Mount Airy, NC

Westwood Park

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1.645(based on 11 reviews)
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5 0
BrotherDave
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.6 years 192 played 188 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Designed by Otis? 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 10, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

You roll into this park and you're like "alright, probably a nice little course in here." NOPE.

This is one of the weirdest courses I've played. Let's focus on some positives:

Pretty good Discatcher baskets. Contains trees. In Mt. Airy so there's nice, hilly terrain. Has tee signs (sort of). Ample parking and easy to find.

Maybe 2-3 fun, technical holes?

Cons:

Natural tees.

The tee signs are every other hole. For some reason, the park I guess was like "Whoa, a sign post for every tee sign? We're not made of money over here. Just put two signs on one post, boom, we save money for half the posts." 9 divided by 2 = no tee sign for hole 9 at all, lmao. The signs are large but also not terribly informative (pfft, who needs distances?).

Man, they shoehorned these holes into this area. Might not be playable if players were on half the holes. Extremely easy to throw to the wrong basket (accidentally played to 4's basket from 2's tee). Absolute head-scratching fairways (hole 3 requires a boomerang to fly the actual fairway).

Beer cans all over the place (Dang it, Otis).


Other Thoughts:

There has to be more suitable land in this park for a course, right? Oh well. At least it's wooded.
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6 0
MrFrosty
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 31 years 764 played 386 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Confused , Even Barney Shot The Signage 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 25, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Well , they put a couple of small courses in Mayberry , I mean Mt. Airy . This is the home of Andy Griffith . You will probably even drive down Andy Griffith Parkway when coming here . The course is set to the side of a multi use park . A park sign directs you to where the course is . There is a nice shelter where you park , which is parallel to the 9th hole fairway . There was a group doing yoga in there when I was playing . The was your basic Disc Golf Rules sign near the first hole . The tee pads are gravel , or supposed to be gravel with wood frames . The baskets were yellow banded Discatchers . The signs were what caught my eye . They are at every other hole , and kind of describe the hole you are on , and the next hole . I have possibly played 700 different courses in my lifetime , and never saw this .There is plenty of elevation here . Many up and down holes . The park is nice , but the disc golf course was overgrown and branches were hanging out in the fairways . I ricocheted off a tree with my midrange and never found my disc in the abyss . The first hole starts with a downhill putter throw . If you overshot it , you will wind up in the overgrowth . Hole #2 is to your immediate right . Most of the holes , besides 5 , 7 and 9 are short . They packed a lot in this little section of the park . The course is a fast play . The only reason it took me 25 minutes to play it was because I spent a few looking for my drive in the grass . Figure a twosome will play this course in about 40-45 minutes . I didn't add the foursome time because I doubt that you can find 4 people to play this course at one time , unless it was a part of Barney's work release program . You will have the course to yourself most times . I was the only one on it when I played . The best hole on the course should have been #5 . It is a gully shot that goes up and to the left and disappears into the woods to the basket about 60' , protected by small trees . The branches of the trees , though , have taken away any possible shot of hyzering into or near the woods , and could swat your drive into a lot of overgrowth on the left side of the hill .

Cons:

#1 Character . The course lacks it . It's appeal will not keep you returning , unless you live within biking distance .
#2 Safety . You feel like you could have put the whole course ( at least the first 5 and #9 ) into a Mayberry jail cell and still have room for Otis . The tee pads and fairways easily creep into other ones and the potential for hitting someone , especially since the only players here will normally be casuals , and close residents , can be high .
#3 Disc Risk .For a short course , higher than normal . I lost mine in the first 5 holes ( Surprise ) . Nature is reclaiming some of this course . It needs a good sprucing up . Opie and his friends can make some good bank by looking and reselling discs .Tell Floyd to " take a little off the top " of the branches and high grass . Someone actually found my disc and called me . They are honest here in Mayberry .
#4 Equipment . Tee pads needing work and to be lengthened . They are way too small . , No kiosk and no course map . Add that in with the funky tee signs and you get a big ,,,,,,,,What The ?? .

