Prescott, AZ

School House Gulch

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35(based on 7 reviews)
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4 0
SportJester
Experience: 12.8 years 2 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Recreational Fun in a Great Setting 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 12, 2020 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- Easy to find (and School House Gulch Road is paved well past the course parking).
- Plenty of parking on both sides of the road.
- Nice route, nice variety of long and short holes, though no truly difficult holes.
- Mostly straight holes. A bit of elevation here and there. Most tees just a short distance from the previous hole (and no tees are a long walk).
- Holes are a scenic blend of ponderosa pines, boulders, and limited scrub bushes.
- Course starts and ends within a couple hundred feet of the parking area. Hole #1 runs parallel to the south side of the road, from west to east.
- Plays great just a week after a 3" snowfall (even with plenty of snow on the ground).
- With two rounds at this course in the past few weeks, I haven't had to look for a disc for more than a minute (and I throw some wild tee shots)
- Great for families and not crowded (we'll see if this is true for spring and summer)
- The few people we've run into on the course have been very friendly.

Cons:

- Course routing isn't too difficult but the painted trees and rocks used as aids need a paint refresh. When in doubt, scout for worn paths and footprints.
- Dirt tee boxes get muddy and sloppy after rain and snow.
- No baskets (though I enjoy the variety of fat and skinny trees as targets).
- No amenities (benches, trash, water, restrooms)
- Wild tee shots most often land in open areas, almost always keeping par in the mix (I guess some people might consider this a pro).

Other Thoughts:

- Pretty easy course with enough trees to make it interesting.
- Nice two-mile(ish) hike on mostly moderate terrain. Only a few holes require uneven climbs up and down the boulders.
- Well worth the 10-minute drive from Prescott.
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2 0
trevzilla
Experience: 23.8 years 53 played 10 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Very Fun Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 17, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Lots of interesting shots. Good elevation change on several shots, tees are in good spots making challenging shots.
-Pretty open. Due to the controlled burn, discs are pretty easy to find.
-Boulders come into play a good number of times and they are certainly a fun challenge to play around and off of. Hole 13 is pretty memorable!

Cons:

-No tee pads or holes. At least the trees that have been spray painted are the only ones that this has happened to. I'll play the course because it is quite fun, but seeing spray painted trees instead of baskets is a little bit of an eye sore. The natural tees are mostly good, but there are a few that are difficult to find, and difficult to find footing. Not many though.
-No Signs at all. All in all the course is decently easy to follow. Tee 3 is a little awkward, but besides that it should be no problem.
-There are good things with the burn, and bad. Sadly with the controlled burn there are some pretty ugly burnt logs laying around which is kind of an eyesore.

Other Thoughts:

This course has a lot of potential. If the disc club can pull together some money and install baskets, this could be one of my favorite courses. The scenery is nice, it's not too busy, and it is much cooler here than even in Prescott. A nice place to go get a reprieve from the heat!

I certainly recommend playing this course. You won't regret it!
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6 0
chillis
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 23.8 years 103 played 28 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Good fun, great potential! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 27, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Great setting in a scenic area! Very clean. Tall pines and cottonwoods dot the landscape. Boulders everywhere come into play often as basket guardians and you climb up to tee off of a few. Some downed branches and sticks but largely free of clutter.
-Course layout is interesting with a good mix of shots you'll be throwing from the tees. Elevation is used wonderfully! Good shot-shaping here, the ceiling isn't open (due to trees) so you'll need to find your own route to the chains and there are multiple ways to do that on most holes. From short tees, the holes range from 250-300ft, with a few <250 and 400+
-Long Tees available on most holes! Playing this layout completely changes the course - tons of fun and great challenge. Highly suggested! Don't believe there are long tees on 1, 13, & 16.
-About 90 minutes from Phoenix maintaining temps 20-25 degrees cooler.
-The potential here is very high. With a little fit & finish, this course would be 4 stars, easy.
-Locals - Low traffic at this course, those I've met are very friendly.
-Wildlife - I've seen deer, coyotes, tons of lizards, birds of prey, etc. I'd watch out for snakes although that's probably rare and seasonal if anything.

Cons:

-No baskets, signs, or Next Tee pointers.
-No tees beyond the natural ones, although the dirt does provide ample grip. I don't like that the logs used to line the tees can prevent an extended follow-thru. Tee on Hole 13 is treacherous!
-Course map doesn't help much. Layout works it's way counter-clockwise starting from #1 which is SSE of the parking area.
-There's only one spot where the fairways intersect - Holes 2 + 3
-No facilities - water or restroom. Don't even think I saw a trash can, so pack out what you brought in.

