Chill Bill
8 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: If you want to get a bunch of birdies, but Epic is too flat, you may need to play William Yates Sprint. It has hilly runs. Short and more wooded on the front nine, and mid range and pretty open on the back nine. A novice level course with a layout that allows development of controlling accuracy, distance and playing on elevation changes. There is a small creek in play on a hole or two, and OB in several places.
I had fun playing this one once, but it won't provide any kind of challenge to an experienced player. Hole 2 was probably my favorite of the round. It's an elevated tee, playing over a fence at the bottom of the hill, then up the next slope to a basket that is protected by a thicket of trees and brush. You could probably play it to either side, it's going to take a great shot somewhere to make. a birdie on this one. Hole 4 gets into the heavier woods but the distances aren't blowing out the arm. Up and down the hillside with some directional throws until you get to the tee for 12. At that point the distances stretch a little, and the lines open up a lot. The last few holes have roads in play, which I suppose would play as OB.
Hole 6 was also kind of fun. It's downhill, and the creek runs just in front of the basket. A bit of an all or nothing tee shot. I was lucky and skipped over the creek and under the pin. Not that there was much water in it, but I was glad to stay dry.
I definitely liked the front 9 better because of the tighter lines increasing the need for precision. The back 9 is fairly wide open, with the elevation and OB keeping it from being flat out boring. It does play slightly longer as well, so the youngsters can work on the distance. It's a fast course that doesn't require the full arsenal of discs.
Cons: The tees are not terrific, nor are the signs. Photos and map posted on DGCR are out of date. Some of the tee to basket combos are not entirely clear. The signage has a lot of room for improvement.
Being on a school campus means nights or weekends only during the school year. The level of challenge is pretty low. Too many shots that play near playgrounds, roads and fences.
Other Thoughts: It is an 18 hole layout, and the terrain makes for some fun throws. I live too far away to travel here for a casual fun round. If I go back, it will only be to get some pics of the current layout and update the DGCR page. If you are a serious player, go to Wilbur Young and earn those birdies.
I was 6 under on the day here. 9 birds, 3 bogies and 6 pars. OB on the last two holes ended my day with a down note. Still had fun seeing a new course, but it isn't one to seek out when you're only out to play the best courses around town.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.
Good trees, good elevation... but still lousy holes
8 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: William Yates features a wooded front nine and an open back nine, with some elevation on nearly every hole. A small recent redesign gives multiple teepads on a few holes, more dirt or rubber tees (instead of just grass), and use of some previously unused areas (like a new longer tee on 3).
For the most part, the front nine is a good way to introduce a new player to a technical course. The holes aren't too long, so anyone without much accuracy won't get overly frustrated. But there are a variety of shot shapes, elevation changes, and challenges.
There is some uniqueness here. There's one raised pin, one island green (and another one if you call 16 an island), angle control on 1, and distance control on a few downhill shots. These challenges may not be too interesting for more experienced players, but they certainly reminded me of some similar challenges at other courses. As a result, a newer player can have a good experience on these holes.
Cons: I know there was little room to work with, but parts of the course left me shaking my head. A few tee shots are super strange, namely holes 5 and 7, though different pin placements or tees may have been better than what I played. Hole 18 has a dumpster in the way, and you're throwing across a fence on hole 2 (the fence doesn't block the tee shot, but it is a bit strange). Finally, the holes on the hillside behind the school (12 - 15) make very little sense. The flow is weird, and playing the baskets the way they look like would produce one super-short hole, and at least one crossing fairway. I adjusted the tees and baskets to something that made more sense.
Because the course is cramped into such a small place, some aspects are a little odd. Hole 6 looks good until you realize a good drive ends up in the creek. That's not how holes are supposed to play out. The area around the tee of 6, baskets of 7 and 8, and the tee of 9 has a bunch of tees and baskets in the same area, and I was constantly guessing if I was in the right place. Some drives course easily fly over adjacent fairways. In addition, holes 10 and 11 are... strange; I don't have a better word to describe them.
An errant shot could easily end up on a playground (hole 1), basketball court (hole 3), and several roads (14, 16, 17).
Oh, and the holes are all really short. I didn't always notice this on the front nine, since there are plenty of trees, and the holes on the back nine are a little longer and have more extreme elevation change, but there wasn't enough variety.
