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Wilbur Young Park DGC reviews
12
2
It's not you, Blue Springs...it's me. (Maybe.) 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Oct 3, 2014
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
Nice amenities. Concrete tee pads and multiple tee positions throughout, making this part easy for all ages/skill levels.
In a very nice part of town; rest assured, you'll be fine playing here. No neighborhood worries.
Baskets were painted bright orange and in great condition when we were there, making them easy to find.
Ample parking very close by.
The pond by 10 has a little dock near it, and we enjoyed taking a minute to sit out there and watch the fish. It was a nice touch and we liked it a lot; very pretty scenery on this part of the course!
The tees and signs are all in good condition; pathways are mulched well.
With the exception of 10, the "water hazards" really aren't that bad and add a nice element to the game. I thought the designer used the water available to him well.
I really disliked this course personally, but I had the feeling that if I was a better player, I might have appreciated the challenge.
UPDATE: 12/4/14 - It has been over a year since I last reviewed this course and I have come back to revisit it. First off, there is an active pin marking system and I have generally found it to be accurate. This helps significantly - beginners, look for the small colored box underneath the map and it should tell you which position is active. Great job adding something that is generally sorely lacking at most of the KC-area courses I've played.
Generally this course is not busy, which is surprising since there's not many options in eastern Jackson County really. I shoot up here to play if Legacy is packed, which it usually is on a nice day.
In a very nice part of town; rest assured, you'll be fine playing here. No neighborhood worries.
Baskets were painted bright orange and in great condition when we were there, making them easy to find.
Ample parking very close by.
The pond by 10 has a little dock near it, and we enjoyed taking a minute to sit out there and watch the fish. It was a nice touch and we liked it a lot; very pretty scenery on this part of the course!
The tees and signs are all in good condition; pathways are mulched well.
With the exception of 10, the "water hazards" really aren't that bad and add a nice element to the game. I thought the designer used the water available to him well.
I really disliked this course personally, but I had the feeling that if I was a better player, I might have appreciated the challenge.
UPDATE: 12/4/14 - It has been over a year since I last reviewed this course and I have come back to revisit it. First off, there is an active pin marking system and I have generally found it to be accurate. This helps significantly - beginners, look for the small colored box underneath the map and it should tell you which position is active. Great job adding something that is generally sorely lacking at most of the KC-area courses I've played.
Generally this course is not busy, which is surprising since there's not many options in eastern Jackson County really. I shoot up here to play if Legacy is packed, which it usually is on a nice day.
Cons:
UPDATE: 12/3/14 - To me, the main bad thing about this course is still the constant throwing in the woods without much of a break. There are limited options to open up and throw, and even when there appear to be, you have to be careful because there are hazards and lost disc opportunities everywhere out here.
The short teepads sometimes reduce the distance you're throwing to under 100 feet, which is really pretty laughable even if you're a novice. But, if you throw from long, you're facing several hazards that will give you lots of trouble and might lose your disc. Why this couldn't have been balanced better is a mystery to me.
I believe in DG, there is a very fine line between fun and frustrating, and unfortunately, Young Park just falls on the frustrating side of the spectrum all too often. I've played very challenging courses that I did terrible at, but still rated them highly because of the sheer enjoyment factor. Here is just not that way to me. Unless you can hit very tight lines and throw low consistently to stay out of the trees, you'll just get frustrated. Original review follows:
I personally felt like the course did a poor job of giving variety. Since the course is in a really compact area compared to, say, Legacy Park a few miles away, there's not a lot of options for the designer to use, and so you're mostly throwing into the woods. On some of the holes, there's literally trees right in front of the tee boxes that are almost impossible for less experienced players to throw around. I don't mind a few tunnel shots here and there, but it felt like that's all we were playing all night and it was annoying.
The signage was unhelpful in many cases, and frequently, you'll walk up on 3 or even 4 concrete slabs wondering where in the heck you're supposed to be throwing from. I know a lot of players like multiple tee boxes, but personally, I think combining that with multiple pin positions makes it just too confusing. The flow of the course was very unnatural and didn't seem to make sense to us.
Navigation is sucky on many holes, largely due to the cramped nature of the course. We were left wandering around frequently, wondering where to go. Pay attention to the brick arrows at the bottom of most of the baskets, they'll help you out at least a bit.
Sandwiched between a high school and two very busy roads, the course was noisy, and we didn't like hearing sirens, car horns, traffic, etc, constantly during our time on the course. I realize they couldn't help this, but it's annoying if you're not used to it.
I don't know if BS has let this course go in recent months, but we found the weeds, woods, and rough to be almost overwhelming. Maybe if they trimmed it back a bit?
There is a NASTY old barbed wire fence right by 5, and I had an errant drive land outside it. While the fence is clipped of its sharp edges, minimizing the pain that can come from it, we still had to hop the fence and forage around some woods a mere 3-6 feet from AA Highway to find my driver. I think the setting is a real detriment to the course, and this part in particular was really aggravating for us.
