Canastota, NY

Oxbow Falls Park

3.645(based on 25 reviews)
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9 0
DumfriesLizzie
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 5.5 years 111 played 101 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Small, wooded, steep course great for refining your accuracy

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 26, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

An inspiring and challenging course that is mostly short holes under 300 ft but all with some sort of challenge, generally determined by the elevation and the trees. The entire course is on a wooded slope and zigzags up and down said slope.

I was thinking that there was a pro tee and an amateur tee, but it appears there's just one tee and one basket per hole --which is just fine. Less clutter on this rather tight, densely-wooded course.

You have to love the downhillers nos. 9, 13, and 18. They are all getable! Heck, I birdied 13 and parred 18 on my first outing!

While I think you would have to walk off of the course to more fully see the waterfalls at Oxbow, you can certainly hear them and see the bottom of one of the waterfalls from the no. 14 tee. Uphill and longer, no. 14 is the solo par 4 on the course. It's a challenging hole, but it's fair.

As are many of the holes on the course, if less daunting than no. 14.

I love the tributary from one of the waterfalls that passes through the course. You walk over it a couple of times on footbridges. Gurgling water in nature is such a balm.

Cons:

It gets muddy after the snow melts or when the rains come through. It can be dangerous going up and down steep slopes with all that mud.

Because it is a tight course, some of the holes do jumble up on one another. You might have to wait for your disc-golf brothers and sisters to fire their shots before firing yours. To get through certain portions of the course for safety and good play (e.g. nos. 6, 7, and 18 are parallel).

Other Thoughts:

All in all, I think the Oxbow is an awesome, little course. I intend to play it the next time I am in the Syracuse area. While it is way out in the sticks, if you pair it with Sullivan and/or Green Lakes, you're much in the same area (Erie Blvd eastward) and should have a lovely disc golf day trip.

There is a practice basket on the other side of the rail fence as you come into the large (if unpaved) parking lot for disc golf. Between nos. 1 and 3, there is a picnic pavilion and restrooms (you will need to be careful around the pavilion if there are people there). The restrooms are locked in wintertime, like most parks.

Before or after playing disc golf, you might want to drive up Oxbow Road to the upper park and walk along the trails to get a better glimpse of the 3 or 4 waterfalls that run down into the lower portion of the park where the disc golf course is. These cascades are truly divine. You can also picnic in the upper park.
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3 1
vonnegut21
Experience: 5 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

A mixed bag 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 30, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Tightly wooded course that rewards technical play. Wooded areas offer some fun shots with high risk high reward. Very scenic area. Pavilion and bathrooms are in great condition.

Cons:

Design needs to be revisited on some holes. 90 degree bend holes with no clear gap take away from the fun factor. While technical holes are great, some of the rough is unreasonably long. A shot that skips 2' into the rough shouldn't take 10 minutes to find. Baskets are older models that leave something to be desired.

Other Thoughts:

This course had it's fun moments, but it also has it's unnecessarily frustrating moments. Make sure to print out a course map before you play!
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5 0
geminiguy88
Experience: 11.8 years 13 played 12 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Short Holes, Very Sweet Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 30, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great layout. Winds tight around the hill.

Easy to find next tee, not much distance between them. Limited back tracking.

Deceptively short holes that present plenty of challenges with numerous obstacles. Very fun but can be frustrating. Keeps things very interesting.

Bring all of your shots, you will need them!

Awesome elevation changes come in to play in a big way. Uphill, down hill, side of the hill, etc.

Plenty of benches at tees and a few picnic tables (Thanks Marty!)

Water available by tee 18

Fairways mowed and maintained

Concrete Pads

Friendly people

Few non-discers on paths

Beautiful view from tee 18

Cons:

No trash cans

One portajohn in parking lot

Can be buggy and boggy/wet with right conditions (not an issue on day I played)

One or two holes can over lap with a an overpowered or bad throw. Can get hit with disc if not paying attention.

Very unforgiving, old school baskets. Nearly sunk a 80 foot Roc shot for birdie and it got spit out in a big way. I got Oxbowed!

A few picnic tables were falling apart.

