Annandale, MN

Clearwater / Pleasant Lake

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3.685(based on 17 reviews)
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7 0
ChainAbuserHeuser
Experience: 16.8 years 40 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Love at first sight. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

• Very well manicured. Short grass to long rough to wooded.
• Decent tee pads of cements/concrete. (could be better, could be a lot worse). Tee pads 6.5/10 rating
• 2 Tees per basket
• Variety. I'm not throwing the same drive over and over and over again
• Good use of open fields, tighter gaps and just a few real tough wooded holes with hard gaps.
• Allows pets if they are on a leash.
• Portable toilet near parking lot.
• Sunny and shaded spots all through the course.

Cons:

(These Cons are very minor and I wouldn't consider them a flaw, but something that could be fixed).
• Dirt parking lot, again not a big deal at all.
• Slightly more accurate and details tee signs.

Other Thoughts:

• Now this could be seen as a Pro or Con so I will put it here. The two tee pads are those I would call Pro/Am tees and not A/B tee. This is because most of the longer tees are ~60 ft. further behind the shorter ones. I see A/B tees as not only longer, but a different flight path. I personally like this being a Pro/Am style. It allows newer players to start short, then gain skills and understanding and then play longs. I've only played the long tees once on a moderately windy day, and I had the most fun playing a new course like that in a very very long time (-7!). 100% would recommend for novice and experienced.

Please give this review a like or dis-like so I can change my reviews to be more helpful. Thanks! Good luck out there and stay safe!
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2 1
ThomasOrion
Experience: 20 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Pleasant Surprise at Pleasant Lake 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 30, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

I live in St Paul - this was about 1 Hr 15 Min drive - which is not bad. It was a nice drive out on the country roads. The course has holes 1 and 18 finishing by the parking lot. Course seemed nicely Maintained. The Layout was nice, there are some fun holes, some tunnels, some open (but has tall grass and trees as obstacles) The Fairways were fair, the rough was mild but can be tricky with a lot of tall grass. Layout overall is really cool, some bomber holes some woods, some elevation, overall one of the better courses I've played. I really enjoyed it.
No holes played around or over water so there wasn't risk of losing anything :)

Cons:

Mach 3's. They were in decent shape but....if this course got nicer baskets and some mulch under them and maybe a couple more benches, trash cans, etc it would elevate this to a 4.5 easy. (If not a 5)

Other Thoughts:

Nice course, there is a beach/park right across the street. Lakes around but the course stays clear of that.

Fun course, I will definitely return
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5 0
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.9 years 970 played 542 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 1, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is set in a beautiful park that is disc golf exclusive. The baskets here are Mach 3's that are all in fantastic shape and catch great. These have the number plates on top and they're actually facing the tee which is great. The tees are also fantastic. They are all level and grippy concrete. Most have 2 pads per hole. A few only have one. The course offers a great variety of shots required. You'll need just about every shot in your bag. There's left, right and dead straight. The tee signs are solid as well. They offer a basic course map, hole #, distances from each pad and par. Signs are located by the long tee if there are two.They have gravel paths that lead from each basket right to the next tee which makes navigation a piece of cake. This was a really cool feature here. This way the paths won't turn into mud trails. Nicely done and pleasing to the eye. The course has the feeling of half wooded and half prairie. I've played plenty of these types. This is probably the most well done layout of any that I've played. Top notch design here with what they had to work with. Great course for newer or experienced players. You won't be disappointed playing here. The park itself was in pristine condition. Many garbage cans and benches throughout and the course is free to play.

Cons:

Not any fault of the designers but there's no water and the land is pretty flat overall. It's still a relatively new course but it'd be nice to eventually see dual/multiple pin placements to spice things up. Not really a big deal as is though. Also the course is only open in the warmer months but that's fine here. It's not going to get a lot of play in winter anyway. And this keeps the baskets catching nice longer. So basically my cons aren't really even cons.

Other Thoughts:

I was very surprised after playing this course based on some prior reviews (albeit older reviews). Stick to the newer reviews here as I'm sure it's changed significantly since it was first put in. This is much better than an open course with a few trees. I was so impressed I decided to play it again. It's not near anything really, but it is totally worth a spin if you're anywhere near here.
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4 1
CrimsonDG
Experience: 10.8 years 18 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Casual Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 2, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

-New, grippy tee pads (two on most holes) and new tee signs.

