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New Canaan, CT

Waveny Park DGC

2.695(based on 16 reviews)
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17 0
HyooMac
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.8 years 421 played 387 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Wooded, Short, Fun

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 7, 2024 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

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*** REVISED AND UPDATED: 2024 ****


Baskets are old DGA's that catch fine. They're topped with yellow Innova flags, which help a lot with visibility. Signage is laminated paper that shows both distance and elevation change. Orange arrows are fixed to the baskets pointing direction to the next tee, but there's plenty of signage to help you navigate.


Most holes have significant elevation change because the course is on a steeply wooded hillside. All the holes are wooded, some requiring very precise lines. Overall the course is very pretty, using hills, woods and old rock walls. There are a few very nice looking short downhill holes.


Although many of the blue tees don't create a lot more distance, they take out some of the turn. The whites tend to throw straighter, and the reds are pretty short. Good separation to serve different abilities.


Mostly par 3's with a few 4's sprinkled in. Hole #16 is a very nice par 4, which comes as a welcome change after a bunch of 3's.

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Cons:

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- Dirt tees, some slanted up, down, or sidehill. Signs show "mud detours" around some of the wetter areas, so I'd guess that playing after any significant rain would mean wet and slippery tees.


- Signage is only at the blue tee positions, and the simple illustrations don't do a very good job of telling you the actual shape of the hole. The illustrations don't highlight particular trees or landmarks, they just show generic green circles (trees) along the hole.

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Other Thoughts:

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~ There's a hiking trail that cuts through directly across some of the early fairways.


~ Impressive job squeezing a good 18 hole layout onto a tight piece of land. The early holes play up and down the same hillside, but their shapes and lengths vary enough to keep it interesting. A few of the side-by-side holes include OB markers to keep the line tight. Playing on a busy day you might experience some incoming fire.


~ The layout has changed since I played it in late 2020, when there were still a few "trial holes" to create an 18. They're currently experimenting with a new white tee position on #9, that would make it a par-4 instead of the current 3 (and there's a QR code to vote on which you prefer).


~ Waveny is a well cared-for course. Lots of signage in the welcome area, plenty of boardwalks through the low areas, and continual tweaking the holes to improve the course. The dirt tees hurt the overall rating, and you should avoid the course during wet conditions. And a cart isn't worth the effort on this rocky, hilly wooded course with muddy transitions.


~ Thanks to the Town of New Canaan for providing the land, and to locals for a ton of effort to improve on the original course. Permanent tees would obviously help a lot, but in the meantime, this is a fun play and worth the stop.

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5 0
WDM3
Experience: 6.2 years 46 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

What an adventure! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 28, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- Quick game*
- Location. Close to Stamford/Merritt Parkway
- Great signage
- Freeeeeee!
- Hole 12
- Clearly marked multiple tees (white, blue and red)
- Someone is working to improve this course
- Potential

* unless, like me, you have terrible accuracy, and your discs often end up in the rough ...

Cons:

- Unforgiving Rough. Full disclosure: I suck at disc golf ... but I've played my fair share of courses and this one features some of the most difficult disc retrieval challenges that I've encountered yet. A few drives, which strayed only a few meters from the fairway into the rough, were almost unrecoverable due to thick brambles and dense foliage. Even after spotting them, the discs were difficult to recover due to thick, thorny ground cover.

- Tees. I'm not opposed to natural tees. They can be quite charming. And I love that the Waveny course has three well-marked tee options for most holes that provide wonderfully diverse skill options for each hole. But some of the tees on the Waveny course are unacceptable. A good measure of leveling and root removal needs to be done. Or some tees need to be relocated.

- Exiting The Course. Twelve holes. Sure. Kind of an odd number, but more is always better, whether it's 12, 18 or 36. Hole 12 is actually one of the best on the course. But once it's done, you either have to take a long walk along the side of the road to get back to the parking area, or (as I elected to do) orienteer your way back along the overgrown and often dead-ending trails through the course to get back to your car. It seems like a trail could be blazed from the 12th basket back to the course entrance that parallels the road while staying in the woods, making for a much simpler and enjoyable exit.

Other Thoughts:

*Update: This course has continued to improve since my first review. So take, some of what's written below as outdated. This course is still a little rough around the edges but efforts made to upgrade it really have made it a more enjoyable course to play. *

New to the game, I've been playing my way through all of the courses in the area. Waveny is the closest to my job and would be a very convenient course to play before and after work ... but I've stayed away due to the negative reviews on this site.

I went there today hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I wasn't. The previous reviews are accurate. It was quite an adventure in the woods.

BUT ... I see potential in the Waveny course. It offers challenging but realistic holes for beginner/intermediate players. And it's fun! The course design isn't bad. The variety is there: some technical tree play, a few open 250-300 ft bombers, some interesting doglegs (not much elevation to work with though). And, it's a little wild. Nice and empty. I love Cranbury Park, but I hate waiting at tee boxes for the (lovely and fully-entitled to take advantage of their public spaces) people walking their dogs to clear out of the fairways. This is not a problem at Waveny. There are no hiking trails or dog parks in the disc golf area. You feel like you're tromping around through the woods all by your lonesome ... that's fairly unique for the region.

Playing there today, I started to notice the piles of logs and branches stacked off to the side of fairway, particularly on the last few holes ... someone is working to keep the course up to some sort of standard. Good on you. I hope that the town/park authority is offering some kind of support in these efforts.

In my opinion, the only thing holding this course back from an extra star or two is a few days/weeks of volunteer maintenance.

