Kansas City, MO

Blue Valley Park - Short Course

2.15(based on 10 reviews)
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Blue Valley Park - Short Course reviews

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9 0
Pevio
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 188 played 120 reviews
2.00 star(s)

These are not the baskets you're looking for. Move along. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 6, 2021 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Despite being overshadowed by it's big brother, the short course at Blue Valley Park, also called Baby Blue, features a decent set of holes with a lot of elevation that will leave you a little tired despite being par 28. The course is easy to follow even without tee signs, and there's quite a bit of variety, with some cleverly placed tees and basket locations.

Despite being lightly wooded, the trees that the course does have cause low ceilings on half the holes, block left-to-right lines on three holes, and right-to-left lines on two holes. As a result, while this course isn't about shot shaping, you will need a few different shots if you want consistent birdie putts.

The elevation change really takes this place from a lousy course to a decent one. With precarious basket placements on three holes (and possibly on a few more, depending on how windy it is), your drives will need to be pretty accurate if you want stress-free putts. There are also a lot of downhill and uphill drives that will test your distance control.

Cons:

While there is challenge and variety, the distance just isn't there on most holes to produce anything exciting. Holes 1 and 4 play downhill without much distance, it won't require much power to get far on holes 2, 5, or 7, and of the four remaining holes, one is (fairly easy) par 4 and the others are uphill. As a result, it often won't require that fast of a driver to reach the pin.

The lack of trees makes shot shaping virtually nonexistent, and a lot of times, you can take any flight path you want. Sure, the tees and baskets are well-placed and you may be throwing a hyzer, but you can swing that hyzer as wide as you want to the one side of the fairway

Hole 3 is rather gimmicky, having a low ceiling that's just too low and no legitimate line to the basket except a super powerful shot or a lucky roller. I would rather a hole play perpendicular, maybe towards hole 4's basket.

It's clear this course wasn't meant to have the epicness the championship course was, but it clearly doesn't try to make itself stand up tall. It doesn't play near the lake. The only woods on the course are behind the tees, not in or beside the fairways. As a result, the openness and overall lack of spicy holes become worse, and the decent scenery doesn't feel all that good.

Also, the baskets are garbage - not because they're in bad condition, but because they're Mach 3's.

Other Thoughts:

This course is at the top of the hill that is Blue Valley Park, which means it's generally a little windier here than elsewhere. While it adds challenge where there wouldn't otherwise be much, but it means some holes like hole 4 become rather luck-dependent, when you're throwing the disc at the ground and hoping the wind won't play with it much.

A lot of the tee pads are shaped rather oddly, or are on the small side, but the course is shot enough it doesn't matter much.

At the end of the day, there's not much to say about this course. It's a decent warm-up for Big Blue (if you're okay with all the hills), but it shouldn't be one anyone is excited to come back to when there's the much better course literally across the street.
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12 0
Surge5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 9.7 years 166 played 166 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Always good to have options

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 18, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Tons of elevation. All but one hole have major elevation changes on them, and that hole has a hilltop green to keep things interesting. It can be a bit deceptive (My drive on the first hole glided 125' past the pin and OB) but it makes a really good short course.

Navigation really isn't too tough. Most of the time, if you see a teepad from the green, that's the tee you need to head toward (This excludes hole 8 to 9).

This course is almost always empty due to most visitors coming for the main attraction: the 18-hole course.

For being such an aged course, the baskets are in pretty great condition. The basket of 2 had a single broken chain but that was it.

There is a newer blue practice basket on an island across the road from 9's basket.

The teepads are all unique. Several follow the design of the main course where the tee is shaped like the hole itself, while some are a wedge shape pointing toward the basket.

The distances of holes vary pretty well. The shortest right around 200' and the longest at 466'.

Cons:

Several baskets have been in the ground so long they have begun to lean downhill. This is nice for putting straight uphill/downhill, but when putting from the side it's very wonky to look at.

There is no signage or direction markers anywhere. There are a few blind baskets that having a small sign for would be nice and finding hole 9's tee from hole 8's basket will frustrate anyone without a map. Finding hole 1 from the parking area could be hard too.

There is very little in the way of obstacles. Hole 3 has a low tree near the tee but apart from that there are pretty much zero obstacles in the fairways

The area of town is definitely a bit sketchy, and you may see some strange things here, but it's unlikely in this part of the park.

