Whitewater, WI

UW Whitewater-Hoffman Field

Permanent course
2.685(based on 17 reviews)
Filter course reviews

Filter reviews

Filter reviews

UW Whitewater-Hoffman Field reviews

Filter
8 0
ElementZ
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.9 years 212 played 197 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Get out the chainsaws! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 17, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

It's apparent that at some point, maybe 10 years ago, this course received a lot of love and care. Someone or a group took the effort to initiate a course and take advantage of an area that could be great for a disc golf course.

The area is solely for disc golf, but we did see someone jogging here. From the shorts, this course favors players who can accurately place mid range shots. From the longs, it favors players who can magically throw discs through trees, bushes, and other shrubbery.

Grass was mowed.

Course flow is okay, but we did get lost a few times.

Cons:

It's overgrown. It's very, very easy to miss the fairways, despite the majority of holes being perfectly straight, between 175 and 300 feet, which leads to my next point...

Lack of shot variety. I think only #10 and the last 3-4 holes were interesting. The rest were monotonous and got to the point of not being fun. Part of what makes exploring new disc golf courses fun is seeing the creativity on holes, and it was lacking for the majority of the course.

Maintenance is an issue. Tees, when bricked, are way too small. Tees, when rubber matted, are torn up. Tees, when natural/dirt, are uneven. Tee signs are often missing or laying on the ground.

Other Thoughts:

This course has review ratings ranging from .5 to 4.0, with the majority around 2.5. I'm not sure what the people who gave this 3.0+ were thinking (based on current conditions). I think it may have started out that way, but has since unfortunately deteriorated. I think another part of that is that we played here during the pandemic, when school wasn't in session, so the students weren't here to maintain it. I'm dropping a 2.0, and I think it may be a bit generous, but I'm hoping the upkeep is better when students are around.

Also, the tree full of beer cans at #10's basket is worth admiring for a few moments. I'm not sure if this is a seasonal attraction but I applaud the artistic ingenuity of the group that has sculpted this fine project. It really made me reflect on the human condition and existentialism with the placement of empty beer cans decorating the tree. I wasn't expecting art when I came here but was pleasantly surprised. Well done.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
3 3
Nathanwojo
Experience: 16 played 3 reviews
0.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 23, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Easy for beginners

Cons:

Overgrown, Short holes, Bad tees, bad baskets, No signs, Bad trails, No idea where to go,
They make the baskets by the road nice but in the back they are old

Other Thoughts:

Don't have high expectations.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 2
Dfixmer
Experience: 9.9 years 10 played 6 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Through the Woods 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 8, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Helps work a lot on finesse and midrange shooting.
-Great for people who like short drives.

Cons:

-Not many open shots, almost entirely in closed wooded area.
-Lots of tall disc-eating grass.
-Most holes are under 200 ft
-Tee boxes are poorly kept and signage is terrible.

Other Thoughts:

A fun course to work on short game. Baskets are in good shape.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
1 4
murphy0105
Experience: 13.8 years 10 played 5 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Small 18 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 15, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Some good use of elevation and fitting an 18 in a very small space.

Cons:

Signs would definately be helpful. I played about 12 out of 18 because I frankly could not find the other pins. Also could use some cleaning up.

Other Thoughts:

What I expected being on campus but not bad.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
0 1
Harry Manback
Experience: 17.8 years 51 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Really nice course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 28, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Great variety
-Many aceable holes
-Pretty good for beginners

Cons:

-All fairly short holes
-Can get fairly crowded
-Tough to find disc in trees at times

Other Thoughts:

Really nice course with a good variety of holes. I never found myself reaching for my max d driver. Many broken bottles around the ground, but its on a college campus so theres nothing to do about that. A couple holes are very short and wide open and just waiting to be aced.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 1
guitar_freak_159
Experience: 16.9 years 41 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Control over Power 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 16, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

1) The baskets are in great shape (although hole 11 is a mounted a little high).

2) The course plays through very well, there is not much walking required between holes.

