Another reviewer made the comparison between this little course and the larger Sedgley Woods in Philadelphia. It's an apt comparison as they both have that distinct urban vibe in fairly dense woods.

As a 9-holer, you can get around pretty quickly. If you're short on time, you can get in your disc golf practice in between other things (for those who are local), and possibly play it as a decompressor if you've been on a longer course earlier in the day.

Fairly easy to get here; the park is essentially at the intersection of the 29/Emmett St. and the 250 bypass. A lot of people play this course, so even though it is in something of an isolated spot, you're going to have plenty company during reasonable daylight hours.

The course is very well-maintained.

That it has two baskets and two pads per hole means that you can go around twice and play different layouts. I saw a couple of groups do just that.

The creek that passes through the heart of the course is very pretty and calming as it gurgles along.

I think the hardest hole is no. 7 with its super-narrow initial fairway. I guess you throw a putter you don't mind winding up in the creek hard and straight as you can to get up to the dogleg turn and a little wider landing area. However, if playing to the orange basket, it can be on a well-guarded mound with a drop-off into the creek from its backside.

You only get to air out a drive (and also your first approach if you are a short thrower) at nos. 6 and 9. For a course focused on woods play, it's great to have these staggered open reprieves.

There are benches at every hole!

Gets really muddy in the rain. The course is pretty tight, so if there are a lot of people, you're going to be running over each other. Consider coming at times of the day when there will be less of a crowd but not totally isolated.

The creek comes into play for many of the holes (bring your disc retriever!), so you have to be mindful of that and possibly play a little bit more conservatively than you would otherwise. Or just plan to be wading in water or fishing discs out!

The main parking lot for disc golf can be a little precarious as the drive off the no. 9 short pad might end with your disc on somebody's car. If parking in that lot, park closer to the no. 1 pad. Or go over to the smaller lot near the community garden.

You can easily mistake hole 9 for hole 1. Hole 9 is what you first encounter upon arrival. Beyond 9's blue basket is no. 1. There are two practice baskets to the right and forward of the no. 1 short pad. One or more picnic tables there as well to chill out before or after your round.

At nos. 5 and 8, there are stepping stone walkovers to get over the creek. The one at no. 5 is almost near the parallel street (250 bypass, I think). I missed it the first time I played the course and walked up to the street and back down into the course. You don't need to do that! One of the final stones at the no. 8 crossover is loose (anticipate it).

All in all, a surprisingly good 9-hole course that is easy to get to from central Charlottesville and its close-in suburbs.

+ Short holes, but with two teepads and two baskets on each hole, there's plenty here to like


+ Wooded course (only #6 and #9 are really "open" holes), but there are clear lines on every hole


+ Great use of water: The "brook" through the course and tightens up the landing areas for some holes. The brook itself is shallow, so there's no risk of losing your disc - but it's used cleverly as something you have to throw across or avoid at the green


+ Excellent signage, with map and lengths for each of the primary layouts. The signs themselves are even outlined with blue or orange borders, to confirm which tee you're standing on


+ The course is VERY beat in and easy to navigate. Even though the baskets are marked to indicate the direction to each tee, the paths are very clear


~ It's obvious that a tremendous amount of care is given to this course. I particularly noticed the use of wood chips on the greens. With the amount of foot traffic this course appears to get, every inch of ground is hard-packed - and wood chips at the basket do a lot to control groundplay

- While the course makes everything it can out of the space it has, it's still a 9 hole par 27 (and a relatively short one at that). I would love to see what this club could do with more property

~ There appear to be an infinite number of additional basket locations, keeping things interesting for locals



~ a shout out to the clever "V" shaped tee on hole #5: the orange and blue baskets are on different sides of the main wooded obstacle up the middle, so instead of putting in two separate tees, they created one that aims in both directions


~ The urban setting of this course reminded me of Philadelphia's Sedgely Woods: active local club, heavily-trafficked, tight footprint that uses every possible inch, with some graffitti to add atmosphere



COURSE AMENITIES:
Concrete and carpeted teepads, excellent brackets with colored bands (orange shorts, blue longs), buckets for garbage and benches at most tees, porta potty; multiple parking lots. Flat and mostly cart-friendly except for a few water crossings (but course is really short and can be played with just mids and putter)

Great use of space and an excellent addition to the area in an incredible location. Basically as close to Charlottesville that a course like this could get.

