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Swenson Park DGC reviews
4
0
Swenson Park Disc Golf Is A Bargain At $5! 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Jan 28, 2019
Played the course:once
Pros:
I understand Swenson Park is in somewhat of a crisis after the city has said they won't subsidize it any longer. Losing this would be quite a blow to the area's golfers. I think the disc golfing community would also be losing an asset.
The course has concrete pads and nice permanent tee signs which are all mounted on wine barrels. The baskets are DGA Mach X models which are a very deep shade of purple. They're pretty sharp looking. You also receive a professional scorecard, just like the real golfers.
Swenson Park is the first (of around 20-25 disc courses on regular courses) that I have played where the disc golf holes don't play hole for hole with the golf holes. By using this design, they were able to make the disc golf experience more like what we are accustomed to on our disc courses. It's not just 600' wide open holes like some golf courses I've played. The course is almost entirely flat but uses a few small hills to the max and also includes the pond areas here very well on a number of holes. The designer didn't always feel the need to place the baskets around the green. Hole one is probably 200' short of the golf green making for a better disc golf hole.
Back to the water holes. Holes that use the water. # 4 has a nasty looking lake just past the basket. # 6 plays 465' with water on your right all the way and the basket set close to this water.
# 8 features water on your right side. # 11 is over 500' and the most dude t line in over water most of the way. It is easy enough to just play far right but serious players can show their courage here. # 12 has water on the right side which you need to avoid. And finally, # 14 is a very picturesque hole which resembles many golf holes. It's 200' over the water with the basket set on a small peninsula. It will make many players pucker up a little.
# 7 is a normal disc golf hole, very rare for golf course holes. It plays about 285' through a gauntlet of trees but not technical tight.
The course has concrete pads and nice permanent tee signs which are all mounted on wine barrels. The baskets are DGA Mach X models which are a very deep shade of purple. They're pretty sharp looking. You also receive a professional scorecard, just like the real golfers.
Swenson Park is the first (of around 20-25 disc courses on regular courses) that I have played where the disc golf holes don't play hole for hole with the golf holes. By using this design, they were able to make the disc golf experience more like what we are accustomed to on our disc courses. It's not just 600' wide open holes like some golf courses I've played. The course is almost entirely flat but uses a few small hills to the max and also includes the pond areas here very well on a number of holes. The designer didn't always feel the need to place the baskets around the green. Hole one is probably 200' short of the golf green making for a better disc golf hole.
Back to the water holes. Holes that use the water. # 4 has a nasty looking lake just past the basket. # 6 plays 465' with water on your right all the way and the basket set close to this water.
# 8 features water on your right side. # 11 is over 500' and the most dude t line in over water most of the way. It is easy enough to just play far right but serious players can show their courage here. # 12 has water on the right side which you need to avoid. And finally, # 14 is a very picturesque hole which resembles many golf holes. It's 200' over the water with the basket set on a small peninsula. It will make many players pucker up a little.
# 7 is a normal disc golf hole, very rare for golf course holes. It plays about 285' through a gauntlet of trees but not technical tight.
Cons:
It's still open compared to many of our disc golf courses.
$5 to play.
Pretty good chance of drowning one of your discs.
$5 to play.
Pretty good chance of drowning one of your discs.
Other Thoughts:
One of the better disc courses I've seen on golf courses. It has a nice variety of throws, uses the water hazards nicely and does a nice job of keeping the disc golf and the regular golf apart. If I lived here, I could see myself including this in my regular rotation of courses.
7
0
MikeV
Experience:
6.9 years
29 played
8 reviews
Amazing Course 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Oct 30, 2018
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
+ Best course the East Bay has to offer (it's a stretch to call it East Bay but it's worth the drive)
+ Well manicured course with fair OB and hazards
+ Nice mix of long drives, woods play, and water throws.
+ All water shots have generous safe routes if you're unsure
+ Placements seem to change often for variety.
+ Good flow, you will walk a lot as the course covers a lot of area but it's never wasted
+ They occasionally retrieve discs from water and will call numbers
+ Practice basket
+ Food, restrooms, and even a small disc selection on site for sale
+ OTB just opened up a HUGE shop down the road(10 mins away) with everything you could ever need
+ Well manicured course with fair OB and hazards
+ Nice mix of long drives, woods play, and water throws.
+ All water shots have generous safe routes if you're unsure
+ Placements seem to change often for variety.
