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University of West Florida reviews
10
0
Titles Are Hard, So This Is What You Get
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Mar 16, 2022
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
UWF has an excellent, recently redesigned 21-hole disc golf course in and around some of the unused zones on campus. The main features of the course are rolling hills and OB. Lots of OB.
A large course map can be found at the tees of holes 1 and 6.
All pars seem fair for the level of course that this is.
More shade than normal for a course of this magnitude. Those who play here in the summer will be grateful.
Three distinct layouts are available. Blue (the shortest), White (middle) and Red (longest). Thirteen holes have three separate tees, four holes all tee from the same spot, and the remaining four holes have two tees. The three tee holes are plenty different for the most part, they don't change the line much, but the distance can vary greatly. All white tees are concrete, most red tees are as well, while most of the blue tees are either a rubber mat or just dirt.
Holes 6-14 can be played as a quick loop, or play them twice, once to the shorts and once to the longs. Yes, eight of these nine holes have two DisCatchers available for play. The shorts are blue banded, while the longs are yellow like the rest of the course.
Now onto the course itself, it has three distinct sections. Holes 1-5, 6-14, and 15-21. Elevation is more prevalent on the first and last sections, while the middle 9 are the more position-based holes with lots more OB.
The density of woods varies throughout the course, moderate woods on 1-5, a bit heavier on 7-11, almost nonexistent on 12-14, then very thick woods forcing specific shots on 15-21. It's not just a roller coaster of hills, the multitude of shots required for the final 7 holes will be the difference between breaking par or not.
Teeing from the first hole, you're greeted by a 300ft uphill followed by a tough to access green. I like the long pin best since you must hit a gap in the right side of a clump of trees since the left side is blocked off. Hole 1 is probably my personal favorite. After that massive elevation challenge, next up is Hole 5, a thread the needle shot off the tee which has OB to the left of the green. The next major elevation shift is at Hole 16 which is a 12ft wide tunnel with an open green at the bottom of the hill. 17, 20, and 21 are on major downslopes where your shot needs to land softly or risk skipping far away from the pin.
OB looms on the middle section, starting right off the bat at Hole 6. The long pin is on an island which is no more than 15ft in depth. Holes 7 through 11 all have one entire side of the fairway that's OB, while 13 and 14 have it behind the pins. Holes 1, 15, and 21 are the only other ones to feature major OB.
Mandos are used well for the most part. Keeping the flight of discs away from parking lots and other fairways.
Several greens are difficult. Hole 13 has thick bushes about 10ft to the left of the yellow pin (perfect landing zone for a backhand, not). Hole 20's basket is mounted on a downslope, so if you go past it at all, you've got a long uphill run to come back. Hole 21 is the same way.
Due to the sandy soil, rain dries out quickly. Played the day after a moderate rain and had one wet spot, which was added dirt for the intramural field. Zero naturally occurring wet spots one day after a rain, that's something I don't get in Kansas City...
A large course map can be found at the tees of holes 1 and 6.
All pars seem fair for the level of course that this is.
More shade than normal for a course of this magnitude. Those who play here in the summer will be grateful.
Three distinct layouts are available. Blue (the shortest), White (middle) and Red (longest). Thirteen holes have three separate tees, four holes all tee from the same spot, and the remaining four holes have two tees. The three tee holes are plenty different for the most part, they don't change the line much, but the distance can vary greatly. All white tees are concrete, most red tees are as well, while most of the blue tees are either a rubber mat or just dirt.
Holes 6-14 can be played as a quick loop, or play them twice, once to the shorts and once to the longs. Yes, eight of these nine holes have two DisCatchers available for play. The shorts are blue banded, while the longs are yellow like the rest of the course.
Now onto the course itself, it has three distinct sections. Holes 1-5, 6-14, and 15-21. Elevation is more prevalent on the first and last sections, while the middle 9 are the more position-based holes with lots more OB.
The density of woods varies throughout the course, moderate woods on 1-5, a bit heavier on 7-11, almost nonexistent on 12-14, then very thick woods forcing specific shots on 15-21. It's not just a roller coaster of hills, the multitude of shots required for the final 7 holes will be the difference between breaking par or not.
