Live Oak Gold
10 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -- Championship course with a clear target audience: If you don't have length and accuracy off the tee, you'll be frustrated unless you are a masochist.
-- Excellent map at parking lot. Gold (long) tee pads are concrete and generally in good condition.
-- Restrooms on site at the ballfields.
-- Signs (at long tees) are excellent.
-- Good range of distances: From the long tees, 9 holes are longer than 500 feet (4 longer than 600) and 7 holes are shorter than 300 feet.
-- Water is in play on a few holes: Two throws over a small drainage ditch (you can clip a tree or low branch and end up wet), a basket near the drainage ditch and No. 18 basket near the pond.
-- Course doesn't favor one throwing style (RHBH, etc.), but having a variety of shots is required to score well.
Cons: -- Two tees are listed on the map for 11 of the 18 holes, but the "silver" tees are simply bricks/stones in the ground, and I only found two of those 11.
-- Trees are everywhere on many holes: right, left and above. In plenty of instances, the trees are also in the fairway, creating something of a "throw-and-pray" feel on long holes. Unless you play very conservatively, expect to spend time searching for your discs (and maybe losing a couple).
-- NO elevation.
-- Navigation is not the best. Squiggly lines on the map indicate trails to tee pads, but that isn't clear to a first-time visitor, and there are no navigational aids on the course. I spent WAY too much time looking at the map, and I still took a few wrong turns. For example, when you finish 1, you cross the road to play 2, which tees from the other side of the drainage ditch. As you head that way, you see a bridge crossing the ditch. Your path takes you across the No. 2 fairway and into the No. 6 fairway. The intended path (unmarked on the course) is a left turn on the sidewalk as soon as you cross the road to a path to the right that leads you to the No. 2 tee. Finding the No. 4 tee is also something of a challenge. The natural path from the No. 3 basket takes you to the No. 6 tee.
-- There are also some safety issues: The 6 tee is less than 30 feet from the 5 basket, and the 6 basket is basically in the No. 7 fairway.
-- Map and tee signs don't always agree. For example, map says 443 feet and tee sign says 585 for hole 3.
Other Thoughts: -- Finishing with two long holes (both longer than 600 feet) that are mostly open will either feel like a welcome reprieve or make you think you've stumbled onto another course.
-- Hard to count off for bugs, but the mosquitos here are the worst I have ever encountered.
-- This is a difficult course to rate. I am about an 800 player who doesn't have a big arm but who doesn't mind a serious challenge. I got frustrated by the length and narrowness of many fairways. Some people will enjoy that, and others will get so frustrated that they will walk away.
-- Course is one big loop and doesn't return to the parking area during the round.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Nice complement to the Red Course
9 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Cement Tee pads
signs on most of the holes (there were a few that were damaged/missing
Several good 2 shot holes
Mostly well defined fairways
Cons: Not much elevation
Kiosk map at parking lot has been destroyed.
has a couple of long wide open holes that kept me from rating this course a 4
Other Thoughts: I need to point something out first. This course is the "Gold" course, it was built to be a championship caliber course that is in the same park as a "Red" much shorter and easier course. Because most Disc Golfers are recreational players, this course does not get played as much and it shows. While for the most part, the fairways were defined, there were spots of overgrowth. At the end of winter, these should not be there in a well maintained course.
This is the 2nd Mike Olse course designed I have played that I know of.
You start off with hole one, a hard dogleg to the right, this is a true 2 shot hole. You want to throw a shot down in the open to get a good upshot to the basket. There are several smaller trees guarding the upshot so the drive is very important for a 3.
Hole 2 is across the road and across the creek. I had to use the map to find the tee. Just a simple little bird shot.
Hole 3 is a dogleg left. Lots of tree's make this one tough to get a 3, a lot of luck here. Just stay in the fairway.
Hole 4 was also a little hard to find, walk down the ball field fence line and you will see it. It is a good right to left shot with a ditch behind the hole.
Hole 5 is a little bit shorter left to right shot. There are just enough trees and rough to make it hard to see the basket off the tee, but the area around the basket is relatively open.
Hole 6, this one is tough, you have two tight lines just to get to the ditch, then the basket is farther across and to the right. Hit a tree early and you are looking at a high score on this hole.
Hole 7, another 2 drive hole with many small tree's in the fairway. More open than a tight hole, it is still a tough 3.
Hole 8 is a nice left to right birdie opportunity with almost no trees in the fairway.
Hole 9, another long hole with a right to left, then left to right doglegs to the basket.
