- 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.

-Right in the middle of the city
-Beautiful park setting with all kinds of eucalyptus trees, wildlife, and friendly people a like
-Has a good variety of right hand backhand and side arm shots.
-A few ace runs and decent amount of lengthy holes as well.
-Your'e in San Francisco
-Well designed trails, tee pads, tee signs, and layout.

-It can get crowded on the weekends.
-Pedestrians sometimes walk through the course obliviously.
-A few of the holes back track through to get to the next tee which can be a little dangerous
-It gets wet, windy, and cold ( Pro or Con)

Overall this course is great to play almost anytime of the year. You can easily find parking on the outskirts of the park or in marx meadow. I would have to say this is one of my favorite urban courses, just fantastic.

Well maintained even though free
Beautiful trees and elevation changes
Friendly players
Right in the middle of San Fran, in one of the world's great urban parks

Very few long holes
Busy even on a weekday afternoon

The course has a low ceiling of trees throughout almost all of the course, and lots of tree obstacles. Best for the finesse players. Bombers might feel deprived.

-Set in a large and beautiful park. For the most part, you'd never know you were in a city.
-Free!
-Parking not a problem
-Obvious that locals put the time in on this course. Landscaping is impressive.
-The back 9 makes for very good golf. Felt like a better test then the front.
-Very nice tees and signs.
-Trees and other plants in abundance and quite varied.
-You get to throw a nice variety of shots, and even get to pull out your driver and throw hard a few times.

-Lacks some of the amazing elevation changes and water challenges that other Nor Cal courses have.
-Occasionally finding the next hole was a little tricky. I hadn't been here in years. I imagine another go around the course would have fixed this. All the same, a few more next tee signs wouldn't hurt.

I can't comment on crowds, as we were there on Christmas Day. Others were there, but we never had to play through and didn't feel rushed either. This is a real gem given the property it sits on in a major city. Nice work by the local players/clubs to make the course look and play great.

Beautiful course. Plenty of challenging shots. And although challenging, still a lot of fun for a noob. Really well maintained. Nice shade cover and a cool San Francisco breeze.

Couple tricky shots with a decent chance of losing a disc. Can get a little crowded.

I'd been saving this one for a special occasion and my 32nd birthday seemed like the perfect time. Had great weather, my best round to date, and met 2 different groups of people that we played with for a few rounds. Good times.

Scenic course located in massive Golden Gate Park. The baskets are multi-chain DGA MachIII's and the tee pads are concrete of sufficient size. The golf here is fun. The holes make good use of elevation (would you expect anything less in San Francisco??). Multiple pin positions enable this course to change from lefty-friendly to rightly-friendly to nicely balanced depending on the whims of the people with the keys. The tee signs had nice secure indicators of current pins positions (see picture in gallery). While not heavily wooded by Northern standards there are enough trees that you need to mind your lines to score well; but the "rough" is not so thick that you get torn up or have an unrecoverable shot. Nicely maintained course. Netting in place to protect downline teeboxes from errant throws. Benches on many (all?) holes will help when you're waiting for the group(s) in front of you to tee off. The park shares space with other recreation areas but is generally secluded enough that you won't have much interference from non-golfers. There are restrooms facilities in the park (one located across the street from basket #18). The street parking seems abundant even when the park is crowded.

Really, really crowded with lots of noobs on a weekend. Several blind holes require taking a look ahead for first-timers. The basket on #14 sits on the edge of a significant drop-off which you're not supposed to be on because of erosion control... so don't overthrow this basket. #15 and #16 throw back and forth on each other so be extra careful here. The course flow can be a bit unclear with backtracking on #6-#8 and a long walk from #16 to #17.

There are several mandos in place well marked with signs on trees, they're there for safety reasons so please mind them. Kudos to the club that maintains this course, you guys have done a fantastic job.

The course is in the midst of a huge multi-use park, so you can forget that you're in the middle of a sprawling city. Clearly, thousands of hours of work have been put in on the design, landscaping, and ongoing upkeep to make this a beautiful course.