3) There are garbages located on many of the holes.

4) There is a big parking lot that the course is located off of.

Cons:

1) During the heat of the summer, the odds of loosing discs on an errant through increase substantially.

2) Because the course is located on a college campus, there tends to be a lot of alcohol bottles left on the course, many times broken glass.

3) It tends to be very buggy during the summer.

4) The tee-pads are inconsistent. Some have a brick pad, while some have a rubber, and others are just dirt. Also, the brick pads are sometimes located between the amateur and pro tee spots.

Other Thoughts:

This course is my home course. It is a course that changes a lot through the year. In the spring and fall fairways are easier to navigate with the disc, in the summer when all the foliage is up it is much more difficult. The fairways are defined and there is always a path to the basket, it just may take a little more control to get it to the basket.

Every hole is birdie-able, I have birdied every one. Many of them are also ace-able. Because the course isn't very long, this course favors control shots over power shots (especially in the summer).

The course doesn't receive as much attention on the grooming side as I would prefer. They did do some trimming on the bushes at the end of the '11 season. Holes 1, 2, 4, and 12 had some bushes taken out, but there is still more that could be done. However, it is still better than it has been in previous years.

I really enjoy playing this course and I am happy that is is my home course. It keeps me focused on accuracy while maintaining power on some of the holes as well. It is worth traveling to and to because it isn't a very long course you can play it a couple times.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 2
hebsonc9121
Experience: 15.6 years 74 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Dsic Glof 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 25, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

There was a few cool elevation shots, lots of trees. If you play the course a few times you get to know it a lot better and it begins to be more enjoyable. Maybe ask people around you for help. Once you figure it out it is a fun course for all skills.

Cons:

-Few benches
-Difficult to find the next holes as well
-Much of the ground is dirt not grass and could possibly lead to muddy mess (only seen it in few places myself)
-

Other Thoughts:

This could be a pretty difficult course for beginners especially in the sense of losing discs. (lots of brush and tall grasses)
Was this review helpful? Yes No
0 2
omightytimm
Experience: 19 played 12 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Not bad for a short course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 3, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

- good use of mowing & shrubs/small trees to make obstacles

Cons:

- poorly marked and poorly maintained tees
- many of the holes were pretty short
- not much room between holes in early/middle part of course
- never really figured out where tee for 9 was

Other Thoughts:

I'd probably not go out of my way to play this one again, but wasn't a complete waste of time either.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
5 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Decent 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 13, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays through a wooded area that is dedicated to the course so there is not any interference with other campus activities. There are some elevation changes, including a fun downhill shot and a hole playing back up the hill with some smaller elevations mixed in throughout the course. There are a few pretty open holes, but most have trees and brush lining the fairways that is pretty punishing on errant shots.

There is some mix of hole lengths, especially with the long and short tees on each hole. A few holes call for some creative line shaping. The long and short tees are easy to find throughout the course. Many holes have one brick tee and one natural tee, and there isn't too much extra walking to play one set or the other.

Cons:

Too many of the holes just call for straight shots. There's definitely room here to get more creative with hole layouts, it would have been a lot more fun and more challenging to mix things up more. The long and short tees offer exactly the same line on nearly all the holes, and don't have enough distance difference to really change the hole at all, it seems silly to bother with dual tees in cases like this. There are some areas where holes play pretty close to one another, this can be a safety issue especially on a course that probably gets a lot of newer players.

The brick tees that are in are laid nicely, but are very short and narrow. The rest of the tees are natural, and are rutted out and can get pretty muddy. There are several spots where the obvious path or the closest tee to the basket lead you astray, we had to wander a few times to figure out where to go next. It doesn't help that not all the tees are numbered, and some tees and baskets seem to be numbered incorrectly. I know the course recently went from 12 to 18 holes, so hopefully this is still something they're working on.