Step 1: Improve the trails. Add signs to help you navigate the course. e.g. "Hole 1 ->", "<- Hole 5", "<- Parking Lot"

Step 2: Tee maintenance. Level 'em out. Take care of exposed roots. Upgrade tee maps if financially feasible.

Step 3: Do some strategic rough thinning.

I like the idea of having a course so close to work. I'll keep playing at Waveny when I don't feel like playing Cranbury ... but would be stoked to see some work continue to happen. And I'd be more than open to volunteering if anyone is recruiting.
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7 0
nnelson42
Experience: 11.8 years 13 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

short, quick, ok 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 29, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Chainstar baskets
-Quick course to play (easily under 1 hour)
- not very busy
- very accessible from Merritt Pkwy

Cons:

- much of the course is lined with overgrown vegitation
- course is not in a loop
- moving from tee to tee isn't intuitive. Need to pay attention to course map
- broken sign for hole #9 and no white or blue tee box

Other Thoughts:

Overall there is not too much to say about this course. Not very well kept up and not very memorable. One nice thing however is that it is quick to play which can be nice after work as we are losing sunlight. I would go out again for a quick round by myself, but with Cranbury being 15 minutes away I don't think i will come back very often.

Update: I was at the course yesterday and it was clear some maintenance had just happened. A good deal of the vegitation was cut back. Course looks much cleaner and subsequently made tracking and finding your frisbee much easier. Much more enjoyable to play now!
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12 0
solomon.trenton
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.7 years 89 played 68 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun for all! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 27, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Three sets of tees offered and gives you three totally different courses. Large range of shots from easy to challenging. The signs are easyto read and very informative. Large array of different holes requiring many different types of shots. Fairways are clear of debris. There is a welcome board with scorecards available by hole one. Navigation was easy and next tee signs were posted when needed. Really fun on the short tees and challenging on the long tees. There are clean bathrooms across the athletic fields. The baskets are in great shape. Waveny is close to the must play Cranbury.

Cons:

The dirt tees are uneven and loaded with roots and rocks. Some of the tees are on top of the baskets or in the middle of the last fairway. Hole twelve does not end up near hole one. Some holes force your shot (only one lane to basket). There are large felled trees all over the fairway of hole eight. There are only tewlve holes!

Other Thoughts:

There is a pool and athletic fields. There is a fenced in area that you can let your dog run without a leash. From the parking lot you walk across the street you will see a a sign that says Waveny disc golf. They are currently trying to expand to 18 holes.
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6 0
Unkles27
Experience: 17 years 80 played 15 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Not bad 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 3, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Tucked away in the woods, lots of interesting lines to take and some pretty good basket placements. Accuracy will be tested here. I liked the multiple tees provided, and the signs were decent. Navigation was pretty easy, the hardest part was finding the entrance to the course. Lefties and righties will both be challenged here. The fairways were well designed and I thought they were generally fair, but a bad shot will leave you in a tough position. They've done a good job keeping things clear, walking is easy and a throw off the fairway is generally easy to find.

Cons:

Some of the tees were pretty rough and need to be taken with care. I didn't really like the two holes that were out in the open, they didn't fit in with the rest of the course, just two long throws on a hillside basically. I could see this course being a little frustrating for beginners, even from the short tees because of all the trees.

Other Thoughts:

Its good to see CT getting some more courses, we need some in the Danbury area though!
This was a pretty fun course and I think a good addition to the area. If I had to choose one course in southern Connecticut it would be Cranbury, but this would be next.
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4 0
Taino
Experience: 14.8 years 21 played 14 reviews
3.00 star(s)

An excellent start 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 10, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Well laid-out, imaginative, good use of terrain. Requires a variety of finesse shots; only a few holes where you can uncork a huge drive. Free parking, right across the road from the entrance. Three tee options per hole allow for good options.

Cons:

Might be difficult to find. Only 12 holes. Conflicting maps online. Signage is adequate, but could be improved.

Other Thoughts:

I really like this course; I play it at least once per week.

Updated to say that there are now 14 holes (2 new ones that are still being roughed out), and at least two other holes have different tee areas. The map is being updated, as well. Lastly, plans are in the works to upgrade this to 18 holes.

The new layout will definitely test your accuracy, while still letting your arm stretch. Can't wait until the final holes go in.
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5 0
gottafixit
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 21.1 years 875 played 70 reviews
3.00 star(s)

took a minute to find it 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 28, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Define and lined woods fairways. Variety of shots using the three tees and minor elevation changes. Actual park has lots of cool things to do even a pool.

Cons:

Natural tees and some were kinda rough. no next tee signage. Basket Variety.

Other Thoughts:

It took me a while to find the entrance to this course because I was being a retard so for others to learn from me, take the first entrance into the park, park, then walk back to the entrance and cross the road. It was nice to see the course designed from the get go with three tees. I play the whites but it seemed like a good bit of them used different lines from the longer tees, and not just distance. The course winds threw the woods with a good mix of shots and some minor elevation changes. The fairways are nicely lined with downed timbers and fairly well cleared of brush. I found some of the tees to be a bit too natural, and thought some simple next T navigation hints would have helped a little, although I still found the course easy to follow. The couple holes that are in the open are a nice break from the woods but don't have alot too them, the first one on a hill but its still just an open field shot. This course also features just about every make of baskets so not a huge issue but the mixing of baskets could play a little on the mental side of putting.

Overall it was a nice woods course and the three tees make for all levels of fun. Not to hard to follow, and you shouldn't have to bad a time finding you lies, which makes it beginner friendly too. Work on the tees and signage and get those 6 other holes in and your there.
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