Disc Golf Course Review

Great Kiosk map.
Good tee signs
Cement tee pads
New discatcher baskets
Good mix of holes

Main parking area closes, if you are playing in the evening, park in the circle.
Only 9 holes

What is it with Houston and good church courses.

I really had no expectations when i went to play this course. I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed my round.

You star off with a nice little RHBH short shot in the woods that have been cleared for these holes.

hole 2 is mostly straight with a few trees in the fairway to navigate.

Hole 3 is a dogleg left to right and is probably the hardest hole on the course.

Hole 4 throws straight down a clearing with trees on both our left and right.

Hole 5 is another shot though thick tree's on both side but a much narrower fairway. The basket is in a small clearing to the right. You can't see the basket from the tee. I big skip is not recommended as the pond is just past the basket.

Hole 6 and 7 are the most open holes, however hole 6 has OB roads and the basket is on a large pyramid cake type of thing. Think miniature Eagle Crossings. Hole 7 plays as an island hole with a ravine in front of the basket and a drop off behind the basket.

Hole 8 is the signature hole in my opinion. From the long, it's over the pond to a basket that has a built up level tee with guardian evergreens around to the left and right. It's a fun hole to throw for sure.

Then one last hole in the wooded area. This hole was more of a thread the needle than the other wooded holes.

I played this course on a Thursday evening and there were several others out playing the course. Not something you usually see a day after some heavy rain and at a church course.

Would I play here again? YES, I would love another crack at this course now that I know where the baskets are located. It's a fun rec/advanced course.

Basics:
- high quality Dynamic Discs baskets, a Kansas staple
- excellent full color tee signs with maps
- long concrete tees, a little narrow
- beautifully maintained property with incredible scenery

Amenities/Extras:
- really cool cable bridges to cross creeks/ravines
- ample parking
- flags on top of baskets

Course Design/General Thoughts:
- good incorporation of elevation change
- leans more open but also has a few good wooded fairways
- good incorporation of creek as water hazard
- rocky hills make for challenging shots and strenuous terrain
- good variety of hole distances on the longer side
- breathtaking views of Flint Hills region away from civilization
- good incorporation of some low tree ceilings to add variety
- logical flow with variety of shot types necessary

Difficulty/Uniqueness:
- one of the most unique courses I have ever played
- bison are a huge highlight as is the rocky terrain of Flint Hills
- on the longer side with a lot of accurate distance needed
- feeling of this experience is incomparable to any other course
- multiple instances of baskets perched on the edge of dropoffs

- bison pies! (I found this endearing but maybe I'm just a weirdo)
- interacting with bison has some obvious safety hazards
- may be too challenging for some players, with only a few holes under 300 ft.
- fairly fixed course with no multiple tees or pin positions
- no practice basket, no garbage cans, benches on the course
- could be extremely tricky on a windy day

THIS is the experience I came to Kansas for. I believe every state has something to offer, and once thought Kansas was one of the most boring, flat states it was possible to visit. I looked for something that spoke to me, and found Clover Cliff Ranch. Flat this course is not. This was one of the highlights of my trip and maybe my 2nd favorite course ever, with over 250 played.

I should mention I love animals so I just about died of delight when I saw bison roaming ON the course. If you don't like animals this may not be the place for you. The bison have tons of land to roam so I felt very fortunate they were in the middle of the course when I arrived a bit before sunrise. This spawned a new experience for me, "hole unplayable due to bison." On hole 3, the herd was blocking the entire fairway. When it became clear the bison were not going to yield the ground to me, I moved off to play hole 13 through the end and came back to hole 3, by which time the herd had moved off.

As others have said, the initial views here are breathtaking, and I strongly encourage arriving right at sunrise for great views and a course to yourself. Note, as this is private and pay to play, it is closed many weekends for weddings, etc. Check in advance before driving out into the middle of nowhere. That said, I can't imagine this course getting very busy given where it is. Despite what I expect is low revenue, the land is very well maintained, and appeared to have recently gone through a controlled burn which made for a cool mix of rocky outcroppings, charred black grass, and fresh green grass. You can't see this just anywhere. Views of the surrounding Flint Hills are amazing and give a true taste of eastern Kansas.

