-Interesting design
-Good use of elevation

-First hole and hole 5 put disc at major risk of going into the creek, which at the time we played was high and grey
-A lot of mud, it caked my disc, before it went for a swim in the creek

Do not play early in the morning, the eastern light made it impossible to see into the low areas near the creek. Overall this course was dirty and not well marked at all. It was hard to tell where to go next and we didn't enjoy our round, leaving a disc in the river unfortunately.

Great course that mixes in elevation change, trouble, and trees to great effect. Even the short ones are challenging.

Super easy to navigate even for a first timer.

Pretty easy to find the river on #5, but that's on you.

Great course with a wonderful use of the space, quite an exciting variety of holes. Water comes into play, lots of cool elevation change and challenge. Nice mix of long and short, open and wooded. Overall just a very nicely done course with lots of risk and reward, nicely shaped holes.

Tee Signs would be a very nice addition to this course, and it is confusing enough that I would consider them necessary. I found myself using the map on Udisc quite a bit. A couple of the fairways literally cross right over each other, which is unfortunate, however I suppose with the space given there isn't much choice in the matter, so be aware when driving! This course can be quite tricky to find unfortunately. If you google it, you will not find it. Follow the driving directions to the tee!

Tried a couple different courses in the area and this course was spectacularly fun! Unlike most courses in Colorado which was great to see! Lots of challenging shots, tons of trees, a nice shorter "birdie alley" in the middle, and just enough water hazard to make things interesting. If I lived in the area this would be my home course for sure, and it was the shining highlight of the trip! if you're traveling through, I would play this course twice before going to something else in the area.

Great experience playing where hawks hang out. Snakes, too, but that's ok. Plenty of shade on most holes. Tees are nice and rabbits are fun to watch. Short holes in the trees are fun to shoot. The soccer fields provide an excellent warm up area and new players can get a feel for their distances there or on the baseball fields if empty.

Doodoo creek is doodoo creek. It sucks but is mostly avoidable, at least for rhfh shots along the back side. Hole 1 is always thrown from an improvised area across the bridge by our short throwers. Not much can be done about that if you can't throw the distance, no issue otherwise.

This is like disc golf vs wild at times. I think that's amazing and refreshing but it might upset some people. I started playing in Columbus, Ohio and never had timber, fallen trees as an obstacle there but I like it. Some people may not.

Inmate noises and homeless camps. Whatever, that's life. They are there and some people we take there dislike it. I've hiked the area many times prior to the course build and have no problem with either. It's likely a pro since I've never encountered a crowded course here. Not even close.

Compared to other courses in other cities it should be a 3.5. For this city it's a 4. And the reasons it's not better are due to historical misuse of the land and other external factors. That should improve over time as it has so far. Right now it's a hidden gem and fun to play. To me this course feels like the disc golf I learned 20 years ago. Peaceful, challenging, fun, and rewarding. Even on a bad-throw day, you're still mostly alone and able to work on whatever you want to without being disrupted or disrupting others.

fun short course.
close to my house.....

the layout leaves something to be desired. in fact you have to walk a fairway backwards to play the next hole, just leave your bag at the next tee... not a good design for the flow of the course. wouldn't have been that difficult to change that up. oh well. not certain who said this was a technical course but it isn't, especially if you come from the east coast. from my experience, this course is wide open. other than the two holes playing side by side, which I HATE, this is a fun course.

fix the side by side holes and this place could host a B-Tier event no problem.

Lots of fun shots, and even the shorter (~165ft) holes require a little finesse.

Beautiful scenery, and absolutely AMAZING use of the river as an obstacle.

Very little garbage or cacti directly in your way.

No joggers/walkers/dogs in the way. Course is placed along the backside of the park.

Mostly impossible to lose a disc, mostly.

River is a little dirty and filled with garbage.

Slightly hard to navigate (take a picture of the map with your phone and you're good though)

Great introduction to technical courses. Nothing too extreme and no holes without an easier route to the pin/fairway. Meanwhile pros have multiple chances to test their skills by navigating around the foliage, over the river, and back on to the fairway/green.

This is definitely my new favorite in Springs.

Good baskets, nice lines, easy to navigate. Tee signs at every hole. Very nice property.

Long walk to the first tee. No sign in the parking lot directing you to the first tee. Luckily I ran across a local who pointed me in the right direction. It's behind the soccer fields by the way. No trash cans but you should always pack your trash out anyway. Some of the fairways, especially 4&18 could use mowing.

This is a fun and technical course that takes advantage of the property. Short holes that force you to play with control and creativity, and also takes advantage of the river flowing through the property. Hole 1-5 are mostly open. Hole 5 is a really nice 350ish tee shot from the cliff to the basket tucked behind a large tree. Starting on hole 6-16 you play mostly short, wooded holes. Pretty technical tee shots with the river coming into play if you get too aggressive with your tee shot. 17 opens up a little more. Then 18(which is a long walk and climb back up the cliff) is the lone bomber hole. @480'. Be careful of the river to the right. It's another nice shot from the top of the cliff with the basket tucked under some large trees.