Other Thoughts:

Loved this course, can't wait to play it again when I make it back to NY. New baskets, trashcans, and a bathroom is what prevents me from giving Oxbow Falls a five rating. That is it. Very challenging and requires accuracy, finesse, and strategy to par. If you are passing through anywhere nearby, do not pass up a chance to experience Oxbow Falls!
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3 0
vcisjb
Experience: 9 played 7 reviews
4.00 star(s)

oxbow course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 17, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very well put together course!
Tees are a close walk from previous baskets.
well defined trail going from hole to hole
benches at darn near every hole
it's gorgeous just to walk around the course

Cons:

If you live in Syracuse, Oxbow is a haul
lots of potential to lose disc, very woody
a scorecard and or map would be a nice touch

Other Thoughts:

If you are a 'b' or 'c' player bring your 'A' game. As an amateur I shot for a par 4 on most of these holes. There are lots of pro material players that frequent here so it's a good place to swap pointers. Course was really dry despite the rainfall we've had. Probably one of the best CNY courses.
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1 0
JBarg42
Experience: 19.8 years 12 played 1 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Most technical in CNY 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 17, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Gorgeous views, great mix of anny/hyzer shots, short but technical, great fairways w/ woods on both sides, not much undergrowth. You can definitely let em rip on some holes, others require finesse. Great exercise going up and down the hills. Basically just a disc golf park w/ a pavilion and some permanent charcoal grills. Very nice bathrooms. Everything is powered by Oxbow Falls itself! Baskets are in excellent condition for being about 15 years old. Flat concrete tees are mostly long enough for a good running tee shot. They're not contoured to the ground so you don't have to throw on a slanted pad. Very easy to follow layout w/ signs showing next tee. There are many routes to take to the basket on each hole, you just gotta see them. It is mowed frequently.

Cons:

Gets a little buggy in the summer. But I've never been to a course in NY that doesn't. Once the leaves fill in on the trees, after a rainfall the branches will droop down quite a bit, making for an even more challenging round. (Not necessarily all that bad I suppose as it changes the game up).

Other Thoughts:

This course is extremely beautiful. It does indeed overlook Oneida Lake as you can clearly see it in it's entirety. All the way from Sylvan Beach to Brewerton. You can even see the nuclear power plant in Oswego on clear days! This course is a must play for anyone passing through the area! I am there almost every single day playing a round(s). There just isn't enough I can say about this fantastic course!
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4 0
lcra0825
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.6 years 152 played 39 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Anyhzer Hills 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 4, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- cement tee pads and signs showing next tee and distance and pars
- good flow of the course, my group and I played through without getting lost and we are not regulars
- I really enjoyed the basket placements
-- although it was a pretty short course it made up for it with obstacles and woods
- lots of elevation both up and downhill
-although their lots of brush it was fairly easy to find discs that were thrown off the fairway. the only real trouble we had was hole 18
- very well kept up, it was well mowed and we found no trash lying around
- great place to work on midrange and disc control skills
- a left-handers dream course
- There was a line or sometimes multiple to the lines to the basket for every hole except one which can be difficult to do for wooded courses
- very easy to get to from the thruway
- park seems to be used exclusively for disc golf

Cons:

- maybe a little e too anhyzer but that's being picky
-my friend tried to use the bathroom and said there was no water
- not too many open holes to really blast it but there are other courses in Syracuse for that like Jamesville Beach or Clay Park

Other Thoughts:

I brought some friends with me from Rochester and they had a few things to say about the course. One wanted to trade this course with our basil course because there both short wooded courses but with the exception of one hole there were lines to the basket for every hole. Basil in Rochester sometimes you just have to get lucky. My other friend compared it to hyzer creek another high rated course In NY just it was more anhyzer and there wasn't a creek but the hole design was very similar thus the name Anhyzer Hills. Overall a very pleasant experience. If you need a more wide open course Clay is about 20 minutes west down the thruway.
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1 0
bhoff
Experience: 13.8 years 32 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Hilly & Anny 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 6, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

quiet park without other activity except occasional walker. Course challenges a righty with plenty of annies, as much as 90 degrees. Rewards accuracy and not as much length. Few level holes, as the course wound up & down the terrain.

