Definately wooded
13 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -Decent Baskets
-Large concrete tees for both tees
-Good Use of the terrain
-Water in play on several holes
-Course flow is decent
-9 Hole loop
-Some benches
Cons: -Almost entirely in the woods
-Even from the short pads, a tough course, not really suitable for rec or new players
-Disc loss potential between water and woods
-Elevation a bit much at times
Other Thoughts: Wilbur Young Park has a very good course in the eastern part of Blue Springs, MO. The park is heavily wooded and very hilly. As mentioned in the description, this is a blue/white level course. The holes are varied, making a number of shaping shots necessary. Really, only #7 is wide open (but stay right to stay out of the water). Mechanics here are excellent with concrete tees, decent signage, good flow, There were several holes that gave a "plinko" feel, though (#2, #3, #8, #10, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16). For me, I struggled as more of a rec player AND we were fighting a brisk wind that afternoon. Rec and beginner players might look elsewhere. The challenge here is good, more skilled player will enjoy that. I agree that a tweak on #10 might be in order. A RHBH will struggle to keep it out of the pond. Overall, probably above my skill level, even from the shorts. A very good course, but I probably would go down the road to Legacy instead of playing here again.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.
Good, but worse than the sum of its parts
11 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Wilbur Young has a lot of well-designed wooded holes. A few are par 4, depending on pin placement, some are short, some are long, and there's a variety of left-finishing and right-finishing holes.
Several holes are some of the best in the area. Hole 1 is a true two-shot hole, especially in the long position, and has a few different ways to play it. Hole 12 is super challenging but an amazing tunnel to hit. Holes 5, 15, and 16 have tight gaps on shots coming towards the basket. Even on parts of the rest of the course where you can air it out, there's plenty of danger to get into and good reason to throw layup shots.
Several holes will provide great challenge for professionals, though sometimes only on the long pin. While the entire course isn't good enough to host even an A-tier tournament for professionals, I would like to see them play the long pins on holes 4 and 15, which are both uphill tunnel shots where an S-curve is possible but has little room for error, and would be a great birdie to get.
The water hazards on 10 and 17 are pretty fun. The water doesn't come into play until 150 feet off the tee, so some safe options are available. Going for it is a real risk-reward challenge, especially on hole 10. The short tees play just in front of the water, and will be pretty easy to clear if you play from them.
Amenities are good. Parking, picnic shelter, the course loops back by the start a couple of times (mainly after hole 11). The tee pads, signs and baskets are all in good shape.
Cons: The only open hole is hole 7, and I don't like that hole. A couple of trees off the tee force an odd line, and the pond will gobble up anything that leaks left. The rest of the course gets a little old, being in the woods all day long. A few of these holes are just too wooded, sometimes depending on the pin placement. Hole 14, and the long pins on 2 and 15 stand out.
The course is pretty cramped. Yes, it was necessary to get the good holes it got, but it can be a problem at times. Most of the time, there is a narrow treeline between fairways, but not always. If you're not careful, or even if you are but you don't know where the basket is, you could find yourself in or near other fairways. At other times, you can often hear nearby traffic or chains from nearby baskets. This also makes several holes that could be great if there was a longer pin as a par 4, but as it is, the long pin is a bit of a tweener for advanced players (long pins on holes 4, 7, 15, 18).
The short set of tee pads, while good to have, do have some problems associated with them. Sometimes, the holes are just too short, turning them into just long putts around 100 feet (short pins on 2, 13, 15, and 17). Other times, they come at the basket at a really odd angle (2 long, 15 long), making those just jokes of holes. Other times, the short pad can actually come into play from the long pad and create odd footing if your drive lands near it. The shorts also aren't marked, so it's easier to find them by finding the long tee first, then walking down the fairway.
A bunch of holes don't have much grass, so mud will quickly become an issue. Around the tee pads of 4, 8, 15, and 16, the basket locations of 5, and the fairways of 8 and 10, just to name a few locations.
Other Thoughts: While the argument can be made that this course has a lot of variety, it stands that it only has variety in one area: wooded holes. It doesn't have anything else, and a few holes that are actually decent holes become super mundane here (9, 11, 13).