Hole 10, semi tight off the drive, but wide open the rest of the way.
Hole 11, another really short must get 2, basket is behind a nice little grove of trees.
Hole 12 tight fairway, don't try to over throw this one, just get 1/2 way and throw your upshot for a 3 Lots of smaller trees in the way.
Hole 13 Another tight fairway with the basket off to the left.
Hole 14 ate my lunch. This is a crazy hole, very tight off the tee, the fairway goes off to the left. Then it goes off to the right. Then you still have to throw around some guardian trees from left to right. This was my worst played hole on the course. I feel like I hit every tree and could not stay on the fairway.
Then you walk back a little for a sweet little hole 15 throwing over a laying down tree.
And then you get the 3 boring holes that contribute to this course only getting a 3.5 instead of a 4.
Hole 16 is a longer right to left shot down along the tree line. The Basket is up in the trees, but wide open to get too. Just don't throw it tight and you can get an easy 3 here.
Hole 17 is just long because it is pretty much wide open for 90% of the fairway. There are zero trees in the fairway until you get to the basket that is guarded on the left and the right forcing you to throw straight at it or spike it. (over head players would like this upshot)
Hole 18 again, is pretty much wide open with only a poll and pond as obstacles. With the wind coming off the coast most of the year, you have to watch your right to left hyzer shots, the wind will pick up your disc and goodbye, it is in the middle of the pond. Basket is less than 30ft from the edge of the pond.
This is a championship level course. It is NOT for recreational players (or old guys like me who can't throw far anymore) But it needs some tender loving care. Clean up this course and it could be much higher rated.
Would I play here again.
To be honest, I would enjoy the Red course more because I don't have the accuracy or arm for the Gold. So no, I would probably not play this one again. Too overgrown, too tight and too long for me to enjoy it.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Long and Tough!!
10 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This course is built through a forest of smallish Live Oaks. The trees are closely spaced with thick crowns and will pluck your disc out of the air every time. You won't be throwing through the tops of these guys.
The Gold Course at Live Oak Park is designed as a championship caliber course, so it can be equal parts challenging, fun and frustrating. The course places a premium on accurate driving, with thick rough that will punish you.
A great variety of hole lengths, ranging from 222' out to 785'. There are nine Par 4 holes along with a single Par 5. All require an accurate drive to a landing area in the fairway, and then a second drive on a different line to the pin. No eagles or cheap birdies on these holes!
Fairways are narrow and most include turns ranging from gentle bends to sharper doglegs. There is a fair mix of left and right turns, and plenty of low-headroom issues as well. Many of the holes can be approached either forehand or backhand, with overhands and rollers being possible as well.
Getting off of the fairway will put you into some thick rough. Your escape shot may be to simply return to the fairway, as forward progress is often blocked. Getting greedy will just land you in the rough on the opposite side of the fairway, with strokes adding up quickly on a few holes.
Hole 14 is the monster Par 5 at 785. The fairways are narrow with several bends and twists, so you'll need 3 or 4 accurate "drives" to get a look at the basket.
Holes 17 and 18 give you a reprieve from the trees and allow you to air it out as you finish the round.
Good concrete teepads and Innova baskets. Excellent Houck signs with distance and par, and an accurate hole diagram. Given the length of the holes and the many blind drives, having the diagram gives you useful information about where you should be headed.
Cons: The Texas coast it flat. This course is flat. No elevation at all. Although these is a small drainage canal running though the course, there is not really any water in play. The Hole 18 basket is set near a pond, which is easily avoided.
There is a fine line between challenge and frustration, and this course isn't for everyone. You will get knocked off into the rough and end up spending some time hunting for your discs. The rough is thick and tall, and often prickly.
A few of the very nice tee signs were missing or damaged.
Other Thoughts: There are plenty of mosquitoes here. Consider long pants/shirt and repellent.
This is a long course that doesn't return to the parking area until the very end. And this area is hot and humid much of the year. So carry plenty of water.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Not So Good
2 Helpful / 7 Not
Pros: It is hard.
Has lots of dog legs.
Secluded so non disc golf traffic is not a problem.
Cons: This course is difficult but not In a fun way. If you like dogleg this course is full of them... The entire course was built into a briar patch... If you like tippy toeing through thorns this is the course for you... With dogleg and tree covered fairways you are going to be in the rough.. I'm not a fan of having to walk down the fairway to get to the teebox.. Course did not flow well and was a little irritating to navigate.. The fact that I played it on Memorial day weekend and the red course was packed and there was no one playing the gold course shows that even the locals don't want to play this course...
