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St. Paul (West Saint Paul), MN

Garlough Park

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3.085(based on 25 reviews)
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Garlough Park reviews

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4 1
jland969
Experience: 18.7 years 77 played 11 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Lunch-Break 9er 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 5, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

1. Nice quiet setting for urban environment
2. Concrete pads
3. Quality baskets
4. Some technical shots
5. A couple longer shots
6. Achievable and enjoyable for any level

Cons:

1. Very short, definitely not a destination site
2. Poor/limited signage
3. Layout between 6-7 and 7-8 feels counter-intuitive and can be confusing

Other Thoughts:

A fun, very small course to take any disc golfer. Some elevation change makes it interesting with some heavily wooded rough. I pulled 5-6 different discs from my bag, which is atypical for a course this small. At the same time time you could easily get away with your top 3. Check the map to understand where you are heading after hole 6, as it is a little clunky.
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4 0
LeftyHukin
Experience: 9.9 years 14 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A Surprising Little Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 18, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

As I have been looking to open my eyes this year and try several new courses rather than continue to just play one, this was a course that was on my radar. I have heard many great things about it from players in my area, so when I was headed into St. Paul this weekend I felt it was time to get over there. Unfortunately it was not the best conditions, as it was hot and damp, but I will try not to let things out of my control create a bias on my review.

As the title says this course is little. I was expecting an open 9 hole course with some trees in the way or the basket just tucked in the tree lines. I was very wrong and glad to be! This course is very technical, it makes you hit your lines right off the tee or you could be in trouble and scrambling for par. I rarely have played a course where you knew you had a good/bad shot the moment you released the disc, but this is one. If you hit your line you will be rewarded, but if you do not then... have fun in the surrounding woods.

Leave the drivers at home and come to work on your placement shots with putter/mids. I enjoy technical courses since I feel they improve your game very rapidly by forcing you to be accurate,

The holes themselves are not very long, but have great elevation changes. Hole 1, 3 go straight uphill with 7 and 9 playing downhill. Even the in between holes have you throwing over hills or on the side of one.

The design of the course was great, maybe this is a LHBH bias shining through, but the basket placements were perfect for me to try to hit a lot of ace runs since they are mostly tucked to the right. However they are all slightly guarded and with the trees right off the tee pad adding to the challenge of hitting the perfect line.

Hole 4 was an amazing shot. The longest hole I believe, being just over 300ft, but you throw into an open field with trees surrounding the tee pad, but you have to hit a 20ft gap between 2 wooded areas roughly 240ft away and have the disc fade or turn over to the right through it just to have a look.

The tee pads themselves where in great shape, felt a bit awkward since they didn't seem as wide as other places, but these pads work just fine.

The course design also makes it flow every well. It is very easy to find the next tee, as long as you go down the hill to the right after 3's basket and not follow the patch to the left which takes you right to #7.

Cons:

Either study the map at the beginning or take a picture. Not to find the tee pads, but so you know where you are aiming for. There are several blind shots including holes 4,5,8 and I guess 9. You can easily make an educated guess, but it really helps your shot selection if you know exactly where the baskets are.

There was a sign asking for people not to litter, but there was a lot of cans and bottle in the surrounding wooded areas. Some trash cans would do away with a lot of the litter and make the course look a lot more appealing.

I would have to bring some of my RHBH friends here to see what kind of lines they can come up with, but as a lefty it really did feel like all I had to do was put the disc on the right hyzer angle and line, then watch for the ace run.

You will not need a driver on this course as the course is perfect for placement shots and working on mid range/putter driving

Other Thoughts:

This was a surprisingly fun course. I came thinking it would be a stereotypical 9 hole course, but was pleasantly surprised with the challenges that the course design gives you.

I hope for some man made trash cans, not tree stumps, to help clean up the course a little, but overall it is still an inviting course right next to a middle school I believe.

If you want to improve your accuracy then you have to hit up this course. It was very technical in places and will punish you if you miss the line. But enjoy the ace runs! There are several, even for a RHBH and even more for a lefty. Don't go out expecting a champ level course because this is not designed to be one. This course is great for beginners and intermediate players looking to improve, while experienced players will still get joy running shots to pad their ace totals.
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3 0
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20 years 1008 played 579 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Nicely done 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 9, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is set up in an area that is disc golf exclusive. It's free to play and in ground all year. The baskets are chainstars that were all in great shape and caught well. They did a great job designing this course. They mix up the shot selection nicely. There's up and down, left and right. Even a scummy pond behind #9's basket which I almost skipped into after just missing an ace. The course is free too and located near many other very solid courses. The course was clean and seemed to be well taken care of. The course starts by the southeast side of the parking lot by the small kiosk across the walking path. From there you'll have no problem following the flow of the course.