Cons:

tight course with rugged bushes and trees - impossible to go through or over some spots - and it wasn't leafed out yet! (Rest rooms were closed - mid day?) Course needed spring cleanup.

Other Thoughts:

Fun course. Good for me as I don't shoot long. Nice park, not too far off NYS Thruway and close to TS :) Worth a visit. "Overlooks Onieda Lake" is a stretch - Lake is pretty far away.
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1 4
sasscers7
Experience: 15.8 years 57 played 17 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Uphill, Downhill 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 20, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Challenging narrow corridors. Great uphill and downhill shots. Quiet, out-of-the-way in the woods. Well-used, but not crowded.

Cons:

Several short holes were laid out where it was practically impossible to get a birdie. "Fairways" took sharp 90 deg turns on 2 or 3 baskets and the woods was to thick to go through or over.

Spent a lot of time looking for discs in the tall grass and thick bushes lining just about every hole. Because of this I would have not come back to this course except that it was the only course within a half hour drive of Rome, NY where I was assigned on business for a short week.
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6 1
Morgan Wright
Experience: 52.9 years 37 played 8 reviews
4.00 star(s)

love the course 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Fantastic tee pads, love the woodsy feel of a dedicated golf course as opposed to a multi-use park. Great parking lot, beautiful view of Oneida Lake in the distance. Nice pavilion, dedicated crew of golfers, fairways are fair and have just the right amount of obstacles. Good balance between lefty and righty holes.

Cons:

Pins are "Mach II new" which have a design flaw...around the chain pattern there are 5 zones where the pole is exposed, you can hit the pole and bounce out even if you make a perfect putt. Need 5 extra chains per pin the they would be fine.

Other Thoughts:

It's a great course and I love playing there.
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4 3
boneehead16661
Experience: 10 played 2 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 3, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Excellent technical course.
This course has great uphill, downhill, lh, and rh shots. This is the type of course that improves your game.

Cons:

There are people that think that the course can be edited by anyone. Specifically hole 11 had a tree in the middle of the fairway that had been chopped down

Other Thoughts:

The solution the course maintainers had was to cement the tree three feet in front of the stump. Excellent move.

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10 1
sloppydisc
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.3 years 201 played 147 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Nice surprise! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 11, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

A stand alone course. No other park activities or users to interfere with your round. shelter picnic tables and port-a-potties on site.

Benches at most holes.
Nice, large concrete tee pads at every hole.
Signs with distances at most holes. Some look missing due to vandalism.

Park was well maintained and recently mowed. Looks like the town and the local club take good care of this course.

Great use of elevation. There are some downhill holes and some uphill holes. The uphills add some difficultly to some short holes.

Basket positions are also used to make the holes more challenging and fun. There are some positions behind trees, and a couple where an overthrow could be punishing due to hills or woods.

Fairways are all well-defined and offer a great variety of shots. Lefts, rights, straights are all here.

Cons:

Navigation and signs could be improved. The course is fairly easy to figure out, but there are some areas where signs would help. After #7 there are a couple baskets that are nearby. #8 is to the left, but #18 is to the right and it isn't obvious which one to play for a first timer. Some nice signs would help at this course.

Distance. Long throwers that really want to air it out won't find a place here for that. A hole or 2 with some distance would be great.

Other Thoughts:

This course really surprised me. It is a very fun technical course. It is wooded. Not forested like a mountain course. So if you are off the fairway, you are in trouble. Undergrowth is everywhere. Vines, brush, weeds. Whatever grows is probably out there. Bring your accuracy or stay home.

The back nine was great. #14 reminded me of some holes that I have played at Lester Lorch in TX, or the wooded courses in NC. At the tee the first impression is WTF, but there are lines through those trees. And probably there is more lines than you can see the first time you play it. Just a great longer, wooded, slightly uphill hole.

There is also some nice ace possibilities on this course. Nothing without a little challenge, but the opportunity is there.

The course is not far of the NYS Thruway so if you're taking a trip across New York take some time and play this course.

