***This is a review for the Finesse 18***

Spring Valley DGC is one of Houston's premier courses situated on the outskirts of a beautiful piece of property which it shares with a 9-hole ball golf course. It is tight and technical with each hole having its (more than) fair share of obstacles making an even score very, very respectable. Hole distances average 300 but range from 200' to 375'. Spring Valley will challenge every player from, the noob to the seasoned pro. There are birdie holes and bogey holes. Water hazards and OB. Lots of trees and tons of (manageable) underbrush. Overall, it's a great disc golf experience but you better devote the better part of 2 hours to play it, not including time spent looking for errant discs.

There are concrete tee boxes on every hole along with benches/chairs on 9 of 18 holes and many trash cans for all your empties. All baskets are in good condition, most having a flag or orange tape to help first timers spot it. Also, there are cardboard signs at each tee, most of which are nailed to a nearby tree marking the distance and identifying the hole. There's almost always a neighboring nail at each tee box that you can hang your bag on.

There is a pro shop that has a HUGE selection from multiple manufactures including discs, baskets, towels, minis, etc.. You can even grab a candy bar/bag of chips/Gatorade and use the bathroom before you head out. They also have maps, scorecards and with distances, and pencils available for free.

This course gets regular TLC as there is a mini held there every Sunday by the Houston Flying Disc Society, with a portion of each entry going towards a course maintenance fund.

Overall, the course offers a lot of different hole layouts. A good score requires consideration and execution on every shot.

The biggest con for me is the long walk to the first tee box which basically means walking the cart path to the second ball golf tee box. Negotiating between ball golfers (as your as basically walking on their first hole) can be a pain because getting hit with a golf ball is no joke. However, if there aren't any ball golfers then think of it as a "pro" because it basically becomes a driving range that you can warm up on or try out the new disc you just bought.

Also, its about the same walk to back to the pro shop from 18. However, instead of walking it in try playing in 7, 8, and 9 of the Power 9. The tee box for P7 is 40 ft from 18's cage. If you do this expect to add 20-30 min to your round depending on how busy the course is.

Another common gripe with the course is the probability of losing disks. As far as I'm concerned losing discs is just a part of playing DG, esp at a high caliber, challenging course. Buy discs from the pro shop - Support the course!

Although the overall course design was well thought out, on holes, 1,5, and 15 you are potentially in the line of fire of an errant golf shot, so heads up! Also, bring old shoes, as a few holes (7,15) stay muddy from fall to spring and expect soft conditions if it has rained in the last couple of days.

It's a pay play for $3 plus tax (S3.41).

There is definitely an "out in the woods feeling" to this course that you don't, find at too many other courses in the area. Its unfortunate that many of Houston's great 18 hole courses are near major highways or interstates, but not here. Its quiet and peaceful as it is usually not very crowded esp. on weekdays. Even though it's a pay to play in my opinion, its well worth it and a minimal fee for a great DG experience. The course has a great website that can be found under the "Links/Files" tab of the course's homepage.

Occasionally water is released from an upstream lake which floods the creek that meanders through the course and/or adds to existing water hazards.

The owner of the property is very DG friendly and the employees are always welcoming and helpful. E.g. Recently, I went to play after they had let water down from upstream. Before I paid, I was offered the chance to take a cart down to the course and check the playing conditions.

There are not too many "wide open" holes on the finesse 18, if long bombs are what you're looking for you should check out the Power 9. Why not? Your green fees pay for access to the entire Total 27 (except on weekends when the Power 9 is closed to disc golfers)

Enjoy yourself, but don't lose focus because bogies lurk on almost every hole.

**Finesse 18**
This course is well-designed and offers a variety of obstacles, distances and other challenges. HOWEVER, this is NOT a beginner course, as the $3 fee should tell you. This course is a good example of good design but bad implementation.

The official course description sorely misrepresents the number of water traps throughout the entire course (and not just "around the perimeter"), ALL of which are stagnate breeding grounds for mosquitoes. I lost count of the number of trees I hit, partly because I am a beginner but mostly because there are so many that it is impossible not to hit them. Be warned, the course is not well kept and if you rogue a disc into the bushes or even slightly off the fairway, be prepared to crawl through thorny, muddy terrain to get it (wear pants, not shorts and proper shoes).