Other Thoughts:

This is an unspoiled area just begging for it's potential to be realized. With a little polish this course could rival that of Flagstaff.

I'm most impressed with how much fun this course was even though it lacked some of the basic elements I'm used to. The natural tees don't bother me so much and neither does shooting at trees, so if you can get around that then you'll definitely enjoy this course.

See ya out there!
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0 1
EbertB
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Definitely has potential with a little fundraising 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 27, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Fits into a nice sized park area while still feeling like an expansive course
-Seemingly constant breeze adds a nice challenge to your throw
-Secluded, but still sees plenty of players

Cons:

-Lack of actual baskets
-Needs an established course; each hole is easy enough to figure out but it could do with a map/hole info

Other Thoughts:

-Touched up with safety orange spraypaint while we were there, course should now be plenty easy to see. Some holes were almost completely invisible (No.10 in particular).
-Added flag markers to each tee; nothing big but enough that new players can tell for certain what's a tee and what's a square-shaped pile of logs
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4 0
Korrupted
Experience: 13.6 years 9 played 5 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Must Play AZ. Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 23, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is in a beautiful area of the forest. It is very relaxing and the cooler weather makes it a must play for Phoenix Metro players. It has a nice mix of easy to challenging holes. It uses the trees and natural rock formations to create challenges in teeing off and hitting the hole. The elevation changes provide a challenge or help with distance off the tee. The course location will leave you with quiet surroundings and no pedestrians walking through your tee off.

Cons:

There are no baskets, tee signs or "true" tee pads. Spray painted trees are used for the basket. They have the number for the hole painted on with a circle around the top and bottom of the number. The object is to hit the tree between the two circles. Since there are no tee signs you have to guess the distance of the hole. There is no official par, so we played it as a par 3 course. The trees showing the tee pad location are just marked with the tee number. From the tee pad you will need to spot the hole since there are no signs showing hole location. From the hole you have to look around to spot the next tee, which are fairly easy to spot and very close by. Only a few holes have trees nearby spray painted with an arrow showing the next tee box. A few of the trees paint has faded and need to be touched up.

Other Thoughts:

This would be an easy 4.0 course if it had actual baskets and signs. True tee pads would be nice but it does not take away from the course. I did not use a map and was able to navigate the course fairly easy. The directions to the course were correct and easy to find the course. There is make shift parking on the left and right of the road. Once you see the wooden posts used to create the parking area on either side of the road you are at the course. Hole 1 will be visible from the left as you drive in. Hole 18 will be visible from the right side of the road. From hole one you will walk right along the pathway to hole one's tee box. Since you are in the forest there are no bathrooms or running water so plan accordingly. There are also no trash cans so please pack in and out. I found a few glass bottles along the course that I packed out.

Note: If you play this course please bring a camera and post pictures of the course. Our camera died and I was not able to take any. Also if you are comfortable with a spray paint can, bring one to touch up some of the trees that have faded. The color looks to be Safety Orange.
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2 0
naturenut
Experience: 18.8 years 19 played 3 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Prescott Disc Golf 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 6, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great shots through the trees. Narrow fairways. Elevation changes. Hard to lose a disc. Has great potential to improve. Beautiful area.

Cons:

No baskets, just trees with orange tape for most holes, some holes, the tape has fallen off. Difficult to navigate. Tees are dirt with logs surrounding them. Only sign is a spray painted number on a tree near the tee. Difficult to find the course, no parking, just a shoulder on the other side of the road.

Other Thoughts:

On most holes, the tape on the tree will have the words, Hole # pin, Next Tee -->
Follow those more than any map you find online, as they are correct where the map is wrong. If baskets and signs were put in, the course would be vastly improved. Better conditioned tees would be great, but not necessary in most places, the ground is flat for most tees already.
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2 2
Marshall M
Experience: 15.5 years 185 played 4 reviews
2.00 star(s)

School House Gulch 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 10, 2008 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Fun Course, tight lines. Mix of long and short holes. Good use of elevation. About 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix.

Cons:

Dirt tees, mostly marked with logs.
No signs.
No baskets, taped trees.
Best to go with someone who knows the course, or join someone out there that knows where they are going.

Other Thoughts:

If this course was improved (pads, baskets, signs) it would be one of my favorites. If you dont mind playing without baskets, check it out.
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