A big pet peeve of mine is finding tees. This course is well played out with easy to find tees and is a good use of what space they had available. There's enough artificial light from a nearby school and businesses that it's possible to play at night. This is important when it's 105 degrees during the day 4 months out of the year.

Flat and dusty. The entire course is simple tree dodging.

This is the oldest course in Tucson and as long as Marana Rock is under water the best course in Tucson. That also tells you how poor the other Tucson courses are. Definite finesse course so since I'm a bit of a slinger on my drives it doesn't play to my strength but if you're accuracy is good this is a must play for you. As of 3-30-2015 the city of Tucson started replacing the old hexagonal tees with new larger rectagonal tees and adding new tees so each hole will have a red and blue tee for greater variety. It's nice to see a city put a little effort into a course.

Santa Cruz is well maintained, has a nice variety of shots, and the regulars here are super friendly and generally very mellow. I really like the tee-pad placards and the way the course is laid out.

This course has zero grass; it's just dirt/dust. Some of the tee-pads are a little too small. A few of the fairways criss-cross a bit, which can cause some issues. Did I mention the dust?

All in all, I really like this course. It's a ton of fun to play and gives me a chance to try some lesser-used shots without fear of losing a disc. If you only get to play one course in Tucson, it should be Santa Cruz...unless you're willing to make a short road trip to Marana Rock, which is technically in Marana.

The location: Tucson is pretty scarce on city parks, especially near the University of Arizona and downtown. Santa Cruz is about 10 minutes west of campus, and is easily accessible from the I-10.

The creativity: Santa Cruz doesn't have any elevation changes or many large obstacles to avoid (except for the tunnel of trees on #8). Nevertheless, the course requires a lot of creativity and shot selection for getting a low score.

The network: The Tucson Disc Golf Club does a great job taking care of the course, and there are plenty of weekly meet-ups available if you're interested in playing with others.

The tee pads: Most of the tee-pads are hexagons and don't really allow for much of a run-up before throwing the disc.This is more frustrating than you might think. The B-tees are nearly all rectangular tee-pads, let's update the others!

Hobo Jungle: If you throw east of the bike path anywhere on the front nine of Santa Cruz, you'll more than likely be entering a place that my circle of friends likes to affectionately call Hobo Jungle. This is an exaggeration, as the "jungle" is actually just a wash. "Hobo Jungle" is really just a term of endearment for the course. But seriously, try your best to avoid throwing over here. To get your disc back, you'll have to descend / ascend a very steep embankment and avoid getting cut by broken glass.

Think I'll go play here tomorrow morning!

This course is set in a decent sized park which is mostly flat with just enough trees to provide some obstacles. The course is very well signed. There is a small kiosk at the beginning with information on leagues and a course map. I especially appreciated when looking out from the tee box, I could see a large # near the correct basket. This is very helpful when there might be 3-4 possible targets in sight. The tee signs had the distance, par, route and a sponsor on them.
The course was completely dirt when I played in early April but it was very well packed down. There are two differently shaped teepads, the diamond shaped and the regular. Both are smaller than the norm. But a couple were extended when a longer run-up is needed.
The course is short making it play more like a recreational course. There are no par 4's or 5's here but there are lots of birdie ops.

# 13 is 261' to a slightly raised basket guarded by small trees. I like the fact that there are steps leading up to this elevated basket, probably for children and wee people.

There is a high fence (15 feet?) along the left side of the fairway along holes 12-14 to keep discs out of these slummy looking houses. One of them seems to be an inner city chicken farms with some noisy roosters. They were raising quite a ruckus on the early morning I played.

I guess the fact that there is no grass but you are, after all playing in the middle of a giant desert. The course is short but I found it to be perfectly enjoyable.
Because there are 18 baskets squeezed into a fairly small park area, navigation can be a little confusing. The large numbers near the baskets helped me quite a bit.

There was probably my favorite of the four Tucson area courses I played. It certainly doesn't offer the overall challenge like Marana and doesn't have the pretty green grass like Groves Park. But it's not a total disaster area like Sam Lena. So I'm calling it my favorite of the four.

Good place to start playing disc golf, nothing too crazy here, everything straightforward. New pin placements add some variety to the course. Plenty of holes for beginners to score pars and build confidence. The only course in Tucson that requires somewhat of a finesse shot - especially on 8 and now 10. Can easily finish 18 holes in an hour.

Flat. Essentially no elevation change. Can be very dusty. Short. It's probably the busiest of the courses in the Tucson area.

I never mind playing santa cruz but if this is the only course you play, you're probably never going to be stretched as a player. Very few holes require big drives or tight lines. I like bringing players here who are new to the sport as I think it is much less frustrating for a beginner than say, Marana Rock. I'll play this course exclusively when the Rock is flooded but will always choose the former when available.

nice variety in length of holes. Good use of the trees as barriers to the basket. Liked the basket up on the raised platform.