The course itself is so unique, with wobbly bridges over all the creeks/ravines, gates you open and close yourself to keep the bison in, and a ton of good terrain change. The course isn't as steep and hilly as others I played on the trip, but it is deceiving and you will be huffing and puffing a bit on some of the rocky uphill holes. There are trees on several of the holes that give light to moderately wooded shots, plus the water hazard of the creek. The course is challenging but not punishing... on a calm day. I'm glad I wasn't here a day earlier when Kansas had 20 mph winds or this could have been a very frustrating experience.

The equipment here is all top notch. Not much in the way of special amenities, but this course is so unique and such an incredible experience I felt it warranted a perfect 5. Most of my cons are very minor. There ARE bison pies literally everywhere. They probably have 100 of the things and, well, they poop a lot. Do watch where you're stepping as a fresh one of these would envelop your entire foot. Mostly the bison seem to want to mind their own business but obviously keep your distance, disc golfer vs. bison = you lose.

I loved climbing up and down the rocks here and making the high risk throws to baskets perched on the edges of rock outcroppings. You go from feeling like you're in a wooded area to the great plains to rocky mountain foothills all in the matter of a few holes.

While there is no practice basket, I expect most people use hole 18's basket for warmup which is easy enough if the course isn't busy. I felt the course flowed pretty well and was mostly intuitive, though I did consult my map a few times. The addition of some navigation aids wouldn't hurt.

The holes here are longer, with most 300 ft plus, and a few very long. You will need some distance to your game and several holes require multiple drives and are beyond par 3. Some of the par 3s are very challenging as well. You'll need some uphill and downhill control as well as the ability to shape shots around obstacles. In addition, you'll have to contend with dropoffs and rollaway hazards. There are more difficult courses out there but this one does require a fairly complete game.

All said, I can't think of a single negative thought I had during my round here. This course is spectacular and way, way underappreciated due to its location. I drove an extra 3 hours out and back off my main route for this and it was absolutely the right decision. Play this course if at all possible; I haven't found anything in the continental US that compares to it.

GREAT meeting area at hole 1.
Good Tee signs
Cement tee pads
Like new DD Vet basket
Bomber shots and Wooded Technical shots

The open holes are VERY open
Houston flat course that tends to hold water after a rain

What a great memorial for Eric Paddy.

Hole 1 starts next to the parking lot and has a great kiosk with shaded benches where you can watch and wait for your party to show up. The hole itself is a long hyzer around some trees with the parking are to your right.

Then a couple of pond shots. Hole 2 has the pond just past the basket. The pond may have been high when i took these pictures. it was a do or die putt for the 2 on this one. Hole 3 was just as close but you had to throw over the edge of the pond.

Then you have some more open shots with some distance with holes 4 and 5.

I do have a problem with hole 6, the tee for hole 7 is right next to it. So you throw hole 6, walk back to the tee and tee off on hole 7.

Hole 7 has a triple mando near the basket. You have to hit this and the basket is just into the wooded area.

holes 9 to 14 are all technical shots of different lenths. Several of them have OB lines to keep you on your fairway as these holes are pretty close together.

Hole 15 is mostly open but ends in the woods.

16 is a more open wooded hole.

17 has a mando keeping you from throwing a big open turnover and it also has an OB rough area between you and the basket.

18 is the longest hole on the course with OB cement on the left and I guess lots of casual water on the right. This one played tough trying to stay out of the water.

Then a long walk back to hole 1.

As a whole, this course has a little bit of everything. You want water, it has it. You want technical, it has it. You want long bombers, it has it.

On top of that, a LOT of love has gone into building this course. The Benches that are installed are all well made.

Would I play here again? Yes I would. While I am not a fan of the long open holes, the tight wooded area makes up for it. I look forward to playing this course again someday. For a church course, it's worth swinging by to play.

(Now) has cement tee pads
Course map on Kiosk

VERY short

Little family friendly course at the end of a street.

Very small park with a bunch of large trees. The course makes the best use it could of this small space.

There are some tree's to throw around to make it interesting.

As you can see in the pictures, the course holds water pretty bad. This was the wettest course of the day I played and the only one with that much standing water. It had been raining that night.

There is not much else to say, you will not need a driver, just a midrange and your putter. It's a quick play.

