Rolla, MO

Ber Juan Park

2.475(based on 19 reviews)
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13 0
DFrah
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 6.4 years 300 played 287 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Fun park style 9er

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 17, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Ber Juan Park is located right in Rolla, MO. The park is centered around a community center building, and a large pond behind it. Nine holes of disc golf play roughly in a clockwise loop behind the pond.

This is classic park golf. The holes range from moderately open with old growth tree trunks to work around, to a couple of wide open holes. There is nothing that I would call "tight", and no real rough to speak of. However, the aforementioned pond does come into play on several holes. Most significantly, #2 requires a short water carry across the corner of the pond. There are also nice rolling elevation changes throughout the course. My favorite hole was #6, which is a fun downhill throw at a basket in a little grove of trees.

There are two tee pads per hole. The pads are smallish, but concrete and in fine shape. The tee signs are also small and only appear at the short tees, but they have nice little maps and list all four possible distances (blue/red tees to A/B pin positions).

The baskets are Monkey Trap models painted orange. There is only one installed basket per hole, so there are two playable layouts at any given time. The pins were in the B position when I played. My impression was that most of the pin positions were just different, vs. being easier/harder. However, the tee pads are long and short so there is always a "long layout" and a "short layout". Neither layout is terribly lengthy or difficult, but it's a decent rec level challenge from the short tees and perhaps a moderate level from the long tees.

There is a practice basket that is pretty close to hole 1's fairway, but probably far enough off to the side to be out of harm's way. The park has trash cans, benches, and porta potties around.

Cons:

There aren't any Next Tee signs, so you'll need UDisc or the map uploaded here for navigation. Some tape in the basket rungs would go a long way here.

This is a multi use park and does have a few of the typical safety concerns seen with that type of layout. #4 plays near a parking lot, and a walking path could come into play on holes 6 and 7. Overall, I have definitely seen a lot worse in this regard.

The tee signs for holes 2 and 9 were missing as of my visit. And I'd like to see the signs at the long tees in addition to the shorts. I don't recall seeing an indication of which pin position is currently installed on those tee signs either.

I didn't see a kiosk.

Other Thoughts:

Full disclosure: I am writing this on my phone after an overnight flight on which I failed to sleep in any meaningful way. So this review may have some typos that I normally would catch. 😁

This course is a solid 9er that is worth playing if you are in the area or travelling along the I-44 corridor. Honestly, with a bit better signage I'd say it would be pretty close to maxed out on the land available. I read some of the previous reviews and noticed that DGCR staff member Three Putt considers this a home course. That alone is a fun reason for baggers to check it out!
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4 0
mrbro855
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.1 years 391 played 106 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Why the neglect?? 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 27, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

There are 9 (albeit rusty) baskets scattered in the back yard of the new looking Rolla Health and Fitness Center.

Some of them even have the potential to be memorable holes like:
#1 the only hole with concrete tee pad(s) and throws down into a valley with mature tree protection or....
#4 which had a tee box painted in the grass/ dirt with little flag there and had a great line of mature trees on the right of the fairway with the basket even further to the right or
#7 positioned in front of the creek or
#8 atop the levee protecting the pond.

Great use of the elevation that was there as well as maneuvering it through a park of ball fields, soccer field, playground, and walking path without those being any issue.

Cons:

Not many but they're BIG ones!!

Absolutely NO SIGNAGE, no tee pads or even markers with the exception of 1 and 4.

And what's with the rusty baskets??

Other Thoughts:

This could be a really decent niner, in fact it was, except you had to pick your own tee spot to throw to the next basket.

The rusty baskets make me think the town doesn't want to invest anything to make it a quality course. Take an example from Lion's Park right down the street.

From a fun factor, the course is at least a two, but with rusty baskets, no tee pads or signage... I can't rate it more than passable.

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1 1
discohboy
Experience: 36.5 years 8 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 2, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Open fields. Good parking. Pretty course!

