In progress
Pros: Well marked pins and tees.
Good info given to players on the sign posts for each hole.
Cons: This is still a work in progress. Quite rough, but fun. Many areas are still wet and muddy. The holes are all relatively newly cut out of the woods and should be walked with caution.
Other Thoughts: Very fun course, definitely want to come back when they finish the course!
Check for ticks after you play! This is probably an obvious thought. But my wife and I found one after we played and weren't really expecting it.
Hilly, but not too bad.
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -Multiple Tees for all but one hole
-Nice concrete tee pads
-Par is very generous
Cons: -Needs more trash cans and some benches
-Signage is missing on several tees including #1
-You have a choice of long paths between #4 and #5
Other Thoughts: Not as bad a some of the other reviewers thought, though I played early in the season and was not punished by rough. The amateur tees play pretty short and it was a fairly quick round. I layed up on #6 to have a better shot over the gorge. It IS a hilly course, so be prepared. There was only 1 tight tunnel shot (#4), the rest were OK. I would play again. Note that the first tee is at the top of the hill under the power lines to the right from the parking lot (with the AM tee down the hill a bit on the left.)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
A nice varied course
1 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: It has downhill shots, uphill shots, through the trees, over water, blind baskets. Long and short shots. 8 of the tees are multiple. Fairways have always been mowed.
Cons: No signage at the beginning. Holes 1,3,6,8 and are missing signs on the long tees. 4 and 7 missing all signs. When there is a lot of water running through the creek, moving to hole 2 can be impossible. No signs to point to next hole.
Other Thoughts: Take the left trail from hole 4 to the street then to 5. There are a few trails that meander through the woods to 5.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
No Thank You!
2 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: I think the Perfect Storm happened the afternoon I attempted to play Southwoods. The events were:
It was my sixth course of the day and I was exhausted.
It had been raining all day and all that thick rough was now soaking wet.
A summer lightning storm was all around me.
It was dinner time and I needed nutrition not aggravation.
In spite of these events, Southwoods is a lost disc waiting to happen. # 1 plays 471' down the fairly narrow power lines. A perfectly straight drive down the middle could easily land in three feet high grass never to be found or requiring a full scale grid search. A not so good drive sails into deep, ugly rough on either side.
The next two holes play up the same the power line hills and the deep grass is still a major inconvenience. Then # 4 was once a pretty cool, little technical throw in the woods. Now it's overgrown almost to the point of being unplayable.
Then # 6 is a ridiculous hole to have on a rec course like this. It's 543' from the longer tee. You have to hit a miniscule window which is directly above an ugly gorge, with nasty standing water. I would be OK with this hole in a Pro level tournament but on this course, it's just a complete waste of the player's time. Welcome to the bottom of the gorge, boys!
Cons: Way overgrown. Too much time searching for discs in the rough OR losing discs.
# 9 hole plays down a slight hill and then requires a walk back up to the parking lot. Poor design.
Missing signs. Navigation is shaky anyway. An on-line map would help.
Other Thoughts: This is one of those courses you play and think, I'm so glad I don't to come back and endure this agony/aggravation again. Apparently, some players enjoy this course. I doubt hey'll encounter many other players here too often.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Decent, but better courses around
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: -Tee pads are in solid shape, and multiple tees for most holes
-Baskets caught well
-Nice elevation changes
-Nice variety of shots, can use many of the discs in your bag
-Some very nice distance shots for a 9 hole course
-Pretty quick round
-Tee signs are helpful and in reasonable shape
Cons: -Rough is very bad in some spots. Poison ivy and such. Might have to go looking for a disc a few times each round
-Not sure how much better the course can be maintained, but just sort of an awkward area to put a course at. Not exactly sure how to describe it, but just a bit too naturey for my taste
-Navigation is a bit tricky. Mostly flows logically but it might take a bit of wandering for a first-timer
-Pars are a bit forgiving
Other Thoughts: There are a lot of positive things that this course does that many others don't, including elevation changes, multiple tees, and a wide variety of shots. With that said, I feel that the negatives outweigh the positives in this case. The weeds and rough really hurt this course in my opinion, and that really took some of the fun away from me. I would recommend stopping if you are a course bagger, but otherwise you are better off going to a course like Ewing or Grandview which have more holes and are better overall.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Southwoods Park
1 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Challenging course.
Short play time if your looking to be there and back quickly.
Cons: Front 5 are not maintained at all.
Discs can be easily lost.
First hole fairway is not mowed at all and is a pain to find discs.
Not for beginners.