Other Thoughts:

This is a good option for some tough elevation challenge if you don't feel like playing the world's (former) longest 18 holes. It can also easily be combined into the long course to make a 27-hole round for a tournament or league. It's a great compliment to the greatest course in the area, but I know most players will be visiting the main course.
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9 0
Upshawt1979
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 548 played 429 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Valley Variety 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 1, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

9 hilly holes hardly hiding historical hijinks, Blue Valley Park's short course is humbly hip. It has irregular, non-uniform concrete tee pads. The aged baskets are not in bad shape. Grassy hills dominate the terrain, with mature trees sprinkled throughout. I really like the elevation change, but it is tame compared to the long course. The distances from tee to basket on each hole are also much easier to cover, with fewer trees in play. There are roads along the side of several holes that can put you OB if you miss the center.

Plenty of birdie chances on this side of the park. The course starts across the road from the pavilion, and there is a practice basket in the wedge of grass next to the parking area. Hole 1 is downhill, you will see a concrete bench next to the tee. There is only one large tree to be avoided on the left side near the tee, unless you turn it over toward the water. Hole 2 tees under a tree to the right of the first basket. It plays back up the hill and is wide open. Hole 3 is also uphill, a little further this time. There is a low branch that is difficult to avoid. If the tee shot is too high it has a good chance of a knock down, and too low runs right into the hillside. This might be the toughest hole to birdie out of the nine because of this branch.

The 4th hole is a downhill midrange shot, and there are a couple of small trees on the way to the pin. Hole 5 is also kind of a midrange, slightly uphill. There is a big tree to the right of the fairway if you stray from the line, and the basket is on the edge of a small hill that can make the putt tough if you have a bad angle or roll out. Hole 6 is uphill again, with a tree branch hanging over the tee, but not quite as menacing as the one back on the 3rd hole.

Hole 7 is uphill, but it flattens out about halfway to the pin. There are one or two depressions that can catch you on the right side, but no trees until you pass the basket. Hole 8 has trees along the right for most of the fairway. It opens up before you get to the pin, which is nestled in among several small hills. Hole 9 is the only par four. It is mostly open and fairly flat. The pin is on a bump, with a tree to the left and slightly behind it.

Cons:

The tees have no signs, and there is not a map of the course. The media page does have pictures of each tee that are helpful to discern what order to play and where you're going.

This part of the park is slightly more exposed to the wind than the low spots, or more heavily wooded areas. It is much easier in calm conditions.

This isn't the best part of town. I've heard gunshots half the times I've played here. Others have had vehicles broken into, hide your valuables. There is litter all over. Don't be surprised to see a meth pipe or underwear on the ground. Once I played the long course with friends, and there was a large travel baseball duffel bag with a pig carcass inside it, just sitting on the edge of the road.

I wouldn't let this scare you away, just don't do anything silly. The parking area is not very far out of sight from most of the short course, and it plays fast.

Other Thoughts:

The long course is the draw here for serious players, and the short is more of a warm up. It is fun and more suited for beginners. There is a nice view of Arrowhead Stadium from the fairway on hole 9.

I played it for the first time recently, and carded a 29 (1 over par). 2 birdies on hole 5 and 7. Bogies on holes 1, 6, and 9. It wouldn't be out of the question to get 4 or 5 under if I played it several more times, but I will be more likely to be on the long layout when I am at Blue Valley.
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6 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
2.50 star(s)

I Wouldn't Classify This As A Beginner Course! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 20, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

If you play a course which is called the Blue Valley Park - Short Course, Why then would you complain that the holes are too short? It's listed as a course for beginners. It wasn't designed to challenge the normal disc golfer. Now I would inject, when you throw in the normal wind factor which seems to be about 20-30 MPH, that this course is not a beginner's course at all. I would categorize it as a recreational course. There is only one hole playing less than 200' and # 9 is 467' to a basket that sits atop a small mound. Very few beginners will par that hole on a day with the wind blowing hurricane force directly in their face.

The course features these weird odd shaped concrete tee pads. No two are alike. Whoever built the frames must have had a sense of humor, or was a very poor carpenter! The course has DGA baskets with the red numbers on top.

The terrain is very hilly making for some great downhill throws and tougher uphill throws, too. # 4 is often talked about. It's 279' downhill with the lake looming about 50' feet behind the basket. Playing in the wind, one is never sure what flight your disc will follow. So this hole will make you think before being overly aggressive.