Other Thoughts:

The condition of this course seems to be slowly slipping away . What is meant as a nice extra activity for a multi use park , looks to be a little forgotten . This would be a good place to go after visiting the museum close by , or getting an ice cream cone or eating lunch here . It is a nice town with a nice park . I looked over the general area of the course , and since there is much more woods and area here , why wouldn't someone spread this course out a bunch ? Even make it a 12 hole course . Someone needs to step up and take a look at this .
My Recommendation : This course is too short and uneventful to attract a pro or intermediate to practice here . This course is only reasonable enough for a casual living close by , or a newbie trying to figure out the game , or a family that is visiting the park . Otherwise , unless you are a Course Collector , you might want to just give the course a slow pass .
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7 0
nevets4433
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.1 years 62 played 60 reviews
1.50 star(s)

A Beginner's Level Course That is Not Suitable for Beginners 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 8, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

9 nice Innova discatchers are a scattered in a nice piece of pretty wooded terrain. The Westwood Park is a very nice multi-purpose park and disc golf is set aside in an area that offers little interference with the other park activities. The course is easily findable at the end of the parking lot and a solid, informative kiosk ushers players to the first tee. The kiosk even goes so far as to explain that the "2 meter rule" is in effect at all times on this course (though I'm not a huge fan of that rule, at least it is clearly there on the kiosk for clarification).

There is a decent attempt at tee pads, though see below, they are far from perfect. There are also hole signs, again see below. I give the park credit for these attempts, but they are both misguided as I will go into later.

Holes 5, 6, and 7 are perfectly serviceable holes. 5 is a pretty throw from a slight tunnel drive that curls back into the woods on the right. It is a fairly nice design. 6 is a straightforward throw down the hill into the woods, and 7 is actually a good RHBH hyzer throw up a hill. Good shots on these holes felt rewarding.

Cons:

There are a lot of design elements in this course that are a bit concerning. The first 4 holes feel like they are all crammed together into a space the size of a dinner plate.

Hole 1 is a straight 130ish foot throw to an unguarded basket, and the tee is sitting on the edge of the 9th green. It is hard to get excited when the first hole is so bland.

Hole 2 really fooled me. I thought I threw a beautiful drive to the basket on the left, but oops, that was hole 4's basket. The basket for 2 is off to the right and is not visible from the tee. That was a bit unusual to see a basket clearly on the teebox and not have it be the intended target.

Hole 3 is an oddball, basically a semicircle hole. No disc flies that path. It is just a bad hole. There is at least a mando taped to the tree to try to keep players from chopping through the trees. Designs like this just aren't good holes, and I don't think having impossible lines is a good way to get people interested in the sport. Hole 3's tee is also on 2 green which isn't safe.

Hole 4 is an ok throw, a short RHBH hyzer. The green is in play from 2 tee, and unfortunately the basket is a bit mangled.

Hole 5 plays over the far back of 1 green, and hole 6 teebox is located on 5 green. The shot to that green can be blind so that is not really safe.

Hole 6's green has hole 7's tee on it to the left.

Hole 8 tee is somehow on the green of both hole 5 and 7.

I was also a bit confused on hole 9. There is a teebox clearly there, but off to the left in the clearing is a set of neon flags and a matted down area which looks like it is either the new tee or an alternate tee. I wasn't sure what to do there, so I played from the box that looked like the rest.

The teeboxes are a bit of a mess. Not only are most of them on a previous hole's green as noted above, but they are also quite short. They are made of what looked to be packed sand which has really worn badly and they are terribly uneven. Luckily a runup really isn't necessary here on most holes due to the short length

The hole signs are amongst the weirdest I have seen. They are located on every other hole and contain 2 holes each. Take a look at the pictures in the media section. The format is Hole#, Par# so it shows up as H#P#. I'm not sure why they went with the alternating hole format on the tee signs, and I have never seen that before. I suppose they are better than no tee signs at all, but it just seemed weird.

Finally, the hole pars here are way too generous. Every hole is easily a par 3. It is unfortunate when courses heavily inflate the par on holes that are not navigable due to poor hole design (i.e. hole 3).

