Decent Tees-Decent Baskets

Too many stupid trees in the middle of the "fairways"- No decent signage

This course is a challenge. It does have some really well thought out holes, but then turns into another "roll the dice" fairway scenario even if you can shoot it right down the middle. I dont like that ! If its the fairway..Leave the damn trees and scrub out of it. Not too much fun to have drives hit trees all the time when you make a respectable throw down the middle so to speak... You can air out a drive on a couple of holes here. Would be nice to chop some of the Palmetto down on the outskirts of the fairways.. Overall not a bad place to play. A few holes could get crowded as you have opposing fairways in close quarters.

Nice mix of tight shaded & more open fairways.

Front 9 mostly shaded which is good in this part of the US. Especially in the warmer months.
Back 9 more open with a few water hazards in wet season (was pretty much dry today).

Most holes under 300'. A few are between 300' & 400' which is good for casual and beginner players.

Nice concrete tee pads.

Picnic tables for resting every 4 or 5 holes throughout course, trash cans also.

Good parking in a well maintained Town park.

Restrooms

Needs better signage with hole pars posted (tee signs).

Some holes confusing with two targets and/or alternate tee locations.

Poison ivy

Adding a kiosk with a better course map than what is there now would be nice & score cards are always a welcome luxury.

Targets are OK but could be better.

This is a good course for families & couples.
It's also a good course for Parents to teach their children DG.

The Preserve DGC sits in the very large North Charlotte Regional Park which houses a bunch of baseball fields. The DGC seems to play through an heavily forested area. There is a lake that could come into play on the later holes. There is also a large ditch which was dry as a bone in January. I was told by my local guide, Clint, that this ditch often is four feet deep during the summer months.

Preserve DGC is a little bit different because there really seems to be distinct starting points. Hole # 1 starts over by the ball fields but I don't believe many of the locals actually start there. Instead, I was told by locals that they mostly all begin their rounds at 16. The Sunday morning league all used # 16 as their starting position. There is a kiosk and picnic benches here at # 16. The course map is by hole # 1. Take a picture of this map before you start your solo round.

The tee signs were basic but very functional. The concrete pads were also very functional. The baskets are Mach II's. There were a few garbage cans around and I saw a couple of next tee signs. Because I was guided by Clint, I'm not sure about navigation issues. The navigation seemed pretty instinctive.

The course has one basket on most holes but then a few holes have two holes. I found this to be a little confusing.

I don't think of this course as technical. I consider it to be tight. I don't know? What's the difference between tight and technical? I guess to me, technical holes are shorter holes with narrow and sometimes unfairly tight windows. I think The Preserves DGC is very fair. Although we played from the shorter tees, there was always a fair line to the basket. Often there was a tree or two or three standing tall right in the middle of your route. You just had to dodge them. My host/guide threw predominantly forehand flicks and he and I agreed that were quite a few holes that were just made for forehands.

I don't like having one basket on some holes and two on others. Makes it confusing.

Navigation is strange, especially when starting at # 16. Getting from # 18 to # 1 would be downright confusing.

Equipment here is just OK.

It's Florida flat.

Ditch was dry her in January. My local guide said it could be 4 ' deep in summer. I'm confused? Isn't summer supposed to be the dry time? Are things upside down here in Floridaville? At least, two or three holes would play much less dangerously when that ditch is dry and non-threatening.

I liked this course. Being able to keep your disc straight for 250' to 300' is your main concern. The rough is thick but usually not so bad that you can't save par. The locals seemed to be friendly and helpful even as I was bagging their course right in the middle of their Sunday morning league. I'm also thankful that I was fortunate enough to play here in dry January and instead of the wet season. That ditch with 4 feet of ugly, murky water probably would be pretty intimidating.

The Preserve DGC is a notably technical challenge that successfully walks the line between fun and frustration. The claustrophobic, predominantly RHBH-friendly front 9 is a rigorous test of midrange and putter control, as each hole features ultra-tight lines and/or punishingly thick rough. This may seem like a criticism, but it's actually The Preserve's biggest strength: only once (on Hole 2; see below) does the design feel unfair. Think of it like a classic arcade game: playing can be frustratingly difficult at times, but the course provides enough reward to keep the player coming back for more. The Preserve opens up a bit after Hole 10 and allows rec-level players like myself a shot at even par, a welcome relief.

