This is a real par 3 style course and it is a great little gem. There are a couple of holes where an ace is unlikely, but most of them are very reasonable for many golfers to reach in one throw. The holes are not all short straight aways. There are some good tree placement and some slight elevation. The course is fairly easy to follow along without a map, since the signs are decent and the baskets have the hole numbers on them. The concrete pads are in great shape and long enough for this course. There are lots of beautiful older trees on this course and a deep creek thst makes a few risk reward type holes here too. There was a message board and great parking for this course also. I didn't see any bathrooms.

The hole lengths do not have much in variation. It is too bad that the creek is so deep that retrieving a disc from it is not likely for the average golfer. I never mind the risk/reward style holes, but it does suck to know a bad shot could mean you may not recover the disc. I really am stretching the cons here. There is not much wrong at this course.

The Fun Factor for me was good. I actually enjoyed playing here and working on my accuracy. This is also a great place to enjoy your short game. McKinney is worth a road trip from just about anywhere. Both course here are great.

Easy par 3 course. I learned to play on this course. Lots of tall trees line the fairways so you can practice straight shots. Water hazards on a number of the holes, but nothing to daunting.

Parking area can be a pain when soccer games are going on.

Play the pro tees if you want to make this more challenging. Most of them are marked, if not, just back up a ways. Number 7, the dog leg left is the best hole on this course.

This is an older course as evidenced by many shorter length holes. Can be a good confidence builder due to the fact that many birdies or even an ace is certainly possible. Some slight right and left turning shots. Some slight elevation on the back nine mixes it up. I enjoy the trees found on the back nine to give it a little more of a challenge.

I felt as though I was playing on a worn out, run down course. The baskets are old, worn and covered with graffiti. Definate navigation issues on this course. Most of the signs are gone or missing and just a post with a metal frame on it exists. Teepads are different sizes and shapes. Trash was found throughout the course. No hole stands out as anything special. Looks like this course can retain water in different areas, especially on the front nine.

In general, an easy short course. Not much really stands out about this course. Don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoy these older classic type courses, but the lack of signs, trash and graffiti take away from the experience. Towne Lake is but two minutes away and would play there anytime over Alex Clark.

Are you ready to bag that first ace? Then play here! Very short fun holes to play. Water keeps you in check on several holes. A fun course that is not being used because of the new course down the road.

Just swing over here if you feel that the newer course is too crowded.

Some holes are just too short. This course just needs to be redesigned. More challenging, longer, and user friendly.

Not many holes where you will need a driver.

This is more for the casual disc golfer. Stick here if you are still learning, practicing, or have the family with you.

Alex Clark is located in McKinney under a mile from the new Towne Lake course; so playing 36 or more holes (alt tees) is a viable option in this area. Also, since everyone seems to be cooing over Alex's new little brother Towne Lake, the course was empty when I played it. In my experience, if you don't like to wait, then this course is preferable over Towne Lake.

This is the perfect course for beginners learning the game, people looking for an easy casual round of golf, or players looking to score that illusive first ace.

I liked the course layout and use of the land. The course is simply beautiful and littered with an array of towering trees and greenery. There is good integration in terms of minor elevation changes on the back nine, and 16 is a good pucker hole.

The tees are concrete, so even after a rainy day you can still get some footing off your drive. Holes 1, 4, and 16 seemed to have the biggest threat of going in the disc creek of death, so if you toss in a disc - it's likely a goner.

BEST HOLE/S: #4; #16

These are very short holes, which make since if your throwing an old school Valkyrie or DX Roc 15 years ago, but the new plastics and disc technology make short work of most holes. The length makes for good birdie attempts on every hole (this may be a positive or negative).

The poor signs have taken a beating over the years, and are in desperate need of repair. The pads, though concrete, are noticeably inconsistent even though it shouldn't be an issue for most people.

I read about playing the long tees, which seemed pretty cool, but without any signage I gave up and played the regular tees.

The biggest con besides the length may simply be hole diversity. Most holes are straight forward without much thought into forcing a certain throw. This meant that even though I was satisfied with my overall experience, I didn't have to work hard to make a low score happen (again, this may be a positive or negative).

WORST HOLE/S: #3; #7

Though still a fun and interesting course, an experienced player can tell that Alex Clark Memorial DGC is past its prime. The well-worn short holes that were conducive to the disc technologies of the nineties, now play easy and dated compared to the fancy new course (Towne Lake) down the road. However, this doesn't mean this course is a waste of your time - instead it shows the longevity of the challenges presented by good course design.

Given its history and location, I think Alex Clark still deserves the love of the people in the area. My buddy and I were the only players on the course the entire Sunday morning after we left a very crowded Towne Lake. To me the silent serenity of nature playing alone a course is bliss, but worrisome in that this course may become obsolete and extinct in the future. Updated pin locations, and some TLC to the course signage could certainly breathe some new life into this classic.

wooded, not too long, requires accuracy, some real chances for ace, even for newer players!

