A well-balanced city park course with ace runs, a couple of par-3/4 tweeners, and pleasant surroundings.

-Amenities: Concrete tees (except for three long pads which are rubber), tee signs with info and map (updated since the course photos here were taken), practice baskets, DD Veteran baskets (I think), next tee arrows, brooms, bag hooks, and pin position indicators (often overlooked but perfectly implemented here!).

-Vibe: A safe, neighborhood park feel throughout. Plenty of friendly park users of all kinds. However, parts of the course feel a little more rugged, and the greens of (11) and (13) were extremely peaceful.

-Wide Appeal: Generally a beginner friendly course that shouldn't punish bad shots too much. However, with a few longer holes and interesting lines, it should also be enjoyable for white-level players.

-Maintenance: Grass and plants in the main part of the course are excellently landscaped, and crews were freshening it as I played.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: a varied layout with all the basic kinds of holes. Though a long stretch in the middle is pretty simple par-3s, there are also a number of cool holes adding variety, including downhills, guarded greens, a couple of tunnels, and blind shots. The par-4s played perfectly for me, but they could also play as challenging par-3s for long throwers. I would peg holes (2), (5), (11), (13), (17), and (18) as all being very enjoyable and a step up from typical.

-Free: In San Diego, you don't get many free to play courses. In fact, I'd argue from my experience that there are none better than this in the whole county.

Mostly related to being crammed into the park.

-Safety: Walkways come into play fairly frequently. Substantial road danger is also present a couple of times. The flow of golfers also poses safety issues (backtracking through fairways and adjacent holes that are too close) - I marked about half of the course as being a likely place to be hit by a drive from another hole.

-Navigation: Awkward a few times. There's a long (5)-(6) transition and a few other spots where the next tee isn't in the intuitive direction.

-Traffic: Seems on the more popular side. By 8:30 on a Saturday the front half of the course was completely full.

Kit Carson is what I imagine everyone's first disc golf course to be: public land, somewhere between red and white level, generally well-maintained, multi-use space, some creativity but generally straightforward. (I may be biased because my first and longtime home course was this way.) It's a pleasant playthrough with high replay value that can appeal to both new players and mid-level amateurs. Destination? No. But decidedly an important and Good addition to its community - especially in San Diego, which has too few courses for the number of players.

-The Snake: I think the giant Snake has seen better days, but it's still intriguing. I don't have anything to say, I just felt the need to mention it in a review of this course.

~Similar Courses: Alexander Park (Snellville, GA); Veterans Park (Arlington, TX); middle section reminiscent of Seven Oaks Park (Columbia, SC).

- Multiple target placements make for each round being a little more dynamic.
- Not very crowded (Disc Golf player wise)
- Nice mix of long and short holes.
- It's free
- Good Pro Shop

- Can be crowded with people not playing disc golf. Tends to mess with only a couple holes.
- Stinging Nettle around the first 4 holes. Good luck getting your disc out of it.
- Can get pretty hot during the summer.

It would be nice if they made it more apparent that people enjoy playing disc golf at the park. Maybe some type of sign or notification at entrances to inform other park users to watch where you set your picnic up. I remember one time where a family setup a volleyball court right in the middle of the fairway... Other then that this is an awesome course for beginners and advanced players. Picnic season is usually only during the summer, so the rest of the year it is normally wide open.

Kit Carson Park is a very large sprawling park with oh, so many activities going on. The park features many baseball/softball fields, many picnic and children's play areas, a pro shop, a very nice amphitheater, undeveloped land, walking/jogging tracks and much more.
The course starts over near the amphitheater with the first five holes playing across mostly open dirt patch. These first holes feature more distance than the rest of the course. # 6 is kind of a transitional hole then there is a short walkout to the rest of the course which plays through the main picnic area of the park. These holes aren't especially long but they're well designed, sometimes tight along the cry creek bed and feature some tunnel shots under the trees.
The tee pads are rubber mats. Some of the early pads were slippery with sand on them. A broom would have been a nice touch here. The baskets are in good condition. Nice signs showing the distance, par and sponsor.
The last holes move out of the grassy picnic area into another undeveloped area of the park. # 18 hole has been removed (temporarily?) for the pond being drained and rebuilt). So currently you play 17 and 18 together at the same time.