Would I play here again? Nope, it's not worth driving out of your way to play unless you are just bagging it. To be honest, you could throw a drive from one side of the park to the other it's so small, so it might be a good place to work on upshots and putting. Or just to throw some ace runs.

+ Tees are flat, wide and long concrete.
+ The tee signs are basic but accurate. Their containers are rusting, though!
+ The guiding signage is helpful, mostly.
+ There is a varied landscape with dense woods, tree-speckled fields, a pond and some modest elevation challenges.
+ Baskets are bright blue for visibility from afar, but...

- ...There is no system in place to tell players which basket position is in play.
- No lost disc box or practice basket? I could be wrong about that.
-/+ Stray just a little into the rough, and you've got a tough fight out-- especially on the forested links.

About this review's weird title... When I arrived here it was already 6 P.M., and the Sun was dangerously low in the sky. By jogging and speed-walking a bit, I managed to play all 18 links in just over an hour, but it was decidedly dusk by the time I returned to my car. So, let me clearly say right now that this whole review is based on a rushed round. I very likely missed a thing or two.

But even if I did miss something, it wouldn't change the fact that Lorch Beaver is a really good course! For starters, it occupies a nice piece of property. Playing here feels like a nature walk. Link10 is a good example of the good views. That one resembles a spooky tunnel. Links9 - 13 are set deep in peaceful woods. Most of the rest of the course deals in mostly open fairways with gentle yet noticeable elevation and park-style tree cover. But I think the best view can be found at links8 and 17. Both of those tee off along the same path, and there is a pond right there that forms the first chunk of fairway for those two links. I liked the appearance of link8 better, yet I enjoyed the challenge of link17 most of all. Not only does the player have to contend with that pond but then also approach and putt somewhat uphill while being mindful of rollaways and trees.

I didn't like link2. That one was right alongside the entrance road and didn't really have many features. Since I'm in criticism mode, I should mention the roughage. I acknowledge that if I were a better shot, then this probably wouldn't be an issue. However, I suspect that most of us don't have perfect aim, which means that most of us might have some trouble re-entering the fairway and/or tracking down a disc-- particularly between links9 through 13. For myself, link9 was the biggest offender because of all of that dense growth in the swampy second half of the fairway. It took me ten whole minutes to find a bright orange disc at the end of October. I can only imagine how this course would look in spring or summer! Just keep both eyes open is my point. Also keep both eyes open for the guiding signage. It is present, but they need to be a bit sharper and more eye-catching. Some black paint or maybe a permanent marker retouch would do the trick. As a final note, I should say that most of the fairways before and after the wooded part didn't grab me. Credit where it's due: In addition to links8 and 17, I liked the sudden sucker punch of a sharp drop to the basket at link4.

Other than all of that, I regret the fact that I had to rush through Lester Lorch. I wish I could have relaxed and played both Beaver and Coyote layouts, but it wasn't in the cards. I'm glad to have experienced at least one of the courses here. Unfortunately, it might be years before I'm down this way again, if ever. Regardless, Beaver gets a recommendation from me for its pleasant scenery and varied fairways. I don't know that it will change anyone's life, but if you have more than an hour to spare, then this course is definitely worth your time.

Cement tee pads
Course map at hole 1
Discatcher baskets are still in decent shape.
Course is well manicured
Technical course

Kind of short
Parking can be an issue.

Decent little design by John Houck. This is totally a rec course that isn't that long but is a heavy wooded course with small hills and valley's.

Block House district has done a decent job on the upkeep of this course. The fairways are clear, the tree's are trimmed and you do have mulch covering most of what would be muddy spots.

It's a technical course that you DO NOT want to kick off into the rough or you are going to have a bad day.

As per most of John Houck courses, every hole is unique. He always find some great lines and fun holes to throw.

There is even a practice basket under a very shady tree.

Would I play here again? Yes, I would love to play another quick round here. I actually almost did as I had some time to play the day I played it.

Decent signage
New DD Vet baskets
Cement tee pads

Not a lot to work with so mostly open course

This course more of an Advance level course. It's too long for kids or new players. This means this course was built for disc golfers. But it's not a championship course for sure.

Most of the course is pretty open, the course designer did a decent job using the tree's and tree line around the property. The first few holes are actually in a park like setting. Hole 2 even has you throwing over a small pond. Hole 3's fairway has the pond on your right too and an OB fence line to the left.

