Going Clubbin'
18 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: The Country Club. Big. Feared. Windy. This course is ready to drive up your score with non-stop OB and big distances. Throw in some elevation and wild Kansas wind and you've got an extremely challenging course. For your reference this review is based on the February 2022 layout.
The amenities are all there. DD's always helpful tee signs, big tee pads, and ECC branded Veteran baskets in great condition. Could use a couple benches (but that would be resolved with a golf cart). Some "tweener" holes have multiple pars listed so you can choose based on your skill level.
Multiple playthroughs are encouraged by having dual tees on 5, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16 and 18 (and that's just the official ones; 9, 16, and 18 all have another one still there from older layouts), and multiple baskets on 1, 8, 13, and 17. It keeps things fresh if you really want to make things harder on yourself while not littering the course with tees and baskets.
The thing the course manages best is its elevation. Big drops on 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 14, and 15 are all going to help overcome the required distances, while the uphill leaps on 2, 5, 11, 13, and 18 will test your power. Hole 9 does it the best, though. You're met with a drop followed by an uphill with OB behind and a dogleg to the right after your 425ft journey of clearing - or climbing out of - the gulf. Then you'll need to stick your upshot into a well-protected green tucked into the treeline.
OB. Whether you love it or hate it, it's there to keep this from being baskets in a field. It keeps discs off the golf greens which is important for "bolf" maintenance, but it also does a fine job of avoiding the other course users by keeping discs flying a certain way. All lines are clearly defined, whether by sidewalk, grass height, or water (hole 16 laughs in the distance).
When trees are used, they're used well. The greens of 4, 6, 13, and 15, the entirety of 9, 14, and 17 and the forced tee shot shape on 6, 8, and 12 all do big favors for the course. The trees are the best feature keeping each hole unique, but there are areas where it seems they could have been used better. The new hole 10 which has been added since my visit looks like an improvement from the footage.
Land that couldn't be used for golf balls has been set up supremely for golf discs. Hole 5 would be useless land in between golf holes, but it almost seems made for discs to fly on. The same goes for 12-14. Oh yeah, and the island hole.
Maintenance is superb. This course wasn't just thrown in to bring in a new revenue stream, the tees and fairways are kept mowed extremely well, and the rough is maintained to just the right level where it's going to be hard to get out of, but you won't be losing any plastic.
Cons: A lot of this course is just... air. Several holes have very few trees (if any) in the way. 1, 2, 10, and 11 have just one challenge: throw as far as you can while staying in bounds.
Sharing holes with the other golf can be problematic, especially when disc golfers are expected to make way for the others. Holes 1, 4, 14, 17, and 18 all play on top of ball golf holes, countless others play next to them, and to go between holes you cross fairways six times. Navigation isn't incredible. On the good side, the golfers I encountered were quite friendly and curious about the "basket game."
The holes don't do too much at once... but they also just don't do much. Most holes can be summarized thusly: throw as far as possible, avoid trees at beginning or end, don't go OB. It's not "boring" or "bad," it's still pretty close to the best that could be done while keeping the golf course happy, but there are some elements of a 5-star course that are simply lacking.
Hole 1 has a road all the way down the right side while asking for multiple max-distance throws. Really, while it's a cool looking hole, 1 is also the hole with the most issues.
Other Thoughts: Distance is the big feature. Is it a pro or a con? That's for you to decide. It's done well, but the course might be made better by toning back a little distance to make holes that present a little more challenge.
I believe the water could have been used better without getting in the way of ball golf. Maybe a water crossing to the pin of 18 from somewhere on 14's fairway or a reverse of 18 with a tee positioned to make running the water a risk/reward shot.
Be prepared to have a very colorful scorecard if the wind is blowing. It certainly makes for a... different round.
The website currently lists the prices as $12 for a round and $18 for a cart rental. I decided to hoof it and that is not for the faint of heart, especially with the lack of benches. If you plan on hitting other courses either make this your last stop for the day or be willing to pay up for a cart.
Emporia Country Club is a great course to stop at while you're in DD's backyard. It isn't the most amazing course out there, but if you don't overhype it in your mind it is a very solid course which you should take the time to enjoy.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.
11 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Home of the Gbo!!! This course will test your game no doubt. Friendly staff that runs the clubhouse. Don't attempt to play without a cart I couldn't imagine. The ball golfers on this course were super friendly and interested in disc golf... most even knew the layout and you can tell disc golf is very common here. Get the scorecard and map from the clubhouse. The course itself is a monster with lots of par 4s and a couple par 5s. The ob is very easy to find and almost every hole has you throwing as far as you can off the tee box. Hole 16 is a super iconic island hole that gives you a layup to the right, or chance to go for it. most the ob lines are fairly obvious. The tee signs are great and so are the dynamic veteran baskets that are all around Emporia. A must play for any advanced and up player. For being on a ball golf course theres good elevation change and some very memorable holes
Cons: Begginers will not have much fun here. Even from the short pads the course is still a monster. The first 5 holes the ob isn't defined as well. There's a couple holes here that have such skinny fairways, and a couple holes that just plain aren't that fun
Other Thoughts: Check out the Dynamic store and keep Emporia Disc golf great. worth a trip for sure price was 18 a person for 4 people with a cart. worth is expect around 4 hour round
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.
Great Course
1 Helpful / 8 Not
Pros: Has two-drive holes, hills, trees (but not too many), has a variety of shots, water hazards, clubhouse, restrooms and more.
Cons: Some holes are too open, but that's what you get on a ball-golf course. Cost is $10 per round.
1 of 9 people found this review helpful.