-Well defined fairways, with strategically placed trees forcing you to think about your shot. Not overly wooded either.

-Trash cans on most holes

-Offers challenges for both experienced and newer players alike

-Well maintained, and overall an appealing course

-Great "fun factor" for all players

Cons:

-Not overly challenging, the gaps to hit are not that tight, and the tighter holes are shorter.

-The few bomber holes had relatively little challenge, and didn't force you to hit a landing zone with accuracy.

-The technical holes weren't all that technical, usually a basic dogleg without much challenge.

Other Thoughts:

This is a really fun course to play, if you are in the area or are willing to make the drive. It's great for both beginners and experienced players to enjoy a casual round with some difficulty, but not challenging to the point where it starts to feel relentless. I brought a first time player and we each had a great time and he said he would definitely want to come back. I would have to agree. While not championship quality, this is a great free course nestled in a city park with a prairie feeling.
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3 1
mrbro855
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.5 years 363 played 105 reviews
4.50 star(s)

WOW!! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 19, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

What a great course!! New concrete tee pads for both long and short tees. (The pics in the media links are OLD!) Loved the path ways from basket to next tee. Signage was great... never looked at the printed map once I started.
Perfect blend of open holes, wooded holes and some in between. Each hole had a uniqueness to it.
CLEAN is the word that comes to mind. Even the wooded areas were clean. Minimal under brush, seemed as though they must rake a lot of it from away from the baskets and fairways.
Great fairways in the open area. Loved the tall prairie grass which bordered several of the holes. It made it look like a PGA US open type course!! (Yes, the wind carried one throw into the grass that I had to search for!!)

Cons:

Could use a tree or two more on some of the fairways to cause more thought to your tee shot. That said, there were numerous trees in their infant stage that will take care of that down the road.

Other Thoughts:

Was course #7 of a 2 day Father's Day weekend trip that netted me 12 new courses in Minnesota. Played it at 6 am on Fathers day and loved it!! Would rank it close to Bryant Lake in the Cities (just needs BL's signature #17 hole!!)
With the planted trees in the fairway it appears they are planning for the future as well.... Keep up the good work!!
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4 1
Meehan
Experience: 18.9 years 102 played 2 reviews
4.50 star(s)

One of the best free courses around! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 3, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Course is well designed; there are both open and wooded holes and it challenges you to use a variety of shots. The course is challenging for intermediate and advanced players without being too terribly difficult for a beginner.

I will say the front 9 is much easier than the back 9.

There are both long and short cement teepads, with benches and garbage cans sprinkled throughout the course. It is a well maintained course, and it has never been too crowded since I've been playing it when it first opened-even now since it's become 18 holes.

Fairways are mowed; the rough can get pretty tall, so keep an eye on your discs or use a spotter.

Directly across the street is a beautiful park with a nice beach, volleyball court, picnic area, playground and real bathrooms (not porta-potties). And it's only a couple miles outside of Annandale.

Cons:

During the summer months, the mosquitos will get ya on the wooded holes and the horse/deerflys will buzzz you on the open holes, so if there's no wind/breeze-BE PREPARED.

Other Thoughts:

For a free course, I think it is absolutely amazing. Hell, it's better than some pay to play courses (kaposia comes to mind because of the lack of maintenance in recent years).
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2 3
iconoclastes
Experience: 10.8 years 84 played 10 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Great Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 21, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

*fun course with nice variations in both difficulty and distance
*course is very well maintained and by the looks of it, more is being done
*very technical which makes it a challenge but not so much that you need to be a pro
*a few ace runs
*benches and concrete pads and maps on each hole

Cons:

*mosquitoes
*a few holes are quite thick in the rough
*mosquitoes
*kind of in the boonies

Other Thoughts:

I can't believe this is currently rated as a 3.3. That is a travesty as this is one of the better courses I've played in Minnesota. I would grade it at a 4.25 which is where I think it should be, but I bumped it up to 4.5 rather than down to 4.0 because of the current rating. I thoroughly enjoyed my round and look forward to throwing it again next time I'm in the area.
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4 0
Double Helix
Experience: 34.9 years 192 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Top notch course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Now an 18 hole course. Dual grippy concrete tee pads. Mach 3s. Every shot in the bag......long, short, hyzer, anny, open, tight, you name it. With the new holes it is a top course in the area. Not a ton of play. A great aesthetic course.

