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Dickson, TN

Dickson DGC

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3.845(based on 16 reviews)
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10 0
PastorofMuppets
Silver level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 4.9 years 163 played 124 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Glimpses of Mahr Park

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 5, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

WHAT TO EXPECT: Dickson DGC in Buckner Park is a Championship level course (from the Gold tees) that also provides a shorter recreational layout (from the blue tees). Expect a front 9 of rolling hills and mild to wild elevation changes with moderately wooded rough lined fairways in an under-developed area of park. The back 9 will twist and bend through the more developed area of park and manages to mix some open holes, extremely tight wooded gap holes (11 and 17), and some open bomber lake holes. Beautiful park with a ton of variety, and it is a massive course. This course borders the line between greatness and insanity for a park course.

AMENITIES: Sports park section has tons of parking, modern bathrooms as well as port o johns in multiple areas, trash cans and benches in multiple areas, plenty of sports fields to warm up, practice basket near hole #1. All the basics you would expect from a nice city park setting.

TEES/SIGNAGE/BASKETS: Typical HB Clark fashion, Giant course map kiosk with all relevant information, large textured concrete tee pads (two sets, Gold and Blue), two sets of well done tee signs with all relevant information and full color hole map (again, two sets, Gold and Blue) with color coded tee sign post tops for easy navigation. Baskets are newer Mach 3's (not my favorite baskets) but there is nothing wrong with them.

DESIGN: Length is way more than I expected initially. Yes there is some distance between holes and you will get your steps in here, but the holes (from the Golds) average over 500'. There are a plethora of multi-shot holes. (I think there was 8 par 4's and 2 par 5's from the Golds). The course smartly allows you to air it out in some places and forces you to play placement golf in others. While not Mahr Park, I can certainly see a ton of similarities
in the hole designs here that remind me of holes from Mahr. The elevation and rolling hills mixed with some tight woods does this course a tremendous favor. I can't really recall a flat hole on this course from start to finish. The lake is also utilized well and the holes design wise are great (execution in practice though is another thing I'll discuss below).

SHOT SHAPES: This course asks several questions of you. Are you able to throw far? Can you shape a shot while throwing far? Do you have any weaknesses in your game or shot shape arsenal? While most of the course is generally open, a few trees or obstacles limit the "natural" shot shapes on a lot of the holes where you want to rip full power. They make you make a choice or try lines you are less comfortable with. And if you find a way to succeed at that portion, the course then asks you to play placement shot, less power drives off the tee in order to set yourself up for tight approach gaps. Succeed there, let's add water carries to peninsulas in the open with swirling winds. Figure that out, how about some wooded tunnels that require two angles to get to the circle? I will agree with a lot of the other reviewers, IF the best holes on this course were able to be duplicated for all 18 holes, this would be a 4.5-4.75 rated course.

TWO SEPARATE NINES: In typical HB Clark fashion he manages to loop hole #9 and #18 back to the parking lot. This is much appreciated in most park style courses for those who want to get in a quick 9. But if you come here for the Golds, you might need this break to grab water, use the bathroom, or cry, whatever gets you ready for the second half. lol

SIGNATURE HOLES: #1 is a great hole to start on and very reminiscent of Hole #1 at Mahr Park, a gentle yet considerably downhill slope the entire way to a basket slightly protected by small trees with a steep run-off behind. Shows 455' from the Golds (Par 3) but plays much more like 300-325 due to the steep downgrade. Wood lined fairway with thick rough on your left and right. #14 is probably the best water featured hole. It is a long water carry (from the Golds) or water hazard all down the left of the fairway (from the Blues) where the basket is placed on a short inlet. I can see this hole giving people all kinds of fits if the wind is high or swirling.

Cons:

CROWDED PARK: This park is massive and well utilized. There was softball going on, kids playing soccer, kids on playgrounds, and probably 25 people fishing around the lake when I played. There are several holes where throwing directly at (or over) people is unavoidable. The best you can do is hope they move (unlike the fishermen we encountered who refused). You throw across roads and into blind areas often (on shots that require a lot of steam). I could see this course being problematic from a safety standpoint if it is packed with park goers.

