Farmerville, LA

Lake D'arbonne State Park

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3.355(based on 10 reviews)
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Lake D'arbonne State Park reviews

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5 0
markmcc
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 278 played 254 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Outstanding landscape, Good course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 26, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is an outstanding piece of land for a disc golf course, with rolling hills, mature forest, several creeks, etc.

Hole lengths varied from 220' out to 620'. There is a good mixture of straight, curving, and doglegged holes, both to the left and right.

The longest holes (606' and 620') play straight down a powerline right-of-way. Keeping your drive in the clear is key here, as getting off to the side will usually offer only a short recovery shot back into the fairway.

Generally the shortest holes were in tight woods, often up or down a hill. With five holes at 250' or less you've got some putter-only holes to play, but the steep uphill holes really steal distance.

There is a great variety of elevation, with most of the holes having an uphill or downhill drive, in some cases over a creek or gully. Many of the pins are on sloping ground, so running long putts is a good risk/reward scenario.

Mach II baskets are in good shape except for one damaged by a tree fall. Concrete tee pads have decent texture, but many were partially covered by dirt or debris. The tee signs are the old school "stickers on fiberglass" signs but they were accurate and useful. Just not as nice as the more modern printed signs.

Navigation was pretty good, but I did need to refer to the map a couple of times.

Cons:

I felt like there were too many compromises when the course was put in. Mainly the tendency to follow existing trails, utility rights-of-way, old roads, etc.

Hole 1 is a perfect example. The "fairway" is essentially the walking trail that the hole follows. It is narrow, with a couple of opposing turns that don't really fit the flight of a disc. Maybe that is why it is a 318' par 4?

The weakest part of the course for me was holes 2, 3, 4 and 5. They play sequentially down a power line right-of-way, so you have four long, dead straight holes in a row. Sure, the baskets were placed against one edge or the other, but the holes are repetitive and not very creative.

Even holes 10 - 14 had the similarity that they played down, up, down, up, and then down the hill from the Group Camp. Individually the holes were decent enough, but the sequence grew repetitive.

My last con is that several of the holes lacked a "fair" fairway. Often there was an initial gap to hit, but beyond that were uniformly spaced trees and gaps, and luck played a role.

Other Thoughts:

This park has terrain that is as good as nearby Lake Claiborne, but the execution of the course is not as good. Getting two or three of the holes out of the powerline right-of-way and opening up a few fairways would go a long way toward improving the course.

That being said, another very nice course in a Louisiana State Park.
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5 0
Joshwest
Experience: 11.1 years 106 played 28 reviews
3.50 star(s)

So much good, but a lot of bad 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 24, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- The obvious pro is the park itself. Beautiful land and excellent natural elevation changes.

- The pro of the layout is definitely the elevation usage. Several holes go up and down and really makes you adjust to it.

- There are plenty of easy courses out there, but not here. You will have to earn your birdies and if you get out of the fairway, you have to get your quality scrambling game to get par.

- For the most part, tee signs and boxes are really good. Most of them had dirt, pine cones, and straw that had got on them, but you can easily clear them.

- Baskets were good, they were lower quality Mach baskets, but they were in good condition and they caught everything they should've.

- There were red arrows for navigation. For the most part they were great, could've used more in some places.

Cons:

- Bugs and poison ivy. Should be expected in a wooded area. I know it's a state park where they want to preserve the environment, but get they could do better to get rid of the ivy. Spider webs were also a bigger deal than other wooded courses I have played. Several baskets had webs in the chains and a few that were close to trees had huge webs between the tree and basket. Be careful what you are walking into. Even the other plants are typically over grown. A ton of shin-high plants that make walking the holes annoying and a ton of leaves, pine straw, and dead branches on the ground. I stepped on a random stick and it snapped up and cut my hand. It really could use some clean up and a mow in all the fairways.

- The layout could be better, with more variety. Felt very left to right turn holes heavy, and frankly it got old. Holes 2-5 are in an electric line clearing which is a good idea, but the execution is lacking. All the baskets are in the open, except for 4, which is tucked in on the right, but it's by far the shortest of the holes. All the other holes are tight tunnels. Other than the elevation nothing really excites you.

- A few of the tee boxes had a ton of dirt. I had to look for the concrete on #17. I don't know how it got completely covered but it needs to be cleared.

- The baskets are so hard to see. The Mach baskets have no bright colors and in a dark wooded area, it's a struggle to find them. Toward the end, I was tried and just wanted to leave so I just trusted the tee sign and threw down the fairway and played for par.