<span class="italic">Design</span>
• Terrain- I loved the great variety of mature trees including pines, hardwoods, redwoods, Eucalyptus, and Kumquat among many others. There's a good mixture of tree lined woods holes with mostly wooded mixed terrain holes.
• Multiple basket positions- the course has 1 tee pad with 3 basket positions on each hole.
• Fairways- good variety, well defined, many fun holes with a good balance of left, right, and straight holes.
• Elevation changes- lots! Most holes have some sort of elevation change.

<span class="italic">Basics</span>
• Tees- very nice framed concrete
• Signs- colorful, with basket positions labeled
• Maintenance- the local club does an incredible job of landscaping and keeping the course looking nice.

<span class="italic">Amenities</span>
• Steps, paths, and logs that mark out the fairways
• Tons of benches and trash cans
• Map- a useful map is available online

-Directions to the first tee-- we found the general area of the park, but finding the first tee was very confusing, so we wasted a good bit of time and that was frustrating. The map didn't seem to match the roads we were on in the vicinity of the course.
-Crowded! Because the course is so nice, it was really crowded on a Sunday afternoon, with lots of people waiting on every hole. You have to be prepared for some waiting.
-A few navigation issues: There's a long walk from the 6 basket back to the 7 tee. From basket 16 there's a long walk to find the 17 tee.

Course Level = White (most suited for Intermediate players rated 875-925)

I think that if I was a local I wouldn't play here on weekends afternoons because it's so crowded. But as a first time visitor I really enjoyed myself; the terrain was just fantastic, and I definitely want to play here again!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my <span class="italic">enjoyment</span> of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the <span class="italic">quality</span> of the course. My Enjoyment Ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.

You can read more of my review philosophy and rating notes at Disc Golf Course Reviews
----------
I'm always trying to improve my reviews, so if you mark this review unhelpful or you find a mistake, please send me a Personal Message here on DGCR to tell me what is wrong with it. I'll be grateful for the feedback.

- Good use of select paths as OB and mandos to avoid hitting passengers. It's also an added bonus because it adds some challenge and intrigue to the course.
- Nice landscape--beautiful setting. Now this true recreation! Like a good city park, you forget you're in the city for the most of the holes.
- Front 9 leads straight to hole #1 and kiosk, which is nice if you're in a hurry and can't play 18. The back nine, IMO, is better than the front nine due to longer holes, greater elevation changes, and a few more "tunnel" shots between the trees.
- Intuitive course flow. Didn't even need my map, primarily because of the layout, but also because the paths are so defined.
- Great care of course, tees, signs, baskets, fairways, etc. It's obvious that there's a heck of a DG community in the city.
- A lot of pins are guarded by these cool gnarled cypress trees, which requires paramount accuracy on approaches/putts, and even drives.
- Great elevation changes on some holes.
- Looks like the 3 pin locations are changed regularly (note: love the little dials on the signs!)
- This is definitely one of those "mostly wooded" courses, with very very few playing out in the open. So, if you like wooded courses (as do I), this one's for you! Nice balance of doglegs in both directions satisfies right handers and south paws.

- Busy! I started played here sometime between 7:30 and 8am, and there were already at least 4 groups of people playing ahead of me.
- Potential to hit parkgoers despite the mandos, OB lines, and other precautions. Think about every throw!
- No incredibly stunning "WOW!" holes, but a solid set of 18 nonetheless.
- Lack of water hazards. I'd be nice if there was a little pond or drainage stream somewhere
- Some fairway overlap and crossing. Holes #5-6 and #15-16 come in to mind. An errant throw could easily hit someone on the other tee, not to mention people going between the fairways.
- Despite having excellent wooded holes, it'd be nice to see a hole or two that's wide in the open where you can really let it rip. With that being said, the geographical makeup of the park makes this hard to do.

If San Francisco only has one DG course, I'm glad it's this one because it's solid no matter where it'd be located. Nice design, lots of tree hazards, elevation, and variety of shots requires a nice bag to par. What makes the course particularly effective is its use of safety precautions (mandos, OB, etc.) so in the long run, we all win at this park.

I almost had a heartattack when I first arrived at the course and I saw "closed for tounament" signs everywhere. Apparently they had a tournament during the weekend and they didn't take it down by the time I played monday morning. Having traveled over 3,000 miles, it would have been a major disappointment to not play. Fortunately for me I got to experience this course and I urge others to do the same!

