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Jasper, AR

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch

3.845(based on 22 reviews)
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Horseshoe Canyon Ranch reviews

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5 1
Doofenshmirtz
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 122 played 72 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A headscratcher. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Lots of elevation. A few good holes and a few more good hole designs.

Hole 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 are laid out very well but suffer from a lack of maintenance and other things discussed in the cons below.

#2 requires a tee shot though a narrow tunnel, over a small creek and then uphill to the basket. This could be a very fun par 4 hole.

#3 is a long, uphill hole that ends with the pin across a small pond. One of the better uphill designs that I have played.

#5 is a downhill tunnel hyzer with the basket near a creek. One of the shorter holes, it would be very fun if maintained properly.

#6 & 7 are longer par fours that give you less elevation to deal with than other holes. #7 is wide open off the tee and gives you a chance to air it out if you can do so without tripping.

Of all the holes, about the only one that didn't have problems was #14, a "top of the world" putter hole at only 275'.

It's pay to play. I always count that as a plus, even in this case because it's only $5. I'm assuming that this course would not exist if it didn't generate some revenue.

This could easily be a fantastic course on an incredible piece of property but . ..

Cons:

Baskets are Discatchers with faded yellow chastity belts on movable bases. They can be hard to see and are seldom where indicated on the map. This is key, because almost none of the baskets is visible from the tee box.

Navigation is a nightmare. There is no course map available at the course. Tee markers can be hard to spot and there are no navigation signs anywhere. There are a few board "signs" that at one time apparently had some hole information on them, but they are less than basic, very faded and precious few in number.

So, on hole 1, you have no idea where to throw from or in which direction to throw. I looked at the map, made a guess and got lucky. Throw roughly parallel to the creek. The guy at the store told me to throw from the top of the rock. If not for that, I'd have never found the tee.

On hole 3 you also have to guess where to throw. My advice is to err to the left. There is a hidden swamp (yes, its on a slope, weird) downhill from the short, spread-out tree straight ahead. Don't throw there, you'll regret it and have wet feet for the rest of the round.

Hole 13, the one that everyone likes because the basket is on the rock, well there's zero indication of that from the tee. I got lucky, guessed a right turn and hit the rock. It's gimmicky and if you know where it is, you are going to get an easy par. 16 and 17, two long, downhill holes, require full on hikes to find the basket.

The lack of navigational aids, proper tee markers and signs and lack of maintenance are maddening.

On holes 2, 5, 8 and 15, the tunnels have closed up leaving such narrow paths to the basket that they simply reward luck. The grass is unmowed and leads to a lot of wasted time searching for discs.

Tee "boxes" are "natural," and include roots, rocks and very unlevel ground. These are the worst tees that I have ever seen, but that isn't saying much. They are playable, and some have boards that sort of let you know which direction to throw and where to stop. I.e., throw perpendicular to the boards and use it as the end of the teebox.

Some holes are miserably bad. 8 and 12 stand out, but there are others. 8 requires throwing over two different tree lines on a very long hole. You literally cannot see the basket for the first two throws at least. Hole 12 is a longer-than-marked hole with the basket at the bottom of what is basically a ditch. You can't see it from more than about 50 feet away and will probably walk around twice the length of the hole before you find it.

Other Thoughts:

This course could be such a gem. However, some of the hole designs are just plain bad. It is such a chore to play and you'd better be in pretty good shape if it is your first time because you will need to scout up and down steep terrain on almost every hole before throwing.

The course really needs a redesign, but if the owners aren't going to keep it maintained any better than they do now, there isn't much use in spending the effort to redesign it. The frustration level is extremely high when you find a tee box and have only a vague idea of where to throw without hiking around over steep elevation changes to find out.

I'd play this course again, but its also the only course within nearly an hour drive. If you are considering going out of your way to play it for the first time, I wouldn't recommend it.
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3 7
Zfreeman43
Experience: 12.8 years 5 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

OKAY Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 24, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great for long arm throws, scenery, challenging, lots of unique shots.

Cons:

Gotta hike to find basket then hike back to throw, no signs to let you know where to even begin looking on some holes, horse manure- LOTS!!, not taken care of, and goats just roaming in middle of course

Other Thoughts:

cost $5 to play which is not bad, but its not worth it for this course, bring a camera to take pictures.
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4 5
dlopez916
Experience: 12.8 years 40 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Very scenic, but not care for... 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 24, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very Scenic, Challenging Holes, Good Baskets, they made use of the land very well.

Cons:

No Concrete Tee Boxes, No signs on the holes. The course is extremely hard to navigate, especially if it is your first time. Horse droppings everywhere. Tee off spots not only lacked concrete, but they weren't reliably flat or sure footed. 5$ to play.

Other Thoughts:

I like the scenery, but you could tell this place w did not care about it's disc golf course. We spent a ton of time trying to find the next hole, and a ton of time trying to find the basket for each hole. No signs, terrible tee off spots, could easily roll an ankle teeing off if not careful. This is one I can say I played, but probably wont go back.
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3 12
chains314
Experience: 15.5 years 18 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

LONG 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 17, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Beautiful scenery
- Good variety of holes
- Bouldering, Hiking, and Mountain climbing in the same canyon.
- Ranch activity all around makes it a neat experience

Cons:

- Long. I mean super long.
- Very difficult to navigate. (keep an eye out for tiny patches of pink synthetic grass because that and a 2x4 are the only things marking tees.
- $5 fee to play.

Other Thoughts:

- Find someone who can help you navigate the course.
- Don't play the day before you play here. You will need your arm fresh.
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