I have mixed feelings about the accessibility of this course for players of various skill levels. The short pads help, but even playing from the shorts will have both some gimmicky shots, short shots, and some really challenging holes. But from the long pads, the water hazards are present, there are some really tight lines, and scores can skyrocket for newer players. Overall, it's a fun course, so come out and make your own opinion.
The most dangerous hole water-wise is hole 10. One idea is to play from the short pad and give yourself a stroke penalty. It'll pretty much make the water a non-factor while still leaving an interesting hole.
Unfortunately, there's little way to make this course better. The design is pretty good considering how little space there is, but it means there's no room for growth. There are a handful of trees that could probably be cut down or trimmed, and I would like to see hole 7 executed differently. There's also a third pond you walk by to get to hole 6 which never comes into play that might make for an interesting hole if it was used somehow.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Always fun. Always tough.
8 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Huge variety of shot shapes and distances.
Baskets are moved regularly. I don't think I've played the exact same setup twice. Along with that the upkeep on the park is done very well.
Bad shots are punished fairly. If you end up in the woods, it was probably your fault.
Excellently marked tee signs and pin locations.
Great to play in the summer heat since the course has so much shade on it.
The orange Mach5s are easy to see.
Practice basket.
Short and long tee options could almost be two separate courses. If you have a long day, try a round from both!
Playground nearby.
Pars are really well set on this course (except one). Never feels impossible to get par, but it's always challenging.
Cons: If it's rained recently, holes 8 and 10 will be a mess.
A lot of blind tee shots. Even if it's not your first time the little colored square system isn't kept up well so you still have to go and check which pin it's in.
Hole 4 is... bad. I know they had really limited space to work with, but it's just a bad hole. You're expected to throw an uphill bomber down a 15' wide fairway... the long pin is 396' (it plays like 500')... and it's called a par 3. Not too sure about that one.
4-7 play close to a road, and it really takes you out of the quietness of the rest of the course.
Navigation can be a tough your first time out. Have a map.
This course is hard, and the woods are thick. I'm not saying go into the round planning on losing a disc, I'm just saying don't be surprised if you do.
Other Thoughts: I like this course. This is one of the toughest KC courses to hit par on, no question, but even if you leave with +17 you'll still have enjoyed it. You may have a ton of frustration in the middle, but 15-18 close out the course really well. The holes in the woods are really relaxing... until you run into someone swearing at their drive. Definitely worth the trip eastward no matter your skill level. If you're newer, play the short tees; if you're experienced... well, good luck!
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.
Come On, Wilbur
10 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Wilbur Young has myriad challenges, and and with multiple tees and pin locations great versatility. It is contained in a green space next to a school that is great for disc golf, with elevation changes, water hazards, plenty of trees and nice equipment.
There are dual concrete tee pads on most holes, and variable pin placements. Tee signs have red/blue tab markers to indicate the current basket placement.
The orange Mach V baskets were all in nice shape. There are bricks under the baskets pointing in the direction of the next hole with an arrow.
I thought the layout did well at maximizing a tight space without putting holes to near one another or other park users. Birdies are not impossible, but they don't come easy. There are some long holes with strategic landing zones and serious trees to consider. Water comes into play on a few holes also. Nice variation from one hole to the next, not repetitive, and mixing in a lot of throws.
I really liked holes 1, 7, 10, 14, 16, 17 and 18. 1 has a great fairway with trees lining the edges, and a slightly elevated tee. 10 is a tough drive over the water from the long tee, but if you lay up there is a longish approach over the pond to a blind pin down the hill on the other side. 14 long is elevated, with a tunnel shot that is tricky but fun. 17 is also downhill, and over a little water to a basket on the upslope on the opposite side.
Cons: The layout is a little funky. Well done with limited space, but winding tightly around every corner of it. The school and baseball fields could lead to non disc golfers around the course. 8 and 9 are across the road from the rest of the course. 18 kind of finishes in the middle of it all, and leaves a walk out past other tees and baskets to the parking lot.