Teeing from the first hole, you're greeted by a 300ft uphill followed by a tough to access green. I like the long pin best since you must hit a gap in the right side of a clump of trees since the left side is blocked off. Hole 1 is probably my personal favorite. After that massive elevation challenge, next up is Hole 5, a thread the needle shot off the tee which has OB to the left of the green. The next major elevation shift is at Hole 16 which is a 12ft wide tunnel with an open green at the bottom of the hill. 17, 20, and 21 are on major downslopes where your shot needs to land softly or risk skipping far away from the pin.
OB looms on the middle section, starting right off the bat at Hole 6. The long pin is on an island which is no more than 15ft in depth. Holes 7 through 11 all have one entire side of the fairway that's OB, while 13 and 14 have it behind the pins. Holes 1, 15, and 21 are the only other ones to feature major OB.
Mandos are used well for the most part. Keeping the flight of discs away from parking lots and other fairways.
Several greens are difficult. Hole 13 has thick bushes about 10ft to the left of the yellow pin (perfect landing zone for a backhand, not). Hole 20's basket is mounted on a downslope, so if you go past it at all, you've got a long uphill run to come back. Hole 21 is the same way.
Due to the sandy soil, rain dries out quickly. Played the day after a moderate rain and had one wet spot, which was added dirt for the intramural field. Zero naturally occurring wet spots one day after a rain, that's something I don't get in Kansas City...
Cons:
The main con is the long walk from 5 to 6, and from 14 to 15. It's a natural part of being on a college campus and the limited space that comes with that, but the 750+ foot walks both ways are a huge blemish.
The mandos on hole 11 make no sense. There are two stakes forcing you to stay to the left, but A: the short pin is only 180ft long, and B: it would make sense if they were trying to keep the course out of the intramural field... but Hole 12 literally throws across self-same field. Maybe they were trying to make the long pin more difficult?
Not a wide variety of distances. The Red course boasts only one 500+ pin, three 400+ pins, and only two others that scare the 400 mark. Everything else is safely in the 175-350 range.
A few of the signs are missing pin spots. Holes 10 and 11 have long pins that aren't on the signs, while 12 doesn't have its short basket listed.
Holes 18 and 19... ergh. Both sides of the fairway are covered in thick, thorny underbrush that is extremely unpleasant to fish a disc out of. It would be less noticeable except these are the only two holes on the course that have these thick bushes.
The mandos on hole 11 make no sense. There are two stakes forcing you to stay to the left, but A: the short pin is only 180ft long, and B: it would make sense if they were trying to keep the course out of the intramural field... but Hole 12 literally throws across self-same field. Maybe they were trying to make the long pin more difficult?
Not a wide variety of distances. The Red course boasts only one 500+ pin, three 400+ pins, and only two others that scare the 400 mark. Everything else is safely in the 175-350 range.
A few of the signs are missing pin spots. Holes 10 and 11 have long pins that aren't on the signs, while 12 doesn't have its short basket listed.
Holes 18 and 19... ergh. Both sides of the fairway are covered in thick, thorny underbrush that is extremely unpleasant to fish a disc out of. It would be less noticeable except these are the only two holes on the course that have these thick bushes.
Other Thoughts:
This course has been through a lot. From Eddie's original design, to the redesign because of the football field, to the newest redesign and upscaling to 21 holes, the course has had plenty of improvement and is definitely worthy of a stop if you're in the Pensacola area.
You'll have to stop by either the Visitors Center or the Campus Police building to get a parking pass. Campus Police are right next to the lot you'll want to park in for hole 1, so I suggest there.
This is a great course with a lot of multiple tees/baskets to make every round unique if you so desire. With a little more distance variation and those long walks being eliminated (in a fantasy world) this would be an incredibly solid course, but it's still far above the average for a college course. Hats off to the UWF Disc Golf Club for their stellar work. Be sure you have plenty of time and water to fully enjoy this north Florida gem.
You'll have to stop by either the Visitors Center or the Campus Police building to get a parking pass. Campus Police are right next to the lot you'll want to park in for hole 1, so I suggest there.
This is a great course with a lot of multiple tees/baskets to make every round unique if you so desire. With a little more distance variation and those long walks being eliminated (in a fantasy world) this would be an incredibly solid course, but it's still far above the average for a college course. Hats off to the UWF Disc Golf Club for their stellar work. Be sure you have plenty of time and water to fully enjoy this north Florida gem.
