(1.822 Rating) A +40 year old park style course with simple gameplay.
- A SECOND COURSE NEAR BY - Rockwood is about 1/3 of a mile from Vance Park DGC. One can literally tap out on (9) here and walk over to tee (1) at Vance in 7-minutes. This is a great aspect for course baggers like me.
- QUICK PLAY - The sun was about 90 minutes from setting when I arrived here. Which apparently is enough time to get in 5 solo rounds. The course is somewhat easy to follow, hard to get into trouble, and goes super quick. I was in, out and on my way to the Confluence course in 19 minutes with one navigational goof. Perhaps players will get bogged down on active park days.
- BASICS - The required course items of tees, baskets and signage makes this a reasonable course to me. 4-foot by 12-foot concrete tees. The baskets are MachVs and they are in good shape. The signage is a painted number and distance on the concrete pad. Most of the tee signage paint is fading unfortunately, but I'd guess they'll be repainting them soon.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - This place is a great choice for newer players. A 250-foot arm should be able to make a handful of birdies when everything clicks. The odds of having to search for one is zero. The lost disc potential is also zero, unless one forgets to pick up or throws one over a residential fence.
- HISTORY - Rockwood was the first course in Oregon to have baskets installed according to what I read on the PDGA's website. Champoeg apparently didn't get baskets until the 90s and that one has been redesigned.

The de-ja vu feeling.
- THRILL-FREE - I felt like I was going through the motions on most of the tee shots here. Had I stuck around to play 3 or 4 more rounds, I probably would have birdied them all. Every hole is a basic park style play with 1 to 8 trees to gameplan around. The mirage of smashing chains was the only adrenaline pumping element to me.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Rockwood is a nice pleasant small park. However, there is nothing exciting or exotic about it. It's, flat, small and has lots of buildings in view the entire time. The park appears to be well-maintained though as it was mowed and free of downed tree branches. There are large Western Cedars and Douglas Firs, like just about every course out this way. I ended up scoring this aspect about 30 percentile among the 620 courses I've played as of this review.
- AMENITIES - Besides the concrete tees and baskets, there are few other course related amenities. I noticed two seating areas and a practice basket. Restrooms are also available.
- NAVIGATION - As noted in my basics pro, the painted tee pad signage is fading. This sign is also obviously flush with the ground. Thus if someone doesn't have an navigational app, they may end up heading to the wrong tee. For example, I skipped over to (9) after (7) by accident and had to run back over to (8) to complete the round. Regardless, no one is getting lost here for an extended period of time.

Rarely have I ever played two courses back to back that were as similar as Rockwood and Vance. The gameplay, aesthetics, amenities and vibe are all nearly identical. I think it's possible that someone could write one review, and use it for both courses, and no one would know. I did not, but most of my bolded discussion topics are indeed the same. Anyways, a mid 2.0 to weak 2.0 level course to me. There may be some added draw hear over Vance due to the history, but otherwise I find it to be a rather typical non-descript niner just like its neighbor. Besides Vance, it also reminds me of courses like Azalea in Tampa Bay, Ken Johnston in Huntsville Alabama, Donner Park south of Indianapolis, Calvert City Park near Paducah Kentucky, John C Poole north of Nashville, Portland Park near Chattanooga and Silver Lake Excalibur north of Seattle. Not surprisingly, this is the same list of courses I noted on my Vance review.

Concrete tee pads in good shape.

Distances marked on the pads.

Baskets aging, but serviceable.

Easy layout to follow.

Various shot shapes needed and the course would cause a beginner to learn to throw different shots.

Restrooms and other amenities available in the park for traveling companions who may not be throwing discs.

A bit longer than just a pitch and putt, especially for newer players.

The holes are crammed into a tight space, so the course definitely lends itself to errant throws threatening other disc golfers and various park patrons. Several holes play very close to sidewalks, fences, benches, and roads.

The park was not crowded when we played, but several people walked or biked through and caused us to wait to throw - be on the lookout.

No signage, just the info on the tee pads themselves. This was not too much of an issue for us, as we found it easy to follow.

This is a simple park course and I think it is a fun one. The holes offer variety, though they are close together and too close to other park users.

It's a fun course and would be a good place to teach the game or practice approaches and throwing various lines.

