Grand Rapids, MI

Earl W. Brewer Park - Gold

3.095(based on 23 reviews)
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Earl W. Brewer Park - Gold reviews

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2 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Best of the bunch 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 10, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays through mostly open areas with enough brush to make you hit your landing zones or end up in trouble. This is the only one of the four loops here that punishes errant shots, you can get into some pretty thick rough on several of the holes. There is a little length on this course, offering a few holes over 300', as well as a couple shots that use some gradual elevation changes. The signage is adequate, with hole layout and distance, and the concrete tees are fine. The baskets are older, but serviceable.

Cons:

The final 4 holes play back and forth in a small area. I saw several shots go on adjacent fairways, and a couple that made it 2 holes away. With the popularity of these courses with less experienced players, the proximity of these holes could be a serious safety issue. These 4 holes also are in a low area that seems to flood, there was a lot of standing water both times I visited. The road comes into play on a few holes, that could be a minor issue especially on a windy day. This course feels pretty open and doesn't really make you hit specific lines on most of the holes.

Other Thoughts:

Beginners will find this course a little longer and more punitive than the other loops here, but it's still not so difficult it will frustrate new throwers. More experienced players will enjoy the opportunity to throw some longer shots than the blue and white courses allow, but it doesn't test a whole lot of different skills. I enjoyed the complex with 4 loops off the same parking lot.
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1 1
myhouseinthewoods
Experience: 13.7 years 14 played 10 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Long Drive 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 3, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Long Drives which can make this course a challenge to people who want it
Theres a guy who takes care of the whole park

Cons:

This place can get busy, alot of times during when its a nice warm day in the summer

Other Thoughts:

There is a guy who goes around who collects cans
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1 1
jarnson
Experience: 13.8 years 27 played 27 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Golden of a Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 20, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Good solid 9-holes, some variation among the shape of the fairway, but for the most part, the obstacles on the fairway is where it gets challenging.
- Roughly all the holes are over 300ft. with hole 2 past 500ft.
- Last few holes take you into the trees and brush a bit.
- Provides a good challenge, a really good course for distance, with a slight effect of trees.
- Good tees, cement, with posts labeling the hole, map, distance, and a trash can (or bucket).
- Picnic tables at a couple of the holes.
- The baskets are in good conditions, a few rusted, but overall great.
- Bathrooms near the course.

Cons:

- Too much brush, so you should expect to search a bit once you enter the trees and brush.
- When hot and wet, the area can get muggy and playing can get a little bothersome. Don't let it get you down.

Other Thoughts:

- Overall, a great distance course, but compared to Blue or Red, not as good.
- Again, with all four of the courses, smoking and drinking is allowed. Crowds not so much on Gold, which can be a good thing.

*NOTE: bring crappy discs, or work on hyzing. You WILL need straight shots to avoid the brush.
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1 2
Gyro
Experience: 13 years 17 played 17 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 15, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

The best of the 4 at Earl Brewer Park. A little more open and allows to you air it out a bit more.

Tee pads - good
Baskets - ok
Signs - ok

Cons:

Very busy, and you have to be careful to watch for crazy discs flying at you. Very easy to lose discs here as well.

Other Thoughts:

If your in GR it is worth the stop, but the park is way to busy and the quality is not all that high to make it a destination.
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4 0
E-man
Experience: 14.1 years 22 played 6 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Brewer-Gold 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 8, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Brewer Gold offers holes with a fair amount of distance. All but two are over 300 feet, and one is just over 500 feet. Ever so slight elevation changes are present in holes 1-5. These, along with one very sharp right dogleg, create a few blind holes. Fairways are well defined with punishing rough throughout. A couple of protected baskets add a challenge. One by a large, disc eating bush and the other nestled between some trees/bushes.

-Signs/Teepads/Baskets: Basic signs provide hole number and distance on all holes. Concrete tees are in good shape. Aside from hole #1s "rustbucket", baskets are in decent shape. Garbage buckets are near most tees, and a couple of picnic tables provide rest spots.

Gold is generally the least busy of the four 9-holers on site at Brewer Park, which is a multi-purpose park but the disc golf area is in the back and dedicated only to disc golf. That is a huge pro to me.