Cons:

Only the 1st hole had a pad. The course is not well marked (not sure I even played the actual course) but still had a great time!

Other Thoughts:

Recommend for a throw and a walk.
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2 1
Pbody66
Experience: 4 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 25, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Quick and easy access and holes offer a few changes but not much. If you want a quick walk and throw then its a good place to go.

Cons:

Man they have no sense of how to mark out tee boxes. Just find a basket and act like its you and some buddies making it up as you go along. Avoid the lake shots and just throw wide.

Other Thoughts:

Could be better with some markings for the tees.
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3 0
dj3k
Experience: 12.3 years 34 played 11 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 4, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Forgiving for beginners.
Not too challenging due to wide open and not many trees to navigate around - Again, good for beginners.

Cons:

Multi-use park. Be careful of pedestrians and people that have no idea they are walking around on a disc golf course.
The tee pad on hole one is too short.
No other tee pads other than hole one.
Very susceptible to windy conditions due to being on a mostly open hillside.
Watch out for the disc-sucking lake that some into play on three or four holes.

Other Thoughts:

Not a bad course. Play there one time for about every fifteen times (for a little variety) I play at LCDGC, the other course in town that is way better.
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1 0
jjacobs445
Experience: 13.2 years 77 played 7 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Home Course #1 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 17, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- good variation for 9 holes
- some elevation change
- some long holes for distance drives
- trees/creek/lake provide for good obstacles
- multiple tees
- the park's rec center carries a fairly wide selection of Innova discs

Cons:

- natural pads
- can easily lose discs when grass is unmowed
- can be busy with pedestrians and traffic
- tee pads not always marked clearly

Other Thoughts:

this is the first course that i ever played on, and continued to play on with friends for a while. as far as 9 hole courses go, this is a pretty good one in my opinion. usually go here for a quick warm up round or play both tees for a full 18.
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1 0
nealyb
Experience: 19 played 9 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Not bad, not great 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 25, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Doesn't take to long to play, and it's pretty easy. A couple long holes, which are a nice change of pace.

Cons:

Tees are not great, baskets are not great, in general, it's fun, but not to amazing.

Other Thoughts:

I like it, but I don't really think it's all that challenging.
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1 1
Bigben932
Experience: 15.7 years 8 played 6 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Ber Juan 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 30, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

A reasonable course. Good layout with 9 varying holes. The centre offers maps w/ scorecard for free

Not to many trees

Cons:

High edge baskets,
No concrete tee offs except for hole 1.

Stupid disc eating lake
Only hole 5 should be par 4
hole 3 trees I hate

Other Thoughts:

2 rating is for a reasonable course. If this course had proper tees and markers to follow this course would be a 3-4 rating.

Pro tees don't offer any additional challenge or distance more than 20 feet except for hole 5.

Haven't played on a windy day, but I am sure this would add a much greater challenge due to the amount of hills.
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2 0
Prafeston
Experience: 12.6 years 20 played 5 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great for a Quick 9 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

This was the first course I ever tossed a disc on and it's pretty forgiving for a newer player. Though it's not a full 18 it's a great place to go when I only have time for 9 and I don't want to spend time searching for lost discs!

I like the fact that is has 2 different tee locations. There is good use of the land. Very open holes for the most part so you can really chuck your drivers. Tee locations are well thought out and make you pick how you are gonna throw it to avoid the few trees that are on the course.

Lots of elevation changes and great use of water hazards. Because it is so open wind can really be an issue.

Having The Centre right there at the beginning of hole #1 and the end of hole #9 is perfect. They also sell some discs inside and have other amenities like bathrooms and vending machines.

Cons:

Even with some of the clever tee locations the course isn't real challenging. Again it's great for a beginner, but I could see how more experienced disc golfers should be paring or even birdieing every hole!

It is only a 9 hole course so it goes by quick...especially since it's so open.