Here are what I consider PROS of this course:

- Beginner friendly course with obstacles easy enough for new players to traverse
- Holes are numbered and tees are angled to face the basket very well
- Holes are under 300 feet, which allows new players an easy chance for birdies
- Single basket by hole one that can be used to practice putts
- Well kept and maintained park
- Very little chance of losing discs
- Easy to get a few rounds in pretty quickly
- Fun and enjoyable

Here are what I consider CONS of this course:

- Parking is limited and in the flight of discs on the first hole
- Since it is a park people will lay and picnic in the middle of the fairway on the first hole
- Some baskets are too close to one another and it causes an issue when trying to not hit someone at a different hole
- Questionable people there are times
- Watch out for dogs off their leashes
- Walkway so beware of people unaware of discs being thrown in the park

All in all this is a wonderful beginner course for those just getting into the game and looking to learn the techniques needed to take their skill to the next level. A short course that for some may be a CON, but it is a PRO for those beginners that need the practice and can do multiple rounds easily. It may be in a bit of a questionable location of Gresham, but despite that it is a well-maintained park and a fantastic course for new-comers.

A good course for beginners, trying to develop some length in their drives. Goodly number of trees to navigate. Tightest trees on nos. 5 and 9. While it is nothing special, it's not a bad course. I think in its early days, it must of been distinctly pretty. I like holes 1 (wide-open fairway to start the round, but the basket is behind a tree), 5 (tunnel from start to finish), and 8 (along the back fence with a sloping fairway and the basket in a cove of trees). Hardware (pads and baskets) are old but holding up well. I also like the yardage and hole number painted on the pads (very helpful).

Yes, the 9 holes are crammed into land also shared by walkers, runners, picnickers, etc. Evidence of homeless living here along the periphery. One legit player told me that playing in the late afternoon/early evening is a thing not to do, has had his discs picked up and not returned. Despite the real ability to hit someone, play during the busy day. I went on a Sunday afternoon around 12:30pm. Parking lot and park was packed. You do need a map (print the one here) for your first time out. It had rained the night before, and some of the baskets are in enough of a depression to collect water and make the basket an island. Come with a stick to pull disc out and a towel to wipe them down.

I chose the course as something easier to play than my original choices (Blue Lake too long for me; two others in neighborhoods either sketchier or redneck). Portland is full of zombies (addicts) which is depressing. There is a strong family vibe here though that keeps that at bay. Many families in the park for the soccer or baseball or picnicking.

Has tee pads, and distances our written in the pads
Decent baskets that our in good condition
Chances at some aces
Good place to introduce new people to the sport

Very crowded course, and small area with fairways, and holes playing right next to each other. The layout is kind of dangerous and be prepared to hear 4 a lot lol.
No actual tee signs and with everything close together first timers could get a little confused.
No elevation change all flat

When paired with Vance you have a nice short 18 hole disc golf day and might be able to get first ace or add to the resume. Good place to dial in your mid range game. However not a destination place and very crowded with new players. Only need to bring couple disc can leave the main bag at home

-Okay little course good for practicing your short game
-Good amount of trees forced some different shot shapes
-Restrooms
-Decent baskets and tee pads
-Navigation is intuitive

-Really short, no great driver chances. Not a huge problem, but worth mentioning.
-Rough area. There were a bunch of sketchy-looking drunk guys sitting at a picnic table. After my round, I saw one of them had some kind of gun. I took off and I don't think I'll ever be back.
Crappiest layout ever. SO many holes you were crossing the lines of or were way too close to adjacent holes. Many holes also were too close to private property fences, the road, or the ball fields. FORE!
-This is an 8-acre park, half of which is athletic fields and the other half is where they crammed this 9-hole disc golf course. There's also a little playground, but that's it. There is no room for picnickers or other park users whatsoever and I don't blame anyone for blocking the fairways.
-A course such as this would get old very fast, with only one tee and pin placement

-This course shouldn't even be here. A central city park needs to have some simply open areas for people to run, picnic, or do whatever they please. This park is basically a crummy 9-hole disc golf course and some baseball fields, plus a playground, which really isn't all that safe, being within foul-ball range from the softball field. No area for kids to run around safely.
-The shady-looking dudes with a gun really sent me over the line, if you know what I mean.
-If you're in the area, play Vance Park twice and skip this one.
-Not coming back, period.

