Loved the alternate Pro and Am tee pads made for some amazing distance on some holes. Lovely scenery and wildlife along the course, quite a different scene compared to Wisco courses. Met a few of the locals while playing the course and grouped up with them, very nice and friendly.

Some signs were missing on the tees and for this being my first time at the course navigating the course was a little difficult.

Water hazards definitely play a role on this course which is quite cool i think, but my friend lost two of my discs (Star dart and my Buzz SS) so ensuring that your throw is dead on about 75% of the time is crucial. I went in after the Buzz but cautious in going after discs as there were plenty of alligator warning signs placed. Also is was very windy out 20 mph winds easily which made things interesting. Overall an awesome course that I wish I could play on a regular basis.

Alternate t pads, great baskets, elevation, alternate pin locations, home course of the champ. Exciting lay out. It has a little of everything! Forces you to take your shot management very seriously, and stretch out your arm. The course also builds up very nicely, few open and low ceiling shots in the first 9, and by hole 10 you are in a nice groove and ready to crush it over the water at the basket. The back half of the course plays much longer then the front half, almost like a completely different course.

Heavily played, and worn course. Really needs some tlc. Many of the t signs are non existent, and the ones available are non-informative, and outdated. The practic basket sure could use some mulch around it. Last several times I played there there is a 10 foot circle if water around the basket.

This course really needs an overhaul, not in terms of placement, or design. New signage, new pads, more benches, bag racks ect. Would really help this course live up to its legacy. My rating is given mainly due to.the awesome layout, and the pros heavily outweigh the cons.

Cliff Stephens Park in Clearwater is a well rounded disc golf course that has a few very nice holes. I give the four disc rating based more on the difficulty and length than the fun factor. The front 9 seemed to have more trees that factor into shaping your tee shot, while still having generous fairways. The back 9 + 3 is slightly more open with one big throw over the water. There are holes turning left and right, with water in play on several of them. The park itself is clean and well maintained. The tee boxes are well equipped with signs showing distances and a hole map, and nice, long concrete tee pads. Some holes have short tees as well. The baskets are all present and in good working order.

Other users share the park for walking, biking or picnic lunches, are not in the way for long, if at all. There are possibilities of losing discs in the gator infested waters, but unless you shank one or get a bad roll or ricochet, you should be fine. Some of the holes are basically unobstructed, and don't require much imagination to picture a line to the basket.

Cliff Stephens Park makes excellent use of the available space and is a good quality course. It may not be the most stunning amid other great courses nearby, but I would be happy to be able to play there on a regular basis. Not my top pick for the Tampa/St. Pete area, but I would recommend visiting and playing here if you can.

Great course! Mix of everything. Long holes, short holes, open holes, wooded holes, and plenty of water! Great tee's and basket. Multiple pin locations on almost every hole. Water fountains all through out the course so you dont get dehydrated.

If you dont like water then this might not be the best option for you. There is water everywhere, and there plenty of places to loose a disc(s) Not very good signs. Alot of them are broken or missing.

This is my home course. I love playing here whenever I get the chance!

-Located in a nice city Park, and this is Ken Climo's home course.

-Tees & Baskets: Brand new, highly detailed signs, Maps, Distance, and next Tee info. Very nice tee signs; Concrete Pads, Practice basket at start, and Multiple Tees & alt pins.

-Porto's, Garbage cans, picnic tables and benches located throughout the park

-Mostly Flat with some nice variations in the terrain. Florida is primarily flat, so the somewhat hilly nature of the front 9 is a pleasant surprise.

-Billboard with map at the start. (Worth revisiting the map, when transitioning to hole #10)

-A beginner could play here, but it may become frustrating. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it. Beginners/Casual players will want to play the water hazards conservatively.

-The course plays through some sparse woods. The front 9 is open enough to offer multiple lines, but the trees will make you consider your throw and your line. The back 9 is more open with Water Hazzards,(be mindful of the gators) as well as longer distances. Most of the holes avg between 250-350. With 3 over 400ft, and one almost 700ft.

-The trees along the front 9 add offers nice shade to the park

-3 Bonus holes: Baskets A,B, and C are located between 16 and 17

-Great pin placements that offer up a nice challenge, with healthy distances.

-Front 9 is more strategic and in the woods, while the back 9 is in a more open area with longer distances.

-The water hazards offer a healthy risk/reward. From the long tees it's a straight water carry, from the shorts the water is more of a lateral hazard.

