Watervliet, MI

Flaherty Park

2.885(based on 12 reviews)
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8 0
ElementZ
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15 years 212 played 200 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Somewhat above average 9er in easily accessible location 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Dec 23, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

+ I'd say the biggest pro this course has is it's terrain. The river is utilized well on #7 and the hill on #8 provides a fun little challenge. Holes 7 & 8 were a breathe of fresh air after playing in tight woods for the first six holes.

+ Nice course equipment. Baskets are in good condition, tees are cement, tee signs are illustrative. There's a practice basket and a big course map sign, which I always appreciate.

+ The multiple tees add some variation on a couple of the holes. The elevated tee on #2 was fun and on #7 is nice that players can opt out of having to throw over the water from the long #7.

+ I think this course is attractive to players of all skill levels. While there are no bomber holes (except maybe #9 long at 377 ft), it's a technical course without being completely inaccessible to beginning players.

+ Course flow is solid. There is never too much of a walk from basket to the next tee. Hole 9's basket is right by the parking lot.

+ Course is relatively clean. There wasn't too much trash around and when I did spot some, it was with other trash.

Cons:

- There is a little bit of course maintenance required. I played in December when vegetation was tamed, but I can absolutely imagine that holes 1-6 are a nightmare in summer and fall. A couple trees had fallen in the fairways and on the stairs by #2 long's tee.

- I wish the water would be present on more holes than just #7. 7 was a fun one to play. While the land is used well, it'd be great if it was bigger so that a full 18 could be placed here. I could see this sneaking into 3.5, maybe even 4 range if a full 18 were installed with similar design.

Other Thoughts:

All in all, this is a fun 9 holes to play (especially in winter) and very accessible from the I-94. It's about 4 minutes off the highway and it's a quick one to bag. I don't think you'll regret checking it out. It seems like there's a community here that cares about the course and will continue to maintain and improve upon it.
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11 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1562 played 1507 reviews
2.50 star(s)

He Just Smiled And Gave Me A Vegemite Sandwich! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 22, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Flaherty Park is a small city park with a creek running through it. The course appears to be about 2/3 rough wooded acreage and the other 1/3 a grassy multi-use area complete with a picnic shelter, restrooms and a grassy plain area. The course has nice amenities, especially for such a newish endeavor. There is a nice course sign and map. A practice basket stands ready. Each hole has two concrete pads, the longer Whites and the shorter Reds. On a course this tight and technical, sometimes just having the White tees 30' farther, can make the hole that much more difficult. Each pad has these nice little signs. They are a small plastic sign mounted on a 6" x 6" pole.

The first 6 holes are short but very technical. Then you come to # 7 White tee. 272' and playing down the creek and shooting through a pretty narrow gap. The creek is clear but you still want to stay out of it. This basket sits in a corner close to both the creek and the woods behind. I'm not sure why anyone would ever try the direct approach here when you can simply throw an easy hyser around the trees, with no risk. # 8 is a little shortie up a small hill. The course finishes with a nice longer (377' from the White tees) throw with the basket set just off the fairway on the left. You need to keep your tee shot low as there are trees overhead.

Cons:

Not a course to play by yourself. The rough is thick and nasty.

Most players will lose discs here.

Not a course for beginners or players with little control.

7 holes are very short.

Only 9 holes.

Other Thoughts:

I started my round by following the group ahead of me, Ricky, Junior and Calvin, before eventually just kind of joining up with them. Junior and Calvin were new to the game and spent much of their time searching for discs in the deep, dark rough. Although very short, Flaherty DGC is a challenge.

I guess I'm not quite as excited about this course as other reviewers have been. Maybe, it's because I haven't seen the course progress from a dream to a nice working course. I see this as a decent little, technical 9 hole course with nice amenities. I see it as more average than special. Sorry.
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2 3
tsuvaulter
Experience: 14 years 18 played 1 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Potential 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 8, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Challenging layout, good use of the elevation. One of the builder of the course was there and filled me in on the upgrades still to come. All the tee pads had an alternate pad. Looked new and just poured. Hole 7 was the only hole that the creek really came into play, but not hard to play to the right and take it out of play.

