This coarse is one of the finest, and cleanest I have played. Every tee pad is concrete with a medalion stating who sponsored it. The paths to the next tee are all very well marked except for one. The paths are lined with wood chips. The holes themselves are well designed with many different challenges. Many straight and anhyzer shots. The trees are huge and there is little scrub brush to if you do not land in the fairway it is no biggy except for one hole. I played twice once on a week day and once on a weekend. I did not find much of a wait at all, the players were all helpful and friendly.

The holes are a little short for todays discs.

The police do patrol on very quiet motocross dirt bikes.

Amazing tee pads, three to four positions for every pin. Well marked and pretty easy to follow.
Great local scene.
Very technical with a ton of trees, plenty of OB and a few mandos. Nice elevation changes and wind.
C placements are quite difficult with a few long holes.

Very crowded on weekends and weekday afternoons. Be prepared to play slow and wait at some holes. A few holes are a bit on top of each other (6,7,8 and 17, 18) so watch behind you for drives.

There is a Sunday weekly at 8:30 am it can be crowded so get there early.
There is absolutely NO poison Oak (no Ivy on the west coast) period.
I love this course definitely a great one!
Remember that the paths on 3,4,5,14, 15,17,18 are OB. So is the meadow off 11, 15, 16.

This course gives me the challenge I need. I love this course. Damn near perfect. I've played it over 500 times, and the way it's designed, it still can kick my butt. Like hole 8 in C position! And the narrow alley that is 4 (and also 5)! Tee off from 11 and tell me you don't love it too!
Also, a great active club here that changes the pins around often, and does all the course up keep. Very friendly and considerate people. Course in better shape than De Lavega in Santa Cruz (signage, construction of, beauty of), which is the gold standard around here. (even though they do have 27 holes to our 18)

Tobacco smoke, and a few overdo the alcohol thing, plus dropping or forgetting trash, like bottles.
I say pack it in, pack it out. Leave no trace!
Slammed with players weekdays and especially weekends.
We really do need a second course, here in SF.
Some are working on a plan for McLaren Park, across town near the Cow Palace. Officials, respectfully and kindly, please note!

No Poison IVY in the state of California, look it up, please, if you doubt.
No Poison OAK on this course, as Golden Gate Park was planted like a garden, which it is. In the 1800's and before, this spot was all Sand Dunes. The soil and plants were brought in. And we did Not plant poison oak. I feel compelled to end this rumor, so Anyone finding said 'poison oak'- please contact me with it's exact location, and maybe a picture. We'll check it out right away. p.s. I am quite allergic to poison oak, and it is one of my favorite features of this entire park that there is none. Thanks.

What I like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- B
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- A
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- A+
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- A+
5) Multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- NA

I ranked this course subjectively based on my own personal enjoyment factor...more accurately my "personal addiction factor". Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they chose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I say adds anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

Excellent scenery. Pretty convenient to most parts of town.

Lots of people around even during the week.

Liked it overall and would play again if back in the SF area. Played with friends a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. Not the best overall course but not bad, either.

The course is laid out on well-worn, rolling terrain through some magnificent old trees. Despite the novelty of the course, the holes do have generous fairways that take a variety of shots to hit. No expense has been spared on the tees, which are nicely equipped with adjustable signs that designate which pin position is in use. I actually like the nets that protect some of the tees, although more may be needed.

The course occupies part of a very popular park, resulting in many non disc golfers on the course. Furthermore the course itself seemed over-run when I played - with groups of 2 up to groups of 7 or 8 on each hole. This, the general inexperience of the players and the prevalent alcohol use may contribute to some serious etiquette violations on crowded days. I had people throwing into me and the group in front of us while we were waiting at a tee without yelling "fore", people demanding that I throw when the path wasn't clear, trash talk while you're throwing, etc. The vast majority of people on the course were great, but it only takes a few jerks to spoil a round.

This is a very nice course to play, if you can fins a time when it isn't crowded. General playability issues seem to stem from the popularity of the park. Jamming a disc golf course into an area that is already heavily used is bound to lead to difficulties.

For where it is and the amount of people the it serves, GGP is an excellent course. Good shots abound, the OB is well thought out, and it is pretty technical in spots. Great club, lots of work put in, excellent scene, weeklies, tournies, and doubles.

