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Shawano DGC reviews
10
0
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
20 years
1008 played
579 reviews
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 2, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
Shawano DGC is a mostly wooded nine just on the outskirts on the H.S. property. The first and last holes let you open it up a little a breath a bit. The middle seven are claustrophobically tight woods holes. So a little bit of a mix.
The baskets are nice looking newish Innova Discatchers. These are all in great shape and get the job done. These are about the best baskets for spotting in the woods. That's important here. The woods are thick from hole 2 thru hole 8. One basket and placement per hole.
The DiscGolfPark tee signs are nice. Highly visible, good info, seem durable and most importantly help locating the next pad. The basic info is all present and presented in a clean way. Hole #, par, distance, any OB present and next tee cues in spots. I like these.
Good mix of distances for a nine hole course. The first and last holes are more open and longer, not par 5's or anything, but a good contrast to the more restrictive interior of the course.
The flow of the course is very easy to follow once you find the first hole. Seamless really. No map is needed for actually navigating the course. Finding the first hole? well that's a different thing.
Nice concrete tees. All of ample size and got the job done. Checked all the boxes. I'm not a huge fan of the tee signs being attached to them, even if it's on the back side of the pad. These were nice though.
The course is free to play and permanent. Not sure how the rules apply. It's technically in Don Martzke Park. It seems like it's on school property though.
The baskets are nice looking newish Innova Discatchers. These are all in great shape and get the job done. These are about the best baskets for spotting in the woods. That's important here. The woods are thick from hole 2 thru hole 8. One basket and placement per hole.
The DiscGolfPark tee signs are nice. Highly visible, good info, seem durable and most importantly help locating the next pad. The basic info is all present and presented in a clean way. Hole #, par, distance, any OB present and next tee cues in spots. I like these.
Good mix of distances for a nine hole course. The first and last holes are more open and longer, not par 5's or anything, but a good contrast to the more restrictive interior of the course.
The flow of the course is very easy to follow once you find the first hole. Seamless really. No map is needed for actually navigating the course. Finding the first hole? well that's a different thing.
Nice concrete tees. All of ample size and got the job done. Checked all the boxes. I'm not a huge fan of the tee signs being attached to them, even if it's on the back side of the pad. These were nice though.
The course is free to play and permanent. Not sure how the rules apply. It's technically in Don Martzke Park. It seems like it's on school property though.
Cons:
The lines are borderline ridiculous here on many holes. Poke and hope isn't quite this. Throw and pray is more apt. There's a couple holes that don't offer a realistic line from tee to pin. Sure you can get greasy and sneak something thru for a putt. Not repeatable lines if that makes sense. Taking a small tree out here or there would do wonders here. Especially if this is geared towards high school kids.
The tee signs are great. All the info you could possibly need. The maps are comical though. Hole 2 showed a left and right route with danger in the middle. It also showed it dead straight. The only problem was it was a dogleg right. With no right "route". And the left route was more luck than skill.
The first and last holes are filler. They add length and are open but they're there to get you into the woods. These are almost needed due to the long walk from the parking lot. But that doesn't NOT make them filler holes.
Hole 8 is a shorty. No realistically reapeatable line. Probaly the most frustrating hole here since you can see the basket.
Hole 7 is a tight tunnel shot with OB left which I found. I expected this. Didn't realize there's a barb wire fence denoting that OB. Probably need a tetanus shot now too. Yay.
The tee signs are great. All the info you could possibly need. The maps are comical though. Hole 2 showed a left and right route with danger in the middle. It also showed it dead straight. The only problem was it was a dogleg right. With no right "route". And the left route was more luck than skill.
The first and last holes are filler. They add length and are open but they're there to get you into the woods. These are almost needed due to the long walk from the parking lot. But that doesn't NOT make them filler holes.
Hole 8 is a shorty. No realistically reapeatable line. Probaly the most frustrating hole here since you can see the basket.
Hole 7 is a tight tunnel shot with OB left which I found. I expected this. Didn't realize there's a barb wire fence denoting that OB. Probably need a tetanus shot now too. Yay.
Other Thoughts:
This one was a little disappointing. The pics look good and it's wooded which is right up my wheelhouse. At some point there's "you need to take a couple trees out" wooded. This is that. I figured I'd love this course. I've played with the other person to review this. He probably hated it because he's a lefty I was thinking. Not so. As is, You'll struggle regardless of what side of your body your arms are attached to.
Not a must play. Minutes off of Hwy 29. I'll play it again. The pics make it look more promising than it is. Pretty disappointing.
Not a must play. Minutes off of Hwy 29. I'll play it again. The pics make it look more promising than it is. Pretty disappointing.
11
1
Technical Pitch and Putt 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Mar 25, 2021
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
1) The Shawano Disc Golf Course plays through a mostly flat, very dense, mixed forest. Some holes are dominated by hardwoods of various species, some by softwoods (almost all white pine iirc), and there are varying tree ages throughout the forest. It is also in a surprisingly healthy condition, especially compared to most disc golf courses. I definitely expected this to be another overgrown nightmare but was pleasantly surprised when I got into the woods. What little elevation that's there is used well on a couple holes. These things all combine to make every hole feel unique, even when they demand similar shots from you.
2) The hole design here is top notch. For being a mostly pitch and putt course there is a great mix of hole shapes and technicality. Two holes play mostly open (one into the woods and one from a tunnel out into the open) six holes are very dense, and one hole is right in the middle. Even with the very thick woods, except for the couple that still have trees flagged to be removed, the gaps remain very fair. When the rest of the marked trees are cleared out the holes that are unfairly tight look like they will be much better so I'm not considering that as a con for this review. If those trees end up not being removed and the holes remain unfairly tight, I will update my review next time I am in the area and stop at the course.