-The figure 8 layout, offers players a quick round on either the front or back 9 that both play back to the parking lot.

-The park was clean and very well maintained.

-This is a busy course; odds are that hooking up with a local shouldn't be an issue.

FWIW:
-Located very close to Clearwater Disc Golf store.
-The Path that runs along 1, 10, 17, and 18, will take you past Brighthouse Field to NE Coachman.

-(been drastically improved with the new signs) Navigation may have some issues if you are a first timer. I would still recommend printing off the map from this website before you play here. It can be easy to get turned around on your first visit.

-Walking paths weave through out the back 9, so make sure your shot is clear before throwing.


-This is also a park, so there can be other activities going on as well as park goers walking around the park. It is a really nice scenic park.

Clear Water has a variety of courses, offering something for everyone. Cliff Stephens is well worth your time if you are in the area. It will not disappoint! I really had a good time here, and I felt that I was given a fun and challenging experience. It's not terribly difficult, but it will still challenge you on accuracy and distance. There is a major differences in the long tees and the short tees. The Short tee's still offer a challenge, while the long tee's require much more accuracy at longer distances. Neither tee is exempt from water hazards! Water WILL be a factor! The water is more of a lateral hazard from the shorts, while the long tee's require a healthy water carry.

It's easy walking so footwear can be casual, and it's located in the middle of town where there are a bunch of restaurants and gas stations nearby. One problem that I did run into was with my GPS. According to Clearwater Discs, they told me that they put in new bridges and that they haven't updated the maps. So you may want to have a street map handy if you come to town.

-Parking is good
-Nice Baskets
-Cement Tees in great shape
-Feet from basket painted on tee-pads
-Good variety of fairway shapes
-Am tees good for beginners
-A lot of nice local players, explained the layout, and after 3pm on a weekday a lot of seemingly legit-talented players showed up

-Porta Potty was in ROUGH shape, and the door was so bent and wrecked that i wouldn't recommend it's use by anyone except a dude going #1
-While the signs were in decent shape, there were quite a few missing. they should be mounted to STURDY posts and not made of breakable plastic.
-Due to the signs (and lack of) the loop after hole 16 (16A, B, C) was confusing until I found a nice local player to explain it
-I would like to see a well made map, clearly labeled in the course directory display instead of outdated tournament postings

Pretty much one of my favorite courses in FL. Sarasota has a course called Watertower Park that was also pretty challenging.

I'm not sure I'd call hole 1 a 'par 4'- but then again, since i threw a 2, I wasn't going to argue against my first ever eagle!

In summary, I wish i could play this course more often (i don't live in area) as I could feel my drive form already improving after just 2 rounds. All the fairways force you to keep your disc level and low- and the distances aren't so far that you try to force anything unrealistic. Also the hard-pack ground gave me a few nice skip shots and friendly fades.

Variety : 4 This course is very varied with option on most hole as to where to shoot.
Ease of finding course : 4
Fun factor : 5 This course is lots of fun

Ease of finding next hole : 2 Hole 1 info was gone
Pin and tee box quality : 2
Hole info : 2 Holes 16 and 17 are confusing on which pad to shoot from and toward which pin.
Lost disc recovery : 2 This course has several holes over or near water. The aligator 5 feet from me was exciting.

Layout : 3 Hole 2 had 3 differnt pins in place.
Terrain management : 3
Beginner friendly : 3

Cliff Stephens Park!! The layouts are challenging, the multiple tees and alternate basket placements add variety and the location is scenic. Natural hazards include a creek, a lake, and large trees.

Maintenance issues are the cons. The signs need replacing, seeing the unpainted baskets can be a problem on cloudy days, and the public facilties are limited to a portajohn. The present condition of the park does not benefit this outstanding course.

Check out the three extra holes (A,B,C) located in the woods near #16 and the bike trail.

Well designed course, makes good use of available land. Almost every hole forced a decision of some kind, either choosing which route to take, choosing how brave to be dealing with the water or trees, or both.

The back 9 is longer, hole 16 is an excellent hole, I thought clearly the best on the course.

Available land is a bit tight on the front 9, so some of the holes are pretty easy. That said, I don't believe there are any bad holes.

I'd heard about the course for years but have never had a chance to play it before. I'd only played 2 other courses in the area, The Canyon (an all time classic, but gone), and North Watertower (forgettable). I really enjoyed this course and, given the chance, would play it again.

