Blue Valley Park - Short Course reviews
12
0
Always good to have options
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Nov 18, 2020
Played the course:once
Pros:
Tons of elevation. All but one hole have major elevation changes on them, and that hole has a hilltop green to keep things interesting. It can be a bit deceptive (My drive on the first hole glided 125' past the pin and OB) but it makes a really good short course.
Navigation really isn't too tough. Most of the time, if you see a teepad from the green, that's the tee you need to head toward (This excludes hole 8 to 9).
This course is almost always empty due to most visitors coming for the main attraction: the 18-hole course.
For being such an aged course, the baskets are in pretty great condition. The basket of 2 had a single broken chain but that was it.
There is a newer blue practice basket on an island across the road from 9's basket.
The teepads are all unique. Several follow the design of the main course where the tee is shaped like the hole itself, while some are a wedge shape pointing toward the basket.
The distances of holes vary pretty well. The shortest right around 200' and the longest at 466'.
Navigation really isn't too tough. Most of the time, if you see a teepad from the green, that's the tee you need to head toward (This excludes hole 8 to 9).
This course is almost always empty due to most visitors coming for the main attraction: the 18-hole course.
For being such an aged course, the baskets are in pretty great condition. The basket of 2 had a single broken chain but that was it.
There is a newer blue practice basket on an island across the road from 9's basket.
The teepads are all unique. Several follow the design of the main course where the tee is shaped like the hole itself, while some are a wedge shape pointing toward the basket.
The distances of holes vary pretty well. The shortest right around 200' and the longest at 466'.
Cons:
Several baskets have been in the ground so long they have begun to lean downhill. This is nice for putting straight uphill/downhill, but when putting from the side it's very wonky to look at.
There is no signage or direction markers anywhere. There are a few blind baskets that having a small sign for would be nice and finding hole 9's tee from hole 8's basket will frustrate anyone without a map. Finding hole 1 from the parking area could be hard too.
There is very little in the way of obstacles. Hole 3 has a low tree near the tee but apart from that there are pretty much zero obstacles in the fairways
The area of town is definitely a bit sketchy, and you may see some strange things here, but it's unlikely in this part of the park.
There is no signage or direction markers anywhere. There are a few blind baskets that having a small sign for would be nice and finding hole 9's tee from hole 8's basket will frustrate anyone without a map. Finding hole 1 from the parking area could be hard too.
There is very little in the way of obstacles. Hole 3 has a low tree near the tee but apart from that there are pretty much zero obstacles in the fairways
The area of town is definitely a bit sketchy, and you may see some strange things here, but it's unlikely in this part of the park.
Other Thoughts:
This is a good option for some tough elevation challenge if you don't feel like playing the world's (former) longest 18 holes. It can also easily be combined into the long course to make a 27-hole round for a tournament or league. It's a great compliment to the greatest course in the area, but I know most players will be visiting the main course.
9
0
Upshawt1979
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
20.9 years
550 played
429 reviews
Valley Variety 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Feb 1, 2020
Played the course:once
Pros:
9 hilly holes hardly hiding historical hijinks, Blue Valley Park's short course is humbly hip. It has irregular, non-uniform concrete tee pads. The aged baskets are not in bad shape. Grassy hills dominate the terrain, with mature trees sprinkled throughout. I really like the elevation change, but it is tame compared to the long course. The distances from tee to basket on each hole are also much easier to cover, with fewer trees in play. There are roads along the side of several holes that can put you OB if you miss the center.
Plenty of birdie chances on this side of the park. The course starts across the road from the pavilion, and there is a practice basket in the wedge of grass next to the parking area. Hole 1 is downhill, you will see a concrete bench next to the tee. There is only one large tree to be avoided on the left side near the tee, unless you turn it over toward the water. Hole 2 tees under a tree to the right of the first basket. It plays back up the hill and is wide open. Hole 3 is also uphill, a little further this time. There is a low branch that is difficult to avoid. If the tee shot is too high it has a good chance of a knock down, and too low runs right into the hillside. This might be the toughest hole to birdie out of the nine because of this branch.
