Slinger, WI

Heritage Trails County Park - Old Layout

2.545(based on 13 reviews)
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Heritage Trails County Park - Old Layout reviews

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2 0
shinypickle
Experience: 15.1 years 16 played 12 reviews
2.50 star(s)

OK Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 21, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Garbage cans on most holes
-Benches on most holes
-Tee signs on every hole that clearly state par, distance, and hole number
-Good elevation
-Good baskets
-Holes are plenty long for you to use your driver.
-Not crowded

Cons:

-Grass tee pads
-Wide open holes
-Lots of prickers
-Very long walk from hole 18 to parking lot
-I know that this course is pay to play in order to improve the course but this course is so not worth $4.

Other Thoughts:

This course is only an ok course. It has lots of potential to become a better course. I felt very unsafe on hole 9's tee area. It is down hill on a ton of loose rocks. Bring lots of bug spray.
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0 1
barrykatiejones
Experience: 8 played 7 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Poison Ivy 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Clean and very well kept up. Nice for a long day out. Great for practicing to keep on the fairway or your in the bush. Holes were marked pretty well.

Cons:

Lot of long, out in the open holes. Not enough obstacles (trees,water, etc.).

Other Thoughts:

Got poison ivy! Great course for finding discs. Bring water its a long one.
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1 0
Scott Van Dyke
Experience: 29.8 years 36 played 18 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 16, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Scenic Beauty
-Great baskets
-Privacy
-Plenty of length
-Never very busy
-Trees (when in play) are in great position
-Benches and garbage cans

Cons:

-Dirt tee pads
-Single pin placement on every hole

Other Thoughts:

I'm going to take it a bit easier on this course than others have. After reading many reviews, I had a totally different course pictured in my head than the one that I experience.
True, there is a small difference between the front and the back 9, but they aren't exactly night and day. When you walk down the path to greet the first tee, you can see the first few holes, and they are wide open. There are however, distinguishable fairways here, and if you stay on them, it's easy to find your disc.

Often times, you'll stand at the tee pad, and look down a long fairway, way downhill, and it's a very nice view of the hole. 300+ footers play shorter due to elevation changes, so the distances aren't too terrible for beginners.

The walk from 18 back to your car isn't as bad as reviews would have you think, either. It's just another couple of hole's worth of walking.

There are benches, and places to put your garbage on nearly every hole. Not too much garbage on the course makes it very nice.

Course was not hard to navigate, as you just look for the trampled grass that leads to the next hole each time.

This course has a lot of up's and downs as you navigate the 18 holes. Some memorable holes I shoot include #'s 7 and 9 for the view, and a few more downhill holes on the back nine where your disc needs to find it's way through an opening in the trees 150 ft. from the tee pad.

When I played, I met up with a father & son twosome that I tagged along with. They played everything as par 4's, and that was a good plan for them, as the course is long for beginners.

I recommend bringing water, taking it easy, and setting aside a good two hours to play.

Definitely recommend taking your time, as there's lots of wild bird houses and animals all over this course.

The back nine has some pretty thick grass off the fairways also, so watch where your throwing! Some tough to find shots in the group I went out with.

There's also a group from the local league that meets out here on Mondays evenings if your interested in some competition.

Updating to inform about the single pin placement, and the fact that while there are garbage recepticles on the backs of the benches, it is up to the disc golfers to empty them aparently. Please keep this in mind when using them.
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0 1
Flying_Stross
Experience: 15.8 years 6 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Slinger 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 23, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Long open holes
-Hard to loose disc
-Non busy
-Good Elevation holes
-Quality baskets
I just played this course yesterday and what can I say wow! I never experience a course like this the couple of years I played. The front 9 is really hard for people that can throw an average drive. It is really good for practicing long drives, and your short game. The back 9 is a lot i mean a lot more exciting because of the up hill and down hill holes. This 9 really makes you think of should i throw my driver or mid range. Diversity is the key of the this course from the trees blocking some part of the hole to endless fields of grass.