Too many drunk idiots, people who think of disc golf as something to do while they drink, tee pads can get slick, must take the course out during the music festivals, trash (people...seriously, PACK YOUR TRASH!), the only course in SF when there should be at least two (are you reading this SF Rec and Park??? Get ON IT )

Slowly but sure the big trees here will fall down: they're over 120 years old most of them! Then what? Well the club has begun to plant some other trees and such so that at some point, 20-25 years from now, this place doesn't turn into a barren wasteland of sand and eucalyptus.

Before the white man came to San Francisco, this area was apparently a scrubby live oak woodland. With good planning, it could be again.

First of all, this course is located in Golden Gate Park, a gem in West-central San Francisco. Similar to Central Park in New York, the park is a bastion of green forest in the middle of an otherwise bustling metropolis. The setting is wonderful for disc golf, with lush forest of Eucalyptus trees peace and tranquility relatively isolated from the city.

The course itself is nicely designed, with a good mix of left and right-turning fairways, and long and shorter drives required. Some fairways present a positive challenge in terms of "tightness," but this is generally well-thought-out and adds to rather than detracting from the game. Multiple pin placements that I was told are regularly changed. Fairways are well-marked with logs bordering main fairway. The course is supported and maintained largely by the local disc golf club. Good facilities, and the locals are very friendly.

I would have liked to see some more elevations changes, but this is largely dependent on the area (believe it or not this area of San Francisco is relatively flat). The signage on the course was apparently originally very good, but vandals have desecrated the signs to the point where they are largely unreadable (making the course difficult to play). A few holes cross walking paths, and local non-disc golfers appeared oblivious to course activity. To its credit the course has signs alerting pedestrians to the fact that they are entering a fairway, but many seem to disregard the signs.

This course was (I have read) originally was a temporary course of 12 holes, and was expanded to permanent holes and tees in 2007. A great study in course design, and highly recommended if you're in San Francisco for a few days. Make sure to check out the rest of Golden Gate Park (it's huge), as there are lots of great things to see. Plan on spending the day, with 18 holes as only a part of your day...

I had a great time. Thanks much to the San Francisco Disc Golf Club for establishing and maintaining the course!

Extremely well maintained by local DG club. Golden Gate DGC is a smaller yet challenging course laid out along trails in a wooded section of the park with little non golfer traffic. Plenty of righty and lefty shots required. Updated pin locations frequently. Secluded from a lot of the SF wind. Lots of cool, local enthusiasts. Very relaxing.

Lots of player traffic at heavy times, some waiting at tee. Could be longer. Plenty of tree hazards.

A very worthy course for anyone.

-clever design of different hole locations. you can play this course two days in a row and it feels like a different course if they moved the baskets (which they do satisfyingly often)
-great hole variety. only a couple ridiculously wooded shots. only a couple fairly wide open shots.
-there are a couple of long holes, but its more of a shorter technical course
-all nice baskets
-the front 9 is surprisingly different from the back 9. more elevation and length on the back, fewer trees but still wooded
-good for all skill levels.

-gets crowded as hell even on weekdays. if you want to play a nicely flowing round, get there early on a weekday.
-a couple of holes were designed in a way that i end up shooting right at the teepad for the next hole, so traffic can majorly bottleneck, or things get dangerous.
-not easy to navigate in some spots, but there will usually be someone close by glad to direct you
-there can be oblivious foot traffic passing through. most people are kind and interested in watching the discs fly

this is my local course that i've played many many times. its possible to finish under, but never easy.

*applause for the course designer(s)

so many different hole locations. great for wooded shots, some open shots, and some elevation. the course looks amazing and almost all of the nets are gone now allowing for better lines on some holes. great tee pads and maps on the tee. pin indicator lets you know where the pin is at and how far it is. great locals, and friendly passers by.

several paths through golden gate park go through the disc golf course. people typically do not interfere with play but some take a while to walk down the path and this is when you have to wait.

the meadow is a great place to get in some warm up drives and also hit some approaches to make sure your ready to take on the course. its conveniently located next to the first tee.

This is a very pretty course and also quite challenging with a lot of trees to shoot around and through. The course is pretty rugged, with some good hiking as you walk the course. There are multiple pin positions, but I found it dificult to locate some of the baskets from the tee box on my own. There are concrete tee pads and good baskets.

This is a tough course to navigate on your own and is hard to find in Golden Gate Park if you've never been before. An errant shot on this course can easily end up in some brush where it will be dificult to find your disc. There are nets everywhere to protect the trees giving the course a little bit of an aritificial feel. Some other reviewers have commented on how crowded the course is, but when I went it was not crowded at all. I wish there were more people there because I could have really used some help finding my way around.