Gotta be careful on holes #8 and #9 or you'll lose a disc or have to go swimming.

Only tee #1 from the farther distance has a concrete pad. Other locations are just bare spots in the grass marked by flags and spray painted edges.

Tees also have no signage. Though in most cases you can see the chains from the tee. Would still be nice to have signs showing tee locations, hazards, distance, and par.

Other Thoughts:

Overall it's a very nice beginner course that's just lacking some upgraded tee pads and signage. A great course too if you don't have a lot of time or just wanna have some fun as you shouldn't be kicking yourself too much for terrible throws or lost discs.
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5 0
REDARMY
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.4 years 53 played 35 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Pretty damn good! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 21, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful, quiet park, and the lack of pedestrian traffic made for a relaxing round of golf.

GREAT use of the space available; every hole had elevation, they weren't repetitive favoring one particular style of throw, and some obstacle to avoid every time.

Surprisingly easy to follow the flow given the redesign/lack of proper tee signs. (Granted i got a map from the community center which certainly helped in that process, but it wouldn't be impossible to play without.)

Gnarly wind cost me a couple strokes, but made an already interesting course a little more challenging.

Nice to have the community center there to get a map/use the john/grab a snack from the vending machines.

Nice to see the designer wasn't afraid to incorporate the water on 4 holes.

Cons:

No pads, no tee signs, single chain baskets, no benches, no trash cans, no signage to get to the first tee or from one hole to the other.

As all of these things are supposed to be added as the weeks go by, i see this course easily gaining a half disc as the amenities materialize, if not more.

Other Thoughts:

I really don't understand why this course doesn't have more favorable reviews; it's pretty cool! I can only guess that people are playing Lion's Club down the street first and getting spoiled by that course. Ber Juan IS far more open and easier, but it has its own challenges.

My barometer for this course was Jokerst Park in Festus, MO., a solid 3.5 in my book. Ber Juan is already a similar, but better course by design.

...And as all the extras go in, it'll only get better.

Watch out for that wind, and have a smoke before or after your game and catch a glimpse of some of the eye-candy running in and out of the community center.

If you're interested in an adult beverage or two before your round, you'll have to go to the Phillips on the east side of Forum Drive. The Delano station on the west side doesn't have any alcohol for sale.
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3 0
noahrienks
Experience: 8 played 5 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Good starting course. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 24, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Good safe course for beginners. Wide open fairways that are forgivable to people who are not quite in control of their throws. Course is well maintained and mowed. Good disc selection at the Centre.

Hole 1: Pretty straight forward, nice bridge to cross the creek. The pin placement is nestled in the trees, and forces the player to make a clean shot.

Hole 2: Good pin placement, long.

Hole 3: Can be challenging to thread the needle. This is a good hole to roll on, and can be challenging to the inexperience player.

Hole 4: Good challenging par 3. Thread the needle to the right, and hyzer it close to the hole, or forhand it down the left. Go straight and you're gonna whack a tree!

Hole 5: Big ol' long hole. This is gonna make you want to throw farther.

Hole 6: This is a fun hole to try and bomb one on. Good elevation and long.

Hole 7: The short tee allows for a good ace run.

Hole 8: Good uphill shot with the tree hazard. Call for a huge arm with pinpoint accuracy.

Hole 9: This one is deceptive. Wide open with a lake on the left. Man a player has dumped one in the drink on this baby,

Cons:

Poor hole markings. No tee pads. No score cards near the first tee. This course could do with some more obstacles.

Other Thoughts:

Other than the lack of real challenging holes, this course is good to play on. This is definately my second choice when compaired to Lion's Club.

There are plans to expand the course to 18 holes.
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1 2
giddyup
Experience: 14.4 years 9 played 6 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 15, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This was the course I learned to play disc golf on on and it was great for that because it's a pretty open, not too technical course. There are a lot of big, mature trees scattered all over the course, a pond and a few creeks they make good use of, and a lot of elevation changes. But, again, not super technical. Holes 4 and 9 are the only two where you can't see the basket from the tee box.