Cons:

-No tee pads
-Pay to play
-No signs guiding to the next hole
-Few players
-Knowing your starting point of drive
-Thorny bushes
-Tall grass
-Long walks from going to front 9 to back 9 and from hole 18 back to your car
This course is not for beginners, if it is your first time disc golfing you are not going to like this sport (shame on you). Considering that the course doesnt have any tee pads there is a dirt spots that shows were to start on the back 9, but it is bumpy and has sticks and stones that might make you slip. The hardest part of this course is obviously the long holes. The average distance of the front 9 is 425ft which its hard to get par if your playing with 3's but for me I got 4 strokes almost every hole on the front. The last thing that made me a little mad about is too much garbage on the course.

Other Thoughts:

For playing only a couple of years I usually play only a couple of courses I like, but this really stands out because it brings a different aspect to my game. From the elevation to long and frustrating holes. Since it is a pay to play game a lot of people dont pay because of people breaking into the money box. Just think of it if people pay and people dont steal the course will have enough money to upgrade. Im not going to talk about the holes since i want you people to go out and experience it yourself everybody have different style of playing. For me this is a good way to improve your game if you are dedicated to disc golf.
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1 6
urofan
Experience: 10 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Secluded and Open 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

1. Easy to follow hole layout
2. Long holes (great for driving practice)
3. Open Areas (hard to loose discs)

Cons:

1. No concrete tees
2. For a pay as you play course, not very well maintained

Other Thoughts:

The course is split into two halves, the front 9 and back 9. The front nine are long open holes in a large valley. The back nine are shorter and more technical weaving through some trees. Supposed to be "Pay to Play," but all this comes down to is putting your money in a metal container.
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6 5
Dave242
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 29.8 years 393 played 271 reviews
1.00 star(s)

C- = Too much of too little 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 7, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == D+
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I throw 300' accurately, 360' max. == C-
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == C-
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == A-
5) Bonus points for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == D

Other Thoughts:

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (125 18-hole, 64 9-hole as of mid 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I can add anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.
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5 0
Tomski420
Experience: 15.9 years 7 played 5 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Driver's Paradise 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 20, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The Back9: The course really changes its flavor here. Hills come into play more (up&down) couple of semi-wooded holes and obstacles.

Hole #9: After playing the rest of the front9 you get here and think "Finally".

Never Gotta Worry About Lot's of Peoples (Wonder why? Not really though)

Cons:

The Front9: Straight driver's paradise, that's all I can say. Holes #1, #2, #4, #5, #7, and #8 all require the same shot; STRAIGHT. To add to the boredom, there all no obstructions or traps, just that damned grass.

Damned Tall Grass: Really eats up your discs. Better keep an eye out on that shot, cause you don't wanna get lost in that damned grass. That's your only real incentive to land on the fairway.

Information: There is no footage listing for the holes other than what some guy wrote with a sharpie on the number posts which appear to be estimates at best. No maps (Not like the front9 needs em'). No par #'s so just gotta play everything PRO-Par 3. That kinda sucks cause some holes have a legit claim for par 4 (especially #3 & #18)

Tees: Plain Earth, nothing wrong with that, just wish there was at least some indication of where to tee-off from. You can see where the status-quo/agreed-upon tee-off spot is by where the grass is missing or trampled, but I like to tee-off from behind the #posts.

Bugs: There is a stagnant pond next to the course, mosquito breeding grounds. Horse flies, gnats, and ticks also can be found if your lucky. BRING BUG SPRAY

Parking: After playing this disappointing course, you'll have a nice long walk to you disappointing mode of transportation (j/k, I know y'all all got pimp rides).

Other Thoughts:

You play hear enough times and you'll notice that most people skip the front9. That's disappointing and proves the non-imagination of the Course-Designer. Nothing personal Course-Designer guy, but that front9 does suck.

You like to drive big, come out here and show off!!!(not that anyone will be there to see you)
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7 0
kmrynders
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.8 years 104 played 11 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 10, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course focuses mostly on long drives and elevation changes. Almost all of the holes are open field type shots, the only really obstacle is the long grass that they don't cut. If you can stay on the fairway (the cut grass) you should be able to put up a par or better on almost every hole.
The elevation changes are more than I was expecting because courses in this area don't seem to offer too much in that department.

There are a few really fun holes, that require precise shots through trees while then also adding an elevation change.

The pins are in decent to good condition, with nothing to really complain about.