Cons:

Still being built but will be a great course when finished. Still some clean out to do. A lot of hanging limbs and branches that will swat down an otherwise good shot.
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9 1
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 14 years 350 played 299 reviews
2.50 star(s)

the potential here is pretty amazing. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 18, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Aesthetic- hole 1-6 play through a disc golf exclusive area of the park. holes 7-9 play through a multi-use part of the park. From what I've been told, public areas will be adjusted for safety reasons

Teepads-Concrete, huge, nice. it's so nice to have pads poured before the course is done so it's more than reasonable to play this course in it's infancy.

Baskets- ChainStars, brand freakin' new and purdy

Routing/nav-positives and negatives here. it's easy to follow the course throughout but the routing between the first six and the last three will be rough until the bridge is put in.

Challenge/Variety- a TON here. the wooded holes are TIGHT but fair. rewarding great throws and punishing poor throws.

Hole 7- most certainly the signature hole of this course. playing down the stream and ending in the shadow of a 100+yr old bridge is absolutely stunning.

9 holes but plays like 18-unique views from long and short pads will add up to 18 holes eventually!

Cons:

All cons have the potential of being resolved but here's a list

Rough- this course is a bit rough around the edges but this will resolve with use and more work from the locals and creators. paths and routing will also resolve.

Other Thoughts:

I think this course will rank up there with some of the best 9-hole course when it is cleaned up a bit. thanks to amenz for guiding me on my first round. I will be back!!
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10 3
Jukeshoe
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.7 years 316 played 268 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Trending Upwards 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Dec 15, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- Two-thirds thickly wooded, one-third sparsely treed, grassy, multi-purpose park with a small river bisecting the two distinct parts. A raised railroad bounds one side of the course, its picturesque stone archway crossing the river and adding a distinct visual touch on #7.
- Tight, technical disc golf. Because of the small park area, this course is necessarily on the short side. To compensate, the designer opted not to create just another beginner-level, boring, easy, mindless 9-hole course; instead, the thick woods making up six holes is fully implemented to create short but tight lines. A variety of hyzers, anhyzers, and straight shots are required.
- Great use of the river on #7. The basket is a straight shot basically down the length of the river, but definitely make-able. A bailout route to the right offers safety for the less adventurous. Anything finishing left is in the river and gone forever.
- Great use of the limited, but fairly decent, elevation. #8 offers a short blind uphill shot. #9 has a wooded left-to-right slope bounding the left of the fairway. #2's long tee is nicely elevated, as is #4's.
- Dual concrete pads offer a more straight-forward, short beginner style course. The longs could be challenging for most experienced discers. Even players throwing putters or mids off the longs would still have to hit fairly demanding, narrow flight paths. The longs don't simply add distance but completely alter the look of each hole. #4's long tee position is sick, with a great split tree directly front and center.

Cons:

- #'s 7-9 play through a multi-purpose park area. This grassy, sparsely treed area contains a small pavilion, benches, a wooden walkway (which is slippery as hell when wet...watch out). This area could definitely cause conflicts and/or safety hazards under busy conditions. However, the park is pretty small and looked a bit unused, so perhaps the non-disc traffic never gets to the point of interference.
- No signs yet, which makes things a bit tricky first time around. The baskets are labeled correctly, though, which helped immensely. The practice basket near #7's tee is unmarked. (UPDATE: Signs are in the mail and should be installed in the next week or so.)

Other Thoughts:

- This review reflects the state of the course at the time I played it (12/15/12). Tees, pins, and fairways are all present, but the course was definitely still a bit rough around the edges. I expect Flaherty to become more polished with time. A lot of great work has already happened here, and now it's at the point where the final details can get worked out. With the addition of the signage, I expect this course to rate above average for a 9-holer. Even with some work yet to be done, I rated this at 2-discs with the chance to score a 2.5 at a later date. That score would make this the highest rated 9-hole course I've played.
- I drove an hour in the dark to hit this course shortly after sunrise. Believe it or not, one of the local crew was out working on clearing up the edges of the fairways. This course is an excellent (and much needed!) addition to the area. The local crew (Amenz, Dan, et al.) should be applauded for their hard work in getting this course installed. I wish more small park 9-hole courses were of this caliber.
- Finding the course. Until the bridge goes in, don't park in the first lot but proceed to the second, gravel lot (across from the large city maintenance garage). #1's tees are to the right.
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