Cons:

It is very open, so it favors throwing far over line shaping. This also makes it somewhat boring to me. The flow from hole 1 to 2 is bad. You have to backtrack slightly. A few holes play along/near the main road in and out of the park, so exercise caution.

The rough here is mostly in the form of thigh-high grass in the summer. Some discs may go in and never come out.

Holes 6-9 are set down lower than the rest of the course and can hold water for a very long time. Its not uncommon to have areas of standing water in mid summer.

Other Thoughts:

Not my favorite (White, in my opinion) of the four 9-hole courses on site at Brewer, but it does offer a different type of play than the other three. In fact, all four are different and can be fun in their own way. The park is just east of US-131 and is worth a look from anyone passing through Grand Rapids. It also has playgrounds, soccer fields, and a few porta-johns in the front of the park. Spinski's Disc Golf Pro Shop is right around the corner near 76th & Division.
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2 0
Terry C
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27 years 54 played 27 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Gold 9 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 17, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-cement pads
-Teesigns, old but okay
-garbage bins on most holes.
-nice mix of holes, 1-4 are big bomber holes,5-9 are more in a small cove that has very thick rough surrounding it, it offers a seperate challenge from the first portion of the course.
-Several holes have big distance, Hole 2 is about 600 feet with a row of trees along one side and rough to the other, this is probably the signature hole for this 9.

Cons:

-second half of the course in the cove gets really flooded early in the year and stays that way for about half the summer.
-After playing hole 1 you have to backtrack to hole 2's teepad, kind of a crappy design that makes you have to wait for groups ahead of you to move further on before you can throw.
-several holes play along a busy road, the only road in and out of the park.
-several holes have very unkept roughs to the sides of the fairways, on a few holes if you shank into the rough theres no way your getting your disc back.

Other Thoughts:

This is probably the funnest of the 9's at brewer park. It has a good mix of open fairways with lots of distance required to park shots, you go into a small cove that will force you to throw different shots that are more technical than the begining of the course. If you come to brewer play all 36 holes to get the full effect. Drinking is allowed and brewer gets prety rowdy in the summer months, a lot of people say they wont come because of the overwelming amount of "white trash" and drunken jerkwads who hang out here. Come in the morning if you have kids or want the atmosphere to be more friendly and enjoyable.
The morning is definitely the time to play if you want to play quickly too, at night this whole park gets jammed up and you will be waitng forever behind huge groups on every course here.
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3 0
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
3.00 star(s)

typical brewer 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 20, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Variety-- There is a decent amount of variety here. Long, Short, straight, doglegs, blind, open. There are a bunch of different shots needed here.

TeePads-- Cement, adequate size.

Challenge-- much more than blue, less than white.

Baskets-- reasonable, and newer than white and blue.

Cons:

TeeSigns-- Legible, but hard to follow at times.

Navigation-- hole 1-->2 is a bit difficult, but findable.

Rough-- I personally don't care for brewer's ob's. Long thick swamp grass demands accuracy, or good look mucking through for your disc.

Other Thoughts:

This 9 is pretty typical brewer, with a single caveat. This park is virtually empty most of the time. PEOPLE DON'T PLAY THIS NINE. Not sure why, it's probably the second best course here, after white.
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2 0
rshrevo
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.8 years 45 played 34 reviews
3.00 star(s)

gold 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 25, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Nice Mix of long and short holes. challenging shot selection. errant shots can be eaten up by tall grass, bushes or tress. nice open area to throw in. great for just letting go and throwing long bombs on a couple of holes. Easy to navigate to the next hole.

Cons:

During wet weather or early spring the last few holes become very swampy and you might need bug spray. second hole is on the other side of the bush you throw around from hole 1 and not visible from the first basket.

Other Thoughts:

Nice course overall. not really busy so can play it pretty quickly. good chance to birdie holes on the last couple of holes to try and offset any bogies gathered on the first few holes.
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3 3
sgamerp
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16 years 99 played 73 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 21, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Some long shots, some hard turns makes for not all easy.
Mostly the least busy of all the 9's.
Trees and bushes are in the way on most shots adding for some tougher shots.
Longer drives(500+)
The last two holes are pretty open making it an easy out.

