Beautiful scenery
Layout is challenging for beginner or pro
Nice tees
Only need 3-4 discs
Grass like a ball golf course

Occasional wait for sunbather or walker
Duck droppings
Lost discs in water

Beautiful and fun a course - there are more challenging courses but FH is a classic

Excellent course with many challenges including trees, pond and some mild elevation changes. Several holes close to the ponds edge require accuracy and precision with comfortable grass course surrounding the pond. Complete with 300 foot water fountain in the middle that goes off on the hour. Well designed and maintained, Fountain Hills will always be one of my favorites and a destination course.

Only a couple. Mainly the pedestrian issue. The park is surrounded by a higher end community so there are a lot of residents in the neighborhood that use the park regularly. The second is the road that circles the park. It's a bit close so errant throws may be an issue.

Buy a disc retriever for those throws that end up in the pond. You probably won't want to wade in after it with all the water fowl using the pond...

On a humid August afternoon, we decided to get out and play the most famous course in the Phoenix area, and home to the Memorial. Driving out to Fountain Hills definitely puts one in a great mood, with beautiful surroundings, mountains, cactus, etc.. After picking up some beverage, and a big plastic mug to put it in, we were all set.

Arriving at the course in a time share vibe neighborhood, we found beautifully manicured grass parkways and palm trees surrounding a pleasantly sized and shaped man-made lake with a big circle of metallic arms standing out in the middle. You could see the course, wrapping its way all around the lake.

We stepped up to the 1st nicely paved concrete tee, and we noticed the beautiful tee sign. It had a nice map of the 1st hole, and then next to it, a mini-map of the entire course! I was like "damn, that has to be the coolest tee sign I've ever seen!" What I didn't know is that every single hole has the same kind of tee sign, with a mini-map of the course. You'll always know where you are, where you're throwing, where you came from, and where you're going. This is brilliant, and I will recommend this kind of signage where ever I travel in the future.

The second thing we noticed was the curious lack of the occasional sound of chains. Nothing but silence. We had the entire course to ourselves. Not once during the entire late afternoon and evening did we see anyone else out there with a disc. Only a few people strolling or jogging along the path, and they didn't get in the way of our play, either (i.e., for more than a few seconds).

Many of the holes play right along side the lake, working counter-clockwise so that the water hazard is always to the left. This is obviously designed to foil right-handed backhand throws that fade out left. I lost 2 discs way out in the lake early on when I went for turn-overs that instead stabilized and faded left into the water. Even though I lost these discs, I was still having a blast, and I loved the challenge of having the water nearby on so many holes. I did find that I could walk into the water a ways in some places with my water sandals (the underlying concrete is grippy) and retrieve discs that were less than 6 feet or so out from the edge.

The lakeside has some small sculpted peninsulas that jut out into the water, upon which you'll find small trees, and a few baskets. These several holes are amazing, teeing off from one peninsula onto another, with a narrow landing zone and little room for error. Lay up too short, you're wet. Run at it long, you're wet. Land on edge, and it rolls, you're wet. This is superb challenge, and most of the wet tosses are retrievable, so the risk is not as great as one might otherwise think.

The course uses the available topography incredibly well. There were big downhill throws, big uphill throws, small down and up, etc..

The flow of the course and the way the various fairways are arranged was also superb. The designer(s) put a lot of thought into the arrangement, my hat is definitely off to them. Like others have noted, it is really amazing how many trees come into play, even though there aren't a lot of trees on the course. For each tree, they found its maximum confounding placement on the fairway. There were also a good mixture of distances, from long throws where you can grip and rip it to short holes where touch is everything. The course is also extremely well-maintained. Not a blade of grass was out of place. The baskets were all nice, and in good shape. There were clean restrooms available near the parking lot. The neighbors who came out to watch as the sun sank in the sky and the air cooled off were all very friendly.

Then there is the fountain, which is pretty impressive. It is really fun to see it going periodically, and adds a wonderful element to the feel of the course. And very scenic too...the wonderful views of four peaks and red mountain that you get to see as the sun sets, turning the sky into a stunning canvas of blues, oranges, pinks, reds, purples...

Nothing major I can think about.

The lack of seclusion on the course is something that was different, and definitely kept us minding our Ps and Qs, being very low profile, etc.. Bring plenty of water (duh, its Arizona). Bring a pair of water sandals or a golden retriever, you'll get good use from these. Bring a picnic, and spend the day!