- The walk from 9 to 10 and 16 to 17 need more arrows. You have to walk across the parking lot and slightly down the road to 10, and you go right by 12. And after 16 you come out of woods to a road and there isn't anymore arrows at the road. You have to walk awhile down the road across another and then you get to 17. But there are paths going back into the woods that you have no idea of you should follow or not.

Other Thoughts:

- Overall, it really is a quality course. I can't say I would want to constantly be playing it, but it is a good one to play, especially if you want to do some of the other stuff in the park, too.

- Just some advice, if you're like me and you like throwing extra throws if your first isn't good, DON'T!! I lost an extra that hit a tree 50ft in front of me, kicked into the woods, and even though I watched it down, I never could find it. (On #13 if you just want to be a friend :D).

- Really make an effort to watch your disc, you don't want to be spending a ton of time off the fairway and with all the stuff on the ground, it could be hard to find if you don't know exactly where it came down.

- I can't really speak to traffic on the course. I've been twice and both times I haven't had any issues. But there are walking and biking trails, so I can imagine that it could an issue if the trails are busy.
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2 3
rod251
Experience: 6 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Good not great (but could be) 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 29, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great property
Campsite and lake nearby to make a weekend of it
Nice challenge
Signs, tees, and baskets in great shape

Cons:

Narrow fairways
Underbrush needs clearing
Needs benches and trash cans

Other Thoughts:

I pretty much echo the previous review. This course is fairly challenging. It feels like you are playing in regular woods on some holes and on logging roads on other holes. With a little thoughtful clearing of the undergrowth to open it up a bit it would be fantastic.
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3 1
Doofenshmirtz
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.8 years 121 played 72 reviews
3.50 star(s)

A gem with a few too many inclusions. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 22, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a heavily wooded, moderately technical course with significant elevation. It has one set of concrete tees and one pin placement. The course is set in mature forest with little undergrowth. Several of the holes are spectacularly good and many of the holes have a high level of difficulty while still being fair. Many of the holes on this course compare favorably to the nearby Lake Claiborne Whitetail course.

There are only three holes that exceed 400 feet. All are on either a power line right or way or an old road. Most of the rest are below 300 or have a significant drop in elevation from the tee pad to the basket and can be reached with a putter, mid or fairway driver.

There are a significant number of right-turning holes for the forehand players. There are also holes that require left turns, s-curves and reverse s-curves. Some baskets have elevation drops behind the basket and there are also some uphill holes. There's a little bit of everything except truly wide open shots.

While navigation can get a little tricky, the park has placed a number of color coded arrows to point the way to the next tee box and other trails (following the red circles with black arrows for the disc golf course).

Cons:

After the first 9 holes, it is easy to get the impression that you only played 3 holes, 3 times each. A big part of that comes from holes 3, 4 and 5. All three are virtually identical, long holes on the same power line right of way. The remainder of the holes on the front 9 follow the same walking trail. None of them are bad holes, but the repetitive feel starts early and can really take away any desire to see what the next hole offers. This is really too bad because if the power line holes were spread out over the 18, the repetition might not be so "in your face" and there are some truly excellent holes that follow.

The back nine is a better designed part of the course but has a few navigation issues. Make sure you are playing hole 10 and not hole 12 when you start the back nine. Hole 18 leaves you with bit of a walk back to the parking lot.

The concrete tees are a little too smooth and several were a bit slippery. There has been a lot of rain this summer, the tees are all shaded and they have some green algae/slime on them. This is probably not the norm.

There is no water and no bathrooms on the course. Navigation can be a bit tricky. After holing out on hole 5, you need to backtrack to the trail that you passed on your left about 250 feet before you got to the basket. On the back nine, pay close attention to both the map that you should have brought with you and the numbers on the tee signs. It is very easy to think that hole 12 is hole 10 if you don't pay attention to the numbers.

Other Thoughts:

If not for the power line holes (4-6) and minor navigation issues on the back nine, this course would get a higher rating from me. This is a phenomenal piece of land for a course. Even the power line right of way offered the opportunity to have open tee shots that needed to finish in the woods or tight tee shots that could finish in the open. But by the time I was on hole 6, I couldn't remember how many of those holes I had already played. It is kind of like an otherwise great movie with a stupid ending having that stupid ending at the end of the first act. No matter how good the rest of the movie is, its just not as enjoyable as it should be. That is about the best analogy I can think of for how the repetitiveness of those holes affected my enjoyment of the round.

Despite the unfortunate over-usage of both the walking trail and the power line ROW, this is a high quality course sitting somewhere between very good and excellent on the ratings scale IMO.

