- Multiple pin locations that change often
- Elevation changes
- Plenty of trees and shrubbery. Especially on 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8.
- The long positions here provide a nice challenge while the other pin positions can be fun ace runs.
- Long and short tee pads. As a local I tired of the short tees quite quickly.

- Gets hot in the summer (was 105 when we started a league round about a month ago)
- No running water or restrooms
-Too close to the freeway
- Poison Oak, my arch nemesis
- Too many large groups that back the course up on weekends

I decided to review since I aced 4b today which, while only 280ft., is uphill and into a steady headwind. This is a fun course and where I really learned how to play. The wind picks up daily and this course will teach you how to play in the wind or eat you up (when it is calm it is easy to shoot a low score). Lots of elevation change and a few holes really force you to hit your line. I honestly believe that they did everything possible with this land. I am very impressed with the quality of course that is sandwiched between a freeway and an off ramp. Not a destination course but worth playing if you are in town.

Location: Immediately off the 101 freeway in San Jose. Impossible to get lost - you get off the freeway heading east and park your car. You're there.

Design: As other reviewers have mentioned, the people who designed (and maintain) this course have taken quite a bit of pride and show a true commitment to presenting an excellent DG experience in a parcel of land that would otherwise go to waste. For a 9-hole course, you'll need a good variety of shots to do well here and you'll also need to know how to play the wind and elevation changes as well.

That said, most of the holes seem to be designed for the 325-350 - foot thrower, which means that for noodle arms like me, par is a definite challenge. On the other hand, big arms can use the challenges posed by the terrain and trees to work on their short game while n00bs can simply use the short tees and have fun their first time out.

Amenities: Benches and bag holders at each tee, exceedingly well-designed signage (see the pix), actual stairs with railings that help going up and down the hills, especially when it's wet. Long and short tees, multiple pin placements, and a practice basket woo hoo!

No drinking water on site. Keep this in mind if you're playing in the summertime when the temps get up near 100.

Constant traffic hum from the freeway. You get used to it, but it's definitely a "con" if you're after a back-to-nature experience.

Some poison oak, easy to avoid if you use basic precautions.

The terrain here is typical for California coastal hills. Brown in the summer, green when it rains. Lots of slopes offering dangerous roll-aways if your disc lands wrong. Some trees are forgiving, others will grab your disc and hold on for dear life.

All in all, Hellyer is a deceptively good course that delivers much more than it promises. Baz says, "Check it out!"

Dual concrete tees here are generally varied enough so that it doesn't feel like you're just playing a shorter version of the same nine holes. DGA multi-chain baskets are in good condition with a practice basket that is bright shiney orange. Three or four pin positions per hole with small dials on the tee sign posts to indicate current pin position. Nice elevation in play here with five of the nine hole making significant use of the hillside. The "Front" tees were playable with mostly midrange discs, while the "Back" tees necessitated a driver to reach the basket. The golf here is good and fun. The challenge is somewhere in the middle range. Several baskets were bordered by short 8-12" tall posts in the ground that prevent low shots from sliding up to the basket, and help stop roll away putts from hurting too bad. Fantastic work by the SVDGC here keeping this course clean and maintained. There are lots of stairs installed in the hillside which help a lot as well as hand rails concreted into the ground. Heavy duty bag holders will keep your bag off the dusty ground. Good map online here.

No restrooms. Several of the pin position indicators were incorrect, a common and frustrating problem with multi-position courses. Street parking is very limited. Some of the different pin positions seem silly varying only ~25' apart and not really changing the way the hole plays. Several baskets are significantly obscured by brush and/or trees which can make an otherwise fantastic drive landing 20' from a pin unputtable. Navigating #6 to #7 requires backtracking. No water at the course (to play over, or to drink).

The free street parking is adjacent to tees for #5 and #8 so it seems likely that players rarely start on #1. There's some shade on the course but not everywhere; we played on one of the hottest days of the year so this became obvious. (In September) the course was very dry and rocky, not the most aesthetically pleasing course. But the course makes great use of the land that would probably otherwise sit unused by people.

Easy access off Hwy 101. Empty pretty much all day. Concrete t Pads with 4 positions on every hole.

Freeway noise. Often windy if you don't dig that....

Great 9 hole course with lots of elevation changes and plenty of tree's and other obstacles in play. I probably wouldn't travel to play this course but when played with its sister 9 hole course Parque de La Raza, it makes for a very entertaining 18 holes of disc golf.

Both front and back t's are concrete so you can alternate to make 18.