Cons:

the back few holes are pretty mucky and have lots of bugs.
A few holes if you throw in the rough stuf it can be hard to find.

Other Thoughts:

My friend found a disc in the mucky tall stuff which is nice. Probably the over all hardest of all the brewer courses.
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7 0
Jukeshoe
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.6 years 315 played 266 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Solid Gold, Easy Action!!! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 18, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-One of the more open courses at the Brewer Park complex. Well-manicured and maintained, this course tests arm and accuracy as you play through mostly grassy areas. Trees, bushes, and slightly longer rough serve up some challenges.
-Adequate signage, concrete tees, and baskets. Flow is obvious and easy to follow, leaving you back at the parking lot near the beginning of the other three courses.
-Good use of the available elevation (which isn't much). Decent mix of holes.
-Four starting points at the complex allow players to choose the least busy course to play, greatly alleviating backups and slow play on this bustling course.
-Decent length holes let experienced players air it out a bit.

Cons:

-A couple of the holes play through an area that can become marshy or muddy during wet periods.

Other Thoughts:

-Brewer Park is a complex of 36 holes, split into 4 separate 9-holers, each with its own signage and feel. The setup is sort of like a giant clover-leaf, with each course dropping you more or less back at the beginning, ready to head off to another section. Definitely a park to visit if you're in Grand Rapids, although the popularity of this course can make it feel a bit crowded despite the four starting points.
-Alcohol allowed.
-My rating is based on this nine hole course only. If I were to consider all of Brewer Park as one rating, it would easily be a rated higher (in the 3 1/2 disc range).
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4 2
chad groen
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.1 years 42 played 41 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Brewer's Best 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 9, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course has a nice layout which includes trees, bushes, weeds, open fairways, blind tee shots, hills, and a road. The length of the holes vary throughout the course, and each one has its own unique look offering different obstacles and hole designs. This helps give each one fresh feel, making them more fun to play. The fairways are in good shape, like the red course, and the rough can be kind of nasty, encouraging you to throw your disc more accurately (of course, that's the whole point of having a rough, but that idea tends to get overlooked in disc golf). Overall, this 9-hole course has a lot more variety than the other three courses at Brewer Park.

Cons:

The second tee box is kind of hidden behind a large bush near the first tee box, so after you finish the first hole you have to walk almost all the way back. The last 3 holes are a little too identical and seem a little too easy compared to the first 6. Also, you don't want to play the last 4 holes if it has rained recently, because that open field can practically turn into a marshland. The ground splish-splashes with every step, and you can easily step into a large puddle without noticing it. It's not even something you can walk around, because almost the entire field can be flooded.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, I think this is the best of the four courses Earl W. Brewer Park has to offer. It's not perfect, but for a 9-hole course it has a good layout with a wide variety of obstacles that help make the holes more fun and challenging to play.
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3 0
nrohtlaw
Experience: 30.2 years 37 played 9 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Gold 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 1, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Good layout considering it has been changed 3 times.They had to keep the baskets and tee's away from the snobs in the houses.

Cons:

7,8,9,and10's fairways are too close together,and can be wet for about 11 months out of the year.The grass in the rough outside of the mowed fairways can get pretty tall if the park does'nt mow for a while.

Other Thoughts:

Great course to play if you find the rest of the park too busy.Most of the newbies and "wiggers" are too scared to play it.
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1 5
micspa1
Experience: 22.7 years 2 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

micspa1 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

good:sceanery, cages,pads,cut grass,pretty much the best out of the 4.

Cons:

a lot of people but thats not a surprize bc its a good course.

Other Thoughts:

watch out for killer discs.it seemed like every minute someone yelled 4.
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2 2
-johnbob
Experience: 15 years 10 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Golden 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 20, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

This one of my favorites out of the four. It has nice long fairways, kept clean and some grat challenges.

Cons:

Not the parks fault, but the wind.... it does funny things to discs on this course.