3) Tee pads are plenty large, flat, and concrete. No complaints with them. Baskets are great, brand new Discatchers and catch as you would expect. There is also a practice basket located near tee 1.
4) The course is located in a multi-use sports park right next to the high school that has way too much parking so you'll never struggle to find a place to park. The park also has bathrooms on site in the pavilion at the center of the park, but I did not check or know if they are open all the time or only at certain times.
5) The course is off in its own area of the park, with the exception of (only sorta) holes 1 and 9. There shouldn't be very much, if any, interaction with other park users unless you really get off course.
2) The hole design here is top notch. For being a mostly pitch and putt course there is a great mix of hole shapes and technicality. Two holes play mostly open (one into the woods and one from a tunnel out into the open) six holes are very dense, and one hole is right in the middle. Even with the very thick woods, except for the couple that still have trees flagged to be removed, the gaps remain very fair. When the rest of the marked trees are cleared out the holes that are unfairly tight look like they will be much better so I'm not considering that as a con for this review. If those trees end up not being removed and the holes remain unfairly tight, I will update my review next time I am in the area and stop at the course.
3) Tee pads are plenty large, flat, and concrete. No complaints with them. Baskets are great, brand new Discatchers and catch as you would expect. There is also a practice basket located near tee 1.
4) The course is located in a multi-use sports park right next to the high school that has way too much parking so you'll never struggle to find a place to park. The park also has bathrooms on site in the pavilion at the center of the park, but I did not check or know if they are open all the time or only at certain times.
5) The course is off in its own area of the park, with the exception of (only sorta) holes 1 and 9. There shouldn't be very much, if any, interaction with other park users unless you really get off course.
Cons:
1) The walk from the parking lot is pretty far as tee 1 is on the far side of the park from the parking lot. It's not terribly far, but if you don't know where you are going you may have trouble finding it. Hole 9 also ends quite far from the parking lot and on the opposite side of the park from hole 1 so there is a couple minute walk if you want to do multiple loops of 9.
2) While the course map near tee 1 and the tee signs are extremely high quality and detailed, they are absurdly inaccurate. Distances and hole shapes are just flat out wrong on many holes. The distance on the sign for hole 1 is almost 40 feet off, and the hole shapes on signs 2, 4, and 8 are hilariously wrong. I honestly cannot understand how the signs are so inaccurate unless they ordered the signs before finalizing the design or otherwise changed the design after getting the signs and didn't bother getting them updated. The tee signs are also placed ON the tee pads. Thankfully they are in the back corner and don't really hinder your runup at all but they still shouldn't be where they are.
3) The course holds lots of water/has drainage issues. The skid trails they used for pulling out the trees they removed for fairway clearing are still rutted out, extremely soft, and puddle water very easily. There is also a low area (not a defined creek or waterway) that runs through the middle of the course that water drains out of the forest through. The water is mostly an issue between around hole 2, 5 and 6s tee pad and across the middle of hole 9s fairway. This might just be a spring issue, since I played in late March, but it seems like it's more than that as the course is significantly more wet/muddy than other courses in the area.
4) There is a barbed wire fence that I assume is to designate the park boundary on the left of hole 3. It's partially knocked down and hard to see so definitely be careful if you find yourself over there. I almost unknowingly pranced right into/tripped over it after getting a tree kick about 40ft left of the pin.
2) While the course map near tee 1 and the tee signs are extremely high quality and detailed, they are absurdly inaccurate. Distances and hole shapes are just flat out wrong on many holes. The distance on the sign for hole 1 is almost 40 feet off, and the hole shapes on signs 2, 4, and 8 are hilariously wrong. I honestly cannot understand how the signs are so inaccurate unless they ordered the signs before finalizing the design or otherwise changed the design after getting the signs and didn't bother getting them updated. The tee signs are also placed ON the tee pads. Thankfully they are in the back corner and don't really hinder your runup at all but they still shouldn't be where they are.
3) The course holds lots of water/has drainage issues. The skid trails they used for pulling out the trees they removed for fairway clearing are still rutted out, extremely soft, and puddle water very easily. There is also a low area (not a defined creek or waterway) that runs through the middle of the course that water drains out of the forest through. The water is mostly an issue between around hole 2, 5 and 6s tee pad and across the middle of hole 9s fairway. This might just be a spring issue, since I played in late March, but it seems like it's more than that as the course is significantly more wet/muddy than other courses in the area.
4) There is a barbed wire fence that I assume is to designate the park boundary on the left of hole 3. It's partially knocked down and hard to see so definitely be careful if you find yourself over there. I almost unknowingly pranced right into/tripped over it after getting a tree kick about 40ft left of the pin.
Other Thoughts:
Overall, the Shawano Disc Golf Course is a pretty good pitch and putt 9-holer. With tee signs that actually accurate and the drainage issues dealt with this course is definitely worthy of a bump up to a 2.0. The course is in an underserved area of the state, being the only permanent course in Shawano County, and I think it serves as a great showcase for the sport. It's technical and wooded (but not too crazy), the rough is not super overgrown like many courses, and there is a good mix of hole shapes that can teach new players the basics of all the different shot shapes while remaining short enough that it won't be discouragingly difficult.
If you are in town I definitely recommend stopping for a quick round, but I wouldn't recommend traveling more than a half hour or so unless you really enjoy short and technical pitch and putt courses or this is your nearest course.
If you are in town I definitely recommend stopping for a quick round, but I wouldn't recommend traveling more than a half hour or so unless you really enjoy short and technical pitch and putt courses or this is your nearest course.
