Wayfinding aids, three good tees for every hole, course design, overall excellence of the individual holes, a number of really fun shots.

Barely a con, but the entire course is in the woods, so not much landscape variety.

Whatever your skill set, whatever your taste in disc golf courses, the course at Curtis Memorial Park just outside of Fredericksburg is sure to satisfy. First time visitor in no mood for casting about and looking for the proper basket and next tee? No worries, there's a map at #1, excellent signs detailing each hole, and easily visible arrows pointing to all three tees – yes three, per hole – red, white, and blue.

And speaking of those three tees, a beginner or young one just getting into the game? Proceed straight to the red tee, designed for standing flat and not having to fling too far. Average player? Throw from white and find the full array of shots are needed in good proportions: up, down, right, left, and sometimes all of the above. Big armed veteran that thrives on challenge? Get your many extra steps in playing from blue, where long but controlled shots will be needed to keep your scores reasonable.

Aging noodle arm that likes to pace out your game? Well there is a bench on every single hole. Where else is that true?

With all due respect to DGCR Wizard Olorin, I suppose one could have one con; every hole is in the woods. There's no fully open shots and barely any broad views out here (you do get a good view of the lake walking between holes in one spot). Yet even then the fairways are always fair and usually plenty wide. Pinball throws are possible but not likely on most holes.

Those holes are as varied and well designed as any in Virginia, if you don't expect too much from the landscape. There are no bad holes out here, and a fair number of truly interesting holes: downhill shape shots into a ravine/creekbed; uphill challenges that will knock down your best drive; at least one hole that is a little of both; and a great balance of left, right, and straight off the tee. Playing from white, it is pretty much so par 3 golf, and intermediate to advanced players probably won't stray too far from par. Again, these are not cons though, but rather minor points that keep Curtis Memorial from the very top level of Virginia courses.

Overall, the disc golf course at Curtis Memorial Park is Very Good, and well worth planning a road trip to play. It may be the finest all woods course in the state. And with the amenities and way finding aids, I can't imagine a better host for your visit.

Favorite hole - #7 - A downhill slope along a creekbed to a tough basket placement. Touch and subtlety required off the tee for a pretty spot and fun shot.

+NO CONS! This is the first and only time that I've ever left the Cons section blank! See below.

I played a mixed layout of Odd = White tees & Even = Blue tees so that I could get a feel for each of the layouts. My comments and ratings reflect this mixture.

<span class="italic">DESIGN</span>

MULTIPLE TEES: 3 sets of tees- Red, White, Blue. The white and blue tees offer very different fairway shapes, so there is a great deal of variety. Some of the Blue tees are way longer than the whites.

FAIRWAY SHAPE VARIETY: Well balanced. 4 Lt/ 6 R/ 7 St/ 1 S

HOLE LENGTH VARIETY: Well balanced, with 3 longer holes.

TERRAIN VARIETY: 18 Woods holes, so no open bomber shots

ELEVATION CHANGE: Mostly moderate but on almost every hole. 7 Up/ 10 Down/ 1 Flat

BEAUTY: Scenic woods throughout the whole course. Solidly enjoyable

<span class="italic">BASICS</span>

TEES: long raked concrete trapezoids

SIGNS: Excellent! Good maps. Very informative

BASKETS: Mach V (my favorite) with yellow sleeves on the pole.

NAVIGATION: Straightforward. Map available in the pro shop, Mon-Fri

<span class="italic">AMENITIES</span>

+BENCHES: on every hole!

+Pro shop with discs in the park (but is has limited hours)

*NO CONS! Of the hundreds of courses that I have played and reviewed this is extremely rare. I'm a perfectionist, so I can always find something, but not here. I've never played another course that had nothing important to be improved.

For the mixed white and blue tees that I played the Course Level = Blue (most suited for Advanced players rated 925-975)

<span class="underline">You be the judge-</span>

FAVORITE HOLE: 7. Downhill with a dry ravine winding throughout the fairway ending with a basket with risk that is on the edge of a drop off into a dry creek bed. The hole is aceable, and each of the 3 tees offers a different fairway layout.