I drove about 30 minutes out of my way to get to it and thought it well worth the drive.

+ Excellent Teepads and Signs
+ Great Variety
+ Multiple Types of Challenges
+ Solid Flow of the Holes
+ Beautiful Scenery and Great Use of the Land to Create Hole Layouts
+ Fantastic Pro Shop Nearby (Clearwater Disc Golf Shop)

- Gators in Water Hazards (I personally dug this, but if you ended up with a disc in the water it'd certainly make you think more than twice about going in after it)

I genuinely wish I could play here more. While visiting a friend down in Sarasota recently I decided to make a trip up to Clearwater to check this course out and thought it was well worth the time.

I played from the long tees and didn't find the distances to be overwhelming, but rather quite appropriate for someone who has been playing for a while. The short tees looked to be great for someone new to the sport. A few of the holes were long enough and pins positioned in a way that you really had to think about your drive placement and not trying to reach the pin, which I love. Lots of water holes which was fun and intimidating at the same time, but mostly just fun. If there wasn't water there were lots of trees to work around and I appreciated the line shaping required.

I left Cliff Stephens Park happy and extremely glad that I was able to play it. If you live there I'm sure you already play this course. But if you're visiting the area and looking to get in some disc golf its well worth the visit.

This is a great course because of the local pros and Ken Climo started here, as has been stated in previous reviews. Based on this I was very excited to play this course. I have played North East Coachman a few times before I played this course. I might be harsh on this course because my expectations were very high and I was comparing it to Coachman. Based on that, I do have some good Pros and Cons.

- Great diversity of tee pad locations. At times, almost too much variety, but it will allow the most novice player to really enjoy their round.

- The course did a great job fitting into a compact area. There are some good long holes, but most are compact with a good variety of hyzer and anhyzer shots.

- The park seems quite popular and it's always nice not to be the only one around when you're playing.

There are a few things I didn't like about this course, but I will keep my bais out of the cons. I already told you that this course was a letdown for me, but I am still not sure how much of that was my expectation vs. the actual course.

- There are some hazzards to be aware of when you're going through your round. I played alone and I would have benefited from having a spotter with me.

- Not a lot of opportunities for facilities and water once you get into the course.

Overall this was a good course, but it will be awhile before I play it again. When I go to the Tampa area I try to either play a new course, or I just go back to Coachman. Coachman is just around the corner from this park and if you've got the time I would say fit both of them into your schedule.

Also, you must go to the Clearwater Disc Golf Store on US 19 & Sunset. It's minutes from both courses and it has a fantastic selection of discs. Every Innova, Discraft, and other brand with most any plastic and color selections. If they don't have it they will order it for you. Also, the staff here is a great resource for Disc Golf tips on playing (I have called them from Tallahassee to ask for disc recommendations), and they all know the local courses very well.

very nice course with lots water shots to test your skills with your driver and your medrange shots...and there are many alternate pin placements.The grass is cut low and there are paved sidewalk throught out the course.witch is a plus if you bring the kids like in did.

the course would be a lot nicer without the died fish an trash in the water.besides that its a clean course

make hole 16 little eazier to read from the pad, you see many baskets

good variety of holes, nice course layout,

too much water and poor pin placement on the water holes,hole 16 was togh to find

lots of trash in the water, took away from the beauty of the course. One of the better courses we played in the area,

1) This course has concrete tees . . . an essential component of a highly rated course.

2) Turf is in good condition all throughout the course. It even looked like a few areas had been overseeded. This is a nice touch if this was the case because can see how some of the worn areas will be very bare when in the offseason.

3) Alternate baskets and alternate tees on some holes makes for a course that can have all sorts of different setups. I always appreciate courses that can have different layouts and can be played from different tees.

4) Unique basket locations on multiple holes. My favorites were #5 underneath and surrounded by low hanging limbs that actually reach the ground. You could block yourself from a clear look at the basket only 5-6' away if you dont put it in the right spot. #9 is also a really cool hole that throws over a valley and just above a timber tiewall. If you hit the timber wall you may very well miss your uphill birdie putt over the wall. If you land on top of the wall you might overshoot the hole by a good distance, but if you can get your disc to stick above the wall and in the soil surrounding the basket you may end up making yourself a birdie.

5) Practice basket is present at the first hole which is always a plus.

6) Portopotty is also present near the first hole and is really only easily accessible from holes #1 and #9 and after 18.

