Walrond Park should have been a simple play. Almost all wide-open holes. Other than trees, little in terms of obstacles. But, man, was this a fun course.
- Take a simple layout. Add some rolling hills. Simple layout is no longer simple.
- With some large, mature trees located in the fairways on #1 - 4, there are options on how to play each layout.
- #5 is a fun, short hole. Relatively short (150ish feet), downhill, dogleg right. My simple soft toss quickly ended up in the rough, not having time to begin fading. Should be an easy birdie, especially when looking towards the tee from the basket.
- #1 & 2 are nice downhill shots. #3 is an uphill shot back towards the top of the hill. #4's basket plays within a couple steps of thickening rough so don't go long.
- Great views of the mountains around. Teeing off here at 7:15 on a crisp Saturday morning, I was greeted with amazing views. This could be a fun place to start many a Saturday mornings.
- Nice overall park. Walking trail runs through the park. There's a natural area/pond to the left side of #4. There's also an old (abandoned?) track of some sorts (soapbox derby perhaps?) to the right of the first hole. During my round, the only other park goers were people walking their dogs.

The obvious: two of the nine holes have been removed. Don't know if that's temporary or permanent. But, seven-hole courses just aren't as appealing.
- Once you take away the hilly portion of the course, it's not as exciting. The course got progressively simpler as it progressed. #6 was a challenge only because you had to throw around some trees. #9 (#7 & 8 are missing) was only a challenge as there were branches impeding on the tee box.
- I'd imagine on a nice, busy day, parts of the course may be hampered by park goers. If not the course, then at least the parking lot may be packed when a soccer game is going on.
- Tees are gravel. A day after rain, the footing wasn't great. Glad I didn't need full runups.
- At least one longer hole or additional challenge would be nice.

This was the first of 15 courses I played in a day and a half. I wanted to start my trip off with something simple. And convenient. Only 5 minutes off I-81, so Walrond offered that.
- For some reason, seemingly every reference I made to this course, I called it 'Waldron.' Even finishing up my review, I had to go back and take out the lingering 'Waldron' names. Waldron sounds more natural than Walrond, I guess.
- My goal was to play a quick round. I finished in exactly 15 minutes. I wouldn't suggest most players will finish that fast.
- You can easily create a couple fun, longer, safari layouts with holes #1 - 5. Play #1 to #4's basket. Throw backwards on #5 and play back to 3's basket. Play #4 to 5's basket.
- As the course is, this is a good casual, beginner friendly layout. Solid mix of looks and the trees create enough challenge in place of heavily wooded layouts.
- #1 was my favorite of the first 4 holes. #5 was the other good one.
- I don't see why they've left this at 7 holes for so long. Seeing how much space there is, you could easily find room for a couple more decent holes, even if they're only in the 200ish foot range.
- It gets marked down a half point for missing two holes for several years already, and having failed to adjust. A seven-hole course is worth skipping (where do you draw the line?) if it's a permanent situation.

- Plenty of parking right near the first tee.
- Frequently mowed as it is in a city park.
- Good use of elevation changes on #2, 3, and 5 to make it better than a "ho hum" nine hole course.
- #5 is an interesting layout, requiring a hard right turn and, if you play the tee shot as a hard dart to stick in the grass at the bottom of the hill, then your disc flies literally 6 inches over the crest of the berm in front of the tee. Stick it in the grass and it can end in a satisfying birdie.
- Nice Discatcher baskets.

- When I played, holes #7 and 8 had been pulled with a sign saying that they would be relocated. But it looked like the sign had been there a while. It looks like they infringed on private land adjacent to the park. There's not much room to move them to, so it will be interesting to see where they move (if they move). So, for now, it's a 7 hole course...
- The gravel tees are downright treacherous with their sizable loose gravel and deeply-bowled erosion. Don't use them, just tee off from the grass next to them unless you want a twisted ankle.
- #9 is a boring, straight, flat filler hole.
- Not much variety in hole length or any unique challenges, unless you count #6. Speaking of:
- #6 is a sarcastic joke of a hole. The basket is immediately behind a row of short trees and shrubs cutting perpendicularly across the fairway in front of you, so you can't see the basket from the tee and there's absolutely zero chance of anyone ever acing it. Maybe once you know where the basket is it could be possible to just bean a tall tree behind the basket to drop in close for a birdie chance, but otherwise it's an annoying layout that forces you to go high and long then come back to the basket.

Even though it's currently cut to 7 holes that are pretty short, I was impressed with the variety of shots required and the use of the elevation to make a couple holes that would be hard to birdie for intermediate and above players (#3 and 6). And the relatively open layout and short lengths make it beginner friendly.

Not a destination course by any means, but it's an easy to access stop along I-81 if you're looking for a fun stretch break like I was.

