Beautiful course with interesting layout. Some of the hardest shots south of Tampa can be found at this course. They have good lay out with three different levels of tees for most holes.

This is a great course for intermediate to advanced. Beginners will want to stick to the redline tees.

There is a sidequest at this course to find Odell. He is a kindly man who collects losts discs and sells them for cheap. You will also want to pick up one of his patented "Odell sticks" to recover any discs that land in the water.

An alligator almost ate me but my dog, Carebear, scared it away. Also, bring extra discs to throw at alligators if they come for you.

So many water hazards that you are a damn fool if you don't bring an Odell stick or something to pick up discs from the water.

Beware the judgmental yuppies that frequent the nearby dog park!

They say that if you find a lost disc during sunset at this course that you will be blessed with many birdies in the coming year.

Thanks to everyone who found this review helpful. Others move along.

Really liked the course. Tee pads were fairly well marked. The trees and water obstacles were really great. Never been to a course with so much water everywhere. It seems that there is water on every hole. There are bathrooms, which is really great. Most of the holes are challengIng with lots of obstructions, but the holes are short. I played the red tees because it was my first time and didn't know course.

Hole 12 was a little hard to find. Almost every hole is short so it doesn't give you much way in terms of really chucking done the course. There are walkers and people walking their dogs, which is kind of a irritating.

A beautiful Southern Coastal course populated with live oaks, Spanish moss, palmettos, and pines. Though the media may seem to show a long, swamp-infested course that might cost you $100 per round in plastic, relax---its not as bad as it looks. Unless you're a poser.
The park was once an amusement attraction until the later 1950s, with a petting zoo, elephant rides[!], and a rubber-tired kiddy train that ran on a cement-block path throughout the park. The maze-like lagoon is man-made, and the corner of the park that shelters #s 15-18 was once a botanical garden: some of the exotic plants still reside there. Until the DGC went in, this park had literally gone to the dogs, and several ground-level burial markers ["Honey Bear", just SE of pin #2] attest to its former incarnation.
At most, this is fairway driver terrain, but midranges will have their day once the water closes in. The first 5 holes are more open and dry, and give you a chance to warm up your arm, while exhibiting the variety of terrain and vegetation. Small hills and the most mature trees prevail here, leaving either low-ceilinged thoroughfares or open fairways.
From #6 on, water either lines the rough, must be thrown over, or lies just to the side or behind the basket---sometimes, all four. The lagoon is waist-deep at worst, but severely murky below 1 1/2 ft. and not a pleasant wade. Rumor has a 3-4 ft. alligator in residence, but no one claims a personal sighting.
The forest closes in about the same time, making accurate drives critical for birdies and the wallet, or timid shots w/layups if par seems safer.
What should be obvious, but needs to be stated for the oblivious: this is NOT a good beginner course.
2 tees and 3 pin locations per hole, a mix of fair to very good baskets, benches, next-pin locators, covered pavilion with tables and grill, good bathrooms. Playground and a great off-leash dogpark that parallels #4. And every time you take a step, anole and pine lizards skitter from under and around you.

Uh, well, the water. If you can't control your shots you're going to lose discs. Only wusses use floaters.
The tees, composed of cement blocks from the old train path, are moved around so much that any distance listed on the signs is an approximation.
It can be humid and buggy in the warm months.
At least one local dog owner takes pleasure in walking his mutt s-l-o-w-l-y through the DGC.
Course distinctly favors RHBH[either by turning left or having water just right of the basket], so you better have a good flick or anhyzer if you're a lefty.
As this is in a neighborhood, stores are a few miles away.

Showed up to play Sunday doubles and wouldn't you know it, it was a Sky Pilots' work party day! 4 hours of overgrowth butchery got me all the pizza I could eat, a bunch of ace beers, and notoriety as a fierce vegetation fighter. If you're lucky, #13 basket will be in the new "elevated jailhouse" location we put in that day! The other fun bit was only 12 showed to play doubles---so we all played as one big group, and I got to watch a LOT of shot-shaping!