Welcome to the Club
10 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This course offers a great test of your distance, shot shaping abilities, and your control game. When it is windy, as it often is in Kansas, this will test your mental game as well. There is a solid mix of moderate, and longer playing holes as well. Good use of the ball golf course's rolling hills to add to the fun factor of your round.
Tee pads are excellent and allow for the proper run up and the signage is stellar listing all the necessary information that a player would need. Distance, par, OB etc are all diagramed very well. There are Silver tees on holes 3, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, and 18. Hole 17 will have a Silver basket position for various divisions during GBO.
Mandos in spots to keep you on your toes and there are some very good and challenging lines to be hit in order to score well here. This course is a bombers dream as many holes will test your distance for sure. Great mix of dog leg L and R playing holes and the trees that are present on several holes offer some tasty lines.
The grass is very lush and well manicured, as one would expect on a golf course. Water threat is present on 4 holes to add to the challenge.
Hole 16 is a great risk reward hole, in the GBO layout, but there is a spot to lay up if you so wish.
Cons: There are a few holes where the transition from the basket to the next tee is a tad long. It is by necessity to keep you away from the greens and tee boxes on the golf course.
Some players might balk at the $10 green fee, but it is worth it to play a course a nicely manicured as this one.
Hole 16, the island hole, is only playable during GBO week as it sits on a tee box for hole 8 of the golf course. There are 18 holes here with an added hole between GBO tournament layout hole 13 and 14. From hole 12 you will walk west to 13's tee box(this is the added hole) and play along the western boundary of the golf course. Then you will walk back to GBO hole 13, which will be 14 for the non GBO layout and proceed from there. GBO layout 14 becomes 15, and GBO hole 15 becomes 16. You will skip GBO island hole 16 and play 17 and 18 just like normal. This took a bit to figure out but makes sense looking back on it now.
Only available on certain days so call ahead for availability. 1-620-342-0343.
Other Thoughts: This course really has something for everyone. It is a fun play and a nice change of pace to get to play on a golf course. The cart paths and areas around the greens are OB on most holes and you must be accurate in order to stay in bounds. If you can go OB free you should have a good chance to score well. Gold tee par is 63 and Silver tee par is 61. This course favors those with big arms but is still enjoyable by all skill levels as well. If you are in the area and can get on I recommend doing so. See if you can tame the KS wind and the OB's on this course and let 'em rip!!!
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
As Country Club As It Gets
9 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Well desgined course that makes good used of the land used for a ball golf course. This course requires a lot of smart golf and good shots. There are chances to get birdies but a bad shot will cost you a lot. With the maintenance that this course gets because it is on a ball golf course, you really cannot ask for better grounds. There are several memorable holes and many trees that you will get to know because you either start or finish by them. The water comes in to play more than once, and memorably so on holes 1 and 18. The country club did a good job of keeping their club house open for use for the palyers in the tournament and privided breakfast and lunch options everyday. The clubhouse is a nice place to relax before and after rounds. This is one of the few courses in Emporia that makes good use of elevation.
Cons: This is a temporary course that is only used for tournaments as far as I know. Sad that one would not be able to play this course more often. Practice rounds when it is set up before tournaments are $6. If you throw a disc into the water, hope that it is close to the edge, otherwise there is not much hope of getting your disc back. Some of the tee pads are in places where the ground is less than ideal for an initial shot, I was afraid of twisting my ankle on one or two tees. The baskets were all temporary baskets without a ground anchor.
Other Thoughts: This course can be a lot of fun if you play smart. If you decide to have one of thsoe days where you are throwing OB, this course can eat you alive. I found it more enjoyable than the other temporary course on a ball golf course near Emporia, but both are rather similar. If you do not have a big arm, this course may get tedious and frustrating as there are several long holes. The experience of this course is one of the best I have experienced but would not be a course that I would want to play everyday. If you get a chance, it is worth the experience but you will have to plan on being there around tournament time.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.
ball golf luxury
11 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -awesome grounds, classy and well-manicured
-very challenging layout that makes great use of the land
-tons of distance! 8 holes over 500', 4 over 700'
-nice rolling hills on the ball golf course, makes for lots of cool elevation changes, downhill bomb on hole 1 is an incredible start to the course
-tough OB all over the course
-awesome use of the water, hole 18's island green is sick!
-great baskets, temp signs
-mostly open holes with lots of large obstacles, placement for 2nd & 3rd shots are key
Cons: -all the obvious temp course stuff: you can only play it once a year, natural tees, etc
-no tight wooded shots, accuracy is required to stay in the fairway and have a good next shot but you aren't required to carve narrow lines
-mostly open means very exposed to the crazy mid-west winds
Other Thoughts: This course was used for the 2012 GBO and it is a real treat to play. Being on a country club golf course, the land is obviously very well maintained. It makes for a really cool tournament experience.
The course plays across the rolling hills of the ball golf course bringing many cool elevation changes into play. Hole 1 has an incredible downhill drive to a green with water on 3 sides. Holes 3, 9, 10 & 11 also have great downhill shots off the tee. The large pond comes into play on 1, 2, & 18, the last having a sphincter-clenching island green.
Much like the Emporia Municipal Golf Course that was also used for the GBO, the course is kind of one-dimensional. Huge distance and lots of OB across mostly open fairways with some trees. This is to be expected since the course is on a ball golf course but it is a little disappointing that you don't get to play any tight wooded shots.
Getting to play a tournament round here was a great experience. The wind was ridiculous and play was very slow but playing on that pristine land makes it feel like disc golf has made it and that the event is a big deal. It would be incredible to have permanent courses like this one. Come out to the GBO and play this beast next year!
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11 of 11 people found this review helpful.
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1 
2/11/2022 
8/30/2022
Review By: Surge5 
This review was updated on 9/1/2022
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