Florida State University reviews
12
0
Not what it once was 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 30, 2020
Played the course:once
Pros:
**DISClaimer: The front 9 has been moved since all the other reviews were written due to construction of new dorms.**
Pros: The baskets are DISCatchers which are in good shape and catch well despite the yellow band being faded. This is a fairly beginner friendly course as most of the holes are pretty short, and many are even ace runs. The back 9 has concrete tees (the front 9 are gravel; hopefully the gravel will be used to make concrete tees in the future). Navigation on the front 9 and back 9 is pretty intuitive and aided by "TEE BOX #" being clearly visible from a distance on the side of the tee signs. Maintenance seems to be pretty good. There are nice views of the ocean.
Pros: The baskets are DISCatchers which are in good shape and catch well despite the yellow band being faded. This is a fairly beginner friendly course as most of the holes are pretty short, and many are even ace runs. The back 9 has concrete tees (the front 9 are gravel; hopefully the gravel will be used to make concrete tees in the future). Navigation on the front 9 and back 9 is pretty intuitive and aided by "TEE BOX #" being clearly visible from a distance on the side of the tee signs. Maintenance seems to be pretty good. There are nice views of the ocean.
Cons:
You know it's bad when everything is faded off the once great tee signs except for the hole # and "Do NOT climb on the roofs of buildings to retrieve discs."
This leads me to the main set of cons: there are safety issues galore on this course. The course is on the Panama City satellite campus of Florida State University, and that's easy to see while on the course. The course is really packed in tight, so baskets are often really close to the next tee. Additional obstacles include, but not limited to: public roads, residential streets, sidewalks, campus drives, modern art sculptures, a canopy, permanent wooden lawn chairs, a sand volleyball court, buildings, a basketball court, bleachers, parking lots, and decorative landscaping.
Since the front 9 has been moved, there is now a LONG walk from 9's basket to 10's tee. A few holes come really close to the water (3 of mine went in, but were all successfully retrieved), so there is disc loss potential.
This course is Florida flat, and I was also disappointed that the campus infrastructure was more of an obstacle than the tropical foliage that I don't see back home.
This leads me to the main set of cons: there are safety issues galore on this course. The course is on the Panama City satellite campus of Florida State University, and that's easy to see while on the course. The course is really packed in tight, so baskets are often really close to the next tee. Additional obstacles include, but not limited to: public roads, residential streets, sidewalks, campus drives, modern art sculptures, a canopy, permanent wooden lawn chairs, a sand volleyball court, buildings, a basketball court, bleachers, parking lots, and decorative landscaping.
Since the front 9 has been moved, there is now a LONG walk from 9's basket to 10's tee. A few holes come really close to the water (3 of mine went in, but were all successfully retrieved), so there is disc loss potential.
This course is Florida flat, and I was also disappointed that the campus infrastructure was more of an obstacle than the tropical foliage that I don't see back home.
Other Thoughts:
I played this course while on vacation as it was the closest course to Panama City Beach (which is West of Panama City). It's fine for coursebagging (and a quick play, too), but it would stink to have this for a home course. I didn't have time to play the other courses in Panama City, but I hope for the locals' sake that they're better than this one. School wasn't in session when I played, so I didn't have any delays, but you should probably just forget it if you want to play on a weekday while students are on campus.
I'm an upper 800's rated player, played fairly poorly here, and still managed to shoot a 47.
I typically only review courses that have less than 5 reviews, but I made an exception here due to the relocation of the front 9 and the blatant safety issues.
I'm an upper 800's rated player, played fairly poorly here, and still managed to shoot a 47.
I typically only review courses that have less than 5 reviews, but I made an exception here due to the relocation of the front 9 and the blatant safety issues.
7
0
Than a bag of discs 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Oct 28, 2017
Played the course:once
Pros:
- free to play, plenty of free parking
- informative tee signs: numbered, display fairway image, list distances
- quality baskets, numbered
- spacious concrete pads
- beginner friendly
- water ob running parallel to many fairways, adds some risk/reward
- water ob was fairly shallow and clear, easy to retrieve disc from
- lots of ace runs
- course well landscaped, scenic
- intuitive course layout
- safari capable course
- hole 1,9, and 18 all meet up close to the parking lot
- informative tee signs: numbered, display fairway image, list distances
- quality baskets, numbered
- spacious concrete pads
- beginner friendly
- water ob running parallel to many fairways, adds some risk/reward
- water ob was fairly shallow and clear, easy to retrieve disc from
- lots of ace runs
- course well landscaped, scenic
- intuitive course layout
- safari capable course
- hole 1,9, and 18 all meet up close to the parking lot
Cons:
- baskets are ridiculously close to proceeding tee pads
- too many extremely short holes, some tee pads are close enough to putt from
- course layout may interfere with campus pedestrian traffic
- errant throws on the course could damage university property, cars
- wind off the water could be an issue, wasn't for my visit
- too many extremely short holes, some tee pads are close enough to putt from
- course layout may interfere with campus pedestrian traffic
- errant throws on the course could damage university property, cars
- wind off the water could be an issue, wasn't for my visit
Other Thoughts:
FSU's satellite campus features a pitch and putt course between brick buildings and the inlet. The course is uncommonly short, even for a campus course. Most holes can be thrown with a putter, however, you may be tempted to empty your entire bag in search of an ace. This is truly the greatest strength of the course. Another thing that added positively to my experience was the course amenities. Spacious concrete tees, quality Innova Pro baskets, and tee signs were all top notch.
From a safety standpoint, this course is pretty rough. There are simply too many baskets in the same small plot of land. Many holes share the same space. Worse yet, a lot of pads were within spitting distance from other baskets. Removing half the baskets in favor of multiple tees and or pins would likely make for better disc golf in general. As is, the course is probably better suited for ultimate disc golf instead of regular disc golf.
My round lacked challenge and was mildly boring. The ace run aspect of the course could have been fun, however, there were other groups on the course and errant drives were being peppered all around me.
From a safety standpoint, this course is pretty rough. There are simply too many baskets in the same small plot of land. Many holes share the same space. Worse yet, a lot of pads were within spitting distance from other baskets. Removing half the baskets in favor of multiple tees and or pins would likely make for better disc golf in general. As is, the course is probably better suited for ultimate disc golf instead of regular disc golf.
My round lacked challenge and was mildly boring. The ace run aspect of the course could have been fun, however, there were other groups on the course and errant drives were being peppered all around me.
