Sacramento (Orangevale), CA

Shady Oaks Park

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3.925(based on 71 reviews)
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4 0
Philrmonic66
Experience: 2.7 years 9 played 7 reviews
4.00 star(s)

This Course Has Everything 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 9, 2021 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

*Tons of varied shots
*Incredibly well maintained
*Great signage
*Awesome course to learn on
*Has a pro-shop and picnic area
*I've heard it's cool to be a member but I'm too much of a beginner to try that yet.

Cons:

*It's just way too crowded. I love moving through a disc golf course without having to wait too much. That basically means I have to get to Shady right around 1st light. With that being said, if you do that, you can easily get a bunch more than 18 holes in.

Other Thoughts:

There's a reason why it's crowded. It's truly an awesome course.
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3 0
DCaliBEAST
Experience: 16.2 years 25 played 8 reviews
4.00 star(s)

One of The Top Courses Near Sacramento 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 21, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

There is plenty of parking but still can fill up due to this being a busy course. Many people come from all over to play this one as I did and now alway come back. There is a Pro Shop on site with plenty of selection. There is access to bathrooms. Bring plenty of water because I don't remember there being any there. All shots are moderately placed with a few open in the beginning the tightening up in the middle holes bear the creek and openin back up on the back half. This park is big but it is well labeled and the next tee is pretty close to the last pin. I recomend not Plato g your favorite disc in the creek section, many disc have gone missing there.

Cons:

I had a Ontario Black V Chain Putter stolen from my bag while in the pro shop. Never had a disc stollen anywhere else and know it was stollen because I notice immediately and I don't toss that disc ever. This could happen anywhere really but it did happen to me, don't get to caught up not looking at your bag. This course can get hot and there is not a lot of shade on the first 3 holes so play early and get into the trees. They play some tournaments here so you you are not part of it you may not get to play in.
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1 7
Joecuzzi
Experience: 9 played 5 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Fun Place to Play! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 4, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Holes are Challenging but not very long, so not to difficult if your new to the sport. Has a proshop, which is convenient. Even though I got hit by a disc on the first hole the first time playing this course, it is still one of my favorite places to play.
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7 0
Magiken
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.7 years 74 played 74 reviews
4.00 star(s)

If this is what Shade looks like, we’ll take it! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 18, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

• Easy to find
• Nice baskets with the occasional alternate tee
• Three warm-up baskets with a really cool area to practice
• Restrooms (no soap though)
• Good signage and fairly easy to navigate
• Good tee boxes
• Very nice surroundings
• Pro Shop with snacks

Cons:

• Crowds form quick
• A little criss-crossy in spots
• Some of the trees are getting pretty beat-up from errant shots off the tee. Some protective netting would appear to be in order.

Other Thoughts:

Tips
• If you're going to use a map use the online one versus the big one at the course
• Go early...on a weekday

Random Thoughts:
This is one of those of those courses that, if you follow the game, you hear and see a lot about before you go visit for yourself. That, in my case, certainly raised expectations a notch but if anything tempered them, it was all this chatter about crowds and miscreants. Well, the crowd eventually showed, but I'm happy to report, there were no miscreants and the course lived up to the hype.

Addressing the crowd thing first, we showed up on a Monday at 10:00AM and there was only 1 person in front of us but by the time we finished, easily half the holes had people on them. Again, Monday, work day, school in session, and the place is filling up just before noon. That is the dealio on that.

As for the course, this is a great design. The first two holes are fairly straight with just a tree or two and a slope to deal with, but they allow you to get warmed up without penalizing too harshly the slightly errant drive. Then the fun begins, because the rest of this course is a tactician's delight. While most of the distances aren't particularly long, every hole from then on demands a fairly precise shot shape and shot length. The prior demand is a thing of beauty, in that, you'd swear some of these trees were planted just for the course and that this couldn't possibly be laid out this nicely but it's really a credit to the course designers for plotting out the holes intelligently, and then, I'm sure, a lot of hard work clearing the fairways. The result of which is a first chunk of holes that are either straight or right to left but all demand you ride the fairway rails all the way down to the basket. What's funny is right around hole 9 my wife (who's a lefty) made the comment that the course was very right hand friendly, and then right on cue, she was gifted several holes that were left to right. It again points to the thought that was put into the course and ensuring you have a complete mix of holes to play with. But before I conclude on the course demands, I want to circle back to my comment on 'shot length'. I mention this because there is OB all over this course and most of it is right behind or near the basket. It's not particularly large OB but it's well placed and it demands you think about it before firing and forgetting. What makes it even a tick trickier is most of the ground here is very hard, compacted dirt. It's darn near concrete in texture, which means Skippy McDisk is in full effect. In other words, be a little short on your landing. Even the beautiful 'top of the world' shot on #12 where you step up and go 'Yea! Let's bomb one!!'. Beware. There's OB right behind the basket. Go Patriot missile instead. Having said that, I loved the challenge of it and only gifted 1 shot to the OB gods, thanks to a crappy putt off a tree of all things. With that said, I still found the entire course to be completely fair and manageable.