This course is basically flat. There was no water in the creek (early April). The course is a nice recreational course. It has a nice variety of hole challenges and length including four where you really have to start with a long anhyzer. There are places where a good roller is essential. Advanced players and above probably won't find the challenge at Kit Carson .

The middle holes (7-15) playing through the picnic area are probably often in conflict with other park users and picnics, etc. I watched one group of players basically just throw right into a group of younger girls near # 9. You may have to skip a hole or two on this course during prime picnic time.

Without my wonderful local guides, navigation would have been a little difficult.

I was fortunate enough to hook up with Jack and his son, Steven. Steven played for 10 years with the NE Pats blocking for Tom Brady. Pretty cool to play with a celebrity of sorts. Plus, I managed to beat both father & son by a couple of strokes.

• Decent shot selection
• Nice park
• Tees are good (rubber mat variety)
• Baskets are good
• Signs are great
• Course is easy to find
• Water/restrooms
• Multiple basket placements
• Friendly folks

• Park people are in play for a good chunk of the course
• A few holes are a little criss-crossy
• Might be a bit short/easy for your advanced and above player

Tips:
• Do read the signs. There are sneaky OBs and mandos out there

Random Thoughts:
I get the impression that this is a favorite amongst the locals as this was the greatest number of disc golfers I've seen at a course, outside of a tournament. That didn't hold up play or anything (in case you were wondering), and I found the folks to be quite friendly. One even asked me to join him and showed me around. As for the course, it really lets you warm-up a bit as the first 5 holes are pretty wide open. True, if you get aggressive, you can go OB, but there's a pretty good amount of room for error. A decent, sensible shot off the tee and you'll be fine. Once you transition to the park holes, that's where the fun begins. Lots of trees, a creek, some OB, pedestrians (ugh) and an island-ish green await. Even though the holes aren't particularly long, you will need accuracy and a variety of shot shaping to get in range of a birdie/par. Having said that, I felt like the course was very fair and there wasn't a time where I couldn't see the intended line.

Bottom Line:
About as good a job as you can do with the space provided, and some interesting use of the 'protected' areas as OB. I also like that there are several types of shots on the course. I would prefer the people not be so much in play but you do the best with what you've got. I'd probably also state that this would be a good course to introduce someone to the game on a non-busy day. Looking forward to a return visit.

The first five holes play through an open dirt patch with some moderate distance. After that, the course transitions to the grassy main area of the park, and the distances were much shorter. With a couple exceptions, most of the holes felt like a solid birdie opportunity, but not a gimme.

I liked the use of the creek bed. It was mostly dry when I played, but the baskets were situated close by on many holes, so a bad drive or missed putt could leave you putting from the creek bed.

One hole had a cool island hole for one of the pin positions.

I think all tee pads were fly pad except one that was part of the sidewalk. I assume these are recent based on some past reviews.

The course wasn't even that busy when I visited (a Saturday morning around 9:30), but other park users certainly came into play. Twice I had to wait. One of those times the group in front of me called out to the person walking in the fairway, and the person was clueless and didn't change course. From other reviews, it seems like this is common.

The first four holes are wide open, and holes 1 and 4 basically throw at each other. If you throw RHBH, on the 4th hole you may need to decide between risking turning over your shot into the wildlife habitat, or having your shot fade toward the hole 1 basket.

Navigation wasn't bad. The map on the site seemed wrong on a couple holes near the middle of the course, but I didn't need to use it much.

There isn't a ton of challenge here, but I found most of the holes pretty enjoyable. I imagine if I played here regularly, the challenge would be how far under par I could shoot (this is not typical for me!).

Great for beginners. Decent variety of shots with some minor elevation and technical spots. You get to rip 'em on the first few and last couple holes.

Signage is weak! A very crowded Park- we had a few near misses of children and picnickers who were oblivious to the course!