Cons:

Harsh gravel under pins may grab discs better but may also chip them up too. Tall grass may hamper locating. As of this review new tee signs not up yet but stakes were in marking the locations and I'm sure they'll be nice. These are little complaints for reviewing purposes only.

Other Thoughts:

Now that it is 18 holes it is a destination course. I'd rank it just behind the great courses in the southern half of the state that I've played (Kaposia, BRP, Hidden Lake). Nice flow, great shot selections, challenging yet fair. Well worth the drive!
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1 3
TymKoelln
Experience: 8 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fun even when there is snow! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 8, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Playable in the winter. Easy to find pins and tees. Mostly flat with s couple of holes that bend downhill.

Cons:

Signs could be more descriptive. Too many trees for my liking.

Other Thoughts:

Says pins pulled during the winter but they are up as of today.
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2 0
StPaulie
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 113 played 45 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 10, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very nice little course well maintained and mowed fairways. A very nice sign with score cards and maps are available at the beginning of the course. This side of the road the park seems to be disc golf only so there is no worry of pedestrian interference. There are dual pads on each hole and enough variety of shots to stay interesting. The wood frames keep the gravel tees from spreading out. With frames gravel tees tend to become more suggestions than defined tees. The course is mostly flat with the only real elevation change at hole 5. There is enough length from the long tees to keep your interest but is very newbie friendly from the shorts without becoming to easy and boring. The design was well thought out with the terrain available here. Hole 5 would be the signature hole. Navigation was very easy with the nice wide paths between many of the holes.

Cons:

The gravel tees could use a little attention to level them out, however they are plenty playable. The short pads are in good shape probably do to much less play. The other is just the fact that it is only 12 holes.

Other Thoughts:

All in all this is a fun course to play, I found myself ready to go again.
I am not a fan of the high grass in the rough, but it does add to the incentive to throw accurately. However I don't find it to make a difference in score. I would definitely like to play again next time I visit.
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1 1
csonju
Experience: 12.7 years 9 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun, Pretty Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a fun and beautiful course. The fairways are cut, and the long grass is not very hard to find discs in. There are plenty of trees that will knock your disc down, but in general the course isn't that hard.

Cons:

It does get pretty buggy on some of the holes deep in the woods. The tee boxes have experienced a lot of wear and have large divots where your feet should be placed. They are in desperate need of an upgrade.
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7 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Pretty Course With Cut Out Fairways! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 23, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

The Clearwater/Pleasant Lake Course sits across the street from the beach park. The course itself seems to disc golf exclusive. I would think due to it's fairly remote location that it wouldn't ever be overly crowded.

There is a nice course map sign at the beginning.
There are two pads for each hole. I believe the short pads were probably the originals as they have the maps. The Longs just have the hole # and distance. Until about # 10, they just added length to the hole, anywhere from 50 to 200'.
The terrain is mostly flat with numerous smaller immature trees. So consequently it seemed as though every hole involved some sort of tunnel shot. The fairways were nicely mowed grass with taller disc-hiding grass beach grass on both sides.
My favorite hole was # 5 which, surprise, which happened to be the only hole on the course with any elevation. It plays 357' from the Longs and 249' from the Shorts. It's a nice anhyser shot down to a basket beneath some trees.
The course nicely circles back to the beginning.

Cons:

As mentioned before, the cinder teepads are not the greatest. I played them in the rain and they weren't too bad. I could see them being dusty and rough in dry weather.

I personally really dislike tall grass roughs like this. I always find myself spending large amounts of time searching for discs that have landing just a few feet off the fairways.