On the plus side, it was a great adventure and if I hadn't lost two discs to this course on my first time out I might actually go back sometime. If you are a seasoned pro this course will offer you a great challenge and if you're a beginner prepare to be frustrated. However, everyone makes mistakes and on this course that means you had better be willing to lose a disc.

**Power 9**
A much more preferable course for me.

The first hole is pretty intimidating as its the longest drive, weighing in at 956'. After that it gets quite a bit more manageable, averaging about 550' for the remaining 8. This course should easily be a Par 4 course so expect to shoot over par, unless you can drive 400 feet consistently.

Every hole is wide open considering how far each drive is so each drive is a chance to really wing it, but it still has plenty of trees to present a challenge - especially if a rogue disc ends up on the outskirts of the fairway. There is still a chance to loose a disc because of the retention ponds and creeks that take up a large margin of fairway error on holes 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9. (According to the course map 4 and 5 shouldn't have water traps, but this course holds a lot of water so expect extra water and plan accordingly)

Long shots, short wooded shots, water, 27 holes, practice baskets and even a pro shop with bathrooms and drinks. A great place to play if you want a total disc golf experience. Every kind of shot you can think of. No bad holes, no wasted opportunities to use the land to its fullest.

WATER. There are creeks and ponds, and ponds under construction. I like a tough course, but there may be too much of a good thing here. Nothing worse than losing discs, and this course could hurt you bad. An errant throw off a tree will could cost you a disc on a number of holes. If you have discs to donate this is your course.

Ball golfers are close by. Be careful. I hear those ball golf guys are BAD people. Beware. Some of the long holes may not be playable due to these foul creatures.

A great experience. Play this course if you are in the Houston area.

First things first, the course has its own Pro Shop with an excellent selection of discs. There are food and drinks available for purchase as well. There is a practice basket outside of the shop to warm up with some putts.

The course starts HUGE with P1, almost 1000' long with elevation, OB on the left, and water hazards on the right. All power holes are over 400', allowing for a lot of bomb drives. The power holes are not just wide open shots, but rather, distance shots that require accuracy if you want a 3.

The finesse holes are a course of their own. EVERY shot requires delicate accuracy for any attempt at a birdie. Finishing under par is very much possible, but it requires you to be at the best of your game, throwing each shot with a purpose. The course requires a plethora of shots and provides plenty of water and OB to make any round there very challenging.

The variety of holes make for equally as good alternate shots or "dirty holes" as designed by some of the locals. These dirty configurations add 9 more holes to the arsenal of 28.

Concrete tee pads and great DGA Mach baskets!

The entire course, power holes especially, are always well maintained. This course is never overgrown or looking shabby.

The order of holes are perect. P1 starts at the pro shop and P9 ends back at the pro shop. It is also very easy to jump from power to finesse and play a mixture of holes.

The course has weekly Sunday minis and seasonal Wednesday minis.

If you are only playing the 18 finesse holes, the walk from the club house to the first hole is a bit of a hike.

When it rains extremely hard, Spring Creek sometimes floods causing much of the finesse holes to flood.

Snakes, spiders, and mosquitos! Keep in mind, Spring Valley is deep in the woods and on a creek, making it very common to see big snakes and spiders out there. Mosquitos tend to be bad after a good rain.

It's $3.22 to play a round and 50% off on Mondays. It's well worth the cost though.

On weekends, power holes are closed to ball golfers. On weekdays, ball golfers have priority on power holes. With simple communication, it is easy to tee off in between a group of golfers on a hole.

This is probably the best course in the Houston area to really improve your game. The mix of power in finesse cover a almost every shot in the game.

Bring out your A game when you come to Spring Valley!

Everything. There was not one thing that I did not like about this course. This is by far my favorite course. There is nothing that I can say about the course itself that has not already been said.

The walk to the first tee and back from the last tee on finess 18 is long but I still did not even care because of how awesome the course was.

Incredible course. I cannot say this enough.