This was a fun course with a variety of holes and shots. It plays through a fairly crowded public park so be very aware your throws. The first 4 holes are grip and rips in a open dirt fields but after that you head into the trees and the feel changes. Definitely a good alternative to my home course (Morley field) if I need a change- ie: not waiting at EVERY tee box or being hounded.

this is a great course for just starting out on, i had no real troubles with playing, the creeks were low, so when i did dump my discs in the creeks they were easily to grab.
-most of the holes are short and are easily noticeable.
- the pro shop is great stocked with new discs and used ones, very informative and helpful.
-great practice baskets with enough area to try different distances.

- goes through a park and some times people walk around in the field.
- 30% of the holes dont have signs to show what hole you are at
- a few of the hole tees where hard to find or hard to access.

i recommend to try this course if your in the area, check out the pro shop for anything needed.

The course plays through a large multi-use park. There are some minor elevation changes that are used fairly well to make the course more interesting. The creek running through the middle section of the course is used on several holes, even when dry it can be a hazard to have to shoot up out of the creek bed and adds some risk if you play it as ob. There is a mix of open dusty areas and grassy park areas with more trees to avoid.

The course has some longer holes that add some challenge and a chance to open up and throw some longer drives, as well as some shorter ace run holes for variety. The course felt pretty balanced between left and right turning holes, with a nice mix of hole shapes to make you throw different shots. There are nice hole signs with hole layout and distance. The alternate pin placements on several holes looked like they would change up some of the holes quite a bit for some more variety. There is plenty of signage to help navigate the course, and I had no issue finding my way around the first time out despite some longer walks.

The tees are awful here. Most are rutted out areas in the dirt, and make for pretty bad footing on drives. A couple use rubber or concrete, but often don't have enough room for a real run up without risking your ankles. A few of the signs are awkwardly placed at the front corners of tees.

The holes in the open areas don't offer very much interest or challenge, and are very dusty and hot on a warm summer day. There are some safety concerns, with lots of holes that play through picnic areas and could be unplayable on a nice weekend afternoon. There are several walking paths that come into play, we had to wait on a few pedestrians even in the middle of the week. The alternate pin placements are nice, but there is no marking to tell you what placement is in use.

This is a great alternative to the crowds at Morley, hopefully the sport continues to grow in San Diego and more courses can go in. There are some nice holes here, and it offers some good challenges even for more experienced players. Newer players will find it tough but not too terribly punishing, so it's approachable for beginners. If you're in the north county area, this is the best option, and when you don't feel like waiting on every hole downtown this is a nice change of pace.

A new 18 hole course in North San Diego. This course is in a very beautiful park and provides a fair challenge for skilled players. Several holes are located in under-developed buffer zones surrounding the park. The remainder of holes wind through grass fairways with mature trees and a seasonal stream. The undeveloped areas feature long wide open holes.
Players will get a chance to throw big drives on many of the holes, but will still need finesse shots to score well on the rest. Holes 5 through 16 & 18 are very fun to play and require a wide variety of skills. Hole 11 has two challenging positions that require skill to score well. Hole 17 is still a bit rough, but has potential.

Update: New teepads and great signage are a welcome addition.

Again, the course is very fun and challenging to play. For skilled players, I would rate as a 3.5 to a 4.0 for playability and enjoyment. The course earns a 3.0 overall and the potential to go up with some redesign.

This design heavily interacts with other park user on holes 6 thru 11, holes 14 thru 16 and 18. While mandatories work well to keep tournament players away from other park users, most casual players don't understand or simply ignore these. Seven holes on this course use mandatories, which indicates the scope of the problem.

High risk of losing discs. The OB is extremely punitive on Holes 1, 2 and 4. It is a protected habitat area with "No Trespassing" signs that extends along the right side of these fairways. It runs from tee to pin on Holes 2 & 4. If a player is unfortunate enough to have a disc go into this area, they are not allowed to retrieve it. I fear players of all skill levels will be losing discs or simply ignore the no trespassing signs and proceed to trample through the protected habitat area. Neither outcome is desirable.

Could use better signs to lead players on the walk from Hole 5 to Tee 6. Update: New signage solves the problem.

A lot of fox tails in wild areas 1-5, 12-13 & 17 to get in your shoes and socks! Signs also warn of rattlesnakes.

I originally rated this course lower for safety concerns. Several holes have been and are being redesigned. New Tee pads and signage are well done. Also, I have decided that average players are not as concerned about safety as playability.