Port Charlotte, FL

Franz Ross Park

1.925(based on 6 reviews)
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12 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 480 played 245 reviews
1.50 star(s)

thrembo's former home town, and he left the raccoons!

Reviewed: Played on:May 29, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice, large concrete tee pads, only one per hole.
Good Mach 5 baskets, all were in pretty good shape.
Long for a Nine holer, except for the 180' 5th, every hole was 250' to 390'.
Several of the holes had defined fairways, but not all.
A large fence borders the right side of #3 fairway, after almost grip locking one over it, I took a look ... a lot of dark, nasty looking water. Hopefully, the fence will prevent a slightly errand throw, especially since you have no idea the water is there from the tee.

Cons:

No tee signs or any listing of the distances on every hole. They appear to be accurate on the Apps, but there needs to be signage on the course.
Several of the early holes are laid out pretty well, I thought even #5 was not too bad, a sharp hyzer hole, with a tough, but makeable line. Then you come to the Triplets, #6, 7 and 8. Three parallel holes of almost the same distance, 380'-390' and almost no fairway on any of them. #6 goes in one direction, #7 comes back, then #8 back in the same direction as #6. They are so close together, that 6 Tee, 7 basket and 8 are almost side-by-side, as are the corresponding baskets and tee at the other end. It seems they laid out the first five, then knew where #9 had to be and said, "guess the other three have to go here".
As if that wasn't bad enough, there didn't seem to be any trees cleared to make any of these fairways, maybe 100'-150' at a time, then poke and pray. Very little effort put into these three.
After playing #6, I noticed one, then two racoons right next to #7 tee. They didn't seem rabid, as mentioned by JayS, but didn't see me either. I made some noise so I wouldn't freak them out, but skipped that hole and #8, to keep my distance.

Other Thoughts:

There are several other facilities in Franz Ross Park, good looking football/soccer fields and very active tennis courts, the course is located at the back of the park, so there should be very little human interference.
As mentioned above, the first four holes are pretty easy and fun to play, a crushed shell path down the fairway and good shapes. I wasn't sure which way #2 went (mostly straight then right at the cement drain), but would like to play that hole again, once I found the basket.
Its not often you see this much distance in a park 9 hole course, you could get some good practice here, but you could also get frustrated pretty quick here. I wonder what beginners must think as they make their way through the course, "hey this isn't too bad, wait, where am I supposed to go on these holes?"
Its kind of surprising that so much effort (and skill) went into the tee pads, but then minimal hole design and no tee signs, markers or any remnants of such. Most of this could be fixed pretty easily, but the Triplets would have to be reworked.
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9 0
Jaysauls
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.7 years 129 played 71 reviews
1.50 star(s)

At least the baskets are decent 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 26, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

I like playing small, 9-hole neighborhood courses, love to see the designers idea and how they weave a course into a small plot of land. And this plot of land is tiny. When I heard there were holes that approached 400' in length, I was like "Whaaaat? How in the heck do you do that?" Simple - sever lack of imagination.

I think if the designer had gone with the notion of 9 good, solid, unique holes, you might have had something here. But in a typical grandiose vision, instead of 9 well crafted holes, you have 1 good, three decent and 5 train wrecks. So let's give it a walk through...

1 - is a great (for righties) beginning hole. Simple touch shot that takes a little skill. Nice beginning hole.

2 - Almost a good hole. Is it a thing in FL to leave trees in fairways? I mean, take one of the two sets of trees out (1 tree per set) and this would be cool hole. As it is, takes a wee bit of luck.

3 - Decent-to-good hole. Not a fan of fence too my immediate right that you could have a tree kick punt you into never never land.

4 - Nice little soft anhyzer shot. Game me a little spark that the course was going to be alright. That was until the next hole...

5 - Was there an original basket to the right? I mean, that's the direction the tee is facing. But the basket is HARD left, nearly at an angle that you would never get a disc to fly. WTF

6 - I can only surmise, that from this point forward the designer said, "Got three baskets, need three more holes...two a this end of the property, one at the other. There you go, a nine hole course!" Sigh.

6-9 are a lesson in how to absolutely not build a course. They are stupid, dumb, completely without in thought or idea. Just 3 'fairways' with no lines, a ton of trees...Were you mad at the course and wanted to tank it? Well congrats, you succeeded.

Cons:

Most of the course

Other Thoughts:

There is so much promise here. I would redesign after hole 4 and make this a plausible course. First thing I do would be to at least put up basic tee signs. Most of the baskets blend in with the background and can't bee seen from the tee.

