Creek Bed Disc Golf
12 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -A variety of open, wooded, upslope, downslope, gaps, and an elevated tee shot in the open. The primary feature are several wooded holes played in a creek bed. Holes in the creek bed have protruding branches and rocks, fallen trees, and have canopy.
-Hole 2 was the only hole I saw with two baskets. Several holes have a long tee pad. Some basket placements are rollers.
-Tees and baskets are close together, providing a quick pace for those who desire it. Long tee pads have been added sometime in the past.
-Navigation is primarily counter-clockwise with some interweaving. Some tees have the hole number painted on it.
-Lost disc potential is small. No. 15 on the left had thick grass and brush.
-Beginners and recreational players will find the course challenging and fun. Intermediate and Advanced players somewhat challenging from the long tees on the holes that have them, and fun.
Cons: -The navigation is the worse I have played on yet. There are no tee signs, no directional markers, and a cluster of tee pads in the creek bed with no markings. There is no way of knowing if you are playing on the correct tee pad or hole since a lot of the pads are close together. Majority of the numbers painted on tee pads have faded away. The course app I was using had a hard time locating me because of the canopy, so it was of some use. The map on our site in some part does not match up.
-Fairways are in proximity of each other, and with tee pads so jumbled up, I would not be surprised if players are hit on an occasion.
-The baskets looked like the originals since 1993 and have worn out.
-Trash on some parts of the course, and overflowing trash bins.
-Grass looks like it might get mowed on an occasion. The grass passes up the ankles, and the few roller baskets were ineffective.
-The rocks in the creek bed could damage your favorite discs.
-Since there are several holes in the creek bed, any heavy rain is going to wash out that part of the course, its hilly above the course. There was soft mud, and the last good rain was the previous week.
Other Thoughts: My favorite part of the course was in the creek bed. The pictures on DGCR are from 13 years ago, and the course has changed since then. The woods are much thicker, hanging branches, fallen trees across fairways, leaning trees, canopy, protruding branches, skip bounces, and rocks to stop the skip bounce made that part of the course a fun adventure. The gaps are reasonable. The holes blur together but would only take a few visits to make them memorable.
However, the navigation is awful for a first-time visitor with no help aides. My course navigation app was bouncing around all over the place in the canopy, and there were times I figured out as I was walking down a few fairways, that I had thrown from the wrong tee pad or what I thought was short were long tees. I thought it was odd that the No. 4 tee pad was somewhat aiming toward the neighborhood, only to discover later that I had thrown from No. 10 long going in the opposite direction. Another player on the course told me he still gets confused on the course.
Despite the navigation issues, with the creek portion of the course, an elevated tee shot on 5, all provided a solid fun factor, my overall rating is anchored on a 4.0. The round took 60 minutes including the navigational difficulties.
I have read from our site an a few others the concern of safety in this part of Richmond. Yes, I could see the concern muggings, and a shooting at a family reunion. My research told me those happened early evening. I teed at 8am with only one other player, and a few walkers. The neighborhood seemed harmless. Friendly waves, I felt comfortable, and I would come back again if I lived in the area.
Notable Holes:
No. 5 long tees Par 3 at 335 feet drops straight down at 100 feet out and elevated about 25 feet. Large Oak with huge canopy on the left that interferes with any flight of the disc in that direction. On the right an outfield fence about 40 feet from basket. Fun elevated throw, pick your poison.
No. 6 short tees Par 3 at 230 feet. Looked back at the longs at 415 feet, did not see them. An upslope hole that doglegs right at a large oak tree at 150 feet out. You can either aim at the basket thru canopy and brush with a small gap, I did not like the look. Or a sweeping left to right around the canopy, I hit the canopy.
No. 16 Par 3, and I think I played the longs at 250 feet is a lazy dog leg left on a down slope. The dogleg breaks at 60 feet out from basket and upslopes. The basket is open. The gap from the tee is about 30 feet. From the tee the fairway angles to the right, gives the feeling on the downslope that your disc when it hits could slide off into some deep rough on right, but easy to find disc. A scenic hole.
No. 18 Par 3 at 280 feet is a solid finishing hole is a lazy dogleg left that breaks at the 220- foot mark. On the right is a highway embankment with trees and awkward footing. To the left heavy trees and brush all the way down, and a leaning tree over the fairway about 150 feet down. The narrow gap is about 25 feet all the way down. Get it past the leaning tree and you will be fine, Basket has a few guardian trees and a fun way to finish your round.