This course has some steep parts that my get fairly slippery after rains and requires stepping over immovable logs and small streams and gullies. This is not a good course for anyone worried about sure footing or strenuous walking.
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1 5
WSP420
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.8 years 51 played 48 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Lake D'arbonne 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 21, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Concrete tees
-Nice tee signs
-Big elevation changes
-Well kept State Park
-Plenty of parking
-Only $1 per person (worth it)

Cons:

-Holes #2-#6 are long and repetitive
-No convenient restrooms
-No benches
-Few trashcans
-Long walks between:
Holes #9, #10
Holes #16, #17
Holes #18, Parking

Other Thoughts:

This DGC is a nice little wooded, 18 hole course near Lake D'arbonne outside of Farmerville, LA. Holes #2-#6 are down a 'pipeline' and are very similar. You tee off on one side and the tee is down the 'alley' on the left or right, not much variety. There are a couple of long walks between holes, just make sure you print a map or get one at the park, and follow the red signs with the black arrows.
Easy to find and a must play, if you are already in the area. <I wouldn't go out of my way for this one, if you're looking for a hidden gem>
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4 1
baldguy
Experience: 24.8 years 95 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

beautiful course with some design issues 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 21, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

The place is stunningly beautiful. The tall pines and well-preserved woods contain the course entirely, providing the best in shade and scenery that one could ask for. Some of the holes are a lot of fun, and the elevation is used well.

Cons:

The hole layout is confusing. Not just hard to follow, but in some cases it doesn't make any sense. For instance, holes 1-9 flow very well, but there's no clear way to get to hole 10. What you do is walk up to, then through the parking lot, past #12's tee and #11's basket, finding hole #10's tee just off the right side of the road (walking away from the parking lot). Hole 18 finishes nowhere near hole 1 which isn't itself bad, but a better layout could easily have been accomplished. Also, many of the front 9 are simply following an existing trail, with at least a couple throwing along a wide telephone pole easement. 600+ foot shots straight down a wide fairway seem like a waste when there are thick woods on either side that could have been used much more creatively

Other Thoughts:

Again, this park is beautiful. The camping areas are top-notch. I would definitely travel back to camp and will absolutely play the course again if I'm camping there. I don't think I'll make the drive again just to play, though. I'm giving 3 stars because the course *is* worth playing, but the land it's on provides a canvas for what could have been a masterpiece.
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3 1
bball7273
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.5 years 72 played 40 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun And For Shure Challenging 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 2, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course was Awesome! It was very fun but also very challenging. I loved the Tee boxes because they were Concrete just like i like them. The baskets were new and were in great condition. The course had a few places where you ended up at the parking lot even if it wasnt hole 18 (i had to leave after 12). This was very helpful. The woods were very quiet and it was awesome to get to hear the birds chirping and all of the nature sounds. The tee signs are brand new and are mostly accurate. Also, there was a great mix of holes. The course itself is brand new and it is a very challenging course.

Cons:

Like all new woods courses, it takes a long time to break in. When i mean break in, i mean like paths for people to follow, the ground having less leaves, a more carved out fairway, etc. I would say that in about a year or so, this problem will be fixed. The course is way out of the way of anything. I was staying in Monroe and it was a hour drive. This means you should probably carve out at least 3 1/2 to 4 hours to go up and play this one. There were about 5 or 6 holes that were exactly the same where they ran along the phone lines and those holes were kind of boring. Also, if you go out of the fairway, it can be pretty hard to find your disc.

Other Thoughts:

You have to pay a 1 dollar fee to play this course which is extremely reasonabe. This course will be a 4.5 in about a year after it has had time to break in. This course has lots of potentional to be the best in the area.
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5 0
MikeK
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 28.8 years 330 played 128 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Off the Beaten Path But Worth It 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 14, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Concrete pads, quite hilly, tight, challenging, lots of shade, double 9 loop style, only light brush off the fairways.

Cons:

Only one set of tees. Pretty far from a decent-size city, about 45 minutes from Monroe or 30 minutes from Ruston. Hole 1 is poorly designed but the rest are great. Hole 18 has a bottleneck in the fairway that makes it more luck than skill.

Kinda challenging to navigate if you don't have a map, ask for one when you enter.

Other Thoughts:

If Disc Golf Course Review allowed us to rate with quarter points, I'd give this 4.25, but since we can only rate 4.0 or 4.5 I'm giving this one 4.5 because Lake D'Arbonne is much closer to 4.5 than 4.0.

Starting on Hole 1, which is a 90 degree turn about halfway down the fairway, you might be worried that you drove a long way to play a really dumb course, but fortunately Hole 1 is the only dumb hole on this course.

Hole 2 is a nice anhyzer that descends as you turn towards the hole.

