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Freeport Park reviews
10
0
"Passable" seems accurate 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 30, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
Freeport Park covers a decent-sized area on the west end of the small village of Freeport, MI. There are a decent mix of holes on the 9-hole DG layout here. Holes 1-2 and 8-9 play through open areas of the park near a soccer field and baseball diamond. Holes 3-7 play through a thickly wooded area in the back of the park that doubles as a hiking trail. Clearly marked mandos on two holes add a little more intrigue.
Of the five wooded holes, there are a couple of them that turn left and a couple that turn right. The wooded area also has some small hills that don't really affect play significantly, but just make things slightly more interesting.
A couple of the open holes offer a decent amount of distance, with holes 2 and 9 each in the 350'-400' range.
Each hole has a concrete tee pad. These are too small to get much of a run-up, but the longer open holes do have clear grass behind that you can use if you want to run up. The tee signs are wood boards mounted on a post with a rough flight path routered in, along with the distance in yards. They look homemade which I thought was great for a course like this. Hole 3's tee sign was missing when I played. There are also benches at a couple of the holes in the woods.
Of the five wooded holes, there are a couple of them that turn left and a couple that turn right. The wooded area also has some small hills that don't really affect play significantly, but just make things slightly more interesting.
A couple of the open holes offer a decent amount of distance, with holes 2 and 9 each in the 350'-400' range.
Each hole has a concrete tee pad. These are too small to get much of a run-up, but the longer open holes do have clear grass behind that you can use if you want to run up. The tee signs are wood boards mounted on a post with a rough flight path routered in, along with the distance in yards. They look homemade which I thought was great for a course like this. Hole 3's tee sign was missing when I played. There are also benches at a couple of the holes in the woods.
Cons:
Navigation is difficult. There are no Next Tee signs. There is a kiosk next to the first tee, but nothing was posted on it. Using the map uploaded here or some other navigational aid is a must. You will spend a LOT of time finding your way from hole 2 to 3, or hole 7 to 8, without one.
The elevation changes aren't that significant even where they are present. There are no water hazards, although a water tower seemed to be discharging a lot of water near hole 8's basket when I played. If that were to continue, hole 8 could become a soggy mess.
This course has some typical issues for a multi-use park 9-holer. Holes 1 and 2 would be unplayable if the soccer field they cross was being used. Holes 8 and 9 would be dangerous if some nearby playground equipment was being used, and a baseball diamond can also come into play on #9. None of the open holes have many obstacles other than man-made ones, and the wooded holes are mostly short.
The rough in the wooded area isn't terribly thick, but it is full of prickly plants that poke you in the summer. Whatever species these plants are, they are knee height or less so they don't add any challenge but just make it unpleasant when your disc inevitably strays off the very narrow paths.
The elevation changes aren't that significant even where they are present. There are no water hazards, although a water tower seemed to be discharging a lot of water near hole 8's basket when I played. If that were to continue, hole 8 could become a soggy mess.
This course has some typical issues for a multi-use park 9-holer. Holes 1 and 2 would be unplayable if the soccer field they cross was being used. Holes 8 and 9 would be dangerous if some nearby playground equipment was being used, and a baseball diamond can also come into play on #9. None of the open holes have many obstacles other than man-made ones, and the wooded holes are mostly short.
The rough in the wooded area isn't terribly thick, but it is full of prickly plants that poke you in the summer. Whatever species these plants are, they are knee height or less so they don't add any challenge but just make it unpleasant when your disc inevitably strays off the very narrow paths.
Other Thoughts:
This course is a nice option to introduce disc golf to the village of Freeport. It doesn't have any glaring issues and is fine for beginners as long as the park is not crowded (which I suspect is very uncommon). But between the pokey rough and swarming bugs on the woods holes when I played, I found myself ready to reach the end of the round and leave by about the fifth hole. This was my 60th course bagged, but other than that minor milestone there was nothing particularly memorable about this course for me. Given that it is also in the middle of nowhere and a 30+ minute drive for me to get to, I doubt I will personally be back.
I was between a 1.0 and 1.5 rating for this one, which probably tells you all you need to know. In the end I decided to call this course "passable." But it can safely be skipped unless you are very local, a course bagger, or both.
I was between a 1.0 and 1.5 rating for this one, which probably tells you all you need to know. In the end I decided to call this course "passable." But it can safely be skipped unless you are very local, a course bagger, or both.
