Great beauty and variation of shots. Wide open, technical, elevation, forehand, backhand etc. did I mention beautiful and iconic?

Poison oak, slightly crowded, parking can be a bit annoying, but not enough to put off the experience of playing Dela!

An iconic course, DeLaveaga lives up to the hype. This course has several, unique and unforgettable holes, and I'm not just talking about the 'top of the world' Hole 27. Hole 3 has a slightly downhill drive with with just enough room between tree obstacles; Holes 7, 8, 9 and 10 are all terrific wooded tunnel holes with dangerous pin positions that satisfy in terms of fun factor. Hole 11 is another wooded tunnel hole that demands a perfect low-trajectory drive to get anything better than a bogey.

My favorite hole may be the famous 'refrigerator' Hole 12, which plays like a water hole and also requires ample skills to negotiate. Hole 13 (nicknamed the 'I-5' hole for obvious reasons), has an open drive with a hard left turn with a low ceiling and protected basket that can cost several more strokes, but is mostly fair enough to not be a crap-shoot. But the course doesn't let up, with Hole 15 being somewhat similar in nature to Hole 12, with a dangerous water-hole like fairway requiring a high-trajectory right turn. The so-called 'gravity hole' 17 can be a birdie (or even an ace), but can also be double bogey capable with bad upshots. Hole 26A is a hilltop (almost tabletop-like) flat hole with treacherous slopes on either side. And of course, the aforementioned Hole 27 is one of the most famous holes in all of disc golf.

There are a couple of filler holes here, such as the awkwardly uphill Hole 8A and Hole 26 that aren't in the same class as the rest. Walking on this course can be slightly hazardous, with numerous roots and sandstone craters that have likely resulted in a fair number of injuries. Not sure if this is a con, but this is a very long course. Plan on at least three and a half hours to play a full 29 hole round, possibly more if you are in a big group or if the course is busy.

Deserving of its iconic status, this course deserves to be at the top of your bucket list. There is a pro shop with a few discs and water available, which can be a life saver if the course is 88 degrees like it was on one of the days I played. One more note....coverage of the Masters Cup has a slightly reworked 24 hole layout with Hole 1 starting at Hole 25. It costs an entirely fair two dollar fee to play.

-DeLaveaga. Where to start. This magnificent property has to be the St. Andrews of disc golf, being home to one of the oldest courses and one of the oldest tournaments in the game. I would venture to say that this has to be the most well-known course in the sport of disc golf.

-The Scenery. DeLaveaga Park, at first glance, seems better suited for a nature hike than for a disc golf course. The thick woods, steep canyons, and panoramic views are incredible but it must have taken a lot of creativity and imagination to envision and then carry out the construction of a disc golf course on this property. Enter Tom Schot.

-I'm not too well-versed regarding the history of DeLaveaga and which holes remain from Schot's original routing, but nevertheless the present routing is world-class. Every single hole has a unique character. Particularly well known holes include Gravity, The Refrigerator Hole, I-5, and of course the Top of the World. It's the sign of a fantastic course when multiple of its holes are imitated by designers at dozens of other courses.

-It's needless to describe any hole in detail as Youtube can take care of that, but my personal favorites were #3, #6, #8, #11, #12, #13, #16, #17, #19, #25, and #27. Wow. That's a lot.

-The incredible variety of holes requires a player to use their entire arsenal of shots. It's not a wide open course that only requires a few overstable discs. It's also not a heavily wooded course that only requires your straightest fliers. DeLaveaga includes both of these types as well as a handful of "Type Z" one-of-a-kind holes that will leave you drawing a blank deciding what is the most effective shot. These types of holes are what elevate courses from excellent to outstanding.

-Putting is a challenge. Most greens are ridden with obstacles: large trees, downed logs, roots, low hanging tree branches, and of course, steep canyons that are more than willing to make you exclaim "I just got DeLa'd!" Being comfortable manipulating your style of putt is a certain stroke-saver.