Hole 3 and 5, while almost the same, made me feel like I was playing on a ball golf course, where you have to control your shot to stay in the fairway or pay the price for trying to get greedy and throwing it as hard as you can. At about 600 feet each with a 40-foot wide fairway, threes are achievable on these two holes but fours are a good score. I really enjoyed these two holes because I like par 4 and par 5 holes.

Hole 4 is a birdie-able shot up a hill and to the right.

Holes 6-9 are a good stretch of birdie holes, but they will make you pay if you stray from the fairway. One of the best features of Lake D'Arbonne is that if you miss the fairway, you'll have a tough time making par because of all the small pine trees, but there isn't a lot of "scratchy" thorn-like rough that can really make you mad.

After Hole 9 there is a one or two minute hike up a hill back to the parking lot. I always enjoy being able to stop at my car after 9 holes to re-load the adult beverages or grab an extra disc.

Hole 10 is a nice downhill birdie run but it's a tight fairway. Hole 11 plays back up the same hillside about the same length as 10, but it's a lot harder going up.

Hole 12 is a cool downhill tight tight anhyzer, Hole 13 is a short uphill birdie run, and 14-16 are all tight but birdieable as well with elevation change.

After 16 it was kinda tough to find 17 even with the map, but once you do, it's a real tough 420 foot uphill battle. The rough is really rough on this hole, unlike the rest of the course if you get off the fairway here you might have to pitch back into the fairway it is so rough.

Hole 18 is a long hyzer shot to finish, that doesn't have the best fairway. It's a luck hole since you have to hit one of two gaps about 6-9 feet wide about 250-275 feet down the fairway.

After 18 it's another two-three minute hike back to the parking lot, but it's all worth it. I really enjoyed this course and wish there were tournaments played here.

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4 1
championlog22
Experience: 15.2 years 19 played 12 reviews
4.00 star(s)

D'arbonne 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 3, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

All baskets in perfect condition,
Concrete Tees
Course circles around to restroom, picnic area in between hole 8 and 9.
Signs are fairly accurate
Great mix of shots
Risk/reward shots
Mix of long and short holes

Cons:

Miss the fairway on some of the longer holes and you may have a really hard time finding your disc.
Lots of loose leaves to lose a disc under.
Some holes have long walks in between but that is unavoidable.
Only 1 set of tees.

Other Thoughts:

Long course. Took about three hours with 2 guys and 2 intermediate women. Lots of easy places to slip or twist an ankle. Pay close attention to where your disc lands because once you go into these woods, everything looks the same. Lots of fun to play.
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10 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Getting there 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 23, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays through a hilly forested area that's dedicated to disc golf. There didn't seem to be much interference from other activities, a walking trail follows part of the course but it seemed fairly unused. Many holes have nice elevation changes, especially on the back 9. There are some fun downhill shots, and some nice tough uphill holes. Some ravines come into play, I like shooting valley type shots where an errant drive can leave you at the bottom with a tough upshot.

There is a nice variety of hole lengths, with some longer holes especially along the power lines, mixed in with some fun ace runs through the woods. There's good punishment for poor drives with dense woods and enough brush to make you really work if you're off the fairway. A couple small creeks are in play, and can add a fun ob to avoid without risk of losing your disc.

The course is pretty new, so all the course equipment is in good shape. The concrete tees are a decent size and have some decent texture. The baskets are in great shape and catch well. The park entrance has maps that are accurate and helpful, and the course signage is basic but adequate to know where to throw.

Cons:

Some of my cons are things that just come with a new course in the woods, so they'll improve over time, and I would love to come back and see the course break in. This paragraph of cons didn't affect my rating much, as I think they're temporary and will definitely be different in a year or so. It's a little rough still, so there are some holes that are still a little pinball style with no good line to the hole. There are some areas where brush is still encroaching on the fairways.

In terms of design, this is a fun course to play but there are some places where it gets repetitive. It felt a little hyzer friendly (RHBH) overall, a little more diversity in hole shapes would bump up the challenge and fun factor quite a bit for me. There is a section of the back 9 where you throw up and down the same hill a few times, some cross hill shots and fewer parallel fairways would make it feel less repetitive here. There are some really long walks between holes and back to the car after the 18th hole, if we didn't have the map it would have been pretty difficult to follow.

Other Thoughts:

This is a fun new course that's got a lot of potential. It's a great piece of land, and the holes along the power line mix in some wider fairways that still have the rough in play. I had a lot of fun here, and I would definitely come back if I were in the area. The $1 to play is a really reasonable fee, hopefully some of it is going back into the course.

Beginners are going to find this one a little tough and punitive, especially as it's new and hasn't seen much traffic to beat down the underbrush along the fairways. More experienced players will find some really fun holes here, it's not going to really test the top pros, but it will challenge the rest of us to hit tight lines and work the elevation changes.
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