Only true excitement during my round is when one of my drives landed near a possibly rabid raccoon.
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10 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.1 years 652 played 629 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Franzia – A Boxed Up Version Of Disc Golf 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 15, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

(2.167 Rating) A tropical style course needing more breathing room.
- RAW BEAUTY - This was far and away my favorite aspect of the course. Perhaps it was my years of living in the lush subtropical Florida jungles, but I just love the exotic nature of palmettos, palms and Spanish moss covered live oaks. Franz Ross has all these features and it blocks out almost all of the built environment surrounding the course. There is one typical missing Florida element however. There are no water features meandering around like at many other courses in this region. In addition, the course was not well groomed for my appearance. The landscape reminded me a bit of unkempt version of Maximo in St. Pete.
- CHALLENGING - I was surprised by the difficulty here. I'm an Intermediate level player whom plays well on technical courses and I think I'd average around a 29 here. Franz Ross is listed as a par 27, on all the sites I looked at. But honestly, three holes are legit par 4s with no chance to get close off the tee due to the twisting high density tree and palm coverage. These are holes (6), (7) and (8), making it a par 30 from my viewpoint.
- BASICS - Concrete tees, adequate baskets and course map posted near tee one. The scale on the map is off a bit, but it's much better than nothing.
- QUICK PLAY - I think a solo should be able to knock out a round in less than 30 minutes.

Cons:

Over zealous design.
- SPACING - This course is a perfect example of trying to delivery too much of a course into too small of space. The first 3 or 4 holes are fine. But man, starting on hole (5) the course starts to get really squeezed. Fairways (6), (7) and (8) are almost on top of each other. If I recall correctly, the approach on (7) is best played through the start of the fairway for hole (8). A couple tees are also way too close to baskets. If multiple groups are playing here, I'd keep my head on a swivel.
- MAINTENANCE - As noted above, the course was not well groomed on my appearance. Which is sad, cause it would look stunning in spots imo. Weeds were knee high all over the place. Searching for a couple minutes is going to happen here and there over the course of a round. Some areas had extensive trash build-up too.
- OVERGROWTH - Due to the general lack of maintenance, One can expect that the far fringe areas will be punishing. Like many courses in this region, there are palmetto bush patches and viney thorny areas to avoid. I'd say the course is not beginner friendly because of this, although there are definitely less friendly examples nearby. Overall, I think disc loss potential is just south of the average course, with most of the thievery occurring when a disc lands on top of a palm.
- CHARACTER - The basics are fine. Respectable baskets, concrete tees and a course map as noted in the pros. Bonus items like a practice basket, multi-tees and alternate basket placements are not present. I think there was one or two holes with seating, but it would be great to have this at every tee.
- UNIQUENESS - Like many heavily wooded South Florida courses, all the variety elements are intertwined using the shifting lines of the jungle. I like this stylistic aspect, but it's the only style here. There are no openish shots or elevation or water features.

Other Thoughts:

I had the privilege of throwing my first round here DGCR members Thrembo and R2sandman. It was Thrembo's first full round since his accident and it was also the last round I've thrown in a group since this review's posting. It's always nice throwing with those that have incite about a local course and how its evolving. Enjoyed it again guys. As for the course, I liked the first 4 holes and I was thinking a solid 2.5... if the ship maintained course. Unfortunately, this ship steamrolled into a sandbar and sank by the end of the eighth hole. Someone else ought to re-image what the ending of this course looks while fixing all the spacing issues. Overall, I give it a strong 2.0. About average among all of the 9 holers I've scored as of this review. I'd say worth a play for those in the area needing a quick round to stay sane. For just about everyone else, The Preserve, should be the go to spot.
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3 2
Pretzelb
Experience: 8.9 years 4 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Work n Progress 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 30, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Easy to get to. Shell path to follow. Nice baskets and tees.

Cons:

Coming from Michigan, I need to get used to these "lil" short courses.. Layout on this course really needs to be redefined. Nice Tee Pads.. Very nice Mach V baskets. As with many of these lil short courses it seems to be a roll of the dice to see if you can make it to the basket w/out hitting trees or scrub. I dont like "rolling" the dice to see if I can make a 20 foot wide "fairway" with 3-6 Palms and or scrub palmetto in the middle to "get through" to the basket. Not much fun. Over all, if youre looking for a place to play and just need a quick round..Sure.But I wouldnt go out of my way to play this one.. Just my 2 cents.
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6 0
prerube
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16.8 years 274 played 235 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Honey, I shrunk Ann Denver Park 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 28, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

9 baskets with concrete tees in an area that is nearly exclusively for disc golf.

