Santa Maria, CA

Preisker DGC

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35(based on 12 reviews)
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5 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
3.00 star(s)

17 & 18 Are Both Really Beautiful Little Holes! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 29, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is one really lovely park. The park is gently rolling, green grassy hills. You can tell there is money here with the first class horseshoe pits, lots of nice picnic shelters, big barbecue pits with the roll up grates and my favorite, an absolute cool, concrete Pirate's ship which sits in the pond.

The course starts near the horseshoe pits and mostly plays in clockwise direction around the perimeter of the park. The tee pads are the patio block set in a wood frame model that seems to be the popular choice for courses on the California coast. The tee signs are wonderful informative signs, set under plexiglass. Each sign has a picture of the hole sponsor, as well as a picture map for that hole. Almost every tee sign has two bag hooks welded on the back side.

The holes are of varying lengths from 154' up to # 14's 577'. There are wide open holes, like # 14 and holes where the baskets are hidden behind trees or over small hills. I think this is a course that beginners up to Intermediates players can play and enjoy. Although, it's decently long, beginners might like it's "no rough" and usually no OB's.

The course loops around with 18 finishing right near the start.
I was liking the course all right and then I came upon # 17 and # 18 at the end. Although, not difficult, I think they are both classically beautiful holes from an visual sense. Both have baskets that are just barely visual. On 17, only the top half of the basket can be seen and on 18, you can just barely see the top. Both have throwing over small hills and valleys and then around trees.

Cons:

There are OB possibilities on 2, 3 and 7.

I guess the pads could be a couple feet longer.

# 14 was a boring 577' open hole across the center lawn.

There are a couple places where navigation got a little confusing.

Other Thoughts:

Can I say again how cool I thought 17 and 18 were. They are a great way to end your round here. I added a .5 to my rating here because of them. This is such a lovely park. It's a destination park so bring your kiddies and wife. My wife loved walking the paths and then just basking in the warm sun.
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2 0
thequietgiant
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Nice Course with Something for Everyone 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 8, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

•New tee signs to guide players
•Website has map you can print or pull up on your phone
•Good mix of long and short holes
•Makes good use of terrain and trees to add challenge
•Beginner friendly

Cons:

•Park can get full causing you to skip certain holes
•Some uneven tee pads
•"Big arms" may find it too easy

Other Thoughts:

Two holes along the back corner have been moved so there is no longer a fear of losing discs. The tee pads are better than grass but they are too short and can be uneven or cracked. This course is definitely worth playing especially if Waller Park is crowded.
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2 0
ShortyToThrow
Experience: 10 years 61 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Newly Updated Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 11, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-New tee signs with hole numbers, distance and map.
-Two new holes for a fresh challenge.
-Not crowded during the week.
-Course has its own website so you can easily access the course map on your phone.
-Holes of varying distance, elevation and trees.

Cons:

During Friday afternoons and on weekends the park gets crowded with non-disc golfers. They set up soccer games, picnics, bounce houses and so forth in the fairways.
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2 1
nuttinbutchain
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 44 played 23 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Waller Park Jr...kinda 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 25, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

-beautiful park with good land
-good mix of medium to long holes with one ace run hole
-green grass for you dirt-o-phobes
-not too busy for most of the day (might be busy after school, i hear kids play soccer in the middle of the field)
-more or less plays around other park goers, low risk of hitting anybody
-backhand and forehand friendly
-good mix of holes: some were tree heavy, others had some elevation changes, and some were just open and long

Cons:

-poor signage...signs only have the hole number, no picture of the layout of the hole and no distance
-can be confusing to navigate at certain parts

Other Thoughts:

I truly don't understand why this course has such a low rating. This is a beautiful park to play at. If I had to make a comparison, it's kind of like a mini La Mirada for those of you who have played La Mirada. Of course it doesn't compare to Waller Park, but it holds its own in my opinion. There are both distance and technical shots at certain parts, but its a mostly open course. The only complaints i had were the signage and the course flow. I was lucky to play with my friend's cousin who is a local, so he knew the course well. Ignore the low rating and give this park a chance, its a great course.
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3 0
Hazer
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18 years 168 played 53 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Fun Long Holes with a Confusing Layout 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 14, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Some long holes that test your distance. A few shorter more technical holes as well. Nice tees made of cement blocks with a wood frame around them. Hole numbers on most baskets. Some very simple signs next to tees with hole numbers on them. Some small hills throughout the course and they are used well. Fun course to play. Nice, clean, well maintained park with grass throughout most areas. Restrooms on site.