Stepping back to the other course amenities, we really enjoyed what we saw here. This is a pretty park with interesting trees that was quite pleasant to walk through. There's even a horse facility next door gifting us some beautiful horses strolling around while we played. It has just enough elevation change with wandering stream beds throughout. You can also see a lot of work went into it with numerous navigation signs, benches, trash cans, bridges, and stepping stones for the rainy days (how did you get those things in there?). I also really liked that where some trees had fallen, they were just left in place. It adds just a bit more challenge and interest to the eye. In short, a lot of love went and goes into this course. It shows, and we appreciate it.

Bottom Line:
We thoroughly enjoyed this course, both playing it, and just walking through it. It has a very fun mix of mid-sized precision shots that is challenging but fair to the scorecard. It is also a lovely walk in the woods. Believe the hype and get out there. Just go early. Bravo course crew!
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3 0
the_bird
Experience: 6.8 years 11 played 11 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Great Course! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 9, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-a load of really old, beautiful oaks make this course scenic, challenging and unique. It is the best course I've played in my short disc golf career.

-For me (a true novice) it is really a great but fair challenge. I feel like I am punished fairly for errant shots but rewarded when I actually throw a decent disc.

-None of the holes are so long that I leave feeling totally emasculated, but they are still long enough that they force me to use all of the discs in my bag in a variety of different ways.

-It's really nice having a disc golf shop at the course to get a gatorade after a round, or to replace a lost disc (which has happened I'm afraid).

Cons:

I hear the crowds can be awful, but I haven't experienced that yet. I've only played Shady Oaks these past few weeks during the week, and it has been pretty wide open during this time. Granted, it has been ridiculously hot during this time, with some of the nastiest 108 degree days of the summer. I still managed to finish 12 holes on a couple of occasions during the hot-spell, but both times was barely able to crawl back to my car.

Other Thoughts:

I'm excited to continue playing Shady Oaks, and can't wait until the weather cools down and seasons change. I am sure it's a hell of a place in late fall and early spring.

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3 2
stussyjoker
Experience: 5 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 9, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great variety in hole design
Multiple pin positions keep the course fresh and fun no matter where they are positioned
Tee boxes are nice and big
Nice location
Great pro shop on site

Cons:

Can be quite busy during peak hours
Can encounter the occasional wanna-be pro jerk from time to time

Other Thoughts:

I love this course. I like the layout, the multiple placements, the practice areas are nice, there is great variety, etc. It can get quite busy, so there are times where you may have to wait on larger groups. The Pro Shop is great. Better than the shop at Rocklin, IMO.
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7 0
todd9500
Experience: 41.1 years 335 played 8 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Benches galore 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 12, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

First Impressions: There sure were a lot of people at Shady Oaks on a Tuesday (01/12/16) at 9:30am but it wasn't too busy so there was a nice flow to my round. The locals were friendly and helpful in getting me going in the right direction.

Amenities: There was a bathroom with running water. The Final 9 Sports disc golf shop on site was outstanding.

Course design/difficulty/obstacles/out-of-bounds: Great design with plenty of challenging dogleg holes - lots of trees to navigate around - testing every kind of shot you could imagine. There was a creek that ran through the course. They had multiple basket locations.

Course condition: Excellent.

Navigability/ signage/maps: Easy to follow with DGCR map. The signage was excellent. The signs included a washer indicating the basket position. They were accurate the day I was there.