Other Thoughts:

This course is definitely set at a beginner level. From the very short hole lengths and unreasonably high hole pars, it clearly is aimed at drawing beginners into the sport. The course overall, however, is not at all beginner friendly with the layout issues noted above. I have to wonder if the course designers were actually disc golfers because of some of the questionable design elements. There are too many opportunities for a beginner's wayward throw to cause problems for other golfers.

There was so much available space around this course that I wonder why this loop ended up so short, compact, and dangerously close. I think a much better course could be made here with some tweaks. As it stands, I can see this course being difficult to play if multiple groups are out.
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6 0
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 584 played 536 reviews
1.50 star(s)

For those who prefer an Anny over Andy (or Aunt Bee) 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 26, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Westwood Park is a nice pitch-and-putt nine holer. Located in the hills of Mount Airy, it's good for beginners or a quick round.
- This is essentially your typical, small-town, beginner-friendly nine-hole introductory course. It's a simple, easy course offering some enjoyable holes along with a couple duds.
- The course takes advantage of the hills and woods. This creates some fun layouts. #1 is a short, downhill shot. It's the type of shot where your throw could sail 75 feet past the basket if you throw too hard.
- There is one, truly good hole - #5. It's a down and up shot, starting out in the woods, throwing over a field, to a dogleg right basket back in the woods. It's a solid layout, nice scenery and good challenge. This is the only hole on the course that would be a very challenging 2. It's also the course's only hole that you might possibly see on a more advanced level course. Very well done.
- Course is easy to navigate. Turning into the park, there was a sign for the disc golf course, which led right to the first tee, and #9's basket. From there the holes are all closely bunched together - too much so at times - that there's very little walking from hole to hole. The only slight navigational issue is that the basket for #4 is the one you see on #2's tee.
- Course is great for beginners and casual players. This level of player will enjoy some of the unique hole layouts, such as the triangle-shaped hole design of #3. Without much length and almost no chance of lost discs, even first timers should see chances at birdies here. I brought two discs with me when I played. One was never used, except when I threw a second putt.
- This is a very nice park with plenty of amenities - ball field, picnic areas, walking trails, etc. The course itself doesn't have amenities - meaning benches - but none are needed. It took me 15 minutes to play nine-holes, so there wasn't any need to rest.

Cons:

The biggest problem with the course is that it's too cramped into too small of a space. Because of that, holes overlap each other. Were this course ever crowded, that would be a major issue. When you're the only person on the course - as I was - it's just a nuisance.
- All or parts of holes #2 - 5 interfere with each other. As stated above, the basket for #4 comes into play on hole #2; tee pads for #3 - 5 all play too close to, or as part of, the prior hole's fairway. This park seems to have enough space. Why not spread the course out a little more? With a course aimed at beginners, there will be errant throws. A course like this doesn't need the hassle of people getting hit by discs when it could have been prevented beforehand.
- Tee signs are odd. As others have mentioned, tee signs are listed on every other hole, showing the layout for the current hole and the next hole - #1 shows layout for 1 & 2; #3 shows for 3 & 4, etc. That's a bit different, as in I've never seen it anywhere else. But, what makes the signs almost useless is that they're so vague, they don't provide much help. After the third or fourth hole, I gave up on them because they seemed to be creating more confusion than actually helping.
- I'm a stickler for details, so it's a bit annoying there are no hole distances listed. That would something useful to have on the tee signs, more so than ambiguous pictures of hole layouts.