Located on and around a well kept secluded 9 hole ball golf course north of Houston in Spring, Texas. This course represents everything great about the disc golf scene on the north side of town. The first thing you will find is a fantastic pro shop decked out with any disc you could want from every major disc producer. A friendly helpful staff mans this fine shop and their love for the game is evident in everything they do. Make sure to pick up a map on your way out as this course has the widest variety of layouts and holes you will find in the Houston area. As you walk out you will find two practice baskets about 100 feet apart where you can practice all sorts of upshots and putts. I believe the baskets are Mach 3's, in great condition and do a decent job of catching discs. Each and every hole has a great concrete teepad and are marked by tee signs with distances and their alternate hole numbers (as mentioned in previous reviews this course has 3 different configurations, so pay close attention to where you are and what config your playing). The first tee you will find is Power 1 which sits atop a hill and is a 943 foot monster down and an actual ball golf fairway. It looks like a pretty simple shot down the hill for a first drive but beware this hole eats discs either by devouring them in the large pond to the left or the other pond to the right, your shot selection and execution better be spot on if you want to score well. This hole is a perfect microcosm for this course. Every hole represents the perfect balance of risk vs. reward and they challenge you to make the right decision or pay the consequences. There are many memorable holes on this course but for me the two that stand out the most are Finesse holes 4 and 18. I heard one Open player tell me hole 4 is the signature hole for this course and I could not agree more. It is over a well landscaped beautiful peace of land right next to Spring Creek. It requires a perfect sidearm or annyhyzer drive for birdie and is one of my all time favorite holes. 18 on the other hand is a great equalizer hole and getting a 3 is a triumph and something I have only done once, it is one of the most challenging holes Ive ever played. I can not overstate how well this course is kept and has only gotten better as time has gone by. This is a pro level course and the difficulty will test you in ways you wouldn't expect. If your dominating Bear Branch get out to Spring Valley it will humble you quickly.

There isn't a whole lot of bad I can mention when it comes to this course. Keep in mind before going that this is a pay to play course, but as they say you get what you pay for and this course is definitely worth every penny. I think the one thing I dislike the most about this course is the walk out to the course and the walk back from it. The distance you walk on this course is LONG and expect a good walk out to Finesse 1 and long walk back from Finesse 18. The course is along a creek and in is some dense woods. It has quite a few water hazards including ponds and sink holes and the rough can be very dense. Be prepared to do some digging or fishing for discs if you go off the beaten path.

I had been holding off reviewing this course for a while. The first time I played it, it ate my lunch and I think if I had reviewed it then I would have given it a much lower score. But as I have played it more, I have grown to appreciate it for being a challenging, well thought out, brilliant course. This place has so much variety and that's not even including the "dirty holes" that locals have come up with.When you head out there for the first time see if you cant get a local (or me) to show you these brutal alternates. Regardless of how you choose to attack this course you will be pleased with what you find. An exceptional pro level disc golf course and one of the best I've ever played.

This course is challenging, but it is challenging AND fun. The power holes are simply clever, and the finesse holes are genius. Every shot counts, because this course will eat anyone alive. Some shots look impossible at first. The pro shop is awesome, with just about every disc you need.

On the power holes, you have to keep an eye out for golf balls, because both share the green. getting from one finesse hole to another can be a little confusing at first. I would have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to think of any more cons.

Only a couple of holes into this course, and anyone can see that major planning went into the design. If anyone is wanting to prepare for a major tournament, this is the course to do so. There is a good amount of holes for every shot. The green fee is more than worth it. Favorite course!

I was only able to play the finesse 18 but that was all I could chew. The holes are great and give a challenge. The course goes throughout the woods and the layout is great. Makes you think about what disc you want to use.

Just watch the water and some of the holes aren't marked very well.

It is a great course, yeah you have to pay 3 bucks but it is worth it. If you want a change of pace and want to wonder round the woods for a while this is a great course for that.

With the power 9 and the finesse course there is something for all disc golfers here. A lot of shade and some great hole setups. Well maintained course with a GREAT pro shop.

Wear some bug spray. There are a few places where you have to back track on the finesse course, I am thinking of 13,14,15 area.

Well worth the $3. The proshop alone is worth checking this course out. Very friendly staff as well.

Clean, well maintained course. 28 holes played in different orders. Great, rubber tee boxes. Pro shop has a good selections and gives good advice.

Ball golfers! Confusing layout at times. I heard they did away with the golf carts and the beer! It's been awhile since I played it. That sucks! Poison Ivy, coral snakes, mosquito, can't get your disc out of the drink!

I used to love this course, I hope it hasn't changed too much.

