-
Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)
Evergreen DGC reviews
11
0
A Recreational-Level 18 That Should Only Be A 9
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 7, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
Evergreen Disc Golf Course is a short, very tight disc golf course that snakes around paths and amenities around the park. At just an average of 225ft per hole, this is a course that newer players will find accessible from a distance standpoint.
Location of Evergreen is the central-east part of St. Clair, not far from I-44. There are gas and food options in town for you if you need them. There are not many courses close by, but Busch Creek and Autumn Hill make a line that could be hit consecutively and can make for a good half day of golf (especially if you skip Autumn Hill).
Park Amenities at Evergreen include a nice playground/water spray area, bathrooms near the parking lot, a basketball court, a baseball field, a shuffleboard deck and walking paths you'll come across throughout the disc golf course. I didn't notice a water fountain, though there may be one near the playground. There are also a couple pavilions as well.
Course Equipment was in mostly good shape when I played this course. The baskets are all blue DGAs, with the front 9 being made up of older but still nice baskets and the back 9 being larger and nicer. The tee signs all have the pertinent information, with hole numbers, pars, distances, and graphics of the hole layouts. The front 9 include some additional info about next tees. There's a map next to the practice basket by the parking lot as well, though it only includes the front 9 layout. It's clear the back 9 was included later from the front 9.
Course Design is mostly short par 3s with a couple holes above 300ft on the back 9. Many of the holes have brush or trees to navigate around, as well as tough rough to avoid along one or both sides of each fairway on a good percentage of the holes.
Shot Shaping is required on some of the holes, with many baskets hidden around corners. Holes 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 17 all require touchy backhand or forehand shots depending on your dominant hand; as a RHBH dominant player, 8 and 17 were clear forehand shots to me as someone who uses that shot only when needed. Other holes play straight but may have tight OB or rough to contend with.
Distances provide a little variety, with holes ranging from 366ft on hole 16 to only 94ft on hole 7, aka circle 3.
Difficulty favors newer players, with the course playing so short. Par can be hit on just about every hole even with a bad tee shot that goes off course. As an intermediate player, I was able to score 7 under on a blind round with some impressively bad putting at times. Double digits under par will be standard for many who play here more than once.
Location of Evergreen is the central-east part of St. Clair, not far from I-44. There are gas and food options in town for you if you need them. There are not many courses close by, but Busch Creek and Autumn Hill make a line that could be hit consecutively and can make for a good half day of golf (especially if you skip Autumn Hill).
Park Amenities at Evergreen include a nice playground/water spray area, bathrooms near the parking lot, a basketball court, a baseball field, a shuffleboard deck and walking paths you'll come across throughout the disc golf course. I didn't notice a water fountain, though there may be one near the playground. There are also a couple pavilions as well.
Course Equipment was in mostly good shape when I played this course. The baskets are all blue DGAs, with the front 9 being made up of older but still nice baskets and the back 9 being larger and nicer. The tee signs all have the pertinent information, with hole numbers, pars, distances, and graphics of the hole layouts. The front 9 include some additional info about next tees. There's a map next to the practice basket by the parking lot as well, though it only includes the front 9 layout. It's clear the back 9 was included later from the front 9.
Course Design is mostly short par 3s with a couple holes above 300ft on the back 9. Many of the holes have brush or trees to navigate around, as well as tough rough to avoid along one or both sides of each fairway on a good percentage of the holes.
Shot Shaping is required on some of the holes, with many baskets hidden around corners. Holes 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 17 all require touchy backhand or forehand shots depending on your dominant hand; as a RHBH dominant player, 8 and 17 were clear forehand shots to me as someone who uses that shot only when needed. Other holes play straight but may have tight OB or rough to contend with.
Distances provide a little variety, with holes ranging from 366ft on hole 16 to only 94ft on hole 7, aka circle 3.
Difficulty favors newer players, with the course playing so short. Par can be hit on just about every hole even with a bad tee shot that goes off course. As an intermediate player, I was able to score 7 under on a blind round with some impressively bad putting at times. Double digits under par will be standard for many who play here more than once.
Cons:
Safety and Proximity really stand out throughout this course, and really knock it down in my mind. The PDGA recommends 12 acres of land for a 4,100ft course. This park has 14 acres and plenty of other park amenities, leaving small slivers of land for disc golf. Holes 1 and 9 essentially play against each other in opposite directions. Hole 8's pin is in hole 2's fairway. Hole 18's pin place fairly close to 10's fairway. Hole 11 plays around a corner very close to a pathway that is blind, and you might not even see until your disc bounces off it like mine did. Holes 12 and 13 play very close to the same path. Holes 15 and 16 play close to each other in opposite directions. 15 plays very close to the baseball field. I could go one about this.