The fields seem to be tended to quite nicely, mowed fairways are very visually pleasing and they also help by showing you where to throw/go.

You won't run into any crowds on this course, it seems to be off the beaten path

Cons:

No concrete tee pads. This course really needs them for those long ripper shots.

Too many holes feel the same. I started this course feeling great, but then it just got mundane. Too many holes are long field holes or almost the same elevation holes. The last 4-5 holes, except for 18, seem exactly the same because you are playing back and forth over the same little valley.

Bugs - bring bug spray because these fields are prone to many insects that become annoying really quickly

Pay to play - this course doesn't seem worth the $4 per round to play. I know that with the money they can upgrade the course, but not many people will pay for a low grade course - especially when a few courses very near to this one (dreztka and sussex village park) are better caliber and FREE.

No real obstacles except for tall grass and the occasional rare tree. Too many field holes.

It is very easy to lose a disc in the grass once it gets tall enough late in the summer. The grass makes depth perception hard to judge and if you're not watching carefully it can take a while to find an errant throw.

Other Thoughts:

This course has so much potential, but doesn't utilize it. There are just too many holes that are similar and most don't use the surroundings to their fullest extent.

Basically this seems like a course to really work on your distance if you hate practicing off the course.

Not a "must play" course by any means, but not the worst either. It is different than most courses in the area and can be a good place to get your stress out by ripping a bunch of big drives.
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6 2
superberry
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 25.9 years 336 played 95 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Sussex is right down the Road 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 7, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

There is a good amount of elevation which is the ONLY thing that keeps play interesting. I suppose trees to come into play and make you throw a controlled and accurate drive on three or four of the holes.

Cons:

The course is wide open. The course does not utilize some extreme terrain and wonderful woods surrounding the entire course. The course does not challenge accuracy in the least. I did not play when the prairie grass was too long, but I imagine June - Aug will yield some extremely long grass in the rough.

Other Thoughts:

To me, I simply don't care for wide open holes. I will never choose to play here again. It wasn't even worth playing just to check off my list. Just because the grass is cut on the fairway to make a hole look like it plays left or right, doesn't make it so! What is very disappointing is looking around the edges of the course at some of the huge trees, very sharp elevation, and terrain that would yield an excellent course. I think the designer either took the easy way, of the parks department didn't have the guts to allow a really nice course. When you first pull in the park and see some of the physical features, you may get real excited for a fantastic course. But you can squash that feeling because all you'll get is a mediocre course with grass, some hills, and moderate distance - oh and on the whole, not much challenge per 18 holes. I'd compare it to Baird Creek in Green Bay (not a good course to begin with), but Heritage Trails doesn't use the natural feature nearly as well as Baird. Where the comparison comes in is the fact that you can shank a drive and there is no punishment, because without trees, your upshot can come in from anywhere. I also scored the course really low because of the lack of forced skill the course provides. On every tee, you could throw a hyzer, anhyzer, tomahawk, sidearm, etc. There is no REQUIRED skill needed to play here. Go just down the road and play Sussex.

I had to consider downgrading my rating to 1.0. This is because I scored Indian Creek as 1.5 "Passable". While I don't believe Heriatge Trails is POOR (1.0), I do think it is worse than Indian Creek. I am glad that the rating of "Passable" score down at a 1.5. To me that is the essence of a round. Even if the course is nice and clean, scenic, quiet, etc, doesn't mean that the disc golf course is worth playing. Thus, Heritage trails is a nice park with some beauty, but the course is definitely passable!
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7 1
tomjulio
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 77 played 41 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Soooo much potential 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 27, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

-best elevation changes in southeastern WI.
-long ripper holes
-quality baskets
-not busy at all

Cons:

-first 5 holes are throw away open field holes
-some of the worst bare earth tees. One on hole 9 I would even consider dangerous(see below)
-walk from hole 18 back to 1 almost a half mile.
-poor choice for basket placement on many holes
-NOT a beginners course. Too long.
-SIGNAGE. each hole has a number on a pole, and barely visible sharpie yardage written on it. Whomever did the yardage was on crack on some of the holes, or had a measuring stick that was always 50-80 feet off.