Other Thoughts:

I love seeing courses on college campuses, it's a great way to introduce new players to the sport. I'd like to see an even shorter set of short tees to make the course less frustrating for new players, especially with how thick the rough is in a lot of places. The long tees offer a good level of challenge for intermediate players despite the lack of variety. Better players won't find much difficulty here.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
5 2
cheesy_gordita_crunk
Experience: 18.9 years 4 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

An update on the course from the UWW Disc Golf Club 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 29, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Other Thoughts:

Hey everybody,

I thought I would let you know whats new with the course. I am the disc golf club vice president at UWW. We have been working very hard to expand the course from 12 to 18. Since the holes have been installed and opened for public play, we are still working on touching up the course.

Here are a couple things you can expect in the upcoming months:

1. Concrete tees: We will be installing concrete tee pads in the near future. We may just do the short tees for now because it makes more sense from a cost/budget standpoint.

2. Tee signs: We did have a bunch of signs/maps up telling people how to navigate the new course, but this is a campus course, and people are idiots and steal the signs. We are working on getting permanent signs up on each hole including distances and the hole layout.

3. Ace race: We just registered our course for the 2010 discraft ace race. It will be held september 18. Check the ace-race website for more info on how to register.

Sorry this isn't really a review (my opinion would be a bit biased). When you come out and play, keep in mind the course is always a work in progress and we are working hard to make it better. Any feedback is appreciated!
Was this review helpful? Yes No
3 0
clipnfly
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.8 years 60 played 57 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Worth the trip 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

This is a good course despite some room for improvments. Recent upgraded from 12 to 18m holes. Nice variety of holes. No real long ones. More skills based. Plenty of shot choices and ways to play each hole. Nice use of elevation changes and terrain. Long and short tee boxes clearly visible due to wear.

Cons:

Recent addition of holes makes this one a real challenge to navigate. No tee signage, save for posts at a few of the holes. Teeing areas are dirt (mud in rain today).

Other Thoughts:

The student club at the school maintains the course and they are trying to move in good directions. met the guys... nice folk. They are working on new holes, tee and direction signs and such. It is all to be considered a work in progress. That being said. it is a fun layout to play and worth the visit. There are a number of different holes with interesting shot set ups and options. I do not know which is which as the layout is a bit cinfusing and until played a few more times will be hard to remember. Overall good fun. Small sporting goods store downtown sells discs too.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
6 3
Dave242
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 29.8 years 393 played 271 reviews
3.50 star(s)

B+ = Very good for the 9 hole class of courses 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 2, 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. == B+ (Several of the holes have thick rough that will punish bad shots with an additional stroke)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I throw 300' accurately, 360' max. == B (Birdie-ing most of the holes from the long pads is rewarding. Good hole shape and use of obstacles and available terrain.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == B (A few holes are repetitive and there is nothing extremely creative, but you find yourself really needing to shape your shots well with 70-80% power in a lot of places.)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B (Beauty is so-so but seclusion is pretty nice. It is mowed and maintained quite well. I enjoyed the Mulberry trees all over the course - they are in full force in early July!)
5) Bonus points for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == N/A

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.

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.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
7 0
harr0140
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 15.2 years 1508 played 475 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Very technical holes 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 1, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

1) Nice variety of shots requires. A few of the holes are really tight, and require you to shape shots, sometimes a perectly executed S curve is needed. Not easy to do with the wind.

2) Nice baskets including a few with yellow extension poles for visibility. That was a nice touch on the holes where the baskets were out of sight.

3) Tees all have posts and are marked with a board in the ground which is always nice for a new player. #10 Post is missing.

4) I really enjoyed the 8th hole. Uphill just over a slight bank. Tight shot turning left and tucked up on the hill. Very well designed hole.

5) Waste baskets on every hole which is nice, its a shame they dont get used very often.

6) Can play this course quickly, minimal walking between holes, and they are easy to find where your next hole is, just follow the dirt track!

Cons:

1) Tees are down to dirt on every hole and some fairway areas are also bare ground. It would lead me to believe to avoid this course when it is wet. it would be slick and messy because of all the exposed clay soil.