The water and trees can be frustrating. A new player may have a hard time here. I did lose a brand new disc in the water on 10. A bad drive put me behind a large tree short of the water to the right. My weak attempt to get around the tree and over the pond came up way short, splashing right in the center of the wet stuff.
Other Thoughts: I shot a 60, with a pair of deuces, six 4's and a 5. I am sure I could score better, but it might take me several rounds to get close to par. The terrain is great, and the designers did a good job making the most of it.
One of the many great courses in the greater KC area, make sure to get this one in the bag if you can. It will test all of your skills, and has some really nice attributes.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Solid
8 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Course is located in a park next to a high school. I played after school was out and had no issues. Every tee has two pads and a few have seating and trash cans by the pad.
Signage was good, since each hole has multiple pin locations, they have a great way, with a red/blue/yellow card, to show where the pin is. It took us a couple holes to realize that, so we could stop running up the fairway since you can normally not see the pin from the pad.
Not many open holes, the majority would fall under the technical shot off the pad, with a potential open up shot.
A couple of my favorite holes were #10 and #17
-10: Was set up in the long pin location (497'), has a small pond on the left side you can throw over or it has safe landing zones to the right. After making it over the pond, there is a tree sitting next to the basket with limbs hanging over creating a cool low ceiling shot.
-17: Reminds me of the island hole at Jonesboro (a recent pro tournament from YouTube) Down hill, short and narrow, but if you can keep your disc straight, you could have a nice little ace run.
Cons: Not a lot of variety from each tee pad. It feels like a lot of the tee shots are the same and forces you to break up the hole into smaller shots. I don't mind these kinds of courses, but there aren't any open shots for bombs.
Very dark course. The course plays through a small wooded area and creates a lot of shadows. IF you are a stud, this won't matter, but if you leave the fairway, it could be challenging to find where your disc is at because of the dark shadows.
Not the most easily navigatable course with a lot of up and back. Adding something on the basket or signs to show where the next tee pad will be would be nice.
Other Thoughts: Good course, without any bomber holes. I enjoyed the feel of it and a course with good signs always helps. I wouldn't say drive out of the way to play this course, but if you are in the area, its definitely worth the stop.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.
Technical Rec Course Features Great Amenities!
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Wilbur Young Park is obviously a newer park is an upscale area. It partially borders a beautiful high school and the whole neighborhood has that new car smell to it. You'll feel comfortable parking your car here.
The course starts with a nice course dedication sign to all those who gave so much to get this project completed. Then there is a nice course map and rules sign. There is a rather large covered picnic area with multiple tables which would be a perfect tournament staging area.
The course has two sets of tees, the shorter whites and the longer blacks. The whites really play as a pitch & putt with quite a few holes playing 100' or less. The longer blacks play as a very technical recreational level course. You won't find any 500' holes here but you'll be challenged by narrow fairways and tight doglegs. There are nice long concrete tees for both the longs and the shorts. The baskets are DGA models painted a pretty creamsicle orange color. They're nicely visible in the sometimes deep foliage here. The tee signs, which are only at the long tees, are great, giving all the information you need. And there are next tee bricks at the bottom of each basket which are really helpful with the navigation.
Some nice bridges have been built to help you over some wet or low spots. Wood chips are spread over some of the fairways. Although this is a wooded course, there are still green grassy fairways and it features some nice elevation to contend with.
A pond comes into play on some later holes but you it's not really a long carry more like a little mind game. Or you can always choose to lay up and play around it.
Cons: The course could probably still use some clearing and trimming in places. Maybe as it gets more tramped down by players with use or maybe someone just needs to get out here with some cutting tools.
Navigation is semi-difficult even with great signage and excellent next tee bricks. there are just a lot of holes and different tees crammed into a fairly small densely wooded area.
Reasonable short distances leaving big arms wanting more. This is not a championship level course.
Too technical for some players tastes.
Other Thoughts: I think the short tees open up interesting possibilities. First, they would be great for less skilled or more inexperienced player, not a total beginner. The course is too technical for that.
