13 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Lakeside Hills DGC is built on a beautiful piece of property overlooking a lake on numerous holes of the front nine. The course features some pretty extreme elevation changes throughout. Not mountain golf but some nice undulating terrain featuring a good mix of up and downhill shots with enough level shots to even out.
The tee pads are concrete. All are plenty big enough, level and have good grip. Many of the holes have large stones bordering the back and/or sides of the pads. These serve as decent benches and great spots to set your bag. The also make it pretty easy to spot where the pad is. Nice touch. The whole area surrounding the tee pads is crushed gravel. Just visually appealing tee areas. Nicely done.
The baskets are Innova Discatchers with the yellow top bands. These are all in good shape and catch great. Two possible tee positions on every hole. Some are offset to one side or another, but most just seemed to add distance. Either way, better than a single placement. The baskets where pretty evenly mixed between short and long placements during our visit.
The main challenges here are going to be the elevation and the wind. The wind can wreak havoc if it's really blowing, and it's KS, so that's probably pretty often. There are enough trees to keep it interesting though. Just enough on the more open holes. There's a few "wooded" holes scattered throughout which breaks up the monotony a bit too.
The design is really well done with the space available to work with. Solid mix of distances and really good flow from hole to hole. Where there's longer walks there was generally a next tee sign pointing you in the right direction. The front and back 9's each end near the parking lot which is nice as it's quite a hike.
The tee signs are solid. They feature a basic course map, hole #, par(s), distances to each pin and a next tee arrow on the map. More than serviceable signage. And as mentioned above, there's plenty of next tee signs where needed throughout the course.
The course is permanent and free to play. Not sure how busy it gets, but I'd imagine not as much as the other shorter park courses in the area.
Cons: The course starts to feel a bit repetitive by the end. They did what they could with the land, but it all starts to blur together by the end.
A few long transitions from one hole to the next. I get that it was done to create better holes, but it's already a hike just playing the course. Not so much a con as a forwarning.
The sun is relentless out here. They do a good job of putting quite a few tees in the shade but you'll still be standing out in the sun for the vast majority of your round. It really saps your energy, at least it did for this WI guy.
The tee sign maps seemed off on a few holes. Nothing egregious, but they certainly didn't seem "to scale" necessarily on all the holes. You can see most of the short pins from the tee, the long positions is where this is most apparent.
Other Thoughts: This was a fun course. I don't generally like open, ball golf types of courses but this one was pretty good. The elevation is the saving grace or this would just be an average course in my book.
I'd recommend giving this one a shot if passing through. It's a fun course, but it will take you awhile to play it, so keep that in mind. I haven't played anything else in this area, but this was a good one.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.
Challenging, Hilly, and Fun
9 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Lakeside Hills, recently redesigned, has a great mix of short and long holes, par 3 and 4, and great hill usage. The uphill holes (1, 4, 8, and 10) are some of my favorite uphill holes I've ever played, since those are usually filler holes on other courses.
Tee pads, signs, and baskets are good quality. There's good signage to help you find the next tee. Rocks serve as benches on roughly half the holes, and there's a new wooden staircase to help you get to hole 4's tee, an area that is often muddy.
The only holes that are heavily wooded, holes 4, 5, and somewhat 18 and 10, are really challenging and provide a nice variety away from the openness of everything else. But maybe 4 is a little too tight, though two great shots will certainly get you to the long pin.
Most holes have some kind of opportunity to air it out, while still having some danger. Holes 3, 13, and 16 have a low ceiling off the tee, 1, 16, and 17 have OB, and the hills provide danger of sailing long or having awkward putts. Hole 9 is a far downhill shot like none other due to trees forcing a higher line than would be optimal. Hole 18 has a weird line into the long position, but a good drive will have a somewhat open approach.
On the longer holes, there's still some variation and obstacles to avoid. Unless you're able to place your disc in the same spot off the tee, approaches will vary wildly from round to round. A small difference in drives can result in different angles to the basket for your second shot. So even if you won't be hitting any trees off the tee, there is still reason to put the disc on a certain side of the fairway.
Cons: Most holes, including pretty much every hole on the back 9, play directly either north or south. It gets repetitive, especially when there is little variance with wind direction. Speaking of wind, parts of this course are pretty elevated, so there's a lot of wind sometimes.
A few of the par 4's don't quite stand up to standard. They're still fun and challenging, but a long shot can get pretty far down there. At the same time, there are a couple of par 3's that play as two-shot holes, despite being labeled otherwise. As a result, several holes will have pins whose pars don't make sense for several skill levels.
There's some opportunity for mud after rains, but grass has grown on the new hills in the last year, which should keep everything mostly dry.