SPRAY AND PRAY HOLES: There are two holes that border on being laughably difficult. They are two angle super tightly wooded holes that almost guarantee a tree kick. These could be really well-done technical holes and add major clout to this course, but these are a bit ridiculous as is, and need some trimming.

CONSISTENT DISTANCE: There are a lot of holes that require right in that 400' feet of distance. HB does include in his designs a lot of "break" holes in between the super demanding ones. There is no shortage of great holes here, but on the "break" holes, there is a heavy reliance on that break being a 400 foot hyzer. With the size and unique variance in terrain features, I wish more had been done with the "get me to the next good one" holes. Minor critique.

TIME INVESTMENT: This is a massive course and spread out. This takes a long time to get through.

LOST DISC POTENTIAL: There is some seriously thick rough on the front 9 that poses danger, a cliff hole where one could lose one, and the lake for certain can eat a disc or two. There are several blind shots that could prove difficult for finding your disc when you walk down to where you think it may have landed.

DIFFICULTY: For a park course, I found that even the Blue tees are NOT suitable for beginners. Families, starter pack warriors, and people with less that 250 feet of controlled distance will struggle mightily even from the shorter pads. This course almost screams for a third set of pads for the super casual golfer. Hole #11 alone might make some people quit the game all together. You have to play it to understand. Most people just blast sideways out of the woods for an open upshot and avoid playing the hole as intended.

TRANSITIONS: There are a several long and odd transitions, as HB is known to do from time to time. You have quite a walk between some holes and without next tee signage, you can get frustrated easily. Some of the transitions seem very unnecessary and forced to create a certain flow. Navigation is tricky and frustrating on the back 9. Print the map, take a picture of the course map from the Kiosk, or use U-Disc.

Other Thoughts:

MrFrosty probably says it best at the end of his review, "This is not a course for the weak or the new." This course can certainly be demoralizing, even for the more seasoned player. This course is serious time investment, so if you are traveling in to play it, expect a long stop here. Located just off of I-40 this course is definitely worth the play, and hopefully as it gets more play it'll break in a little and continue to get better.
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12 0
Shadrach3
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 5.7 years 321 played 313 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Bomber Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 14, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

A massive layout with strokes of genius and streaks of ridiculousness.

-Amenities: Basics you need. Concrete tees, HB Clark-style tee signs, solid baskets.

-Length: Wow, this one is huge. I've only played one course longer (IDGC Jackson). Average hole length over 500' from the back tees. Tons of multi-shot holes (from the longs, eight par-4s and two par-5s). Anyone looking to stretch it out will get ample opportunities here.

-Terrain: Plenty of opportunity here. Swatches of tight woods are used occasionally, but there is near-constant elevation change and a nicely-used lake coming into play on a few holes.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Can you throw far? There is genuine shaping challenge here, as well. Most of the course is generally open - a few choice trees should be avoided on an otherwise max-distance drive. However, there are also a handful of really great multi-shot holes with placement required. Long curves leading to gaps, early gaps (one time leading off a cliff with water not far on the left), water carries (once leading to a peninsula approach), wooded tunnels later opening up. If you took the four best holes and made the course that good, it would be pushing 5.0 status.

-9 & 9: The course is split in half at the parking lot.

Cons:

-Poke and Hope: At least two holes are a touch absurd. The few heavily wooded portions seem almost impossible to actually travel without ricochet. Having a few really well-done technical holes would be a major credit to Dickson, but the technicality here gets ridiculous.

-Uncreative Length: Too many straight-ahead 400'+ shots. To me, this course epitomizes the difference between Houck and Clark - the latter is more willing to add in holes that aren't particularly interesting or challenging to give a brain break. There are definitely some genius moments and very few ridiculous lines, but I wish Clark had done more with this property and length.

-Time Play: A course this long takes a while to get through.

-Disc Loss: I lost two drivers on the back half - one on the blind cliff hole, and one to a water hazard. There are other blind shots out here as well that could prove tricky for disc-finding.

-Beginners: This is a no for newbies. You need to be comfortable driving at least a fair distance to enjoy the course and its shapes at all.