Local DG involvement: I could tell Shady Oaks disc golfers really care about their course. It was evident that hundreds of volunteer hours went into this course.
There are plenty of leagues to get involved with their local disc golf community.

Tee pads/benches/shelters/picnic tables: I was impressed with the amount of benches that were constructed at each of the holes. I've never seen anything quite like it. The cement tee-pads were decent. There were plenty of picnic tables in the huge shelter area by the Pro shop. There was a putting practice area with multiple baskets.

Cons:

I heard this course could get very busy so choosing when you play it could be key.

Other Thoughts:

I highly recommend this course.

Remember the Disc Golfer's Code:

1) Play Smart - Never throw into a blind area or when players, spectators, pedestrians, or other facility users are within range. Use a spotter.

2) Respect the Course - Observe all posted rules. No littering, graffiti, or abuse of equipment or flora.

3) Represent the Sport - Be positive and responsible. Teach others.
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2 4
Tcollins88
Experience: 3 played 3 reviews
4.00 star(s)

One of my favs 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 1, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Lots of trees making it a technical course. Several dog leg holes. Easy to get to. Hole 12 ends right by the parking lot and picnic tables if you want to stop or pause there.

Cons:

Quite a bit of poison oak.

Other Thoughts:

This is my standard go to course.
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4 1
Phlick
Experience: 42.1 years 134 played 16 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Very nice park course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 15, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Has all a good course should. Benches. Trash cans. Restrooms - with running water. Awesome pro shop. Great tees. Incredible signage. Nice parking - easy to get to. Well designed/balanced layout. What doesn't this course have?

Cons:

Bomber holes. (lack of)
Crowds. Has to be almost always.
Wind exposure
Old baskets
Did I say crowds?

Other Thoughts:

This is a great course. The pro shop is well stocked and staff know their stuff. Prices are good and a discount was offered for PDGA membership - without asking. No maps available - but they're not needed. I'd like one for posterity - this was a course where no two shots were the same and each was memorable in it's own way. The tee pads are well placed and a good shape/size. The signage includes a washer on each tee pad indicating the basket position with accurate position/footage indicated on the very well illustrated tee signs. Benches were plentiful and needed on each of the tee pads. Lots of time/money/thought has gone into this course - and it shows. Multiple (3-5) pin placements on each hole ensure infinite re-playability and challenge for tournament set ups. There were no holes over 500' in the layout I played, maybe one or two pins allowed for this distance (maybe more - maybe none - I only played once) - but I can see this being tough in longest layout - the size of the park and layout of the holes easily allow. Wayward drives aren't brutally punished, but make for a tough save - which is a challenge in an open (for the most part) park setting like this.

This park challenges my rating evaluation system - it has it all. The only things keeping it from rating higher - outside of better baskets, which really aren't that big of a gripe - are really out of what this park can control

#1 Crowds.
#2 Bomber 500'+ holes - modern NT/gold level course size/design.

Would recommend and look forward to playing again.
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3 0
sumo21
Experience: 10.2 years 35 played 26 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Great course for any skill level 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 29, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Multiple pin positions for all holes

-Bench/seat on every hole to sit or put your discs on, instead of the ground

-Still challenging even after playing it more than 25X+ since I began playing disc golf

-Obstacles on every hole force you to bring out all of your tools in the bag

-Any skill level can play the course and play well

-Pro shop on site

-Bathrooms on site

-BBQ pit with tables under a large wooden canopy type structure, provide a place to relax after a round or just a place to get out of the Sun

-Pedestrian walkers not a problem, maybe 2%-3% of the time. Never been a problem for all the times that I've played there

-Plenty of parking, despite being a small park

-3 practice baskets: 2 by holes 1 & 12, 1 by hole 2 teepad

Cons:

-Hole 5 on deep in the jungle should be a Par 4

-Get there before doubles start at 10AM, or you can and probably will be waiting for a bit

-Holes 1 & 2 are upshots and players in front of you might forget to let the trailing group know it's clear to play, so one in that group must walk up the hill and find out. 1 isn't a problem if the basket is in the short position

Other Thoughts:

My home course is still enjoyable even after playing it a ton of times. The players that play here are mostly friendly, as is the Pro Shop and it's staff. Jim, the manager of the Pro Shop is one of the nicest guys that you'll ever meet. He is one of the touring pros in the Grandmaster division. Drew Gibson, another tour pro in the Men's Open division, has spent a lot of time honing his game here. The tournaments that are held here are phenomenal and I hope to enter one very soon.
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8 0
TalbotTrojan
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 112 played 104 reviews
4.00 star(s)