Cons:

This coarse is very one dimensional and can get a bit boring. Hole layout and basket placement is predictable.

There is a VERY hit-able pond on hole 9. I have now lost 2 discs there. So, maybe I'm just bitter.

There are some spots that they don't mow too often. On hole 5 which is a long par 4 there is a big trench that only gets mowed a time or two per summer, so it gets pretty hairy if you end up out there.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, nice little course if you want to get out and play a quick 9 on your lunch break, which I do often.
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2 2
dragonhide
Experience: 15.1 years 8 played 2 reviews
2.00 star(s)

A good start 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 18, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

In a populated place, near a lot of activities- something for everybody!

Nice elevations

Nice map with aerial view- a MUST for first time!

Can buy discs at the store in the community center.

Disc Golf!

Cons:

Tee points hard to find, just dirt spots with red spraypaint on the ground.

Hole #1 doesnt have a map/scorecard

Must go inside the community center and ask for a map

Other Thoughts:

Be sure to go inside the community center right at hole #1 and ask for a map...
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1 1
DriveCrusher2
Experience: 16.1 years 50 played 13 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Hometown 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 2, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

It's very close to me, I am at the centre a lot and the course has its ups and downs. Very open, especially hole #3, 5 and 9. Like to unleash my drive on holes 3, 5, and 9 because they are long holes. Very good course to play if you are a beginner, open enough so there is a good enough margin for error and there are no woods to go looking for your disc if u throw it in there.

Cons:

Dirt tees, muddy when wet, not fun. Navigating is difficult if you dont get a map from inside the rec center. Cages, chains are to thin and spread too far apart for my preference but that is not a big deal. Also not very challenging, but will test your putting. Course is not very technical because it is very open.

Other Thoughts:

Finally, Disc Golf in Rolla, can't wait for the Lions Club Course, have helped with some construction and I like the way it looks already.
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12 0
Three Putt
Staff member
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 29.9 years 158 played 131 reviews
2.50 star(s)

It's good to touch the green, green grass of home 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 15, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Ber Juan Park has a lot of good elevation to work with, so the course has some good elevated tee shots, some good uphill pulls and some rollaway-danger pin placements. It's a multi-use park with a few pedestrian overlap areas, but for the most part you can play the course anytime without conflict.

The flow is logical and easy to follow. The distances are not bomber-long but not pitch 'n putt short; it's a decent intermediate design. The baskets are Monkey Traps that catch well and are high-visibility orange. There are two pin placements per hole. The tees are concrete and there are two tees for eight of the nine holes (hole 8 has one tee) so you can play 18 and only play one hole twice. The second tees and pin placements do a decent job of altering the shots a bit; hole 4 is a classic "same shot 75' longer" pin placement but the rest of them give the course some variety.

It is a moderately-wooded park-style course that gives players a lot of options off the tee. It compliments the more challenging heavily-wooded course at Lion's Club well.

There is a large pond that you can lose a disc into on holes 2/6/8/9 if you are into that sort of thing. There is also a creek in play on hole 7. Between the pond, the creek, the sidewalks and the parking lot there is a lot of O.B. on this course.

Cons:

If you are looking for challenge, this is an intermediate park-style course. It doesn't force you to do much of anything; you can throw RHBH here all day with no problem.

The course is retrofit into a busy park, so it's kinda crammed into the park in places. There is a sidewalk between holes 2/3; you can easily hit it with an errant drive on 3. There is a parking lot between holes 4 and 5 and you can throw into it on either hole. Hole 6 has a lot of sidewalk conflict plus soccer fields to the left. Hole 9 plays along a pond where people often fish to your right. You can have quite a few conflicts with other park users here if you get off the fairway.