-The course strikes an unmatched balance between challenge and forgiveness. A score of Even par with all long baskets is traditionally rated 995-1000 in the Masters Cup. It's the only par three course on the professional tour, but remains a player favorite. Ricky Wysocki, Matt Bell, Sarah Hokom, and Madison Walker are among the touring professionals that have named DeLa their favorite course. In addition, the fact that it is a par three course makes it a favorite of players all over the skill spectrum. Even a novice player can have fun making a few pars in a row.

-Large concrete tees, Mach X baskets, excellent tee signs, and super size benches adjacent to every tee box are just a token of evidence of the hours and hours of hard work put into this course by the local community. A small pro shop with discs for sale is on-site as well.

-Chance of lost discs. A slight mis-release or a bad kick off of a tree can easily send you down into a canyon. Holes #8a, #9, #12, #15, and especially #26a pose the greatest risks.
-Poison oak. Stay on the fairway, and you should be A-OK, but send one down a ravine, and, well, best of luck.
-Crossing fairways - Holes #5 & #6 and holes #13 and #16 share fairways. In addition, errant drives from #27 pose a risk for several holes and the parking lot.

-These things can and do make for a miserable round at many courses. However, they add to the charm and experience of DeLaveaga.

-This course has lost a lot of trees in the last five years. In fact, a large portion of one of the huge oaks guarding the #15 basket has just fallen (as of Jul 2019). It's nice to see that new trees have been planted in several spots. I don't know how many trees have failed due to environmental factors as opposed to contact from discs, but I'd like to see some of the trees in high-impact areas be protected with wraps or screens.

-Almost every hole has an alternate basket position, which helps ease the wear and tear on parts of the course. While it's a bit disappointing to come to an iconic hole and find the basket in the secondary position, the lines are fun and well thought-out.

-The elevation change is not as extreme as it is made out to be. The only large hill on the course is climbed on #1 - #2, and #25 - #26. The rest of the layout is of only moderate elevation change unless you find yourself at the bottom of a canyon searching for a disc.

-This is an incredible course. Very few courses can boast being on public park property, having land used exclusively for disc golf, and being among the world's finest. DeLaveaga checks all three boxes.

Delaveaga in Santa Cruz, California is one of California's best disc golf courses. This course offers amazing views from the iconic top of the world hole. This course is challenging for all players.

This course is maintained pretty well but many holes play in hard compacted dirt like Morley Field in San Diego, California. There are quite a lot of fun holes at Dela such as the refrigerator.
Some of the first holes play in the woods.

One of the holes I especially liked is called Gravity. This hole is on the side of a steep hill. They call it gravity because it is the shortest hole on the course and you can float your disc right down to the hole. Tee signs I believe were added quite some time ago but are very nice in many ways because of blind shots and other reasons.

- There is a pro shop in the parking lot near the back side of the course. They sell quite a few discs, bags and Rovic Disc Golf carts.

The Masters Cup is held at this course. They play 24 out of the 27 holes there are at Dela.

- One of my favorite holes is the refrigerator. Apparently someone dumped a old fridge down in the ravine and the name kind of stuck. If you go to the course they give you the full description of why they called it that.
- They do not water this course so you will get enormous skips, especially on the top of the world hole.

- The top of the world hole is around a 500 foot down hill shot that has amazing views of Santa Cruz.

There is poison oak now I don't mean that it is bad but man it is there. Just stay away from it and you will be good. Overall the some of the wooded holes are just amazing. Just like in all the videos I have seen of Dela there is nothing like just playing there in the morning. Although it does get crowded this course is definitely worth playing. The Delaveaga Golf course is a nice change and I would like to come up to Santa Cruz again to play it.

Overall this course is spectacular I really wished it was much more close to me. The variety of the shots is amazing. What a Great Pro shop and other spectacular holes. This course is one of my favorite courses by far. I do not live close but I really want to play the other Dela course on the golf course. But that course is much harder and admission is so much more. Delaveaga park is free though.
There are no maps to this course. I thought it was really fun to walk in-between the holes just because you don't see that on the videos on youtube. When I played the refrigerator hole the pin was in a different spot. Just about every hole has a second pin location. At the fridge the hole was off to the side which was a little annoying. I was hoping to go over the trees like you would see on youtube.

Hole 25's top basket has been removed this hole plays as a short par 3. I believe due to mud slides and stuff like that they removed it.