Second, I think they might be a fun way to handicap the difference between a advanced player and a rec player. Let the better player play from the longs and the lesser skilled player play from the shorts. I'd like to challenge a couple of my son's buddies who play at the Pro level. Give me those short, short tees!
This is a really well constructed little course here. It's nice to see a course with such nice amenities. Everything here has been done First Class and I sincerely hope the course remains in this pristine condition for a long, long time.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
fun course
2 Helpful / 3 Not
Pros: Easy to get to and well market. The shot tee's are very short so playing the long on most holes is more fun. Lots of trees keep an eye on the discs easy to loose in spots.
Other Thoughts: It's a great course for experienced And beginners
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Nice course for a wide range of skill levels!
9 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Almost every hole has two tee pads, a long and a short, as well as several potential pin placements. This allows for great variety depending on how you want to play it, and makes the course interesting for both skilled players and beginners.
I also really enjoy wooded courses, and the whole course snakes around in a wooded area. The fairways range from being fairly open, to being very narrow, to just being full of trees with no real "right" path to the basket. Also, on of the few wooded courses I've played where the fairways aren't dirt; most of the course has nicely mown grass.
The use of the water here was well done on the couple holes where it comes into play. You can either be bold and launch across, or you can be conservative and lay up or go around. You also don't need a rocket arm to get across, but it's just long enough to perhaps make you nervous about losing a disc.
Great signage at each hole showing all the distances and pin locations. Also, navigation is pretty easy due to brick arrows placed at the base of each basket. You would easily lose your way if they weren't there, so it was much appreciated.
The bright orange baskets are always appreciated as well! Very visible!
Cons: I mentioned that the multiple tee boxes was a plus. It seems like some of the short boxes are ridiculously short, making them not at all interesting to play. There are several holes where it seems they could have just stuck with a single tee box, as I can't imagine anyone ever wanting to play the short one. Some are within 100 feet and a completely clear shot.
At least on my last trip, an overwhelming number of holes required a left-hand fade, so variety wasn't that great on that particular visit. It seemed like the course could have been better had they varied the pin placements differently, so it may not always be an issue depending on which pins are currently in use.
Also, if you like some wide open holes, you won't find them here. I personally don't mind a more technical course, but sometimes it's nice to just be able to launch one, and some people may be frustrated at the lack of opportunity for that here. I was regularly overshooting everything with my drives here.
The course could also use some benches and garbage cans.
Other Thoughts: Overall, a solid, shorter technical course to practice your precision! Also a friendly place to bring newer players to play the shorter tee boxes with them.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.
It's not you, Blue Springs...it's me. (Maybe.)
11 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Nice amenities. Concrete tee pads and multiple tee positions throughout, making this part easy for all ages/skill levels.
In a very nice part of town; rest assured, you'll be fine playing here. No neighborhood worries.
Baskets were painted bright orange and in great condition when we were there, making them easy to find.
Ample parking very close by.
The pond by 10 has a little dock near it, and we enjoyed taking a minute to sit out there and watch the fish. It was a nice touch and we liked it a lot; very pretty scenery on this part of the course!
The tees and signs are all in good condition; pathways are mulched well.
With the exception of 10, the "water hazards" really aren't that bad and add a nice element to the game. I thought the designer used the water available to him well.
I really disliked this course personally, but I had the feeling that if I was a better player, I might have appreciated the challenge.
UPDATE: 12/4/14 - It has been over a year since I last reviewed this course and I have come back to revisit it. First off, there is an active pin marking system and I have generally found it to be accurate. This helps significantly - beginners, look for the small colored box underneath the map and it should tell you which position is active. Great job adding something that is generally sorely lacking at most of the KC-area courses I've played.
Generally this course is not busy, which is surprising since there's not many options in eastern Jackson County really. I shoot up here to play if Legacy is packed, which it usually is on a nice day.
Cons: UPDATE: 12/3/14 - To me, the main bad thing about this course is still the constant throwing in the woods without much of a break. There are limited options to open up and throw, and even when there appear to be, you have to be careful because there are hazards and lost disc opportunities everywhere out here.