Hole 2 has a weird backtrack flow; the tees for hole 1 & 2 are both next to the community center. You don't actually walk back up 1's fairway to get to 2's tee, but it's not the most intuitive flow and could stand to have a directional sign.

The course has tee signs. That's about all you can say for them. They are really small. They are only on the short A tees and the distance on them are fiction. There is no indicator on the signs to which pin the hole is in. 4B is the only place where you can't see at least one placement from the tee, so it's not a huge issue. The tee sigs could be better, though.

The basket attachments on baskets 4 and 5 are bent just enough that you notice it. Not a huge deal on a recreational course, but probably worth a mention.

Other Thoughts:

Ber Juan disc golf course has a terrible local reputation; The course was installed with no tees, no tee signs and substandard baskets in 2009 and stayed that way for 11 years. You wandered around looking for dirt spots with paint to throw from toward rusty single-chain DISCatcher Sport baskets; nobody liked it. The course design was solid, it was just in a terrible state of neglect. The course was finally updated in 2020 so all that remains of the neglected, hated course is the solid course design.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I've de facto been Mr. Ber Juan disc golf over the years, so a lot of this course is my doing. The course was designed with one tee/one placement so the long tees are my fault and the B pin placements were done by Russ Burns and I. Hole two was moved after the course was designed so that whole shot is my fault. I didn't do enough of the original design to be considered a designer, but I've done enough here to not be objective at all in my review. For years the course was in such sad shape that it was an embarrassing legacy, but how it's a pretty cool spot to frolf that I'm kinda proud of. It's my home course and this review has homeboy bias all over it.
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1 1
beaker
Experience: 20.4 years 13 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A good start 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 14, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Every drive is interesting; a good use of the terrain and the trees. Variety of holes forces many different types of approaches. Course flows well and slowly builds up to more challenging holes.

Cons:

Still needs tee pads and signage. Temporary tee markers are kind of annoying.

Other Thoughts:

Maps are readily available at the Centre front desk.
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3 0
cooktastic
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.1 years 113 played 15 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Great Start in Rolla 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 6, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

A very nice short course. Good variety of uphill/downhill and a few flat land shots. Used the trees, creeks and lake on several holes...maximized the terrain. Really liked the pin placement both on 8 and 9.

Cons:

Still new...no signs yet (they are supposed to be up soon)...no tee-pads (natural not a big deal, but only reds are marked right now)...some pedestrian traffic on a couple of holes (sidewalk runs through the park and comes into play a couple of times).

Other Thoughts:

Most of the cons I'm assuming will be addressed with time. Overall, one of the nicer 9 hole courses I've played. I am glad I no longer have to drive an hour and a half just to play a round.
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2 0
odysseus81
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.4 years 99 played 35 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Quick and Fun 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 7, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The course flows nicely and makes good use of the varied terrain available. Strong finish to the course. I really enjoyed 7, 8, and 9 to finish up. Great course for any level of player.

Cons:

There is very little signage right now and the baskets are temp baskets. Multiple places (1 and 7) where a bridge of some kind would be helpful over the creeks. Not a whole lot of length to the course if you like to air it out.

Other Thoughts:

For the land they had to work with, I felt like it was maximized. As the course is developed and more funding becomes available, I can definitely see my rating going up. I am just thrilled to have a course to play at all.
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1 0
BerJuanDuffer
Experience: 26.4 years 2 played 1 reviews
2.00 star(s)

First round 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 2, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Temporary tee markers are now placed. They are intended to mark the back side of a future tee pad. Flags point in the direction of the target (if you hold them out). Maps coming to the Centre in a few days.

Cons:

Permanent tee markers and pads are still a few months away. Tee 2 is the most difficult to find if you are not familiar with the course. You must walk around the SE corner of the splash zone and find tee 2 near where the concrete paths meet.

Other Thoughts:

Most targets are clearly visible from their tees. Exceptions: Target 4 is up the hill a few hundred feet and to the right about 40 feet. Target 8 is up on the dam.
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