Signature Hole:
No. 9 Par 3 at 230 feet short tees slightly elevated and mostly downslope directly into canopy, hardwoods, protruding branches, that has a lazy dogleg left at about 170 feet out into the creek bed. Basket has guardian trees. From the tee very scenic as the morning sun was peering in directly behind me. A unique hole compared to the others in the creek bed, which are mostly flat. Gave the feeling I was diving into a rabbit hole. Long tee has less elevation, I skipped it.
Trouble Hole:
No. 8 Par 3 short tee at 325 feet a meandering dogleg right then back left and straight up slope to the basket. The basket sits on a side hill other side of a trail, but the grass was long, and the roller was not effective. From the tee there's heavy trees on the right, and a cluster of trees on the left providing a gap at 60 feet out and 30 feet wide. You see open space straight down and somewhere the basket must be there, but its further to the right. But you have no hole sign, and I threw straight down. There is a cluster of trees right in the middle of the fairway about 230 feet down acting as a guarding for an approach to the basket, the basket about 50 feet past the trees. What I should have been doing was a hard left to right giving my second shot a straight throw to the basket into a 30-foot gap. If you have a big arm from the tee, you can throw a straight high arcing to the right and over those guardian trees at least 40 feet up and onto the green. I do not have that kind of arm.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.
fun, varied city course
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: In-town course conveniently located in SE Richmond.
Unpunishing though somewhat tightly wooded. Some holes moreso than others. Underbrush largely cleared out.
Rather short holes but every hole is largely unique. Alot of variety.
Popular park with disc golf and other recreation (BMX bikes, field sports, horseshoe pitching). I think there is also a community garden and some livestock.
Cons: In a flat, creek plain. Soggy, muddy after rain. Wear hiking boots. Large puddles in some places.
Not all teepads have a number painted on them. No hole signs. Print a course map or follow the order of holes on UDisc.
Basket for 12, teepad for 11, two teepads on 13 are all in the same cove. Pretty confusing what is what first time here. And can be downright dangerous with players on nos. 10, 11, and 12 throwing at the same time. [NB: The course map here (pictures too) feature a different layout for holes 11-13 than what I played. I was playing a tournament, so I wonder if that is a new permanent layout or just temporary for the event. Time will tell.]
Similar danger for folks at the nos. 8 and 16 pads while no. 15 is throwing.
8 has to wait for 16 to tee off or vice versa if there is a crowd.
Sketchy, funky part of town. Come when there will be regular foot traffic. Think Sedgley Woods in Philadelphia but not as alarming and certainly better maintained. Also more open spaces than that course.
Some teepads are actually part of the city sidewalk. Others solid but covered in mud or otherwise sinking into the ground. Still useable.
Old baskets too, but still useable and solid.
Other Thoughts: Gillies has alot of potential. Just respect where it is and what it is. The volunteer community that maintains this city course is serious about making the course enjoyable and doing a fine job.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
A little confusing for sure, but still fun.
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: A few fun holes, a couple with slightly tricky greens. You literally enter the park and you're on the tee for hole 1. A mixed bag of shots to make, but your long distance drivers might not leave the bag, I used just a putter for a few of the holes. Shorter holes, but trickier shots and low ceilings make for a nice change of pace.
Cons: The biggest downside of Gillie's is the random, nonsensical flow of the course at times. I went there once before and got mixed up and eventually just left. Returned recently with more time to spare, and trust that when the other reviews on here say that you need a guide or a map, they aren't lying. We accidentally played the wrong basket twice, and spent a lot of time poking around for the next tee. After getting lost after hole 4 and 5 I installed Udisc to follow their map. Even with that installed, we played the wrong basket from 8. The number seems to show that it went back into the field to basket 2 again, and our confusion was compounded by the third basket having the number 2 on it. And then on to hole 9, it curves around and into the woods to the left, whereas hole 15 lies directly in front of the tee so it's easy to confuse the two. We didn't realize this until we putted in.
The second concern is half of the fairways coincide with another. The course is packed into a small area, and with 18 holes, you're on top of each other if you're following another group. Just be mindful of other players and where they are shooting, as well as yourself.
Other Thoughts: It's fun, just super confusing at times. It's nice to have a little place in the city to play, and it's a pretty quick course. There's also a lot of canopy, so if it's raining it's not that bad of a course. Just get a map or a local to help you out with the navigation and have fun!