A natural oasis in the middle of a primarily industrial area, The Aviary transports you in to a serene world of peacefulness and focus. Formally a haven for homeless campers, a ton of work has gone in to making this a quality course that works fountain creek in to a couple of holes, short wooded challenges that reward putter and mid skills, and risk/reward holes with rough that can swallow discs. Great views of Pikes Peak on hole 5, not crowded because chuckers can't handle the skill level needed. I love hole #1 across the creek to a doable but tight window. Hole 1 tells you that this isn't a course for risk averse folks. Fountain Creek will take discs on 1, 5 and 17 if you aren't careful.

Subject to mud after rains, as not all tee pads are in yet (about 50% in). The walk down to the 5 basket can leave your shoes caked. I don't consider rough on the sides of 13 or 14 to be a detriment, but you can lose a disc if you don't pay attention. Need to finish the tee pads, and alternate basket positions would be nice. It does lack length a bit, as only 18 (and 2 for me) is really unreachable. Most holes are fairly straight, but trees add impediments you have to work around.

You can hear inmates at the adjacent County Jail yelling and screaming on holes 2-3, so it can kind of weird you out. I have played this course over 40 times and it is always a quality challenge. Birds in the trees (hence the name) are abundant. Wind is usually south to north, but not brutal. 6-16 holes are the sweet spot in the woods. Kudos to Eric Bouchard and the City for adding a quality course to the area, especially now with the recent closure of the sadistic Sakuna in Black Forest.

A good new option to the Colorado Springs area. Easy access off I-25. Lots of parking available. A bit of a walk to the first tee, but you cross a large field area that could be used for warmup prior to your first hole. A fairly good mix of hole types. A few longer holes, especially a few that are off a cliff! The middle section has lots of ace opportunities. Lots of trees on the course that provides that much needed shade in the summer. Teepads are on most of holes of great size and condition and the local crew are actively pouring the rest. Signs are easily visible from the prior basket. Baskets are in great shape. Course is well designed based on the available area and didn't feel that I was in risk of getting hit from others discs.

A few cons but I think that it is no real fault of the designers. Rather the land is not the most ideal since it is close to the river and prone to flooding. Water does come in play on a few holes, but if your disc gets in it, then it may not be worth/able to be retrieved. The trees are great, but may add considerably to the difficulty of throwing good lines and may require a spotter in some places. The rough is very thick in places that will certainly hide discs and perhaps bugs/snakes. Watch where you are walking. I would have liked to have seen more dogleg shaped holes. Most of them are straight shots.

I enjoyed my time at this course. It is still rather new and needs to be worn in a bit. The couple of "cliff" throws are fun. The middle section is short holes that offer up ace runs if you have good control of your putter/mid disc tee shots. As the course name implies, there are many birds in the area that sing to you as you play. Generally a quite course in that regards. I feel this course is a great addition to the busy course of Cottonwood and the more "open" course of Widefield. I certainly would play again.

-Variety of terrain and elevation changes.
-Challenging and technical.
-Rarely wait for groups in front of you.
-Holes have been cleaned up a tremendous amount. Helps promote a better connection to nature, for a course surrounded by industrial businesses and Government facilities.

-Not beginner friendly, sometimes frustrating.
-Tees are still in need of concrete.
-Fountain Creek consumes discs as a second job.

Bring your cheap discs, it'll help you feel more comfortable attempting difficult shots.
Definitely prepare to pack in and pack out, limited opportunities to throw out garbage.
If everyone stays within the areas marked by logs, and wildlife remains in tact, certain flying creatures could return to their nest (come spring).

New signs get you where you need to go. New course is not busy and there is no pressure to hurry through the holes like at Widefield or Cottonwood. Very little non-disc golf traffic. Very scenic, especially in the lower wooded areas of holes 6 through 16.

Course is still being cleaned up. There Is a lot of trash from years of non use on is land. Plus, Fountain creek has a tendency to carry all sorts of trash to its shores. Some heavy brush areas and tall weeds can make it difficult to find lost discs (if you find my King around hole 4/18 please call me).