+ Good flow, you will walk a lot as the course covers a lot of area but it's never wasted
+ They occasionally retrieve discs from water and will call numbers
+ Practice basket
+ Food, restrooms, and even a small disc selection on site for sale
+ OTB just opened up a HUGE shop down the road(10 mins away) with everything you could ever need
Cons:
- I sat here for a while. I can't think of anything. Hole 6 has a stank to it. That's the best I can come up with.
Other Thoughts:
$5 for a round of 18. Another 5 and you can play all you want. I haven't played on the weekend so I can't vouch for how busy it gets but during the week it was great.
And being hopeful... They have a tonnn of room at this course. They could fit two more 18's on it easily. I'm just hoping for another 18 but that's just a thought from staring off at all the un-used trees they have all over.
And being hopeful... They have a tonnn of room at this course. They could fit two more 18's on it easily. I'm just hoping for another 18 but that's just a thought from staring off at all the un-used trees they have all over.
11
0
Who says you can’t do 4 things at once? 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 14, 2018
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
• Easy to find
• Great baskets with cool purple paint
• Warm-up basket with a warm-up throwing net!
• Restrooms
• Great signage, although they don't yet have basket locators
• Great tee boxes
• Very nice surroundings
• Pro Shop with snacks
• Great baskets with cool purple paint
• Warm-up basket with a warm-up throwing net!
• Restrooms
• Great signage, although they don't yet have basket locators
• Great tee boxes
• Very nice surroundings
• Pro Shop with snacks
Cons:
• Can get a little crowded in spots
• Par is a mystery
• Lack of drinking water out on the course but you can always hit the pro shop
• Par is a mystery
• Lack of drinking water out on the course but you can always hit the pro shop
Other Thoughts:
Tips
• Get a map in the Pro Shop
• Do pay attention to what's going on around you
Random Thoughts:
Depending on how you feel about mixed-use courses, your opinion may be clouded before you even set foot on this course, and what makes this course unique is that they're pulling off the rare foursome of being a regular executive ball golf course, a 'big hole' executive ball golf course, a foot golf course, and a disc golf course. There's also a full 18-hole ball golf course on the other side of the park, and if that's not enough, I saw several other park activities surrounding the course. Whew! If you can't find something to do out here, you're really not trying. With that said, you might be thinking that it must be a zoo out there. Well, not really. We went out twice on back to back weekends at around 9:30AM and we really only had to wait on a shot/tee a few times. It wasn't what I'd call 'busy' by any means. So don't let all the potential activities keep you from coming. Now, on to the course!
A lot of thought went into this course not just to address the obvious that you're on a ball golf course, but to give a nice mix of shots and challenges from hole to hole. #s 1 and 2 give you some nice wide open shots to get your juices flowing and clear out the cobwebs. Then #3 brings in the trees and OB to ensure you can throw straight and low. #4 is your first left to right shot and if the basket is in the back position, you're going to get your first taste of water directly behind it. That means don't be long. #5 is short tunnel shot with a slight elevation change. #6 is the first legitimate booty-pucker shot as there is water down the entire right side of the fairway. There's plenty of room between the water and the OB line on the left side but I'm sure it'll look narrow to some. If the basket is on the right, it's going to look even tougher as it'll be sitting right on the bank of the pond. I watched my fellow discers put 3 in the drink trying to make that basket in 1 shot. I'm quite content to put it in the fairway and leave with par. #7 is another tunnel shot through the woods. #8 is a test of a character. There's a giant pond directly in front of you with the basket in a semi-island position. It's not particularly far, and you're throwing downhill, so you'll be having a conversation with yourself. Go for it or leave it left where there is plenty of safety. #9 gives you a breather being pretty wide open again. A little bit of water up front but not really a factor. #10 is another tunnel shot with slight elevation change. #11 might be one of the most difficult holes ever (as far as making par) if the basket is in the long position. There's nothing but water between you and the basket, with giant trees running up the right side. So your shots are: go straight at it and hope or go around the right side of the trees, which can be quite lengthy. I watched the group in front of us put at least 4 discs in the water trying to throw straight at it. Our group didn't even try. We were quite content to take the scenic route.
This seems like a good place to pause and talk about par. I'm mystified on the strategy for par on this course. There are basket positions that show par 4 on the sign and then other basket positions quite a bit farther than prior par 4s and no less difficult but are par 3s. We couldn't figure it out. Anyhoo, back to the course.