#1 is the most difficult hole for backhand rights, need to throw straight or you will be scaling the steep banks of the creek, Need a nice turnover disc for hole #13

the mandatory markers make for a much more challenging round for beginning players

Very fun short course if you want a super fast round. In some trees which makes you have to be accurate. Lots of shade in the summer and lots of ace runs. Creek comes into play but really only aggressive shots. Long tees change the course up alot and make it more challenging.

Too many people on the weekend, makes for a long day!! Many tee signs are missing but not to hard to navigate. If the creek is up you can lose a disc pretty easily but only if its up.

Good times! Bring some water as you dont come back to the parking lot.

Hands down the best course to play in the heat of the Texas summer. Only two holes with no shade.

Course is on a flood plane and gets very muddy after rain and some holes will stay muddy for a lack of grass.

So nobody can find the longs? Ron Sillyman, Phil Clark and I put numbered bricks in the ground to mark the front edges of the long boxes. These directions are typically written as if you were standing on concrete box facing the basket.
1. Behind you on the right.
2. Straight back at the corner of the bridge. Tee from the sidewalk and throw over the creek. Gold Tee straight back an est. 80' from the sidewalk.
3. On your left even with the Tee.
4. Back to the right, next to a tree, short of the gully. Gold across the gully but the grass grew over the bricks. If you find them, uncover them for me!
5. Back and a little to the left.
6. Back to the right, next to a tree.
7. Straight back.
8. Straight back.
9. Straight back, way back, next to a tree short of the gully.
10. Straight back, all the way to the top corner of the hill.
11. Back to the right near the bench.
12. Down the hill to the right in the woods. On the right side of 11 fairway. Close to 16 long.
13. Back
14. On the left.
15. On the right.
16 . Straight back in the woods. Gold aka the horse shoe. Left way left next to a powerline pole.
17. Left near the creek bank. short of 16 basket. Throw down the creek (or around for a 3)
18. Back to the right past the Alex Clark sign.

A map can be found on McKinney's parks and rec page or www.ccdiscgolf.com

This is a very fun course to play on a very well kept piece of land. Very pretty with lots of trees and lots of shade and a fairly large creek that runs through the middle of it and comes into play on a few of the holes. There are LOTS of ace run and birdie opportunities here from the regular short pins. It is a good idea to take the time to locate the long tees as they will make the course more challenging for you...if that is what you are looking for. The long tees are marked by bricks in the ground with the number of the hole marked on them. The long tees provide more difficult lines to get to the basket and add quite a bit more distance on several of the holes. I definitely recommend playing this course if you are anywhere near it or are traveling through. It is pretty easy to recover from a bad shot here so long as you don't end up in the creek. It is wooded, but not so densely that you can't find a path to the basket in most all locations. There are a variety of ways to get to the basket from most of the tee boxes as well, which really allows you to work on your shot variety. There are concrete tee pads and nice baskets. Good signage with accurate information. Aside from the few holes with the creek by it, this is a good course for beginners to learn the game. It is difficult to lose a disc anywhere other than the creek. Also, this course is located directly across the highway from Towne Lake, so you have two great courses very close to one another, making a longer trip very worth while!

The water hazard definitely lives up to the word "hazard" as it comes into play considerably on hole number one and a couple of other holes. It is difficult to get a disc back once it disappears into the water. Flat course with little elevation change.

There is something really special about this course. Maybe it is the shade, or the fun of getting to make ace runs on so many holes in one round...but it is truly one of the more enjoyable courses in the DFW area. If you can't enjoy yourself playing a round here, then you need to just quit. This course is a MUST play for locals or anyone that it is convenient to stop to play while passing through. If I lived within 30 minutes of this course, I'd be there once a week at least. I am almost an hour away, though, so I don't get to make it out as often as I'd like.

I am impressed by this course. The holes are all fun to play, even if you do wind up doing something wrong, it isn't too hard to recover from a mistake. I was a fan of the signs. (although a few were missing their signs) Excellent course for new players to learn and practice on.

Steep banks on the water hazards make retrievals very difficult. Unless you have a tool, getting your disc back might be an issue. A lot of players were disc fishing, and it sometimes slows play.

I plan to play this one often. It is definately a new favorite. I enjoyed the back nine a little more than the front, but every hole is fun. Most of the baskets are directly in front of the tees, but the trees keep it interesting.

Different shot types some alternate tees if you get tips from the locals. Park is clean. Makes an amateur have a good time, makes a pro some money. Plenty of birdie attempts. On an average day i would think wind isn't a huge issue because of the tree canopy. Provide shade. Close to a sports store to buy lots discs

Don't let your newbie friends play the holes near the gully. As mentioned before lacks elevation change and distance. You might have to go to the sports store to buy new discs.