Very poor course lay out. Several holes criss-cross each other and sometimes it is hard to tell where the next hole is. Had to walk several times to the course map and look and see where I was supposed to go next. Don't like the fact the the holes are so close to each other that you have to worry about discs landing around you. Had several land close to me with no shouts of fore at all.

I finally figured this course out and would play it again if in the Tucson area. Some markers pointing to the next tee would be good as well as reconfiguring some holes so that they don't cross each other. The course map that is posted here is wrong. That needs to be corrected.

Short holes make for low scores and boosted confidence. Fun obstacles. Good for beginners and moderates, not for the more experienced.

No grass. All dirt.

Not the prettiest course, but good for beginners.

This course is located on a riverwalk area. Easy parking right up to the first tee. A few practice baskets right at the 1st tee. Uniquely shaped diamond teepads, something I have never seen before. Most of the holes are fairly short so many birdie opportunities await here! A midrange and putter is probably the most that you will need for this course. Most holes are pretty much straight shots. Trees throughout the course adds to the challenge. Nicely placed baskets as they are tucked between/behind trees, but not so much that it is difficult to throw at. The course is pretty dry and sandy in some areas, which is nice in some regards as your disc likes to stay put when it lands. Mountains around the course gives it some good views.

The course info says this course was built in 1978 and I could tell. Teepads are pretty small, which isn't too much of a problem since the holes are short. Baskets are definately worn. Definate navigation issues on this course. Print out a map if you can. Teesigns are lacking and each hole is represented by a wooden post with numbers on it that are missing. I had to walk down several fairways to figure out where I was going to throw. Frustrating, but not too dificult to figure out. Trash on the course in the form of broken glass. Space is rather limited on this course and the fairways are pretty close to each other so there is a definate possiblity of hitting others. Keep you eyes open. Hole 14 runs along some houses that seem more of an eyesore than anything. Total elevation change on this course is probably 10 feet, in other words, flat. Not a blade of grass on the course. Multiuse trail runs right through course so watch out for other users.

While playing this course I tried to imagine how it would play when it was made in the late 70's. The length of the holes would be in par for those big discs back then. Today this course isn't as much of a challenge due to changes in the discs and players ability. A 200' hole is merely a midrange toss and a putt today. Time has passed and this course shows. New baskets and teepads are needed. I just looked on the website for the local club and there is a renuvation project to replace all the baskets and improve the course in other ways. Great to see this happening. Not sure when this will become reality. Overall though I enjoyed my time here and think there is enough of a challenge here for you to work on your short game and would also be a good course for beginners as well.

Nice desert themed course, right next to the river in Tucson. Has a nice path that rides next to most holes. Average level of play.

Busy park, and not in the best areas of Tucson.

Would like to play again.

Course was pretty easy to navigate - I used a map the first time, but didn't need it on subsequent visits. Nice efficient flow to holes - I was able to play several rounds in just about an hour each. Benches and bag hooks at most tees. Two sets of tees for each hole - the shorter "A" tees (the locals called this the "rec" course) and longer "B" tees. I stayed a week in Tucson and played this course several times. It looks like tall fences have now been erected along the North side to keep discs from flying into neighboring yards. Nice shaded picnic areas. Porta-potties near the large parking lot and about halfway up the main leg up the course. Not as windy as some other area courses. Good mix of right, left, and straight-ahead approaches. Great course for beginning players - I took my in-laws and they were able to pick up the game nicely. Relatively open terrain means not many opportunities to lose discs. Practice basket near the parking lot.

Somewhat dusty. I didn't see drinking fountains, so bringing water is a good idea. Terrain is mostly flat, and native mesquite and palo verde trees are pretty much the only obstacles. Otagonal tees were a bit short for me, but welcome nonetheless. The longer "B" tees were sometimes hard to find without a map. It seems like they were added later for longer-driving players; only a few of the "B" tees add a technical challenge in addition to extra length (10-40 yards extra, typically). Course might be considered too easy for a seasoned player. I was able to throw par games on the "A" course and 3-4 over rounds from the "B" pads (I suppose that can be a pro or con, depending on how you look at it - a good score is a nice confidence booster). It looks like the tees were re-numbered at some point, so the numbers on the posts aren't always right - the numbers painted on the pads themselves are correct, however.

Even though I wrote a lot in the "cons" section, I really like this course. I play DG almost every day for the exercise, and this course is perfect for that: easy to navigate, efficient layout, choice of pads to fit your skill level, good parking. This is my new "regular" course now when I'm visiting family in Tucson. Make sure to print out a map with directions - the park sign is small and easy to miss the first time you visit.