-The course is located in a beautiful park, and the course is well maintained. Garbage cans and recycling bins located throughout the course.
-Designed to be a challenging course, for the more skilled player.
-Concrete Tee's, Mach Series Baskets, Restrooms and Bulletin board at the start, with scorecard. (It was empty the day I played)
-Basket 13 is now raised tee in the middle of the trees
-Multiple pin placements and Multiple Tee's (Red and Blue) Red tee's are less risky, but not immune from risk. The tee's with yellow painted on them are old tee's and not in use anymore. (As far as I could tell)
-Excellent use of the terrain and ecology of the park.
-Designed for the skilled player, and it's not beginner friendly. *The Pinebrook course is a excellent beginner course, and is just down the road
-Great pin locations that are wrapped in beautiful and scenic surroundings. Lots of risk/rewards, with plenty of water hazards. If you are intimidated by water, you may want to consider that before playing here.
-18 is an excellent and beautiful finishing hole!
It's even more so when the basket setup in the extreme Dog Leg right position.
-To play here a thrower needs to play smarter and consider their options and surroundings. A long drive can end up wet, as well as a drive that didn't go far enough.
-A variety of shots(Distance throws, dog legs, water carries, alternating terrain, and blind shots) will require the thrower to consider a little strategy when throwing. (i.e. Setting up your second shot and shot shaping)
-Navigation was fairly simple, but I had to constantly reference the map I downloaded from DGCR on my phone. *Flip side to that in the cons.
-Big fun factor for me! I'm looking forward to frequenting this course!
-Located in an area with many great courses. (Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Ft Myers)
For What it's Worth
-Playground Equipment in Park near the course
-Dog Park available

-Apparently Signs Have been installed since I last played here. (will update accordlingly on my next visit) Tee signage was lacking. Though its easy to tell which tee you were shooting from (Red, Blue) It didn't have a map and/or distance. Some baskets require a walk down the fairway to see the location. Possibly posting a map at the Billboard would be handy as well. Print off the map from this site before you go.
-Flip side to navigation, It's easy to mistake a tee and/or a basket and then realize you're playing the wrong hole and/or basket.
For instance: The 10 Tee is a little tricky to locate. Once you finish 9, you need to cross the bridge on your right. You play down then back to the bridge, cross BACK over the same bridge. Play 12 down, then back to the elevated basket 13. THEN you will cross over another bridge to play 14. There are signs, but you will see the 12 tee, and it's easy to assume it's 10, before you see the sign to cross the bridge to play 10. Just pay attention to the signs and the numbers on the baskets.
-Though the course is segregated from other activities, it's not immune to park goers and park walkers. You may find yourself waiting on a park patron a time or two.
-Tee #1 can taking some looking to locate. Drive all the way down, and look for the billboard on the left.
-Odds are good you will leave here missing a disc or two, but you will still have a great time! Just know that there is a lot of water here before you decide to come. (Not a con to me, but may be to some.)

In retro, these issues will only affect the first time players. Once you play here a couple of times, the navigation isn't an issue and you can have fun.

This is a fantastic course that is located in a beautiful park. Having played here a second time, and knowing where I was going, for the most part, I was truly able to appreciate this course for the fun and challenge that it is.

There have been some improvements made that have added to the experience. There are plenty of scenic water carries that make Lakeview a challenging course. The walk through the course here alone is a pleasant experience. Here you will find yourself throwing over a variety of terrains, multiple water carries, and working lines in and around the trees. Though it may be a harder course, it's still very fun to play. Navigation should only be an issue on your first time playing here. Once you've played here, you should remember where everything is. I highly recommend putting this on your wish list.

You may want to opt for playing a little more conservatively. It's not impossible to walk away with all of your discs, it's just that some holes will bait your confidence, and cause one to challenge the risk/reward. On the flip side, there are a few holes that you may want to consider a second shot placement, and opt for a good and accurate up shot.

This course is located in the heart of a residential area, and you may want to use your GPS or printed map to find your way to the park. There are plenty restaurants on Bee Ridge just west of I-75, so you may want to pick up something before you arrive. Come! Enjoy this course, and have a blast!

FUN FACT: Once upon a time, this course used to be a small zoo and a botanical garden.

Environment - The physical environment of this course is beautiful. Going to each hole (especially the back 9) was gorgeous. Hole 17 is something to stop and marvel at as you through from a peninsula along the bank to the hole. There is a huge lake, large ponds and a winding creek to shoot over as you throw under a canopy of trees. The park was well kept and very relaxing to be at.

Variety - The variety was fantastic. Some drives required my midranges and others my drivers. Some drives were flick and most backhand (for RHBH). Some were open (mainly 1-5) and the rest were very technical.

Upkeep - My Sarasota friends were telling me how they moved the baskets around and they recently add a grass bridge to make walking/throwing easier. They seem to give attention to the maintenance of this park.

Neighborhood - The area of this park (contrasted to Water Tower) was great. I felt safe and didn't think twice about who was around me.

Equipment - There were great concrete pads and up to par (no pun intended) baskets. I didn't get tripped up once on the pad or get frustrated at the quality of the chains.

Expert/Pro/Armature Pads - There are excellent options for all levels of players. The expert pads are very challenging and highly risky. The Pro pads have technical shots and are mildly risky. The Armature pads are safer and quite simple. Great for all types of people.