-Transitions: There are a couple of long and/or confusing transitions. Some nice next tee signage would make things more pleasant.

Other Thoughts:

Dickson is on the cusp of greatness. It's got a great piece of property and some great holes, but a lot more meh holes with just a lot of length to make up. I'd still recommend it if you want to have a day of long driving and plenty of multi-shot holes, but it falls short of Excellence.

-Mowing: I don't know anything about the mowing issues mentioned by other players. It was fine when I played here, but it was just the beginning of grass-growing season, so I can't say anything.
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14 0
MrFrosty
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 31.2 years 764 played 387 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Dickson - Bring Your A Game 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 19, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Dickson is a large park with a lot of activity . There was a girls softball tournament taking up a lot of the parking when I was here . The parking area is large , and you can park down at the bottom and start at #15 if crowded . Places to go to the bathroom throughout .
-- THE EQUIPMENT -- HB Clark designed courses normally have top of the line necessities for making a course look great . There is a kiosk with map near hole #1 . If you have not printed an online map , I suggest you take a picture of this , as the course subdivides after #9 . There is also a nice putting area on the hill , just above hole #1 . There are 2 cement tee pads per hole , at least 4' X 8' . The tee signs are excellent . The are informative with flight paths , pars and distance , and are color coded and numbered at the top , Gold for long tees and blue for shorter . The baskets are numbered Mach 3 , catching well . Benches are at most of the short and long pads . Trash cans can be found at some of the pro tees .
-- THE LANDSCAPE -- Admittedly , this course gives you a dose of most every landscape . Woods holes , park style holes water carries or at least trouble . some elevation . Most holes are long , so you will have to deal with tree lines and fairway trees , and very high punishing grass if you stray from the fairways . The fairways were tight but mowed when I was here . While still in okay shape , some branches could stand to be cut back some .
-- THE HIGHLIGHTS -- You could go on and on with the highlights here .
#1 is a nice starter hole , dropping down over a hill to a blind basket ( 325', 455' ) This fairways guide you close to the hole . #2 ( 310', 510' is an uphill drive to a basket eventually tucked into some woods .
#9 Is an uphill drive ( 390', 470' ) starting off in a narrow fairway , just opening up some to the basket along a tree line to the left .
#10 ( 330', 440' ) is a downhill drrive with some large fairway trees , and the basket tucked to the right, in large bushed and trees
#14 is a water carry or water down the left of the fairway if playing short ( 465', 610' ) where the basket is placed on a short inlet .
#18 is a long finishing hole ( 335' , 585' ) just out of the woods from the shorts , and in the woods for the longs . It is uphill and slowly breaking right to left .
-- SIGNATURE HOLE -- #3 ( 380' , 505' ) going up and over a hill with defending fairway trees here and there , to a basket inside a grove of rough and trees , and a dry creek behind it .
-- THE TIME -- you can play a front or back 9 because all start and end in the same place , but don't come here to play 18 holes if you are pressed for time . It took me 95 minutes to play the course . A group of 4 from the pro tees will take up to 3 hours .
Dickson gives you a lot . 9455' from the longs and even 6755' from the rec tees . Shelters are at some strategic spots for you to rest for your rounds . Bring water , and some repellent during the summer .

Cons:

#1 Safety -- Throwing across roads , the water holes being occupied by some park goers fishing , Having to throw almost all of these holes with some oomph can cause your drives to go astray . Use judgement .
#2 Navigation -- The front 9 could be found without a map and you would only be tripped up a couple of times . The back 9 would cause you to roam like a mindless zombie in Dawn Of The Dead . The course fragments into parts on the back 9 , grouping holes , 10 & 11 , Holes 12-14 , holes 15&16 , and holes 17 , then 18 . PRINT THE MAP
#3 Very long walks -- The walk from 9-10 , 11-12 ( across the road and directly right of #11 basket , 14-15 , 16 to 17 and 17 to 18 . bring water .
#4 OFF FAIRWAY FURY -- The mowed paths for fairways , especially on the front 9 are ridiculously narrow . Add the fact that the rough is anywhere from 2' to 3' + high and you are searching long times for your discs . I used my brightest drivers and never let it out of my sight after releasing it . It will be a real turnoff for most players that are afraid of uncorking a long drive for fear of losing a favorite disc .
#5 DISC RISK -- add the high fairway grass to thee thick rough in the woods and the chance of a long ricochet , and also tough water holes 12-14 , and you have HIGH RISK . Bring a couple of discs that won't break your heart if you lose them .
#6 WHAT REC HOLES ? -- Who ever heard of rec length being 6755 ' , and on a technical course . Dickson almost needs a shorter and more manageable set of tees maybe playing closer to 5000' . Woods hole #11 is a good example . I looked down at the pro tee fairway ( NO WAY ) , trying to even figure out how you could doorway-shoot your drive and make it into another section of woods . with yet another set of woods , this one with fairway trees . I played from the rec tee and blew my drive out to the right and out of the woods . It gave me an open look at the basket , but there is a cement drainage ditch over there , too .

Other Thoughts:

I think that the gave the keys to the park to veteran course designer H B Clark and told him to do what he wanted with it . This is as challenging a course that I have played in a long time. He did a great job . . A little rough around the edges ,it still needs to have overgrowth trimmed back if the course wants to entertain multitudes of players .8' wide fairways have to be amended . It has plenty of the amenities you might want . . Variety is in abundance here . If this course doesn't have you empty your bag by the end of your round , then you are carrying too many discs . You may want to check the course homepage to make sure there are no leagues or tournaments going on when you want to go out and play . Thanks to the Dickson Recreation Department for overseeing one of the most challenging courses in Tennessee .
MY RECOMMENDATION -- This is not a course for the weak or the new . Newbies , intros , families and 1 disc players should maybe play Burns Park or Broken Still instead of being demoralized here . Locals will have a tough time even from the rec tees . Intermediates will have a fight on their hands trying to make par from the rec tees . Tournament tested AMS and Pros will have their hands full from the Gold ( pro ) tees . The course will take a long time for travelers , unless staying overnight close to Dickson , and course baggers will have to cut a chunk of time out for a round here , even if it is just off of I-40 . It is still a course well worth playing . PLAY IT !!!!
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10 0
njgrosser
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13 years 46 played 36 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Good Front, Bad Back 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 12, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Elevation: If you like elevation, you're going to get it here. There were very few "flat" holes. Personally, a few too many pure uphill shots for my liking, but who likes throwing uphill anyway?

Hole Variety: Most of the shots are wooded, but you get everything from dense woods to open fields. There is a lake in play on a couple holes as well that some will try to carry.

Multiple Tee Pads: Two tee pads per hole, and they are typically 100+ feet apart. Sometimes, the two tee pads have different lines (Holes 9 and 11 come to mind here).

Good for All Skill Levels: the recreational tee pads are a good option for recreational players, while the "championship" tee pads are probably suited for high-intermediate or advanced players. Something for everyone here.

Good Tee Signs, Big Pads, Course Map: The rec tees even had benches for the most part. The course was made well and the signs and pads have held up.

The Front 9: The Front 9 was a lot of fun, provided several different-looking holes, and had my favorite hole on the course (#8). I had this course scoring higher, until I got to the back 9...

Cons:

Hole #11: This hole is an absolute joke from the rec tee. Imagine the line for BRP #4, make it about five feet wide, and then put 2-3 trees in the middle of the gap about 100' down the fairway. Oh, and then it turns about 20 degrees to the right. Realistically, if I were playing this hole again, I'd drive straight sideways to get into the clear (which is where the pro fairway likely goes, after it navigates its own narrow gap) and then try my luck with a 300' open approach to get a par.

Hole #17: Not quite as egregious as Hole #11, but nearly as bad.

The Back 9 in General: I was really put off by the back 9. The front 9 flowed very nicely, had good hole variety, and felt like a disc golf course. The back 9 had long walks between basically every hole, some joke holes (see above), and crossed paths with parkgoers in many areas, especially around the lake. It's always better to have 18 holes than 9, and maybe I was just there on a bad day, but I think in the future I'll probably play the Front 9 twice, once on the rec pads and once on the champ pads.