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Fun ol course
2 Helpful / 3 Not
Pros: Fun little course downtown Richmond hopefully a lot of new disc golfers and youngsters get out and play. Great course for beginners and people who do not want to lose discs there is no water or really bad woods to lose a disc
Cons: There are some surrounding bad neighborhoods.
Baskets are extremely old and beat up.
Little bit confusing random concrete pads and old tee boxes if it's your first time they are good luck.
2 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Good little course
5 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Good introduction course to new players, has enough shot varieties that aren't too extreme that newer players can learn from. Alternate layouts and log pads can add some challenge. Has a good group that looks after it and tries to make improvements and keep it in good shape.
Cons: For what it is, not really any cons but if you're looking or expecting more you could have quite a few gripes.
Maybe the only thing to really complain about is the smell of the big brewery across the street.
Other Thoughts: Course was set up in a different time, I think the Teebird had just come out so that gives some perspective on the distances. When I first played it in 2002 it looked as if the city had given up on the park, baby diapers and needles we're not surprising sites. Local players mostly took care of the place from mowing the grass to cleanup and improvements. They have done a great job over the years in working with what's available.
This was the first course I ever played and will always be fond of it. Great course also for a putter or midrange round also.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Fun Short Course
6 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: I absolutely love this course. Not because it is the best course on earth, but because it is both convenient and fun. It is pretty short, but has a good mix of wooded and open holes. Par 54.
Pros:
Concrete tees.
Location. Neighborhood is not nearly as bad as it is made out to be by older reviews. Not to say those were wrong, just that the area has gotten much better in the past 3 or so years. It is right next to the new Stone Brewery east coast location. Its only a 5 minute walk from course parking to the taproom. Also very close driving distance to new Triple Crossing Brewing location.
Most holes make you hit a line on your drive, but a good player will have a birdie look on every hole. For me, I get a birdie look on about half of 'em and hit far less than that.
The short compact layout means you can play it really fast. Like 1 hour if you're solo and moving at a decent pace. 2 hours max if you're playing slow with a partner or two.
Rarely crowded, I've been coming here for years and can count on 1 hand how many times I've waited for other groups. Only ever encountered nice folks who help me find my discs.
Well Loved. Not the cleanest place, but clean where it matters. Baskets rotate pin locations every few months. Great benches and tables for chilling between holes and rounds.
Interesting History. The park used to be a neighborhood that got bulldozed during the dubious slum clearance policies of the 70's. Some features from the neighborhood are still left. At hole 12 tee is an old public mailbox, now used as lost and found, and the fairway follows the old street patches of concrete roadbed still hanging on . Hole 9 has you throw your drive downhill trough a tree tunnel over somebody's old stoop. It still has the old address in the concrete.
Cons: Navigation here is impossible if you're solo and new. Have a guide. Grouted in tee numbers are straight up wrong. Some old tees/concrete patches that look like tees will fool you. The map on this site is correct, but you really need to print it and bring it with you if you want it to be any help.
If it was ever crowded there would be some minor safety issues. There are many holes that have you throw at a hole in one direction then drive back at the next hole on a parallel fairway. None of these are blind shots though, so you'd have to be a real dick to hit somebody.
Very Short. Not really any holes much over 300.. Most are pretty well under. Hole 1 Pin A would be a jump putt if there wasn't a mando.
Pretty Flat. Hole 5 downhill is fun. Course uses the variations it has, but its a pretty flat place.
Do not throw your drive into the creek on Hole 6. It is the grossest creek I've ever had to touch.
Clean where it counts, but not clean. Just general random trash of a downtown city park. Years of smokers not getting their butts in the trashcan. Lots of dumb sharpie writing on benches/tables. Nothing really in the fairways or greens, but it is noticeable.
Other Thoughts: There are better courses in the area, but this is my favorite place to play in Richmond.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Good course ruined by Richmond
2 Helpful / 5 Not
Pros: - Fun, intermediate friendly course
- Don't need a big arm to play this
- Think of it as a lazy afternoon course
Cons: - Area is terrible. Disc golfer was mugged during the day on this course a couple of months ago. Overall very sketchy.
- Very slow pace when busy
- There can be a lot of trash lying around. It's not an aesthetically pleasing course
Other Thoughts: This would be a great course to go play just to take your mind of things and have a nice afternoon if the location wasn't so sketchy. I don't feel safe playing here which is sad for how much I like this course
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Worth a shot
6 Helpful / 3 Not
Pros: - full 18 hole course on such a small lot
- decent variety of open/wooded holes
- concrete tee pads
- relatively uncrowded
- updated map is on file
Cons:
- not much variety in distance (~200-300 ft with no exceptions)
- not much shot variety
- no signage
- some tee pads have multiple numbers (stick with the blue numbers and not the stone imprints in the concrete) which only adds to the confusion
- if crowded, could get very cramped on back 9 as multiple fairways run incredibly close to each other
- no fault of the course, but my group ran into several different groups who were either unfriendly, inconsiderate, or both.