A lot of the tee pads also are extremely close to the prior hole's pin. I'd say well over half the holes have this issue. If you're behind another group, you will likely have to wait not only until they are done with the hole, but until they tee off and leave the next hole's tee pad. There were 5 or 6 groups on the course with my friend and I when we played this course despite it's ruralness on a weeknight, so it gets traffic. Between other disc golfers or park goers, this course has a lot of safety issues. I am usually lenient about such issues on courses, but I's impossible to ignore here. The course design really caters newer and amateur players, who are also the players more likely to throw into OB areas, which is a bad combo at Evergreen. Apparently, there are also alternate tees that are even worse that locals know about and throw based on other reviews.
Fun Factor was lower than usually in my opinion as well at times on this course. While there are some fun shots around the course, 100 to 200 foot holes can get old and repetitive without more variety in shot shaping than this course has. Ace runs are fun, but as the holes between 2 and 7 get shorter and shorter and you hit the 94 foot shot that has no obstacles between you and the hole, you may be left wondering if hole 8 will just be a 45 foot jump putt. Is there room at this course for a fun and exciting 9-hole course? Probably, yeah. Is there room for a fun 18-hole? Not really. I'm a sucker for a short, old school 18-hole course, but this one does not have that vibe at all.
Course Equipment was mostly good, if not looking a bit worn for its age, especially some of the tee signs. The tee pads feel short despite the short hole distances, and some are already chipping pretty bad, especially hole 10. The front 9 baskets also get a vibe of being older than they actually are at times, though they still caught well.
A lot of the tee pads also are extremely close to the prior hole's pin. I'd say well over half the holes have this issue. If you're behind another group, you will likely have to wait not only until they are done with the hole, but until they tee off and leave the next hole's tee pad. There were 5 or 6 groups on the course with my friend and I when we played this course despite it's ruralness on a weeknight, so it gets traffic. Between other disc golfers or park goers, this course has a lot of safety issues. I am usually lenient about such issues on courses, but I's impossible to ignore here. The course design really caters newer and amateur players, who are also the players more likely to throw into OB areas, which is a bad combo at Evergreen. Apparently, there are also alternate tees that are even worse that locals know about and throw based on other reviews.
Fun Factor was lower than usually in my opinion as well at times on this course. While there are some fun shots around the course, 100 to 200 foot holes can get old and repetitive without more variety in shot shaping than this course has. Ace runs are fun, but as the holes between 2 and 7 get shorter and shorter and you hit the 94 foot shot that has no obstacles between you and the hole, you may be left wondering if hole 8 will just be a 45 foot jump putt. Is there room at this course for a fun and exciting 9-hole course? Probably, yeah. Is there room for a fun 18-hole? Not really. I'm a sucker for a short, old school 18-hole course, but this one does not have that vibe at all.
Course Equipment was mostly good, if not looking a bit worn for its age, especially some of the tee signs. The tee pads feel short despite the short hole distances, and some are already chipping pretty bad, especially hole 10. The front 9 baskets also get a vibe of being older than they actually are at times, though they still caught well.
Other Thoughts:
Some parks just don't have room for disc golf, and I think that's a fair debate with Evergreen. A 9 hole could probably fit here, with some likely awkward transitions. Trying to cram 18 holes into this park feels greedy, and I would very likely rate this course higher if it had 9 holes on the same amount of land. I have played very short courses that I have found to be quite fun, like White Birch in St. Louis and Shorewood in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. For me, this course does not match the fun factor those courses have that can make up for the course playing over itself like Evergreen does.
Evergreen Park is 50 minutes from my home, and with so many other options in St. Louis, I do not see myself returning to play here any time soon. Even if I have a trip to make down 44, there are other courses I would stop at along the highway before this one. If you're a dedicated disc golfer or a local, check the course out. Otherwise, this is one you won't need to lose sleep over skipping.
Evergreen Park is 50 minutes from my home, and with so many other options in St. Louis, I do not see myself returning to play here any time soon. Even if I have a trip to make down 44, there are other courses I would stop at along the highway before this one. If you're a dedicated disc golfer or a local, check the course out. Otherwise, this is one you won't need to lose sleep over skipping.