Other Thoughts: The back 4 holes were fun and more open but I was just not a fan of this course at all. I was playing with beginners and we spent most of the time looking in the very dense woods for discs.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Love this 9!
0 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: This is a fantastic course if you are looking to get nine in.
Clean (thanks to the folks I have seen coming out with multiple bags of trash)
Easy to navigate, good signage.
Good elevation and shot lines...long, short, tight, bombers...everything in just nine holes!
Cons: Late spring to early fall...the rough is ROUGH.
Discs get lost.
Lots of thorny plants that tear you up. Poison Ivy also.
Pars on the signs seem a little generous, so we play everything as a par 3 except 6 and 8...for a par 29.
Other Thoughts: Hey...don't hit the rough :)
I love this course!
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
0 Helpful / 3 Not
Pros: Great variety of lengths.
Pro and Am tees.
Challenging course.
Easy to find.
Nice views.
Really liked the drive over the creek on #6.
Cons: The rough is rough.
Tough to navigate the 1st time. Spent a lot of time looking for the next tee. Could not find #7 w/ out help. (straight across the street from #6, look for a path up on the left)
Other Thoughts: Fun course and worth the drive over. Wear hiking shoes and bug spray. Don't hesitate to play the AM tees the first few times to learn the lay of the land as the rough can be brutal.
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.
9 holes that feel like 12
2 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: I cut my teeth on this course, back in the day and it has gone through some changes and improvements. It is a surprisingly difficult 9 hole course. My friend and I use to drive over here after school almost every day and play the course a few times. It was nice to come back and see they seem to be keeping up on the course.The first hole starts up to the right of the parking lot and shoot way down to the bottom of the hill. When you first look at the fairway it looks huge, but it is easy to have your disc turn into the thick woods which border both sides of the fairway. ( I have found a lot of discs in these woods over the years withouth names. Please write your name and number on your discs people! A lot of people will call you back to give it to you.)This fairway in the middle of the trees continues for the next two holes and you make your way back up the other side of the decently steep hills. The next hole is in the woods back down the hill and take a left after the huge bushes that guard the path to hole 3 on the right side. Hole #4 is a shock after the first three holes with a tight fairway to the basket. It is easy to get nocked off the fairway and into the woods. This hole makes you practice throwing your disc verticle to get out of trouble. Hole five contines up and to the left of the basket almost to the road. #5 is merely a warm up for my favorite hole, #6, but it is a fun one to have in the mix. If you play late int he day you migth see a lot of bats here. This is a long one and you have to place your drive carefully to avoid the nasty water hazzard. It is a wonderful view from up on top. Hole #7 is a flat smaller version of hole #1 and continues to add a nice variety to the holes. #8 is a dog leg right 3/4ths of the way down the fairway with tall grass along the fairways, and some trees guardign a shortcut to the basket. Hole #9 is a short hole with ace potential, but probably just a nice birdie, as long as you hit your line. Overall a very nice course, one of the best 9 hole courses I have ever played. There are also shorter pads to throw from on each hole if you don't have a big arm
Cons: If you have not played here before the next hole can occationally be hard to find. Years ago, after #3 I tried to keep going up the hill through the small path and couldn't find hole #4. Once you know the layout or read other reviews telling you where they are, it is not a problem.
Other Thoughts: Enjoy the course and leave it cleaner than when you arrived. Also, there path between hole #1 & #9 which leads back int he woods and you can go hiking and crossing the river a couple times. It is a fun place to hike and full of hills.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Surprising 9 hole
1 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: - Convenient location for golfers in the west des moines/urbandale area.
- Surprisingly long for a 9 hole course
- holes are creative and have a fine mix of ruffage/openness/trees.
- Great use of landscape and elevation, really adds character and challenge.
- Fairways are tight but well groomed.
Cons: - Ruff areas have quite a bit of heavy ground coverage and tall weeds. A wild disc may take a while to find.
- Right behind a police department but that is only on 2 holes, so not a problem for the majority of the course.
- a few of the hole's connecting paths through wooded areas are a bit overgrown and hard to find for the first timer.
Other Thoughts: I thoguht this course did a wonderful job on the 9 holes it has. They could have easily added a few holes on the land, but it seems like they really put thought into the course rather then overloading it with short holes. This is a course that will also test a great deal of your different techniques. A few downhill shots and a few killer uphill shots, not to mention tightly wooded fairways and one very small, but vicious water hazard. Took me and a friend just under an hour to get through it on our first time.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Course Extinct 
3 / 151ft. 
1 
7/4/2016 
7/5/2016
Review By: FredHJ12 
This review was updated on 7/11/2016
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