deep in case you miss metal while trying to go for it. It has great tee box locations that allow you to maximize your distance no matter what type of shot you're having to throw, and trust me, you'll have to throw them all. This course not only uses natural obstacles, but also makes good use of man-made obstacles that make holes more challenging.

Everything in the cons section boils down to it not being properly maintained. The course went under construction a few years ago to fix some drainage problems and they had to remove a few baskets during this process. Unfortunately, after the construction was completed, they never put those 3 holes back and the course remains a 15 hole course to this day.

No signs and no tee box markers makes the tees extremely hard to find, hole 1 included. Everything is overgrown along the creek. It feels like I'm drudging through the jungles of Saigon coming down from Hole 3 or if you have an errant shot on 2.

Also, there are some pic-nic tables that are right in the middle or right to the side of fairways as well as a fair amount of pedestrian traffic. Combine those two and it's a recipe for some nervous shots.

The layout of this course is actually really well thought out and plays great. It's just a shame the park has been neglected for so long that it is literally impossible to find your way around without a local or map. If they ever put in the three holes that were removed, put signs in, tee markers, and cut the weeds back every so often, this course would easily score a 4 in my book. As it is, I just can't give it over a 2.5 as there are just too many things holding back would could be a really great course if it were maintained.

Quite possibly the best use of elevation changes out of the Austin area courses. The creek that runs through the park must be thrown over or along on most of the holes. Good mix of hole distances; however, it could use one longer hole.

Unfortunately several holes (12-14) are gone - apparently they had to be removed when the city was renovating part of the park. Dirt tee pads, but they are relatively flat and free of obstructions (like rocks jutting out). Also, many of the disc catchers have missing inner chains. Finally, there are no signs anywhere on the course and the path to the next hole is not always obvious so bring a map.

It appears (there are spray paint markings) that they are finally adding the three holes (12-14) that are missing since the city renovated the park. This course would easily be a 4.0 if it were better maintained and from the looks of it, it might be in the process of an overhaul. It is a city park, so there are usually a few pedestrians present, but they tend to stay near the park tables or the various fields/courts around.