San Jose has not been considered a hotbed for courses with just two good 9 hole courses but it's certainly gotten better with the additions of Kelly Park and the nearby Villa Maria DGC. Kelly Park is not exactly the most wonderful piece of land for a course. It's spread out and mostly flat with small trees and scrub. I've been told the poison oak can be problematic. There were plenty of players playing on the day I played. I started off following a guy and his goofy son for about three holes, then a young man with his cute, caddie girlfriend and then I hooked up and played the last three holes with a foursome of 50 year pot smokers. Good guys.

The course has the old school fiberglass signs with the spinner basket position indicators. There is a practice basket at the start along with a nice big course map. The tee pads are rubber mats, there are benches and bag holders throughout the course. The baskets are the DGA models with the always hard to read red numbers. There are some nice touches like by the # 2 tee box is planter with cactuses.

The course plays at a challenging recreation level. It's not going to stifle anyone but between the brush, tightness and distance, it will require some shot shaping and accuracy. My vote for signature hole will go to # 8. It's just 232' but the basket is tucked into grove of about 100 small trees. My least favorite hole is # 12 in the C position which plays down a gauntlet of trees playing down a road.

No-one likes poison oak.

The park is flat.

Probably not beginner friendly.

No water or bathrooms.

Would be hot and dry on those San Jose summer days.

Lots of blind pin locations.

Everyone agrees the designer designed a nice course here considering there isn't a whole lot to work with. I could see myself making Kelley Park a part of my regular rotation if I lived nearby. I think with 3 and 4 basket positions, you would always been getting a fresh look. Thanks for the spinner indicators. They helped me a lot.

Has rubber tee pads

Has tee signs with locations of the various basket placements

Has many benches throughout course

Has multiple basket placements for all holes

Good mix of open and wooded fairways

Park is exclusive for disc golf and you won't see other parkgoers

Rubber tee pads are slippery when wet

Baskets are hard to locate on some holes - need flags or bright paint

Needs more next tee signs - recommend a course map for the first-timer

Course is mostly flat

No variety in pars - par 54

Some holes have rough areas and need more maintenance

This a nice, challenging 18 hole course in San Jose that I enjoyed playing while vacationing out here. I probably would have had more fun if it wasn't raining on the day I played. The rubber tee pads here are slippery when it rains. I noticed that the short, thick trees were very good in catching discs. One tree loaded with poison oak (on hole #16 I think) caught my disc and held it for a few days before I returned and climbed about 10 feet up the tree to retrieve it. The trees here are definitely a factor in losing discs. Some of the holes could have used some next tee signs to direct flow - especially at hole #4. While playing hole #4, I shot towards the #9 basket and didn't realize where the correct basket was until I referred to the course map. After holing out on #4, I went to hole #9 tee pad by mistake instead of hole #5. Fortunately, there was another player that I let play through and then followed him afterwards. The Mach X baskets were in great shape to play with but most are hard to spot from the tee pad with the trees in between. With the course mostly flat and straight and a par 54, this course left me wanting some more after finishing. Although the par is 54, I felt that there were a couple of holes (#4 and #12) that are tweeners and could be par 4's instead.

• A number of interesting and varied shots
• Very good tee boxes (rubber mat type), although when these mats get wet you can slip quite easily.
• Good signage in places although inconsistent in spots, likely due to the park being new.
• Nice new baskets (I think they were Mach Xs but don't quote me as it's been a while since I was there)

• No nearby restroom or water
• Very challenging to navigate in spots
• Not beginner friendly
• Wind can come out of nowhere and blow quite hard (minor con really as wind is a part of the game)
• Pay to park ($6. Minor quibble. No quibble at all if the money goes to the course.)

Tips:
• Do use the map.
• A spotter is a must on several holes. Two spotters would not be a bad idea on a few.

Random Thoughts:
This is a tough course to rate. The front nine holes present an interesting challenge with a good mix of short and long (some very long) and a nice variety of shot types. We even witnessed an ace on #5. Yes, there are a couple holes where the exact basket you're aiming at is tough to figure out because it's not immediately visible and/or near another hole's basket (#4 in particular), but with a little walk ahead and a close look at the basket number you'll be ok. So things are cruising along all well and fun and then you get to #10 and the basket is BURIED in a set of tree/brush/crap but it's all good because it's the C position and it's supposed to be tough, right? #11 and #12 are fairly open and uneventful outside of a fairly close OB on #12. Then you get to #13 which is a tunnel shot, which is ok. I like tunnel shots but DO NOT go off tunnel because the 'rough' is nasty and quite dense with disc grabby trees. #14 is a flat miss. First, there's a sign that reads something like 'the basket is now in the D position'. Is there a map as to where D is? Of course not. But that's not the best part, because by the time you find D, which is a 90 degree left turn a ½ mile walk into the forest, you look back at how you're supposed to shoot the shot and it's quite ridiculous. You're basically blind firing into a grove of trees. I don't get it. #15 is ok. At least you can find the basket but #16-18 (at least in the basket positions we played) put you right back into the tree fun. I'm just not seeing the flight paths on these shots (outside of maybe #18) besides maybe a pin point tomahawk. My playing companion actually quit around this time because it just stopped being fun.

Bottom Line:
I'm not sure what to say about this course. We had a blast.......and then we didn't. Maybe it would have been different with the baskets in different positions but I'm not 100% convinced a couple holes don't need a rethink but if you're in the neighborhood and you've got at least an average game, give it a whirl and see how it goes.

Great variety of throws needed to get to the basket. Lots of long (300-500') holes. Not crowded (during a week day, anyway). Has two of the best 9 holes I've played nearby (Hellyer and Raza).

No elevation changes.
HOT HOT HOT. Holy hell, this one's going to be miserable during summer. Very little shade, and this area gets into the mid-high 90s often, sometimes breaking 100. You're basically walking around an orchard, so I'm expecting to be covered in sweat and dust.
There were a few giant poison oak bushes that aren't far off desired flight paths that would make me leave a disc behind if it made it's way into one.
A couple holes with blind spots that you're shooting for where finding your disc can be tough even if you make the shot you were trying to throw.
Parking's $6.
No bathrooms... mainly wish there was a faucet for rinsing hands off, especially if I hit some of the poison oak.

Really like the course layout and the way each individual hole is setup. If there was a way to take this exact design -- trees, bushes, and all -- and put it on more hilly terrain with some bigger trees to provide shade, it'd be a really great 18 hole. As is, it's still fun and it's good to have an alternative to Hellyer and Raza.