Memorable holes:
#4: Very very technical and wooded, as you habe to pick your gap in the trees and thread it through some really big hardwoods. Shot selection depends on the pin placement.

#11- Mando here requires you throw on the left side of a tree and clear a pretty steep ravine. Better have a disc that makes a nice S-curve, as you're going to need it!

As it states in the course description, this is San Francisco's first disc golf course which happens to be located in Golden Gate Park. It is a tightly wooded 18-hole course, which was officially opened in March 2007. This course is a wonderful addition to what already is a world famous park. With so much culture and beauty, it will take at least a day to visit if not an entire weekend! With ample parking throughout the park, finding a spot near the course should not be an issue. Plus, it is free unless you park in the main parking garage about a half mile away.

Growing up in the bay area for over 20 years, I had yet to play this epic course due to moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2000. Because of this, Golden Gate Park has been on my wish list for quite sometime. From the first moment I pulled up to the last putt on 18, this course didn't disappoint me for a second. Designers Ross Hammond and Leonard Muise did a phenomenal job with the land they had to work with, capitalizing on elevation, pin and tee placements, and course difficulty. With three pin placements per hole, locals are given variation to keep things interesting. Tee pads are large cement slabs that are well maintained and provide plenty of grip on those cold and rainy days. Many of the pads are reinforced for stability and to prevent any kind of erosion. Colorful tee signs were created on wooden stumps, showing the multiple routes, pin positions, and major obstacles. The baskets are all Mach III's, are clearly labeled, and are well maintained.

What sets this course apart from so many other courses I have played is the countless hours that have gone in to installing and maintaining this course. Even though many other course have had tons of work done by loyal locals, there usually is still a lot of work to still be done. In three years since being installed, this course is spotless for the most part. Everything from the eradication of underbrush, logs along the walking trails guiding players from one hole to the next, the immaculate tee pads and fairways, to the protective nets on particular tee pads, every hole was well thought out and unique unto its own . Much of the course has players throwing down tight fairways, requiring not only distance but accuracy to obtain birdies. With the towering Eucalyptus trees and other native foliage, as well parts of the city in the distance, this course truly is breathtaking! The course seems to have a fair amount of hyzers and anhyzers, as well as plenty of holes dead straight, allowing for no one player to have an advantage over another. This course will make players well balanced, and challenged in ways most players may not be used to. Because of this, it is easily one of my favorite courses, and if I had it my way, it would be my home course. It may not be the best course I have played, but very challenging for even the best of players.

Although I could not find much, I could see how on crowded days this course could become a bit dangerous. With such tight fairways next to one another, I could see the occasional deflection sailing across one fairway and right toward another. So just please be mindful of others when throwing.

Also, at times it was a bit confusing trying to figure out where exactly some of the pins were since some of the washers were on the correct position and others were not. Fortunately, even though my wife and I had to walk ahead to locate the pin position, there were not others behind us. I could see this becoming a big issue for first timers so if it is crowded, just make an educated guess and keep it moving. Make sure though that you print off a map to make navigating easier.

This is just another example of a stellar course in northern California. Like Stafford Lake, De LaVeaga, and Parque de la Raza, Golden Gate will keep you on your toes, and have you wishing you could have it as your home course. The locals do an amazing job with the upkeep, and the local club does a nice job hosting some great tournaments including the Safari Open. I feel very fortunate to of had the opportunity to play this course and hope that anyone nearby has the same chance. You will learn a lot about your game and truly feel blessed to of had the chance to play one of the better courses in the state of California!

Beautiful, classic course set in a lovely park with rolling terrain. This area of the park is mostly dedicated to disc golf so you're not overwhelmed with other park users. One can readily see that many volunteers have spent many a hour here engineering steps, tee boxes, pads, signs, trails, safety nets and much more. I applaud you all for your efforts. You and mother nature together have created a wonderful little disc golf course for the rest of us to enjoy. The course was easy to follow. The signs were great. Some wonderfully engerineered tee boxes. I liked the fact the the average Rec player could come out here and really play an enjoyable round but yet this course could provide challenge for the advanced player as well. Spotters are advised on a couple of holes. I felt there was a nice contrast of left-right-up-down-technical and open holes.