2) Not beginner friendly. Every hole requires something a beginner could not execute. They did what they could with the property thats for sure, using the land to its fullest. The forward tees don't offer much easier shots truthfully, they are just 35-75 feet closer to the basket. Usually straight in line and only about 30 feet shorter.

3) Peripheral areas can be very punishing. Lots of small scrub brugh, honeysuckle, hawthrons, wild roses, other thorning shrubs, and even what looked like a one time orchard or tree nursery. Keep your disc low and in the fairway here or you will be punished severely on multiple holes.

4) Many of the tree and shrubs just off the fairway could use some maintenance. Get the people in biology, botany, horticulture, or some other related field to go out and learn how to prune!!!!!

5) Some of the interior holes could be dangerous from errant discs, very close together on a few areas.

Other Thoughts:

This course gets a 4 for the design and hole technicality, but it gets a 2 for maintenance. It is dirty, and when I say dirty I mean that two ways, lots of garbage, and lots of dirt. There are paths worn everywhere. I would expect that on a college campus, but it would be nice to see more grass on the tees and fairways. It does look like the tees are planned to have concrete. I can imagine when the trees have all leaved out this course will be much more difficult. The leaves will slow your disc down, but when bare they can go right through some of them. I also can imagine this course to be very busy in summer. It is located right on campus, and it is in Whitewater (The middle of nowhere for the most part).

The course was updated to 18 holes a little while back and the course improved with the addition of these holes but it is still destroyed and trashy and I m not sure the UWW disc golfers will ever make this course look nice . . . it is just a place to go and drink and throw stuff around for most of the locals I would guess.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
7 0
Texconsinite
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.2 years 138 played 77 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Fun Little Technical Course, but Needs a Little Attention 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 25, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Despite the generally short length of this course, it is still reasonably challenging.
It heavily favors technique and finesse over Big D. Great place to practice control drives and shaping your shots. There are a good variety of lengths between the holes, given that they're all par 3s.

Also, the flow on this course is AMAZING. You will spent virtually no time walking between holes, which makes this course play very quickly. It only takes me 45 minutes to an hour to play a round here.

The rough on this course is very thick, and likes to grab errant shots and punish you for them with tough escapes. However, it is mainly small trees and mercifully devoid of nasty thorns, so you can throw out of it without getting too torn up, which is good. I imagine this course plays even tighter in the spring and summer, when the leaves come back and constrict the lines even more.

Several risk reward opportunities exist,
One or two of the holes in the middle are really short, seemingly filler holes, but the interesting thing about this course is that though many of the holes are ace runs and very deuceable, its also very easy to land in the shule and get a 4 or 5 on them. Many of the pins are on hillsides, and they are all somewhat protected.

Almost all the holes have some elevation in play, and several are blind shots off the tee.

The course throws some interesting things at you, but the trees aren't THAT tall, and this course lacks any real ceiling, which opens up a lot more options. Surprisingly, wind is a factor on the first few holes closer to the open fields, despite the course itself being wooded.

Every hole has both Long and Short dirt tees, the front of the tee box marked with a painted board in the ground.

Each hole has a Tee Post, with hole number and distances (long and short) marked on it.
Each post has a big blue trash can next to it.

Though the long and short tees are just directly behind each other or offset only a little, it noticeably changes the look a bit because of how technical this course is. I played each set twice. On some holes, I seemed to fare worse on the short tees somehow. From shorts, you might tee off with a midrange on a few more of the holes, but playing from either set is an equally good experience.


Another nice thing about this course is how quickly it plays. Its generally quite easy and convenient to find the next tees, and the round goes by fast. Alone on the course today, I cranked out 4 rounds in just under 3 hours, throwing 1-2 practice drives on each hole the whole way.

As other reviewers mentioned, this course has great drainage. It had poured rain nonstop the two days before I played this course, and I was amazed at how dry it was. No standing water anywhere. Even the dirt tee pads were only a little muddy and still usable with skateboarding shoes on.

