-We maintained course
-Mix of different shots and angles needed
-Good tee signs but some additional directions would help

-The tee boxes could use some definition even if they don't have concrete pads
-Holes are somewhat spread out so be prepared to walk

The course forces you to throw a number of different shots. Most holes felt fair. If this course had concrete pads it would be fantastic. Who doesn't like the mix of open bomber holes and technical holes.

Disclaimer: When I played the course, the baskets were in the long position.

The course is set in a big sporting complex, yet the course feels isolated in most parts from the rest of the park even with walking in between baseball fields and near the skate park. I never felt like I could have been in anyone's way.

The holes were all fairly mixed in variety of the foliage. Most of the holes were long, but the holes varied from playing in the trees to playing alongside the few drainage ditches that play near the course.

The maps were super helpful. It took me a while to figure out that there were two pin locations and not two sets of tee pads, but once I figured it out, it was easy to tell where I was shooting for even if the basket was not in view. Hole 3 is a good example of this as it plays along the ditch then dumps off 600' to the right into the trees. Without the map, it would have been impossible to figure out where we were throwing to.

I especially enjoyed Hole 4. It was a big bomb hole, but you needed to be precise on where you were throwing to avoid landing in the trees and away from the basket. I also enjoyed holes 8 and 9 as they were more technical than the rest of the holes that needed a low straight shot to reach the basket. They are not as long as the other holes, which is nice.

I feel like I would have enjoyed the course more if the pins were in the shorter position. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but I just did not like having to throw long hole after long hole when they all felt the same. There were not too many holes that stuck out in mind as great holes, all pretty typical, long holes.

I agree with the sentiment of a few other reviewers that say that two tees are better than two pins. Apparently the pins are not switched regularly, which can be a bummer if you want to play something shorter.

Navigation was bad. I went from hole 3 and then started playing hole 7 and did not even realize until the end hole 8 that I played incorrectly. There are a lot of long walks especially 6 to 7, 9 to 10, 17 to 18 and the infamous walk back to your car. The map at the beginning of the course is great, I recommend taking a picture of it or use the map here on DGCR for an easier time.

This is a good course, which is a good thing because it is the only one north of the lake. I enjoyed my rounds here and would love to come back.

I had initially wanted to play this course on a road trip as a pit stop, but if this course is in the long position, it will not be a quick stop, which is ok. It is worth taking two hours to play the whole thing and get the most out of it.

Map at every tee
Well-maintained grounds
Nice atmosphere with lots of activites going on without being in the way of the course
Numerous types of throws required for intermediate players trying to maintain par
Approachable for beginners - I took two friends on the course who never played before and they had a great time
Baskets moved between blue and gold regularly

Long walks between holes - in blue basket positions, you have to back-track the entire length of 18, then walk the entire length of 8 to get back to parking lot
No elevation changes
High traffic weekday evenings - park exits onto a highway with no stoplight, tends to back up when after-school practices end
No tee pads, some dusty tee-off areas with plenty of roots to trip over
No hole numbers on baskets - some are close together

I played 6 times during my visit in Sep-Oct 2015 over the course of 11 days. 3 times in Blue and 3 times in Gold. Difficulty gradually increases from Hole 1-8 which serves as a nice warm-up and confidence boost early in the game. The trees jump out at you on Hole 8 - got to keep the disc low and straight or throw a roller. Hole 11 and 12 don't have obvious fairways - your throwing between a lot of trees. All the culverts were dry during my visit, but some small water hazards to be aware of if you fade wayyy left on Hole 2 and 14. Watch your right side on hole 15 and 16, the rough is THICK. Poor approach accuracy on hole 5 in the gold position is disaster. Hole 6 in the gold position - just accept the bogey and move on.

-Course map at hole #1 is posted in open view which is important given that the signage on the course is somewhat misleading ( see cons). There was even printed maps to take, which was great to see the first time I played the course.
-The two sets of pin placements for each hole is great, as the pin positions seem to be alternated somewhat frequently.
-There are a good variety of holes (i.e. long distance, open, slightly wooded, short distance, a couple water hazards especially after it rains)

-Signage from one hole to another can be confusing on the course if pin placement is blue. However, signs are accurate when pin placement is gold position. Hey, at least there are signs, amiright!
-There are a few holes that are rather far apart, but I'm hoping that a second set of tee pads will be installed at some point due to this, or even the addition of alternate holes, another 9 or 18!
- I have not seen any info regarding tournaments or group play. I think this would be great, as I have seen a good number of disc golfers on the course on a consistent basis.

How long is the course you ask?! Well, I recently ran the course, (speed golf, if you will) I started on the back nine b/c there were two groups going off the front and the running app on my phone stated the route I took to play all 18 holes was 2 miles exactly. After running/playing the back 9 I ran b/w the football/soccer field and the dog park to get to hole #1 rather than around the dog park on the skate park side. So, if you see a dude running after every shot, that's me! Great exercise btw.

-Lastly, I'm curious to know who keeps up with the course.. as in who moves the pins, etc.. Is it the Pelican Park workers, themselves? How can we get some tournaments going? Is it a PDGA recognized course?

live well and enjoy
-Kevin
[email protected]

f you are a disc golfer that lives on the South shore of Lake Pontchartrain, you only have 2 courses to choose from; City Park and Lafreniere Park. If you truly enjoy this game, you owe it to yourself to cross the Causeway bridge and head over to The Pines disc golf course in Pelican Park. The park is only 5-10 minutes from the foot of the Causeway and offers much more than disc golf, to include batting cages, a skate park, a dog park, soccer and softball fields as well as a sand volleyball court. However, I will only be reviewing the disc gold course.