I really like the lower wooded holes (6-16). They have a tendency to be shorter holes but challenging with the trees / obstacles. They are easily "birded" with well played shots. Hole five has a nice elevation drop that can look intimidating throwing over the "S" curve in Fountain creek. You may want to wear pants, searching for bad lie can put you in high weeds and cactus. I think this course will be great as it matures. For now it is a fun course close to home. Please help keep it cleaned up and carry your trash out; there are no garbage can as of yet.

scenic
bright colored baskets
isolated from other park activities

I understand its new but there shouldnt be trash everywhere. it doesnt look like its been mowed since the day it was put in if at all. without trash cans its bound to only get worse.
The signage, none (but its new so...), and indications of where you go next were non-existent (see other thoughts).
The design left alot to be desired as well. Hole 1 you throw across the creek at a basket hidden behind a wall of trees with a good chance of going in the water, no real gap exists. And then its basically throw straight varying distances and make a putt. If you only throw straight you will be in or near the circle on all but hole #3 (spike hyzer in an overall straight line). If you want to ace the hole you will need to finish slightly left or right but by no means do any of the holes legitimately finish left or right.
Hardly any challenge besides stuff being thrown in your way for no real descent design reason. would've been nice to see the creek/river used more besides shanking your shot badly or the hillsides to make riskier greens.
a rec to int player should have no troubles scoring under par first time out...that is if they can find the tees.
not a single rewarding 2 on the course besides a couple of longer holes if you dont have an arm.

Took awhile to find the actual beginning of the course (behind soccer field F i think), tough to follow after that, and then covered in trash and not maintained (time will tell).
Some kind of simple indicator of what direction the tee is from the basket would do wonders (like paint a rung on the basket...old school but effective).
It could really use a more modern redesign as well, there is room and features for some really nice dog legs, blind shots, and hook shots. 10 years ago this would have been a great course.
5 and 17 crisscross fairways, and 5 youre throwing at 17s tee. there is no reason for this as neither hole is that great and could easily be changed/improved to avoid this and make better holes. typically crisscrossing fairways are an automatic 0.5 rating reduction but I decided not to tack that on as well.
If you're visiting the area and looking to play go to Widefield or Cottonwood over this one.
Clean up the trash and ill raise it to a 2.5.

-Perfect mixture of right and left finishing shots, with varied distances for both finishes as well (something that is often overlooked on courses)
-Scenic views on many of the holes, with Pikes Peak and the Rockies in the background
-Fountain Creek rages through the entire course, providing an excellent "pucker factor" for many shots
-Very visible baskets (Salient Liberties) which are important for the middle ten holes which are fairly wooded
-Good use of the property, which minimum crossing of fairways on a very thin piece of land

-No concrete teepads yet...will likely be some time before they put in as input from the local club members will dictate where they are placed
-No teesigns, yet...these will be in place before the concrete pads, thanks to the generosity of the local parks department
-Holes 2 and 3 are right up against the local jail and impound lot; nothing to be done about that (there is plenty of buffer so no actual danger) but it does give a bit of creep factor
-Lots of dead wood and live weeds that will be slowly cleared out through various workdays; for now pants or long socks are a must
-the most scenic "top of the world" hole crosses fairways with another hole, which is unfortunate but plenty safe as everyone/everything is in view
-3 holes are currently out of play due to a Red-Tailed Hawk nesting area in the fairways...this could be considered a PRO as it shows the clubs commitment to environmental protection

I am humbly honored to have been able to arrange the deal that got the baskets for this course, as well as putting them in with Fishy. I also did my fair share of picking up trash around the previously abandoned property. This course, which is now officially open for play, is a realization of 2 and a half years of politicking and hard work by a select few members of the local club. Seeing it put in is a real treat to be sure.

With that in mind, this course will not realize it's full potential for at least another year. The club takes a lot of pride in this new course and another soon-to-be-placed course, so the work will be put in. It is currently still a great play (my best score with baskets is 2 over par, and I was quite happy with it, to give you a hint at the challenge) and is easy to navigate even without a guide or teesigns.

This course will be a real showcase by summer of 2016, and will make a great one-two punch with the nearby Widefield.

Trees, elevation, variety of shots and distances, water, risk reward shots.

Infrastructure not completed, dirt tees, only one position, only short position in at this time. When completed this will be a 4-4.5 easily

I will update this as things get accomplished. Hopefully only a 1 year process. As one of the designers and lead project manager I feel I can give a fairly accurate review of what and why things were done, techniques and what still needs to be done. I will try and give this review as if I was walking with the player.
From the El Pomar sports complex parking lot. Park near the baseball fields and walk the sidewalk east towards the river and pedestrian bridge that crosses. From the right side of bridge is Tee 1.

General notes: Short positions are in, we had to do this to show that it's a good course for most people. This was a stipulation of the city, I will not on holes where we can stretch them out or change positions in the future. Please navigate the steep areas only on the trails to maintain the vegetation on them to prevent erosion.

Hole 1: Short FH hyzer spike. You can go straight at the basket but if you get too high and clip a branch it is likely you will drop into the river. This is likely a hole where we won't have a lot of room to expand, possibly only one more position, if that. There is an Am pad or DZ for those that aren't comfortable with throwing across water. Originally we had this to the north of the concrete pad and may go back there in the future, but for now it's about 80 feet from the basket next to the path.

