Denver, CO

Green Valley Ranch DGC

Permanent course
2.285(based on 25 reviews)
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Green Valley Ranch DGC reviews

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5 0
Leroy
Experience: 14.1 years 203 played 21 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Good as park courses go. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 10, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice baskets. Half the holes play over a decently kept grassy area. About half the holes, especially the first 9 have enough trees along the fairways to force you to choose a line to hit. The back 9 makes the most of the brush basin it's located in by including obstacles also when available. This prevents "Zone Out" disc golf where you just chuck as hard as you can in the approximate direction. The mando on #2 tennis court shot is a harsh right dogleg which I found refreshing and unique despite how it has seemed to annoy some.

Cons:

The tee pads are more like run ups to a speed bump. They were eroding fairly bad right at the metal edge used to define them.

If you're playing as school let's out get ready for some relaxing as you wait for the kiddies to zig zag their way home.

Other Thoughts:

When I heard about this course I got on the satellite map websites and scoped out the property. After seeing the pictures I thought to myself "Great, 18 baskets in an empty field". But out of curiosity I headed over anyway and was pleasantly surprised. There's a good mix of short technical, and open holes to keep it interesting. If I play it again I will probably avoid using the tee-pads all together and just run up on the grass. I've played other courses by this designer and I'm sure the poor t-pads were more of a victim of budget concerns than poor planning. Overall I would bump my rating to 2.75 inbetween Decent/Typical and Good. I felt this place really did a good job of making the most of what it had to work with and is worth a stop if in the area. On a side note I found the restaurants at the I-70 exit to be an interesting mix of families that have left the innercity to try out the suburbia thing with ranch hand/cowboy/farmer types sneaking into town from out on the plains for supplies. If you see a fox roaming about take a minute to enjoy the wildlife show. Also if you have to run out to the airport to pick someone up it could make the trip less boring and worth the burned up gas money.
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3 1
jcoconnell
Experience: 21 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Finally Denver gets a decent course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 2, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

- While this course seems fairly open, its uses the limited amount of trees surprisingly well
- Great if you like long drives
- No waits. Vacant because the city doesn't advertise it (Originally it was built by developers rather than the City of Denver). It was 68 degrees and sunny and we saw two other disc golfers out this afternoon.
- Fills a need for DG courses in Denver

Cons:

- It's out by the airport, so windy is the norm
- Crossing fairways on holes 10 and 11
- I'd be wary to play when it's wet out (as others have noted)
- Hole No. 2: Right-handed throw + wind = tennis courts
- As implied above, the multi-use nature of this park is a little challenging. You don't always feel as if you have the right-of-way from the tee box
- Tee boxes are hard to find

Other Thoughts:

Maps are provided at the first tee. You'll need a map to play this for the first (few) times. The tee boxes have no vertical signage. Go to the North end of the parking lot on the park's East side for maps and score cards.
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5 0
tommy_knocker
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A good city course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 19, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- Maps and scorecards provided at the first tee (a map is almost essential if it's your first time).
- Well thought out holes that don't interfere with the busier sections of the park.
- Good use of the limited number of trees for obstacles.
- Nice gravel tee boxes and nice doubled-chained baskets.
- Good assortment of different hole lengths and varieties.
- No water or chance of losing a disc.

Cons:

- The back 9 has some crisscrossing fairways.
- Most holes on the back 9 are in a low-land field area that becomes a muddy mess after any kind of rain or snow.

Other Thoughts:

I'm thrilled about this course, primarily because I live right across the street from it, so I get the pleasure of walking right out my front door and playing whenever I want. I patiently observed while it came to form and was among the first to try it out. I've probably played it about a dozen times now and I think they did a good job with it.
The tee boxes aren't cement but they look good with two dug-in railroad ties with gravel in between, along with a tee marker screwed into a railroad tie. Also, the wood chips around the perimeter of each basket was a nice touch.
The designer did a good job mixing up the hole lengths, appealing to different players' strengths. About a third of them are short holes with the basket guarded by evergreens, requiring precision tee shots for birdie attempts (these are primarily on the front 9). Another third are fairly open, mid-range distances, where well-launched tee shots can result in easy birdies (holes 12 through 16). And another third are very long holes that the long-bombers can enjoy showing off on, requiring monster drives and impressive putts to have any chance at birdying.
All in all, it's a good city course. It's nothing spectacular, but it is a much needed course in this area that I think local players will continue to come back to.
Some final notes - On hole number 2, we treat the tennis court as a water hazard, despite what the rules on the scorecard say, so we go straight over it if no one is playing tennis (which is most of the time). Also, the rules mention special restrictions when a cricket match is in session on 10 and 11. In the seven years I've lived here I've never seen a cricket match in that park, so you don't need to worry about that one either. Overall, it's unlikely that anybody will be in your way on the holes.
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4 3
DGRunner
Experience: 21.9 years 74 played 14 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Beginners ONLY 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 19, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

