This course is set in magnificent Golden Gate park. The course is merely 5% or so of the overall park. There are so many other activities in the park.

This course is beautiful; many of the holes have very mature trees. The tees are concrete, in good shape. The baskets are very good. And the signage is good - distances and pin locations shown.

Most holes have 3 or 4 pin locations, and I consider that a good thing. Navigation wasn't too bad considering that was my first time to play the course. I played with a good friend who lives in the area, but hadn't played the course before.

There were some really unique holes: holes 3, 5, 11, 12, & 17 were some of my favorite. Elevation was definitely used in a good way.

The park is maintained very nicely; bushes and trees were manicured nicely. And given lots of traffic - there was little no trash or debris. There were benches and many of the holes.

Wonderful weather year round.

The combo of layout plus crowd is the #1 drawback here. The GGP is so big; there's so many other people that aren't disc golfers. It's the largest green space in SF - so it's understandable. There were several trails on the course for walkers and bikers who clearly have the right of way.

Aside from lots of people, the hole layout compounds the problem for the actual play of DG. Several baskets are close to another tee, so you had to wait on another group to finish two holes before you can play your one hole.

Neither the crowds nor the layout would be a problem if the other didn't exist.

This was a trip to see my friend Corey and attend a conference in Santa Clara the following week.

SF is an interesting and unique city. The course was very fun and fairly challenging. I wanted to play a second time early Monday morning, but it was too wet. The fog and mist has sprayed the course. The course has a sandy, dusty top layer, and when it gets wet is pretty sloppy. I just wasn't prepared for that on my trip.

Located in a beautiful park
Concrete tee pads
Multiple pin locations
Very clean

Can be kind of busy
Fairways go right by other hole tees which can be dangerous
Watch out for other park goers

This course is definitely out of the way from Santa Clara where I was recently visiting for business, but is a great place to go play if you ever are in SF doing the tourist thing or killing some time before a redeye flight back home. The course is in the middle of a huge public park complex in SF. It is a very beautiful park and super well maintained and clean. Every hole has at least 3 pin placements that change once a month. The holes are relatively short with no real huge holes. Several of the holes ran pretty close to one another, so you have to pay attention here and call your "fore's". Most holes are under the canopy of the forest. There are lots of trees to hit, but even under the canopy there are no real super tight tunnel shots. This was by far the most aesthetically beautiful course I played during a recent trip to Si Valley. It was also one of the easiest. Maybe the other pin locations are more difficult. None of the holes really stand out, but it was a very nice course to play. Also, being in the middle of a really big city, there are a lot of other people in the park so be careful and respectful to other visitors.

There are a lot of trees and elevation changes but the course is not too technical. The holes are very well thought out with some longer holes that must nevertheless negotiate trees keeping shots from being wide open. Out of 18 holes there are only 2 truly wide open shots (10 and 11) and the latter uses elevation very well.

This course is not repetitive. The holes are unique and you will not be able to get by with just a backhand hyzer here. Practice your forehand and turnover shots.

It is a big plus in my book that this course is on a truly beautiful piece of land with very large trees, but is is also a very well thought out course.

Just a few nits:

The tee boxes are smallish, especially when the baskets are in the long positions.

Lots of people, but to be expected in a large city where this is the only course around.

Hole 10 fairway runs parallel with a paved walking path that transects the course. There are lots of pedestrians there.

There are some cross play issues but most are taken care of with elevation or protective fencing.

I mostly play in Louisiana where we have few courses with significant elevation changes and really nothing like the terrain in GGP. This course has a spectacle aspect for someone like me.

Also, being used to 15' wide, 300' long fairways bordered by impassable underbrush being called "technical" it seems a bit odd to have a course labeled as technical when it feels as open as this course does despite the trees. If a disc bounces off a tree here, you will likely have a perfectly good look at the basket because the course lacks any underbrush to speak of.

Bring a couple distance drivers, at least one that you are comfortable throwing into the wind. If the baskets are in the long position, you will wish that you did.