Playground and road come into play from 8-10. Again, don't bean someone's snowflake in the head with your mid-range disc.
The short teepads sometimes reduce the distance you're throwing to under 100 feet, which is really pretty laughable even if you're a novice. But, if you throw from long, you're facing several hazards that will give you lots of trouble and might lose your disc. Why this couldn't have been balanced better is a mystery to me.
I believe in DG, there is a very fine line between fun and frustrating, and unfortunately, Young Park just falls on the frustrating side of the spectrum all too often. I've played very challenging courses that I did terrible at, but still rated them highly because of the sheer enjoyment factor. Here is just not that way to me. Unless you can hit very tight lines and throw low consistently to stay out of the trees, you'll just get frustrated. Original review follows:
I personally felt like the course did a poor job of giving variety. Since the course is in a really compact area compared to, say, Legacy Park a few miles away, there's not a lot of options for the designer to use, and so you're mostly throwing into the woods. On some of the holes, there's literally trees right in front of the tee boxes that are almost impossible for less experienced players to throw around. I don't mind a few tunnel shots here and there, but it felt like that's all we were playing all night and it was annoying.
The signage was unhelpful in many cases, and frequently, you'll walk up on 3 or even 4 concrete slabs wondering where in the heck you're supposed to be throwing from. I know a lot of players like multiple tee boxes, but personally, I think combining that with multiple pin positions makes it just too confusing. The flow of the course was very unnatural and didn't seem to make sense to us.
Navigation is sucky on many holes, largely due to the cramped nature of the course. We were left wandering around frequently, wondering where to go. Pay attention to the brick arrows at the bottom of most of the baskets, they'll help you out at least a bit.
Sandwiched between a high school and two very busy roads, the course was noisy, and we didn't like hearing sirens, car horns, traffic, etc, constantly during our time on the course. I realize they couldn't help this, but it's annoying if you're not used to it.
I don't know if BS has let this course go in recent months, but we found the weeds, woods, and rough to be almost overwhelming. Maybe if they trimmed it back a bit?
There is a NASTY old barbed wire fence right by 5, and I had an errant drive land outside it. While the fence is clipped of its sharp edges, minimizing the pain that can come from it, we still had to hop the fence and forage around some woods a mere 3-6 feet from AA Highway to find my driver. I think the setting is a real detriment to the course, and this part in particular was really aggravating for us.
Playground and road come into play from 8-10. Again, don't bean someone's snowflake in the head with your mid-range disc.
Other Thoughts:
I was expecting great things from this park, and I hate to be in the minority, but I didn't think it was that great. If you enjoy tunnel shots and the like, you'll probably like this course. However, we just found it infuriating, and kept sailing disc after disc into the numerous trees.
Long stretches of wooded holes felt incredibly repetitive. While the water hazards were used fairly well, we just did not like the sameness feeling. You have to consider that while nothing but wide-open easy shots is boring for an advanced player, nothing but tunnel shots and technical work can be maddening for beginners. I've played other courses that do both very well, and this was not one of them. More variety and a chance to rip a driver a good 200-250 feet would be a welcome opportunity here.
Again, maybe it's just me, but I left this course frustrated, underwhelmed, and irritated. More advanced players might really like the chance to work on their technical skills. Beginners, beware the multiple trees!
UPDATE: 12.3.14 - All in all, I do stand by most of what I've said because it's just an opinion and everyone has one. I'm not sure what this course is trying to be, because to be honest, it's not overly beginner-friendly, even with the short teepads, which occasionally just make the holes laughably easy without providing any challenge at all. However, you have to hit some crazy tight lines here on long to do well whatsoever, and even if you do, the scenery, layout, and overall feel of this course just fall short of most of the other options in KC in my opinion.
Long stretches of wooded holes felt incredibly repetitive. While the water hazards were used fairly well, we just did not like the sameness feeling. You have to consider that while nothing but wide-open easy shots is boring for an advanced player, nothing but tunnel shots and technical work can be maddening for beginners. I've played other courses that do both very well, and this was not one of them. More variety and a chance to rip a driver a good 200-250 feet would be a welcome opportunity here.
Again, maybe it's just me, but I left this course frustrated, underwhelmed, and irritated. More advanced players might really like the chance to work on their technical skills. Beginners, beware the multiple trees!
UPDATE: 12.3.14 - All in all, I do stand by most of what I've said because it's just an opinion and everyone has one. I'm not sure what this course is trying to be, because to be honest, it's not overly beginner-friendly, even with the short teepads, which occasionally just make the holes laughably easy without providing any challenge at all. However, you have to hit some crazy tight lines here on long to do well whatsoever, and even if you do, the scenery, layout, and overall feel of this course just fall short of most of the other options in KC in my opinion.
