Fountain Hills is a legendary symbol of our game, even if it's gotten a bit long in the tooth. An emerald & azure gem among a sea of Sonoran brown, Fountain Park's (ball) golf course aesthetics of water hazards and short green grass offer a welcome change of pace from the dusty and rocky desert courses that dominate the surrounding area. The now 20-hole routing wraps counterclockwise around a heavily trafficked park anchored by a beautiful lake and the fountain that gives this town its name. Putting toward the lake with the celebrated fountain blasting in the background remains a wonderful snapshot.

The water holes are tricky and fun. The short grass skips and perilous pin placements push the limits of my rec-level skills, and players less concerned with losing a disc will absolutely love testing their mettle. Running and parking one of the handful of peninsula greens feels exhilarating.

Hole 1 easily remains one of the most iconic, visually appealing holes in disc golf, and the butterflies you feel as you step up to that first circular teepad are enough to thrill any disc golfer with a pulse and an appreciation for the all-time greats.

All the bonus pros are here: two restroom facilities in the park, concrete pads, plenty of parking, trash cans, Mach X baskets. Hole 18 wraps up just a few short steps from pizza, wine, and froyo.

Safety is an ever-present concern. When the course was installed in 1981, the residents of Fountain Hills totaled just under 3,000. Thirty years later the population is over eight times that. I mention this only because Fountain Park seems to be the axis upon which the entire community revolves, and the pedestrian traffic is heavy & constant. When Fountain Hills was a small development and disc technology was more frisbee than Firebird I imagine there was plenty of space for this course. Nowadays the persistent presence of joggers and dog walkers means waiting for nearly every tee shot, and most holes threaten the walking path at best. Most parkgoers seem to stick to the paved paths and leave the course itself alone, but the vast majority of green space is occupied by disc golf. The potential for negative interaction between golfers and other park patrons is huge.

Once the routing moves away from the water on the west side of the course, there's not much in the way of variety or variation. As we've seen in numerous pro rounds these holes are pretty attackable and not terribly exciting.

The iconic round tee pads have been worn fairly slick over the years. If they're even a little wet you'll struggle for footing and may even be better off teeing from the side.

The fountain shuts off when wind speed is over 10 mph, but even a slight breeze can be enough to lightly spray some of that reclaimed, non-potable water into your face. Kinda gross.

Fountain Hills is a stone-cold classic, and much of its appeal comes from that fact. In a vacuum, Fountain would almost certainly not be as celebrated as it is. That's not an insult - greatness built on a foundation of nostalgia is still greatness. Everyone should play Fountain Hills at least once, but for better or worse the evolution of disc golf has passed this course by.

That said, Fountain remains a special place, even if its flaws have become more exposed with age. This is a must-play course if you're in metro Phoenix, and is still worth traveling to if you're a student of disc golf history. Just don't expect a world-class routing when you get here.

Two new holes have been added between Hole 2 and original Hole 3 (now Hole 5). They don't seem to add a whole lot other than to further crowd an already crowded park. This addition seems largely unnecessary and perhaps a less than terrific idea, but it's also more disc golf, so I've just included it here as an FYI.

It's a pretty setting. The facilities are nice. The circular tee off areas are interesting. It's a somewhat challenging course because of the water (I tend to shoot around 54). There are numerous birdie opportunities.

The bird poop. The terrible smell when the wind blows the wrong way. It's a very public location, which makes it easier to accidentally hit someone with a disc. All the water holes are the same. You will inevitably put a disc in the water, which forces you to play junk discs.

The water holes are unimaginative. They should set up a more interesting course up in the foothills. The location is INAPPROPRIATE. Too many people... too many public events.

There are few OPEN tracks which mess with your mind more than this course. Most of the shots are wide open, but most players won't be able to make them. Water, elevation and a quick playing surface all creep into the brain and keep you from losing that favorite disc you would have thrown.

Duck Scat. Two million degree heat. Sheriff Arapio. There is duck doo everywhere. It's just part of the game. It's Arizona so most of the time it it's too hot to play here without becoming a cracker. And that neo-nazi sheriff lives nearby so you can't play this if you're brown without ID.