Teensy weensy quibble- there is a long walk to tee 14, but that was due to a division of the park land, and it gave a small view of Lake Curtis.

One more really small quibble- I played on a Saturday and I wish that the Pro Shop was open then.

I really enjoyed this course! I would be very happy for Curtis Memorial to be my home course! There is enough variety that I could see myself playing this course often. Another rare indication of how much I liked it is that I would be willing to make the time to travel there and play it again, and I very rarely do that on my quest to play new courses. This course should appeal to a very wide range of players since the Red tees suit new and rec players while the Blue tees will challenge Advanced players. Pros that are 1000 and above might not find enough length to challenge them, though. If you look at my hole ratings you will see that my enjoyment ratings for the holes go from a few at 5-6.9 but the vast majority are solidly in the 7-8 range. I find my enjoyment of this course to be greater as a whole than the sum of each part individually. Every hole is solidly enjoyable, but other than hole 7, none are epic or even signature holes. They are just all good designs and fun. It was like reading a book in which I enjoyed each chapter and the whole process, even though it would not be considered a classic or a masterpiece. Or like an enjoyable movie with really good actors, no flaws, that you just enjoy, even though it will never win an Academy Award.

My Enjoyment Rating: 8.4 (out of 10) and that equals 4.2 on DGCR, so I was torn between rating the course 4.0 or 4.5. Since the course falls just the smallest tad short of the epicness for a 4.5 I went with the lower rating, but I was still torn

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my <span class="italic">enjoyment</span> of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the <span class="italic">quality</span> of the course. My Enjoyment Ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.

Look in the "Links/Files" section for my files with Hole-by-hole ratings and more detailed Overall review notes. You can also read more of my review philosophy and rating notes at Disc Golf Course Reviews
----------
I'm always trying to improve my reviews, so if you mark this review unhelpful or if you find a mistake, please send me a Personal Message here on DGCR to tell me what is wrong with it. I'll be grateful for the feedback.

-A heavily wooded course that meanders thru a park. Elevation thru ravines with a few views of a scenic lake. A creek comes into play on a few holes. From the tee tight gaps with some hole's tight fairways and twisting. Some baskets have guardians and most hidden from tee. You'll be tested whether from the short or long tees.

-Based on skill level there are three sets of concrete tees on each hole. On a few holes the distance is short between long and middle tees, but the angle is extremely different such as #2 where only about 25 feet made a big difference of the fairway angle. Baskets catch good.

-Holes have their own unique features with an assortment of twisting doglegs that are tight, unseen elevation drops, and options to come down thru the canopy on short holes.

-The course has been realigned in the past. No indication what was done in the realignment, other than some tee signs have not been updated. It looks like the realignment started with hole 2, as with other courses this is normally for the good.

-Tee signs have hole number, par, distance, and a tee map. Some tee signs have the wrong basket number on the map post realignment.

-Navigation is counter-clockwise and has smooth flow. Tee signs on the map have next tee indicator. A longer walk from basket 13 to tee 14.

-From the tee I threw mid's, fairways, and drivers. Had thoughts of putter on a few longer holes to stay on fairway. You're likely to play a variety of your discs from the bag.

-Beginners and recreational this will be a lesson in woods golf, but fun. Intermediate and advance from the long tees skill set will be tested, but correct disc selection could lessen it.

-Because this is a heavily wooded course where you're likely going to be very focused, the holes blend into together, meaning some not memorable. The holes have their own unique features, but it may take a handful of rounds to keep them memorable. On the ride home no problem remembering the 2nd course I bagged, but not this one, heck I can remember courses per hole I bagged several months ago. I've only played one other course like it, and I think its that focus on the shot only that made some holes forgettable. Also, the lack of variety gives no space to separate the holes.

-The short red tee concrete pad is only big enough for a standstill, it was a double take when I walked by it on the first hole.

-On a Tuesday morning there were walkers on fairways, most of them around the lake area. The lake shouldn't come into play.

-The 18th basket is at least a 4-minute walk back to parking, and you're finishing at a lower elevation. Without UDisc to show me where I was in the park, it would have taken some wandering to find parking.