The 4th hole is a downhill midrange shot, and there are a couple of small trees on the way to the pin. Hole 5 is also kind of a midrange, slightly uphill. There is a big tree to the right of the fairway if you stray from the line, and the basket is on the edge of a small hill that can make the putt tough if you have a bad angle or roll out. Hole 6 is uphill again, with a tree branch hanging over the tee, but not quite as menacing as the one back on the 3rd hole.
Hole 7 is uphill, but it flattens out about halfway to the pin. There are one or two depressions that can catch you on the right side, but no trees until you pass the basket. Hole 8 has trees along the right for most of the fairway. It opens up before you get to the pin, which is nestled in among several small hills. Hole 9 is the only par four. It is mostly open and fairly flat. The pin is on a bump, with a tree to the left and slightly behind it.
Plenty of birdie chances on this side of the park. The course starts across the road from the pavilion, and there is a practice basket in the wedge of grass next to the parking area. Hole 1 is downhill, you will see a concrete bench next to the tee. There is only one large tree to be avoided on the left side near the tee, unless you turn it over toward the water. Hole 2 tees under a tree to the right of the first basket. It plays back up the hill and is wide open. Hole 3 is also uphill, a little further this time. There is a low branch that is difficult to avoid. If the tee shot is too high it has a good chance of a knock down, and too low runs right into the hillside. This might be the toughest hole to birdie out of the nine because of this branch.
The 4th hole is a downhill midrange shot, and there are a couple of small trees on the way to the pin. Hole 5 is also kind of a midrange, slightly uphill. There is a big tree to the right of the fairway if you stray from the line, and the basket is on the edge of a small hill that can make the putt tough if you have a bad angle or roll out. Hole 6 is uphill again, with a tree branch hanging over the tee, but not quite as menacing as the one back on the 3rd hole.
Hole 7 is uphill, but it flattens out about halfway to the pin. There are one or two depressions that can catch you on the right side, but no trees until you pass the basket. Hole 8 has trees along the right for most of the fairway. It opens up before you get to the pin, which is nestled in among several small hills. Hole 9 is the only par four. It is mostly open and fairly flat. The pin is on a bump, with a tree to the left and slightly behind it.
Cons:
The tees have no signs, and there is not a map of the course. The media page does have pictures of each tee that are helpful to discern what order to play and where you're going.
This part of the park is slightly more exposed to the wind than the low spots, or more heavily wooded areas. It is much easier in calm conditions.
This isn't the best part of town. I've heard gunshots half the times I've played here. Others have had vehicles broken into, hide your valuables. There is litter all over. Don't be surprised to see a meth pipe or underwear on the ground. Once I played the long course with friends, and there was a large travel baseball duffel bag with a pig carcass inside it, just sitting on the edge of the road.
I wouldn't let this scare you away, just don't do anything silly. The parking area is not very far out of sight from most of the short course, and it plays fast.
This part of the park is slightly more exposed to the wind than the low spots, or more heavily wooded areas. It is much easier in calm conditions.
This isn't the best part of town. I've heard gunshots half the times I've played here. Others have had vehicles broken into, hide your valuables. There is litter all over. Don't be surprised to see a meth pipe or underwear on the ground. Once I played the long course with friends, and there was a large travel baseball duffel bag with a pig carcass inside it, just sitting on the edge of the road.
I wouldn't let this scare you away, just don't do anything silly. The parking area is not very far out of sight from most of the short course, and it plays fast.
Other Thoughts:
The long course is the draw here for serious players, and the short is more of a warm up. It is fun and more suited for beginners. There is a nice view of Arrowhead Stadium from the fairway on hole 9.
I played it for the first time recently, and carded a 29 (1 over par). 2 birdies on hole 5 and 7. Bogies on holes 1, 6, and 9. It wouldn't be out of the question to get 4 or 5 under if I played it several more times, but I will be more likely to be on the long layout when I am at Blue Valley.
I played it for the first time recently, and carded a 29 (1 over par). 2 birdies on hole 5 and 7. Bogies on holes 1, 6, and 9. It wouldn't be out of the question to get 4 or 5 under if I played it several more times, but I will be more likely to be on the long layout when I am at Blue Valley.
