South Pointe Park reviews
13
0
A Fun Rec-9 That Provides Plenty Of Variety And Difficulty Levels
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 7, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
South Pointe Park is home to a recreational 9 that snakes around various paths and park amenities. This course's set up and equipment allow for a variety of layouts you can play, allowing for golfers to pick their own difficulty and length they want to play.
Location of South Pointe is in El Paso, which is served by I-39, along with Highways 251 and 24. With the food and gas options in town, this is a great option for course baggers looking for relatively quick rounds while driving along I-39. This course isn't particularly close to others but is close enough to Peoria and Bloomington to be considered as an option at the start or end of a trip to those areas.
Park Amenities are were impressive considering the town size. In addition to disc golf, this park provides 3 baseball/softball diamonds, a basketball court, tennis courts, and horseshoe pits. There's also a playground by the parking lot, a community pool, and a lake that folks enjoy fishing in. There are also plenty of walking paths
Course Equipment was beyond what I'd ever expect from a 9-hole course, and a real highlight of the round. Each hole has 2 tee signs, two concrete tees, and two baskets. The tee signs include hole numbers, distances from that particular tee, pars, and a overhead photo of the hole, including lines and arrows to each basket from the tee you are currently at. The baskets are chainstar pros that are in great shape, with two on each hole colored completely silver or purple. The tee pads were all in great shape and nice to throw from.
Course Design at South Pointe really makes the most out of the available land in this 40-acre park. While there's not really a reasonable amount of land for a full 18-hole course, what the folks in charge of this course have done is provide two tees and two baskets for each hole. This makes for four different ways to play each hole that are always available, providing variety and difficulty options to suit what you are looking for in your round.
Distances vary greatly on this course compared to most 9 holes I have played to date. Across all the options for length, you can play holes ranging from 168ft to 451ft. On any given hole though, the range of lengths from the different tee and pin options can easily vary by over 100ft, with some holes having a much larger spread. This is a nice touch that can provide a more comfortable round for those who don't have a lot of power behind their drives yet. I went for a long purple tee to purple pin round, and my intermediate, gloriously mediocre disc golfing self was able to have a good time with a combination of birdie options and even some holes that required a decently long approach after a decent drive.
Shot-Shaping favors RHBH shots more so than RHFH as a whole on this course, though there are plenty of holes that provide ample opportunity for you to throw whatever shot you prefer. Some holes will have more of the right turn to them, like the long tee of 1 will have more of a right turning shape to the long tee given the tree location in the fairway. That being said, many holes, like 4, 5, and 7, have left turning shots that will favor righties.
Difficulty as a whole favors newer and recreational players at South Pointe, with the long tees and pins providing more distance and some tougher lines for more skilled players. With all of the options this course has, most players will be able to find a combination that works best for them. There are some chances to get yourself in trouble, like the woods along some of the middle holes, but most obstacles are pretty easily avoided, including the lake that results in a short water carry on 2 and is a backdrop for the long pins on 3 and 9.
Upkeep on this course and in the park in general is absolutely top notch. The grass was mowed, and the course looked great. There are only a couple of parks in town and this the primary one with the most amenities, and it is certainly treated as such. Even on a wet day with a decent chance for rain, this park was packed during my round.
Location of South Pointe is in El Paso, which is served by I-39, along with Highways 251 and 24. With the food and gas options in town, this is a great option for course baggers looking for relatively quick rounds while driving along I-39. This course isn't particularly close to others but is close enough to Peoria and Bloomington to be considered as an option at the start or end of a trip to those areas.
Park Amenities are were impressive considering the town size. In addition to disc golf, this park provides 3 baseball/softball diamonds, a basketball court, tennis courts, and horseshoe pits. There's also a playground by the parking lot, a community pool, and a lake that folks enjoy fishing in. There are also plenty of walking paths
Course Equipment was beyond what I'd ever expect from a 9-hole course, and a real highlight of the round. Each hole has 2 tee signs, two concrete tees, and two baskets. The tee signs include hole numbers, distances from that particular tee, pars, and a overhead photo of the hole, including lines and arrows to each basket from the tee you are currently at. The baskets are chainstar pros that are in great shape, with two on each hole colored completely silver or purple. The tee pads were all in great shape and nice to throw from.
Course Design at South Pointe really makes the most out of the available land in this 40-acre park. While there's not really a reasonable amount of land for a full 18-hole course, what the folks in charge of this course have done is provide two tees and two baskets for each hole. This makes for four different ways to play each hole that are always available, providing variety and difficulty options to suit what you are looking for in your round.
