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Lockeford Springs DGC reviews
7
0
Bring your Big Arm. Actually, bring Two. 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 13, 2017
Played the course:once
Pros:
• Beautiful course and views (who doesn't like vineyards)
• Easy to find
• Nice new baskets with flags on most, if not all, for easier spotting
• Warm-up basket with a decent sized area to practice
• Restrooms in a couple spots
• (mostly) Great signage (more on that below)
• Decent tee boxes with a few missing (more on that, as well)
• Tests every shot in the bag
• Only $5 to play
• Easy to find
• Nice new baskets with flags on most, if not all, for easier spotting
• Warm-up basket with a decent sized area to practice
• Restrooms in a couple spots
• (mostly) Great signage (more on that below)
• Decent tee boxes with a few missing (more on that, as well)
• Tests every shot in the bag
• Only $5 to play
Cons:
• Confusing navigation in spots
• No map
• No basket locators
• Swirly winds (minor con)
• Disc golf times are limited (call ahead)
• No map
• No basket locators
• Swirly winds (minor con)
• Disc golf times are limited (call ahead)
Other Thoughts:
Tips
• Use the pictures on this site and be looking around for other baskets and tees
• You don't really need the cart if you enjoy a good walk
• Bring water
• Park in the middle of the lot as close to the clubhouse as you can to avoid errant shots. There really isn't a safe spot but that's probably the safest.
• #7 tee is on the top of the hill across from #6's basket
• #11 tee is on the other side of the bridge. Just keep walking.
• Try not to cry when you get to #14 tee and see 848'. Continue tear suppression when you see 'Par 4'.
• Not a tip but I'm not sure I dig #1's close proximity to the parking lot. Can it be moved to the right side of the ball golf tee? I'd hate to see cars getting blasted.
• #13 is a short, hard right turn with double-mandos but don't let the easy appearance fool you. You want to be a little long to avoid the bush protecting the basket.
Random Thoughts:
Right up front, this is a mixed ball/disc golf course, except despite playing several other courses like this, this one sets itself apart by being a full-size legit ball golf course. I'm actually surprised the disc crew pulled this off. I was not surprised to find that I was the lone disc golfer out that day and was fairly well surrounded by ball golfers, and not of the duffer variety. To give you an idea of the size, the 18 disc holes only cover the front 9 of the ball golf course. Yup, that means they could fit another 18 out there quite easily. Though with that said, this is a long course. It's a par 61, which is already 7 strokes more than most courses, but if you walk off with a 61 on your card, bravo. Because this is a tough, well-earned 61. Unless you've got a variety of accurate 350'+ shots in your bag, it's going to be tough to park these baskets. The holes are not only long, the baskets are well protected, either by OB boundaries, waterways, or more regularly, trees. Pars will be earned and birdies, celebrated. It would not shock me to see tournaments played here and I would look forward to watching them. Now, I don't want to scare off the beginner player. The good news when discussing this course's difficulty is that it is pretty hard to lose a disc out here. You might need to throw it a few times to get it there, but you'll be able to find it without too much worry. I say "too much" because there are a couple spots where water is in play, the most glaring of which is #4. This shot is directly across a wide river, diagonally. I don't know many folks that would try to throw straight at this basket. I'd advise throwing up the right side and then across. That netted me a par that felt great. Tip on #4: The tee is on top of the hill, past the sign. It's tricky to see with the overgrown grass. Other than #4, the water is very avoidable on the course with a reasonably safe throw where it comes into play.
As for the rest of the course amenities:
The tees are decent but mixed. The standalone tees are of the square block variety. Any time I see seems on a tee box, I wonder how well they will hold up over time, but right now, they are fine. The other times, you are teeing off the cart path in mostly flat spots. You will be looking for spray paint near the tee signs (usually in front of them) although there were a couple spots where there were multiple colored sprays on the ground, so it wasn't clear which one to use. There were also a couple tees that are missing (#2(I think) and #15). #15 was particularly frustrating because the sign is down in the valley but it implies the tee is back on the cart path but I didn't see any spray marks so I just winged it based on the picture. I will also state that this flight path needs a serious re-think. Throwing up a fairway towards golfers teeing off at you is not a great idea. I had to wait a good 10 minutes before the path was clear and that allowed those same groups to crawl up behind me. I like this shot. It's a sexy fun one, but it's just not smart to me.
The signage is both fantastic and slightly frustrating. The fantastic is that they are beautiful with an abundance of 'Next Tee' signs to help guide you. The frustrating bit is that the scale is a bit tricky to figure out (things sometimes seem farther/wider then they are), the basket markers are not there (yet), and the OB markings are not totally clear in several spots (specifically, where does the OB end when it's on the same side of the cart path as the basket? - see #10). It's also curious why they're sometimes mounted parallel to the fairway versus perpendicular, making them easier to spot. Lastly, some joker (perhaps Mother Nature) had twisted the 'Next Tee' signs on a couple baskets causing me to tromp off in the wrong direction. I fixed one but at least one is still wrong. Obviously, most of this is fixable.