A handful of holes seem like filler to me. Hole 2 is just straight uphill and pretty boring, holes 6 and 7 are flat and a little boring, and hole 15 is unexciting as well. I don't think any of those add anything to the course. A few of the open holes on the back nine can start to get repetitive, although they do all have a different fairway shape to them. I'm also personally not a fan of hole 16, due to the low ceiling, then odd upslope. It's unique, but in a bad way in my opinion.
Other Thoughts: This course has finally recovered from the redesign when the rest of the park was improved and a new road ruined a couple of the former holes. Only holes 1, 9, and 10 are the same as the original layout. With signs and grass, it is in good condition. However, I think there was some missed opportunity to have some really awesome holes, even a par 5 or two. There's certainly the land for it, especially if the pond near hole 3 was available.
There's a path running through parts of the course, mainly coming into play on holes 1, 3, and 17. Make sure to avoid other park users, but the path does make a challenging OB element on those holes, especially since 1 and 3 have woods on the opposite side of the fairway as the path. Fortunately, it's easy to see if there's anyone coming on all those holes.
I really like this course. I think it's one of the more challenging and accessible long, open courses out there while still managing to give a different experience every time. This is certainly a round down to get to a 4.0 review for me.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.
No Hill Left Behind
12 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: DisCatchers
Practice basket.
Elevation is used incredibly well, and several holes use it in ways I've never seen done before (plateau green on 11, 12 plays down the top of a 350' hill with a fairway about 12' wide).
The course is out of the way of the rest of the park, but if you need a restroom they are nearby (near 3/4).
Easy to play just 1-9 or 10-18 if you want. Neither is better than the other.
Very few holes feel like "park golf." 6, 7, and 15 were the only ones that felt that way.
Elevated tees help out a lot on a 550' par 3... oh and the other holes, too.
Navigation is some of the best around. Either signs near the end of every hole point you to the next one, or it's painfully obvious where the next tee is.
Weirdly, it's a very open course while still feeling technical. On par 4s, your drive can land kinda anywhere, it's your second shot that counts.
Cons: Some of the baskets are damaged.
A few of the holes on the back nine get a little repetitive. Long flat drive, second shot, hopefully have a putt. 13, 14, 17, and 18 are the worst offenders.
Some of the new signs are a little misleading. Hole 10 shows the long pin being straight out when it is actually about 50' off to the right.
Other Thoughts: This is one of the best courses I've played just golf-wise. It's on the very low side of moderately wooded, with only 3 holes having major woods to deal with, but the use of elevation and hills is so unique and challenging that you'll enjoy many, many trips here. Even on the "boring" holes the trees are placed to be in the way, but a good shot will keep you safe. Could use a little more grass in areas to keep from getting muddy, but outside of that this is a near perfect course
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.
Lakeside Landing
8 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: What I like about Lakeside Hills DGC is the elevation changes. My favorite element in course setting. There is at least a little on most holes here, and a whole lot on a couple of them.
Other positives are the great concrete tees and signs, good baskets with dual pin positions on many holes, converging nines layout, and a little water and woods here and there. There are some very long holes, as well as a few birdie opportunities. Par varies depending on pin position, and some of the par 3's are quite lengthy.
Hole 1 is a good start, a long uphill drive with a pond near the short pin. Hole two was a nice one also, teeing over a ground swell to a blind pin that is down the other side of the hill a fair distance. Hole 4 is a fun drive out of the trees, and a good birdie chance if pin is in the short. Number 9 is long and downhill, and takes a good snap to keep from fading out against the lakeside breeze. The back nine starts uphill again on 10, this time through a corridor of trees until it flattens out. 17 is a massive downhill drive has a couple of mature trees to get around. The finish is strong, maybe my favorite hole here and one of the most wooded. It is moderately downhill and there are gaps that constrict the line.
Cons: There are holes that are long and mostly open, that can be a bit dull. Long distance may frustrate newbies and those with limited distance.
I did turn one over and lose sight of a disc on hole 15, and it sailed away down the hill to the right side, never to be found. It was a nice red and yellow tie dye Tee Bird I have had for a while.
The great weather brought out lots of disc golfers, and a large group caused some delay.
Other Thoughts: DGCR app listed par at 56, but I'm not sure if every hole was accurate to the par for pin locations that day. I was way over what ever actual par was, at 67. Even the three birdies couldn't help me from being double digits over par.
Birdland kind of reminds me of a more tame version of Blue Valley in KCMO. Fun and well designed, but not as much elevation change or trees. It is one I will give my seal of approval. One of many great courses in the area, and worth checking out.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.