Facilities - The park had great parking and indoor bathrooms.

Hazards - The water can be a little nerve racking when you are throwing a new disc. Water is part of the fun but it can also upset you very easily.

Dogs - As I walked to my shot from the pad of 16, there were piles of dog poop. I step in one and was very upset. Also, hole 4 shoots along the dog park and the barking dogs are incredibly distracting.

Wind - The back 9 borders the lake and there can be wind off the lake making your drives less controllable and more likely to drive into the water.

Distance Hole - There wasn't a 450+ hole for you to air your arm out. Most shots were short to medium and very technical.

This park was a disc golf course. Some courses are parks with baskets throughout. This was a disc golf course first. I live in Tampa and would gladly travel the hour drive for the course. If you go, bring some crappy discs you don't mind loosing. All in all, the best course in Sarasota.

1) The water on the course is used well. Most of the holes required you to clear short stretches of water, and two holes had blind shots over the water, which were fun. Disc retrieval is also easy; excluding the water around holes 16-18, the water is shallow and I wasn't afraid to lose a disc.

2) White tees work around most of the water hazards for those not comfortable with them. The tees either avoid the water outright in a few cases or shorten the carry needed.

3) The course put the few elevation changes it has to good use. A few baskets are elevated and a few hills are used to make a few blind shots. The low tree canopy with this made for some fun shots.

4) There are full restroom facilities over by tee #11, and they were quite a lot better maintained than some other park restrooms.

1) Tee pads are short and narrow, and the pads for the white tees are simply a thin strip of concrete marked as such. The tees also weren't consistent, with some being longer and wider, and others were oddly placed. One tee in particular (I believe it was tee 3?) had a sharp drop off at the end, making a follow-through awkward.

2) Navigation of the course is pretty poor. When we found hole 1, we teed off in the wrong direction toward 10's basket-luckily one of the locals let us know before we tried to play those lies. Each basket has an arrow tied to it pointing in the direction of the next tee, but it was still a little difficult to find the pad sometimes. The course also doesn't have any tee signs.

Lakeview was one of a few courses we had visited that day, and it stood out as my favorite. Playing the course was a blast.

Despite all of the water on the course, the water didn't really feel all that 'hazardous'. I usually hesitate a bit around water, but I didn't have any issues at all. I wasn't avoiding it for financial reasons; I was avoiding it because it would hurt my game.

I read the reviews on here about this course and wondered what everyone meant by the "old Florida feel" and now I know. This park is absolutely beautiful and it feels like you've stepped into a forgotten land. The water is murky, the trees are thick, and you just feel like Swamp Thing is going to walk out of the water with a bag full of discs to join you in your match. And notice this is all under the pros! I don't mind water hazards because they add to the thrill of the sport, which is good because this park has plenty. The course is absolutely beautiful with all of the vines and waterways as well as the left over flora from the old botanical garden.

The signage is terrible. The first day I played this course I couldn't even find the first tee. There are some signs at tees noting the distance and hole number but the baskets an be very hard to see. If it weren't for a couple of locals and their mom allowing me to play along with them I'd have been lost all day.

I think out of all 18 holes that there were only 3 with benches at the tees and I only noticed a handful of trash cans throughout the park, which isn't a problem so long as you pack out what you packed in.

Yeah, you'll probably lose some discs. By some fluke of the universe I didn't lose a single disc on either of my 2 plays through, but that certainly isn't the norm. One of the locals I played with, lost 2 discs within the first 5 holes. He proved though that you can easily wade in the water and find some new ones though when a couple of holes later he waded in and found 7 discs in under 10 minutes.

I cannot state how much fun this course was though. the scenery and the thrill of the water hazards made for a super fun game. If it's your first time out I recommend waiting for some locals to come along otherwise you may miss a few holes or even throw at the wrong baskets.

As jaymon1 noted, this is a unique and wonderful course. The water takes what would be a pitch-and-putt course and makes it truly competitive. You don't need to lose any plastic here--every hole can be parred with a lay up shot. It is one of the few courses I've played where it isn't grip it and rip it, but aim it and place it. And it's a beautiful setting with the unique trees and water.

One tip on course layout... the baskets have one wire on the bottom painted red--it points to the next tee. Check the map at http://www.sarasotaskypilots.org/lakeview.htm if you want more guidance.

Finally there's a great old couple who play here and will show you around and give you a history of the park (once a water ride theme park).

Water was getting low when I was there and was indeed swampy. I hear there are plans to stabilize the water level with drainage to the lake, which would be ideal.

No big holes, but the mental challenge and strategy make it worth a visit.