I played this course on a very windy day. I should have called it quits when I showed up. So I can't knock the course for loosing two discs in the GULLY. Unlees its summer, or you have a tool to fish out your discs...throw with warning... headed for the gully, high probability the guy with the disc diving dog will be owning a new disc! I went back with a tool, and low and behold it was gone, either floated down river sank too deep or see above! JASON, from cali, thanks for the tour, and watching my back as i crawled deep into the gully for my viking!

The park is clean and the area is nice. The tee boxes are concrete and most of the holes have signs with accurate information. This course is pretty short but has enough trees to navigate that it still makes for a fun round. The water comes into play on a few holes and it is deep enough for you to avoid it at all costs. Being a short course, you can play it very quickly. We played it on a weekday afternoon and there was only one other group playing. The scenery is nice and the squirrels very fat and tame. Beginner players should find most of the holes challenging but still within their reach for birdie.

This course is crammed into a pretty small area, so it has to zigzag around itself a lot. It is very short, only 2 par 4's. I used my putter from the tee on many of the holes. The creek banks are very steep and if your disc ends up down there you can't get to it. The road is very close to a couple of the tee boxes. You don't need a lot of different shots to shoot par. If you play after a rain the whole area becomes extremely muddy.

I threw a laser shot with my putter off the tee on 12 and hit the front of the basket. I threw my putter with a slight anhyzer on 15 and aced it. All in all, it was a fun round of golf.

Beautiful park filled with old-groth trees that provide tons of shade (pretty much the entire course). There's a pretty large creek that comes into play on several holes to keep you on your toes. Like others said below, there's a great soccer field right across from the ample parking lot...perfect for warming up.

The layout is pretty straight-forward with plenty of trees to keep the shots from being too easy, and the underbrush mainly comes into play only around the creek...no head-scratchers or holes that make you so frustrated you want to leave. Although it's mostly short and full of ace-runs, the course is just challenging enough to draw people from all skill-levels (go play one of their minis and you'll see this first hand). A great course for first-times, and good short-game practice for Adv-Pro players.

All of the original tees have large concrete tees that are nice and wide at the back, providing plenty of room for a run-up. There are also longer/alternate tees on every hole (marked by a rope in the ground), and a few even have a "gold" level alternate tee. Playing from these tees definitely adds several strokes to your round, but you'll probably need a local to help you find them.

The park can get VERY crowded on the weekends...mainly casual players and large groups. In my experience, many of the casual players didn't understand the concept of "playing through", but were all nice enough to allow me to if I stopped and asked.

Some of the signs are missing, but it's very easy to navigate from hole to hole without them.

Parts of the creek are very deep, so be careful if you dive in after your disc.

Despite the generally short length of most of the holes, the ace pot at the weekly mini has been known to get over $500 at times...which always brings out a lot of people (around 40 players last time I attended a mini).

All in all, this is a very fun course to play. When I lived in Dallas my home was at least an hour away from Alex Clark Memorial DGC, but I still found myself travelling there about once a month to try and rack up a few more aces

The course is just fun to play. Most of the players are regulars and are very friendly. The signs are informative. The course is well mantained. There is a good variety of holes from short, to dog leg left, dog leg right, tunnel shots, lightly wooded shots, and open fairway shots. There are trash cans everywhere and the parking is great. The course flows well, It starts you out by your car takes you on a nice stroll through the woods across a bridge along the creek and drops you back off by your car.

A few signs are missing. It is pretty easy to find where the hole and next tee are but if you have any questions just ask one of the nearby players who are friendly and willing to help.

I really enjoy playing this course. Whether I shoot a fews shots under or end up over I always want to play another round. And if I can't get to it that day I look forward to playing it the next time. The creek is deeper than it looks in spots. If you throw a disc in and it isn't visable from the bank I don't recommend going in after it. I play here quite often with a group of friends and it hasn't gotten old yet. I don't ever know if it will. If you are playing around dusk where pants and long sleeves or bring bug spray because the mosquitoes are out.

Alex Clark is one of the most pleasant places I know of to play a casual round. Large trees shade ~85% of the playing area and also serve to block a lot of the wind that usually affects you on Texas courses. The holes are short, but fun, and will work on the different throws in your game. The long tees are very poorly marked and usually only played by locals, but if you stretch the tees to the longs, the course becomes a much better challenge and less of a deuce-or-die course for higher-rated players.

The course also gets props for having some wide open soccer/football fields at the same complex, immediately across from the start of the course. These are a great place to get in some practice drives before or after a round. One of the better driving ranges for discs I know of adjacent to a DFW disc golf course.