Other Thoughts: Basically, while there were some good design decisions here, the fact remains that there's just no way to do a proper course here without running into a lot of issues. As a result, this probably should have been just nine holes, or maybe nine baskets with two tees for each hole. That would have let the course keep its variety and ability to have several groups of students on the course at a time but still remove the most boring holes, weird holes, and holes that overlap with each other or other infrastructure.
This course certainly has its merits, but its age is showing and there is enough that's just not good about it that I have a hard time thinking this will be on many people's go-to list. I'm sure it's great for students at the school, but there's not much else.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.
A small redesign... didn't do much to help
7 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Nice new DisCatcher baskets.
The flow from hole to hole is really well done on the first half.
Holes 4-10 are really nice wooded holes, even if they are a bit short.
Even on the far less interesting 11-18, the hills do make it difficult to get everything right.
17 has an island green. I like island greens.
The tees don't erode very badly for being dirt tees.
Cons: The tee for holes 13-18 are marked by brown signs, and they're just grass tees.
There's an extra hole between 10 and 11 with an unmarked basket. Got pretty confusing cause the tee sign still said 11. So... when you get to hole 11 you have a lot of options.
There's a lot of elevation change... but it's not very enjoyable or challenging.
A lot of the holes are very similar and kind of run together when I think back on the course.
Having played a second time, it looks like maintenance isn't all that great on the foliage
Other Thoughts: Overall, this is a fine course. Nothing special, but the wooded holes are worth coming back for once or twice.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.
william yates elementary
1 Helpful / 3 Not
Pros: mostly par 3, most under 300 ft., short but fun and challenging course. For all abilities.
Cons: older course, #15 tee pad missing alone with the post.
Other Thoughts: nice fun short course. most holes less than 3 hundred feet. still challenging
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.
William Yates
1 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: If you want a quick round this ia a fun short course. Easily playable with 1-3 discs. Nice use of elevation, trees and the space available.
Cons: Signs broke/missing. Basket on hole #13 was missing. Hours of availability (understandable because it is built around a school). Can be slightly confusing to navigate the first time out.
Other Thoughts: I feel that this course can be played with just a putter if you want. All that was needed for to cover every situation were a Buzzz SS, Firebird (couple of RHFH shots) and Judge.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
A little, bitty gem
4 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: - yes, the holes are short but they are NOT a bunch of ace runs
- excellent use of trees and terrain to put the focus on accuracy and placement
- clean and reasonably well-maintained
- several shots where baskets are on slopes requiring you to not just get there but land right to avoid rolling away
Cons: - cannot be played during school hours (really only a minor thing, though)
- some holes on the front may be difficult or unplayable if there's been a lot of rain
Other Thoughts: Google maps will take you to the North side of the property. The parking is on the South side and the neighborhood streets aren't a grid, so check the map carefully. This course is on a children's playground, be aware of your throws and the kids that will be playing around you. The property is marked with bans on alcohol, drugs, paraphernalia, and cussing. Cops patrolled while we were playing on a Sunday morning.
While the course works hard to avoid being a cakewalk, it is a fairly quick play. Our card of 5 played the whole thing in 1.5 hours and we weren't hurrying. So, we played a second round using only our mid-ranges. Regardless of its short stature, this is a fun course.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.
a couple new improvements
4 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Being a school course there are issues with funding and sometimes you have to be patient or creative to make improvements. We have been waiting on volunteers to help out with certain issues and in the last year there has been some major improvements. EPIC church has been very helpful with work days and have formed strong ties with the course. New tee signs were installed thanks to an Eagle Scout project. Also, a second row of inner chains were added which helps out tremendously and even though the baskets are DB5's they do catch very well now. These chains were donated from a local parks department that replaced their older rusty Discatcher chains. We are glad to have any chains, rusty or not.
Cons: Limited hours of use for public due to course being closed during school hours. However, this course was installed for the school kids first as the primary users and second for everyone else.
Other Thoughts: William Yates Sprint DG course has been in the ground for ten years. Numerous children have learned to play here. We appreciate the school district supporting disc golf and when they make changes to the land out there, they have continued to be mindful of the course and try to protect its integrity.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Great Junior and Beginner course
4 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This course has a lot of elevation present, especially considering it's on school property. It is also used with a great variety of uphill, downhill, and valley holes. 10/10
They did a great job of using the obstacles that they had in such a small area to make a good 18 hole course. They could have maybe made a 9 hole course with more length and still had junior tees that were just as short or have 3 tees, but considering the intent it's 9/10.