There are a variety of holes on this course that can be challenging for any player. I prefer wooded courses over flat fields so this one's finesse course that is heavily wooded is pretty cool. There is an unusual collection of chairs/seats at almost every hole. The Pro Shop is fantastic! The course is mowed, trash cans and maintained. All in all a good course to play. The $3 is worth it.

The power course is the original course they offered, to me it's not so much fun as you play alongside ball golfers and the distance is a little ridiculous. The path from #6 to #7 on the finesse course is confusing, we got lost for a good 5 minutes following path after path. There were a lot of stagnant pools of water all around brimming with mosquito larvae. I noticed a ton of poison ivy on almost every hole.

I miss the golf carts and the beer on tap that used to be there years ago. The course could use a little more direction on some of the paths.

This course has a variety of challenging tee off points. The amount of trees around the course made up for the short distances for many holes. Very quiet during the weekdays, and a very friendly and helpful staff. The man I talked to said its packed on the weekends. So I would suggest going early or on the weekdays.

It is necessary to understand where you are going. The landing pads are phonomenal and the tee boxes are all labled. However, a compass (or taking your time to study the landscape before you go) could seriously help.

Once you get through the course once, you'll certainly want to come back and spend a cheap three bucks on a clean quiet course.

The first 18 are very challenging and require some skill. There are several holes that the risk vs. reward factor is high.

The pro shop is the best shop I have ever been in. It had a huge amount of discs and the guy working the front was very helpful.

I honestly didnt feel that the course was good enough to be charging the 3 dollar admissions fee. Especially since there are great courses 10 minutes away for free.

To date I have only played the "Finesse 18" layout so my comments are mainly targeted at that portion of the course.

The concrete tee pads are very nice. The on-site pro shop is fantastic; offering a huge selection of discs, as well as restrooms and refreshments. There are a couple nets set up by the practice area to be used like batting cages to warm-up your drives. Distances posted on tee signs are pretty accurate.

The Finesse 18 layout is heavily wooded and most of the holes are fair. They require precise, well controlled drives, but do not offer a lot of approaches to the basket. Big arms will be easily frustrated by the lack of opportunities to air-it-out on the Finesse 18. Most of the tee shots are straight drives with a few hyzers and anhyzers mixed in. This layout is all about not hitting any trees.

The Finesse 18 layout is almost completely shaded so in the hot Houston summer it's a welcome break from the sun.

The "Power 9" holes are closed on the weekend due to priority given to ball golfers. It's a long walk from the clubhouse to the first F1 tee. It's a long walk from the last F18 basket back to the clubhouse. Golfers are not allowed to retrieve lost discs from ponds. The claim is that employees periodically search the ponds and return discs to the lost & found bin. Bring bug spray after it has rained. Grab a map from the pro shop. The transition from F13 to F14 isn't obvious.

Spring Valley is a confusing course with regard to layouts. There are 28 total baskets on the course. They're typically played in one of three layouts, none of which use all 28 baskets. Holes are labeled with an "F", "P" and/or "T" in addition to the number to indicate which hole it is on a particular layout.

The longest layout is the "Total 27". This layout uses all nine of the "Power 9" holes, a connector hole: "T14", and 17 of the 18 "Finesse 18" holes. (Skips F6.)

Due to the "Power 9" being closed on the weekend, the most common layout is probably the "Finesse 18" which uses baskets F1-18, skipping T14 and P1-9.

The "Power 9" layout uses baskets P1-9, skipping T14 and F1-18.

While Spring Valley is a ball golf course as well, don't expect a Country Club atmosphere. It does offer more amenities than a typical park it, but a golf resort it is not.

Other reviews have mentioned lots of water hazards on the Finesse 18 layout. I've played this course only in the summer and the water is pretty minimal. There's a creek to cross on F1, creek to the left of F6 and right of F18, and a couple puddles back in the F14-F16 area. Other than F1 there wasn't much significant water.

On the Power 9 layout the ball golf greens play as OB; please stay off of them.

Good mix of tight and long open bombs. Every shot in the bag needed to post a good score. Challenging, but can also be very rewarding for all skill levels. Well stocked pro shop, friendly locals, well maintained, trash cans, benches, I could go on and on...

