Pros:
I never give a 9 hole course a 3.5 rating , but Nature Park Disc Golf Course in Mt. Dora makes it hard to give anything lower . The park itself is a multi use facility that is shared by walkers , shares a nice children's playground , and also has mountain biking . Nature Park was mowed and clean and the upkeep looks good . Bathrooms are located near the park entrance next to the parking lot . Make sure you get here at an off peak time if you can . The parking lot seems to only hold about 12 cars . There is a putting practice basket on the right side of the parking lot , the start of the course is on the left . The course ? It features 2 good sized cement tee pads per hole , and 2 fairly new Discatcher baskets , the red basket being in the short position and the yellow banded basket in the long and harder position . The pads are not always just for length , but positioned for a different look to the hole . Mixing and matching the tee pads and baskets for 4 possible options per hole works well for many reasons . One is that if you have groups of varying abilities , each can tee off from where they are comfortable with . Another is that a newbie or casual player , can start off in the short positions and eventually work his way up to the very competitive pro gold/blue tees/baskets . The signage is pretty good with hole # , par , distance from all of the positions and flight path . Each sign is set on a white post for the short hole and a blue post for the longer , which is a nice feature that keeps you from walking to the wrong tee . There are NEXT TEE signs at the bottoms of at least one ( mostly the red ) of the baskets which helps with navigation . I never looked at the map once . The elevation here is great for a Florida course . It seems like most of the holes are tilted down or up , with the bulk of the elevation being on holes 2 through 6 . The fun factor here is good . For a park course you get some fair but sometime tight lines . The Course design is one of the best I have seen for a 9 hole course and no real overlapping where you could be hit with a casual's disc . Several strong holes on the course . It starts you off with a 345' ( from the longs fairly level hole . #4 starts uphill to where it levels off into a grove , the red pin at the top of the hill and the yellow being further down to the right ( 580' from the golds ) . #6 plays uphill for your drive with tree/brushline to your right and brush to the let , with some smaller trees in the middle , then going back down a slope to the red basket on the right and the yellow in the middle of a green , 494' from the longs . #7 , is slightly downhill shorter hole where midway in the fairway it splits , you have to choose the red pin on the right or the yellow to the left . #8 is your dogleg hole going right to left at about 400' from the golds . The red basket dips to the left much earlier . #9 is a good fairly straight shot ( 430' ) that leads you out of a tighter tunnel to the open near the playground . Signature hole : #3 , a nice downhill sloping tee shot ( 335' ) to the lake . The red pin sits to the left of the lake far away from the water . The yellow basket sits pretty close to the water , but you have to overthrow by about 20' or so to dunk your disc . I heard someone say that the original hole design had the long basket sitting near the water's edge , but the parks dept. didn't want anyone reaching or wading for their discs . For being less than 2 years old , this course is fully broken in and a pleasure to play .
Cons:
Fist and most important , Safety . Park users and sometimes their dogs do walk along the course and can through your tunnel shots or into the fairways . Also bike trails are next to the course and sometimes share ground .Please be mindful and courteous , and even have a spotter or yell fore if throwing in a blind spot . Other than that , maybe the parking lot could be bigger , the course was 18 holes , no real trash cans . Carry out what you carry in . Disc risk : minimal , but still there if you ricochet off a tree in a blind spot ( the rough can be high in the summer ), or catch one up in the tree .
Other Thoughts:
One of the best 9 hole courses I have ever been on . A good scenic park with some good length ( 3565' for the golds ) , superior course design . The city spared no expense putting in 2 baskets and 2 cement tee pads along with the signage . I am going to bring back the ideas of the twin tee pads and 2 baskets to the Cincinnati area . Only about 35 minutes northwest of Orlando , this course is about a must play . My recommendation: A great park and course for everyone from the newbie , family , casual , intermediate , to the pro . As for the course bagger , you get a twofer , as the Lincoln Ave Park West 9 hole course is less than a half mile away . If you play another 9 hole course in central Florida , Play This One !!!. Thanks , Mt Dora Parks and Rec , for making this course happen and allowing me to play it .