Cons:

Very confusing layout. I think a couple holes have either been moved or removed as they are not where the course map says they are and I could not find them. Even with the course map it took a minute to figure out where the next tee was. Most of the holes are pretty wide open offering little challenge besides distance. Hole numbers on some baskets are missing or worn off. Some baskets are close to other tees and walking paths. Only one tee and pin position per hole. Not very beginner friendly due to it's distance but not ideal for experienced players either due to it's low level of difficulty and wide open shots.

Other Thoughts:

This is a nice intermediate course with a mix of distance and technical shots, but definitely more distance than technical. I'm not sure if there is a new layout being implemented or is some baskets are just missing currently but the course was not complete when I played (I believe 3 baskets/holes were missing). Even with the current course map the layout of the existing holes is confusing. Once I did figure it out though, I really enjoyed the holes and I think the designer did a good job getting the best possible holes out of the space available, and maybe that was the main goal with flow and layout suffering a bit from this. All in all I think the holes I got to play were fun and designed well and this is a good course for intermediate to experienced players, especially is trying to test your distance.
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6 0
DocHaole
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.7 years 79 played 48 reviews
2.50 star(s)

BRING THE MAP 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 4, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

-18 holes

- Beautiful park: The course plays on well kept grass and some sandy areas with large pines and a few small hills.

- A good mix of tight technical shots with wide open bombs.

- Bathrooms, trashcans, playgrounds, a pond, horseshoe pits, soccerfields. A great place to come and hang out and do things other than disc golf.

Cons:

- Navigation is impossible without the map. Fortunately I read the reviews and printed out a map before I went. But even then there are no signs telling you what hole you are one. Those nice red white and blue tees in the pictues ARE NOT THERE!! And a few of the baskets had the wrong number on them. If you forgot the map, just go to Waller.

- Crowds: This for me is the biggest con. Although there were relatively few disc golfers at the park it was over run with other park users. This includes people playing horseshoes, soccer players, picnicers, dog walkers and little kids just running around. . . and this is on a weekday. This is all well and good except that the course runs through all these areas. I am surprised that no one has gotten hurt because this is an accident waiting to happen.

Other Thoughts:

MANDOS EVERYWHERE: (Streets and Walls) I have to put this as a neutral because it really makes the course exciting because it demands accuracy, but then it's really frusrtating when you end up in someones backyard, or hitting a parked car. For exampe hole #9 is a tight shot through the trees with the pin just off the wall that runs to the left side. Well there was a car parked right at the fence line to the right, so you have to choose: 1: Go right, risk hitting the car 2:Go left risk hanging it out into the trailer park (I ended up in the trailer park).

I can get past the navigation issues because once you play the course a couple times it doesn't matter, however the safety issue here is a big deal. Like on hole 13 I get to the tee, check the map, see the top yellow bar of the pin and let er rip. A beautiful shot (if I say so myself) and it landed 10 feet to the right of the basket. It's a good thing I wasn't any closer because what I didn't see that sitting behind a tree was a family having a picnic. And they had their 2 chihuahuas tied to the basket. The people looked like they had never seen a disc golfer before and were super pissed. So after picking up and not putting I said "lo Siento" and went on my way.

I then had to skip 14 and 15 for the group of people playing soccer. Keep in mind this is a weekday. Maybe this isn't the norm for this park, but I can only imagine that this issue get exponentially worse on the weekends.

Long story short: Beautiful park, great hole design, would be a 3.5 and a lot of fun. But non DG crowds and poor mapping leave it lacking.
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6 0
roadtripstuff
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.1 years 286 played 57 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Just Meh 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 10, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

It's A Disc Golf Course
Course Ends Where It Begins
No Long Walks Between Holes
Ample Parking
Bathrooms and Soda Machines in Park

Cons:

Park is Crowded
No Tee Pads
Some Tees Not Marked At All
Discs Can Get Lost Near Back of Park (Going over wall.)
Parking Lots Close to Some Baskets (Could hit parked cars.)