I guess those blessed with the really big arms will say there are no holes to really air it out on. Other than that, we couldn't find any flaws.

Maybe if Alex who found my Leopard, reads this, would you call back again, and this time, leave me a call back number.

This is a great asset to the San Francisco disc golf community. I can't imagine anywhere in the country that wouldn't like to have Golden Gate included as one of their daily choices to play. I know I sure would.

-Beautiful setting. In one of the most beautiful parks in the world which is in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
-Very well maintained
-Nice large tee pads
-great signs
-Top notch technical holes
-has some nice elevation change
-Friendly locals
-good flow
-easy to navigate
-Some great downhill holes
-very well thought out holes with nice basket placement
-Love the paths that are created with logs on the fairways directing you to the basket
-has some nice dog legs

-Gets very crowded, especially on weekends. I don't recommend playing this course on a weekend. My buddy and I ended up waiting 20+ minutes just to tee off on a couple of the holes.
-Some holes are a little ontop of one another. This wold be almost impossible to avoid however given the amount of space the course designers had to work with
-Would be awesome if this course could take you out of the trees into some wide open bomber holes
-An uphill hole would be nice

-World class destination course. A must play in Northern Cali.

The disc golf park is situated within the beautiful Golden Gate park right in the midst of urban San Francisco. The course is very well-maintained with nice signage and equipment and boasts several pin placements on each hole which create unique shots (not just longer shots) off the tee. It mostly plays through moderately to heavy woods but many holes offer several options off the tee, something that is often lacking from tightly wooded courses. The large elevation changes are utilized well with up/downhill shots, fast greens, and tricky basket placements.

I think one of the best things about this park is that the design is such that it will challenge players at all skill levels. Gold to silver level caliber players will be looking for tough birdies on most, if not all of the holes out here, its more about hitting the right line through tight woods and touch on fast greens that the top players will have to worry about. Most holes are well within the reach of even modest arms, but there are a couple of holes where bigger distance is necessary for a birdie. Lower silver to beginner level players will still be challenged hitting lines off the tee and then likely face further challenge in trick shots and approaches for pars. True beginners may find the course a bit too tough off the tee, so be warned - birdies aren't going to fall in your lap here. As mentioned earlier, all of the holes that I played were par 3 but there were only a couple "gimme" birdie holes out there which made each birdie on the tougher holes quite memorable.

While the holes are somewhat tight and next to each other, tree coverage for the most part keeps you separated from other golfers but truly errant throws or bad kicks will land you on an adjacent fairway.

As mentioned before, I checked out the multiple pin positions on each hole and I would guess (because I've only played here once) that they would add some really nice variety to the course. They aren't just longer versions of the same shot, in many cases they completely change the route off the tee. The baskets, tees, and fairways are all in great shape - you can tell people really care about this course.

I absolutely loved the design, the only thing I felt was missing from the course to make it truly a championship caliber or 5 disc course was the absence of par 4 or 5 holes. Space limitations probably prevent this from becoming reality and the designer(s) have done an excellent job. Despite the exclusively par 3 design, it really is a superb course and worth the trip even for the most veteran course reviewers/players.

Busy - Even early in the morning on a weekend day (around 8am) the course had bunches of both casual and regulars out on it which made for somewhat slow going. My guess, along with mentions from other reviewers, is that the course is packed on fair weather days.

Navigation - Only a slight con because there are a couple sections, especially towards holes 14-18 which pose problems to navigation but check the tee sign before moving on to the next hole because it will often give you an indication of where you should be heading next.

Gorgeous course, good for practicing highly skilled shots. All holes have signs and at least 3 different tee placements. A very hilly course with plenty of elevations challenge.

So many trees you might go crazy. Tee boxes slightly small and surrounding area usually muddy. Some tee boxes hard to find but friendly local will point you in the right direction. Holes cross alot and are narrow so watch for flying discs and please yell four when you throw a disc at me.

Had an awesome time and shot just over par my first time at the course. So I feel lucky because my friend who is way better player than me hit every tree in that forest.

Well laid out tee pads
Centrally located in city
varying and challenging holes.

