*Tons of varied shots
*Incredibly well maintained
*Great signage
*Awesome course to learn on
*Has a pro-shop and picnic area
*I've heard it's cool to be a member but I'm too much of a beginner to try that yet.

*It's just way too crowded. I love moving through a disc golf course without having to wait too much. That basically means I have to get to Shady right around 1st light. With that being said, if you do that, you can easily get a bunch more than 18 holes in.

There's a reason why it's crowded. It's truly an awesome course.

There is plenty of parking but still can fill up due to this being a busy course. Many people come from all over to play this one as I did and now alway come back. There is a Pro Shop on site with plenty of selection. There is access to bathrooms. Bring plenty of water because I don't remember there being any there. All shots are moderately placed with a few open in the beginning the tightening up in the middle holes bear the creek and openin back up on the back half. This park is big but it is well labeled and the next tee is pretty close to the last pin. I recomend not Plato g your favorite disc in the creek section, many disc have gone missing there.

I had a Ontario Black V Chain Putter stolen from my bag while in the pro shop. Never had a disc stollen anywhere else and know it was stollen because I notice immediately and I don't toss that disc ever. This could happen anywhere really but it did happen to me, don't get to caught up not looking at your bag. This course can get hot and there is not a lot of shade on the first 3 holes so play early and get into the trees. They play some tournaments here so you you are not part of it you may not get to play in.

• Easy to find
• Nice baskets with the occasional alternate tee
• Three warm-up baskets with a really cool area to practice
• Restrooms (no soap though)
• Good signage and fairly easy to navigate
• Good tee boxes
• Very nice surroundings
• Pro Shop with snacks

• Crowds form quick
• A little criss-crossy in spots
• Some of the trees are getting pretty beat-up from errant shots off the tee. Some protective netting would appear to be in order.

Tips
• If you're going to use a map use the online one versus the big one at the course
• Go early...on a weekday

Random Thoughts:
This is one of those of those courses that, if you follow the game, you hear and see a lot about before you go visit for yourself. That, in my case, certainly raised expectations a notch but if anything tempered them, it was all this chatter about crowds and miscreants. Well, the crowd eventually showed, but I'm happy to report, there were no miscreants and the course lived up to the hype.

Addressing the crowd thing first, we showed up on a Monday at 10:00AM and there was only 1 person in front of us but by the time we finished, easily half the holes had people on them. Again, Monday, work day, school in session, and the place is filling up just before noon. That is the dealio on that.

As for the course, this is a great design. The first two holes are fairly straight with just a tree or two and a slope to deal with, but they allow you to get warmed up without penalizing too harshly the slightly errant drive. Then the fun begins, because the rest of this course is a tactician's delight. While most of the distances aren't particularly long, every hole from then on demands a fairly precise shot shape and shot length. The prior demand is a thing of beauty, in that, you'd swear some of these trees were planted just for the course and that this couldn't possibly be laid out this nicely but it's really a credit to the course designers for plotting out the holes intelligently, and then, I'm sure, a lot of hard work clearing the fairways. The result of which is a first chunk of holes that are either straight or right to left but all demand you ride the fairway rails all the way down to the basket. What's funny is right around hole 9 my wife (who's a lefty) made the comment that the course was very right hand friendly, and then right on cue, she was gifted several holes that were left to right. It again points to the thought that was put into the course and ensuring you have a complete mix of holes to play with. But before I conclude on the course demands, I want to circle back to my comment on 'shot length'. I mention this because there is OB all over this course and most of it is right behind or near the basket. It's not particularly large OB but it's well placed and it demands you think about it before firing and forgetting. What makes it even a tick trickier is most of the ground here is very hard, compacted dirt. It's darn near concrete in texture, which means Skippy McDisk is in full effect. In other words, be a little short on your landing. Even the beautiful 'top of the world' shot on #12 where you step up and go 'Yea! Let's bomb one!!'. Beware. There's OB right behind the basket. Go Patriot missile instead. Having said that, I loved the challenge of it and only gifted 1 shot to the OB gods, thanks to a crappy putt off a tree of all things. With that said, I still found the entire course to be completely fair and manageable.

