As a course that has seen multiple redesigns, Platt Park feels like a box of spare parts and none of them fit together. Featuring a bizarre opener, followed by holes that pass through high-traffic areas and bring roads and parking lots into play, the course is an odd puzzle missing some smooth-edge pieces.

The first hole doesn't match the rest of the course's design and is literally a rough start; it's nearly 600 feet and even though it progresses downhill, it's extremely wooded and tabbed accurately as a par 5. The fairway disappears into the woods and continues to narrow as plenty of trees show up for the final half of the hole. That said, it's one of the more interesting designs at Platt Park.

The navigation seems pretty straight forward and most of the time, the next tee area isn't far from the previous basket. The tee areas are marked by simple signs containing the hole number and distance.

The tee areas are natural; however, most of the areas to throw from are flat and reasonable.

If the park is mostly empty, the last three holes provide some challenge through a moderately wooded area with an out-of-bounds road on the right side.

Hole #9 returns close to the parking area in front of Hole #1.

There's just too much congestion when the park is busy. The course feels shoehorned into the grounds and even though the design tries to hug the perimeter, there's not enough space. When I played, there was a large group congregating behind the outfield fence. They had a volleyball net set up and an animated game was ongoing while others chatted or played catch. The group was very much in the fairway of Hole #3, which my group skipped. We also had a bit of nerves throwing on Hole #2 because a drive that faded too quickly would endanger the group. There were several individuals sitting on the side of the hill in Hole #4 fairway. I threw a forehand roller down the hill on left side and played for par. And cars aplenty were parked near the last three holes. I ignored the mando on Hole #7 and threw a hyzer out over the road to avoid hitting any vehicles. On Hole #9, we opted to throw short to not tag the large pickup trucks behind the basket.

In total, we skipped one hole and played a few other holes in a less than ideal manner just to bag the course.

Holes #6 and #7 are listed as par 2s on the signs. Please ignore. Sure, Hole #6 is the shortest hole and fairly open but it's a bit uphill. Hole #7 is a par 3 in difficulty, featuring a more challenging design that's over 200 feet with a double mando and OB on the right the whole way. Plus, there's a significant drop off after the basket. Even as a par 3, it's not a guaranteed birdie.

The basket for Hole #3 is partially behind a chain link fence which is an extension of the softball field boundary. It's easy to throw over or around but it's an obstacle worth noting.

Platt Park is probably a decent play on a Tuesday morning. But if the parkgoers and pavilion patrons are present, the likelihood of skipping holes for safety purposes is high.

Par 5 to start, technical and blind

Several Mando's that are reasonable and well marked

Par 2?! if that's all the room you have, why not.. Ace runs are still fun golf

Flow is obvious in almost all places, and not difficult when it isnt

Sure, a full 18 is always better. Sure, avoiding park amenities would be preferred. But I try to keep in mind that ANY disc golf course is better than NO disc golf course on a given property, and I have personally driven much further for much more disappointing set ups.

I just hate to see a lower than 2 rating on a course that doesn't deserve unwanted hate. No paved pads and shorter holes are not ideal, don't deserve a 5 star rating, but I have played insanely useless courses with trash baskets missing chains, no directional awareness, and simply untechnical lines. This course has had thought, planning, work, and love put into it. I hope anyone who disagrees can take a step back and ask themselves whether or not it is the worst course they have played, or if they personally could have done much better with the limited property. I think small changes could be made to make this a solid 4, but sure, nothing will make it a 5. But there is no good reason to give it anything less than a 2.5 in my opinion, based on my reference points in dodgy parts of town with literally unplayable setups. I wouldn't drive more than 30 minutes to play this course without other things to do in the area, but who does for a 9 hole anyways. Glad to check it off the list

PARK DESCRIPTION - Smallish city type park with wooded picnic area, restrooms, some picnic and play structure, four dedicated pickleball courts, ample parking, a wooded area which contains hole # 1 and then an open grassy area with holes 2 & 3.

VARIETY - Actually, there is quite a bit of variety ranging from # 1's 541', blind hole +without a clear line through the thickness of trees to the three short recreational holes in picnic area which all play 135' to 170'.

CHALLENGE - See variety above for the challenges here ranging from the # 1's intermediate level to the beginner level holes 5-6-7.