I came to this course not expecting much and that's exactly what I got. This is a brand new course so the tee boxes and baskets are very nice. The park is clean, flat, and open. It has the difficulty of Expo (none) with terrain similar to Lighthouse (uneven). In a nutshell, the course is simple and repetitive. The best part is that it is impossible to lose a disc (unless the park floods as it is a flood plain). If you want to learn how to play then this is a perfect course for you.

Cons:

- The tee pads are sunken and the signs lay on the ground which makes navigation difficult for the first round (map recommended).
- A group of white dudes decided to play catch with their unleashed pit bulls on #10 so I skipped it.
- Some baskets are surrounded by trees, but most shots are wide open.
- #2 is 150 ft. straight ahead then a 90 degree turn to the right for 100 ft. around a tennis court. The only way to birdie it is a crazy roller or by making a long second shot.
- There has not been measurable precipitation for a while, but there was standing water in some sections. The course is probably really soggy after a storm.

Other Thoughts:

As with nearly all of the courses in the Denver metro area, this course lacks any character. There are no memorable holes and the only real challenge is that most holes are short enough to go for an ace. I know it is tough to find parks to install courses, but this park/course is so mundane. It is close to where I live and work, but I don't see myself returning any time soon if ever.
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6 0
gibster
Experience: 31.9 years 72 played 10 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Surprisingly fun course for Frequent Fliers 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 17, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- Fun layout
- Good, double-chain baskets
- Some tree obstacles
- Maps and scorecards/rules provided by tee #1
- Not too crowded

Cons:

- Gravel tees, a bit short
- Some tees too close to road
- Map absolutely necessary first 1-2 rounds
- Some hole repetition
- Tough to find tees at first, as the tee numbers are bolted face-up to the railroad ties by the tees
- May have conflicts with other park patrons/activities

Other Thoughts:

Even though this course is fairly remote for me to visit on regular basis, I wanted to check it out as this course was just recently added to DGCR. From the few photos posted and the satellite view I wasn't expecting much, especially since this area is a part of planned development close to DIA.
However, after finally making it out to the course, I was pleasantly surprised how much fun I had playing here.
The map provided online (and also available at tee #1) is very accurate, but the few instances of criss-crossing fairways make the layout a bit confusing at first, and map consultation is a must. The scoresheet that is also present at tee #1 spells out rules and regulations for the course, as well as some tips regarding a few holes, namely 2, 8, 10-11, and 18.
I was surprised to read the hole 2 shot over the tennis courts is forbidden (makes getting a birdie tough, as this hole is a big dog-leg to the right around the tennis courts), as I was looking forward to making exactly that kind of shot.
On hole 8, the mando is to stay to the right of the concrete drain.
On holes 10 and 11, the field is used for Cricket apparently sometimes, so landing on the field of play when a game is on is considered OOB.
Finally, hole 18 mando is to go through the first set of pine trees in front of the tee, with parking and streets OOB.
With all that said, while the difficulty of the course is not that great, it is definitely fun to play. Many baskets are placed in a group of trees, some tee shots have close-by tree obstacles, and there are some slight elevation changes, especially on the back 9 holes.
Other than the cricket field, the layout keeps the distance from the playground and basketball court.
I was not too happy with the relative shortness of the tees, as well as the proximity of some tees to the streets (4, 9, 13, 14). The gravel tees will get eroded over even a short amount of time, it would be great if they could be made more permanent once their placement is possibly improved.
There are a few wide open holes with no obstacles, and some holes look very similar, especially on the back 9.
The hole lengths are pretty fair overall, with plenty of opportunities for longer drives, as well as birdie opportunities on well-placed shorter hole shots.
Not too sure how busy the park gets (it wasn't too crowded on a very nice Saturday in November), but avoiding other park patrons may become an issue sometimes.
I would possibly rate this course 0.5 disc higher if the tee issues were resolved, but I still like the course.
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