There are not very many cons on this course because of how amazing this course really is.

-One concern is that on the top of the world hole there is a road that runs on the back of the basket. Quite a few cars come threw there which makes it hard if you throw long.

- This course is not a very beginner friendly if you are one. Very steep cliffs and lots of hills make it very easy to loose your disc.

Overall the course is very nice and I would definitely want to play it again. This is one of a couple courses in Santa Cruz. One of the other ones was on a campus. I could not access that course.

There are many wooded holes where it is hard to loose your disc which can be nice because previous holes have very steep cliffs.

One thing to know is to go early in the morning because it will get very hot and dry in the afternoon. Dela tends to be kind of open on a few holes.
One of my favortie holes is gravity which I already mentioned. But there is nothing like it. it is the shortest hole on the course and it looks just like it does in the CCDG videos. Just let your disc float down and you are parked. Although this hole is on a steep hill your disc will definitely sit when it hits the hill.

There is also another course there that plays through the golf course. In the Masters Cup they play this course on their final day. Nothing Like playing here for a change this course is spectacular.

It's regarded as one of the best courses in the whole world, and for good reason. Signature hole after signature hole. Park is strictly used for disc golf and nothing else. You'll never forget throwing off the top of the world.

I can't say I'd recommend this course to a beginner. There are a couple blind shots and scary fairways with canyons so you must be careful not to lose your disc. That said, off the fairway doesn't have a lot of brush so you're usually fine as long as you don't shank one off a cliff. As an intermediate player, the last couple times I went I didn't lose any, so I think that if you are comfortable with your shots you'll be fine. Pay for parking but hey, it's so worth it! Imagine how much a premiere course like this would cost if it was ball golf.

My favorite course, ever. The pinnacle of the sport for me. Get ready to test every shot in your arsenal. Uphill, downhill, sidehill, gaps, trees, bombers, technical shots, you name it. Unlike some pro courses, this course offers a lot for your average player who takes the sport semi-seriously. You just need to be extra careful on ~3 holes, the rest won't be an issue, just be mindful of the steep drop-offs. There aren't any 400' water gaps or anything too ridiculous, but still has incredibly challenging holes in their own, very unique way. Would recommend to anyone intermediate skill and above. You'll need a good right turn shot for one of the holes that has a canyon on the left. It's a long course so pack water and snacks and make sure you're physically capable.

Great layout and use of terrain
Good teepads.
Just the right amount of trees so you don't have to worry about constantly scrambling.
Pro shop on the property with super friendly staff.

Occasional trash

This course is a monster! The hike is worth it though. It lived up to my expectations after watching so many pros play here. I loved the change in elevation on almost every hole which constantly challenges your skills. Good spread of open and wooded holes and wooded holes did not have heavy underbrush which is always nice when you get off the fairway. Definitely loved throwing from the top of the world!! An experience like no other.

This course is beyond incredible, coming from Colorado this course was so much fun to play. The course made you hit your lines without feeling like every shot was down a tunnel. It felt fair to where getting dela'd was confusing. The rough was rough and the elevation was fun without being too extreme. Overall everything was incredible and it felt like how a disc golf course should play.

Nothing to speak of, holes on the hill were closed which was a letdown but the course still played amazingly.

Very challenging layouts, iconic holes, amazing views. This place is legendary. I have been wanting to come here since I started playing, about 2 years ago. For our 1 year anniversary we made this one stop on our road trip, and it was well worth the drive. Baskets were all in A position, I ended up -7 which i was very happy with. Course conditions were perfect.

A little out of the way, somewhat crowded, patrons didn't have the cleanest of language.

I am so glad I played this course, and will again if I get the chance. Maybe next time the course will be in a tougher layout.

What more can be said? An icon. Challenging holes, mixed elevations, striking views, long holes, technical holes, legendary holes.

If it's not on your bucket list, it ought to be.

Crowded on the weekends. Alternately, if you're a first timer and arrive on a quiet weekday morning, it can be hard to spot some of the baskets from your tee (Such as 2, 7, 12, 14, 15.)