The Local Advantage 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 15, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The design of this course is really something amazing. There are no holes that look the same and the land used is used in such an incredible way that it is really something special. The tee pads are nice and big and the baskets are consistent. The tee signs look nice and have accurate information. Final 9 sports is right there on location offering discs and other accessories. There are a lot of locals that clearly love this course and keep improving the course over time as they can. The flow of the course is good. There is a lot of fun and interesting shots on this course. As far as scoring separation from a good shot and a bad shot, this is one of the best courses I have seen. There is a very nice picnic area and practice area near Final 9 sports and teh first tee. There is a good amount of signage in order to find the next tees. There are several places on this course that simply look beautiful, as in the course itself looks beautiful. There are lots fo nice bridges and stepping stones to get over water features or other areas that become muddy. There are multiple basekt locations and a few alternate tees.

Cons:

The baskets are older and could use an upgrade to the newer, better catching baskets. There are lots of places to potentially find poison oak. There are several holes that are very not begginner friendly. In talking with locals, I learned that the crowds on this course can be very bad, especially on the weekends. This along with the fact that several holes are on top of each other or have blind elements, there can be some serious issues. There is also tennis courts near Final 9 and the first tee with very run down bathrooms right there, only adding to the frustrations with crowds. The parking lot is not big enough to handle what I imagine to be the crowds that will be at this course. There are a couple of longer ish walks between holes that would be confusing without signage. There are some drainage ditches that provide some awesome water features when there is water in them, but I never saw water in them. There are some walking paths to go through the course, which may have people walking them without really know what is going on with the disc golf course.

Other Thoughts:

The design of this course is really good.and props goes to the locals that make this course home. The experience is really enjoyable and I would highly reccomend playing this course. Playing this course consistently will make you a better player. I feel like this course is only going to get better as improvements are continually made. The pyramid hole is something I was told was a new addition to the course and I thought was very well done and made the course that much more interesting. Even after a few rounds on this course, there are still holes that I am replaying in my head. There has to be a way to figure out how to play this course, but it is not necessarily a course that one can just figure out in one round, which will always keep things interesting. I was fortunate enough to play this course as part of the 2015 St. Patty's Classic tournament. I would highly reccomend playing in tournaments run by the same people on this course or other courses as they did a wonderful job. Really there are not enough good things to say about the people associated with this course in one way or another.
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1 6
Taz Michael
Experience: 34.8 years 26 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Where I learned to pay. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 8, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very few hikers, bikers, etc to get in your throwing area. Lots of obstacles and water hazards. Not a beginner course, for sure.

Cons:

Very popular course, so wait time can be a pain. The placement nails (for hole placement guide) are often wrong, so you throw blindly to a few holes.

Other Thoughts:

The pro-shop is awesome. Very friendly staff and average pricing on their equipment.
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1 4
MrSpectroscopy
Experience: 4 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Classic Course for the Area 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 13, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Technical
Good variation (doglegs L+R, distance, etc)
Pro shop on site
Good signage
Large cement teepads
Elevation changes

Cons:

Crowds
Summer heat

Other Thoughts:

Great course. The local club provides a good atmosphere. The course is well-maintained with bridges that span the creek and stepping stones in potentially muddy areas. Benches at every hole.
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1 6
elvenschool
Experience: 41.9 years 12 played 12 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Majority Wins 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 5, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very challenging layout with multiple hole types and complexity. Natural environment, with many elevation changes, albeit none too large. Water, trees, fences -- every imaginable hazard comes into play.

Cons:

A minority of holes seem designed to force you to lose a disc or to spend time retrieving from trees, bushes, etc. A generally dirty track too, as there's little grass and wet conditions make things miserable.

Other Thoughts:

Often busy, due to its popularity.
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6 0
Philbert
Experience: 12.2 years 41 played 8 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Ducks on a disc golf course 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Shady Oaks is a course that is good at testing your game in almost every aspect.

The holes are laid out in such a way that there are a very good mix of shot selection. Right to left, Left to right, and a couple straight down the pipe. Even a few tees that have some interesting trees positioned in front of the tee pads to force more line shaping.