Other Thoughts:

Enter the park off of Hidden Pines Way near the intersection of Preisker Lane and turn left as you enter the park. Park in the first lot and the first tee will be towards Hidden Pines and play to the corner of the Hidden Pines and Preisker.

From here the next few holes were very easy to navigate; tee pads were marked near the previous basket, within eye shot, no long walks or wandering required. After hole four, everything goes downhill.

After playing hole four we glanced at our map and made our way to five. Unfortunately we were only able to locate the basket due to the missing tee sign. After searching for a bit we just made our own hole and continued on to six. Long story short there were a couple holes that had no pad, no sign, nothing at all to mark them, making it nearly impossible to navigate without a certain level of frustration.

Aside from the upkeep issues, the park also has crowd issues. Not only do the other park users walk in front of you, they seem to have no regard for what you are doing at all. Again, not only is this somewhat frustrating it is also very dangerous. I think it was hole six where a small boy ran out from behind the pines trees just after I released. We were freaking out. After it landed the kid, of course, proceeded to pick it up and start to run off with it. After retrieving the disc and holing out we make our way over to seven to find a group of gentlemen that were playing horseshoes, or something of that nature and rather than ask them to move we continued on to eight. From here navigation started to get a little easier with less signs missing and the layout started to make sense.

I would have to say that Preisker Park has seen better days. Did I enjoy the round? I could go either way really, but the course is definitely on the bottom of the list of courses I have played so far, and could use some work. Would I play it again? Probably not unless I was told they put it some hard work getting it back up to "par".<---Yeah I did it, used the lamest golf pun there is, what of it?
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7 0
coldshark
Experience: 15.3 years 12 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

And the runner up is... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 9, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

-They layout. There were no really long walks between baskets and the next pin. Great utilization of the space the park offers.
-OB to beat the band. Adds that extra spice to some otherwise pedestrian holes. I especially liked throwing to the "island" across the parking lot on hole 4.
-A good mix of challenges. Some tight lines, some wide open long holes, and even a couple holes with some slight elevation changes.
-Beautiful setting. The grass is green and mowed. Pretty little hills and big mature trees.
-Close to Waller, making for a great way to finish/start a trip to SM for disc golfing.
-The map on the links page is fantastic. If you've never been here, make sure you print it out and have it with you.
-Bathrooms, BBQ pits, trashcans throughout the course. And a cool looking playground, so bring the kiddies.

Cons:

-Some of the baskets are mislabeled (basket 8 had the #9 on it).
-There were a couple of baskets (8 and 13) close together that created a little confusion as to which was the proper basket for the hole.
-Tee signs were almost all faded. No numbers or distances. The map is vital.
-No tee pads. However, there were a few holes with some dirt cutouts.
-Um...TONS of OB. The course largely travels the perimeter of the course. On the right side you've got a parking lot, which I imagine can get pretty packed. But more importantly to avoid are the housing developments on the left side of the course. Make sure you're discs have made peace with their maker if you throw them over there, b/c you'll likely never see them again. Fortunately, the course plays in such a way that coming near the wall doesn't make a lot of sense. You'd have to really shank one to go over there.

Other Thoughts:

-This course is great, a must play if you're in the Santa Maria area for any amount of time. It doesn't quite stack up to Waller, but it is damn fun. You'll have to use just about every shot in your bag. A couple holes let you rip your drive across wide open fairways while others are speckled with big mature trees. Even a couple holes with some moderate elevation change.
-I played here with two friends after a round at Waller. All three of us were blown away. We played on a Friday afternoon and there was hardly anyone in the park. I can see some possible space-conflicts with other users of the park.
-Very glad we had the map. Without it, we'd probably still be in the park. Once you've played through, the layout makes a lot of sense. But in the wide open spaces of the park it's not always easy to figure out which direction the next tee is.
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4 3
ibgollie
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18.8 years 62 played 31 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Worth a stop 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 14, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice park, big holes, fun blend of grass and natural holes. Not too many people getting in the way. They maximized the effect of the small amounts of elevation and hills in the park to make it fun. Good to bang out a quick round on a "full sized" course. Not a pitch and putt by any means.