EQUIPMENT - Nice Discatchers with the yellow bands. The tee pads are natural but well enough here. There were signs with distances on most of the holes. Look for the # 5 sign on the restroom wall.

AESTHETICS - Because I play more pickleball then disc golf these days, the pickleball courts and the folks playing there garnered most of my attention. I was seriously torn between joining the folks playing pick and tackling the disc golf. In the end, I probably split my time here about 50/50 %.

FUN FACTOR - # 1, playing at 541' through a thicket of trees might be considered the signature holes for many while the three short recreational holes are the ones other players might enjoy. There is something here for a range of players but maybe not enough for most of us.

ROUTING/NAVIGATION - Nothing earth shattering difficult but just slightly confusing in places. I think the # 2 sign missing sign didn't help. Having not played many previous courses, if there were navigational aids at the bottom of the baskets, I missed them. Probably just a beginner mistake on my part.

Hole # 1 seems out of place here. Doesn't fit in with the other beginner/rec holes.

A couple of holes play close to city streets where it would be easy for some beginner to fire a disc out into traffic, if there ever is any traffic?

I'm never too excited about par twos. Just make em an easy Par 3 and let some newbie pick up a birdie.

I didn't know where to tee off on hole 2.

I see after reading previous reviews that Platt has experienced some design changes over it's years. what you have now is kind of the prototypical 9-hole park course complete with the typical shortcomings that most of our 1.5 and 2.0 rated courses have. These shortcomings include parks that can't accommodate a really enjoyable course or sub-par designs by park employees who aren't that familiar with disc golf design or courses with budget constraints or courses with vandalism issues. Platt Park DGC has just enough of these issues to make it the 2.0 rated course that it is. It's worth playing but the pickleball courts are what's most excellent and inviting!

-A decent course to practice your short game or try out new discs
-Most of the time there's no one in the park to contend with
-Takes 15-20 mins if you jog the course, 30 if you walk it solo
-Overall if you live nearby or just want a quick play while you're in the area, than this is ideal

-Hole 1 is a par 5 that I usually just stitch together 3 safe short throws, as there's no clean long distance line through the trees
-No tee pads except for 9
-Several holes are along the roads
-No course map and a couple of holes aren't clear where they start

When looking for the pad for hole 7, its across the street near the basket to 9

(1.388 Rating) A Novice level moderately wooded niner.
- REVISIONS - This is really not a pro or a con, but I feel the need to start here first. By the time of my visit in Late November 2020, there had already been a few noteworthy changes since Shadrach3's visit/review from June 2020. Hole (1) was split into two holes, and thus there was no longer a par 5 to start. Old hole (2) was (3), old (3) was (4), old (4) was (5) and old (5) was (6). Old hole (6) no longer existed and (7) through (9) were all roughly the same. (9) did appear to have been shortened. The reason I use the past tense for these revision notes, is because the layout was recently modified again with (1) and (2) combined again for a par 5.
- CHAINS - DISCatcher baskets in great shape and there's a practice basket as well.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - This is not a perfect newer players course, but it's close to that notion. Mostly shorter holes with modest technical requirements. The odds of losing a disc is near zero and there is not much punishing rough. The course most ideal for Novice level players with a rating between 800 and 850.
- MAINTENANCE - The course grounds were in good shape for my play, other than holes (1 & 2)
- QUICK PLAY - 24 minutes for me solo on an empty course.

A solidified layout is needed most.
- NAVIGATION AND SIGNAGE - Several of the tee signs had been removed for my visit, probably due to the course tweaking. There were a couple navigational aids under the baskets, but not on every hole. Players will need a navigational app on the first go around and perhaps again due to the layout changes.
- SPACING - The course layout is shoe-horned in around existing park activities and structures. (4) through (6) are all stacked parallel to each other with not much buffer. City and Park access roads come into play on a majority of the holes. There's a shelter within grip-lock range on the last three holes. Players will likely have to pause or perhaps even skip a hole on an occasion.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - As noted above, I think this is an ideal Novice level course. Rec players should consistently shoot under par. Advanced players coming should be able to post 9 down eventually is they play it enough. Not a lot of distance required as those with a 400-foot cannon won't need a distance driver. A couple of the shorter holes have constricted lines, but they are still easy 3s even when pinging a tree halfway down the fairway. I'll take a guess a say that even par nets an 830 rated round in typical conditions.
- HOLE VARIETY - The small park size limits the options the designer(s) had. It appears the par 5 is back for hole (1), so I guess that's something different compared to most niners. Mostly park style shots, except for hole (1). Distance variation is ok I guess. Elevation change maxes out at 20 feet. No water elements.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - It's the typical small neighborhood park setting. It's got some trees, some subtle elevation change and some mowed grounds for most of the layout. I grade this category on a curve and scored it a 2 out of 5. So roughly 40 percentile.
- TEE AREA - Mostly natural tees and most didn't have a release line. No benches at the tees either yet.