This 18 hole course is nothing like the south shore variants. The tee pads are natural and contain a mixture of soft sand this is fairly stable when the conditions are dry. However, I would not recommend playing this course for at least 48 hours after any rain activity. There are several drainage ditches that can come into play for the 1st 9 holes, and some of them had water in them, even though it had not rained in almost a week when I played. I can easily see how this course could be unplayable, or not very fun after a rain. I've heard that "very large, if fairly shallow, puddles cover large parts of holes 15, 16, 17 and 18 after modest rains; and hole 2 develops a small pond during the wetter months."

There are lots of trees of trees here, with most of them being large pine trees that will ruin a good throw at least a few times every round you play. This course's location lends itself to windy conditions, so be careful on those windy days, or you'll be chasing errant discs all over the place.

I was not very fond of the layout, as there is a lot of walking from the basket of one hole to the tee pad of the next hole. Perhaps a little more thought could have been given here. For example, the distances between holes 4&5, 5&6 and 6&7 are nearly 300 feet; and a first timer will have a hard time finding the next hole without a map. Hole 9 & 10 are separated by a dog park as well. Some signage pointing the way to the next hole would be nice.

Some of the trickier holes (baskets) can be:

Hole 2: If you find yourself to the left and in the water/marsh, you may be out of a disc.

Hole 3: The pro tees offer a 600+ foot shot, so bring out the big guns but try to avoid the trees.

Holes 7 & 8 have enough trees to make a straight shot nearly impossible.

Hole 10: Trees, trees and more trees. Unless you can throw with laser accuracy, you are bound to hit a tree. I've tried to throw out over the soccer field and hook it bak into play near the basket, which is well protected with more foliage.

Holes 12-18: These are all long holes with more trees. Holes 12-16 are bordered on the right by woods, and if your disc goes in them, you will probably not be able rto find it. And I speak from experience.

Overall, I like this course. Even though it's flat and has no real elevation changes, it offers some good challenges via water, woods, fence lines, dog parks and a million trees throughout the course. Just be sure to play when the course is dry.

Not going to list the pro's because they've been mentioned already in every review.

Not going to bother with the con's either except one, THE WIND. I can't believe no one has mentioned the wind before. Leave the understable disc in the car. 15 mph+ almost everyday and constantly changing direction. I've been playing this course at least twice a week since April and theirs been maybe 7-10 calm days. But that being said playing on windy days here will definatly make you a better player.

This course is new and there are two possible pin placements for each hole. There are generally not many people walking around the actual course but there is a dog park in the middle so you are always around people

Very repetitive and flat. I live in the area so I'm used to flat, but when the drainage ditch with "levees" can boast the highest point, it's flat.

This course presents a wide variety of shots and a challenging array of holes, from open bombers to tight, low ceiling tunnel shots to tree-weaving holes in the woods. It makes the best possible use of the park's landscape to provide a memorable, engaging 18 holes that have me using every disc in my bag and shot in my repertoire, and inventing a few more along the way out of necessity. There are even a few elevation changes (elevated basket on 6!) which, while minimal by northern standards, are noticeable in the flat south.

Although most of these holes are par 3s, many lie on the challenging side. It often takes more than a single good drive or upshot to make par: I find this course demands that I chain together a series of quality shots if I want to put up a good score. Mistakes and lapses are punished, but not overly so: most of the pars feel earned, rather than being gimmes. At the same time, there are enough user friendly holes that I don't feel like I'm getting senselessly beaten up on.

For an area already possessing two solid courses which lie on the shorter end of the spectrum, it's refreshing to play a course with such long and open distance shots. Even though there are only four or five of such holes, they do wonders to add variety to the round.

While it's often clear what shot you're being put on, a lot of the holes possess several options, which tests creativity in an engaging way: I've enjoyed experimenting with the lines I take on numerous holes.

Many of the holes feel memorable in full: rather than simply requiring you to make a single shot, they often provide a more prolonged challenge which adds to their experience and degree of memorableness.

Water is a factor on some holes, but as it mostly consists of shallow streams and drainage ditches, the chances of losing a disc are minimized.

Each hole contains a pair of alternate basket positions (a first in the area, I believe), increasing replay value. This course plays a number of different ways depending on which baskets are positioned where.

Very disc golf friendly park to play: outside foot traffic is minimized, bathrooms and water fountains are easily accessible, signage is very clear, both at the tee (wonderful tee signs) and when progressing to less-obvious holes.

A few of the holes seem a bit like throwaway holes, particularly the last two; perhaps they just seem that way in comparison to the preceding.

I would have liked to have seen some more novelty/extreme shots (extreme hyzers, memorable hazards, that sort of thing): while I like that most holes don't rely on making one shot to make or break them, having a few very unique lines in there would have made things more memorable.

Some of the shorter (blue) pin positions feel like clear downgrades for the hole. I like the push for variety, but for probably half the holes the longer position seems clearly superior.

While the surroundings are attractive enough, I certainly wouldn't consider them scenic by any definition.

This is exactly the kind of course the area needed: its more open, longer style is an excellent and welcome complement to City Park and Lafreniere. Holes 3-6 (609', 444', 347', and 400' in the long position) almost seem like statements to me, making it clear that this course is of a different ilk than its neighbors.

Had I the choice, I would probably rate this course a 3.75. I'd initially leaned towards a 4, but after some time playing this course I came to feel that the intermittent open holes keep this course from reaching the "must play" apex. Still, it's very solid. A lot of time and attention to detail went into this course, and I think they did a great job in creating a unique disc golf experience for the area. Definitely a memorable one in my eyes.