Can be crowded at times.
no immediate public facilities or vendors
Most holes are a "drive" then "putt" distance (precision based course. very few open "bomber" holes.)

FREE!
Well laid out for a small piece of land in a park. Great views of the city, ocean and park.
ZERO poison oak or ivy.
Well maintained by players and park services.
Challenging for all skill levels. Beginner friendly.
Very possible to play with 2-3 discs for travelers.
Very fun experience and great way to spend a day in the park. If you DG, and come to SF, it's a must play.

Can be accessed easily by the Muni #5.

Dogs OK!

Bring water, snacks etc. No immediate vendors.

Rest rooms are located across road in large meadow.

Drinking Fountain: End of 10 (on street) - Corner of Crossover & Fulton @ bus stop. Has separate dog fountain.

Closest food/drink: 2 Blocks - Corner of 28th & Balboa. (Small Deli, Alcohol, etc... takes Credit Cards, cheap $1 hot dogs...). 28th Dead Ends at #3 Teepad

Course does a figure 8, with 9 holes circling back to #1, #10-18 circles back to same area. (on average day, 9 holes take 90 minutes, in mornings or "slow" days, entire course can be played in 2 hours - on weekends & school holidays course can be crowded, but most groups let solos and couples "play through").

Nov-March (winter) : Course gets dark from 5pm-6pm
Summer: course gets dark from 6:30-8:00

weekly tournaments
- Tuesday Afternoons (4:30) - "flip for doubles"
- Sunday AM (8:30???) - Singles (Ace Pool)

- Creative and challenging layout that rewards accuracy
- Good use of elevation, obstacles, and terrain
- GREAT tee pads and benches
- Signs at each hole with indicator wheel to tell you the basket position
- Multiple basket positions,
- Big field across the street for warm up
- Natural shade canopy from the large eucalyptus trees
- Really nice laid back people willing to direct visitors
- Nice to have a course in the city
- In a really nice large park and a beautiful beach is just up the road

- Some fairway overlap and backtracking (13-17). Take the map and scorecard I linked below.
- Could be crowded, but you are in a crowded city. We went on a weekday morning and it was fine.

Here is a map and scorecard that is really helpful on some of the holes that backtrack or crossover. http://www.sfdiscgolf.net/Ima...scorecard.pdf

If you enter the coordinates from this site in a GPS or online map it will take you right to the first tee.

Some reviews complained about finding 10. To find 10 just go up the paved walkway by the first tee and you cant miss it.

No food or drinks close by so pack it in. If you are in SF on vacation, the course, park, and area are absolutely great. Easy to make a day of this area and not as touristy as the popular "tourist" sites in San Fran. You can step into this park and escape the busy city.

This is a great woods course in the middle of San Francisco. Mach 3 baskets are in great condition, and the tee pads are some of the best i've seen. Signs at tees are attached to stumps and seemed accurate. Multiple pin positions are always a plus for the locals. Course flows well and navigation is fairly easy. Marked paths on most holes help in figuring out where to throw and where the next tee is. Fairways are wooded, but there are generally well-defined flight paths and a couple of open holes as well. Playing in the woods in the middle of a big city is a fun experience. From the first-timer to the pro, all levels of disc golfers can appreciate this course. This part of the park seemed to be used almost exclusively for disc golf and the course is free to play! I was trying to find the first tee and a friendly player showed me where the first few holes were and gave me a map. One of the best free courses i've played.

Fairly busy on a weekday morning.

A must play for anyone in the area. This is a fun and beautiful course in a great location.
After hole 11 turn around and walk back toward the 11th tee and up the hill to the right to find the 12th tee. The 12th basket is up the ravine to the left, and to find the 13th tee walk to the road and turn right.

Good signage, maps, well-marked tees, movable baskets (three options), pleasant surroundings, easy to find. Very easy to follow, with the exception of hole-9-to-hole-10.

Parking nearly impossible. A major walking path runs through the back 9. Hole 10 is directly along a different major walking path. Can get very crowded.

Whoever put in the course in Golden Gate Park did a fantastic job. Great use of terrain, tight shots, big arms can really let go on a few of the holes. Definitely potential for walker altercations, but that's the way it goes. I'd play there almost every day, if I lived nearby; definitely wouldn't get boring.