Best Place to Play Year 'Round?

[biscoe]

That presumes that it's in a place with a population that would attract crowds. Some of my favorite courses are (or were) in places that crowding is/was never going to be an issue.

Repetition may be an issue with only 1 or 2 great courses. Not to mention the possibility that whenever you travel to other courses, they're not as good as just staying home.

Yep.

 

[DavidSauls]

Charlotte does have a lot going for it, though, which is why it's always among the top DG cities.

Winters are, for the most part, snow-free; cool with some mild days, not tee-shirts-and-shorts most days like some places, but tolerable. Summers are hot and muggy, though not as bad as some other places.

Lots of quality courses (events, etc.). Lots of traffic between them, too. Lots more good and great courses a daytrip away, in multiple directions.

 

[biscoe]

Charlotte does have a lot going for it, though, which is why it's always among the top DG cities.

Without a doubt. Charlotte is probably the disc golf capital of the world. (remember when Raleigh was the "disc golf capital of the east coast"?)

 

[Nick Pacific]

All are pay to play so none are ever crowded. There are other free to play public courses which are indeed crowded.

I'm up here in Michigan, and let me tell you, neither pay to play nor being out in the country will guarantee a course will stay being crowd free. We've got several metro and county parks out here that, within the last 10 years I have watched go from pretty empty to getting more and more crowded by the year. These are parks that are both pay to play and are out in small towns pretty far from the city centers.

I'd say don't count on being out in the country and having fees as guaranteeing you won't get crowded eventually. Maybe not with your course/area, but I wouldn't underestimate how important quantity is, and eventually it will be the only saving grace from dealing with big crowds. Some areas maybe later than others, but it will happen.

 

[DavidSauls]

Perhaps, but I'm on a 4.4-rated course that rarely sees 2 groups on the course at the same time, outside of tournament time, and can go weeks without a visitor. The population centers from which players might visit, all have plenty of good courses of their own, and people mostly choose to stay local.

 

[aclay]

I get that completely. Some folks don't mind playing in cold and snow.

I would rather play in more moderate temps, even if there's a long wait. I've had long waits in tournaments, so not a big deal to me.

I don't want either option (snow or long waits), which is why I LOVE living in Dallas/Fort Worth. We have 87 courses within 50 miles of the center of our Metroplex, and 23 of them are rated 3.5 discs or better. Average high temperature this time of year is about 57 here. The forecast for the next several days has high temps in the 60s (maybe 70 one day).

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

I'll trade 10 weeks or so of unplayable winter weather (for my tastes) to get what I've got here in abundance, which is 6 courses within 30 minutes of me rated in the 3.75 range, one more I like a lot at about 3.2 as well, several others worth visiting that aren't rated as highly, and a population of only about 260,000. This isn't counting all the good courses just a little farther away in Battle Creek and Grand Rapids too. I almost never run into big crowds on the tee here.

Flip City is 2 hours away and you'll pass dozens of other good courses on the way there.

Winter goes by quickly and is almost always tamer than when I was a kid 35 or 45 years ago. It's 2 days from Winter Solstice and I'm still playing regularly. I don't even need a winter hat today and most days this December.

Absent is the stifling summer heat so many of you south of me have to endure. Also absent is a bad cost of living and crowded freeways (never mind that 100+ vehicle pileup near Cold Brook Park on I-94 a few years ago due to lake effect snow squalls and idiots behind the wheel...).

We live in a time of milk and honey. Those of you who have been around as long as I have can surely attest to that.

 

[scooby snack]

I don't want either option (snow or long waits), which is why I LOVE living in Dallas/Fort Worth. We have 87 courses within 50 miles of the center of our Metroplex, and 23 of them are rated 3.5 discs or better. Average high temperature this time of year is about 57 here. The forecast for the next several days has high temps in the 60s (maybe 70 one day).

Yeah I'd like to play some of those courses in the DFW area, someday. Actually, I'd like to play quite a few courses that are scattered all around TX.. Not sure if I'll be able to though.

Eventually playing the DFW courses I'm interested in, shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Magnet69]

Just south of the Twin Cities, if I want, I have many courses within 20 miles... As I get older I'm not loving the snow and colder weather like I once did... But I do enjoy playing in the snow... I guess I would say that, here, is as good as any place to play year round... That said, I have lived here all 52 years of my life, so I don't have much else to go by...

 

[txmxer]

I don't want either option (snow or long waits), which is why I LOVE living in Dallas/Fort Worth. We have 87 courses within 50 miles of the center of our Metroplex, and 23 of them are rated 3.5 discs or better. Average high temperature this time of year is about 57 here. The forecast for the next several days has high temps in the 60s (maybe 70 one day).

This year has been a bit unseasonably warm...but, one can expect to have playable days almost every week of the year in this area. I would think if you had a chance to snow bird, someplace near Waco (maybe Hillsboro*) would offer great DG weather fall/winter/spring...of course summers are a beast. I'd guess there are good course in that area, plus relatively easy access to Austin and DFW area.

But, I'm not convinced that even going as far north as Minnesota means cool summer DG. I went to an MX race south of Minneapolis (Millville) and people were melting down due to heat/humidity that day.

*with Covid and moving to remote work full time, I'm considering options. Choosing an "optimal" location for living rather than commuting.

 

[Monocacy]

*with Covid and moving to remote work full time, I'm considering options. Choosing an "optimal" location for living rather than commuting.

Lots of places have nice weather most of the time (however you define that) and plenty of good disc golf courses. I would think that other factors - city size, amenities, entertainment, food, culture, nature, cost of living, traffic, etc. etc. - would narrow things down.

 

[MountainMan]

Or, I could just stay here in Missoula! So far we've had maybe two weeks with real snow on the ground, the rest of the fall and winter have been very temperate. Don't think I can count on that in the future though. I'll be road-tripping through Arizona, Texas, and Missouri on my way to Georgia, so I'll get to check some of those areas out. I almost hate to leave while it's so nice here though!