Other Thoughts:

I can see that the parks department takes pride in the facility here. I'd like to see them scrap the cinder tees and maybe go with patio blocks or concrete. That would be a huge improvement.
I would guess if you lived nearby, you'd be able to play here at times and have the course all to yourself. It's a pretty little park and that beach across the street would be might inviting after a couple of rounds on a hot Minnesota afternoon.
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7 1
Martin Dewgarita
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.4 years 1589 played 93 reviews
2.50 star(s)

I Wanted to like it 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 7, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

A nice looking course as part of the county park system located on Clearwater and Pleasant Lakes. It is located across the highway from the park area (which appeared to be closed this time of year), which apparently has restrooms and other amenities. I wanted to give this course better than a 2.5 disc rating, I rather enjoyed the layout and the variety of holes that range from 500 foot wide open number 10, to 200 foot technical dogleg right number 7. The 2.5 disc rating comes from the complete lack of tee boxes - though there appears to be bunkers all over the course in locations that would have made great tee placements (for those that can't see the sarcasm, I am being facetious). Imagine trying to tee up out of a sandbox, it's a twisted knee just waiting to happen.

Pros:
-Good Variety in tee shots and fairway design. 1-3 start off with straight 300 foot shot with a number of trees in and around the fairway. Several holes were mostly wide open and long, I was able to let it rip off the tee, I used holes 9 and 10 as a driving range, landing 3 of 4 discs within 10 meters of the basket on the laughable par 5 posted hole 9. There are a couple of nice dog legs, 5 being a beautiful long downhill anhyzer throw, 7 is a very short, but difficult technical narrow dogleg right, followed by 8 which is a short open dogleg left. Hole 6 is a nice 300 foot narrow wooded fairway to thread the needle on.

-Nice map at the beginning

-Good baskets (when they're there, the first round I played here in mid march I had to play with imaginary baskets)

-Quiet (for the most part). When I arrived at about 2:30pm I was the only car in the parking lot - school must have let out shortly after that because it was soon crawling with high school students, they all appeared to play only part of a round because one minute they were all over the place, and the next it was quiet again with only another pair of guys playing.

-Well Maintained Fairways, nicely mowed fairways with thick prairie grass for most of the rough. This may make it difficult to find discs in mid summer with tall grass everywhere if you can't hit the fairway.

Cons:

-My biggest gripe is the tee boxes. The first time I played this course (with imaginary baskets) the ground was damp, and the gravel tee boxes worked fine. The next time it was very dry, at first I attempted to use the awful looking tees, every time I would kick up a cloud of dust and never get solid footing. After I cranked on my knee and nearly fell on my face for the second time, I gave up even trying to use the tees and made my own tee in the grass somewhere nearby, which is a shame because several of the holes had a nice challenge that could only be encountered from the tee box. I was just glad to walk out of there uninjured. I would have given this course at least a 3.5 rating had there been even just dirt tee pads (anything would be better than these sandboxes).

-Wind. Wind isn't necessarily a bad thing, it adds a nice challenge. The holes along the lake, 6-8, have a stiff breeze coming off the water that makes these narrow wooded holes rather difficult to thread the needle.

-Lost Disc, now I realize it's possible to lose a disc on any course, and if you're reading this, you may not have any trouble at all here. I don't know what it is about hole 5, but of the 4 times that I've played this course, every time I play hole 5 I spend several minutes looking for my disc, it disappears every time that I throw that long downhill anhyzer (this is still my favorite hole on the course).

-No Garbage cans - apparently the kids think the baskets are garbage cans, because nearly every hole had beer cans or bottles in or on the basket.

Other Thoughts:

It's worth a play if you're in the area, if something isn't done about the tee boxes, I would suggest finding a flat grass area to tee off from rather than blow out a knee in the sorry attempt at nice gravel tees. Holes 9 and 10 were the reason I came back a second time, because I had bought a bunch of new drivers, I needed a driving range to test them out, was a perfect place for this. In early season, double check to make sure the course is open. Also, it's a nice place to get away from the crowds of the Twin Cities or St. Cloud to take time and focus on different shots.