THIS COURSE DOES NOT OVERLOOK ONEIDA LAKE. Unless you have bionic eyes. Oneida is roughly 10 miles north. Great smallmouth bass and walleye fishing lake if that's your thing.

Boxing HOF is located just off the NYS Thruway exit to this course. It's not that impressive looking, but if you are a boxing fan make sure you stop.
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2 5
Nasty_Nate
Experience: 18.9 years 1 played 1 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Just Play It 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 10, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course is one of the best. If your looking for to work you game you came to the right place. Each hole you have a chance at a hole in one. Many easy 2 shots.

Cons:

Dont go off the fair way or your disc will do lost. May be difficult if you cant play with both a FH and a BH shot. Hammer is also very usefull

Other Thoughts:

This course is the SH#T. magic can happen here. I got a 2 on hole 14. Can you?
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5 1
alx133
Experience: 19.9 years 78 played 9 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

- Nice teepads, Intuitive layout
- Probably the most technical course in the area
- tough for how short this course is
- you need some finesse and perhaps some confidence to stay in the fairways here

Cons:

- Bugs in the summer months. there can be some seriously terrible bug issues here. Tent caterpillars or black flies.
- longest hole a bit over 400. could use some more distance
- some of the locals throw their empty beer cans everywhere.
- had a sheriff box in my car because he thought i was up to something nefarious. when he saw i was golfing he watched me throw a hole, then finally left.

Other Thoughts:

one of the three courses that taught me how to play, second course ever played; I still go back every chance i get.
Been hearing about course expansion here for a while. I would like to see something in the way of progress on that.

I consider this course a must play in the CNY area.
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5 1
cdavid74
Experience: 16.7 years 30 played 8 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Titletown Disc Golf Knockout! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 11, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Oxbow Falls offers a challenging day of DG in a gorgeous setting. The course plays up and down the side of a wooded hillside. The course flows intuitively from hole to hole although a map will help navigate the one spot that can be confusing (path from 8 to 9 crosses with path from 17-18 which could make it easy to play a wrong hole your first time out). Each hole has concrete tees and the mach 2 baskets are in good condition. Parking is ample and the course is not located in a multi-use area. The designers did an excellent job utilizing the topography and elevation.

Cons:

Although the course has an even number of left to right holes and right to left holes overall, the front nine heavily favors LHBH and the back nine heavily favors RHBH players. The fairways on the course are generally well maintained but the rough can get very mangy at times. Tight fairways, thick rough, and blind holes are not friendly for solo play. The course is much more fun with a group of players spotting for each other. There are no holes that allow you to let it rip.

Other Thoughts:

Low scores at Oxbow require accuracy rather then power. Stay on the fairway and manage the course and you're in for a great day. If you end your round and need to feed the urge to grip it and rip it then jump in the car and head to nearby Jamesville Beach. The two courses are polar opposites and between the two you'll get a great 36 hole variety. CNYDGC put on great tourneys and leagues and the local players are always helpful and friendly. This is a must stop for anybody visiting the Syracuse area.
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1 2
Gator
Experience: 14.8 years 19 played 19 reviews
3.50 star(s)

The Bow 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 14, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Tight holes played through the woods and over some great elavation. Theres a good mix of L to R and R to L holes on the course. Serious elavation...bring your hiking boots.

Cons:

Some of the teepads aren't any where near level with the ground and it makes teeing off really difficult.

Other Thoughts:

This one is worth stopping at to play. Its my favorite course in central NY and it kicks my ass every time.
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1 2
jonnieoh
Experience: 14 played 13 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Challenging, but worth the drive. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 13, 2005 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Tough, wooded, with lots of elevation changes.

Cons:

Tough, wooded, with lots of elevation changes. Narrow fairways are pretty technical, so you must be in control of all your shots, or else you're definitely going to lose a disc or three. And there are lots of mosquitoes and biting flies, so BRING BUG SPRAY. You've been warned...