Hellyer Park, like its nearby brother De La Raza, is a nearly equally well-designed and thought out 9 hole course. A designer could have easily tried to fit the magic number (eighteen) of holes here making for some boring golf, but instead, they've stuck with fewer, but better holes. Hellyer serves as a really nice complement to the De La Raza course in that it allows players to choose lines with more freedom. Usually several options are available off of the tee and players can select according to the conditions or their current strengths as a golfer. Because of the more open nature of the course, it can be quite windy, especially when teeing from the top of the hill. When the nearby Raza was hopping with people, this course was nearly empty! I'm not sure why this was the case, other than it just doesn't look quite as nice, but this is a definite 'positive' for Hellyer.

Challenge: I'd say this course is more geared towards slightly less experienced players when compared with Raza. The more open shots and a few short birdie holes make this a pretty welcoming place to learn disc flights without danger of nasty rough. Experienced players will find a bit more distance here and plenty more elevation - both up and down.

Skill level: This course might not offer quite enough challenge for high gold and elite level players with the exception of a few bigger distance shots from the long tees.

Navigation: Course navigation was a bit harder out here mostly because it looks like there may have been a redesign a while ago (not sure?). Some of the numbers weren't matching up quite right though so we started in the middle of the course and then worked our way back around.

As a combo, Hellyer and Raza make for a couple of the best 9 hole courses I've ever played. If I had to choose one dream home course out of all the courses I've played to both keep my game fresh, allow me to experiment with plenty of shots off the tee, and for pure enjoyment, I think the Hellyer Park/Parque de la Raza combo would be high on my list.

Very beginner, kid, and female friendly as there are short teepad options for each hole. Nice and long teepads for a full run-up. Great use of an area that would probably otherwise be unused. Nice elevation changes both up & down, and variety of teeshots both left & right. Overall bowl shape of course makes it forgiving and finding discs is pretty easy. Teepad distances are just right for the appropriate skill levels.

Seemed pretty crowded for a weekday. There were also a few groups of non-golfers hanging out around the course. Layout can be kind of confusing for a first timer. The map of the course near the #8 teepad is also quite confusing and even somewhat intimidating.

Since there are 2 options to park, many people don't play the course #1 to #9. If parking for free off the 101/Hellyer exit, it makes more sense to play the course #8 to #7. Otherwise, if you pay $5 bucks to park in the official Hellyer park parking lot, start at #1. There is supposedly a pathway across the creek to get to La Raza without driving.
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Uniqueness: B+ (great use of otherwise unused land area; bowl-shaped)
Difficulty: B+ (elevation changes; not too long; trees)
Fun factor: B+ (variety of shots from tees & fairways; birdied #1 from 168ft out w/ Leopard)
Aesthetics: B (could be cleaner; feels tight)
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Overall: B+

*Great view
*Large downhill shots
*2 Tee pads per hole/Multiple pin placements per hole
*Variety of shots
*Concrete tee's
*Open shots off the tee
*Not too crowded
*Bag holders
*Tee pads are very large. Longer shots = Bigger Tee's

*Spiny Mother - F*@&#$*#'ing EVERYTHING
*The name HELL YARD pretty much sums up the environment 100%
*Hole 8's swamp
*Crosswinds/Drafts off highway
*Dirty / Trash
*Kinda muddy when slightly humid
*Arthritis? GTFO!
*Creepers
*Not good for 1st timers but alright for beginners
*Kinda easy to lose discs

Google map of Hellyard including "perfect" flight paths & distances.

http://maps.google.com/maps/m...079358cbbfc3d

*This is one of above average 9-hole courses around US.
*Two tees to each hole. 1B and 1F, B means back (farther from hole). F means front (closer to hole).
*Well designed with elevation changes and plenty of accurate game.
*Course is well maintained by locals.
*Cool tees with post for your disc bag to hang on.
*There's course directory (map) at 8th tee (where we park our cars).
*Locals keep moving the pins around (each hole has 2 or 3 different places). It always a little bit different every time I play there.

*No water - bring water.
*No restroom
*It can be hot during summer, not much shade to hide from sun.
*In other reviews, they mentioned that highway 101 can be noisy and distraction. It is not for me... cuz I'm deaf. LOL

Same as other mentioned, start 8th hole instead of 1st because that's where the cars park. 8th, 9th, 1st, 2nd.... til 7th.

If you from out of area, be sure you try Parque De La Raza, few miles away. That course is best 9-hole course I ever played (I played over 200 different courses).