At least two holes has low lying branches at the tee pad, slightly affecting your tee off. On one hole, I was trying to time the wind bursts so as to throw when the branch was up higher and so much in my way. (Or probably not so much messing with my mind).

I thought # 7 was a pretty cool hole little hole. It's just 207', slightly uphill with only the top half of the basket showing from the pad.

Cons:

The wind made every throw an adventure.
Tee signs would be nice.
It took me a bit of exploring to figure out # 1 and where to start. After that, navigation was pretty easy.

Other Thoughts:

This course is what it is, that is a easier and shorter version of the championship course. It's designed to be short, easy, less taxing, more birdies, etc. Accept it for what it is! Quit trying to make it out to be a big boy's course. And then I'll stop complaining about the winds in the Midwest.
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8 0
bigreddog
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.1 years 195 played 62 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Nice warmup for Big Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 18, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

There's quite a bit of elevation and it's used pretty well, to help keep the holes unique. Pretty much every hole has a different elevation pattern. 1 and 4 both straight downhill, 3 and 7 are both straight uphill, but still one of the best varieties I've seen. 10/10

Shouldn't have much of a problem finding discs except if you go long on the fourth hole. There's tall grass behind the fourth hole but it's probably good since it helps stop discs from rolling into the lake. If you go right on the first hole you could easily get a bad bounce and roll way down possibly to the lake (happened to my dad). 9/10

Navigation on the holes themselves is pretty easy once you find the tees. 8 of the 9 baskets can be seen from them, number 5 is up over a hill, but it's pretty easy to tell. The only problem is that since the course is so short baskets are relatively close together and the tees don't always point exactly the right way, but just use common sense and you'll be fine. 9/10

Navigation between the holes was fine after you can figure out which is the first tee. Finding the last tee is also a little tricky, it's back pretty much straight right of 8's tee. The first tee is the closest to the playground, and if you see which basket is number 9 it's right next to it which is how I found it. 7/10

The obstacles here are used pretty well, especially for how short it is. No hole is completely wide open except for 4(unless you count the lake behind) and 9 is also wide open until you get right next to the basket. I really like the use of low hanging branches on a couple uphill holes. 7/10

There's a pretty good variety of openness on this course, there aren't many shots that are heavily wooded, but there are some open and some moderately wooded holes. 7/10

The holes require a pretty good variety of shot paths. 2 pretty much requires right to left, 3 and 7 require low shots, and 8 requires a left to right. 7/10

Cons:

Course maintenance is pretty bad, there are some benches present, but most of them are flipped over. It's been well mowed both times I went, but other than that... 2/10

The tees are concrete, but they are some of the worst concrete tees I've played on. They're pretty small, too small for my runup anyway. 3/10
Baskets aren't very good, some are a little tilted making shots from one side easier than others. 2/10

Not very much variety in distance, as most holes are pretty short. I haven't been playing very long and I didn't need a driver except for the uphill holes with overhangs that forced a low throw and the last hole. The last hole is quite a bit longer (about 450) and is more like a normal hole. 2/10

This course definitely isn't good if you're a more experienced player looking for a challenge, the length shows it's obviously meant for beginners. Plus, the park map shows it as a "Junior Course" and it serves this purpose well. 2/10

No alternate hole positions, probably because there isn't much room for them. 0/10

Most of the holes are fairly straightforward with not a ton of options for how to play them. There are a couple exceptions like 2 or 6, but overall 4/10

There's water and restrooms at the start, benches are turned over though. A little bit of shade. 5/10 on comfort

Other Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this course, it was a lot better than I expected based on the other reviews.

Both times I've played the long course I played this course first as a warmup because I didn't want to try throwing on 800 foot holes cold. It's good for this or if it's a hot day and you don't feel like playing a full 18 on the long course.

I also want to point out that the course is referred to as a "Junior Course" on site, and I believe it should be evaluated with this is consideration.
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2 1
KC Red
Experience: 13 played 6 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Worth playing at least once.. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 21, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice playground available for those golfers with children. Centrally located to city core. Elevation changes add challenge. Much more playable than the big course there.

Cons:

No signage. Very odd shaped tee pads. They are shaped in a way that they point to the basket I guess but they are still strange. Finding way from tee pad t tee pad is not intuitive. Finding tee pad for 9 was challenging the first time.

