Lions (not Lion's) Park
10 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -- Elevation. Lions (not Lion's) Park has beautiful views all around, and the elevation, especially for Texas, is impressive. This is far from the typical city park course.
-- Water is in play. You've got two water carries, a couple of baskets near water and a couple of fairways that play beside water.
-- At the start of hole 1, there is a kiosk, garbage cans and a big concrete barrier that acts as a bench.
-- The concrete tee pads are good and the signs are small metal ones that have the route and the next tee on them. That is the signs that are still there (about half of the holes). And about half of the signs present are difficult/impossible to read.
-- Two sets of pads (my preference over two baskets) for about half of the holes. The longs can add nearly 400 feet to a hole (2) or add to difficulty (5 makes the water carry longer and more difficult; 12 make a RHFH uphill shot longer and a harder turn).
-- In addition to those holes, I really enjoyed hole 13: 239 feet uphill. It's open for the first about 200 feet, and then you've got a narrow gap to a protected basket that is SERIOUSLY uphill.
-- Restrooms.
-- A practice basket (oddly, it is labeled #5), but the basket is not in great shape.
Cons: -- The baskets are Discatchers (my favorites), but many of them are not in good shape.
-- Navigation is difficult. Much of this has to do with missing/unreadable tee signs. I played with a local, so I never got lost, but it would have been difficult to navigate by myself.
-- The course is in a multi-use park, but other than the walking path, it avoids much of the other park amenities. However, the walking path is in play a lot.
-- A couple of tee pads are not level, but this is a minor concern.
-- The final few holes (in the woods) are pretty close to each other and bring the risk of someone getting hit with an errant drive.
Other Thoughts: -- Lions Park reminds me of Michael Jordan -- when he was with the Wizards. Sure he was a good player, but he was nowhere near the player he had been. Based on the land and the hole designs, I can see where this was a 4.0-, or even a 4.5-disc course. Sadly, the tee signs are a mess and the baskets aren't in great shape. This course really needs some TLC. The most-recent review of the course before this one was more than four years ago. Time has not been kind.
-- This 100-acre park features playgrounds, a pond, picnic facilities, softball fields, a dog park.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
I Have No Problem Calling This A Destination Course!
10 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Lion's Park is not in Temple, Texas. I must have taken a wrong turn and ended up in Pennsylvania or somewhere else that has some elevation. Lion's Park is a big, beautiful park with lovely, sweeping views every time you turn around. Driving in, I could see that wasn't going to be the typical, flat golf course type course that I have been playing in Texas for the last week.
I was shocked that when you enter the park there is a sign that reads, "Disc Golf-Throw 1." Did the director let his 8 year daughter design that sign? Is there actually someone working for a parks & recreation department who is that clueless? And how about the supervisory staff who approved it?
At the start of the yummy 1st hole, there is a kiosk, garbage cans and a big concrete barrier that acts as a bench. Well, at least, no one is going to walk off with this bench. I've never seen one of these used as a bench on any course before and now, I think this is the 3rd Texas course that has had them. The concrete tee pads are good and the signs are small metal ones that have the route and the next tee on them. The baskets are Discatchers with many miles on them. There are two sets of pads. The longs can add as much as 360' to a hole (# 2 ) or greatly add to the difficulty like on # 5 or 12.
Back to # 1. The course starts you off in grand style with 1 & 2. # 1 is just a fun 289' downhill with a little hyser needed. Then # 2 from the long tee is 871'. The long tee is uphill a ways so you can watch your disc fly forever. That little speck of yellow you glimpse sitting in the far corner of the field is the basket. You can shorten the hole by about 350' by throwing from the short pad but it's not nearly as fun as the tee is almost to the base of the hill.
I think the course designers did a masterful job of mixing the distances such as the stretch of holes 9-10-11-12 which measure 185'-692'-450 and then my personal favorite hole, # 12, which plays 283' up a beautiful, little hillside to the basket set back in this pretty section.
Cons: For all that I love about this Lion's Park DGC, I do have a few cons.
