Downtown Austin course near all of the great benefits of beautiful Zilker park. Other pros...right now... not many. You can get a margarita at one of the many amazing restaurants near by... Seriously though, this course is normally a lot of fun but it's half closed and under very necessary construction. It is a great course to introduce someone to disc golf. It's also a good course to practice some of your basic shots. It's not hard and the lengths of the holes don't exceed 370'. You'd have to try and lose a disc out here. No tall grass. Trees are pretty tall so unless you are throwing super high shots, which are unnecessary, the majority of the holes force you to shoot under the trees. I like this course as a relaxed change of pace from the crowded Marie Moore or the difficult and long Guerrero or Circle C courses. I more often than not play championship courses but this is the perfect course for a relaxed round with friends who may be new to the sport.

Front 9 (which are the best holes) are closed for construction. Apparently the city plans on shutting all 18 down in a couple of weeks. Terrible erosion issues. According to parks and rec a decent amount of money ($40k) is going to be spent to get this course in good shape again. Looks like it'll be a heck of a project though. The back 9 have no hole markers. You have to follow groups in front of you to make sure you follow the course flow because it's not exactly obvious. Tee boxes are covered in eroded soil.

We'll see how it looks and plays in the fall when construction and erosion management have been completed. I'll put together an updated review then. For now, I hate saying this because this course does hold a special place in my heart, you'd be better off going a bit further south to Marie Moore (when looking for an introductory/ intermediate course).

The course is located in Zilker Park, the home of the Austin City Limits music festival. There are lots of other activities in the park and the people watching is good fun.

The course is not too hard for beginners, provides a decent white level challenge and is still fun for more advanced players. Most of the holes are ace-runs, so it's fun in that department.

The navigation is horrible. The tees aren't marked and the back nine, particularly, is very frustrating to play for the first time without a guide.

The baskets aren't all the same, with some double chain models and some single chain, many of which are pretty beat up. Tee pads are inconsistent with some being very nice and some horrible.

Although the park itself is quite nice, the course still has a fair amount of trash.

The rating reflects:
Average course = 2.5
Lack of challenge = -.5
Poor navigation = -.5

Be sure to print a map or play with a local. Please pick up some trash as you play.

Although the course isn't that great, a day spent enjoying Zilker Park with lunch or dinner at a nearby local restaurant is a day well spent.

*Tees on North course are nice large concrete hexagons
*There are some nice trees in places
*The map online at DGCR is basic, but essential. DO NOT go there without it!
*Convenient to get to, even on the bus.

-Tee signs: There are no tee signs so navigation would be a nightmare without the course map. Make sure to get a map online and bring it with you!
-No hole lengths available because no signs.
-Road noise: On the North course several holes are way too close to the loud and busy Mo-Pac Road. The road is only 80 ft from hole 2, tee 4 is only 10 ft from the road, and tee 9 is only 15 from the road! The noise, road, and cars seriously detracted from my enjoyment of nature.
-Lack of fairway shape variety. There are too many straight holes and only 1 left to right, so it feels repetitive. On the South course every hole is straight. As a combined 18: 13 St/ 4 Left/ 1 Right
-Elevation variety is very limited. The South 9 are all flat. The elevation changes on the North course are minimal with the greatest elev. change only 8 ft. As a combined 18: 11 Flat/ 3 Up/ 4 Down.
-There's very little length variety. All 18 holes are rather short and very similar in length, so this gets repetitive.
-Terrain: I thought the terrain was OK, but below average. I thought the Texas type trees were nice, but other than that there wasn't much about the course beauty that stood out to me. There's not that much terrain variety with all 18 holes of grass mixed with scattered trees; this repetitiveness numbed my enjoyment.
-Tees on South course are only dirt and not very well marked.
-Lacking most amenities: No restrooms, no score cards, no warm up basket, no message board.

Course Level = Probably White (most suited for Intermediate players rated 875-925) but maybe Red (most suited for Juniors and Intermediate players rated 825-875). Without hole lengths I can't be more definitive.

~Since there are 18 holes why don't they renumber the course from 1-18? It doesn't make sense to me to keep it numbered as two nine hole courses.
~Baskets: most are only single chain Discatchers but there are some double chains. Many are old, though, and some are rusty.

With the lack of signs and the ensuing problems navigation problems, combined with the lackluster design, the repetitive holes, and the loud traffic noise on the North course my desire to play again at Zilker is not that much greater than zilch. (OK, that's a little harsh, but I was looking for a way to use that word here.) To put it another way-- with so many courses to choose from in Austin Zilker's enjoyment factor is near the bottom of my list, so if I had limited time I'd play elsewhere.

<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my <span class="italic">enjoyment</span> of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the <span class="italic">quality</span> of the course. My Enjoyment Ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.

Look in the "Links/Files" section for my files with Hole-by-hole ratings and a more detailed Overall review. You can also read more of my review philosophy and rating notes at Disc Golf Course Reviews