Other Thoughts:

Hmmm, this is a really tough review because this course, on this land(Kettle Moraine) has SO much potential with it's elevation changes. More than I have seen on any course in SE Wisconsin. The back 10 reminded me of the great Michigan courses. More on that in a bit.

The park is located on the back land of a historic park. When you drive up you walk down to hole number 1 in a huge open field. This was my first indication of a wasted hole placement.

Holes 1-5
Get ready to just let a drive rip, upshot if you don't have a gun, and a putt. We played with the rough mowed, but I can imagine this would be hell with the rough fully grown. There are no discernible markers(trees,stumps, hills) to help locate wayward discs. Hole 5 redeems itself with a basket placement slightly in the woods.

holes 6-9
Now the course starts to show it's promise. Hole 6 goes uphill and to the right. First sign of elevation change. A couple more long ripper holes than a nice sloping shot down hill on 8. Nine is def a sig hole being up on a hill shooting down, BUT the earth tee is full of large rocks and isn't flat on top. Not even sure if a cement tee would help here. First tee I have ever played at any course where i didn't feel safe throwing.

Holes 10-17
The course really shines somewhat on the back 9. Rolling hills typical of the Kettle.. Long shots, technical shots BUT pin placements could have been a little technical. The use of the land and obstacles isn't fully realized. Hole 18 is an against the grain ripper.

Summary, I did like this course, especially the back 9, and the whole time I just kept thinking how with a little more love and better design (and tee pads) that this could be a premier course in the state. The first five holes need to go as well. It sets a bad precedent to an otherwise decent course.
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8 3
harr0140
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 15.2 years 1508 played 475 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Rolling Prairie Terrain with some trees 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 13, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

1) Beginner friendly, yet has enough challenges to keep a good player interested. The first 5 holes are in wide open prairies. They have mowed fairways and taller rough on the outside of the fairway but it would be tough to lose your disc there.

2) Has a decent variety in distance. No really short holes which is nice, I think every hole is at least 200-225' or so. Closing hole is about 500', and when I played it was dead into the wind.

3) Nice use of terrain and elevation changes. #9 is a pretty awesome hole putting you at the top of a large peak throwing out of the woods over a valley to a basket halfway up the hill on the other side of the valley (not a huge dropoff, but it is significant).

4) Uses the perimteter woods on quite a few hole, despite the open fairway has the baskets tucked around corners, some allowing for a small entrance to the basket.

5) Nice baskets and a post by every tee.

Cons:

1) Long walk from 18 back to the parking lot, and if you played all 18 even still a further walk back to where the paybox is by the first hole. Not a big deal but it does feel strange.

2) Not enough challenge on the prairie areas. I would like to see a handful of trees planted in there to help to make it a little more difficult. I played with the designer of the course and he said they have planted hundred and hundres of trees but they mow over them every year when they mow the prairie area down.

3) Teepads are generally ok, but a handful of them are worn down to gravel/dirt with no alternative but to throw from those areas. Would be nasty if wet (but it is the Kettle Moraine area so it probably never gets wet.

4) The rough areas don't really change how you play the hole, just throw righ at the basket and cut down some distance.

Other Thoughts:

I enjoyed this course quite a bit. It was extremely windy and a little chilly when I played it, and that adds tot he challenge of this course. I worked at the golf course 1 block east of this course for like 4 years and it was always windy there. It is one of the higher points in Washington County so the wind always whips through there.

Kindof surprised the county charges for this usage of this course. The designer said the money collected goes directly to improvements like hopefully concrete teepads sometime. It is a good course for throwing some long bombs, and doesn;t require a whole lot of accurate midrange shots. Throw the drive where you need to and have a putt for birdie.
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8 0
TenaciousMV
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.8 years 25 played 20 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Good driving practice 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 1, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Mowed fairways; distances labeled; decent elevation changes for SE Wisconsin; two cool holes (9 and 13); I'm *assuming* it never gets busy - we didn't see a soul, but it was from 9-11 on a Sunday morning; very nice looking area

Cons:

On too many holes, the only penalty for a poor drive is trying to find it in the tall grass; there are NO real obstacles on several holes (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 18) and very few on all others except 9 and 13; the course gets very monotonous at several points; the grass and weeds just off the fairway are leafy and gobble up discs away from your sight - this cost our group a LOT of time today; pay to play;
grass tees; long walks between many tees; walk from 18 back to the first tee (and your car) is a full 5 minutes; insect activity is higher than most courses

Other Thoughts:

When our group of 4 first walked though some brush and laid eyes on the first few holes of the course, we were excited. It wasn't like any course any of us had seen before - it looks like a golf course! Fairways were cut out of higher grass in various shapes and there were even some hills to enjoy.