Stepping back to the other course amenities, we really enjoyed what we saw here. This is a pretty park with interesting trees that was quite pleasant to walk through. There's even a horse facility next door gifting us some beautiful horses strolling around while we played. It has just enough elevation change with wandering stream beds throughout. You can also see a lot of work went into it with numerous navigation signs, benches, trash cans, bridges, and stepping stones for the rainy days (how did you get those things in there?). I also really liked that where some trees had fallen, they were just left in place. It adds just a bit more challenge and interest to the eye. In short, a lot of love went and goes into this course. It shows, and we appreciate it.

Bottom Line:
We thoroughly enjoyed this course, both playing it, and just walking through it. It has a very fun mix of mid-sized precision shots that is challenging but fair to the scorecard. It is also a lovely walk in the woods. Believe the hype and get out there. Just go early. Bravo course crew!

Great variety in hole design
Multiple pin positions keep the course fresh and fun no matter where they are positioned
Tee boxes are nice and big
Nice location
Great pro shop on site

Can be quite busy during peak hours
Can encounter the occasional wanna-be pro jerk from time to time

I love this course. I like the layout, the multiple placements, the practice areas are nice, there is great variety, etc. It can get quite busy, so there are times where you may have to wait on larger groups. The Pro Shop is great. Better than the shop at Rocklin, IMO.

First Impressions: There sure were a lot of people at Shady Oaks on a Tuesday (01/12/16) at 9:30am but it wasn't too busy so there was a nice flow to my round. The locals were friendly and helpful in getting me going in the right direction.

Amenities: There was a bathroom with running water. The Final 9 Sports disc golf shop on site was outstanding.

Course design/difficulty/obstacles/out-of-bounds: Great design with plenty of challenging dogleg holes - lots of trees to navigate around - testing every kind of shot you could imagine. There was a creek that ran through the course. They had multiple basket locations.

Course condition: Excellent.

Navigability/ signage/maps: Easy to follow with DGCR map. The signage was excellent. The signs included a washer indicating the basket position. They were accurate the day I was there.

Local DG involvement: I could tell Shady Oaks disc golfers really care about their course. It was evident that hundreds of volunteer hours went into this course.
There are plenty of leagues to get involved with their local disc golf community.

Tee pads/benches/shelters/picnic tables: I was impressed with the amount of benches that were constructed at each of the holes. I've never seen anything quite like it. The cement tee-pads were decent. There were plenty of picnic tables in the huge shelter area by the Pro shop. There was a putting practice area with multiple baskets.

I heard this course could get very busy so choosing when you play it could be key.

I highly recommend this course.

Remember the Disc Golfer's Code:

1) Play Smart - Never throw into a blind area or when players, spectators, pedestrians, or other facility users are within range. Use a spotter.

2) Respect the Course - Observe all posted rules. No littering, graffiti, or abuse of equipment or flora.

3) Represent the Sport - Be positive and responsible. Teach others.

Lots of trees making it a technical course. Several dog leg holes. Easy to get to. Hole 12 ends right by the parking lot and picnic tables if you want to stop or pause there.

Quite a bit of poison oak.

This is my standard go to course.

Has all a good course should. Benches. Trash cans. Restrooms - with running water. Awesome pro shop. Great tees. Incredible signage. Nice parking - easy to get to. Well designed/balanced layout. What doesn't this course have?

Bomber holes. (lack of)
Crowds. Has to be almost always.
Wind exposure
Old baskets
Did I say crowds?

This is a great course. The pro shop is well stocked and staff know their stuff. Prices are good and a discount was offered for PDGA membership - without asking. No maps available - but they're not needed. I'd like one for posterity - this was a course where no two shots were the same and each was memorable in it's own way. The tee pads are well placed and a good shape/size. The signage includes a washer on each tee pad indicating the basket position with accurate position/footage indicated on the very well illustrated tee signs. Benches were plentiful and needed on each of the tee pads. Lots of time/money/thought has gone into this course - and it shows. Multiple (3-5) pin placements on each hole ensure infinite re-playability and challenge for tournament set ups. There were no holes over 500' in the layout I played, maybe one or two pins allowed for this distance (maybe more - maybe none - I only played once) - but I can see this being tough in longest layout - the size of the park and layout of the holes easily allow. Wayward drives aren't brutally punished, but make for a tough save - which is a challenge in an open (for the most part) park setting like this.