This review is based on a round in which almost all the baskets were in the long position. I doubt it would change much if the course had been set up to be shorter. This is just a fun course to play and the friendly locals were also a plus.

The layout of the course is very well thought out.
There are walking paths between most holes making it very easy to find the next tee box.
The disc golf club that maintains the course does an excellent job of keeping everything in great shape, from paths, to trees to debris.
A great mix of technical shots as well as long open shots are needed with trees, mando's and out of bounds lining some holes.

It can get pretty stacked up on the tee boxes with some large groups going through, but that's only because it's a really popular course.

It's really just an excellent, fun course

The course plays through a very nice piece of Golden Gate Park, full of mature trees and some scattered brush. The majority of the holes here are wooded enough that you really have to hit a line to score well, with moderate punishment for missing most fairways. I liked the variety, the setup I played had a great balance of hole shapes and lengths that called for most of the discs in my bag throughout the round.

There are multiple pin positions, and they looked like they'd change up the course nicely. It seemed like they're changed reasonably often as the wear around the alternate positions was similar to the ones in use when I played. The tee signs are basic, but show the hole layout and distances, and have a nice indicator for current pin position. The tees are older, but in fine shape. A lot of work has gone into the landscaping here, and it really shows.

There are a lot of safety concerns. Way too many of the holes play right on top of one another. This issue is magnified by how popular the course is, especially with a lot of newer players who tend to miss the fairways more often. A walking path is also in play on a couple holes, and errant shots can find a busy street along one edge of the course.

There isn't a whole lot of distance, that's the only real test lacking here. Navigation is a little funky in spots, I almost skipped holes a few times and there are some awkward walks between holes that could be better marked. If you don't like crowds, play this course on off hours, it's one of the more popular courses I've seen.

Beginners will find this course tough but approachable. It's reasonably technical but not overly long or punitive. More experienced players won't need their distance drivers, but it will test a lot of different line shaping skills. I definitely recommend a stop here while you're in the Bay Area, this course is a lot of fun.

- felt like I was on a real "golf" course. Some of the dirt areas were raked. All the landscaping, disc golf specific paths (felt like cart paths), etc are awesome. There are benches, tree stumps to sit on at all holes, garbage collection at most.
- pretty good mix of shots, decent elevation use,most holes have some sort of challenging aspect to them (in the layout I played).
- great signs, shows which pin position,direction to next tee, distance.

- course was a little cramped - I understand this is an urban setting, so relatively speaking, it's a great green space, but could see it being tight. Also, some of the holes cut back to the next teepad, or have cross fairways to get to the next tee. It doesnt always flow in a natural manner. To someone who plays this course all the time, I'm sure it's not noticeable. They have made the most of what they have, I don't have suggestions to improve it.
- there are a few holes where walking paths come into play (as in, you better watch for people, or you might injure someone).
- crowded - played late morning on a weekday, and there were at least 9 groups on the course
- street navigation to course is tricky. If you miss your turn, you can't make left turns on any of the other streets you want to (not a local, please don't hate!)
- to nit pick a little, relatively short course (see other thoughts section)

I flew into SFO for business trip that takes me into Sonoma county. Based on reviews, I made this the course to hit, and am glad I did. I brought a coworker who was new to DG, and had a reduced bag. Played a terrible round, but had a good time. This park is great. The few locals I ran across seemed pretty cool. Being from NC, I don't quite agree with the heavily wooded description - but there were a lot of trees to shape your lines around. Don't know if it was the pin layout (they seemed to be mostly Bs) thst was short, I don't think there were any holes over '400 ft (maybe11, don't think it was though). For me to give a 4, IMO, there should be some longer holes. If I lived local, it would be a great home course. If you're passing through, I would whole-heatedly recommend it.