The course is also high on aesthetic beauty, offering a true jungle setting that's much prettier than a first-timer might expect. My favorite locations are the greens of Holes 11 & 12, which put the player in small clearings surrounded by towering tropical foliage.

Many holes have alt tees and pins which add an additional layer of difficulty. Hole 16 features an alt pad that turns an aceable straight shot into a daunting but playable water carry whose challenge varies with the season.

Navigation within the routing is fairly intuitive and occasionally features directional signs to the next tee.

Navigation to and from the routing is a significant challenge, as Hole 1 is tucked between two baseball fields at one end of the park and Hole 18 finishes near a walking path at the opposite end. Turn right into the parking lot at your earliest opportunity and follow the northbound path to Hole 1. After the round, exit the woods and follow the road back to your vehicle.

Hole 2 is tight to the point of being unfair, with no readily perceptible line to the basket. Some clearing could redeem it with ease.

Tee signs are nothing more than a post with hole number & distance, and there are times when a diagram would be extremely helpful.

The Preserve is Florida flat, but the challenge of hitting your lines will make you forget all about the lack of elevation.

The Preserve DGC plays like North Water Tower Park in nearby Sarasota on a smaller (and tighter) scale, so players who've played one should know what to expect at the other.

Navigation to the park itself can be as difficult as getting to the disc golf course, as the park seems to be surrounded by a failed or abandoned housing development. GPS directions cannot always be trusted, as they may attempt to lead you down abandoned, overgrown streets (check Google Street View to see what I mean). Access the park only via O'Donnell Blvd from Tamiami Trl. Taking any other route runs the risk of getting lost or stuck back in the abandoned streets.

This course has a good variance of hole arrangements and distances. The course is flat like most Florida courses. It has a good mix of open holes and holes through the Florida landscape. I enjoyed this course. No holes were too difficult to score well. The concrete tee pads are in good shape. There are distances posted on the tee box posts. There are directional signs to the next tee also. The course layout is well thought out except for the start and finish.

I would have liked to see a hole layout at each tee box, not just the distance/s. Some holes have two tee pads and two baskets. It would have been nice to see where the further basket was located in order to choose the right disc. Its a very long walk from the back parking lot to the first hole.

The course seemed to play shorter than the distances posted. Not really a con, just an observation. Not much chance of losing a disc on this course unless you're in the water. In December that wasn't an issue. This is a nice course. I'd like to play again next time I visit. I'd actually rate this course closer to a 3.25. Very nice scenery.

The biggest pro - once you spend 30 minutes looking for the first tee - is that the course is a breeze to navigate. Stevie Wonder could find his way around without use of a cane.

The tee signs and distance were plentiful, though I wish it had pics of the holes. on the front 9, a lot of the holes you have no idea where the basket is. I had to walk up and back several times to find it.

And as my title mentions, get off into the palmettos and good luck. I spent lots of time digging through palmetto's trying to find plastic I'd advise throwing something bright - blue, pink, orange - but not green!

On the front 9, it seemed to be a majorly lefty friendly course. 3-9 all seemed to finish left.

The back 9 was my favorite. More open. You could grip-and-rip on several holes - if you have an average arm. Long arms would over throw the holes.

Being a tight course, you don't need many discs. I essentially played with a buzz, sidewinder and one stable fore-hand disc. Could easily play with just a buzz and putter.

The worst - and this is huge - is finding the first tee.I came from out of town with limited time to play and it took me over 30 minutes to find it. I found what I thought was the parking lot - had a sign mentioning the course - but was by hole 16. Later I found a sign pointing to hole 1...a quarter mile away! You either park at the first tee and walk a quarter mile to your car when done. Or park by 18 and walk a quarter mile to start.

But after looking at an aerial view, it would be tough to finish back at 1

I also found 1-2 being ridiculously tight, basically a hope and pray hole. No direct line to the basket. 3-9 were the same basic shot over and over. Not much to brag about.

Definitely worth playing, I'm sure locals have found all the limited lines to hit on the front 9. But the repetitious shots on the front 9 lowered my rating.