Lots of varied holes and shots.
Not overly punitive for a beginner.
Super affordable (only $2 per car to park)
Sweet views and ocean breeze
Pace of play even when crowded is good

A couple of holes criss cross each other
#13 should really be a par 4

DeLa is the mecca, the original! and the best!

-Amazing, iconic course.
-Difficult
-Variety of shots
-nice scenery

Really dusty at times, but really no complaints.

Go there and play the course. One of the best courses in the country. It's easy to see why so many pro's grew up in the Santa Cruz area playing DeLa all the time.

I have seen this course played many times on Youtube but actually playing it was humbling. I couldn't believe how much harder the holes were than they looked with the pros playing them. So many of the lines are pretty tight that the pros make look more open as they so easily hit the gaps that are hard to hit if you aren't of their skill level. Just take hole 1, that looks pretty flat online with the pros getting up into the tree line...it takes a pretty long throw to get it "up" there...way harder than it looks.

This course provides a lot of variety to the holes with plenty of length to make birdies hard enough to get and plenty of times you are going to need to shore up your "getting out of trouble shots." I think I had 2-3 birdie looks the whole round and only got one on the "gravity" hole. The kitchen hole played a lot shorter than I thought it would and was easily birdiable.

I really liked that there weren't too many mandos or too many OB lines as the holes had plenty of space between them. The only real overlap/danger was how the top of the world shot (which is spectacular) played over a few fairways and into the parking lot, even to the proshop if you threw too far off course. We were standing in the parking lot and someone skipped one of the parking lot to within one foot of black acing the portable basket the proshop had out at the corner of the parking lot. That would have been an amazing shot if it had gone in!

The elevation was quite a challenge, especially if you aren't use to it. You really have to plan your shot to keep from getting rollaways as best you can. You also had to watch out for poison oak in the rough...main thing is keep it in the fairway as best you can! Hard to manage if you hit a tree but just playing conservative, throwing straight and keeping it on the fairway is a good way to go.

- The poison oak was a problem
- Blind shots - while these are fun and would be fantastic if you played this course a lot...it got a bit old having to walk a few hundred feet to see the pin on a good number of the holes.
- Top of the world proved a bit dangerous to a few fairways and the parking lot.
- A bit busy but that was a good thing as we had people in front of us to follow.

All of that is VERY minor...still a 5 star, top rated, must play course!

Definitely play this course! I cannot say enough good about this course and would love to play it again. This course would only get more fun the more you play it as one would be more familiar with the pin placements and where the drop offs and OB's come into play. Also thankful that the park is spacious with plenty of room to fit in all the holes without posing a danger to other players or park users. Too many courses try to jam holes in too tight...this is NOT the case here. Each hold pretty much stands alone which is not usually the case.

Challenging with no end. many hours of disc. feeling of acomplishment once you finish. beautiful views, weather layout. mix of holes.

far too popular for me to play much anymore. one group per hole.

I used to play this course a couple of times a month but cant get to SC like I used to. Learn here and you can play anywhere. epic epic course!

Nice elevation changes. Nicely wooded. Extremely well kept. (It's not overgrown with weeds). Pro shop. Practice green. Great baskets. Great tees in size and quality. (They're like 10 ft by 5ft). Great hole signs. Easy course to follow due in part by the map of the course they give. Scorecards. 29 holes. Challenging but still enjoyable. Variety of shots needed. Surprisingly not overly crowded. Free besides the parking fee. (So bring a bus full of people and split the 2 bucks. And of course hole 27. I mean come on that beast is epic.

I left the cons blank because this course is really about as close to perfection as it gets. A lot of professional disc golfers play here. Play the course it's well worth the 2 dollars spent on parking.

I love the elevation changes, the tight lines, the difficult terrain, the number of baskets, the history, the scenery, and the challenge in general. This course is absolutely worth playing if you're even close to being in this area.

I've only got to play it twice... that's the only con I can think of.

Play this course if you get the chance. It's something you can't quite put into pictures or videos and just have to experience for yourself.

Bring some extra discs, this course eats them alive. Also bring you good shoes, this course will put your boots, and your body, to the test with it's demanding 27 hole layout. You will not have any leftover energy once you're done with a round at DeLa.