Prone to flooding with heavy rain, but considering the area, completely understandable. One specific pond seems to enjoy my discs...Could use another trash can or two between #s 8 and18. Can be confusing the first few times out - take a map with you

I can't say enough good things about this place. Its close to home and is well worth the $3 for all day. The course improves constantly (maintenance-wise)

Very challenging and lengthy. This course provides holes to challenge strength and finesse. It also has enough length to give a descent workout. The Power 9 are beautiful and well-maintained and great water hazards, including a large creek, throughout the course add to the scenery.

The course is not forgiving to bad shots especially hole 1 on the finesse course (this is where I lost a frisbee). The pro actually told me to watch out for this hole, now i know why. Some of the course lacks greenery and could potentially become a mud trap so be careful if there has been heavy rain previous to your trip. Also be careful of snakes, I saw a cotton mouth on my trip. Since there are so many holes on this course navigating them can be tricky, so follow your course map carefully. I played some holes out of order the first time i was here but this last time i found the map easier to follow.

One of the best features of this course is the pro-shop. It has one of the best disc selections in the Houston area and the pro can provide some beneficial input to you disc golf questions. Also they have refreshments to beat the HOT Houston weather.

Tall pines, lots of holes around 300 on the Finesse course. Good variety of lefty and righty holes. A few blind shots and generous concrete tee pads. Definitely good use of water. Pro shop full of discs, drinks and a few snacks. $3.00 to play all 27. Had a blast and will be back when in the area again.

The tee pads could be cleaner. Found a lot of mud on the pads. Signs after the hole that shows direction to next hole would be nice. A couple holes had small putting areas. The 9 on the ball golf course is only available on the weekdays. Pretty muddy and lots of snakes and creepy crawlers. watch where you walk and when you are reaching down.

Best of both worlds. Beautiful, well-maintained course. Finesse 18, with bayou/river on left and ball golf/power 9 on right. Nice variety of holes and technical challenges. You will need to reach deep into your bag of tricks before finesse 18 is said and done. A lot of tunnel shots through the trees, all tight narrow fairways. Not a lot of length, but tons of tight technical shots. Hole 8 is a good example of this. 100 ft tunnel shot walkway with either treee-lined side side sloping down into the water. At 100 ft, it makes an abrupt right angle turn left. From the kink point its a slowly right fading 150ish tunnel with water on the left and thick leafy wall from top to bottom on right. Very unique and challenging hole. Many other unique holes, each challenging in their own way. Water in play on most holes. So many creative hazards on finesse. Water hazards and trees surround pins like sand traps on a ball-golf course. Very fun and interesting. I got beat up a bit, score-wise, on this course, but it didn't really matter that I was bogeying 250ft holes, because the course is lots of fun, serene and very beautiful. Definite campground nature trail feel to this walk through the woods. Thank goodness we picked up a map at the pro shop, or we would've been lost at several points.

Power 9 extremely long and open (on ball golf course), looked like great chance to just let it fly, but wasn't open when we were there.

Many holes are very unforgiving. Hole 8 is under 300 ft. Direct quote from employee at pro shop. "I think only two people have ever birdied it". That record stood with room to spare when we played it, which reminds me- Watch out for water mocassins.

Not that it will, but this course has about 30 ways to possibly eat your discs, (mostly water), and the underbrush in the woods makes escape shots difficult (though that could be more user error for throwing it there). If you flub a finesse shot, you WILL pay.

Long walk from clubhouse to finesse hole 1. Hard to find next finesse hole through the woods without the free maps the clubhouse provides.

Very fun, but no cakewalk. Finesse 18 and Power 9 both very fittingly-named. Wanted to play it again as soon as I was done. Power-9 was unplayable when we were there due to high ball-golfer traffic (they paid way more to play on the same course, hah!), so only played finesse 18, and walked Power 9

Very fun course. Lots of room to stretch your arm out, but still enough tight fairways to make you scratch your head.
Fairly well stocked pro shop on site, a rare commodity!

There is a fair amount of variety here. You have the power 9 which is played along an executive 9 hole ball golf course. There are large tee pads with ample room, wide fairways with still enough trees and water hazards to keep you in check. A 3 on most of the power 9 holes is a great score, they can be long! The finesse 18 has it's own set of challenges as well. Tight meandering fairways with tricky greens. Water hazards and plenty of doglegs. We found the course to be fairly wet and soggy, but there had been an unusual amount of rainfall prior to our visit. Plenty of places to lost plastic, but there is a pro shop to restock!
If you are in the area, it is definitely worth a trip.