Other Thoughts:

Westwood course is good for what it offers. It's not meant to appeal to people like me or better players. Who it will appeal to is families, first-time players and casual players. For them, this course is a success.
- That said, I viewed my round here as mostly a series of approach shots. It's a good thing I didn't need to do any run-ups on my tee shots because the pads are dirt and very uneven. This course gave me a chance to throw big hyzer and anhyzer shots more often than I typically do, so that was a positive.
- There were enough adequate holes that this course kept my interest. You can tell the course wasn't designed by disc golfers. That said, holes #1, 5, 7 & 9 were all good enough that it made me overlook the lesser quality layouts.
- Whether at Westwood Park or somewhere else in this region; but, this region is prime location for great disc golf courses. There are plenty of rolling hills in a park like this, and throughout the area. Whether building a course throughout this park, or finding another park in the area, there is untapped potential in the Mount Airy area. As for the course in its current state, it's nothing special. If you're in the area, spend 15 - 20 minutes like I did for a quick round. If not, it's not worth a drive to play here.
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7 0
splatbaseball51
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15 years 182 played 58 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Bring a bag of putters! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 26, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is in a beautiful park with many other amenities including a challenging bike trail (from what I'm told).

Nearly every hole is a putter hole, exception being maybe 5 and 9, depending on your arm strength. If you're looking to rip drives, forget about that here.

With the land that they used, they certainly didn't make these short holes too easy. They still require a certain level of precision in order to be rewarded.

You'll have plenty of chances to hit an ace. If you were to throw this course a few times or even a few discs per hole, I wouldn't be surprised if you hit one nearly every time you go out.

For what is essentially a mini-golf course, this was still pretty fun and something I'd come back to if I were in the area, but not necessarily if I had to drive out of the way.

Cons:

Way too short! There seems like there is a bunch of land out there to be used and this course is crammed into a tiny section of the park. I think someone could really make a decent 9 hole course out here with some more challenging shots that, dare I say, might require a driver.

The tee boxes suffice for this course, but only this course.(maybe Elon park in Charlotte, also) They are entirely too small for dg standards, but since you'll likely be standing still and chucking a putter, they're fine out here.

The signs are among the strangest I've ever seen in disc golf. I don't think I've ever seen each hole sign have the next hole layout on it as well. Just didn't make a lot of sense and I just ignored them.

Even with the course being so small, it is still fairly wooded and hilly and there is a distinct chance you could still lose a disc. Unlikely, maybe, but the hill behind hole 1 has probably claimed a few since it was overgrown when I went. Please be careful and look at the basket on hole 1 before throwing!

Other Thoughts:

This would be a great place to teach someone about the game. Know what you're getting into when you drive out here. Grab a bunch of kids and a bag full of putters, plan a picnic at the pavilion and throw ace runs all day!
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3 1
danhyzer
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 36 years 2296 played 124 reviews
1.50 star(s)

No "airing it out" in Mt. Airy 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 27, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice informative kiosk

Beautiful area, Beautiful park. plenty of parking. big shelter adjacent to the Disc Golf course.

Cons:

2 tee signs at one hole. the one t-sign shows the layout of the hole your playing and the other one is for the next hole, huh? I've never seen that before. and was very perplexed why they did that here. Because it just adds to the confusion. and with no explanation of the wording or abbreviations that the designer uses on the tee sign might have someone thinking, I'm confused, where is the next hole? As the tee sign states H3P4 and then the tee sign below it says H4P4. What the____ does that mean. I mean I know what it meant, but will everyone? http://www.dgcoursereview.com...mp;mode=media

very small tee boxes. I'll say one step throw with my stance.

The very first hole has a basket at the edge of a very steep hill (which to me is cool), but to the novice player that probably plays this course on a regular basis......

Not enough trash cans located on the holes. I didn't see much trash, but considering the type of player who playing this course. I'm thinking that's one reason why there isn't much trash strewn around.

Other Thoughts:

To small of a course with so much more park to utilize. I mean this park is really has potential and someone needs to address this and make this course more than a course for 14 year olds and younger or for a course bagger (like myself), because this is a really beautiful area with a really beautiful park for a good, if not better Disc Golf course to be played on. unlike the current set up. Just as the other course that is nearby (Armfield Civic Center). If you redesign this course into good or really good DG course in the park that is available you'll see bigger benefits from having more challenging Disc Golf courses.
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0 1
AlexD243
Experience: 11 years 5 played 1 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Great Beginner Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 6, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Works on forearm shots, teaches you to drive with putters and mid-ranges, and great for beginners or experienced players that want to birdie and eagle every hole.