6
0
I Wouldn't Classify This As A Beginner Course! 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Oct 20, 2015
Played the course:once
Pros:
If you play a course which is called the Blue Valley Park - Short Course, Why then would you complain that the holes are too short? It's listed as a course for beginners. It wasn't designed to challenge the normal disc golfer. Now I would inject, when you throw in the normal wind factor which seems to be about 20-30 MPH, that this course is not a beginner's course at all. I would categorize it as a recreational course. There is only one hole playing less than 200' and # 9 is 467' to a basket that sits atop a small mound. Very few beginners will par that hole on a day with the wind blowing hurricane force directly in their face.
The course features these weird odd shaped concrete tee pads. No two are alike. Whoever built the frames must have had a sense of humor, or was a very poor carpenter! The course has DGA baskets with the red numbers on top.
The terrain is very hilly making for some great downhill throws and tougher uphill throws, too. # 4 is often talked about. It's 279' downhill with the lake looming about 50' feet behind the basket. Playing in the wind, one is never sure what flight your disc will follow. So this hole will make you think before being overly aggressive.
At least two holes has low lying branches at the tee pad, slightly affecting your tee off. On one hole, I was trying to time the wind bursts so as to throw when the branch was up higher and so much in my way. (Or probably not so much messing with my mind).
I thought # 7 was a pretty cool hole little hole. It's just 207', slightly uphill with only the top half of the basket showing from the pad.
The course features these weird odd shaped concrete tee pads. No two are alike. Whoever built the frames must have had a sense of humor, or was a very poor carpenter! The course has DGA baskets with the red numbers on top.
The terrain is very hilly making for some great downhill throws and tougher uphill throws, too. # 4 is often talked about. It's 279' downhill with the lake looming about 50' feet behind the basket. Playing in the wind, one is never sure what flight your disc will follow. So this hole will make you think before being overly aggressive.
At least two holes has low lying branches at the tee pad, slightly affecting your tee off. On one hole, I was trying to time the wind bursts so as to throw when the branch was up higher and so much in my way. (Or probably not so much messing with my mind).
I thought # 7 was a pretty cool hole little hole. It's just 207', slightly uphill with only the top half of the basket showing from the pad.
Cons:
The wind made every throw an adventure.
Tee signs would be nice.
It took me a bit of exploring to figure out # 1 and where to start. After that, navigation was pretty easy.
Tee signs would be nice.
It took me a bit of exploring to figure out # 1 and where to start. After that, navigation was pretty easy.
Other Thoughts:
This course is what it is, that is a easier and shorter version of the championship course. It's designed to be short, easy, less taxing, more birdies, etc. Accept it for what it is! Quit trying to make it out to be a big boy's course. And then I'll stop complaining about the winds in the Midwest.
8
0
Nice warmup for Big Course 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Aug 18, 2012
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
There's quite a bit of elevation and it's used pretty well, to help keep the holes unique. Pretty much every hole has a different elevation pattern. 1 and 4 both straight downhill, 3 and 7 are both straight uphill, but still one of the best varieties I've seen. 10/10
Shouldn't have much of a problem finding discs except if you go long on the fourth hole. There's tall grass behind the fourth hole but it's probably good since it helps stop discs from rolling into the lake. If you go right on the first hole you could easily get a bad bounce and roll way down possibly to the lake (happened to my dad). 9/10
Navigation on the holes themselves is pretty easy once you find the tees. 8 of the 9 baskets can be seen from them, number 5 is up over a hill, but it's pretty easy to tell. The only problem is that since the course is so short baskets are relatively close together and the tees don't always point exactly the right way, but just use common sense and you'll be fine. 9/10
Navigation between the holes was fine after you can figure out which is the first tee. Finding the last tee is also a little tricky, it's back pretty much straight right of 8's tee. The first tee is the closest to the playground, and if you see which basket is number 9 it's right next to it which is how I found it. 7/10
The obstacles here are used pretty well, especially for how short it is. No hole is completely wide open except for 4(unless you count the lake behind) and 9 is also wide open until you get right next to the basket. I really like the use of low hanging branches on a couple uphill holes. 7/10
There's a pretty good variety of openness on this course, there aren't many shots that are heavily wooded, but there are some open and some moderately wooded holes. 7/10