-The lost disc factor can be high; the deeper brush is well off the fairway, theirs a creek but it was dry. I disced down and stayed around the fairway, when I was off, I walked right up to my disc. There's also the elevation drop on a few fairways, but I had no problem locating my disc.

Curtis Memorial Park from 1st tee to 18th basket is an adventure of wooded disc golf, and I found it to be intense for the most part. You get a slow introduction hole 1 thru 4, and from 5 on it takes off with tighter gaps off the tee, fairways narrow with twist and turns, and drops in elevation down fairway. A course where I pretty much disced down to stay on fairway still hitting trees on the border of the fairway and 2nd shots catching up on distance using a driver when needed, the course does gives you a chance to recover. Curtis reminds me of Northwest River a course I frequent, but Northwest is flat, just has the tight fairways and gaps. Northwest took me 5 visits to remember each hole, and I believe Curtis could take just as long. Curtis puts you through the test but will give you some fun as well. I wish I lived close enough to make frequent visits to Curtis. There's not much to grip about the course, other than on a weekend you may find a lot of walkers on the course.

With the up tempo of a wooded course from the long tees, and some unique holes my overall rating is anchored on a 5.0. I think my overall rating would increase if I played the course enough to get a better feel for it. I hope to return sometime in the future. The time to play was 65 minutes, it can be a fast-paced course staying on the fairways and no disc looking.

Notable Holes:

No. 11 Par 3 at 344 feet is a very narrow, sort of, kind of, a straight away. The fairway meanders left, back to the right, and then straightens up. It also slides downward left to right across fairway. The fairway all the way down is about 30 feet wide at the most. Trees bulge out on the left pushing long the right, and bulges from the right pushing you left. Very awkward look from the tee. I shaped a Star Leopard flying from the left to the right border and threw it again slicing right to the basket. There are these types of shots thru the course.

No. 12 Par 3 at 251 feet from the longs a dogleg right from an elevated tee. The shorts are also elevated but direct to the basket. There's a stretch of guardian trees in the middle of the fairway protecting the basket. A creek that was dry runs along the right and behind basket. It's a fun throw, from the longs threw a high arching hyzer canopy drop, after a short search found my disc in the creek bed just short of basket high, don't know how it got there.

No. 16 Par 4 at 465 feet is a brutal uphill hole with narrow gaps of 15 feet climbing to 180 feet out and starts to level out. The fairway meanders right then straightens out, and about 70 feet out hooks left to the basket with tree cover. Its narrow all the way down but opens some. From the tee it looks like you're looking straight up, and those gaps are intimating. My first impression was putter, but I didn't do it, hit a tree early with a fairway and was happy to walk away with a bogey.

Signature Hole:

No. 8 Par 4 at 501 feet is an elevated tee that is straight away until a lazy dogleg right about 125 feet from basket. Very scenic from the tee you have a choice of tracking your disc over a ditch most of the way down fairway on the left, on the right of a tree line center fairway is dry land that also has difficulty with protruding trees and bushes from the right. Your creek line is about 30 feet wide, dry line about 20 feet. There's a wooden stairway into the ditch if you play from it, a nice touch to the view from tee, and that tells me maybe the ditch stays dry most of the time. One of the most scenic holes on the course and represents the course well. Also has a crusty feel to it.

Trouble Hole:

No. 5 Par 4 at 477 feet from the longs is a downslope dogleg left at about 250 feet from the basket, the rest of the fairway straight away. From the shorts a straight away hole. Heavy tree line and brush both sides until about 200 feet from basket a gap shrinks to about 25 feet then opens back up. About 100 feet from the basket the fairway drops to an open basket that is a roller with brush within C1 and a dry creek behind it. From the long tee you have the risk of running thru the dogleg, an approach shot your disc will likely fly out of sight. From above the putting green is very scenic, but the hole had one of the biggest lost disc potentials on the course, and a possible few extra stroke. I ended up dumping a putt from the fairway drop.