This park challenges my rating evaluation system - it has it all. The only things keeping it from rating higher - outside of better baskets, which really aren't that big of a gripe - are really out of what this park can control

#1 Crowds.
#2 Bomber 500'+ holes - modern NT/gold level course size/design.

Would recommend and look forward to playing again.

The design of this course is really something amazing. There are no holes that look the same and the land used is used in such an incredible way that it is really something special. The tee pads are nice and big and the baskets are consistent. The tee signs look nice and have accurate information. Final 9 sports is right there on location offering discs and other accessories. There are a lot of locals that clearly love this course and keep improving the course over time as they can. The flow of the course is good. There is a lot of fun and interesting shots on this course. As far as scoring separation from a good shot and a bad shot, this is one of the best courses I have seen. There is a very nice picnic area and practice area near Final 9 sports and teh first tee. There is a good amount of signage in order to find the next tees. There are several places on this course that simply look beautiful, as in the course itself looks beautiful. There are lots fo nice bridges and stepping stones to get over water features or other areas that become muddy. There are multiple basekt locations and a few alternate tees.

The baskets are older and could use an upgrade to the newer, better catching baskets. There are lots of places to potentially find poison oak. There are several holes that are very not begginner friendly. In talking with locals, I learned that the crowds on this course can be very bad, especially on the weekends. This along with the fact that several holes are on top of each other or have blind elements, there can be some serious issues. There is also tennis courts near Final 9 and the first tee with very run down bathrooms right there, only adding to the frustrations with crowds. The parking lot is not big enough to handle what I imagine to be the crowds that will be at this course. There are a couple of longer ish walks between holes that would be confusing without signage. There are some drainage ditches that provide some awesome water features when there is water in them, but I never saw water in them. There are some walking paths to go through the course, which may have people walking them without really know what is going on with the disc golf course.

The design of this course is really good.and props goes to the locals that make this course home. The experience is really enjoyable and I would highly reccomend playing this course. Playing this course consistently will make you a better player. I feel like this course is only going to get better as improvements are continually made. The pyramid hole is something I was told was a new addition to the course and I thought was very well done and made the course that much more interesting. Even after a few rounds on this course, there are still holes that I am replaying in my head. There has to be a way to figure out how to play this course, but it is not necessarily a course that one can just figure out in one round, which will always keep things interesting. I was fortunate enough to play this course as part of the 2015 St. Patty's Classic tournament. I would highly reccomend playing in tournaments run by the same people on this course or other courses as they did a wonderful job. Really there are not enough good things to say about the people associated with this course in one way or another.

Very few hikers, bikers, etc to get in your throwing area. Lots of obstacles and water hazards. Not a beginner course, for sure.

Very popular course, so wait time can be a pain. The placement nails (for hole placement guide) are often wrong, so you throw blindly to a few holes.

The pro-shop is awesome. Very friendly staff and average pricing on their equipment.

Technical
Good variation (doglegs L+R, distance, etc)
Pro shop on site
Good signage
Large cement teepads
Elevation changes

Crowds
Summer heat

Great course. The local club provides a good atmosphere. The course is well-maintained with bridges that span the creek and stepping stones in potentially muddy areas. Benches at every hole.

Great selection of shots. Since I am new to the game (only about a year playing) I decided to play this course for the 1st time. I was intimidated going in, but that went away after a few holes. Love the layout: Long, short, dogleg left, dogleg right...etc. Lots of trees, probably why it has the name of Shady Oaks. Great scenery and they have a Final 9 to get supplies before you play or after the 9th.

SO MANY PEOPLE!! If you time it right on the weekend, you can get there before the regulars get up and out of bed. Small parking lot and really hard if there are lots of people to find a place to park. Water hazard can be a bit of a pain, but there would have to be rain in the area for that to happen.