There are also a few mandos scattered around the course to force safety where some of the holes come a little close to one another. 10-11 really comes to mind. Though again these server more to shape a shot more then anything.

For the most part, Shady Oaks lives up to its name and you play through a nicely covered oak grove. The wind if any is fairly restricted though out the course except the few holes that are opened up. 1, 2, 3, 5, 12, 17, 18.

Winding throughout the course is a small creek. I've played it both with water, and with out water. It was a far more enjoyable experience with the water due to a couple of pairs of mallards that have made the course there spring/summer home.

The course dynamics change quite a bit as the weather turns as there is not a lot of grass on the fairways. So expect some crazy skips when its dry. This of course leads to bringing the water more into play. Just don't hit a duck.

The tee pads are mostly wide and have a rounded front. I find myself really liking these tee pads. The usual at my home courses are 6x3. So these textured, wide, and open lined tees are a wonderful thing. The face that I can adjust my runup to align with my shot without running off of the tee pad is just a beautiful thing.

The baskets are good old Mach 3's. The pin positions are quite a bit more interesting then some places. Whole hole dynamics can be shifted based on the pin position. With the excellent tee pads mixed in you can feel like its a natural adjustment, more then a forced change to the layout.

Each hole has a solid tee sign, with distances and a quick route to get to the pin. There is also a marker that indicates the current pin position. There is also trash cans and benches at most holes.

Cons:

Not a lot of cons on the over all.
-- There is a parking lot, but there is also overflow when its needed.
-- Poison oak is on the course.
-- Lots of people.Lots. This is most likely the premiere course for Sacramento so there are a lot of bodies out here. The pace can slow down quite a lot. Backups at hole 5 are very common.
-- Typical graffiti on benches. I have no idea what a disc charger is, or why I think a piece on non conductive plastic would need a "charge". I think I am going to have to form a club of anti-disc chargers.
-- Apparently the common litter bug wanders this course as well. Not very much. Mostly just cigarette butts being left 2 feet from the trash can sort of thing.
-- Bring some dawn. If your disc does end up in duck infested waters. That puppy is going to stink. Yeah.. For reals.
-- The ducks laugh at you when you miss your putts.

Other Thoughts:

I like this course quite a lot. There are design elements here I would like to see at other courses. Especially those tee pads. There is just something about having the ability to actually play any position of pin on a hole with out worrying about your footing. This place in spring is beautiful. St. Pattys Classic is held here for a reason.
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2 0
Fntsygamr
Experience: 8.8 years 62 played 27 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Shady Oaks - Me likey 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Great selection of shots. Since I am new to the game (only about a year playing) I decided to play this course for the 1st time. I was intimidated going in, but that went away after a few holes. Love the layout: Long, short, dogleg left, dogleg right...etc. Lots of trees, probably why it has the name of Shady Oaks. Great scenery and they have a Final 9 to get supplies before you play or after the 9th.

Cons:

SO MANY PEOPLE!! If you time it right on the weekend, you can get there before the regulars get up and out of bed. Small parking lot and really hard if there are lots of people to find a place to park. Water hazard can be a bit of a pain, but there would have to be rain in the area for that to happen.

Other Thoughts:

When taking a large group of people to play here; more than 5 or 6, please be nice and let those that have smaller groups play through or at least hang back and let them go. I was behind a group of people that were there to talk, drink and not play really. It was kind of a pain, but only lasted until hole #3.
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4 0
adamtheviking5
Experience: 13.6 years 113 played 13 reviews
4.00 star(s)

still my favorite course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 30, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

To start there's a pro shop on site with almost every disc imaginable as well as refreshments. There's a practice basket set up for around the wirld and 2 more in a horseshoe pit set up so you can throw back and forth. The course is 18 great holes through an oak grove right in the middle of town but once your on the 3rd hole you forget your not in the woods somewhere. There's a cool creek that snakes through many of the holes. The shots are long short medium left right straight and even some up and down. Some risk/reward and lots of fun. Great locals make this a cool place to visit. Restrooms on site.

Cons:

Lots of people play here and if you go in the afternoon or on weekends you should expect a wait. Undercover cops looking for drugs and alcahol. When the creeks full there's risk of loosing discs.