-Huge shots
-Plenty of variety for both handed people here
-Does not feel like a city course , feels like a woods course
-AMAZING locals, had a great time meeting people and playing with them here
-Centrally located in an awesome city
-Very fun shots played in the pines , watch your disc
-Tournament grade course , only one short hole (#2)

-Hole #10 is kind of boring
-Easy to loose a disc
-Random people walking or jogging through course

Awesome course, if you're in SF you MUST PLAY THIS COURSE. Great variety of shots for LHBH / RHBH. Very challenging big shots, hole 12 is a massive left dogleg. Skate shop that sells discs not far away on Geary (Purple elephant) . The locals are great, everytime i played someone would join me and give me great company , will definitely try to play this course again.

The locals have done a phenomenal job improving and maintaining this course. There's plenty of great ammenities: copious benches and trash cans. The tee signs make everything about the hole clear: the layout, distance, and current and other pins positions. There are at least three pin positions for each hole. The course has been impresively landscaped with walking paths, ledge walls, elevated baskets, and the like. There's also big fence walls to protect many of the tees -- a great idea given the close proximity of some holes, and one I hadn't see elsewhere.

This course is also right in San Francisco, very accessible to a lot of people.

The course is really crammed in. Many of the holes play right next to each other. There are mandos, OBs, guard fences, etc. to help. But it is both something of a safety concern, and limits the hole design. There isn't enough room to have multiple routes or big epic holes. It also means that many holes feel similar -- either very straight, or a generic dogleg.

The course is also quite crowded. Even on a weekday morning there are plenty of players out. And given the cramped nature of the course, you always need to be alert for errant throws.

This course feels like the opposite of many other good California courses, which have awe inspiring scenery but mediocre maintenance. Golden gate park is one of the best maintained courses I've seen anywhere, but fails to inspire awe in the way great courses do.

Because the course is high traffic, there is a lot of work done to reduce erosion. Stay on the walking paths when possible.

Excellent and somewhat deceptive balance of technical yet accessible baskets
Great tree coverage for both shade and technicality but not overly treed
Nice distancces between holes and elevation changes for some decent excercise.
Second back nine basket is on a stump that can is deceptively challenging, cost me some strokes.

A couple baskets are uphill from a major road causing the occasional roller to roll into or across a dangerously busy street(s).
Some annoying overlap on the last baskets of the front 9. This can also cause some backing up.
Seemed to be a very busy course and I'm sure it's often that way but that's not always a con.
Back 9 can get a little confusing. The last baskets have quite a bit of overlap but throwing across some big gaps gets interesting, especially when navigating around the trees.
Throughout the course, many of the baskets are out of view and require scouting if unfamiliar - high flags/markers could help with this.

An impressive and variable course. It works as both casual and technical abilites in an enjoyable way. Some minor annoyances that make mistakes a little unforgiving but are easily overlooked on such a fun course. Front and back nine are organized in a way that lets you choose which one or what order you may want to play, more so than most other courses. All in all a great course near downtown SF that I highly recommend hitting up if you can. Great public transit access to and from the course as well.

If for some reason you don't feel this review was helpful, please PM me to let me know what you are looking for in these reviews so I can consider ways to improve my reviews going forward. Thanks!

Beautiful park, giant trees, very well kept, more technical than D. Ton of work goes into this park and into this course. The "cart path" idea via landscape timbers is brilliant, along with the batting cage like backstops to protect tees to close to other fairways or pins.

The course requires a walkthrough before playing, the flow, undoubtedly a result of limited space within the park, is not intuitative or well marked. I don't consider the course a "see the shot throw the shot" kind of course, walk it to figure out the flow, find the pins, and make sure to get one or two practice throws in before playing for keeps.

Once you figure out the flow and pin locations, the course is a great course to play, some really well placed pins (once you find them) and logical lines, fair and challenging. Also, you can tell work goes into the course. I would rate it higher if the signage was clearer and less blind pins.

Really incredible trees, well maintained baskets, easy to determine where you are throwing too; neat mix of distances, obstacles and topographic relief.

Crowded course and lots of clueless civilians wandering thru the middle of fairways with no idea they are interrupting your game.