Walrond Park is one of a set of 3 9 hole courses in the Roanoke area within 10-15 minutes of each other . The parking lot of this multi use park is big enough to hold pavilion area parkers , disc golfers , maybe some tennis players, but not a soap box derby competition . Soap Box Derby ? I never saw a Derby track up close before until I came here . It sits close to the #2 tee box . Pretty cool . The signage here is fairly simple , and the baskets are yellow banded Discatchers . The tee boxes are wood rimmed with crushed gravel . There is a port o let on site , and a picnic shelter right as you are coming off the basket for #9 . There is some elevation in the first few holes , but it starts to turn flat after 4 . The course designer did well , with what he had to work with . It is a smaller type park but was packed the day I was there .
The holes are all between 144' and 258' . The longer hole plays more like a 300' + because it has the most elevation and you also have to try to miss a big tree's branches that block your view of the basket and force you to throw left to right . The first 4 baskets are close together , then 5-9 make up an out and back pattern that ends next to the tennis courts.
#5 throws away from the pavillion to a basket hidden by a large bush directly in front of you . This is one of about 3 holes that have hidden baskets .The course is a fast play . I was able to play it in under 30 minutes . A fursome might be able to finish in an hour . Disc risk is minimal , but you will have to pay attention to where in a hidden basket's bush your disc goes . You shouldn't need a map for this one , but print one just because you may walk to the wrong hole .The course itself sits just a minute or 2 off I-81 .

#1 Safety . Since this course is attuned to the newbie or local , there are going to be uncontrolled sprays of a driver-gone-wrong . There are dog walkers, joggers , and young kids everywhere . A walking path comes into play possibly on 2 , for sure on 4 and 5 . Please be courteous to the other park users .
#2 Lack of challenge . The course is fairly nondescript Most shots are straight away , or barely left or right if there is a bush or tree guarding the basket . they packed a 9 hole course in such a small area .
#3 Tee pads . crushed gravel tee pads can be okay if leveled and filled . The day I was there, many of the tee boxes had standing water in them , causing me to tee of in the grass .
#4 The course holds water . In the lower part of #4 and all in the back , since this course can be level for Virginia's tastes . Because of that , your feet will get plenty after a rain or 2 .

The course overall was uneventful . Maybe some practice shots or making up a safari round while the kids are playing something , or the family is at a picnic at the shelter . Since the course won't eat discs , the one-disc wonders can actually take shots at the basket . . It serves it's purpose : to get kids or newbies to try out the game of disc golf . After they get their feet wet ( Literally ) , they can move over to a little nicer course like Highland or Greenfield . After inspecting this Soap Box track , I only withed that I had been able to see some of the kids rolling their designs down the runway ( maybe next time ) . My Recommendation : Okay starter course for newbies , maybe a family on a cookout , or locals living close by . Course baggers wanting to pick up a freebie just off the I-81 , #146 exit . Other than that , you might want to move over to the many courses 25 minutes away or less .

The course in Walrond Park is a full-on beginner style course, with all holes requiring no more than a fairway driver, and, for the most part, easy to hit lines.

Every hole on the course is paired with a very nice tee sign, all holes also have a nice and clean Innova Discatcher, giving it a stamp of approval in that area.

A good mix of righty backhand holes, nothing that forced a different line, but different angles and release points needed.

Every hole had a single tee location and a single basket location. The tees were dug out gravel pits, and were in major need of repair. I would suggest playing the tee shots on the flatter side of the tee.

This is a beginner course. There are not a lot of great shots, or really many good shots, mostly shots that make it at least somewhat fun for a beginner player.

Some holes played in close proximity to the walking path that winded through the course, so be aware of walkers, and yield to pedestrians.

The walk from hole 9s basket to the parking lot is a bit longer than I would like, especially on a hot and humid day.

This course was fun for a beginner, but nothing special. I don't think anybody plays this for the reason to hone in their tournament skills, but more a relaxing round to toss a disc in the afternoon.

A cool side note, watching some of the young kids roll down the Soap Box Derby Track was pretty cool. It was something I had never seen before.

Short course, good for beginners or families.
Tee signs on every hole.
Mostly open course with some elevation change on the first few.
Nice park and pretty easy to get to off of I-81.

Tee pads are gravel, most have been dug out causing bad footing. I teed from the nearby grass on several.
There are several places where you could lose a disc on this otherwise beginner friendly course. The layout tries to stay away from those areas, but a wild throw could get lost.
A couple of the baskets (#7 and #8) are placed behind/beside thick bushes. I guess they needed to create some obstacle, after playing through one time, you know where the basket is.
Passes real close to or over the walking path, be careful on those holes!