The holes require a pretty good variety of shot paths. 2 pretty much requires right to left, 3 and 7 require low shots, and 8 requires a left to right. 7/10
Shouldn't have much of a problem finding discs except if you go long on the fourth hole. There's tall grass behind the fourth hole but it's probably good since it helps stop discs from rolling into the lake. If you go right on the first hole you could easily get a bad bounce and roll way down possibly to the lake (happened to my dad). 9/10
Navigation on the holes themselves is pretty easy once you find the tees. 8 of the 9 baskets can be seen from them, number 5 is up over a hill, but it's pretty easy to tell. The only problem is that since the course is so short baskets are relatively close together and the tees don't always point exactly the right way, but just use common sense and you'll be fine. 9/10
Navigation between the holes was fine after you can figure out which is the first tee. Finding the last tee is also a little tricky, it's back pretty much straight right of 8's tee. The first tee is the closest to the playground, and if you see which basket is number 9 it's right next to it which is how I found it. 7/10
The obstacles here are used pretty well, especially for how short it is. No hole is completely wide open except for 4(unless you count the lake behind) and 9 is also wide open until you get right next to the basket. I really like the use of low hanging branches on a couple uphill holes. 7/10
There's a pretty good variety of openness on this course, there aren't many shots that are heavily wooded, but there are some open and some moderately wooded holes. 7/10
The holes require a pretty good variety of shot paths. 2 pretty much requires right to left, 3 and 7 require low shots, and 8 requires a left to right. 7/10
Cons:
Course maintenance is pretty bad, there are some benches present, but most of them are flipped over. It's been well mowed both times I went, but other than that... 2/10
The tees are concrete, but they are some of the worst concrete tees I've played on. They're pretty small, too small for my runup anyway. 3/10
Baskets aren't very good, some are a little tilted making shots from one side easier than others. 2/10
Not very much variety in distance, as most holes are pretty short. I haven't been playing very long and I didn't need a driver except for the uphill holes with overhangs that forced a low throw and the last hole. The last hole is quite a bit longer (about 450) and is more like a normal hole. 2/10
This course definitely isn't good if you're a more experienced player looking for a challenge, the length shows it's obviously meant for beginners. Plus, the park map shows it as a "Junior Course" and it serves this purpose well. 2/10
No alternate hole positions, probably because there isn't much room for them. 0/10
Most of the holes are fairly straightforward with not a ton of options for how to play them. There are a couple exceptions like 2 or 6, but overall 4/10
There's water and restrooms at the start, benches are turned over though. A little bit of shade. 5/10 on comfort
The tees are concrete, but they are some of the worst concrete tees I've played on. They're pretty small, too small for my runup anyway. 3/10
Baskets aren't very good, some are a little tilted making shots from one side easier than others. 2/10
Not very much variety in distance, as most holes are pretty short. I haven't been playing very long and I didn't need a driver except for the uphill holes with overhangs that forced a low throw and the last hole. The last hole is quite a bit longer (about 450) and is more like a normal hole. 2/10
This course definitely isn't good if you're a more experienced player looking for a challenge, the length shows it's obviously meant for beginners. Plus, the park map shows it as a "Junior Course" and it serves this purpose well. 2/10
No alternate hole positions, probably because there isn't much room for them. 0/10
Most of the holes are fairly straightforward with not a ton of options for how to play them. There are a couple exceptions like 2 or 6, but overall 4/10
There's water and restrooms at the start, benches are turned over though. A little bit of shade. 5/10 on comfort
Other Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this course, it was a lot better than I expected based on the other reviews.
Both times I've played the long course I played this course first as a warmup because I didn't want to try throwing on 800 foot holes cold. It's good for this or if it's a hot day and you don't feel like playing a full 18 on the long course.
I also want to point out that the course is referred to as a "Junior Course" on site, and I believe it should be evaluated with this is consideration.
Both times I've played the long course I played this course first as a warmup because I didn't want to try throwing on 800 foot holes cold. It's good for this or if it's a hot day and you don't feel like playing a full 18 on the long course.
I also want to point out that the course is referred to as a "Junior Course" on site, and I believe it should be evaluated with this is consideration.