The short teepads sometimes reduce the distance you're throwing to under 100 feet, which is really pretty laughable even if you're a novice. But, if you throw from long, you're facing several hazards that will give you lots of trouble and might lose your disc. Why this couldn't have been balanced better is a mystery to me.
I believe in DG, there is a very fine line between fun and frustrating, and unfortunately, Young Park just falls on the frustrating side of the spectrum all too often. I've played very challenging courses that I did terrible at, but still rated them highly because of the sheer enjoyment factor. Here is just not that way to me. Unless you can hit very tight lines and throw low consistently to stay out of the trees, you'll just get frustrated. Original review follows:
I personally felt like the course did a poor job of giving variety. Since the course is in a really compact area compared to, say, Legacy Park a few miles away, there's not a lot of options for the designer to use, and so you're mostly throwing into the woods. On some of the holes, there's literally trees right in front of the tee boxes that are almost impossible for less experienced players to throw around. I don't mind a few tunnel shots here and there, but it felt like that's all we were playing all night and it was annoying.
The signage was unhelpful in many cases, and frequently, you'll walk up on 3 or even 4 concrete slabs wondering where in the heck you're supposed to be throwing from. I know a lot of players like multiple tee boxes, but personally, I think combining that with multiple pin positions makes it just too confusing. The flow of the course was very unnatural and didn't seem to make sense to us.
Navigation is sucky on many holes, largely due to the cramped nature of the course. We were left wandering around frequently, wondering where to go. Pay attention to the brick arrows at the bottom of most of the baskets, they'll help you out at least a bit.
Sandwiched between a high school and two very busy roads, the course was noisy, and we didn't like hearing sirens, car horns, traffic, etc, constantly during our time on the course. I realize they couldn't help this, but it's annoying if you're not used to it.
I don't know if BS has let this course go in recent months, but we found the weeds, woods, and rough to be almost overwhelming. Maybe if they trimmed it back a bit?
There is a NASTY old barbed wire fence right by 5, and I had an errant drive land outside it. While the fence is clipped of its sharp edges, minimizing the pain that can come from it, we still had to hop the fence and forage around some woods a mere 3-6 feet from AA Highway to find my driver. I think the setting is a real detriment to the course, and this part in particular was really aggravating for us.
Playground and road come into play from 8-10. Again, don't bean someone's snowflake in the head with your mid-range disc.
Other Thoughts: I was expecting great things from this park, and I hate to be in the minority, but I didn't think it was that great. If you enjoy tunnel shots and the like, you'll probably like this course. However, we just found it infuriating, and kept sailing disc after disc into the numerous trees.
Long stretches of wooded holes felt incredibly repetitive. While the water hazards were used fairly well, we just did not like the sameness feeling. You have to consider that while nothing but wide-open easy shots is boring for an advanced player, nothing but tunnel shots and technical work can be maddening for beginners. I've played other courses that do both very well, and this was not one of them. More variety and a chance to rip a driver a good 200-250 feet would be a welcome opportunity here.
Again, maybe it's just me, but I left this course frustrated, underwhelmed, and irritated. More advanced players might really like the chance to work on their technical skills. Beginners, beware the multiple trees!
UPDATE: 12.3.14 - All in all, I do stand by most of what I've said because it's just an opinion and everyone has one. I'm not sure what this course is trying to be, because to be honest, it's not overly beginner-friendly, even with the short teepads, which occasionally just make the holes laughably easy without providing any challenge at all. However, you have to hit some crazy tight lines here on long to do well whatsoever, and even if you do, the scenery, layout, and overall feel of this course just fall short of most of the other options in KC in my opinion.
11 of 13 people found this review helpful.
Variety
2 Helpful / 5 Not
Pros: Variety
2 tees and 2+ pin locations
Concrete pads and great, bright baskets
Easy to follow, with arrow bricks.
Cons: #10's pond! (Grrrr, I want my driver back)
Going across a parking lot to get to #8 and #9
Other Thoughts: My daughter's first play and my 4th. Very good challenge!
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.
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3 / 97ft. 
5+ 
5/21/2022 
1/16/2021
Review By: kp_1024 
This review was updated on 7/9/2022
Hole #18 (Taken 6/2010) 
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