Very Challenging, you need every shot in your bag.
Varying pin layouts get changed pretty often and the overall feel of the course is altered significantly.

Crowded during the weekends and afternoons, but it's Dela so it's somewhat expectd: get there early.

What else can be said about Dela. It is my personal favorite course because of all the shots that are necessary to get through it. The tournament layout is especially difficult, but that only adds to the challenge and fun of the course. If you are in the Monterey/Santa Cruz area, then you owe it to yourself to go play this course.

I consider this the best course i have ever played. Everyone knows about Dela, huge distances, unique layouts, Top of the world. Like i need to say more

Its Dela, so huge crowds, its something you have to deal with, so you might as well just sit back and enjoy the experience.

Better pay the parking, they will ticket you

De Laveaga Disc Golf Course is one of the most highly rated disc golf courses in the world. It is famous for its inspiring natural setting, as well as for its uncompromising challenge

You will get a few overpar strokes if you don't pay attention to every shot.

Scenic , Beautiful course.

+ You need every throw that exists
+ Perfectly maintained all year long
+ Perfect baskets and tee pads
+ Perfect signage, especially with the addition of untamperable pin placement markers
+ Every shot all day is risk/reward: drives, approaches, and especially putts.
+ Pro shop on site
+ Constantly shifting pin placements mean a fresh look
+ Portable bathroom on site

- Crowds
- Crowds of families throwing lids 20ft at a time who would have had a better time at Aptos
- Crowds of tourists that don't know course rules, some of which are there for safety
- If you are a beginner, expect to waste a good deal of time pulling discs out of ravines, or bring cash to buy extra discs in the parking lot
- Central coast poison oak (PO)
- Brutal, occasionally sneaky, difficulty
- Only a couple spots for the wide open big bombs...you'll never get to relax and just throw
-$2 to park, which makes it the only pay-to-play for many miles (though I wish it were more expensive to cut down on #1, #2, and #3)
- Um...no water fountain on site, I guess. I'm really reaching.

Notes:
I have put off writing this review for a while now. DeLa is DeLa, ya' know? It's not like it needs me shilling for it. Considering all factors, it's clearly the best course in this part of the country.

The important points are listed above, so I'm just going to talk about the course a little bit. I don't need to talk you into trying out DeLa. If you're a disc golfer and you're visiting the area, it's a no-brainer. If you're a disc golfer and you're living in the area, you've played DeLa. If you're not a disc golfer, you're not reading this.

Delaveaga has always been my home course. I started out playing there in the late 90's with nothing but a Shark. A few hours at DeLa meant at least three beers and three hours, often without seeing another set of golfers. It was just a part of living in SC, like jogging along West Cliff, or not remembering how you got home from the Red Room.
I didn't begin playing DG with a purpose until summer 2011. As my distance crept up, so did the amount of time I spent searching for discs in ravines. In my opinion, this course is toughest on low intermediate players with the arm to put the disc far into trouble. Thinking back, during that phase of my development, I actually avoided the course for quite a while without really realizing it. I was spending more than a half-hour per round clambering, and a few times repelling, through PO.
Every hole at DeLa is a par 3. This doesn't mean that 3 is the average number of strokes it takes people to put the disc in the basket...just that the par is always 3. A pattern I've noticed with many courses is that designers try to make sure that one of those three shots is tough; at DeLa, unless you truly park one of your first two, every shot is likely to be difficult, making it one of the great risk/reward courses. On most of the holes, the only way to park the shot is to mix a little bravery in with your skill. Most of the fairways are full of obstacles. Most of the greens are guarded and are fast/sloped/littered with roots, making even simple upshots nerve-racking. I promised myself that I wouldn't write this review until I started to put together regular par or better rounds--it only took 14 years.
Celebrate your pars, take your birdies where you can get them, and when you do get a bogey, smile and remember that you're in Santa Cruz, playing disc golf at one of the greatest courses in the world.

Excellent use of terrain and natural features. Concrete pads with multiple pin positions on many of the holes. Great club with a good following of pros and ams alike.

Cigarettes are off limits as the park is a high fire area.

Pay your parking fee!!!