Other Thoughts:

This shouldn't be the first course you play after a long winter. The technical, tight fairways will be a challenge, so warm up on some easier, more wide open courses first. Plus, the elevation changes can make you winded.
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2 1
Hattrick12488
Experience: 20.3 years 17 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Short wooded course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 19, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

There are tee pads on every hole for the pro tees, and they're in very good condition.

The course isn't difficult enough that a beginner couldn't give it a shot, but most holes leave little room for error with narrow fairways surrounded by woods.

It's a very well maintained wooded course set apart from the rest of the park, which helps keep unaware bystanders from wandering onto the fairways.

Cons:

I had to walk up the fairway to find the basket on a handful of holes because many signs were missing and there are lots of blind shots.

The course map showed that most (but not all) holes had a second tee, but none of them seemed to be marked.

Other Thoughts:

Bring along a course map. There were none there when I went, and I accidentally played 18 thinking it was 8.
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3 1
Kwick
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.2 years 50 played 18 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 17, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great use of elevation
Secluded
Concrete Tee Pads

Cons:

Very short course
repetitive shots
easy to lose discs
little/no signs

Other Thoughts:

This is a nice little course in the middle of nowhere NY. Every hole appears to have had a sign at some point, but almost all of them are torn down. That makes following the course a little difficult. Some of the signs appeared to indicate a pro and AM pads, but I could only find one per hole. Print out a map as finding some holes is difficult. I played 18 twice (as it is right next to the basket of I believe 7). There is a lot of hiking involved as many of the shots are up/down hill. Some of these shots do get repetitive. There is one hole that has a fairway that goes 50 feet straight ahead and than makes a 90 degree turn to finish the short par 3 hole. It's impossible to make a disc make the turn and is a silly hole. There is some overgrowth and can get sticky in the bushes. Many of the holes you can drive with a mid range or putter.
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4 2
Rizbee
Premium Member
Experience: 45.9 years 320 played 11 reviews
3.50 star(s)

I couldn't see Oneida Lake... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Good use of elevation. Tight fairways cur through forest. Pretty good mix of very tight and slightly open holes. Good cement pads. Pretty good balance of left vs. right curves needed.

Cons:

Signage has seen some damage. Lots of blind holes, causing you to walk down the fairway halfway to figure out where to throw to. One hole (somewhere around 11-13) was a silly 9o-degree turn 100 ft. off the tee in a wooded tunnel. I guess they needed some way to get from one hole to another.

Other Thoughts:

But not seeing the lake was not a big dissapoinment for me. No big bomber holes - well maybe 18. Not a problem for me, but for my big-arm son.
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4 2
nickstaudt
Experience: 17.8 years 18 played 17 reviews
4.00 star(s)

The Constant Challenge 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 17, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Concrete tees, well groomed fairways, lots of elevation change. The Elevation changes are drastic and help make this course unique and challenging. Easy to navigate thanks to new signs. Benches located throughout and there's a pavilion. Fair to both righties and lefties. Accuracy is rewarded more than power. (A pro in my opinion) Physically challenging due to the steep uphill and downhill holes. Very well designed and surprisingly tough scoring. I've played this course 100 times and it never gets old. If you can play well here, you can play well almost anywhere.

Cons:

Lots of places to lose your disc if you aren't on top of your game. Keeping track of your disc is a must if you miss the fairway in the summer. I wish water came into play somehow. Can we build a moat around the basket on hole 13? That would be sick.

Other Thoughts:

You can be having the round of your life one minute and cursing the next. Play smart consistently to do the best here. The only real navigational issue is the transition from 7 to 8. After 7 go to the left, not the right. The tee for 18 is visible to your right, but thats not where you wanna go.
Hole 8 is a truly unique hole. Probably designed with a roller in mind. Holes 11 and 14 are the most challenging, but they are still fair and so much fun to play. These two holes in particular made me a better player. Some ace opportunities, but nothing is ever easy here. It is easier to play in the spring or fall since most of the trees won't have leaves. This makes the fairways more open. Also less challenging to find your disc if you miss the fairway. Very technical course. This course will definitely improve your game since you will be forced to shoot a variety of different types of shots in order to succeed. Awesome layout, lots of fun, a must play!
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