Other Thoughts:

There is a lot of potential for the land here. The big course is way too long for the average player and the short course could be made more challenging. The course is in the middle of a blighted area. This is not a place I would feel safe at after dark.
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10 0
Donovan
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 37 years 300 played 187 reviews
1.50 star(s)

…and it has a beautiful pond. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 25, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This a fairly wide open 9 holes. It has the strangest shaped cement tee pads with no real rhyme or reason to them. Don't get me wrong they are plenty big enough, but don't expect them to show you they way to the hole. (See hole photos to understand this.) The pond has very nice and has a unique walking pier on it. It comes into play on hole #4 at the basket if you get a bad skip or just plain overthrow the hole by 50 feet or so. This is a odd layout, but uses the elevation very well. There are just a few trees on this piece of land and they may come into play a little, but straight shots are golden here. Since these holes are built on or around some decent sized hills, the greens can be a bit of a challenge. #9 green was on top of a mound and I can see where this one can make you really bear down if you played here often. The baskets were in good shape.

Cons:

Now while the pond scenery is nice, the view next hole #6 & #7 is bit more "rundown" homestead style. (I did not however, put those photos in hole gallery.) There were no tee signs and except for tee pad #9, it should not be too hard to find your way around. #9 tee pad is back behind you when finishing #8 not too far from tee pad #7. Most of these holes were fairly short except #9. There are no bathrooms or message board. Parking is along the street. It does not appear to be too well maintained as the grass seemed to be getting a bit long.

Other Thoughts:

The Fun Factor for me was a bit lame. I hate beating down hard work, but this just did not do it for me. I liked hole #9 because of the basket on the mound, but outside of that, there just isn't a lot to get excited about. I do not really recommend this stop for a road trip. If you came here to play the 10,000+ foot monster 18 hole course, there is no sense wasting time doing this 9 holes.
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8 1
scarpfish
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20.8 years 360 played 98 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Awful orientation 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Good for beginners, short arms or a warmup for the larger course next door. Does have some decent elevation challenge to it, and something the big course doesn't have, a shot on Hole 4, where you could put it in the water (although you're going to have to really overthrow it). Very scenic. And despite its easy nature, gets slightly more challenging with each hole. Holes 4 and 8 albeit nothing spectacular, are the best of the bunch.

Cons:

Its well, short, and not very challenging. No tee signs, no map, and quite possibly the most bizarre shaped tee pads I've ever seen. They are supposedly the same "shape of the hole" tee pads that are on the big course, but they're even more irritating here as they seem to either be diamond shaped or way off kilter. Ghetto neighborhood views along holes 6 & 7. Greens are completely open. Your biggest obstacle on approaches will be the wind.

Other Thoughts:

Having seen so many great courses in KC, the BIue Valley Short Course is really disapointing. In fact, I'd say the whole park (which is otherwise beautiful) is disapointing. I found it bizarre that I did not see a single disc golfer on either course while I was there, and I'd say the design of both of these courses is a problem. One is too little and the other is too much. Perhaps a do over (like say two still challenging but not so extreme 18 holers) is necessary? Perhaps while maintaining the big course pads so they can be used for championship caliber events?
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8 0
Olorin
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 44.9 years 966 played 116 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Relatively short, open, grassy, with some elevation changes 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 1, 2007 Played the course:never

Pros:

Every hole has some elevation change. Good for Juniors, new players, and shorter throwers. Quite a contrast to the regular long course in the same park.

Cons:

Very open and grassy with only a few scattered trees. Very little length variety or fairway shape variety; every drive is straight because it's so open. The open greens aren't very challenging.

Other Thoughts:

Course Level = probably Red.

See http://www.playdg.com / for pictures and descriptions of each hole.

Special Note: I rated this course Below Average, but I recognize that building this course took lots of vision, time, money, and work. Since I don't want to downplay these efforts, I'm not posting my usual review notes in the Files section. If you want to read more specifics about my evaluation, please send me an email to <playdiscgolf @gmail.com> and I'll send you a file with more details.
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2 4
Koronin
Experience: 17.4 years 4 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Good for first timers, or a quick warm up for the big course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 28, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Excellent for novice players looking to gain control, easy targets.

Good for experienced players to warm up on with a putter before playing the big course.

Cons:

Location.
Dogs
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