Cons:

Distances. The course plays on the short end of the spectrum. This isn't necessarily a con to everyone. I personally don't mind short courses as long as they challenge your accuracy which this place does. Just don't expect to air it out here. The bugs, but like anywhere else there's nothing they can do about this. Just be aware of it.

Other Thoughts:

This was just another course that really surprised me in MN. I can here not expecting too much and left wanting to play it again. Sure there are better courses in the area. But if you're in the area and like disc golf I bet you'll have fun here. Again, play the higher rated courses but if you need a warm up or cool down or just get your confidence back round, this is a good place to do it. Well designed, quick, very fun round.
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2 0
Gr8HornedRat
Experience: 17.5 years 52 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Better than expected! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 27, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Decent tees, pins aren't bad, repeated elevation change, and a solid layout using the land very well.

Cons:

The rough if REALLY rough in some areas,there's a long walk between 2 of the holes, there are more than a couple totally blind shots, and some holes run close to each other.

Other Thoughts:

I was expecting this course to be just another little 9 holer. Boy was I wrong. I would easily rate this in the top 5 9 holers in the TC. If it wasn't such a drive for me, I'd play it much more often.
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2 0
Jumpinjoe
Experience: 47.9 years 9 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Garlough is fun to play 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 26, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This is a fun course for newbies and intermediates. Also it's a very good winter course because it's short. It has a lot of elevation changes and ace run possibilities. We need more of these kinds of courses. Kudos to the designer. (Bill Tompkins had a beautiful S-curve ace on #2.)

Cons:

There is erosion on trails and tee areas that needs to be addressed. These trails and tees could be slippery when wet but we played in cold dry conditions.

Other Thoughts:

Overall a good "neighborhood" course that appears to be very popular. On December 26 we saw about 30 other people playing including an extended family of about 12 people really having fun together. This what DG is all about IMHO.
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4 1
bigbeano
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18 years 34 played 28 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Nice Variety...but it comes with problems 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 9, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-The baskets have nice large numbers on them so you can see which basket you should be going for.
-The tee off areas have a sign with the hole number but no distance (except #4 is missing).
-There is a box at the start that is supposed to have maps/scorecards in it.
-There is a practice basket at the start of the course.

Cons:

-The aforementioned box at the start didn't have anything in it which tells me they don't provide the course with consistent upkeep.
-No on-site facilities of any sort.
-Tee boxes are dirt (and full of tree roots to trip over). When it hasn't rained in a while the tee boxes are dry as can be and it's easy to slip. When it has rained the tee boxes (and most of the course for that matter) is a mud pit...and it's easy to slip.
-Some extremely short holes, with three holes checking in under 160' in length.

Other Thoughts:

The course itself has a nice variety of shots and you can literally utilize any type of shot while playing a round here (with the exception of a big-armed drive). Pay attention to which way the well-worn path goes and you'll find your next tee box. There's a couple of blind shots that can be confusing because of the close layout of some of the holes. Hole #4 goes through the opening of trees and the basket is off to the right. The basket for #8 is the one on the right that is the closer of the two baskets that you'll see (the other one is the basket for hole #1). Some of the baskets are a little bent up, probably from some disrespectful kids. I'll come back to this course because of it's close proximity to me, but I've definitely been on numerous courses that are much better. The course is well-worn and the dirt tee boxes complete with tree roots is a real big turn-off for me.

UPDATE 12/28/2012: I was at the course today and there was a sign at the beginning stating there permanent tee pads are coming in the spring of 2012. Once these new permanent tee pads are in it will greatly enhance the course and I will adjust my rating accordingly. I am really looking forward to these pads, as the natural pads were one of the biggest detractors on the course, in my opinion.

UPDATE 7/11/2012: The concrete tee pads are in the ground now, they are nice and long. I have a feeling they are going to get rough with some age based on the type of concrete that was used; but for now they are in great shape and is an excellent addition to the course. This addition ups my rating from 2.5 to 3.0; ideally I'd give it a 3.25 now.
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5 0
E_Rock25
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.9 years 77 played 35 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun In The Woods 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 8, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Fun little course in the woods. Technical & fast to play. Can get a round in in 30 min or less. Great for practicing finess shots. Great use of the location and change in elevation. There is only one or two flat holes on this coures. Great variety of shot requirements 3 left, three right & three stright. Fun Fun Fun! Good course to challenge a beginer or to warm up for Kaposia!

Cons:

Short, drit tees.
Kinda easy for advanced players.
Still fun though.

Other Thoughts:

Great course for my brake form work!
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1 3
stgermaniac
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Good for newbies 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 29, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Good mix - useful for getting the basics down. You can learn to temper your throws here.

Cons:

If you are new, expect to not get too far too fast - there are a lot of things to hit.

Other Thoughts:

This is the first and only course I have been on so far. After 3 times I think I am ready for something more challenging.
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