-Holes are well maintained and consistently worked on.
-Variety of holes with wonderful features.
-Perfect course for beginners with potential challenges for even intermediate players.
-Hole 5 is a wonderful introduction into river crossings without the risk of losing a disc.
-Hole 6 is an excellent opportunity to practice big rips and the raised basket makes for a unique hole on the course.
-Two baskets and two tees really allowed the space to be packed in.

Honestly for what it is, the only cons would be nitpicks.

This course offers so much for the space and it's still consistently being worked on. There is such a great group of people that are committed to this course and it's only getting better.

2 teepads and 2 baskets per hole
Can be made to challenge differing levels
Excellent and creative use of the land that was available
Nicely and actively maintained
Very well marked

None for what it is

Stopped and played this course as an afterthought and was really glad I did. It's not a championship 5 star course but for what land and terrain they had to work with it's definitely a 5 star course. Short to short is a great layout to teach someone the game or just play with a putter and work on your short/approach game, long to long is actually a decent little challenge.

If you're driving through the area, stop by and play it, pretty easy to get to and out of and worth the side trip.

This course design left nothing on the table, utilizing every bit of space available to provide a full 18 hole (or more!) experience in land barely able to hold 9 holes.

-Double baskets, double tees gives you a ton of different layout options
-Nice pace of play, great for a quick round in the morning or at lunch
-water is in play on several holes but you don't really run the risk of losing a disc to it
-Hole 5 with the graffiti wall backdrop is a very unique and fun look off the tee
-Hole 6 has the great risk/reward with an elevated basket right in front of the water hazard and an elevated tee that tempts you to go for it
-Folks definitely are investing time in maintaining and incrementally improving the course as pin positions have shifted slightly over time and bridges and benches continue to be added

-while you have a ton of layout options (blue-blue, blue-orange, orange- orange, orange-blue) they aren't all winners and I feel like each hole probably has one choice which is head and shoulders above the rest
-it's definitely a technical wooded course, but sometimes the pin is guarded to an extreme degree where the fairway kind of ends at a row of trees with the basket behind them
-out of necessity holes are pretty close together and could see that being an issue if the course was crowded

I think this course is a great example of how you can effectively use a small under utilized space in a city and turn it into a great course. The layout is such that it isn't intimidating for new players and also still provides a lot of challenge to experienced players. It plays fast and because of the different layouts you can easily play from 9 to 36 holes or anywhere in between.

9 holes with nice dual concrete tees, dual DisCatcher baskets and tee signs. Fairly easy to navigate the course. Good mix of fairway lines.

Crossing the creek was a little slippery footing on the wet rocks. Poison ivy in the rough. Lost disc potential on a couple holes with dense rough off the fairway. Hole 9 throwing into the parking lot, short basket is bad enough and long basket is really bad position.

Overall I think Meadowcreek Gardens is a good course, although it's probably not going to wow anyone or merit any kind of destination status. In a few instances I was reluctant to throw some of the longer pads and baskets as they didn't seem to add much other than a little distance and luck and lost disc potential or potential to hit cars in parking lot.

The course plays mostly flat except for the extremely fast green on hole 5, and elevated tee for hole 6 which was my favorite. The creek comes into play on some of the holes adding to the challenge. The course plays fairly quick so long as you don't have to search in the rough or fish your disc out the creek. Makes a decent pairing with Walnut Creek if you are looking to bag another course while traveling.

Risking understatement, Charlottesville needed this.

While it will never beat the local favorite Walnut Creek Park in terms of well, everything except proximity to Downtown C-Ville, "The Gardens" is a must-needed and appreciated addition for the Charlottesville disc community. Housed on a track of land formerly home to a homeless encampment (and ironically also a former home to the UVA Polo field back in the early 1900's), Meadowcreek Disc Golf is proof that places can change for the better.

The "9" hole course is really more like 18+ because of the super varied tee-box and pin placements. Each hole has 2 tee-boxes and 2 baskets. On a chill Sunday when you're feeling like throwing 36 holes, I'd warm up with Orange to Orange, level-up on Blue to Orange, dial-in on Orange to Blue, and then get destroyed by Blue to Blue, which will only want to make you get better and come back for more.

