Northern Arizona University DGC reviews
4
0
Upshawt1979
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
20.9 years
550 played
429 reviews
NAU Tried and True 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:May 24, 2019
Played the course:once
Pros:
I loved the disc golf at Northern Arizona University. It is a nice landscape, and the course has numerous looks of all shapes and sizes. The lines through the pines are switching directions, changing distances, using the slopes to take you up and down and all around the area and leave some tricky pin positions.
There are full size concrete tees, and signs for each hole, although one or two may have been displaced. The baskets are all intact and holding up their end of the bargain. There are bathrooms next to the turf field to the left of hole 9, but I'm not sure they are always unlocked.
The only hole that was flat and open all the way was 16, which has some OB to the left. Everything else uses the trees and subtle contours of the ground to twist interesting routes from tee to basket.
The first hole is slightly uphill, and then down the backside, and requires a drive around many trees with distance and accuracy if you want to be remotely close to the basket. It's a pretty tough starter. 4 is a fun one that's not too long, but the pin is protected by scattered trees that can easily turn into plinko. 5 and 6 both have a wider alley, with drop offs behind the baskets. 5 turns to the left, 6 turns to the right. 7 is a wild uphill shot that turns right and is short, but completely blind and fully wooded. 9 is open most of the way, but there is a line of trees that blocks the direct line to the basket and the right side. You have to go left side and the pin is a little way up the base of a hill. I killed a RHBH anny and hit my first birdie of the day on this hole.
10 is a cool hole. There is a bit of a low area between the tee and the pin, and several trees to get past as you exit one and approach the other. 11 is a simple straight shot with a mid range, but you have to hit the gap that is flanked by stands of pines on either side. This one also has a bit of downhill slope off the tee, and the pin is up the base of the next slope. 12 is long and a little bit downhill, and has it's share of trees too. There is a chance to get there, but you need to nail the drive. I hit it, but missed my birdie putt. 14 has mostly open air to the right side, and the pin sits across a dry ravine. If you throw a 300' drive, you can near the ravine and be looking at an uphill putt like I was. Made that one with my best putt of the day. 15 is the longest hill on the course. It is open down the middle, but if you shank the drive it can really complicate that second shot. A nice long throw on the second shot can get you pin high with a chance for a feel good 3.
There are full size concrete tees, and signs for each hole, although one or two may have been displaced. The baskets are all intact and holding up their end of the bargain. There are bathrooms next to the turf field to the left of hole 9, but I'm not sure they are always unlocked.
The only hole that was flat and open all the way was 16, which has some OB to the left. Everything else uses the trees and subtle contours of the ground to twist interesting routes from tee to basket.
The first hole is slightly uphill, and then down the backside, and requires a drive around many trees with distance and accuracy if you want to be remotely close to the basket. It's a pretty tough starter. 4 is a fun one that's not too long, but the pin is protected by scattered trees that can easily turn into plinko. 5 and 6 both have a wider alley, with drop offs behind the baskets. 5 turns to the left, 6 turns to the right. 7 is a wild uphill shot that turns right and is short, but completely blind and fully wooded. 9 is open most of the way, but there is a line of trees that blocks the direct line to the basket and the right side. You have to go left side and the pin is a little way up the base of a hill. I killed a RHBH anny and hit my first birdie of the day on this hole.
10 is a cool hole. There is a bit of a low area between the tee and the pin, and several trees to get past as you exit one and approach the other. 11 is a simple straight shot with a mid range, but you have to hit the gap that is flanked by stands of pines on either side. This one also has a bit of downhill slope off the tee, and the pin is up the base of the next slope. 12 is long and a little bit downhill, and has it's share of trees too. There is a chance to get there, but you need to nail the drive. I hit it, but missed my birdie putt. 14 has mostly open air to the right side, and the pin sits across a dry ravine. If you throw a 300' drive, you can near the ravine and be looking at an uphill putt like I was. Made that one with my best putt of the day. 15 is the longest hill on the course. It is open down the middle, but if you shank the drive it can really complicate that second shot. A nice long throw on the second shot can get you pin high with a chance for a feel good 3.
Cons:
There is a massive parking lot next to the course, but signs say you need a parking permit from the school to park there. It had about 15 cars in it and hundreds of open spaces, so I decided to park there and take my chances. Sure enough, there was a ticket under the windshield wiper of my rental car when I was finished. The first offense will only get you a warning, so if you're passing through for a single round you can park there with no consequence or risk of being towed. I'm not sure where you would park if you're a local without a parking permit from the school.
Thin air isn't really a con, but I am not used to it. My discs did not do what I'm used to seeing from them in Kansas. It took me about 24 holes to catch on and make adjustments.
Thin air isn't really a con, but I am not used to it. My discs did not do what I'm used to seeing from them in Kansas. It took me about 24 holes to catch on and make adjustments.
Other Thoughts:
This was a cool course that is not championship level disc golf, but it is fun with a lot of different looks. The one round I played started poorly, with bogeys on four of the first six holes. I finished strong, with 5 birdies on the last 10 holes. Overall I shot a 55, which shows as even par by the hole info on DGCR. I don't think that info is entirely accurate, but par of 55 does feel right.
I visited Flagstaff on Memorial Day weekend, and NAU was the second course I played there. I wanted to hit the Snowbowl, but the mountains were freshly covered with snow so I skipped that. Luckily the snow and rain didn't have too much negative effect on the courses in town. I played McPherson the night before and enjoyed it. NAU has a similar feel to McPherson, but everything is a little more interesting. Lines are tighter, elevation is more pronounced, pin locations have more risk/reward. Glad I chose to get a round in here before leaving town.
I visited Flagstaff on Memorial Day weekend, and NAU was the second course I played there. I wanted to hit the Snowbowl, but the mountains were freshly covered with snow so I skipped that. Luckily the snow and rain didn't have too much negative effect on the courses in town. I played McPherson the night before and enjoyed it. NAU has a similar feel to McPherson, but everything is a little more interesting. Lines are tighter, elevation is more pronounced, pin locations have more risk/reward. Glad I chose to get a round in here before leaving town.