I play this course every day! this course is hard Its wide open but what little trees they have really come into play for example. a good drive may look great but as you approach there is a small tree in the way that did not seem apparent before. This course is a fairly long with the first 9 being mostly short holes where placement is critical for a birdie. the next 9 are longer holes that are still doable but if your arm isnt tossing 400+ feet then these hole can still make par. the thing i love most about this course is that the first half really warms up my arm so when i get to the back noince the long holes seem shorted because im all loose, relaxed and ready to throw 400 ft.!

the lake is dirty! and the fountain will come on and occasionally spray you with nasty waste water! watch out on windy days. the lake comes into play A LOT so ameturs beware this lake has NO visibility what so ever so prepare to fish or get wet! my word of advice never throw you favorite fly-dyed disc or whatever near any water there is a chance you may not ever see it again trust me this has hapened to me! the other huge problem is that the park is filled with people unaware of the disc golf happenings and they may just wander into fairways without knowing. BE AWARE!

play this course you will not be dissapointed with the level of difficulty! or fun that comes with it

One of the most scenic courses I've had the pleasure to play. Bring a camera!
A great course for a relaxing round of golf.

Easy to loose discs if your not accurate.
Mid-day heat can be brutal.

This is one of my favorite courses. For a guy from the mid-west, this is the perfect vacation course.

Gorgeous Phoenix area retirement community. Some of the best Risk-Reward shots in disc golf, that I have ever experienced. Most of the basket positions bring the water into play. Even wayward putts have a great chance of finding water. Perfectly manicured greens play very fast, and the fountain keeps the wind swirly.

Stay out of the spray of the fountain! Besides it being the waste of all of the water birds in the area, I have heard stories of it spotting sunglasses to the point of disrepair.

Excellent course. Play conservatively unless you like donating plastic. A Golden Retriever(disc retriever) is a good purchase before going there.

Beautiful park surrounding a man-made lake (reclaimed water that is an unusual shade of blue green, that I was in no hurry to touch in order to get wet discs). Some interesting and picturesque trees throughout the park come into play on a lot of the holes, as well as several little bays and inlets near the water. Good variety of challenges, some long, some short, some technical, some slight elevation. Beautifully groomed grass makes you feel like you are playing on a 'ball golf' course.

Both times we've played here it was the middle of the day in the middle of the week. And we still ran into a lot of pedestrian traffic.. I can't imagine what this place is like on the weekends.

Always an anticipated destination course whenever we are in the Phoenix area. Well worth the trip.

Wonderful course wrapping around the fountain lake. Nice variety of hills, trees, and water in play creates interesting obstacles and challenging holes. Many up/down/overhill shots spice things up.
Also, the shoreline of this AZ(ie. manmade) lake is full of mini "peninsulas" and "bays", which are used cleverly in pin placement for several shots over the water or along it.

Water is in play on nearly every hole on this course, which is both unusual and really cool (and really scary).

Grass is well groomed, and grounds kept very neat and tidy. Beautiful view of lake and fountain. Circular concrete tee pads are clearly numbered, and its usually obvious which basket you are going to.

Though this course is fairly open, there is quite a bit of elevation in play, and the ever-present hazard of the lake's murky waters, which are all used to make a lot of very interesting shots and risk-reward, including blind baskets, and several small gaps to thread (or risk long water crossing shots)

The park is too Nice, thus attracting pedestrains and picnickers galore. It is not uncommon to have to wait for a clear shot.
Also, the times I've been there (two saturdays), they had events going on by or in the park, so if you go on a weekend you might be shooting next to booths or over temporary stands.
The course follows the lakeshore all the way around, so water is in play on almost every hole. The bottom of the murky lake is a lumpy concrete that likes to grab retrieval devices, so fish carefully for discs. Also, the lake is murky(its manmade), so if you are going to pull a Happy Gilmore and jump in after your disc, good luck, because its very hard to see discs in the water. A much better idea is to have the first player drive, then walk down by the water to be ready to grab a disc out of the water before it sinks or swat it out of the air shaq-style before it goes in.

Bring a hat, glasses and water, because trees are scattered and there are no water fountains on the course.
However, there is a little shopping center after the 18th hole that has ice cream and smoothie shops in it: perfect high note to finish every round on. Especially on hot days (=every day)

this course was a blast, believe the layout is a bit different then when i last played - but beautiful scenic course, fountain in the center, mountains all around, tons of pins right on the waters edge- and so windy - be careful- rolling hills, always have pedestrians to cheer on your shots - great desert course - so un-desert-like

your disc gets wet, it gets wet quick and nearly impossible to see in the murky geese thriving waters - bring a disc diver - good luck