#12 has water on the right although it's easily avoided by staying left. #13 gives you a breather with a pretty straight forward hole. Then comes along #14. This is a legit 'island green'. It's only about 200 feet to the other side, with room straight and right, so I wouldn't necessarily call it an extremely difficult shot because it's really up to you how difficult you want it to be. After that, it's clear sailing until the end as #s15-18 are all water-free. #15 is a fairly wide open straight-ahead shot. #16 is about the same, although do pay attention to the golfers coming straight at you as their green is to the left of the basket. #17 is a fun and lengthy tunnel shot. #18 finishes by letting you let one fly with your only challenges being the green just in front of but right of the basket. And then it's on to the clubhouse for a celebratory drink.
Bottom Line:
This is a well-executed course both in how it fits in with the surrounding course(s) and in its design. We thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and creativity it presented and anticipate not only future visits but I'm guessing tournament stops are in the future as well. Big 'thank yous' to the course crew.
• Get a map in the Pro Shop
• Do pay attention to what's going on around you
Random Thoughts:
Depending on how you feel about mixed-use courses, your opinion may be clouded before you even set foot on this course, and what makes this course unique is that they're pulling off the rare foursome of being a regular executive ball golf course, a 'big hole' executive ball golf course, a foot golf course, and a disc golf course. There's also a full 18-hole ball golf course on the other side of the park, and if that's not enough, I saw several other park activities surrounding the course. Whew! If you can't find something to do out here, you're really not trying. With that said, you might be thinking that it must be a zoo out there. Well, not really. We went out twice on back to back weekends at around 9:30AM and we really only had to wait on a shot/tee a few times. It wasn't what I'd call 'busy' by any means. So don't let all the potential activities keep you from coming. Now, on to the course!
A lot of thought went into this course not just to address the obvious that you're on a ball golf course, but to give a nice mix of shots and challenges from hole to hole. #s 1 and 2 give you some nice wide open shots to get your juices flowing and clear out the cobwebs. Then #3 brings in the trees and OB to ensure you can throw straight and low. #4 is your first left to right shot and if the basket is in the back position, you're going to get your first taste of water directly behind it. That means don't be long. #5 is short tunnel shot with a slight elevation change. #6 is the first legitimate booty-pucker shot as there is water down the entire right side of the fairway. There's plenty of room between the water and the OB line on the left side but I'm sure it'll look narrow to some. If the basket is on the right, it's going to look even tougher as it'll be sitting right on the bank of the pond. I watched my fellow discers put 3 in the drink trying to make that basket in 1 shot. I'm quite content to put it in the fairway and leave with par. #7 is another tunnel shot through the woods. #8 is a test of a character. There's a giant pond directly in front of you with the basket in a semi-island position. It's not particularly far, and you're throwing downhill, so you'll be having a conversation with yourself. Go for it or leave it left where there is plenty of safety. #9 gives you a breather being pretty wide open again. A little bit of water up front but not really a factor. #10 is another tunnel shot with slight elevation change. #11 might be one of the most difficult holes ever (as far as making par) if the basket is in the long position. There's nothing but water between you and the basket, with giant trees running up the right side. So your shots are: go straight at it and hope or go around the right side of the trees, which can be quite lengthy. I watched the group in front of us put at least 4 discs in the water trying to throw straight at it. Our group didn't even try. We were quite content to take the scenic route.
This seems like a good place to pause and talk about par. I'm mystified on the strategy for par on this course. There are basket positions that show par 4 on the sign and then other basket positions quite a bit farther than prior par 4s and no less difficult but are par 3s. We couldn't figure it out. Anyhoo, back to the course.
#12 has water on the right although it's easily avoided by staying left. #13 gives you a breather with a pretty straight forward hole. Then comes along #14. This is a legit 'island green'. It's only about 200 feet to the other side, with room straight and right, so I wouldn't necessarily call it an extremely difficult shot because it's really up to you how difficult you want it to be. After that, it's clear sailing until the end as #s15-18 are all water-free. #15 is a fairly wide open straight-ahead shot. #16 is about the same, although do pay attention to the golfers coming straight at you as their green is to the left of the basket. #17 is a fun and lengthy tunnel shot. #18 finishes by letting you let one fly with your only challenges being the green just in front of but right of the basket. And then it's on to the clubhouse for a celebratory drink.
Bottom Line:
This is a well-executed course both in how it fits in with the surrounding course(s) and in its design. We thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and creativity it presented and anticipate not only future visits but I'm guessing tournament stops are in the future as well. Big 'thank yous' to the course crew.