When taking a large group of people to play here; more than 5 or 6, please be nice and let those that have smaller groups play through or at least hang back and let them go. I was behind a group of people that were there to talk, drink and not play really. It was kind of a pain, but only lasted until hole #3.

To start there's a pro shop on site with almost every disc imaginable as well as refreshments. There's a practice basket set up for around the wirld and 2 more in a horseshoe pit set up so you can throw back and forth. The course is 18 great holes through an oak grove right in the middle of town but once your on the 3rd hole you forget your not in the woods somewhere. There's a cool creek that snakes through many of the holes. The shots are long short medium left right straight and even some up and down. Some risk/reward and lots of fun. Great locals make this a cool place to visit. Restrooms on site.

Lots of people play here and if you go in the afternoon or on weekends you should expect a wait. Undercover cops looking for drugs and alcahol. When the creeks full there's risk of loosing discs.

I lived in the area for a long time and this was my favorite course. I've moved away and played 70 other courses and guess what....still my favorite. Stop here if your in norcal and patronize the shop. Jims the gyt who runs it and hes a grump but even grumps gotta eat.

Great variety of terrain, elevation, baskets, long and short holes. Although there are no big arm-wrenching par 4's or 5's, there are a few that really tested my arm. Technical holes aplenty. The creek clearly adds a whole new dimension of difficulty when it is running.

As many others have said, this place is crowded. I spent at least 5 minutes waiting on most of the tees, and my round lasted 2 1/2 hours. I would also like to see some alternate tee pads, but with as many as 4 basket locations I doubt regulars get bored often. Poison oak on a couple of holes on the back 9.

I played this course while visiting Sacramento for a wedding from Seattle. My cousin and I certainly felt some animosity from the locals (especially in the pro shop) which was likely due to the fact I was rocking my Seahawks hat, lol. However, we ended up playing with two other twosomes who were very friendly and great course guides, pointing out holes where you need a spotter on your tee shots #3 comes to mind). Big thanks to Taz and Chili for showing us around, sharing the kind, and most of all pointing out the poison oak (which I was seconds away from trampling into)! Shady Oaks is one of the coolest courses I've played.

This was the course I learned to play on. After playing several other course I still put this at the top of my list.
The course offers a variety of challenges from wooded areas to a few wide open holes.
During the summer the fairways tend to be really dry so big skips and rollers are common. That could fall in the cons depending on your playing style.
The only course I have been to with a pro shop located on site.
They also have multiple pin placements which they change fairly frequently so your always getting a new challenge

The course is very popular so get there early to avoid crowds.
They are some who come who dont respect the rules, environment, etiquette, etc, and odds are on a busy day you will run into them.
When the water is running(or standing) there are a few places you may find yourself in a deep dirty water hazard and discs can be hard to find.

Still one of my favorite places to play. They have been cracking down more and more over the years on drinking/smoking, so if you chose to do so, try to avoid the areas where houses and other park patrons are around. There is no need to carry a 30 pack with you and be smoking next to a family having a day out at the park. I have seen this happen many times and that is a big reason why they are getting upset. Compared to other courses i would say this is the least lax course in that sense, that's why i at least wanted to say a few words about it.
Overall, if your looking for a challenging course that is fun to play, I recommend checking it out

Great layout. Numerous Trees to keep you guessing. Very removed from urban environment.

A small creek runs right down the middle of many holes and you might be fishing.

Lots of right bends, so make sure you bring your anhyzer game.

A very challenging course that has a creek that runs through much of the layout (creating more challenge and thoughtful shot selection). A little elevation is thrown into the mix on a dusty track (in summer) and replace this dust with a mix of grass & tall grass in the winter. The multiple pin placements were pointed out by the locals and had me drooling for more.

Though it was a busy day and I reached a log jam on hole #5 (see cons), the group ahead of me offered to let me play with them which added much enjoyment to my round. It always having good company (and course guides!).

Fantastic amenities - Pro shop, Around the world putting course, 2 other practice baskets, and restrooms!