Favorite Hole:
Hole 5, a 340 foot; (that's a guess, I don't remember the exact measurement) Anhyzer shot downhill, I struggle with this one every time, but it's great fun!
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7 0
tolson
Experience: 48.6 years 153 played 10 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Good Prairie & Woods 12-holer 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 25, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

(1) Course layout is quite good. An enjoyable mix of 12 holes to play in a well-kept prairie setting with wooded areas around the perimeter. Distances vary from the accuracy-required short trio of holes in the wooded mid-section -- #6 (tunnel shot), #7 (sharp dog-leg right) and #8 (RHBH hyzer) - to the longer finishing four holes, including the 600 foot #10.

(2) Layout flow is very good with clearly marked pathways between the basket and the next hole. The only long basket-to-tee walk is between #9 and the back tee of #10.

(3) Good course for all levels as there are two sets of distances -- two tee pads - front and back - on all holes except the rather short #7 and #8.

(4) Pleasing to the eye. Thanks to regular mowing, several of the holes have a distinct fairway marked on the sides by waste-high prairie grass. It gives those holes somewhat of a feeling of being on a British Open ball golf links course. Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but like links courses, you'll want to keep your round projectile out of the tall stuff!

(5) Frequently mowed fairways (the park staff obviously take pride in their work) as mentioned above.

(6) Good signage, augmented by printed maps available at the information board by tee #1.

(7) Course is empty much of the time, especially on weekdays. While it would be great to see more usage, it's nice to have the course to yourself much of the time as this allows for a leisurely pace and ample practice putting and throwing. (See related notes in "Other Comments" about alternate layouts.)

Cons:

(1) Tee pads. While it is nice to have natural surfacing (a reddish dirt) in a natural setting, the downside is that most of the tee grounds have pot-hole type depressions. The unevenness of this driving area means you need to be careful in your striding prior to the throw release.

(2) The current pin placements make great sense, but this good quality course would be even better if there existed the option for one or two additional pin placements on some of the holes.

(3) 12 holes is better than 9, but... The course is an enjoyable length just the way it is, and the designer made good use of the land provided. But as long as there are only 12 holes, the course will likely not be considered championship caliber.

(4) Mosquitoes and ticks in the wooded holes, especially at dusk (duh). Just bring strong bug spray, and you should be fine.

Other Thoughts:

As noted in the "Pros" section, you can have the course pretty much to yourself a lot of the time. During the summer I vacation a couple of weeks in Annandale, so I have the luxury of playing on weekday mornings. If no other player is on the course, I have followed the 12-hole round by playing an alternate layout of 15 additional holes that are made up partly of following a reverse path of the course and adding a few other holes along this changed routing that target the existing baskets from various made-up tee areas. The result is that I end up with a total of 27 holes of play, a nice number for the golf purist. Rather than detail my alternate layout, I will leave it up to your imagination to create your own personalized course. That's the fun of it.

(Obviously, you should not make up different holes and play alternate routes if there are other disc golfers on the course.)


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2 9
slash87
Experience: 15.8 years 153 played 17 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 15, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is beautiful. It has plenty of challenging holes for the pros ( 600 foot)and is a great place for beginners to learn.

Cons:

Tall grass, bugs, ticks

Other Thoughts:

Play 12 then jump into the lake and then play 12 more.
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1 8
d4nk
Experience: 15 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Good course, should be 18 though 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 18, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Well groomed fairways, fairly open course, not a lot of tree'd holes.

Cons:

Mosquitos of course, the tees need to be fixed badly some of them have 1+ foot deep holes, they are sand tees...
Long Distance between tees could have been replaced with more holes.

Other Thoughts:

Should be a full 18, good course when you don't like that hassles of there being way too many people.
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4 4
mndiscg
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 480 played 478 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Nice Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 20, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Good mix of distance and shot variety. Some long some short some wooded some open, you get the picture. -Mowed fairways.
-Course map/scorecard at hole 1.
-Not busy at all.
-Trees are used nicely as obstacles.
-Nice baskets

Cons:

-Easy to lose discs in tall grass near fairways.
-Mosquitos come into play on a few of the woodsy holes.
-Longer walking distance between holes than most courses.
-Tees are pretty bad.

Other Thoughts:

Located near a lake and beach area. It is on a big lot, nobody else is going to get in your way. I recommend this course.
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