Other Thoughts: The bugs are bad... I had to drench my self in off... The course was made hard for the sake of being hard... This course is not balanced at all... The rough Is horrible the holes are made to ensure you land in the rough...
Overall It is the worse course I have ever played... Iv played other super hard courses that destroyed my score but they where fun as the risk vrs reward was balanced. I shot a 12 over about the same as I shoot at circle c in Austin... They either need to clear some of the thorn bushes out of the high traffic rough landing zones or widen the fairways to make shot shaping more feasible.
2 of 9 people found this review helpful.
It's a Fizziness in my ear
8 Helpful / 5 Not
Pros: Personal rank: 106
This course has it's "Hardest in the state" claim for a reason. Long tight fairways will require accuracy before distance, poor shots will be punished by thick rough making recovery difficult.
Live Oak Gold makes my favorites list for being a stand out challenge, it takes it a step beyond any other course in the area and remains one of the most challenging courses I've played.
If you're looking for a grueling butt kicking, I recommend this course, paired with the much mellower red course it's well worth coming out of the way for a day of disc golf in Ingleside.
Other Thoughts: After playing 1000 courses, I'm excited to share my opinion on some of my favorites. My top 100+ list can be found on my blog, my favorites list is at 110 of 1020 as of writing this review. Of all courses played, the top 1.5% receive a rating of 5, down to 6% is a 4.5, and 15% is a 4.0 creating a bell curve distribution. I apologize that my reviews are not as detailed as they have been previously. I have included the details as to why this course stands out to the best that my memory serves.
My personal criteria is very subjective, a gut feeling:
~Physical beauty stands out, both scenery and the beauty of each hole.
~Amenities don't mean much to me, it doesn't much matter if there's benches, concrete tee pads, or garbage cans.
~Technical design - How well designed are the fairways/airways and landing areas? Are there unique holes that stand out? Variety of holes - distances, shapes, elevation, tree density, rough thickness. Pars 4 and 5?
~I love extreme/adventure golf. Rugged and secluded courses stand out more than park style courses. In general I prefer more technical over more open.
~Local Scene. If I was involved in a tournament or league or met up with some locals and played the course multiple times I appreciate different aspects of a course.
Thank you, enjoy my reviews and if you don't find this information helpful, please let me know what I can do to improve.
8 of 13 people found this review helpful.
Welcome To The Woods
3 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Best course in this area of the state. Challenges around every corner and dogleg. So tough is this course, that it never plays the same. Just try to remove the "tree magnets" from your discs! I love this course. Wish this was up in Austin as well. Holes 1-9 play in the woods behind the two ball fields in Live Oak Park. Hole 10 brings you out of the woods temporarily. Holes 11-15 bring you back in the woods then holes 16-18 are mostly open grip and rip holes. Watch out for the trees and keep that disc in the fairway.
Cons: If there are any, it's the trees! Too many chances to lose a disc in the brush or high trees. Lots of trash scattered throughout the course due to not too many trash cans.
Other Thoughts: Practice basket was stolen recently. Hope the thieves suffer a bad attack of conscience! Either that, or maybe someone or something will ruin their good time one of these days. Favorite hole is number 8. It may not be a good ace hole, but definitely easy to deuce. Holes 2, 5, 8, 11 & 15 good birdie holes.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Working in Rockport!
1 Helpful / 6 Not
Pros: First time playing the course! Really enjoyed playing here. Besides playing in the rain, I thought this was a well designed course. Course layout pretty much covers the entire park, which I thought was awesome!
Cons: While playing the course, I have noticed that there are MANY trees in the fairway. It made it very difficult for me to make my shots.
Other Thoughts: I believe that disc golf is all about control of your disc. This is a great course to practice your control.
1 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Worth the Drive
2 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Everyone has done a great job with their review. I agree with all of the comments, so I will say the best thing about this course is the traffic. There is none. Four of us played this course and the red course over several hours and saw only one other group of players. Wow! I play Cedar Hill every weekend and set my alarm to beat the crowds.
Cons: THORNS! I came out looking like a mountain lion attacked me. I'm not sure if long socks will even help. Jeans will work, but you'll probably pass out from the heat in the summer.
Other Thoughts: Locals should really spread the word about how great disc golf is and what great courses they have. This makes a great weekend disc golf trip. Corpus is only 15-20 minutes away.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.
What would you do for a Klondike bar?
7 Helpful / 5 Not
Pros: The community stepped up and paid for a Championship course and they got one.