7) There are picnic benches and garbage available at the first tee area which the local league was absolutely taking advantage of when they finished their rounds. Benches and garbage are scattered throughout the course also.

8) Creek/river runs along a few holes which adds to the variety of this course. Not only are there the forced carried on 5 holes, but now there are holes with a creek running along the fairway.

9) Moderate elevation changes on the first 9 holes. This is the best part of this course in my opinion before opening up to the monotony of the water holes. The valley is used very well on a few holes to create interesting approaches if you havent gotten your drive close tot he basket.

10) Creative design but fair. It challenges you, but it also is fair enough in that you can avoid the water in most situations. It uses all of the best features of the park for sure.

11) Nice PVC signs. They have Hole #< par, and good hole layout showing much of the obstacles and really giving you a sense of where you want your disc to go.

12) Course layout is great the flow is just fine, you can always find the next tee from the previous basket. The only thing that gets confused is hole #16. There is a basket out on the peninsula that is not hole #16. That apparently is one of the 3 extra holes. I only know where the tee was for hole C so I bypassed A and B apparently.

1) The water makes this course not very beginner friendly. I doubt you would see many beginners out here because of the threat of losing discs.

2) Path crosses multiple holes on the course. Some are in the direct path and some holes run just along the path creating dangerous spots. I feel these intersections can be minimized and should be addressed whenever possible.

3) There water part of the course is a little monotonous and not as challenging as the beginning 9 holes. I like the variety it adds tot he course and when mixed front 9 back 9 it is a great all around course.

4) There are a few areas where compaction and erosion are evident. The slopes of the valley on the front nine are a little thin and could be dangerously slick when wet.

5)

I have to agree with some other people. Cliff Stephens gets all of the hype but Northeast Coachman is also a pretty good course. Coachmen doesnt quite have the variety because of less water and no elevation, but the canopy that is created and the shot shaping required at Coachmen is also lacking at Cliff Stephens. It is more open and longer, while Coachmen is more technical and tight. I could make an argument for both courses being rated about the same but for different reasons. In the end I gave Coachmen a 3.5 and Cliff Stephens a 4. The main reason for these ratings is that Coachmen appears to remain wet for much of the year in the rainy season. It also lacks the elevation changes that Cliff Stephens has. Cliff Stephens has a lot of water in play but is more open. I would rather play a tighter wooded course than a more open course with water. Sure there is challenge on both, but an argument can be made for both courses. Cliff Stephens simply has a better variety and constant challenge, therefore I still ended up rating it higher than Coachmen. I would certainly always play both courses if I had time, but my choice mught come down to what I was looking for in my DG day.

Besides the fact that this park is beautiful, home of the Champ, and has friendly locals, this course will make your game better. I don't know many courses that such offer such a great variety of shots. This has everything: Tight holes, water left, water right, long, short, trees, open, great roller holes, and even a bit of elevation (rare in Florida).

3 Bonus holes behind hole 16 make for some extra fun. It is also in close proximity to Coachman so you can get in two great courses in a very short amount of time.

Alligators, water moccasins, and police (who can potentially ticket you for swimming after your disc). The course is a bit tight in some places where you are throwing toward another tee. Not the greatest facilities (just a porta-potty and a couple water fountains).

If you are not confident in your driving you might lose a few discs on this course due to water.

This is my favorite course in the Tampa Bay area as it is probably the most challenging. It takes power and finesse. It helps to have a big arm (450ft power) on 3 holes where it might save you a shot but on most holes it is going to pay you for accuracy rather than power, which is how it should be. You will not regret playing this course unless you lose a disc or two along the way.

This was an awesome course that had a variety of throws to challenge me at every turn. Most holes were straight shots, but were well hidden . Water comes into play in about half the holes. A few long holes to bomb out/ keep you honest, but, most were in the 350' range.

The teepads were long and concrete with signage. Plenty of trash cans to keep it clean (more people need to use em).

There weren't any restrooms to use, just a few port-a-potties. The signage was weak and didn't indicate placement or length. Tons of trash although there were plenty of cans to dispose of it. Just a shame for such a beautiful park to be trashed like it was

These cons don't outweigh the shear fun and challenge the course offers

This was an excellent course to visit. If I lived here I would frequent it often and do what I could to clean the park of the trash. Also, the simple signage could be upgraded easily and a wingnut to show placement would help. There are 3 extra holes that were awesome. 1 has an island green

This course could be a 4.5 with these improvements since Clearwater has a local disc golf shop, and no pro shop is needed

Favorite holes:
Front- # 3. About 330' over a creek on the left. The hole is elevated on a hill about 300' ahead of the tee. The hole is hidden by trees on the right side of the hill with a window on the left above the creek

Back- #16. Water to the left for about 330'. Takes a good throw with accuracy to carry the water and land on the other bank, but you still have another 100' threw some trees. An awesome challenge!!!