- a nearby resident let their two (very aggressive - snarling, snapping) dogs roam free on the course. I'm a dog person (I have two Rottweilers) and even I felt unsafe.
Other Thoughts: Along the same note as my dog comment above, there was a woman who saw my group trying to work around the dogs on the course as best we could. She was yelling at us to call 911 because (as she said) the owner of those dogs has shot at disc golfers who have tried to fight the dogs. She said the dogs' owner was involved in a murder that had happened there only three months earlier. How much of this is true I have no idea, but it did nothing to make us feel more comfortable or want to come back again.
Additionally, there were landscaping crew and trucks on two of the holes which made those two hole unplayable. While I certainly appreciate the hard work in keeping up the course, it was disappointing to see the course not fully available to play on when my group played on the first beautiful, 70F Saturday of the year following a very snowy and cold winter.
Overall the course was worth playing and my group still managed to enjoy a full two rounds (minus those two holes). However, I for one will not be back at this course for a good long while. The lack of signage and lack of hole variety really harms this course.
6 of 9 people found this review helpful.
The land that time forgot
7 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Full 18 hole course set in a park fairly close to downtown Richmond. Concrete pads and baskets that have seen some time, but still catch well. There are some longer alternate pads at some holes.
There is some nice variety here between open and wooded holes. The mix of woods, tight lines and wide open shots definitely keep things interesting, and almost make up for the course's shortcomings.
A little bit of elevation, and hillside slopes are used to add some variety.
Cons: Navigation is a little brutal. No tee pad signs or navigation aids. There are some hole numbers painted on the pads, but you need to find the right pad first. Plus there is no clear place to park near Hole 1, or anywhere close for that matter. I hopped the curb with my truck, and parked near the horseshoe pits, then walked over to Hole 1.
The course seems kind of forgotten and run down. It felt a little like the land of the lost disc golf course. Plus there are random tee pads that appear to be not in use. I think this course has undergone some changes over the years.
Not a lot of length variety. Most holes are 200'-300'.
A few pads close enough to baskets to make sure your head is up if things are crowded.
Other Thoughts: This is not a terrible course by any means, but from the lack of obvious parking to the difficulties in navigation it is not a course I'd recommend to anyone on a road trip. It's a little more trouble than it's worth, and frankly the disc golf isn't worth the time it takes to figure it all out. While there are some decent holes here, there isn't anything spectacular, or that you probably haven't thrown a thousand times before. If you are going to be nearby then it certainly is a playable course that is better than no golf at all. Just make sure you bring a phone or a map, and be prepared to wander a little as you figure things out.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.
Decent but Confusing
5 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Great variety of open and wooded holes. You can tell that the parks and rec dept are trying to do their best to mold this parcel of land into a nice, well kept course.
Generally nice concrete tee markers.
Changing basket locations makes for nice variety.
2 sets of tees.
The layout asks a lot of different shots of the player and has great opportunities for both forehand and backhand. Lines are challenging enough but not overly narrow. Missed shots are fairly penalized but there are a lot of good birdie opportunities out there.
Cons: Navigation is very difficult at times...tee markers and baskets are in very mysterious locations. There are 2 sets of tees, but we felt lucky to find either one on any given hole. Some of the tees have incorrect tee numbers on them from an old layout, and some don't seem to be in use anymore.
Players there were pretty annoying. 2 groups cut in front of us in the middle of the round and slowed the whole course up. 1 group cut to the hole directly in front of us and slowed up the whole course.
The first tee marker is a street corner.
Lots of parallel holes makes play slow because you are always waiting on someone to get out of the way.
I hate to even mention it but crime is also an issue at this course. I never had anything happen to me personally, but there are lots of reports of muggings, etc.
Other Thoughts: This place really needs signs to the tees, and to the baskets. There are some tee shots where you can't see the basket in the winter...I can't imagine navigation is any easier in the summer.
The 12th hole plays straight down a paved maintenance road. Not very nice on the discs.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.
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3 / 305ft. 
2-4 
6/13/2021 
6/20/2021
Review By: DumfriesLizzie 
This review was updated on 6/26/2021
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