Related to practicing/honing your game, if you are out here on a day the course isn't too busy, this course allows you to experiment with a lot of different lines on almost every hole. There a big trees that allow for high-ceiling (but not unlimited) shots and the lack of underbrush means that there are minimal penalties when you are throwing 3-4 discs off every teebox. If you're there alone, I suggest playing this course with 3 - 6 discs, throwing all of them on every hole and use this time to work on putter-drives, midrange hyzer and anhyzer shots, tomahawks, forehands, etc... There are just enough trees to force you to hit lanes for the birdies, but most holes here can be parked via several different routes.

Almost zero elevation change, so very little chance to work on those shots. Course can be very busy on weekends or nice summer evenings, or sometimes the parking area and the first fairway will be overrun by people their for soccer tournaments.

Signage isn't great and the first time through some of the hole-to-hole flow can be a little counterintuitive (though its all so close together it isn't that hard to find your way, a little better signage would still be nice).

Very little "rough" so a lot of mediocre/bad shots aren't really penalized, unless they go into the stream that plays in on 7-8 holes. Stream can be deep and the bottom is stick-filled making it hard to retrieve lost discs. I like the strategic element of the stream, but it is annoying to lose plastic and this is likely to happen at Alex Clarke.

Course doesn't offer extreme challenge for AM1/Pro players. People at this level should be shooting double-digits under from the regular tees and several down from the longs.

The longs mostly add distance or change a line slightly, making holes into harder deuces and easy-3s for better players. The longs would be a nice challenge for less-experienced players however looking to stretch their game. However, a downside of trying to play the longs is that since they aren't well known, other groups are unlikely to be watching for you if you are throwing the unmarked teeboxes. This can lead into additional difficulty on crowded days.

My numeric rating for this course should really be broken out into a "rating for pros" and a "rating for ams" score.

Alex Clark is on my mental short list of "best courses in the country for novice players." -- I'd probably give this place a 4 or a 4.5 for novice players, families, kids, etc... - the short, flat course is challenging for that level, very pretty and will improve your game and your shot selection.

However, for Adv/Pro players, this is probably a 2.5 or a 3-rated course, tops. It's fun and a nice diversion, a decent place to practice putter drives and putts, but lacks much real challenge, even from the longs (if you can find them).

The locals here are a mix -- some die-hard disc golfers (mostly Masters and AM2/3 players) who are always welcoming and good company, interspersed with lots of young kids who may or may not know disc golf etiquette.

The prevalence of young kids and other inexperienced players should make anyone feel less intimidated by the sport. Again, a great reason for this course to be played by folks who are new to the sport, or for experienced players to take friends who have never played -- Alex Clark will be a place to get them hooked.

Random note: I haven't played here very often, but of the 18 aces I've hit, I have more aces here (four) than at any other course. A hammered 8X KC Banshee on hole 2, a backhand CE Eagle up a headwind on hole 4, a backhand original San Marino Roc on hole 12 and a forehand DX Firebird on hole 17. Also, more chains than I can count on various other holes. This is a great place to work on your ace count or to get a first-ace if that's one of your goals.

What makes this course excellent is the fact that, even though it is heavily wooded, the distances are realistically set so that par is obtainable.

There is enough shade to play this course at any time of day, even during the hottest part of summer.

Even with missing signs the course is easy to follow and has great flow.

The concrete tee pads are wider at the back which is good for people who need alot of room to scissor step. This should be the standad tee pad for all courses.

The river is deep! Use caution!

Many signs are damaged or missing.

This course is a tiny bit too easy or I would have given it another 1/2 disc higher rating.

Unlike most heavily wooded courses, this one will not frustrate the beginner.

This is a very pretty course and is perfect for hot days because it is heavily shaded with trees. The trees can be a factor. . not much wind either. It was very fun. there is some water on a couple holes but not a huge factor (except i lost one). it is a very short course with holes around 200-250 feet. Easy par course.

It is a short course and for a first time on the front nine it is a lil hard to find way around but easy once you get the hang of it

Fun course to play

Beautiful course. Trees provide shade and block wind but do not get in the way of play. Most holes have decently easy pars. Nice variety of holes including dogs to the left and right. Well maintained and located in a nice area. Discs not easily lost. Most water hazards are off the course and the rest are shallow.

Some signs have been removed.

Local players seem very nice and so generous as to give me a Champion Wraith on the spot to keep.

course is beautiful. alot of challenging holes. this is a great course to start out disc golfing on.

alot of people, disc were flying everywhere. some of the signs were down, so since it was my first time, i spent alot of time asking where's the next hole.

Am and Pro tees. Shots selections.

Deep water hazards / easily lost discs.

The course plays as a pitch and putt with some challenging obstacles from am. tees. The course is significantly longer from the pro tees with a similar degree of obstacles and hazards.

*The pro tee boxes are pretty difficult to find, but every hole has one. They are marked with bricks flush with the ground with the hole # on them. The best way to find them is to look where the dirt is worn behind the am. tees somewhere, they are not concrete like the am tees.