Then we started playing. A couple of us hit the first fairway and a couple of us missed - surely the ones that hit were in better shape, right? Well, yes and no. We were in better shape in the sense that we could find our discs easily while the others took a long time, but we had no advantage in terms of scoring. Basically, on this course, a miss that goes 300 feet is almost always better for scoring than a perfect shot that goes 250. Yes, the 250 feels better and looks nicer, but not landing on the fairway generally doesn't inhibit your ability to throw a perfectly balanced and uninterrupted second shot. You may as well just throw it as hard as you can on most holes and not worry about anything other than finding your disc. You'll need the distance too - you'll be using your driver quite a bit.

Given the above issue, we weren't quite as excited - but this is still an awesome course, right? I mean... it looks so cool! So we played on with a positive attitude.

The 6th hole really gave us hope - an uphill dogleg right with an actual obstacle blocking a straight path to the hole. (It's still easy to avoid.) We played it, we enjoyed it more than the others, and we moved on to the 7th hole. Back to the same thing. It was a downhill shot that let you get some great distance, but there was again no real challenge. The 8th was similar.

The 9th hole, if any, is the course's signature hole. There were enough trees in your way off the tee to make you think but not too many to be unfair. After the trees there wasn't really much to contend with but the fairway sloped down and to the right and then back up and slightly to the left. Just a very nice looking hole. Still, if you can dodge the trees (not difficult) you're pretty much golden for the remainder. Three very boring holes followed.

The 13th hole is awesome for one reason - my first hole-in-one!! It's downhill with a very narrow fairway and dozens of small trees on either side nearly the whole way. Anything other than a very straight throw will be punished - a good hole. Even though it requires the most precision, it's still the easiest hole-in-one on the course due to the distance being under 200 feet.

Holes 14-16 require some accuracy but their obstacles are still easily avoided. Hole 17 and 18 were long and boring.

A good course should require you to avoid obstacles to throw a good disc - this course only did that a couple of times. The one plus side of a course with basically no obstacles is that they're good for a beginner, right? Not this course - a novice will be looking for their disc over and over again all day and will feel the course is much too long.

The reason this review has been lengthy is that it's hard to get over the way how this course looks at first glance. My friends agree with me, once you get over that, there just isn't much there.

If you want to go for a nice walk in a pretty area, this may be a reason to play here. Another reason may be if you want to use your driver a lot - just keep your eye on exactly where your disc lands! If you want to play a round of disc golf that forces you to play reasonably well to be rewarded, which what disc golf is all about, you need to go somewhere else.

A rating of 2.0 is 'average.' To me, an average course needs to present more than just a few risk/reward type of shots. This course doesn't. If this rating scale was 1-5, a 1.5 would be pretty much near abysmal. Since it's 0-5, I feel a 1.5 is appropriate - just under average. If it didn't look so nice I'd almost have to consider going lower. This review in no way factored in the $4/person cost.
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4 3
slingerman99
Experience: 17 years 6 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Hidden and rarely used 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 26, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Long holes. Open fields to tight shots through trees. Massive up and down hill shots. Rarely used course. Never rushed by other groups. On occasion you can find other peoples lost discs in high grass or woods.

Cons:

High grass makes bad throws even worse. Prickly weeds in tall grass, ugly dandilions, and thorn bushes in woods. Poison Ivy, itch weed, can make you day worse. Mosquitoes can drive you nuts anytime of day here.

Other Thoughts:

Challenging distances and directions of holes can make for fun for experienced levels. Yet tall weeds and thorny bushes can delay the game when you misplace a drive.


People please pick up your garbage on course. Lots of litter out there. Aluminum cans are worth 3 cents a piece, I made $2 picking up cans as I played the other day.
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