As I mentioned, this is a very nice, multi-use park, ball fields, walking path, tennis courts and ... a soap-box derby track!
Would be nice to play a quick round when the kids are at ball practice.
I'll bet this park gets really busy on weekends and evenings so it could create some delays on the course.
As The VK mentioned in his review, this may be the only course next to a soap-box derby track. It runs parallel to #2 and much longer than the hole. It appears the track is still in use, nice shelter at the top of the hill, good blacktop surface and lane numbers freshly painted. Really takes me back to my childhood.
WHY DIDN'T I LAUNCH A COUPLE DOWN THE TRACK!!!

Walrond Park is a good sized park with many activities going on including ball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, pickleball, picnic areas and a soap box derby track.

The area where the course is located seems mostly disc golf exclusive except for a walking/jogging path where you might encounter some folks on their morning walk. The course has nice little metal tee signs showing a map, hole #, par and distance. The tee pads are crushed rock and the course has Discatcher baskets with the yellow rims and #'s.

The course is recreational length with distances ranging from # 5's short (150') blind, anhyser shot to # 3's listed length of 263'. However, I think some of the baskets have been moved to longer, deeper, more difficult positions in order to increase the over all challenge of the course. Most of the baskets are set in and around trees adding some line shaping and interest to the course.

I actually liked the shorty hole, # 5, the best here. It's a 150', slightly downhill, blind anhyser throw. Just a cool little touch shot.

# 9 does finish out past the tennis courts giving you a decent little walk back to your car.

I played early in the morning and the grass was 3-4" long and wet. This area was in need of a mowing.

There are some low lying areas which were soggy. Boots might be advised after any recent rains.

# 2 is just a 210', slightly downhill, straight shot. However, just right over the fence is a soap box derby track. Some discs will find it's way over this fence. In my disc tossing career I've thrown discs into oceans, rivers, creeks, ditches, swamps and beaches. I've thrown into corrals, pens, school yards, back yards, front yards, stock yards, court yards and alleys. I've thrown into tennis courts, bocce ball courts, basketball courts, handball courts and the occasional picnic. I've thrown onto highways, freeways, byways, thruways and toll roads. I've throw over fences, buildings, barns, sheds, shacks, sleeping dogs, cows, sheep and assorted other farm animals but I've never, ever thrown onto an Official Soap Box Derby track. I should have fired a disc over the fence just to add it to the list.

And what is it with having a soap box derby track anyway? Wasn't soap box derby an event that was popular with American kids back in the 1930's? Is Hollins, Virginia stuck in some kind of time warp? Did "The Twilight Zone" film an episode here?

Addendum added 2020 during the Corona Virus quarantine,perhaps owing to boredom. The Soap Box Derby was started in the the mid-1930's when a gentlemen observed boys racing their hand built racing carts down hills. The premise of Soap Box Derby was that boys would build these cars by themselves, and then race them down hills with only gravity power. It quickly became a national phenomenon drawing 100,000 spectators to one of the earlier events. Scandals erupted when engineering fathers "helped" their sons create aerodynamic cars. Although, not nearly as popular as previously, Soap Box Derby lives on today.

It is a good place to learn to play disc golf. Most of the holes have very little chance of losing a disc. Most of the holes can be played with a hyzer shot for both right and left handed players so you don't really need to be able to turn a disc over to play the course but you can choose that route if you want to. The course no longer plays across walking paths. If you have to throw over a walking path you are not throwing at the right basket. Course has some elevation change but not a whole lot. Most anyone should be able to get around the course. The course is completely over grass and the parks department does a good job of keeping it cut during grass growing season. Since the grass is usually fairly low you can usually throw some roller shots if want to. Park is very close to Interstate 81 and bathrooms are available except for winter months.

Parking can be a problem occasionally when soccer, baseball and football field are in use for rec league games. Most of the time there is plenty of parking. The ground on holes 5-9 can be somewhat damp and soft after heavy rains as the holes are near a wetlands area. Hole 5 is the most likely to be wet. The course does not make a loop and it is a pretty good walk from number 9 back to the parking area. To get back you can replay hole 3 or make a long hole back to hole 3 from the number 9 basket if no one is using the pavilion and surrounding area.

This is a good course for new and recreational disc golfers Advanced and Pro players will most likely find Greenfield, Sontag and others more to their liking. However, the area is pretty open and better players can lengthen the existing holes as well as create their own course. The course was originally installed in 2007. In 2011 it was redesigned to accommodate the reopened soap box derby track. The tees were white plastic poles which quickly disappeared. In 2015 a group of Boy Scouts redesigned the course. The course now has clearly defined tee areas and tee signs showing the hole and distance. Valkyrie Kid - Hollins is not in a time warp. The track is not used for soap box derby. It is where the aliens land to supply us with the latest discs. You sort of were in the twilight zone. The last shipment arrived August 21, 2017 at 2:40 PM. The next shipment is arriving April 8th, 2024. It's a long trip.