The navigation is a little tricky at times. It just doesn't flow naturally like some courses. I did appreciate the next tee sign after # 4. I did manage to get semi-lost after # 5 and tried playing to some old basket (# 10) set in the corner and then # 11 playing back to the horseshoe pits before finding # 5, the over the swamp throw.
Then after playing # 21, I went over a played a couple basket across the park road including one with this amazing, really plush green carpeting. It had a # 15 on the side and I know I had already played # 15, a big sweeping 300' anhyser playing hole.
One of my personal course pet peeves are pads that are not level. Lion's Park has a couple. # 1 slants down and the # 8 pad is tilted up.
Players waiting or teeing off on # 20 could possibly be hit with a drive thrown by a player teeing off on 19. Yes, I know it shouldn't happen if the player teeing on # 19 just opens his eyes and players sitting at # 20 will probably should be aware. But here are some really clueless people around. A small fence/wall should be built by the # 20 tee pad. I just saw a safety wall like this, that incorporated a bench and bag holders in it's design. It was very well done.
Other Thoughts: Although not perfect, Lion's Park DGC is a top course. I'd call it a destination course, especially for those who haven't had the opportunity to play with elevation. It's beautiful. It has the elements that players are looking for such as water carries, risk/reward throws, long bomber holes, Ace Runs, technical throws through the trees, greater challenge playing from the longs and some lovely views at the surrounding country. And yes, this is Texas, not Pennsylvania.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
1 Helpful / 4 Not
Pros: Should be a fun and challenging course, if you knew where the tee boxes and baskets were.
Tough walk for mature players.
Cons: This is as poorly marked course as I've played.
Other Thoughts: Simple arrows on the tee boxes and baskets would help
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Like Two Different Courses
7 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This course offers a lot of variety, from wide open bomber holes to short technical holes.
About half of the holes offer two tees. The long tees really stretch things out, offering a couple of 500+ foot holes, along with 692', 800' and 871' monsters. But for the most part these holes are over open ground, so the challenge is strictly how far you can drive.
Two of the alternate tees (3 & 5) are in place to shorten or eliminate water carries over the pond which will be welcome for those with limited distance.
Holes 12 - 21 seem to take you to an entirely different course. Shorter and wooded, with a huge premium placed on being able to shape your drive. Many of the holes require a late right turn to the basket, so RH players will need to tune up their FH!
Hole 18 was a favorite. How can a 300' be a par 4? From the teepad the basket is visible way off to your right, but there is a mando in front of the tee that must be passed on the left! Your first shot simply positions you at the throat of a wooded fairway that runs 90 degrees to the right toward the basket. Interesting hole for sure.
Concrete teepads are in good shape. Baskets are showing their age with a good bit of rust, but catch fine. Tee signs are getting rough with enough for fading to be an issue.
Cons: I enjoyed the second half of the course more than the first. The open holes are long and open, and so become "driving range" type holes. Little challenge beyond the distance.
The pond at Holes 3 and 5 is pretty nasty. Discs landing even a couple of feet out are immediately invisible.
Many of the tee signs are faded to the point where detail is lost and a couple are missing.
There is a busy walking trail that runs throughout much of the course. On a weekday morning I found myself waiting to drive several times.
Other Thoughts: Large parking lot with restrooms located near the first tee and the 21st basket.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Lion's Park
3 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: My three pros:
+ nice variety of holes with water, elevation and tunnel holes
+Decent signs showing the hole number and somewhat of an image of the hole
+Concrete tee pads and somewhat obvious course flow
Cons: My three cons:
-The front of the course is in a low spot which led to serious flooding and lack of drainage which made several holes unplayable.
-There are signs throughout but most dont show the basket location due to fading, so i ended up walking several holes to spot the basket. Others said the navigation was easy but i got a little lost around 10 & 11 and walked around aimlessly looking for the baskets to find none which was really frustrating after having to skip the flooded holes...
-The course plays next the walking trail and road for many holes and #5 plays next to a playground that i couldnt see due to a big tree. I could see there being several conflicts with other park users
Other Thoughts: I really wanted to like this course but the flooding and invisible #10 & 11 made for a frustrating start to the round. Top that with 20 MPH wind leading to a birdie free round and i left feeling less than great about the course. I imagine on a normal, dry, less windy day the courses cool features shine through. Hopefully i get a chance to play the course on a better day but i usualy only get one chance to play alot of courses and my one time thru here wasnt so great...
