• Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
    It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)

Dickinson, ND

Patterson Lake DGC

Permanent course
3.755(based on 10 reviews)
Filter course reviews

Filter reviews

Filter reviews

Patterson Lake DGC reviews

Filter
8 0
Hector Chain
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.9 years 222 played 191 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Long 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 23, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Situated along the banks of Patterson Lake and looking out at the dam beyond, this is a scenic course.
There are some huge distances on many holes, but they aren't just grip and rip holes. Placement is important, and OB is common.
The signature hole is #9, a throw across a chasm where you need to decide how far you can throw and still get the disc to fade back onto land. Steep cliffs and the lake border to the right with an OB road to the left. I wimped out in the still headwind.
One of the holes around the middle of the course (13?) features a nice island green with the lake looming behind.
A couple holes have some very technical aspects. Hole 6 (I think) is a 600+ foot hole where you need to nail a 3-foot gap right off the tee. Nice mix of accuracy and distance with the trees getting in your head.
Tees were concrete, and it appeared that there are multiple pin positions (and sometimes multiple tees).

Cons:

Long distance is required on many holes, and a few are not possible for lower-level players. On hole 11 I didn't tee off from either tee because I wasn't certain I could clear the cat tails. There were three holes in the trees, but I could have used a few more technical holes.
Hole 14 was a very cool shot snaking through some trees to a very long pin placement. But after I searched for my disc for a few minutes on my drive, I didn't bother with more shots on this hole since none of it was mowed.
The tee signs were just laminated paper that appeared to be for a recent tournament, as they gave directions for what to do in each round and what constituted OB. Distances were given, but the locations of the pins were not shown. Many of the holes were so long that the basket was not visible.

Other Thoughts:

The park entrance fee is $3. This is not a good course for beginners, and I'm not sure the other two courses in town could really prepare you for this. But it was a fun place to play, and overall I liked the design.
This is one of the prettier parts of town.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
7 0
ACE Ventura
Experience: 13 years 105 played 24 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Looong but solid! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 5, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Mostly long holes, ranging from 500-1000 feet, with a few shorter holes that require more technical shots. The long holes are usually fairly open or have pine trees dotting the hole but some, such as holes #8, #9, #11 include big water hazards that can be difficult to avoid unless you play conservatively.

The entire course layout is done really well and it will require you to think through your throws and use most of the plastics in your bag.

All the teeboxes are concrete pads and in great shape and the posts provide complete information about the hole (distance, par, O.B., mandos) but they lacked a picture of some sort to reference for the layout of the hole.

The elevation change throughout the course is moderate and easy to manage for even the most casual of players. Hole #9 is of course the biggest elevation hole since you are throwing it off a cliff down to the beach.

Almost impossible to lose a disc with this well maintained park, except when you find yourself 30' out in the lake.

There was very few people playing when I went (and it was a gorgeous weekend day) so I figure that this could be the norm on this course so you shouldn't have any issues with slow play.

Cons:

My biggest complaint were the teebox posts. They did provide a lot of information on each hole, except where to find the hole.... I would think they would have this taken care of on a tournament course.

The numerous O.B. lines on the majority of holes is kind of a pain, but they do make the course much more challenging and require you to make shots you may not be comfortable with.

Other Thoughts:

Use the map provided in the Links section for this course, it will definitely help you figure out where to go for tees and holes. Or else talk to a local that can guide you.

Read the teebox posts thoroughly so you can understand the technicalities of each hole.

Be prepared to walk a long distance and bring water, there is some shade but a lot of it is right in the open so you'll be hot.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
1 2
Mincus14
Experience: 15 years 26 played 26 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 4, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great layout with good variety of hole types and distances. Some cool shots that go right along the cliffs and the lake comes into play on a few holes, so there's a good amount of challenge. Well signed.

Cons:

The OB. It seems like the OB is just there to make the course harder, not because it's actually necessary. One of the holes you have no choice but to throw over the OB.

Other Thoughts:

Would have given this a better rating if not for the unneccesary OB.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Top