Grey Mach III Baskets: They catch fine, but they can be really hard to spot on the wooded holes. Thankfully, the tee signs are pretty good, so you have a good idea where you're throwing.

Other Thoughts:

This is a solid course. It's worth a drive every so often from the Nashville area, especially if you live in the disc golf void west of the city. Also...

No Beer in the Trash Cans: I've never seen this at a disc golf course before. It's not a pro or a con to the course, I was just surprised because that's not been my experience with any course in Middle Tennessee.
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8 0
bjreagh
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.8 years 350 played 321 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 15, 2017 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Well-designed, interesting 18 hole course located in a nice city park. Course has an excellent variety of open, tight woods, park style grass/trees, plus two holes that play around a small lake. Hole distances are quite diverse, and there is a decent amount of moderate elevation throughout. Many holes have a couple of options on how to approach playing the hole, with some having risk/reward decisions as well. There are also 2 tees per hole (recreational and championship). The champ tees are not only longer but often play from a different angle, and in some cases play down completely different fairways (11, 17) providing even more variety.

Good new Mach baskets. Two nice large concrete tees per hole.

Color tee sign for both tees, hole number on the top of the post easily visible and painted in blue for rec and yellow for champ, making it easy to find the next hole and to know which tee it is without having to walk all the way to the sign (which I really appreciate).

Practice basket, ample parking, restrooms by hole #10. Covered picnic area by the practice basket. Course makes 2 loops of 9, which is nice because you will need to grab another water from the cooler on the way to #10 and the longer, sunnier back 9.

Cons:

The biggest thing for me was the style of course maintenance of the grass on the front 9. Mowing a straight line single pass from the tee to the basket and then one circle around the basket does NOT constitute a reasonable fairway. The grass/weeds off the 10-foot mow line was shin to knee deep throughout... and growing (early June). The result is having to search for your disc unnecessarily on almost every single shot, even the good ones. This type of mowing is one of my pet peeves. I feel landing areas should be reasonable, especially on holes over 400'. Playing alone on a hot day, I found myself forced to take a very conservative approach to driving (very straight, short shots made with brightly colored discs). The back 9 was all mowed, thankfully, so I hope the parks people and the local disc golfers can somehow work out a way to get the front 9 more acceptable. I will likely not play here again in the summer months, which is too bad because I really like the course. I also really want to play the long tees, but I know I would be hunting discs all day.

Though there are only a couple of tight technical woods shots, I think these are borderline unreasonably tight as far as just how narrow the gaps are. (rec 11, both 17, adv 18)

Pro tee on #10 is poorly placed behind a power pole. I understand using it as a tree-like obstacle, but this particular pole has all kinds of transformers, cables, meters, etc.- stuff that could easily be damaged by a drive at almost point blank range.

Beware of other park users. Though most of the course stays out of the way of other park activities, I had to deal with high school cross country runners, fisherman on the lake holes, and even someone sleeping on a shaded tee pad.

Other Thoughts:

GPS tip: set it to the pool, but once here drive past the pool and look for the two water towers.

Course navigation: longer walks to 10 (across the parking lot), 12 (other side of baseball field) and 15 (other side of tennis court). I recommend referring to the map, or you might wander around awhile.

I really enjoy the variety of holes and the shots this course demands, but having played here twice now with no short grass on the front 9 will keep me from playing here more often. I prefer to spend my time playing and throwing rather than looking. If they could get the front 9 manicured regularly, that would move my rating closer to a 4.0 considering the variety, the demand, and the two sets of tees here.
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1 1
DiscGolfer89
Experience: 14.2 years 41 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 4, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Course had a great mix of shots. Open shots, wooded shots, risk/reward shots, and placement shots. Also had a lot of elevation.

Cons:

The only complaint I had was the fact that holes 17 & 18 from the long pads were just awful. With the removal of a handful of trees in both fairways they could be really good holes.

Other Thoughts:

When I played hole 18's basket wasn't assembled correctly. When playing around the water holes there seems to be a lot of people fishing.
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