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Seemed like the front had dried out very nicely, so no flooding to report.
The course is very challenging. Long holes, short holes with hazards like water and woods. Good Variety of shots. Backhands/Forehands. Great use of the hillside on the front for a nice scenic and elevation changes. Baskets are in great shape. Everything was very well marked in my eyes. I am not from Temple area and I had no problem navigating the course. It was very pleasant and I would DEF play again.
Cons: Having to cross the paths in a couple of places meant I had to wait for the other people to enjoy their walking/running/etc. I hope that anyone reading this knows that we SHARE most parks and that disc golf is just one of the MULTI uses of most parks. So be patient and let the doggers dog and the joggers jog before you huck. Some of the holes just seem to be dropped into some open areas with no real reason. Just huge open areas that could have been more thought out, but if you have a huge arm, you might enjoy chucking down an open field for 900', but I thought with all the open space a more thought out couple of holes would be nice.
Other Thoughts: I loved this place. A beautiful setting. Goregeous and well maintained. Thanks for all the efforts in getting this course set up and for taking such good care of it.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Better of the two temple courses
5 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Lots of variety. 1-11 are mostly open, 12-21 are like playing a totally different course. I really enjoyed these more technical holes. My favorite was 17. 220 ft to an elevated tee surrounded by trees. Came very close to an ace on this one
Cons: Navagation is tough for an out of towner like myself playing the course the first time through. After 2 I was a little confused about where to go next. Also after 9 I had mistaken the 12th tee for number 10. Some next tee signs would be really helpful in a couple of spots. Also I had to skip #3 and #6 due to both hole being completely submerged in water. Luckily it's 21 holes, so I still got plenty of disc in.
Other Thoughts: Don't know how common the flooding is on the front 9. If they maybe moved these holes to less flood prone areas, and made the navigation a little better I'd easily bump this course up to a 4.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Lions
1 Helpful / 6 Not
Pros: Nice sidewalks for 12 holes, terrain rolling. Front 11 open, back 13 wooded., concrete teeboxes, signage good. grass maintained.
Cons: some long distances with small pars
Other Thoughts: One of the local favorites. Shorts for me as I am new player. Enjoy the challenges.
1 of 7 people found this review helpful.
1 Helpful / 4 Not
Pros: This course was great, it had alot of challenge. There is a good mix of open holes as well as wooded and water holes.
Cons: A few very long holes with low pars. Some other events going on at the same time, however they were not set up in the way of the course.
Other Thoughts: We will be back to play here again!
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Temple's Best DGC
9 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This is the best disc golf course hands down in the Temple area. It features many challenges such as baskets on hills to putt to, throws over water, and even open areas to air a few discs. Without going into too much detail, I will mention the holes I personally liked. Hole 3 with its 150 foot throw over a pond to the basket 198 feet away was good. Hole 12 with its throw to an elevated basket was interesting. Hole 17 as well, just not as long. And hole 18 with its curving fairway to the right was a challenge as well as the tree dodging that had to be done to get to the basket.
Cons: First off, most of this course is open and the first 11 holes are scattered through most of the park. This means a disker has to always watch for walkers and runners on the sidewalks. I played early in the day, so I had few problems with this. That said, I did come close to somebody with one of my throws, but they were still far enough away I did miss them. There is always a surprise at these courses sometimes. There is nothing worse than playing a hole and making the required throws to find there is no basket there to play to. This happened on hole 14. That basket is missing. I imagine its been stolen. Not that that would matter, considering you still have 20 other holes to play here. It is just so frustrating when that happens. It is good practice to make the throws, I guess.
Other Thoughts: This course had several good challenges. I could not see me giving this course more than a 3, though. There are just so many others I have played that are just as good, or better. This is a good course, I am sure for the local people, and I did enjoy my round here overall. Nice park, interesting course.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.
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1 
12/22/2021 
12/28/2021
Review By: aclay 
This review was updated on 1/5/2022
Hole #8 
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