This is a great course in the middle of Golden Gate Park with incredible sights and location. Players tend to get stacked up, and you have to be very careful to wait until everyone is out of the way before you drive. there are a couple of holes where the next tee requires you to walk back along the previous fairway, creating potential for hazardous drives, so both drivers and walkers should beware.

After my round i went and had a fantastic burger at Balboa with some Lagunitas IPAs. Altogether a perfect day.

Nice transition from front to back nine. In and out each had their own individual feel.
Friendly groups all around.
Well-manicured landscape with wonderful patches of bright green grass.
Mid-fairway paths define approaches pretty well and lead directly from tee to green in many cases.
Plenty of trash and recycling cans, plus individual collectors.
Gorgeous trees. These are old trees, with more character than most people. I am used to New England courses, where you get past the trunk only to hit some spindly little pinky of a branchlet. If you hit these guys, they don't care; it just makes them stronger.
Above average signage with active pin positions posted on very clever rotating dials. The one exception to this was hole 17. Ask the group ahead of you to let you know how to get to it when you're waiting to tee off at 16.
Decent mix of terrain change (elevation, wooded vs. open, straight vs. hyzer).
Location is good; we travelled in from the Fillmore area and a cab ride was about $11 before tip. Bus options seem pretty good, too.
Decent balance of risk and reward here. There are few holes with 'peaked' greens where roll-offs can happen on risky approaches. For the most part, you're not going to be penalized for an errant putt.

On 5/6/7 and a good chunk of the back 9, there is a decent bit of fairway overlap.
Slightly righty-friendly (a pro for me).
Hole 4 can get a bit muddy.
Hole length is a little homogenous. A 450 foot dogleg or something would have been nice.
I am firmly convinced that the current 'green' for hole 8 was planned by a sadist.
The erosion zone was a little precarious, but I really needed to get my comet.

Played a round with two friends on 9/1, then returned 9/3 for another round and a half. Very much enjoyed this course as my first west coast DG experience. The groups in front of us and behind us were almost universally friendly, and the biggest complaint I have was the group of 5 that threw a couple extra drives, let us (2) play through, and then cut ahead 3 holes.

Overall, I really liked the feel and the climate of the course. Cool enough to the point where the humidity wasn't an issue. Wind only came into play very briefly. As an east coast player familiar with courses with high tree and branch densities, this course mellowed me out a bit. Playing it multiple times really helped out and I suppose I'm a bit frustrated that I didn't score a few strokes better.

Long story short: if you're in the bay area, this course is a must for its accessibility, friendly environs and regulars, although anyone used to courses with either a huge distance element or absurdly overwooded new england-style courses might find themselves abound with quite a few birdie ops. Is there anything wrong with that? My friends on the west coast would certainly say no.

This was my first course played on a week swing through Cali. What a gorgeous piece of property. I saw the largest Eucalyptus trees I have ever seen. Huge pines too and even a few Redwoods. I thoroughly enjoy playing this course. I had the good fortune of having Patrick Brown as a guide. I was suprised that they have been allowed to use as much property as they currently occupy. There is plenty of elevation to keep you on your toes. The fun factor is way above my 3.5 rating.

Safety is why I didn't rate the course a 4. The biggest con for me was the proximity of some holes to each other. Errant shots have ample opportunity to get into other farways, tees or greens in a number of places, and they do! I suppose the designer was trying to get as much as they could out of the land they were allowed to use. I may have had some difficulty getting around the course if I didn't have a guide. Although, with so many people playing the course, and it was packed, I probably could have followed the group in front and been okay.

Patrick Brown and hs crew have done a great job of landscaping this course. It is a work in progress, but it is amazing to see the terracing and backfilling and the grass growing where they have planted seed. I cannot imagine trying to make all this happen with all the foot traffic they see there. The course is very fun and in a majestic stand of woods. Kudos to the Golden Gate Gang who take care of this course.