Fun course. The Memorial layout is harder and the poo water is nasty. But it's the course from the Memorial so if you are around, you should play it. If you don't live within 600 miles you're not missing anything. It's a good course, but not a great course.

- Nicest course in Phoenix area
- Fountain Hills has beautiful scenery
- Course is challenging but playable at every skill level
- Full amenities including cafe, bathrooms, and nice parking lot
- Nice large round teepads

- Plays like a ball golf course, not disc golf
- Bird crap everywhere
- Shots away from the "lake" are boring and unimaginative
- Meandering elderly residents are annoying and prevalent
- 200' Feces cannon (see details below)

I usually go to Fountain Hills for the Memorial layout. This rating is for that layout, I may rate this course lower for the regular layout.

This course is the nicest course in the phoenix area. That isn't saying much with the lack of quality courses in PHX. It is oriented around a large "lake" (reservoir), with a huge fountain in the middle. More on the lake and fountain later.

I firmly believe that disc golf holes should play differently than ball golf holes. In ball golf, fairways are largely open and the object of the game is to control where the ball hits the ground and stops. Discs have the ability to fly, and disc golfers have the ability to shape the flight of their discs. This allows disc golf holes to force a golfer to shape the actual flight of the disc instead of merely manage where and how it lands. This is the fundamental difference between ball and disc golf (besides the projectile). Ball golf holes are a series of landing zones, disc golf is a fluid and dynamic flight path.

Fountain hills plays like a ball golf course. Each hole consists of a teepad and a few landing zones. One landing zone will be by the pin (the green), and one or more will be for layups. If you go for the pin zone and miss, you are in the water. Between the teepad and the landing zones is open space. Sure, there are a smattering of trees on the course, but nothing to actually make you shape the flight of your disc. The only point of Fountain Hills is to control where and how your disc impacts the landing zone. Most greens are sloped towards the water so if you come in hot you will skid right in. If you miss a putt and land on edge, you will roll in. This is not enjoyable disc golf for me. It may make for good ball golf design, but it is not disc golf.

Now on to the "lake". It is a roundish cavity with a concrete bottom. It is filled with reclaimed water. Reclaimed water is chemically treated sewage. Yes, you are playing disc golf around a mammoth glorified toilet bowl. Unlike other disc golf courses, if you miss your shot, you will literally be in deep $hit. The water is slimy and smelly. Birds crap in the water and all over the course. If this picture was making you queasy, let me describe the cherry on top. They decided that a giant holding tank of sewage wasn't quite grand enough, so they constructed a 200' sewage geyser in the middle. I will admit that the giant feces cannon looks impressive, but damn, really? On the plus side, the truly hazardous nature of the water hazard makes every shot for the green a life or death affair. It takes cajones to throw your favorite disc towards certain death looking for the bird.

For all its faults, Fountain Hills is still by far the best course in the Phoenix area. Yes, playing ball golf with discs around a toilet bowl while a feces cannon fires every 15 minutes provides the best disc golf experience in Phoenix.

Circular teepads so you can have a good run-up for all basket settings. Never seen this before it was cool.
Nice green grass, well groomed
Water in play on many holes
Huge fountain that runs every hour for 15 minutes
Nice baskets with chains that really grip the disc
Some benches and bathrooms

Hyzer, Hyzer, Hyzer. . .regardless of your handedness you can hyzer almost every hole
Very crowded with walkers and other pedestrians
Kind of tough to navigate, but doable
No privacy, very open course
Few trees with questionable placement on a few holes
Very short

This course is very unique and aesthetically beautiful. Similar to other reviews, the beauty of this park attracts many dog walkers and the like. I waited on quite a few holes until the coast was clear. This course does not demand a variety of shots. The hyzer seems to play almost every holes with almost no exceptions. It was enjoyable and the water was fun to negotiate, but this course is nothing to write home about. However, it is a good course worth playing and depending on the settings can be challenging, or relatively simple. Dont go in the water, it is reclaimed sewage water.