Hole 2: Longer hole that plays to the left side of the trees, too much air and you can possibly lose a disc into the river. Still very rough and will take time to finesse this hole, plays to the edge of the county jail complex, past barrier trees is OB and jail property. This is a hole where we have several options for other positions. Walk east across sidewalk to 3's tee.

Hole 3: plays along hillside bordered by sidewalk (OB) and impound lot (if you go in you have about zero chance of getting your disc back). Basket lies behind trees. We have a some room to stretch this out in the future. walk along sidewalk to trail leading north towards north corner of impound lot. and tee 4

Hole 4: from next to power line it throws across a small depression, serious rough to the left side. This hole can also be stretched with new positions. From basket follow trail up the rise to cliffs edge and 5's tee.

Hole 5: this is the only place where we have crossing fairways, because of the geography and property lines. So watch for throwers from 17's tee which is located on the side of the hill above the bent over cottonwood and plays to the base of the cliff. In theory we hope that if both are occupied that both groups will throw and then make their way to their discs. Thus limiting any conflicts that may arise. Now for the description:
Epic shot from top of cliff, over the bend in the river, to basket located near the bent over tree. After shooting walk along the top of the cliff to the marked trail, please do not go straight down as we are trying to avoid erosion and it's a sensitive area. This is another where we have plans to expand the second position longer and more across the riverbend towards the path to 6. The Am pad is located at the base of the cliff for those that aren't comfortable with the throw over water. This can also be used as a drop zone. From the basket walk north and west toward the river (it's a bit of a walk) to Tee 6.

Hole 6:this is the start of the northern, wooded section. Flat hole that plays along a natural corridor. River is to the left and it would take a pretty unlucky throw or when the river is super high for it to come into effect. We can stretch this hole out a bit in the future. Until mid June follow the blue flags to the north and east to Hole 10. Holes 7-9 are not played at this time.

Holes 7,8,9: There is a nesting red tailed hawk that lives in the center of these holes that has chicks. Because of this we must maintain a 150' area around the nesting site until mid june when the hawkling will have fledged and we can move into our designed holes. This is the reason of the name "The Aviary" there are lots of birds and their habitats and we are going to live with them by leaving the wild areas wild. This is by design. Once we put the baskets in they will stay, the theory behind this is that if the hawks return to nest they are ok with our activity and if they move on they aren't. We certainly hope they stay. I will update this review when the baskets are in.

Hole 10: Short hole that throws under an arched tree and dogleg left. Water comes into play if you over shoot or hyzer out too soon. Easy birdie for well placed shot. We have several options here to place pins.Follow path parallel to fairway to Tee 11

Hole 11: Possible double mando (still working on ideas) between trees 20 feet in front of box location to open area. with basket. Not a whole lot of options here for more than 1 other position. Follow trail towards river for hole 12.

Hole 12: Water to the left, trees to the right. Basket set in pocket at base of hill. There are several future options including pin placement near rivers edge. Follow trail up hill to 13's Tee.

Hole 13: elevated tee down a tunnel. One of the signature holes. and one we can stretch out another 75-100 feet. follow trail to west to "rest area" and then to tee 14

Hole 14: short hole over brush. This starts where there was a ton of transient trash that was removed, there will probably be items found for years. There is possible for a few other positions including a difficult one on the side of the hill. For now, enjoy the easy birdie. walk forward to 15's tee.

Hole 15: "Homeless Alley" So named for the two story dwelling that was here when we started looking at this piece of property, then was reduced to garbage from treeline to treeline. Thankfully cleaned up by volunteers shortly before opening. This is a hallway shot that leads to an open field, and returns to the arid landscape. This is also one with the possibility of at least 2-3 other positions including one on the side of the hill on a ledge for a possible par 4. walk towards the river under the arch of the fallen tree to tee 16.

Hole 16: this continues the same "line as hole 15 along the bottom of the hill to a basket under an arched tree. Hanging debris makes the landing critical for a putt. This one has lots of potential to stretch for length. Follow blue flags around hill and up the side to hole 17's tee.

Hole 17: From elevated teepad above the bent tree make sure no one is in valley or using 5's AM box before throwing. Basket sits in the corner at the base of the hill. A disc that flips over or is grip locked will likely end up in the river. This one doesn't have a lot of options for change. Go back along the base of hill towards 5's basket and climb hill, pass 5's tee to 18's tee near the transmission tower (big power tower) to find 18's Tee.

Hole 18: Long hole, elevated tee pad, lots of rough and the possibility of water. Fun way to end a round. From elevated pad the basket is in the grouping of trees. We have lots of possibilities here including the ambitious idea of crossing the river again near the pedestrian bridge for a nice par 4 or 5. Cross pedestrian bridge to replay 1 or walk out to parking lot.