Lakeside Hills: quite appropriately named
9 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Nicely balanced course that sprawls around a somewhat self-contained section of a large, multi-use park.
• Variety: Very good. About 2/3rds of the fairways are relatively open, allowing for multiple lines off the tee; about 1/3rd are well-wooded, limiting you pretty much one line; provides decent balance overall.
• Challenge: Good. Better suited to advanced players. Rec and Intermediate players probably won't even sniff course par because of the length on some of these holes, but nothing's intimidating. Many holes are pretty open off the tee, but make you work around some well-placed trees on approach shots, so precision with putters/mids will be rewarded. I don't recall any truly weak holes... all of them made you earn a par.
• Elevation: Very good. Plenty of it, used in a variety of ways to keep things interesting.
• Aesthetics: Very nice. Wonderful views of the lake on several holes. Pleasant rolling hills and nice woods make for a great setting.
• Equipment: Good. Decent tees. Yellow Innova are easy to spot in the distance. Good signage to help you around.
• Navigation and Flow: Good. Loops back to parking after #9 (particularly convenient to refill with fresh water if you stashed a cooler in your car). Only a few spots where we used the map (from 9 to 10, and 10 to 11), but it's not really a necessity. Transitions nicely from woods to open holes back to wooded a couple of times.
• Cart Friendly: Yes.
Cons:
• Several holes where walking path can come into play and one hole where a road with cars could.
• Limited parking.
• No bathroom (porta john before 1st hole).
• Despite 6 or so holes being well-wooded, the course plays excessively long and straight off the tee. Several holes "allow" for various lines off the tee, but few actually "require" something other than long and straight ahead... needs a few holes that actually require you to shape a shot.
Other Thoughts: Wind is likely to be a factor, especially on holes 5- 9, and 13-17. Misreading the wind or poor decision making can add a lot of extra strokes on the long, open holes.
Strings together several open holes in a row, so there are stretches with little to no shade on hot days.
Makes an excellent complement to Heritage Park (about 10 miles away). Both courses are very good, with each providing what the other is missing. While neither course puts it all together (which keeps me from rating either one higher), they make an ideal pairing for a great day's discing.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Love it.
1 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Versatile course. Open and closed, short and long fairways with drastic elevation changes.
Most holes have maps
Cons: Lots of snakes
short tee pads
Some maps scratched out
Other Thoughts: Great course that calls for every shot in your arsenal
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Challenging and scenic Birdland
3 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: This course is on land once used as a ball golf course. The City maintains the mowing extremely well. The course is challenging and flows well. The Innova Pro baskets catch great. There are many nice scenic views and a serene feel on this course.
Cons: There are no restrooms and parking near hole 1 for only about 25 cars.
Other Thoughts: I am somewhat biased as I am the designer and live 5 minutes away, but this is one of my favorite courses to play in the Kansas City area.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Amazing course
3 Helpful / 7 Not
Pros: My favorite course of all time it offers so much shot selection that it is fun for everyone and anyone can play good on it weather you have a 500' drive or a great 300' hyzer flip
Great navigation has signs telling you where to go
Multiple baskets to shoot at every hole
Great unique tee pad setup
Little chance of loosing discs
Elevation changes
Long distance holes
Finnese shots
Cons: A couple of the tee signs were stolen
Lack of parking available
Other Thoughts: Geat challenging course
3 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Not a super exciting course
2 Helpful / 5 Not
Pros: Fun course with a fair amount of elevation change. Lots of distance. And fairly open holes.
Cons: If you haven't played the course before or if baskets get moved around you'll have to walk the fairways to get an idea of location. Not all pads have tee signs and the ones that have them arent super accurate. Nothing super technical. But that was only my first impression after only playing once on a pretty windy day.
Other Thoughts: I enjoyed this course but it is definitely a course better suited for moderate to experience players. I was playing with some beginners and if you can't crank a drive 325'+ you are going to run up a lot of strokes.
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.
A great reuse of an old ball golf course
4 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: - Well maintained
- Great tee pad setup (concrete pads with lots of rock around them, signage, and benches and/or boulders, and pretty consistently shaded)
- Well signed
- Area the course is in is dedicated to the course
- Old golf cart paths follow some of the course
- Some pretty good elevation changes
Cons: - Not enough trash cans
- Could lose a disc pretty easily
- No convenient restrooms
Other Thoughts: This course plays more towards the strengths of distance players as opposed to technical players, especially when the baskets are at their long positions. Water is only really a hazard on hole one and wind can be a big issue. The course seems so big it rarely seems all that crowded to me.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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5+ 
4/3/2021 
12/26/2020
Review By: kp_1024 
This review was updated on 8/9/2021
Hole #5 
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