- Course is set in a small city park, that has some walking paths and a basketball court. Definitely could see some interference from other park users, though it might just mean waiting a little bit.
- Decent amount of trees here to force some line shaping. #3 has a big pine tree in the fairway that forces a RHFH flex line or a super wide hyzer, and #4 offers a similar shot as well. #6 is a low straight shot or a wide hyzer, while holes #2 and #7 have trees to block the simple RHBH hyzer shot. At least, they take away the easiest ace run hyzer. #9 is the tightest; either a super skinny window directly off the tee, or very wide shots around the clump of trees.
- A couple holes are on the longer side... two at 270' and another at 330'. Nothing too crazy by today's standards, but it helps to offset the two 180' holes.
- Good teepads and baskets. Sign by hole #1 to aid in navigation helps, but it's pretty goofy in spots. Definitely want to take a good look.

- Definitely a shorter course, with the average hole length a little under 240'. Maybe a spot or two for a driver, even for those without a big arm.
- Layout here is jacked up. The hyzer line on #4 shoots over #9's basket, #6's teepad is situated in between the baskets of #5 and #8, and the baskets of #6 and #9 are kinda close. Heads up!
- Land is dead flat, except for a little hill on #6.

- Not the most exciting course, but there are holes that force interesting lines. Some allow for the wide shots to go around everything, but also have a skinnier direct route to the basket. #9 is unique with a thick cluster of trees directly off the teepad.
- Definitely best suited to beginners; hopefully they don't hit anybody.

I played this course for the first time today, and went around 3 times (-6, -3, -5). I hooked up for the last round with some very friendly locals.
--Cement tees, very long and narrow, great for this course.
--Mowed grass, highly manicured
--9 baskets in good shape
--A few mature trees and some light poles in key locations add the need to shape some shots
--Usually 2-3 ways to attack each hole, hyzer and anhyzer, so good for RHBH and LHBH throwers
--Helpful locals to show you the layout
--Simple layout, not confusing and a good use of available space
--Parking along road is free, and bathrooms on site

--No tee signs
--Multiple user park, so beware of non-disc golfers when throwing
--Some fairways are very close, and given the level of many players, it is likely you'll have some discs whizzing by you
--No on-site 'board' with a map on it of the course, also letting people know simple rules, etc.

Fairly open, although a few holes are tricky due to trees. I had a very good time. There were kids, families, disc golfers, and the usual colorful array of people that gravitate to urban parks. I never felt unsafe, and the local players I met were very nice and helpful.

I scored it low due to the short distances, but it is good for a par 9 'beginner' course.

I will have to say this is a fun technical little course. It is perfect for new players yet technical enough to practice your short game/ putting. There are enough trees to make shots tricky but not difficult. The replay factor is great. The park itself is nice during off hours. The grass is mowed and kept up. Nice addition of bathrooms.

Because of the tiny nature of this course some of the holes overlap. Most errant shots can get in the way of other holes. Most players are cool and will hold up. Best with two to three players per hole. Big groups will be slow and miserable.

This is a rough neighborhood. Drug deals and gangs might be a problem. Community is trying to fix this and there are many police drive by. Couple this course with Vance for a good warm up to play some of the nicer courses in the Portland/Troutdale area.

nice baskets , nice tee pads , lots of trees , easy to follow nice flowing course, lots of cool people hang out there. bathrooms onsite , free , lots of parking

lots of traffic , gets crowded its a city park , broken glass and trash all over, some rough looking groups of teens hanging out.

great course for glow discs at night

The teepads are concrete and the baskets are spectacular. The course is decently designed, with many of the trees in the park coming into play.

There is zero elevation change here. The "hill" on hole 6 doesn't count. I only saw one sign, which was on hole 1. The holes were laughably short. Although I may not be considered a "beginner" anymore, scoring birdies on three of the holes is unheard of for someone with my range. The other park users seemed to all be drug addicts, and were absolutely offended that a disc might come within 20 yards of them.

I was unimpressed with this course. I'd only thrown a par round once in my life, and threw this course to a -3 with a mediocre round. Being told by a park user that my disc "could have killed" them was a huge turnoff when they were sitting in a fairway. If I lived in Gresham I would play Vance through 18 before I would move on to this park, but if I were in a rush I would hit this one. This just seemed like a typical beginner 9 hole, which just isn't challenging enough for a player who is visiting. Hole 9 was worth a look due to the trees directly facing the teepad, but so short that I nearly aced it. I was able to leave my bag in my car and play through with just two discs.

This is by far one of my favorite courses, fairly good hole length, not too long not too short. This is a good course if you are a beginning player. Works for all skill types. Some trees but nothing too sinister. Perfect course for a casual day of playing.

On a saturday this course can be very crowded. Watch out! Also there can be a lot of people walking the paths in the area too.

Easy to get to in Portland.

Not much in the way of interesting holes, not much elbow room between holes.