Other Thoughts:

Someone should sell discs here, if they do they didn't on the Saturday we we're there, they would have made a killing
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5 0
Azar002
Experience: 18.7 years 13 played 13 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great Partners Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 12, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Least populated course at Brewer, this is a great course to play when 10 of your friends show up to disc. Mostly open, long fairways and doglegs make this course perfect for advanced players. Gold definitely improved when they shuffled some of the holes around in 2008. Deuce opportunities on #8 and #9 can make up for early bogies.

Cons:

Holes 6 through 9 stay wet until mid summer. I played it mid May 2009 and barely soaked a sock by stepping lightly at the right spots on #6.

Other Thoughts:

The long grasses between #4 and #5 can eat up a disc and call a search party, but it is much better than before 2008 when half the holes threw over the tall grass.
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1 5
JojoXGooch
Experience: 16.7 years 4 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Brewer Golds. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 1, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Usually the least crowded. Very open, cement tees, baskets, variety of friendly locals.

Cons:

Unless it's very hot out, it's more likely than not that the last few holes are flooded or muddy.

Other Thoughts:

Be prepared to wash your shoes if you're an idiot like myself and play it anyway in early March.
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3 0
xrockfistx
Experience: 17 years 19 played 15 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Updated Course Still Fun! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 17, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Varitey of long a short shots. The first few holes are very long where as you get to the back portion they get shorter. Never busy because, people are afraid to play in the back. If it rains, it's really wet back there sometimes but, it's not too bad. All of the holes have concrete pads now so it's not super muddy.

Cons:

Early in the season, you can't play it because it's still wet from melting snow and rain. This one always seems to have the most bugs so, bring spray.

Other Thoughts:

Like playing it because, it's far away from the crowds.
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9 0
landon77
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.5 years 78 played 43 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Improved and challenging! Beginner to Intermediate level 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 3, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Earl Brewer Park has 4 nine hole courses on this property.
Each course is somewhat unique and offers it's on set of challenges.
The course is well maintained and taken care of a big improvement from just a few years ago.
The property has a soccer complex as well as a park area for the little ones.
Dog friendly, ample parking, somewhat decent signs, and benches to sit on.
Easy to find off highway 131.
Ample parking.
Very clean and an excellent area made for disc golf.

Gold is pretty challenging and scenic, has decent variety with woods, water (swampy), and wide open fairways.
Gold is very long with mostly wide open grip and rip drives.
Updated and improved in 2008 adds extra fun factor for efficiany between holes.
Big throwers will love this course!
Least busy of the 4 courses.

Cons:

There are a few con's on the GOLD course. Signs are decent but this course is the least played and also not very well marked. If your playing for the first time you might find some holes hidden and difficult to find and locate. Some baskets are hidden behind tree's. If there is a rain of any sort there seems to be flooding issues especially with hole #5- through #8.
There are speed traps by cops here.

Other Thoughts:

Respect the leash law because this area is high traffic.
Out of the four courses at this excellent park Gold would be my first choice to play.
Gold has excellent variety with some good elevation mixes as well as some very long holes. For me it is the most challenging of the 4 courses.
Improvements within the last year have made this course in my estimate the best out of the 4 courses.
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4 4
MountainMan
Experience: 43.9 years 104 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Confuzzled, but nice mix. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 1, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice mix of holes.

Cons:

Sometimes confusing layout where it mixes with the Red course. Some wet/muddy areas. This and the Red course could really use some directions to the next tee.

Other Thoughts:

Better hole maps or color coded baskets would really help. #3 (or maybe #2) has a big red marker on the basket despite this being the gold course.
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7 0
FoleyT
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18.8 years 86 played 84 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Major recent redesign 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 25, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

One of four 'color coded' nines at this 36 hole course. Recent renovations to the 'Gold' nine have improved this course tremendously. The last four holes flow much more smoothly, and make better use of a frequently 'swampy' area of the park. Most of this course moves through open grassy areas, with some slight protection of the baskets by surrounding shrubs and trees.

Cons:

Some of the holes come uncomfortably close to the roadway, and some of the rough can be hard to find discs in.

Other Thoughts:

In the recent renovations to this park, Gold saw the most changes, and it has been for the better in my opinion. Depending on the weather this can be one of the more challenging, or less challenging of the four nines at this park. Windy or Wet conditions make this a different challenge each time you visit.
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