Excellent layout with a fine variety of shots. No redundant holes.

There's water on a number of holes, and it is generally well-used. You can always wimp out and avoid it, or take your risk/reward gamble (not as much a gamble for top players as those of us with more modest abilities).

Park is full of sprawling live oaks. They're not only lovely,but provide a number of low-ceiling drives or approaches. There's little underbrush, so if you stay out of water, you're not likely to lose your disc.

Separate front & back nines, across the street from each other.

Gators. You shouldn't be throwing in the water but if you do, you might think about just how much you really want that disc back.

Actually, there's very little to find fault with here. Not a single hole I didn't like.

Always a joy to play when visiting Tampa area.

What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18 hole courses:

1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == B-
(Water is used very well on 1/3 of the holes. Going into the drink incurs both the penalty of losing a stroke and most likely losing your disc. There is not much "early trouble" (a little on 4 & 7) that will punish you with additional strokes if you are off your line. It would have been nice to see more.)

2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == B
(4 holes are unreachable but are short enough to to leave a 60-100' upshot....boring. The rest are a perfect challenge for me!)

3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == B
(This course design does a decent job of forcing particular shots - especially given that semi-open nature of the course. Overall a good mix of holes to keep things interesting.)

4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B+
(This course really "recharged my batteries"! I think it is the water that makes up for the lack of seclusion with the road crossing the park. Course is pretty well manicured. Very nice!)

5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == C+
(Hole 16 is a wonderful risk/reward hole for all but the biggest arms: choose how much of the water you want to bite off trying to make a tricky approach more manageable. The world needs more of these! The finishing hole (18 when I played it - now 21) is a worthy challenge based solely on distance. I wish there were a few more multi-throw holes on this course!)

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well this course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. See my profile for specifics on my rating philosophy.

I fancy myself as a connoisseur of good course design and I am a competitive Blue level (950-ish rated) with mid-level power (accurate to 300' with max D of 360'). Since I have played a decent number of courses (150+ 18-hole, 90+ 9-hole as of late 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me.....and that's the fun of things here.

Beautiful park with many large old oak trees complete with hanging moss and lots of water. Perfect picture of Flordia nature. The park is clean and well maintained, benches and trash cans scattered through the course. The locals were very friendly and helpfull.
The course itself was very well layed out. There is not much in the way of elevation change available but what is there was used well. Especially by placeing baskets close to the the banks of water hazards. Presents you with the risk of an errant putt flying or rolling down a bank into the water. Great use of the trees as both intrest and obsticles. Some great use of trees is made in the placement of baskets. You will find baskets placed inside a ring of trees, in one case between the fork of a large low hanging branch. Most of the holes are basicly straigh but you will have to shape shots to navagate around the trees. In many cases multiple paths to the basket are available makeing you choose what is your best line. In many cases you will have to choose between the risk of starting out over water or take the "safe" route away from water. There is plenty of length required from the Pro tees and the Am tees while closer usually bring more trees into play. The second nine definitely brings more water into play, bring your big arm and courage with you here. The flow of the holes was pretty intutive makeing navagateing the course rather easy. The tee pads are he longest I have seen and are concrete both Pro and Am. There is also exact distances labeled on the pads for all available basket positions.

There are no pernament restrooms, only porta potties. However my wife said they were pretty clean, high praise from her. A couple of the signs are starting to wear a litle.

This is definitely a course you should put on your wish list. However, if you have not yet mastered control be aware you may loose a disc or two. My wife decided she did not yet have the skill to play the second nine so just walked with me. Definitely more water risk here. There is plenty of challenge here but there is also plenty of opertunity to score as well. I understand why the locals are so proud of this course.

-Beautiful water shots
-Friendly locals
-Multiple tee pads
-Good mix of holes
-Good flow between holes, I never wondered where the next tee box was.

-Water Moccasins...
-30 driving hours from where I live!

A must play if you are in the Tampa area! Oh, and there is always a chance of playing with the champ!