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Riverside, CA

Van Buren Golf Center

2.415(based on 11 reviews)
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3 2
adamtheviking5
Experience: 13.7 years 116 played 13 reviews
2.50 star(s)

bad ball golf = good disc golf 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 27, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Unique (for me) experience playing on a ball golf course. Carts are a novelty. Staff is very cool. I threw a disc in the pond and i asked the guy in the proshop to borrow a rake. He didnt have one but he just handed me a random new disc.

Cons:

Easy course. Confusing layout. Its supposed to be 18 but its 9 with several of the holes having 2 baskets. Also the baskets are very unique and do not play like normal mach 5's.

Other Thoughts:

This is a very low end par 27 golf course and i probably wouldnt pay the $12 green fees to play ball golf here. But even a crappy b/g course makes a decent disc course. And everytime ive been here we've played for almost no cost.Sometimes they charge us $5 and give us the cart and sometimes the round is free but the cart is $2. I play it on the way home from work once in a while and its enjoyable.
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0 3
scrowl92
Experience: 14.3 years 13 played 8 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Great Course...disappointing at night 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 11, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

great condition for disc golf. carts are available even for disc golfers. minimal water features haha.

Cons:

difficult to follow at night due to the fact that the ball golf course changes for night time hours. Although the ball golf course changes, the disc golf course stays the same therefore causing confusion. if you get your disc stuck in a thick tree in the dark, kiss it goodbye because it is extremely difficult to see.

Other Thoughts:

I would recommend for daytime play, but not worth the price for night time play.
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12 0
Danger
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.8 years 105 played 70 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Best that the IE has to offer... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 27, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

*****REVIEW UPDATED AT END*****

-Long, open drives.
-All well groomed grass offering great opportunities for rollers.
-Lights, you can play until 9:50 at night.
-22ish holes, I'll get back to that at the end of this review.
-Very quiet at night.
-Drinking is legal here, they have a no outside food or drink policy but they sell libations there. Except on Sunday, as we learned.
-White Fly 18 baskets are easy to spot at night, most of the time.

Cons:

-Fly 18 baskets lead to quite the non-climatic finish on each hole. They are silent!
-Green Fee is a little high. $48 for 4 of us without carts makes this our most expensive ever. Well get carts next time so it can re-claim itself that position:)
-Some baskets are not in the light at night time.
-The course circles a driving range. Some holes in the driving range fence make for some particularly dangerous areas on the course, keep an eye out for areas with lots of stray balls, and watch your head.
-The holes are all numbered with a big, clear number near the golf hole. The last two skip from 10 and 11, to 12 and 13. Regardless, navigation is easy if you have half a brain and a map.
-Watch your footing, there are many marshy areas on this course. I ended up soaking one of my feet by stepping into a hidden hole full of fail.

Other Thoughts:

A detailed map is provided once you pay. Distances are all provided as well as course rules.
The course plays ball golf greens as OB, but we didn't. Imagine a large circle of OB in front of every pin on your favorite course. Kinda sucks, right?

Holes can get a bit repetitive, as this is set on a ball golf course. What this translates to, is every shot being a wide open unobstructed drive, with some possible obstacles near the pin, which is usually located on a lightly wooded hill near the ball greens.

At night, crowds have not been an issue thus far. Two of us played far faster than a solo ball golfer, who let us tee off first. Aside from some drunken guys in golf carts, we were alone for the vast majority of the time on both visits.

The 22 holes actually plays itself around the 11 hole ball golf course twice. Most tee's have two baskets, but some don't. There are a total of 18 different 'holes,' utilizing a total of 17 baskets. With 3 tee locations at each hole, there are 54 possible holes. It is my belief that the pin locations never change.

Current weekend prices are $9 for 11 holes, $12 for 22, and $18 with a cart. If you get a cart, everybody has to pay for one. I think prices are about $3 cheaper on weekdays. Beer is $3.50 - $5 at the pro shop, with occasional specials.

We had a great time playing at night, these are the best lights I have seen so far in So Cal. Easy to find all of our discs. I can see this course being annoying if its busy with ball golfers.
We did not find carts to be necessary, and in fact, I think it would actually make the game take longer if everybody does not have their own. I can only imagine yelling 'hey can you move your cart? Its in my way!'

UPDATE: They have redesigned the ball golf course, which means design changes to the Disc Golf course. They are not for the better and are not reflected on the map. I have lowered my rating from 3.5 to 2.5 until this issue is resolved as this course is no longer fun or worth going out of the way for.
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5 0
coast2coast
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20.9 years 98 played 32 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Skip it 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 27, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Three sets of tees per hole, and many have dual baskets. Course navigation is fairly easy. One shot is over water and forces you to go for it or lay up (I went for it and lost one right in the middle of the pond). Benches and trash cans on most holes. Pro shop sells limited selection of discs. Snack shop has lots of options including beer. Lights for night play. White Fly18 baskets are easy to spot.

Cons:

$9 for 22 holes is the second most expensive round i've played. The big white signs on the last two holes are numbered incorrectly. Playing with ball golfers is always annoying due to the huge difference in speed of play. A few holes play right next to a busy road. Course is almost completely flat with some small rolling hills, but no real elevated tees. Fly18 baskets are odd. They catch the disc well enough even though there are no center chains, but I hit a birdie shot from about 80 feet and the chains made almost no sound. I was expecting a loud "CHING" as I watched the disc slam the chains, but there was just this kind of metallic thud. Kind of a disappointment even though I made the shot.

Other Thoughts:

The three groups of ball golfers that I encountered did let me play through, but some of them weren't too happy about it. Play somewhere else instead. It's probably a better course, and it definitely doesn't cost nine bucks.
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8 0
Doktor John
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 35.3 years 423 played 64 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Adequate course--best within reasonable driving distance of the Ontario airport 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 29, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Well manicured (since it's on a ball golf course)
Decent distances from the blue tees
Not a super busy ball golf course
Nice baskets (a unique kind I've never seen before...they have a very deep basket and even though they only have one set of chains, they grab the discs well)
Great place for beginners
Pro Shop with discs and snacks
Carts (Even though I can't imagine playing DG with a cart)
Pretty intuitive flow -- for holes 1-9 follow the ball golf tees...there is a large white sign near the baskets showing what hole you're on...hole 10 and 11 is ball golf hole 17 and 18--the big white signs say 12 and 13, so don't be thrown off
Good use of available space
Nice use of water hazard on 7
As ball golf courses go, pretty reasonably priced
Very friendly staff
No problem with the ball golfers, the 2 I encountered let me play through

Cons:

Very soggy grounds in the morning...make sure you have a towel...watch out for hidden pockets of soft turf and mud, you could easily sink past your ankles
Unfortunately, due to the terrain, there aren't many obstacles--so this isn't a super technical course (if you like that type of challange)

Other Thoughts:

This is a very adequate course, nothing to write home about...pretty typical for a lot of the ball golf courses I've played

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options in this immediate area...of the 3 within reasonable driving distance from my hotel near the Ontario airport, this is the only one that is a "real" disc golf course

If you like the vibe of a well manicured ball golf course -- you would enjoy an occassional round of DG here
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