This course will work just fine for those within a ten-minute drive looking to throw a low-key round or to get some practice. Platt Park offers the pure basics of the game in a mildly challenging format. Beginners coming here will get a taste of the sport and families could bring their young kids to this one too. The size of the park and quality of the land available really limited what was achievable here for the appeasement of veteran players like myself. For this reason, this will not be a sought-after course, except for those trying to bag courses... like myself.

We were the only ones in the park, so it wasn't busy. The only really challenging hole is #1 (it needs work), but the rest are still fun to practice your short game.

I can see how it was difficult to even fit a 9 hole course at this park, but some of them need a bit of adjustment, as they have you throwing too close to roads, or too close to an adjacent hole.

This is the first course I've ever played with a par 2 hole, and there were two of them. haha I would suggest they split the par 5 #1 hole in to two holes. There's just no point in a par 5 when you have two par 2 holes. If the county owned the bit adjacent field, they'd have plenty of room for 18.

Diverse and entertaining 9 holes in a near-pristine small park.

-Amenities: DISCatchers. Tee signage includes #, par, and distance. Tees are mulch, which for now is sufficient.

-Variety: Best variety of the dozen or so 9-holers I've played. The course starts with its hardest hole, 575 twisting feet through thick woods. From there it's a couple of open 300+ ft holes, two holes through moderate trees with elevation change, a pair of par 2s, and two more light woods including a nice par 4 on (8).

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Mostly up to par with the variety. There are 3 or so holes (2, 3, 6) that only require general straightness, but the others have compelling lines. Straight woods, hyzer woods, narrow gaps, and some room for personal choice on the closing holes.

-Elevation: Not huge, but all except (2)-(3) have some slopes that complement the line.

-"Friendly": My label for the combination of easy-to-play, well kept up, and hard-to-lose-discs.

A couple of rookie-looking design mistakes and newness factors are holding this park back big-time.

-Safety: A number of dangerously close fairways, vulnerable teepads, and other park uses will necessitate caution. Fairways may bleed into each other on (4)-(6). Teepads (3), (5), (6), (8), and (9) are all in substantial danger from the previous hole. Also, this tight park includes a baseball field, a playground, ball courts, walking paths, and a pavilion, all woven right into the course area. On a busy day it may not be playable.

-Par 2's: This pair of holes is pretty boring.

-Other Design: Hole (5) is a very specific and tough blind hyzer line that needs a good map (currently absent) on the tee sign to give you a fair chance. Also, I wonder if hole (8) could be improved. It's currently a 440-foot par 4 for an easy birdie, but maybe something like small new guardian trees or an elevated basket could make it play more like a 4.

-Navigation: Not overly clear where tee (2) is from basket (1). Also, the (6) to (7) walk is very unintuitive. Two next tee signs would solve these completely.

-Hole 1: Currently absolutely ridiculous. There's the hint of a narrow fairway for the first half, but the last 300 feet have far too many trees to do anything than hopefully chuck a disc 150 feet on a path of your own invention. They need to take quite a few trees out to establish a fairway. If that's done well, it could be quite an excellent par 4.

I enjoyed Platt Park a lot. It's a bit shiny and sparkly, but that newness also bites it in terms of tee signage, next tee signs, and the currently-absurd hole (1). Fix any two of those (preferable clear a fairway for (1)), and it's easily a "Reasonable." Do something about tee safety, and it could well be a "Typical" due to its impressive variety.

If these things do improve in the next several months, please send me a PM and I'll update accordingly.