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Big Sky, MT

Bighorn Ridge

3.885(based on 12 reviews)
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8 0
brentjacobs
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 22.7 years 659 played 59 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Mountain Course right in town 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 20, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- 18 Portable Chainstar baskets, mostly leveled, that move between 2-3 pin locations on each hole. Some of the moves really maximize use of the land creating completely different looks and challenges.
- Rubber fly pads on every tee.
- Elevation! Great use of the hills and valleys. It makes the course a solid hike but very worth it. Also creates a good amount of risk reward, here's looking at you #16.
- Good variation in hole length. With the Long tees in play the course offers a wide range of hole distances and a good number of varying challenges off the tees. Definitely a fair and fun play for many levels of player with the different tee options.
- Excellent use of the trees on the property. Solid overall balance with some holes that are very open and other fairly tight. No poke and pray garbage.
- Free to play. Feel free to drop some cash in the donation box by the practice basket though!
- Awesome views of the surrounding mountain ranges and of Lone Peak, home to the Big Sky Resort.

Cons:

- The old Chainstars are about due to be replaced. Some welds have rusted out making them impossible to move to other pin positions.
- The fly pads are nice but the ground was never leveled underneath so many are fairly lumpy.
- All signage is out of date and some is missing. Navigation isn't terrible but could be confusing at a few points.
- Couple of tees are a bit too close to the previous target and/or fairway. Holes 3, 4, and 8 come to mind.
- Hole 17 is just kinda meh. Neat little 120' super straight downhill shot that has a ton of random rocks in the landing zone. Even the perfect shot may be punished with a multi hundred foot roll down the hill past the target.
- Not officially seasonal as the baskets stay in all year but mostly unplayable during the winter months.
- Some years the local DG group has arranged for mowing but its rare. Grasses can get really tall in mid summer and cause issues finding discs.
- Handfull of steep hill to walk and down. Gotta be both in shape and take care with your steps.

Other Thoughts:

A wonderful public course funded by the city in their awesome Community Park. The park has a lot of other user areas(completely seperate from the course) for your friends and family from a skate park and rock climbing walls to basic playground equipment. Mountain Golf right in town within decent walking distance and short driving distance of everything one would need. Excellent combination of elevation and trees, this course has been a favorite of mine since it opened in 2009. Definitely could use some updates and polishing but a fun and challenging(if you so choose) spin. Bring solid footwear and lots of energy. Its not a long spin but its a workout.
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7 0
markmcc
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12 years 278 played 254 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun Mountain Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 22, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

While short, this course offers a great variety of uphill, sidehill, and downhill holes, with a nice mix of tight and open terrain.

Teepads are natural and for the most part in decent shape. Several are not exactly level and a bit lumpy, but the distances on these holes works well for "stand and throw" drives.

Small but informative tee signs that include hole number, distance, and par information along with a decent little map of the hole. There is also a "next tee" arrow that is useful.

Baskets were in fine shape and caught well. It looks like they have two - three possible pin positions for most holes. All baskets had wind flags on top which helps with spotting them.

Some of the holes are crazy short, but those tend to be steeply uphill or downhill. Hole 16 is about 180 long, and 40' up. Hole 17 is listed at 130' but is a big drop (maybe 40') to the basket which is on the downhill slope. Huge rollaway potential on that hole. I see where several folks have aced it. I wonder how far your disc goes if you miss your ace run??

Hole 18 is a classic "top of the world" drive from the top of the hill to the flat ground below. Easily a 100' + drop. The drive is wide open and you'll want to throw your entire bag. The area below is pretty clear so finding your disc(s) is surprisingly easy.

Overall just a good, fun course.

Cons:

Navigation can be a little tricky in spots (holes 6, 7, 10 come to mind) as this area is criss-crossed with trails. A group of friendly locals helped to point me in the right direction in spots.

A few of the tee pads were uneven enough that my footing was uncomfortable. In most cases moving back a foot or two from the front edge found a more even area.

Places on the course are quite steep and rocky, so sturdy shoes are a good idea. The climb down from the 18th tee is rocky and loose.

Other Thoughts:

What a great community course. Modest hole lengths make everything reachable, and the amount of trees is enough to add challenge without being too difficult or punishing.
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3 0
Masonian
Experience: 7 played 7 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Confidence booster 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 23, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Very hilly and creative course on the foot of a steep mountain side with multiple snow-capped peaks in the distance. The first time I played alone but had no problem finding all tees and baskets. This course is a confidence booster since it is short and I ended up with several birdies and near aces. Excellent info on the tees. Most of the holes are short with tight fairways, if that is what you like. Very friendly locals and there was a moose on the course (although that could have been a huge negative if the moose was in a bad mood). Free course. Hard to lose a disc.

Cons:

An intermediate player like me should not be able to finish under par his first time playing a course. The course has many short holes so not many opportunities to work on your power drive.

Other Thoughts:

Put up a sign warning about the local moose and what a tourist should do in case of a close encounter. Lock the donation box so I can make a donation!
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12 0
DiSCRoCKeR
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24 years 204 played 45 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Flying Through the Foothills (Redux) 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 1, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

A really fun disc golf course in Big Sky Community Park. Plays up and down the foothills of the mountain. Fairly short course that will give you a workout and will also test you on a variety of different shots. Very good signage for each hole that also show the multiple pin placements. There are currently 3 pin placements per hole that change weekly, with talks of adding another placement or two for each hole! Quite an easy course to navigate too for being in wooded mountain terrain. New alternate tees on several of the holes help to add some length and new challenges to the course, but the alt tees don't have signs so ask a local if you're interested in playing them. Excellent scenery! The Chainstar baskets are in great condition and catch real well. Most of the holes are fairly short but technical. Plenty of ace opportunities and risk/reward shots. Good example is hole 17; it is the shortest hole on the course and could easily put you in trouble if you catch a bad roll or bounce and send you down a steep incline several hundred feet. Hole 16 is a short uphill shot that could send you downhill quite a way too if you miss your zone. Great course for beginners and seasoned players alike! Super friendly locals, too!

Cons:

Not too many bad things to say about Bighorn Ridge. The biggest gripe I have is with the tees, a little too short and they don't offer much for a run-up. Granted you really don't need much of a run up on most of the holes, but a few of the longer holes would benefit from some longer tee boxes. Most of the wood chips were gone too which obviously shows this course gets plenty of use. Gotta watch out for some of the rock placements around the tees as they can trip you up if you aren't concious of your surroundings.

Other Thoughts:

Quite a fun course and a good addition for the Big Sky community. I definitely recommend this course to anyone living or visiting in the Big Sky area!
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