Other Thoughts:

I lived in the area for a long time and this was my favorite course. I've moved away and played 70 other courses and guess what....still my favorite. Stop here if your in norcal and patronize the shop. Jims the gyt who runs it and hes a grump but even grumps gotta eat.
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7 2
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun layout 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 14, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays in a large disc golf exclusive area, it's always nice not to have to worry about other park users. Most of the course has scattered mature trees with varying degrees of rough. Many holes make you shape a line off the tee, with a nice balance of left and right turning holes in the setup I played. About half of the holes had enough rough that you really paid for a missed line, the rest were easier to recover for par after a bad drive.

There is some nice distance variety here, with ace runs and some longer shots where I got to pull out a driver. A couple longer shots make you stay under a ceiling or follow a tunnel, making it a decision to bite off more distance or to focus on staying on the fairway. The alternate pin placements looked like they'd add even more variety if rotated regularly. The indicators on the tee signs for the current position are a great touch, and the signage in general was plenty adequate.

The tees are nice concrete pads with enough texture to provide grip even with a little sand on the tee. The course seemed like it gets a lot of work on erosion control and landscaping, nice to see that on a public course. There is a pro shop and a nice putting area by the first tee.

Cons:

There are a lot of spots where holes play close to one another and it's easy to throw onto another fairway. It seems like there's a good amount of use here, so that's a bigger deal than at a course in the middle of nowhere. There are a couple spots where next tee signs would go a long way, otherwise make sure you grab a course map.

There are a handful of holes that weren't very exciting, and just felt like filler holes, that's one of the big things keeping this course from being rated higher for me. There is some poison oak off many of the fairways.

Other Thoughts:

Beginners will find this course challenging but not too much so. It's got some nice technical shots, but the punishment is reasonable and shouldn't be too frustrating. More experienced players will find some good tests here, along with several straightforward birdie chances. It's not a top level course, but it's a fun layout that's worth playing if you're in the area.
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4 0
krife
Experience: 12.7 years 41 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 25, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great variety of terrain, elevation, baskets, long and short holes. Although there are no big arm-wrenching par 4's or 5's, there are a few that really tested my arm. Technical holes aplenty. The creek clearly adds a whole new dimension of difficulty when it is running.

Cons:

As many others have said, this place is crowded. I spent at least 5 minutes waiting on most of the tees, and my round lasted 2 1/2 hours. I would also like to see some alternate tee pads, but with as many as 4 basket locations I doubt regulars get bored often. Poison oak on a couple of holes on the back 9.

Other Thoughts:

I played this course while visiting Sacramento for a wedding from Seattle. My cousin and I certainly felt some animosity from the locals (especially in the pro shop) which was likely due to the fact I was rocking my Seahawks hat, lol. However, we ended up playing with two other twosomes who were very friendly and great course guides, pointing out holes where you need a spotter on your tee shots #3 comes to mind). Big thanks to Taz and Chili for showing us around, sharing the kind, and most of all pointing out the poison oak (which I was seconds away from trampling into)! Shady Oaks is one of the coolest courses I've played.
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4 0
toomanymoose
Experience: 14.2 years 10 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

A personal Favorite 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 15, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This was the course I learned to play on. After playing several other course I still put this at the top of my list.
The course offers a variety of challenges from wooded areas to a few wide open holes.
During the summer the fairways tend to be really dry so big skips and rollers are common. That could fall in the cons depending on your playing style.
The only course I have been to with a pro shop located on site.
They also have multiple pin placements which they change fairly frequently so your always getting a new challenge

Cons:

The course is very popular so get there early to avoid crowds.
They are some who come who dont respect the rules, environment, etiquette, etc, and odds are on a busy day you will run into them.
When the water is running(or standing) there are a few places you may find yourself in a deep dirty water hazard and discs can be hard to find.

Other Thoughts:

Still one of my favorite places to play. They have been cracking down more and more over the years on drinking/smoking, so if you chose to do so, try to avoid the areas where houses and other park patrons are around. There is no need to carry a 30 pack with you and be smoking next to a family having a day out at the park. I have seen this happen many times and that is a big reason why they are getting upset. Compared to other courses i would say this is the least lax course in that sense, that's why i at least wanted to say a few words about it.
Overall, if your looking for a challenging course that is fun to play, I recommend checking it out
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