Cons:

Small, tee boxes to small, need signs at every hole, and only 9 holes.
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11 0
DSCJNKY
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.6 years 682 played 129 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Barney Fife's Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 24, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- Beautiful Park. Mount Airy is gorgeous in general and Westwood Park is no different. Huge trees, a reservoir, green green grass, elevation, fresh mountain air, etc... It's a perfect place for a disc golf course.
- Punishment for Bad Shots. Even though the course was relatively short, there was plenty of punishment for shots that didn't find the fairway.
- Great FAIRways. The fairways were pretty fair (20' wide swaths through the trees with intended flight paths)... and good looking too.

Cons:

- Clustered. They crammed these 9 Holes onto a postage stamp. There's no need for next tee signs here... since the next tee is literally 10' from the previous pin. Lots of paralleling fairways. In two places on the course there 2 baskets and 2 tee pads within a 70' circle... would be slightly dangerous if more than three groups were on the course at the same time.
- Tee-Pads... Did the "Stand-Still-Bomber" James Nichols design these tee-pads? They might have been 3'x4'. Although most of the holes were short enough that it wasn't a problem... and starting off the back is an option.
- Signage. They had signage (which is a pro), however, the signage was extremely primitive. The biggest problem was that there was one sign for 2 holes, so every other hole had a sign that covered that hole as well as the next hole (weird). No distances were given... and extremely generous "Rec" pars were given (Par 5 250'ers).

Other Thoughts:

- Room for More. There is definitely room to make this course shine. The Park is HUGE, has tons of elevation, water, woods, grass, etc... So much more could have been done.
- My Score: -6 on 9 Holes (using Pro Par)
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6 0
chainmonkey
Experience: 15.6 years 43 played 7 reviews
1.50 star(s)

putter time 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 26, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Good baskets, beautiful park, good signage, a place to play if you are in a hurry and need to get your DG fix and you only have a putter. It gives you a chance to try many different types of shots or throws and will improve you game in the long run a good practice course.

Cons:

Very short, you do not get to give the disc a good toss anywhere. Tee boxes are very small so it is a good thing the holes are short. Somewhat of a Disc Golf version of goofy golf with all the short drives and hard turns even a J hole. Baskets were close enough that from the tee you would see multiple baskets and had to figure out which one to throw to

Other Thoughts:

They tried to cram a lot into a small area, may have done better to use less baskets and multiple tees so some longer throws would be possible
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2 1
MichaelWebster
Experience: 18.2 years 76 played 13 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 10, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Good use of land and elevation considering the designer was cramped into a small space. Good variety of shots and mix of open and wooded land. Most holes are very short but fun to play. The holes are fair and there are a few great risk/reward scenarios for such a short course. The designer did a great job with what they were working with.

Cons:

Tee boxes are way too small. Only a 9 hole course (otherwise would have rated it a 3). Holes are short, but to be expected in a small town with few players. While the holes are cramped, there is never anyone at the course, so you don't have the danger of hitting someone else.

Other Thoughts:

All holes are par 3s to tournament level players. Two of them are very difficult to 2, but possible for pros and some ams. Not worth traveling to play, but fun if you're already in the area.
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2 1
hycard
Experience: 15.5 years 97 played 12 reviews
2.00 star(s)

High Potential 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 17, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

It's DISC GOLF.
Nice surrounding area within local park. Numerous activities nearby...softball, walking trails, biking trails, fitness course, etc.
Although most are very short holes, the winding fairways through the dense woods will challenge new and intermediate players. Elevation changes on every hole as expected in foothill/mountain course.
First, fifth, and ninth hole share common "field" without any danger of crossfire.

Cons:

Two baskets had recently been stolen and one basket damaged. Friendly local players assured this was a rare occurence that would be resolved as soon as new baskets are LOCKED onto poles.
SHORT course yet technical. Played the entire 9-hole course for the first time within 15 minutes.

Other Thoughts:

Would like to see the course extended into surrounding land when possible to allow players from nearby cities reason to visit more frequently.
Current setup could be enhanced with multiple teeboxes for "back" nine play or more challenging tee placements.
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