A very popular course - so be patient and expect to wait a bit at the tee pads. Though other reviewers claim that people won't let you play through, I did not have this issue. Hole #5 is a typical spot for a log jam - due to the difficulty level of 5 & 6, and intersecting fairways. Beyond that, the waits were not bad.

The creekbed was dry when I played, but I was told that when wet, it is very swampy and easy to lose a disc in the deep water. I don't like losing discs (does anyone?), but some of the fairways are just waiting to gobble your discs - even with a seemingly decent drive.

Get good on this course in the summer, and then you will have the confidence to challenge that creek in the winter. I'm telling you, my shots would have changed to a far more conservative game if that creek had been running. At the same time, I look at that as a positive - I like to have holes that require some finesse instead of just blasting every shot.

Holes 13-18 seemed very quiet compared with the rest of the course - I played this convenient loop a couple of times late in the day, instead of playing the crowded front 9.

As mentioned before, lots of challenging holes and plenty of variations. Pretty good bunch of folks that frequent the place. Used by many age groups and ethnic backgrounds.

Beware of walkers, joggers, horses, family's etc.
Drinking, cigs and 420 have cast a shadow, unfortunately. Citations are not unheard of and the tolerance level by the neighboring home owners is growing thinner. The course post warnings to violators at the 1st tee.

I love the diversity of this course. The dog legs and tricky basket placements keep you on your toes. The creek comes into play often and creates plenty of risk reward shots. I spent 15 minutes, knee high in the creek for 15 minutes, two weeks ago, and never found my Orc! Love that disc. Two day's later it was waiting for me in the pro-shop. Good karma to whoever you are =)

Lot's of variety, heavily wooded to wide open, left's, right's, and straight ahead holes.
- Creek flows past many of the holes, sometimes crossing the fairways multiple times in a single hole
- Huge amount of risk / reward shots
- Distances range from short and sweet to long and wooded
- Nice concrete teepads
- Good signage
- Great pro shop onsite with excelent selection including many rare discs that they get printed for tournys
- There is only a little elevation change on the course, but it definatly helps add to the experence
- Easy to find, right off of Hazel.
- Trash Cans around
- Benches on most holes sometimes 2
- Practice baskets next to the pro shop
- Easy to navigate
- Great use of land given

- Usualy crowded during peak hours, sometimes with large groups, some of which won't let smaller groups play through
- Creek is often brown and deep neer the basket and can be hard to find a disc in
- Road noise on the holes neer the back of the course
- A couple of holes are blind
- Can get muddy in the winter and dusty in the summer

-overall one of sacramento's bests course

Shady Oaks lives up to it's name as most of the round is played in the shade underneath the mighty oak trees. This is especially nice during the summer months when things really heat up. The pro shop on site is awesome, and has a huge selection of discs as well as food and drink. There are bathrooms next to the parking lot and 2 practice baskets are located just beyond the pro shop. Every hole has solid concrete tee pads as well as benches and trash cans. Multiple pin positions that get changed weekly ensure the course never gets boring. A washer system showing the current pin location is on all tee signs. Course layout is excellent, flows nicely, and should be fairly easy to navigate for 1st timers. Each hole is unique and different forcing you to throw many different types of shots. Considering the location there is a good use of elevation, and a creek that runs thru much of the course comes into play on more than a few holes depending on the time of year.

An insane amount of people play this course every day! If you come later in the day or on a weekend be prepared for what could be the longest round of your life. Also sometimes out here you do come across some pretty questionable people.

I learned to play disc golf here and while the course has changed over the years it has always remained challenging and fun. No two holes are the same and most offer a great risk/reward factor. Poor shots off the tee can be severely punished making par tough to get while there are still plenty of birdie ops to be had.

Long, beautiful holes
Great variety
18 entirely different holes
Pro shop right there

Not for beginners, almost lost a few discs
Not very well laid out
Crowded all day
Many course users are drug users, but nice enough...

I went by myself, not knowing what to expect. I managed to join a small group that knew the course, the only issue was that every 2 or 3 holes they would smoke, and not cigarettes... I would normally say this was a fluke, but I noticed the same behavior with several other groups on the course.