Cons:

-Confusing layout
-Tee signs need work

Other Thoughts:

Fun course to play, but if your planning on playing this or Waller, play Waller. But if you have the time, it's worth playing it as well.
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2 0
Vince Klortho
Experience: 5 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Little gem in Santa Maria 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 3, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great variation of long & short holes, great variation of terrain and elevation, nicely manicured and well-maintained, full park services (water, bathrooms, playgrounds, etc.)

Cons:

By far the biggest con is the lack of accurate markers. If you're playing the course for the first time without a course map, you basically have no chance of getting the pairing and sequencing correct, particularly after the front 9. Lack of tee pads is also something of a problem. Also there are a few narrow holes that border directly on fenced backyards, so if losing a disc is very possible.

Other Thoughts:

Great, under-appreciated little course. I live about an hour away, so I would definitely play this and Waller to make the trip extra-worth it. We had a 45 hole trip and it rocked.
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4 0
TalbotTrojan
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 112 played 104 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Grab Bag 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

An interesting course with a lot of variety that really made use of the features of this park in an interesting and challenging way. The baskets were all in good condition and were placed in some very interesting locations. No two holes felt the same and you were forced to make just about every shot in the bag. This course provided a good challenge for me.

Cons:

There was a good bit of wind there on the day that I was there making things interestings especially considering how many people were using this park for other purposes. There is an incredible amount of pedestrian traffic on most holes that would lead you to not be able to play the course on some occasions. The tee sings had been mostly defaced and most of the signs did not have the paper with information on them. You will likely need to at least study the map before playing as several times I walked to the wrong tee at first. I did not see any other disc golfers while I was there which made me wonder if there was anyone who appreciated this course. There were no tee pads minus the tee signs in the ground.

Other Thoughts:

I really liked a lot of the placements that they had but you will defiantely want to play this course where there is no one else at the park. There were so many picnics that I could not count and I had to play around people on a couple of holes. The design of the course was a lot of fun with an island green and interesting trees to get around or through. Unfortunately this course is accross town from a brilliant course and will have trouble living up to Waller Park.
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5 0
Legend KILLer
Experience: 20.5 years 90 played 18 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Quiet, Nice Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 20, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

-The variety between each hole is refreshing. The terrain changes from grass, pavement, and dirt often
-Being that it's a public park the lawn is kept nice and green
-The length and difficulty ranges from very short to #15 being over 550 feet, and from wide open to tree woodland
-The tee's are colored red, white, and blue are easily seen
-Not too many people, though I went on a Friday about midday
-Plenty of amenities: BBQ pits, picnic areas, piñata pole, drinking fountains, restrooms, pirate ship (no kidding), plenty of shade and parking, kids playground, and lots more

Cons:

-The tee's are natural (grass, dirt, pavement) though is does give variety
-If you don't have a map it can be quite confusing since some of the tee markers are missing their signs and some of the basket numbers don't match up
-Lastly, whatever you do DON"T go right when you enter the park. If you do, you will be forced to drive around the whole park at 5 mph! I learned the hard way

Other Thoughts:

The park actually had quite a bit of charm. The hole variety was great and the people their were really nice. Apart from having to find my way around, (since it was my first visit) the course played really well. Make sure to print out the map I made so you can enjoy your visit better. I will definitely return to play this modest course.
I talked to a regular and he told me that this park doesn't get used much due to the much bigger Waller Park being so close. So, if you're looking for a 'quick' 18 then this might be the place since you can count on not having to wait.
Now, to address the multiple tee situation. From my visit (remember this is only my opinion) I don't think that each hole has multiple tee placements and I'll tell you why with two reasons. One, when I finished Hole #5 I had to ask some people playing behind us where the #6 tee was and they told me of only one position. I looked all around that particular area and could only find one tee marker. Two, there seems to be a pattern of alternating the tee colors between each hole. It kind of falls apart around holes 13 thru 16 but the beginning is pretty solid.
To sum up, if you had a choice between Waller or Preisker: choose Waller. But if you still have time, definitely don't pass up this nice, quiet 18 hole course.
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