Three pads (mostly) per hole. Very good signage. Never lost my way really. Lovely forest and lake. A great deal of elevation changes. Several downhill holes and a few uphill ones too. Varied obstacles for each hole. Fairways go from reasonably wide to super tight. While most are straight, that doesn't get boring (to me) because of the varying tree/creek situation. All cement teepads in excellent condition. All baskets in excellent condition as well.

It is all woods, so you never air out a shot. Well, maybe the drive from the red tee on no. 17; there, you throw into the woods from the edge of a small meadow behind the pool area. Red tees get essentially half a pad (nearly square). Forget run-ups. Sometimes I was falling off the front of the square teepad. Occasionally, the longer tees get these square pads also but not much. Par 4 might be too generous (for red tee) on hole 1; however, it's a good way to encourage the player just starting out. If you make par out of the box, you start out with good vibes.

I'm not sure there is a park entry fee April-October. Online information is poor on the county website. There has been no one in the booth all four times I have played the course.

When approaching the park on Hartwood Church Road, look for the Gauntlet Golf Course sign. It is in the same park. While there also is a sign for Curtis Memorial Park at the park entrance, you can easily overlook it (neutral colors). Long driveway/road up to and past the entry booth. Continue straight along to the first large parking lot behind a soccer field on the left.

Use the latter for warm up if no one there! The course starts across the street from where you enter the parking lot.

Some days, the creek is dry, and you can play your throw from the creek bed. With actual water, of course, you would be OB and taking a penalty stroke.

When you exit the course from the 18 green, you come uphill to the pool area. Turn right and follow the walkway to the large parking lot. You come back to it on the opposite side of where you started.

If there is a day fee during the warm months, other stuff you can do here include tennis, ball golf (regulation course), skateboarding, swimming (pool), soccer, hiking, picnicking, fishing . Latter requires a permit and done on the opposite side of the lake where there is a small marina.

The tiny red tee pads work well with 1- and no-step drives and perhaps are what the designers intended: for red tee folks to do 1-step drives versus run-up X-steps and 360 spinning drives. On this wooded course from the red tees, the only place you might try the more powerful drive is on the 17 tee. But you don't need it there either.

On most of my outings here, there has been a portable practice basket in the field near the large parking lot on the side nearest to hole 1. I use it before and after playing the course. Bravo, Curtis Memorial Park maintenance staff!

3 concrete tees per hole
Different tees change the shape on a lot of holes and not just add distance
Well defined and cleared fairways
Pro shop with free maps and nice people

Still some work to do from the hole 2-5 rearrange, not much but can be confusing
A couple of the walks from green to tee weren't well defined but the map helped, and honestly as with any course the first time you play it there may be some confusion on where to go but you figure it out and are fine after that

I was surprised at the condition of the course, looks like it's had a much longer beat in time than just a little over a year and a half (opened 10/2016). The fairways have been kept down with traffic and the rough isn't bad for finding errant shots. Course it clean and the park along with Spotty DG club does a nice job of keeping it in great shape.

I talked to the people in the pro shop and got the word form them that 17 holes were originally professionally designed, then due to time constraints the park designed the last one. Turned out that the setup for 2-5 wasn't really conducive to tournament play and had to be redone which is why some people initially find it to be somewhat of a jumble, heck I found myself teeing off an abandoned tee pad then realized. The holes they laid out seem to work just fine.

All and all a really nice course. When visiting stop in the pro shop, grab a map and buy a disc, to me this place is worth doing a little business with to support their efforts.

Nice, wooded, lots of elevation changes.

A good bit of variety between holes.

Good mix of long, short and medium holes.

3 tees choices for each hole.

Good amount of signage*

*Some sign MAPS are not aligned with player perspective in mind, and can be confusing for the new player.

No color on the baskets, which again can be confusing to a new guest.

Hole 2-5 cluster is a bit strange.

Tees not finished yet.