Distances vary greatly on this course compared to most 9 holes I have played to date. Across all the options for length, you can play holes ranging from 168ft to 451ft. On any given hole though, the range of lengths from the different tee and pin options can easily vary by over 100ft, with some holes having a much larger spread. This is a nice touch that can provide a more comfortable round for those who don't have a lot of power behind their drives yet. I went for a long purple tee to purple pin round, and my intermediate, gloriously mediocre disc golfing self was able to have a good time with a combination of birdie options and even some holes that required a decently long approach after a decent drive.
Shot-Shaping favors RHBH shots more so than RHFH as a whole on this course, though there are plenty of holes that provide ample opportunity for you to throw whatever shot you prefer. Some holes will have more of the right turn to them, like the long tee of 1 will have more of a right turning shape to the long tee given the tree location in the fairway. That being said, many holes, like 4, 5, and 7, have left turning shots that will favor righties.
Difficulty as a whole favors newer and recreational players at South Pointe, with the long tees and pins providing more distance and some tougher lines for more skilled players. With all of the options this course has, most players will be able to find a combination that works best for them. There are some chances to get yourself in trouble, like the woods along some of the middle holes, but most obstacles are pretty easily avoided, including the lake that results in a short water carry on 2 and is a backdrop for the long pins on 3 and 9.
Upkeep on this course and in the park in general is absolutely top notch. The grass was mowed, and the course looked great. There are only a couple of parks in town and this the primary one with the most amenities, and it is certainly treated as such. Even on a wet day with a decent chance for rain, this park was packed during my round.
Cons:
Course Design is great overall. That being said, it feels pretty RHBH friendly, as I never felt the need to bust out a forehand. Perhaps some combinations throughout the course that I didn't throw specifically would feel different, but there isn't much incentive to throw a shot you favor on this course unless it's one of the clear backhand shots on the three holes I listed previously.
Difficulty favors new and intermediate players at South Pointe, meaning more advanced players might get bored at this course. If you're wanting a significant challenge, Northwood Black is 37 minutes to the west.
Interactions With Other Park Amenities certainly plays a factor throughout this course, primarily with the walking paths. Many of the holes play alongside or even over the paths in the park. I wouldn't necessarily say it is a safety issue, as line of sight at each tee box allows you to see when people are on a path where you're throwing, and you can wait for them to pass. With that said, it is still not an idea scenario, and the course would be even better if it didn't interact so closely to other park uses. I opted to play to the short pin on hole 9 since there were a few families fishing near the long pin, for instance.
Upkeep was great most of the time, but a couple of the holes could use a little more attention. The biggest example was hole 5, with the long basket having some shrubbery/cabbage growing right up to the basket. With most of the course looking as great as it is, I think these rare examples at this course stand out more.
Difficulty favors new and intermediate players at South Pointe, meaning more advanced players might get bored at this course. If you're wanting a significant challenge, Northwood Black is 37 minutes to the west.
Interactions With Other Park Amenities certainly plays a factor throughout this course, primarily with the walking paths. Many of the holes play alongside or even over the paths in the park. I wouldn't necessarily say it is a safety issue, as line of sight at each tee box allows you to see when people are on a path where you're throwing, and you can wait for them to pass. With that said, it is still not an idea scenario, and the course would be even better if it didn't interact so closely to other park uses. I opted to play to the short pin on hole 9 since there were a few families fishing near the long pin, for instance.
Upkeep was great most of the time, but a couple of the holes could use a little more attention. The biggest example was hole 5, with the long basket having some shrubbery/cabbage growing right up to the basket. With most of the course looking as great as it is, I think these rare examples at this course stand out more.
Other Thoughts:
I didn't pay too much attention to the picture of the tee signs that are posted on this website, so when I was driving up to this course, my expectations were certainly not high given it is a 9-hole in a rural town. That being said, when I walked to the silver tee at hole 1 thinking they actually put two holes right on top of each other, I was pleasantly surprised to see the options that I had for my round. Disc golf can easily be an afterthought in a busy park with the amount of space this one has, and that can certainly go double for a small 9-hole. South Pointe exceeded my expectations by a large margin, and made for a really fun round of disc golf.
The number of path interactions and instances of close proximity to other park uses are really the only thing keeping me from rating this course higher, but I would completely understand if other reviewers opted for a as much as a full point above my rating. This is a nice little gem along I-39 that will provide a fun round for most players. If you're driving by and want a fun, relative short round of disc golf, South Pointe won't disappoint you.
The number of path interactions and instances of close proximity to other park uses are really the only thing keeping me from rating this course higher, but I would completely understand if other reviewers opted for a as much as a full point above my rating. This is a nice little gem along I-39 that will provide a fun round for most players. If you're driving by and want a fun, relative short round of disc golf, South Pointe won't disappoint you.