The football fields provide a massive practice area. They also have bathrooms and a (warm) water fountain.

Giant map of course at the start, but there are some issures with the map that I will discuss later.

impossible to get lost. the next tee is with in feet of the next basket on most holes.

Cons:

9 holes, many do not have a decent fairway or a fairway that makes any sense. There are many times when throwing over the trees makes more sense than actually trying to follow any fairway.

Holes 5-7 are possibly 3 of the worst consecutive holes I have ever played. Also holes 6, 7, and 8 play parellel to each other.

Hole 5 requires you to pass the basket and come back to putt into a comically low basket. Hole 6 had a cluster of tight trees literally 20-25 feet from the tee. After you pass the instant hazard you find there is no fairway.

Other Thoughts:

Hole 1. is an interesting straight shot under fallen tree that finishes to left . Good fairway and good challenge for an average par3.

Hole 2 is a somewhat S-shaped hole where you can fade to the left for a safe lay up or fade hard to the right to go for the park job.

Hole 3: Winding wooded hole with fence along right. Average par 3 with some high brush, but disc loss is minimal.

Hole 4: Short with narrow opening near basket

Hole 5: Silly J-shapped hole where taking a little risk you can cut half the distance off the hole. Fairway goes beyond basket and comes back. Hole features a fence beyond the basket and a basket that is literally a foot lower than the average basket.

Hole 6: There is a cluster of trees 20 feet in front of the tee. I also think the tee is too far to the left to hit the small opening that is provided using this cheap gimmick. There is no fairway on this hole, it is a create your own adventure.

Hole 7: Impossible to follow fairway on a long wooded and mostly blind basket. The safest route encourages players to play down hole 8's fairway and directly over hole 8's tee.

Hole 8: You can see basket from right off the fairway on this mostly mostly straight to slight right hole, but there is no clear path to take to get even half way to the basket. Tons of broken glass on the fairway.

Hole 9: The basket is tucked behind a leaning tree to make it a blind shot from the tee. It is a short hole, but once again the tee does not line up with the only opening (this time it is a bit too far to the left).

Now lets talk about the map. The map shows hole 4 as much smaller than hole 5, yet the sign says it is 70 feet longer. Hole 6 is much shorter on the map, yet they have the same footage on the sign.

The first time I played this course I had one of the most miserable experiences. I could not review this course without giving it a second chance. Now that I played it twice I can be confident in my choice to not return. Both times there were people who appeared to live in their cars that were parked at the pavillion. The first visit one appeared to be tweeking and tried to play with a group of children I had with me.

I will add a video run through of the course.
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12 0
thrembo
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 48.8 years 242 played 194 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Bungle In The Jungle 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 18, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Our third public course in Charlotte County, FL. Nice new Mach V baskets and adequate concrete tees. It plays through a dedicated area of the park and is pretty lengthy for a nine-hole course and pretty challenging. The course is fairly heavily wooded and fairly tight and techy. Navigation is easy. There is a crushed shell path snaking down the center of the fairways from tee to basket and basket to tees. Also, the tees are close enough to the previous baskets to make finding them a snap. The course is fun and offers plenty of risk/reward type shots.

Specific hole information:

Hole1: Behind the YMCA building near the pavilion by the tennis courts. A tricky wooded hyzer (RHBH).

Hole 2: Start following the crushed shell path and you will see the basket hiding slightly to the right.

Hole 3: Long and through the wooded area.

Hole 4: Straight ahead.

Hole 5: Hard left through some tight woods.

Hole 6: Long. Winding through the woods.

Hole 7: Zig Zags through the woods.

Hole 8: Long with switchbacks. Again, follow the crushed shell trail.

Hole 9: To the left.

Cons:

Our Charlotte County courses are generally lacking in proper tee signage, but hopefully, they are coming. Some of the fairways are close to others and some of the tees are a little close to previous baskets. Some mandos may be needed for safety reasons. This is definitely not a rec course. It will probably be an ok course for noobs though as there is no water and the rough is pretty forgiving.

Other Thoughts:

One of the more challenging nine-hole courses that I've played in a while. Fun and interesting looks and an isolated chill environment make for a satisfying round. The course is still a little raw but should season in well. Practice your Tarzan yell. You're going to need it!
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