Since its opening-day on August 8th, 2016, The Gardens has seen amazingly vast improvements. Literally every hole has been worked on by the fervent Blue Ridge Disc Golf Club. Though the course will never be perfect (just like your putting), the improvements this course has seen in a matter of months is staggering.

PRO-TIPS:

1.) Park your car in the back lot, near the tee-box for Hole 2. I've seen many a car get blasted by discs coming in hot off drives on Hole 9.
2.) If it has been raining, wear boots. The mud can get thick, though the BRDGC is doing a kick-ass job of filling in the lowlands with mulch and drainage. Well done, gentleman.
3.) If you've never been to Bodo's, do it. It's a 90 second walk from the course. Deli-egg on an everything bagel with feta-spread. Done.
4.) If you've never gotten a milkshake from Cook-Out Grill, keep it that way. At least until after the round. Cook-Out is a 3 minute walk from the course, but their $3 milkshakes will cripple your game.
5.) Check out Great Outdoor Provisions (in the nearby Barracks Road Shopping Center) for a wide variety of discs available for purchase. This is also a drop-spot if you find a disc on the course with somebody's name on it -- shoot them a text and tell them you're leaving their disc at Great Outdoor Provisions.

Excellent baskets, teepads and signs. It takes a lot of effort to install concrete in something of a wasteland, and the two wide, flat pads per hole are a luxury. Two baskets per hole give you four different layouts for a total of 34 different tee shots. (Hole 5 is a V pad so only one look per basket.)
The terrain lends itself to challenging disc golf. Thoughtful, well placed shots are rewarded and your mistakes can bring you to your knees. (in cold creek water.)
This place is right in the middle of everything, and is super easy to get to. If youre on 64, take the 250 bypass then get off at barracks road heading south. Turn left onto 29, then make a right in front of Bodo's before going under the overpass. That road brings you right to Meadowcreek Gardens.

The course is still a work in progress, but it will be better every time you play it. There are plans for a suspension bridge to negate the rockhopping. The foliage will gradually be trampled. There is some standing water on hole 4, but hopefully with some trenching this will fade as well.
There was apparently a contingent of homeless folks who were overnighting in this park. The course has somewhat improved that situation, but be prepared to encounter transient types during your round. If you've played anywhere in Florida you're used to this, but if you're a single chick, tell your mom where you're going and what time you'll be back.

Kudos to the Blue Ridge Disc Golf Club for bringing baskets to the City of Charlottesville. I know a city of that size should have many more, but a historic place with its parks ingrained since before the automobile is not likely to give you much more than a drainage ditch for your course. Happy to say that my first experience here was a glow event. The club did an awesome job lighting up the joint, and I'll definitely be back to play in the daytime. Hopefully during work hours.

It looked like improvements to the course were being made while I was playing yesterday, just wanted to say thanks to everyone involved!

The course seems to be shaping up nicely and I love the diversity of it. Having the 4 different yardage / target combinations from the short and long baskets / tees on each hole really makes the course play substantially different each time you switch it up. It keeps it very interesting and very fun with practically 36 different hole combinations on a 9 hole course.

Since it is a brand new course, it may take a few months before it gets played enough to clear out the remaining small debris.

The only other suggestion I have would be to utilize the natural beauty a bit more, mainly just clearing the thick brush and briar surrounding the sides of the main creek would really liven up the beauty of the course. I'm sure that's already on the to do list of the course designers though; considering they are already in the process of constructing a nice bridge over said creek.

New baskets, new tees, easy to get to. Surprising difference between blue and orange layout

THORNS. Lots of thorns.

This course was just put in during the fourth of july weekend. They did a great job working with the limited space they were given. The orange (short) make for a nice and easy warm up round, while the blue (long) will make you hate the sport. It's incredible how different the two layouts are. As mentioned above, there are a lot of thorns and poison ivy. Once a lot of people play this course and walk the paths down (kill the grass) and maneuver through the bushes and such, the course will open up a bit more and be really nice.

If you are passing through, it is worth the stop. I'd go as far to say that I would play it again happily. Plus, right next to Bodo's so you can get something to eat as well!