Bring out your bag of tricks while you blast your way through the sandy par 4's and treacherous par 3's. Chase the golden bands of glory with every birdie attempt on this mine field of a course. This course will leave your finger nails aching to be trimmed for their next round of golf. Hurry up and schedule your next road trip to happy, sunny Ingleside. The weather is and so should you.
Cons: I didn't find a pot of gold or a Dive bar at the end of this epic 18 hole masterpiece.
Other Thoughts: Bring 76 ounces of H20.
7 of 12 people found this review helpful.
I'm starting to love Live Oaks
10 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: 1) Tee posts are visible and the teesigns have hole #, Map, and distance, all the critical information needed for good teesigns.
2) Very challenging and it makes no apologies, hence the name GOLD. The Red course is more for the beginners, the GOLD is not!
3) Great design using the property very well. It incorporates all sorts of different areas of the park into the design. There is a major drainageway that gets used multiple times and in different ways which really makes for some interesting holes. Most of the course has been carved through heavy woods with lots of underbrush. Most of this brush has been pushed out of the way to remain out of pla as much as possible, but there are a couple times you might end up in some cutup debris and make it tough to find your disc.
4) Nice concrete tee pads in great shape allowing for optimum teeing conditions.
5) I get a lot of enjoyment trying to care my way around corners and through these tight tunnel fairways. Even if I don't completely execute the shot perfectly, it is fun to watch and would be enough to make me come back.
6) Very nice mix of shots on this course. You need to work the disc both directions and also straight at times. You don't have any elevation to deal with but you do need to think about the height of some shots because of the lower ceilings at times instead of just airing it out.
7) Nice variety of holes here because there is some water in play, both streams and a pond, there is tight technical woods, there are true tunnel shots, and then there are a couple open bomber holes. Rollers are taken out of play because of what looks like unmowed turf on those open holes really forcing long throws through the air (thats not good or bad, just worth mentioning).
8) Bathrooms are available by the Red course and garbage cans are available by both courses.
9) The sands soil in spots is really an interesting aspect of the game that I have only seen in Florida and Texas. The sandy soils plays very differently than compacted soil. I am sure that the sand drains well which would be a plus in wet weather, plus any of the holes going through the woods have lots of woodchips and grindings on the ground to help reduce the mud factor.
10) I really enjoy having holes with legitimate par 4 and par 5 holes. These holes ar enot only tight but they are long requiring accuracy the entire way. Accuracy here is the priority rather than distance.
11) Nice discatchers in great shape. I love the yellow band on wooded courses like this, it makes it so mcuh easier to find where you are supposed to be headed.
Cons: 1) There is way more underbrush on this course than the red, thus helping to increase the challenge, but also increasing the frustration factor.
2) Some luck is needed from time to time. That will be the case on all courses at some point or another, but I think that some more defined lines could have been created to be a little more fair. Perhaps this was by intent to really push the limits of what people are willing to go for in terms of risk/reward.
3) Lots of stumps are visible and in the way to make you trip. It is clear a lot of clear cutting was done to make this course what it is. It is a fact of life, I guess I just wish that when this is done that more time is spent grading and smoothing the fairways to avoid the tripping hazard.
4) Navigation signs woul dbe really helpful from time to time on certain holes. It is tough to find where you are going in a few spots, just keep your eyes peeled for the next tee sign, but a couple of simple small signs would reduce this issue.
5) Be careful when walking to the next tee because there are a couple times where you enter the next fairway before getting to the tee meaning you could step out into a fairway and get a disc in the ear because the people on the tee might not see you. I only saw it with very few leaves on trees and shrubs etc. so I am unsure of how protected those places will look in season with full foliage.
Other Thoughts: I really enjoyed the Red course which I played the day before I played here, and I originally didn't think I would get to play it, but my wife wanted to come back here to do some bird watching in the morning so I got a chance to play both Gold and Red and am glad I did. I like both courses a lot, but the GOLD I like because of the challenge it presents. I overlooked a lot of the issues this course has because it is simply a great challenge. I think a lot more could have been done with cleanup after the initial design and cutting work was done. This course feels a lot newer and it is actually only 2 years old at this point, so i am sure it will get itself worked out over time. The red course has have almost 20 years to get played in and it is noticable. I am giving this course a 4 which is also what i gave the Red course, but I feel like this is a much better course long term because of the constant challenge it presents. I like shorter fun courses from time to time, but I would ultimately prefer the challenging course everytime.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
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1 
5/31/2021 
6/5/2021
Review By: aclay 
This review was updated on 6/8/2021
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