Lastly, some general comments on the experience: You'll want to make sure you're comfortable playing around ball golfers and know the proper etiquette. If so, you're going to have a good time out here. It's also a healthy-sized walk. If that's not your thing, a cart is a short $10 away. The wind also got fairly aggressive towards the end of the day. Not sure how normal that is on this course but it sure shortened my drives on #s 17 and 18. Bring your wind friendly discs.
Bottom Line:
This is a very challenging course and also one of the nicest I have ever played. We are definitely reaping the benefits of playing on a well-maintained ball golf course. With a little more effort, this could be a destination course hosting many events. Despite the growing pains (and I certainly recognize this is a new and evolving course) I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. Thank you to the course designers and I look forward to a return visit soon (and an ever increasing rating).
• Use the pictures on this site and be looking around for other baskets and tees
• You don't really need the cart if you enjoy a good walk
• Bring water
• Park in the middle of the lot as close to the clubhouse as you can to avoid errant shots. There really isn't a safe spot but that's probably the safest.
• #7 tee is on the top of the hill across from #6's basket
• #11 tee is on the other side of the bridge. Just keep walking.
• Try not to cry when you get to #14 tee and see 848'. Continue tear suppression when you see 'Par 4'.
• Not a tip but I'm not sure I dig #1's close proximity to the parking lot. Can it be moved to the right side of the ball golf tee? I'd hate to see cars getting blasted.
• #13 is a short, hard right turn with double-mandos but don't let the easy appearance fool you. You want to be a little long to avoid the bush protecting the basket.
Random Thoughts:
Right up front, this is a mixed ball/disc golf course, except despite playing several other courses like this, this one sets itself apart by being a full-size legit ball golf course. I'm actually surprised the disc crew pulled this off. I was not surprised to find that I was the lone disc golfer out that day and was fairly well surrounded by ball golfers, and not of the duffer variety. To give you an idea of the size, the 18 disc holes only cover the front 9 of the ball golf course. Yup, that means they could fit another 18 out there quite easily. Though with that said, this is a long course. It's a par 61, which is already 7 strokes more than most courses, but if you walk off with a 61 on your card, bravo. Because this is a tough, well-earned 61. Unless you've got a variety of accurate 350'+ shots in your bag, it's going to be tough to park these baskets. The holes are not only long, the baskets are well protected, either by OB boundaries, waterways, or more regularly, trees. Pars will be earned and birdies, celebrated. It would not shock me to see tournaments played here and I would look forward to watching them. Now, I don't want to scare off the beginner player. The good news when discussing this course's difficulty is that it is pretty hard to lose a disc out here. You might need to throw it a few times to get it there, but you'll be able to find it without too much worry. I say "too much" because there are a couple spots where water is in play, the most glaring of which is #4. This shot is directly across a wide river, diagonally. I don't know many folks that would try to throw straight at this basket. I'd advise throwing up the right side and then across. That netted me a par that felt great. Tip on #4: The tee is on top of the hill, past the sign. It's tricky to see with the overgrown grass. Other than #4, the water is very avoidable on the course with a reasonably safe throw where it comes into play.
As for the rest of the course amenities:
The tees are decent but mixed. The standalone tees are of the square block variety. Any time I see seems on a tee box, I wonder how well they will hold up over time, but right now, they are fine. The other times, you are teeing off the cart path in mostly flat spots. You will be looking for spray paint near the tee signs (usually in front of them) although there were a couple spots where there were multiple colored sprays on the ground, so it wasn't clear which one to use. There were also a couple tees that are missing (#2(I think) and #15). #15 was particularly frustrating because the sign is down in the valley but it implies the tee is back on the cart path but I didn't see any spray marks so I just winged it based on the picture. I will also state that this flight path needs a serious re-think. Throwing up a fairway towards golfers teeing off at you is not a great idea. I had to wait a good 10 minutes before the path was clear and that allowed those same groups to crawl up behind me. I like this shot. It's a sexy fun one, but it's just not smart to me.
The signage is both fantastic and slightly frustrating. The fantastic is that they are beautiful with an abundance of 'Next Tee' signs to help guide you. The frustrating bit is that the scale is a bit tricky to figure out (things sometimes seem farther/wider then they are), the basket markers are not there (yet), and the OB markings are not totally clear in several spots (specifically, where does the OB end when it's on the same side of the cart path as the basket? - see #10). It's also curious why they're sometimes mounted parallel to the fairway versus perpendicular, making them easier to spot. Lastly, some joker (perhaps Mother Nature) had twisted the 'Next Tee' signs on a couple baskets causing me to tromp off in the wrong direction. I fixed one but at least one is still wrong. Obviously, most of this is fixable.
Lastly, some general comments on the experience: You'll want to make sure you're comfortable playing around ball golfers and know the proper etiquette. If so, you're going to have a good time out here. It's also a healthy-sized walk. If that's not your thing, a cart is a short $10 away. The wind also got fairly aggressive towards the end of the day. Not sure how normal that is on this course but it sure shortened my drives on #s 17 and 18. Bring your wind friendly discs.
Bottom Line:
This is a very challenging course and also one of the nicest I have ever played. We are definitely reaping the benefits of playing on a well-maintained ball golf course. With a little more effort, this could be a destination course hosting many events. Despite the growing pains (and I certainly recognize this is a new and evolving course) I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. Thank you to the course designers and I look forward to a return visit soon (and an ever increasing rating).