I liked this course a lot. I was stuck in 95 traffic and decided to just head east a bit, stretch my legs, and I found this beauty. As others have stated, it's a newer course, so some of the CONS can be forgiven because they're most likely being fixed/upgraded as we speak. For me the first 4 holes were a bit "meh" but then from 5-18 there really wasn't a bad hole. In fact they were all pretty special in their own way. Really good use of terrain, a good mix of length, and (this is important) there was obviously a lot of thought put into the 3 TEE setup. I only had time to play once through (WHITE) but I could easily see how the red and blue were really well designed for a shorter red round, and a much longer (and slightly more technical) blue round. It's a good level of difficulty, too. When the holes get difficult, they get difficult for a natural reason. Not because they forced the difficulty by "cheating" it (you know what I mean). They used the natural layout very nicely. It's pretty tough, but very fair. I was there when it was still a bit cold outside, so I didn't see a lot of hikers, but thinking back there was a fair amount of wooden bridges, stairs, etc, which I now realize are probably for the hikers, and not made especially for us, lol. Although I may be wrong! There is also a huuuuge lake on the back 9 that the designers didn't really bring into play. Which is probably for the best (my discs love water). There's a nice green patch of grass on the edge of that lake, too, just begging for a basket...but I would image that it's teeming with kids during the warmer months. Fore!

Multiple tees, my Dad, Husband, and I all played I am still amature while my dad has never played, my husband is a bit more experienced. He played the intermediate tees, while we played amature. It even out nicely.

Beautiful walk through the woods, along the the lake, complete with old cemetery from the 1900s.

Ground can be very uneven, more so than it looks it the leaves. Lots of sliding, and slipping.

We are from Texas staying with my parents for Christmas. Having played lots of Houston courses. This was by far my favorite. Just a great location, and set up. Lots of fun to play.

Huge Parking Lot right near hole #1
Three different tee boxes
Pretty diverse layout
Some differing elevation. (5 is a fun little downhill ace run, then 6 is an uphill beast that is pretty challenging to birdie)
Navigation is fairly easy. Follow the chopped logs with paint and you will be fine.

Only the first 2 holes have non-natural tee boxes and they are pavers. I hope they do not put pavers in the entire way through
(I don't mind natural tee pads but right now 6 and 9 are at a pretty steep incline for teeing off)
It's a young course so that means there are still some small trees scattered throughout that probably could be trimmed up
Between 14 and 15 can be tough to navigate. Same with 16 to 17.
Walking paths for non-golfers cross the fairways in several locations (there are signs posted but since most people have never heard of disc golf they are not looking out. Guess you could say that this is one way to grow the sport)

Ive played this course about 10 times since installation of baskets and have experienced its improvements along the way. It's a new course obviously, however I see great potential here and think it will age beautifully. I envision tournaments in the near future here and hope this will continue to grow the sport and provide exposure to those in Stamford County/Fredericksburg. A big arm really wont be tested here (maybe on 9) but If you are looking for a fun course to test your accuracy this is a great choice.

Three tee locations per hole, appropriate for their target audience.

Even sans map, navigation was easy.

Plethora of elevation types, ranging from mild to moderate.

Practice basket. Open field for some driving warmup. Plenty of parking.

Most tees are natural. Many tees are uneven. Some tees are short.

Bit of a walk from 14->15, 16-17, 18->1.

Baskets 2&4 tees 3&5 form a too-close-together cluster.

Several walking paths criss-cross the course. Number-17 is probably the worst, as the walkers may not be visible until post-release.

RIP new Stingray, somewhere in the clutter left/short of basket-14.

Course plays up, down, along, and across a hardwood ridge, located in a large public park, hosting a variety of natural activities.

From the reds, holes average a bit over 210', and typically require either a window to be hit at the midpoint, or a tree to be missed late. Minimal shot-shaping, except for a few short turning shots on 13, 14, turn or fade on 15. While elevation does come in play, its effect is minimized by the shorter distances.

From the whites, the average length bumps up to ~275'. There are more shot-shaping opportunities, as more so than the extra distance, the whites will typically be offset to the side from the reds. Elevation has greater impact, as there is more of it. All of the required lines seemed quite fair.

I did not play from the blues, but they increase the average distance up to ~375, and based upon my observations of the tee locations, should prove to be quite challenging, a bit narrower early, and offset just enough to require some tough shaping.

NOT a bomber course - control and accuracy, with increasing elevation/shape/distance challenges as one progresses from the tees, are the main goals here.