This course is in the middle of a HUGE park. I mean HUGE. I know because I ran all over the western half of it trying to find the DG course. (For some reason it wasn't pictured on the map that I had) I played the disc golf course while my wife and sister and brother in law rode bikes...and I definitely made the right decision on that one because this was a fun course to play.

The holes are picturesque and the terrain is varied. Some really hard holes! Great hole maps. Just a really fun course that demands many shots. I really like hole 11 (think that is right) across the valley.

Weekend crowds. Just drags. Back 9 can be hard to navigate, esp. holes 13-17. Getting from a finished pin to the next tee tends to be confusing. Friendly folks will help you.
You see a lot of dog walkers and the like on a few holes and there are some tight OB markers surrounding their trails. The tree nets are the mean disc catchers that they look like.

I really like playing this course, but appreciate my local guide! Might get lost otherwise!

Reasonably challenging and some good holes.

Very crowded; like a previous reviewer said, I don't appreciate the 'prison' shots; need some help to find your way around, the first time.

I hope there's room in the park for another course, or two. They sure could use it.

-Scienic
-Long holes
-Right in the middle of the city
-The best signs I have seen on a course. A dial on the sign shows which pin position the hole is in.
-Concrete tee pads
-Well maintained
-Friendly locals that have worked hard to get their corse this nice
-Very wooded
-Great use of the land
-Dual loops for each 9 holes so you can stop back by the car
-Free parking (a huge plus in the city)
-3 pin positions per hole
-Good variety of lefty and righty holes

-Some holes feel slightly repetitive
-Nets around to protect trees and tees, get in the way sometimes
-Some OB's feel unnecisary

This was a great course, maby a little hard to find your way around for the first time, but I had a guide.

City has required that for the protection of trees that some nets be put up on a couple of holes. This is understandable, yet in terms of playability very cheesy.

There is also a hold that has a net almost completely covering the left side of the tee. I believe it is for protection of the next tee pad which is fairly close, but it really weakens the hole takes away any shot but a RHBH.... which is sad because it one was one of the cooler holes on the course.

Poison oak on a few holes.

A couple of "prison" shots on holes with no shot at the basket.

This course is very well maintained and shows a great amount of effort put into the sport. It is an enjoyable course to play.

However, it shows some of the downfalls of the the game currently as they are having to work around the park regulations and having to "compromise" with what they are giving by the city. I believe they have done a good job with what they have, but it is sad to see the sport being controlled like that. The only real way around this is private... pay to play courses, and that is a whole other debate.

GG Park is bigger than Central Park in Manhattan and you can really get the sense of how big the park is when you play this course.

I have wandered and run through GG Park dozens of times, but have never really experienced the wilderness of the park until I went out last weekend and had my first experience of disc golf.

The canopy of eucalyptus trees and ivy force you to make accurate throws... if you don't you will pay for it!

I was amazed how organized and well kept the course was. Plus, all the people I crossed paths with were really cool and mellow (typical SF)... no one was pressing and in a hurry.

If you need food or beverage make sure to bring it with you... there's not much located near by since you're way out in the Avenues.

Although this was my first outing of disc golf it will not be my last. My buddy told me how lucky I was to have this course in my backyard and I agree! I went out and purchased a couple discs and plan on playing GG Park regulary.

Very nice , challenging course with a big variety of trees. Very clean , not even the cans and bottles that usually lay around the pads on most courses.

1710 kilometers (1062 miles) From home!

Very Few trees died in the making of this course,(although a few were slightly damaged by the time we finished playing)

Love it, its close to where I live. Mach III baskets. Love the course layout, very challenging for the space provided by the city.

Waaaaaay too crowded on weekends and some weekdays. Don't like the fact that SF is so smoke friendly.

Love this course!!

Completely professionally installed course, from elaborate support walls holding up elevated tee boxes, signage, this is a work of art. Set in a beautiful park setting, with tall eucalyptus trees providing a lot of the challenge as far as tee shots are concerned. Mostly wooded, but a handful of more open shots. Three pin positions for each hole, in some cases with drastically different difficulties. Course can play very easy in all A positions, or fairly difficult in all C positions. Excellent variety of lefty/righty holes.

Some of the most interesting and challenging C pin positions are only able to be used in tournaments. Course can be crowded on weekends, but if you start early there should be no problem.

The SF Disc Golf Club is a true testament to perseverance and hard work, for fighting 7 years to get this course installed, raising over $50,000 to install it, and doing a perfect job of design, installation, and maintenance. Huzzah!