Easy course (flat ground, few trees, mostly straight shots), a decent course if you just want to get a quick game in.

-Concrete tees
-Flushing toilets (free)
-Course is free to all
-It has baskets (a few questionably wonky ones)
-Decent pitch-and-putt. Leave your drivers at home.
-Locals are ever-present from what I understand. Would probably be pretty easy to recruit a guide if you're mapless.
-Safe course design. No criss-crossing fairways or other glaring safety issues.

-Slick, swampy tee pads
-No tee signs or hole numbers on the baskets
-Unremarkable piece of land. Flat as a board. Relatively open fairways.
-Short short short. Too short and monotonous for my tastes. And only nine holes.
-Safari-playing locals with the expectation that they have the right-of-way. Watch your back...we about got nailed by the safari golfers

Rockwood Central Park houses an older pitch-and-putt that gets quite a lot of use by the locals. They seemed like nice enough guys (even though I noticed they got quiet when we walked by and sent a distinctive stink-eye glare when we got close to their table), but they like their safari golf. I don't blame them...this course would become redundant quick. But it would be nice to be able to shoot a round without fear of being clocked in the head from a completely unexpected direction.
The layout is straight forward. All baskets visible from their respective tees. Hole 9 is the signature hole. It asks golfers to thread a narrow-ish gap between some large trees right in front of the tee. Fun stuff.
If you're itching to golf and are in the area, hit it up (and hit up Vance Park for another quick nine while you're at it), but understand that this is a locals course with a palpable locals-only vibe.

Practice basket, concrete tee pads, restrooms, H2O and FREE!

Usually crowded with locals everyday all day! Residents that border the course may not return or even allow you in their yard to retrieve it. Tagging along side the fence and tee pad signs have been vandalized or missing. Some holes have multiple baskets in view from the tee pad giving uncertainty on which one to shoot for.

A small neighborhood park making the most of what they have! One block away is Vance Park (another 9 hole course) can easily do both to make it an 18 hole outing. Good place to learn or just hone your skills. Lack of signs on this course isn't really a problem since there is always a local that can aim you in the right direction. This is a great course to play if you have to get your fix in a short time.

Rockwood is a great park in the middle of Gresham that not only holds disc golf but basket ball courts and a soccer field and has a running bathroom as well. The course is fairly short and open and nothing magical but it is still a fun place to play and challenge your short game at. Navigation is fairly easy though with so many baskets being visible from the pads it is possible to play to the wrong basket. This is a great place to break in and learn a new disc playing with just one.

There is nothing here to challenge advanced players and no hole that you need anything bigger than a mid. While I was there it was very busy and it was cold and had been raining all day, it was a bit shocking to see the large groups of people. This doesn't seem like the greatest neighborhood in the world. Some of the baskets and tee pads get close to each other and since the park gets busy this can become a problem.

It's pretty cool that you have this course and Vance Park so close to each other, I bet a lot of locals play nine here and then make their way over to Vance to get in the local 18 holes. I could envision a tournament played that way, I think it would be pretty cool.

Fun, Ace runs, short

Deep in the heart of the GHETTO!!! Very crappy baskets they were good at one point but just very old and like I saind in the ghetto so was vandalized... easy for a disc to come out...

Well maintained park
Good cement tees
Easy to navigate (didn't even need to use the map we downloaded) since you can see all the baskets easily from the tees
Good use of limited space
Requires accurate execution and surprisingly challanging for a flat, short course due to good use of trees and basket placement
Great course to introduce people to the sport
Good course to work on various shots, ie, play the whole course forehand, etc

Baskets are older and some need repair--had a couple of putts pop out due to missing chains
Could have better signage (though not a challenge to navigate at all)

For a small city park type of course, this course offers a fun round of golf...it is more than an open pitch and putt course and is a great way to practice your approach game.
Even with so many great courses within driving distance of Portland, this course is a good warm-up course...we played it and Vance (basically across the street) in the morning in prep for Milo McIver and Pier in the afternoon

Nice grounds. Medium difficulty with distance and obstacles.

Baskets are little old and unforgiving. The course is fairly tight so each subsequent tee pad is fairly easy to find from the previous hole.

Kind of bad part of Portland. When I played, there were some thugs on the course just loitering. One tried to sell me a CD player. Kind of sketchy. If I went again I'd make sure and go in a group.

Mid range game for big arms.
Great for newbies
Nice tee pads
lights.....night golf!!!

Park gets a lot of use from parties
and the language flows so don't bring minors!

small course with little challange if you game, great for newbies!