-It's in Golden Gate Park
-There are a variety of tree species
-It's really well maintained.
-There is always a scene there: (tacos, disc merchants, recyclers, underground beer dudes, Edibles, interesting golf groups).
-The course has lots of fun holes.

Parking can be a problem on the weekends. It's usually pretty crowded. And it's not the most family friendly course.

It's totally San Francisco.

-Big Concrete Tees
-Great Signage
-Great Elevation Use
-Challenging Lines
-Great Locals
-YOU CAN BUY FOOD AT HOLE 1!!!!

-Had To Wait At Some Tees(Friendly People to Talk to While Waiting)
-Random People Just Standing In The Fairways Sometimes(This Is San Fransisco's Backyard So Understandable)

My brother and I were on vacation and decided we HAD to play this course and IT WAS WORTH IT! Coming from Ohio I've never played with this kind of elevation and it was a challenge! This course has holes you won't see anywhere else. The Ravine hole was just awesome!!!!! We even jumped in a group with some AWESOME locals who were extremely welcoming and friendly! I would go out of my way to play this course anytime I come back to California! All in all this was a memorable course to play and coming from the east coast I got some bragging rights for back home!

- A variety of holes, with varying difficulty and skills required.
- Not just a fire-at-the-pin course. Definitely a course that makes you think about your shots before you throw them.
- Very nice setting.

- The drinking fountains, according to the locals, are not safe to drink from here.
- Course is on the longer side, not particularly suited for beginner play.
- Lots of places for discs to run off to and evaporate into thin air.

I enjoyed my time here playing with a friend from Nebraska. It reminded me of my home course, Shady Oaks Orangevale, but with more elevation change and a bit harder.

I wasn't a big fan of the ravine hole, but I can see its appeal and challenge at the same time.

All in all, it was fun, but man, was I tired at the end of the day!

they have done a ton of work to tidy the place up, and it really shows. if the grass they've planted holds, it will be sweeeeet. lots of tight and hard holes, a few nice easy holes, good variety.

it gets crowded and it's so crowded, that people don't let you play through.

when the course was first built, I liked it. over the past couple years, it got kind of nasty - dirty, garbage, ugly weeds, and some spots where the homeless spent the night. all that nasty seems to be gone and as of 5/2/2012, the course really looks fantastic. on facebook someone described it as looking like a japanese garden. i think that's a good description of some of the holes with the new green grass and cool trees.

Overall, this place was excellent! Great scenery with a mixture of tree types. Many challenging shots-short and long. Concrete pads with signage a plus. Good elevation changes.

It was a little crowded. A few holes are in close proximity to each other (cages are built behind the tee to protect players). Like any city park watch out for the oblivious...

Having only played this once, I noticed the multiple pin placements, this allows a good variety at a course. Met some locals and ended up playing entire round with them. I'm sure I would have easily figured out the layout, but was cool having experts around. You'd be crazy not to check this place out when in SF area.

In the city of San Francisco, so you could get there without a car. The park is well maintained and that includes the DG side of things (which we rarely see).
The course is a bit short, but will test your accuracy.
It is easily navigated and keeps you interested to see what the next shot will be around the bend.

There wasn't any water to be had on the course, and the restrooms were only available at the start of the course, though that wouldn't deter most guys. Ladies, you'll want to plan. Crowding can be an issue so its definitely best to play early while the crowds are down.

The course has plenty of elevation changes to make it interesting and shade is a welcome thing where I come from and I wish I had this course near my house.
Loved playing here, just wish I could have met some locals to play doubles or league with.
PLAY THIS COURSE TWICE!!! You won't regret it.

this is the best course ive played. the course is set up well, clearly marked, and had multiple basket locations. very clean, there are people who walk the course picking up trash. most of the baskets are visible, but theres a few blind shots. the park is well maintained.

ive never played a course with so many people on it! i must have played at the peak of the day because i probably waited at least 10 - 15 minutes on each hole. make sure to bring something to drink, cus theres nothing out there. a lot of recreation traffic, heads up.

if in the san francisco area, i recommend this course. its a lot of fun.