Many types of shots; down hill, uphill, over trees, under trees, around trees, thru trees. Great Use of land available, as this land really can't be used for much else besides disc golf. Concrete Tees pads (all have short and long tees), benches, bag hooks, trash cans and tee signs with distance and pin location. multiple pin locations. Elevation used well, and many challenging shots, but nothing a decent player can't handle. Course flows well and usually isn't crowded. 98% disc golf exclusive. Friendly locals. #5=Bowl Hole

Only 9 holes, but dual tees pads make 18.
Not the most beautiful course, aesthetically speaking, but after it rains it will get very green. Hole #8 should be #1 because that is where you park. Every once in a while some oblivious people wander onto the course. Course tends to be windy which will mess with your shots. Possible to lose a disc in the rough with a bad throw on 1, 8, and 9

My home course and the first place I ever played, so of course I am biased. However, this course is definitely under-rated. The site of this well established course was once a landfill that was converted into a park. Silicon Valley DG club takes great care of the course, and improvements are always being made, like how #8 now has stairs to go with the the railing when walking down the hill. Also I love the tree stumps decorated with beer bottle caps by #5's long tee.
If you are in the area, warm up with this course, then hit up La Raza which is much more challenging.

Two concrete teepads at each hole. Signs at each teepad, showing the 3-4 possible positions for the basket, and also indicating the current position. Benches and bag hooks at each of the longer teepads. Excellent map/scorecard showing all the teepad and basket positions, the relative location of the brush and trees, and comprehensive distance information for every combination of pad/basket for each hole. Practice basket. A perfect complement to longer-but-flatter Parque de la Raza just a few minutes away.

Only 9 holes, so could get crowded quickly. Constant buzz of nearby 101. Every hole will likely play as drive-then-approach/putt.

The is a fine example of how to turn "unusable" land - in this case, a roughly 600' by 1100' sunken bit of dry, mixed tree/brush/bare ground land wedged between a major highway and another road - into a good disc golf course by taking advantage of the terrain and plant-life to create holes requiring a good variety of shots. While obviously the tee you use and the basket position that day will affect what awaits you, you'll typically find the tee-shot to be a:
- #1 left-turning, with a slight drop, to tree-guarded basket
- #2 right-turning to a basket in an elevated crater.
- #3 left-turning, longer with more drop than #1, to a basket amidst a cluster of trees
- #4 right-turning, across/slightly-up a slope, trees behind
- #5 left-turning, major downhill, basket near trees
- #6 right-turning, halfway up the slope you just came down, tree just in front
- #7 left-turning, up to the top of the slope.
- #8 similar to #5, not as long, bigger tree grouping to go around
- #9 slightly left-turning, must clear high brush at start, flat

The two teepads on each hole are often quite a good distance from each other, making the same hole play quite differently, depending upon which tee you use, so can seem like 18 if you switch tees for a second round. If you park on Hellyer, from which you can see the entire course, you should start with either hole #5 or #8. The practice basket, between the two, is in red - when you play #4 and #7, remember this factoid, otherwise you might find yourself throwing towards this basket when you tee-off. Play this and Parque de la Raza back-to-back, and you'll enjoy a great variety of disc golf that day.

Off the 101, more like on the 101.
Different shots on every hole.
People where cool.
Not too packed.
No problem breaking.
alot of trash cans....and the Sheriff's just cruz by...

a bit windy at times...a lotta the time.
no bathrooms, but plenty of bushes.
poison ivy...just be careful.

This is a kickass 9 hole course. The Hellyer course was placed in the best little area one would squeeze in nine with enough room.

Close to freeway
multiple tees
multiple pin placement
well maintained
friendly folks
trash cans availalable at almost every tee
bag holding stand at every hole
uphill/downill/flat and tree shots

parking is limited
No bathrooms

I am not a pro but I am not a total amateur either. I enjoyed this course and would play it often if I lived close by. I shot a 38 (+11) for 9 holes. While I was there someone showed up with a weedeater and other implements to maintain the course. (Cool) My brothers have been there pretty often and say the holes are moved often. I played both this and LaRaza and enjoyed this course more. See my LaRaza review

this course will challenge your wind game. four pin locations and two tees for every hole. 2 baskets on the other side of the freeway behind hole one. you can play these holes and make 4 other holes. well maintained and very clean. awesome elevation changes and some serious distance on some holes. many holes play much longer due to the high winds.

wind sometimes. my normal round there is -2 but when the wind gets going i can see it go up to +4.

there is a nine hole course 3 miles driving distance but only 1/4 mile in a straight line. the other course is the best nine hole course i have ever played and is the best in cali. bring your force, destroyer, or boss if you have it.

some say starting at hole eight is a problem, that's because they park by it and there is a specific use parking lot on the other side of the freeway which will start you with the two practice baskets and put you by hole one.

A great place to learn because there is most every type of shot to take, but none are super challenging.

Not a lot of parking, restrooms are a short drive away. Kinda noisy from the freeway. Lots of people walking around wondering what these people are doing throwing frisbees into wierd chain contraptions and not getting the clue to perhaps get out of the way.