While most of the course would be considered pitch and putt, hole 5 is twice as long as any hole you had played to that point, over 600ft with a small gap to clear, then dogleg to the left.

Holes 6 to 8 throw down the property line behind an outbuilding and then holes 8 and 9 are in a heavy growth of trees with an interesting basket placement on 8.

Holes 10 - 12 are mostly open shots with a few key trees to navigate.

Hole 13 is a fun little hole. Throwing from an old house across the church road to a basket sitting on a small hill for storm drain retention.

Holes 14 to 17 throw along the east side of the church behind the business and the church parking area. These are shorter shots with a couple of tree's to navigate.

Then your finishing hole, the 2nd longest on the course. A wide open almost 500ft shot across two OB roads. Your fairway is across another storm water retention area and the road is elevated to throw over. This makes for an interesting shot as you do have the road and a couple of tree's to navigate to reach the basket for a birdie 3.

Would I play here again? While I did have fun throwing this course, I would probably play the public park course across the street before I played this one again. While several of the holes are interesting and can be fun, it's not that great of a course as a whole.

Decent tee signs
Cement tee pads
2 tee pads per hole
New DiscCatcher baskets

Kind of an open course
It's long from the longs. (Hence the "Beast"
Mando's to make the course dogleg (not a fan)

Mostly open park style course with 2 sets of tee pads for each basket.

Barling Beast from the longs.

The reputation for this course is it does not always get mowed often and the grass on the back holes can get long.

There is a small creek that flows though the course that does come into play.

For the most part, the course is away from other park amenities till you get to the last hole. The rest of the course is tall tree's but not a lot of them.

A couple of the holes do have mando's from the longs to give you a dog leg.

The longs are pretty long too. Hole 12 is nearly 1100ft. You throw across the creek, up and over a small hill, over a small valley to another hill. It's a sign par 6, only time I have ever seen that.

In general, this is a long and boring course. It's not wide open, but there are just not enough tree's to make many of the holes interesting. If you turn a disc over or hyzer out, it's an easy recovery.

Would I play here again? No, I was not impressed. I had read several reports of the grass being tall, but as you can see in my pictures, at least the full course was mowed in January.

- epic elevation change incorporated throughout entire park
- nice tee signs with full color maps
- benches on most holes
- garbage cans by parking lot
- challenging high risk shots on edge of water treatment plant on
holes 3-5
- flags with hole numbers on baskets help with clarity
- multiple pin positions per hole (only one populated at a time)
- some good technical challenge with lightly wooded fairways
- good mix of hole lengths in this old school design
- built in stairs where needed in some places
- well draining park with no obvious mud issues
- practice baskets
- concrete tees
- Mach X baskets in good shape
- well maintained park
- forces skill at shot shaping; need to be able to fade both ways to
avoid rolling downhill

- significant safety hazards with other parkgoers and roads
- some fairways play really close together when park is crowded
- navigation is abysmal and unintuitive in places, especially early on
- would benefit from next tee signs
- somewhat on the short side by today's standards (con for some)
- no water hazards

Water Works park is a very good to excellent course overlooking Kansas City's water treatment plant with cool views of the KC skyline. Based on the rating, this was meant to be one of the highlights of my trip to KC. In hindsight, while this was a fun course and is well worth playing, it is certainly more highly rated than it should be right now. I personally enjoyed Rosedale Park - Down Under over on the Kansas side much more, although this may objectively be just as good or slightly better as courses go.

The name of the game here is terrain management and roller avoidance. This course is a hike and will wear you out, but the elevation change is masterfully incorporated. My main cons here were navigation, which does some backtracking early and was quite unclear, as well as safety hazards and as a more minor con, lack of water hazards. This course doesn't have the full spectrum of elements that warrant the 4.5-5 scores it is getting. Really, I think it is somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4. Don't get me wrong, it is a very fun course and if you have time, well worth the play. It is a cool course for being smack in the middle of the KC metro like it is.