There is a good variety of openness on shots, holes 4-11 are through the woods, and the rest are more open, but still have enough hazards to make the holes interesting. My only complaint here is that the variety is not mixed in very well. 8/10
There is actually pretty good variety in the distances of the holes, there just aren't any long ones (except for 14 kind of). Most of the front nine is quite a bit shorter and then the back nine has a little more length. 7/10
Discs are generally pretty easy to find. The brush in the woods is a little thick in some places like hole 4 and 17, and the tree line to the right of 15 and 16 could eat discs too. 7/10
There is a good variety of shot paths required here. Holes 2, 10, and 16 are right to left, while 3, 5, 11, and 17 are left to right. 7/10
The course is mowed very well, but the tees and signs are deteriorating a bit and there has been some litter both times I've been there. 6/10 on course maintenance
Navigation between holes is okay. The third tee was a bit hard to find, and I had some trouble with 14 and 17 as well. Some are on walking path's or the asphalt playground (5, 14, and 18) which makes them a little harder to find. Overall 6/10
There are some holes that force you to make decisions about how to play them. This is more true from hole 14 on, but is present a few times on the front nine too. 6/10
Cons: I saw two posts set up for alternate hole positions, but most only have one setting. (There were also two baskets set up for 18, not sure if one was a spare in case another got damaged?) 1/10
The baskets only have the one ring of chains and the tees are small and gravel for the most part. The size isn't too bad since it's so short so you don't really need much of a run-up, but they could use some evening out. 3/10
Navigation on the holes themselves was probably good when the course was new, but now some of the tee signs are missing or the maps are illegible. On some holes it's not much of a problem, but on hole 1 for example, you can see 3 baskets from the tee that are all about the same distance away. Also I think the first time I played from the 15 tee to the 16 basket without noticing. 4/10
This course will not provide experienced players or players with any distance with a challenge, and is pretty much just good for practicing approaches for these players. It is only for beginners learning accuracy and junior players. Multiple sets of tees help a little, but even the back tees are very short. 4/10 on challenging all levels
Other Thoughts: Overall Challenge 2/10 from shorter tees, 3/10 from longer tees.
The is a good course to bring new players to to let them get a better feel for what longer courses are like without making them throw 400ft holes.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Great course!
4 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Short! Don't have to take hours to play it, does not wear your arm out. Only need putters and mids...and maybe not even the mids.
Good neighborhood! Don't have to worry about your safety or your car.
Variety! Uphill, downhill, over valleys, over rises, along hillsides, open, through woods, and over and by creeks. Different directions, so wind and sun coming from different ways. Basket to the left, right, and straight ahead.
Challenging! Ability to make different shots needed to score well. Long tees increase the challenge, not just the distance. You can one disc this course fairly easily, but it definitely lowered my score when I did; it is useful to have at least one each of overstable, neutral, and understable discs. Several holes really seemed to me to need a mid, rather than just a putter (1, 5, 14, 17, & 18). At least half the holes I really felt that I accomplished something to get par (3).
Cons: Many of the signs are broken and/or missing. Some tees are not in good shape. A few tees are almost not there, some are not marked, some poorly marked. Some of the tees are very short, not allowing any runup. Some places, even with the map, it is hard to tell where to go next. The baskets are not numbered and don't have flags.
Other Thoughts: Not just a walk in the park, what with the hills it is good exercise.
There are a few trashcans scattered around. No benches, but I am considering this neutral, rather than a con, because of the course being so short.
Sign (at tee 5!) says hours are 4:15 to sunset on school days. Other days either 8 or 9 AM (I don't remember for sure) to sunset. There are some other rules which can be summed up by: There are little kids around, so be courteous and behave yourself.
Watch out for thorns of various sizes in the woods and by the creeks.
If I lived closer to this course I would play it often. If it were not for the sign and directional problems I would rate this a 4.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Cute and Short
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Good use of elevation and trees.
Despite the extreme shortness of the course, there are some very good technical shots.
Cons: There needs to be a course map at the start of the course as there are some holes (mainly the first few holes) that are confusing as to which basket is the correct one to throw at.
I believe they could have put some more distance on the holes. If not, a longer 9 hole course would have been nice instead.
Other Thoughts: It was a nice course to play on the way from Wilbur Young (Blue Springs) to Rosedale.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Join Disc Golf Course Review for free to add your review. Have an account already?
Sign In to add a review.
2-4 
5/14/2021 
1/26/2021
Review By: Surge5 
This review was updated on 5/15/2021
Hole #7 (Taken 3/2010) 
Report this Review