You can tell this course is older. While the design is excellent with the land available, there is only one tee pad per hole. However, there are multiple pin positions, perhaps added over time, to add some variation. The course overall is a bit shorter, but it doesn't necessarily feel that way due to all of the elevation change. I found this course to be technically challenging but not punishing, though wind did come into play and was a real challenge to contend with. I found the ability to throw in wind and throw both forehands and backhands (or at least an anhyzer) essential to scoring well here.

I think some next tee signs would make a big difference here, particularly on the first 7 or so holes. Holes 3-5 overlook a steep dropoff to the left down to the water treatment plant; if you let your disc drift left here you may be saying goodbye. Otherwise, there are any number of areas to lose your score due to rollers but not too many where you couldn't find your disc later. Rough is virtually unheard of here for the most part and this is a very urban-feeling course. While this may not be my favorite type of course, it is a cool feeling for the most part and very accessible for people. The one downside to this is the multi-use park which seems quite popular and introduces more safety hazards.

The park is well maintained and there is a decent variety of hole lengths. As another perk, the Dynamic Discs store (which sells all brands) on the Missouri side is right down the road. The owners were incredibly nice and welcoming and I recommend a stop there. Overall, KC has a ton of good courses and this one is worth a stop, but I think there are a few that are better. Play this one if you have the time, but I wouldn't base a roadtrip around it or anything. Either way, it's a ton of fun particularly if you like elevation change, and if this one isn't challenging enough for you, head north to Hummel Park in Omaha to experience the definition of elevation and punishment.

Variety: Barfield Crescent park offers 18 holes, with 9 ranging from 300-370', and playing through a fairly level park with enough trees to force some line shaping. The other 9 holes play mostly in the woods, bringing significant elevation change and rocks large and small into play. These holes feature 2 permanent baskets on most holes and mostly range from 200-250'. You'll need to be able to throw left, straight, and right finishing shots to score well here. Holes 3 & 7 bring water into play. In 7's case, it's close to the tee and requires you to hit a gap 100ish feet out to stay dry. Hole 3's pond guards the front of the green.

Equipment: One set of concrete tees. The park style holes have oversized tees and the wooded holes have more modest sized, but consistently level tees. Signage is nice, featuring distance, elevation gain/loss and a detailed hole map. Baskets are primarily mach 3s, but on the holes with 2 pins, the long is another type (sorry, played the shorts and didn't note what type the longs were). There a course information board right off the disc golf parking lot with a map and space for event flyers.

Fun factor: The wooded holes are generally on the short side, but most are tight and you need to hit specific lines to get birdie looks. These holes feature both uphill and downhill throws and the rocky terrain adds a bunch of character. Some of these are very challenging and some are much more forgiving. I really liked almost every one of these holes.

ADA compliant 9 hole layout: All tees and baskets are connected by an asphalt path that is level with the concrete tees and rings around the baskets. With the assistance from a friend to retrieve shots in the grass, a player in a wheelchair could play the full 9.

Inconsistent quality: While there is nothing wrong with the park style holes, the wooded holes were so much more fun for me. I would greatly prefer 18 of those type of holes over the current mix. Some of the tees in the woods will frustrate players who want to do a full runup.

Variety: No multi-throw holes. All par 3.

Water Hazards: These are super murky and make it very difficult to locate discs unless you know exactly where they went in.

ADA issues: Kudos to Murfreesboro for putting in an ADA accessible, 9 holes layout. It has a few flaws though: holes averaging over 300' seems excessive for the target market, two water hazards, and no indication on tee signs for alternate #/routing. Curiously, the previous tee signs did show both the hole # for the full 18 holes layout and the 9 holes ADA accessible layout where applicable, but they were replaced in the past few years with signs that only show numbering for the 18 hole layout. The concrete circles around the baskets and the paths connecting them to the cart path can be rough on discs.

Tee pads: I had no issues on a dry morning, but there are a ton of comments on the other site about slippery tees.

Setting: Barfield Crescent park has a bunch of things going on outside of disc golf and lots of folks partaking in them. There's a welcome center/ranger station at the entrance, a baseball/softball complex with 4 fields, picnic shelters, paved trails, etc. The park portion of the course is pretty and well maintained. The woods portion is rocky and wild.

Rating: It was pretty much a tossup between 3 and 3.5 initially, but I settled on 3.5. What I really liked about the course greatly outweighed the things that I didn't. I'll remember some of those wooded holes for years to come.