One thing that this course does better than most is it really forces technique over power. It makes for a really fun place to play especially if you cant throw over 300ft. Bring your big-armed friends along and watch them sail into the shule. Great to keep em honest.

Cons:

Rough and very Basic. Needs a little TLC.

While most of the Long tees were pretty level, many of the Short tees were bumpy and uneven, which made teeing off unnecessarily difficult. I dont mind dirt tees, but flat ground is a must.

Despite the trash cans next to every tee sign, there was a fair amount of trash laying around in the woods, which is really sad.

Hole 10 is missing the tee post with hole # and distances on it.
On Hole 11, the markers for both short and long tees tend to get covered with mud when it rains, and can be hard to locate.

This course has very basic amenities, but its not a bad course by any means.

Some of the shorter holes seem like filler holes with a twist, and none of the holes on this course really wow you. Many are quite interesting, and its a fun course with some challenges, but nothing particularly amazing about it jumps out at you. Its a solidly designed, meat and potatoes technical course, with basic amenities.

That being said, its a fun place to get alot of quick practice in, and refreshing for people (like me) who can't drive 400ft.

Other Thoughts:

Heard that they were trying to expand this course to 18 holes. Lo and behold, on the trail from Hole 12 to Hole 1, it looks like trees have been carved out in the shapes of several new fairways, including a cool-looking downhill hard dogleg left into a wooded gully. Hopefully they have room to add 6 more. It would be nice to have the last basket closer to hole 1, since the longest walk by far is from 12 back to the start, and it's also the area where they have the most space to add new holes.

Most of the "problems" with this course, like trash, uneven tee pads, and missing signs, are things that could be, and probably will be, fixed in a single workday by the local club, as they continue to expand and maintain the course.

With the trash and tee pad issues taken care of, and especially if expanded to 18 holes, this college course could go from 2.5 to 3. I enjoyed playing here, and plan on returning later, once the patrons have had time to touch the place up a bit after winter.

The idea of having a course on campus is a good one, something I wish my university had been able/willing to do, and if I went to school here, I know I'd be playing this course every week between classes. Kudos to the students for setting this thing up and continuing to maintain and expand it.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
5 1
Doctor Faustus
Experience: 21 years 14 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Warhawk Fun 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 3, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This entire course has been planned and executed by college students so enamored with disc golf that they felt they needed a course on UWW's campus. Within the last week, they upgraded to 18 holes. YAY!!!! The new holes are rough but the crew is working on them.

Cons:

It is a tight course and needs better maint. I have never lost a disc on this course, but I could see how you could. Lots of brush and the front nine has TONS of long grasses.

Other Thoughts:

Whitewater is a great destination course. Coming from Milwaukee you can hit up New Berlin and Mukwonago on the way down. From Madison you can hit Hiestand, Stoughton, and Janesville on your way over. The bars downtown are inexpensive for some refreshments after a round. Check out the new 6 holes.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 2
mozee
Experience: 27.9 years 39 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Short but fun course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 19, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Lots of birdie and ace opportunities, but challenging enough to lose those strokes on a handful of holes. Mostly a tight wooded course where some accuracy is needed to avoid trouble. The course plays fast so you can get a lot of holes in.

Cons:

College course, so it can get dirty with trash and vandalism. Overgrowth on several holes and easy to lose a disc in many places.

Other Thoughts:

Fun little casual course to work on your accuracy
Was this review helpful? Yes No
3 3
rusch_bag
Experience: 17.8 years 106 played 9 reviews
2.50 star(s)

U dub dub course review 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 5, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very good water drainage! First course I could wear shoes on this year so that is very exciting. It is a pretty tight course and the holes are not super long but it is a challenge for sure. If you can't throw a straight shot with minimal fade you are going to have a rough time at this course. There is minimal walking in between every hole and it is easy to follow. I loved this course because it gave the players who are accurate and can't throw as far a chance to do good for once. I am sick of all of these wide open throw as hard as you can courses and this course is not one fo them for sure.

Cons:

Some of the fairways are close to each other and it is very easy to get hit.

Other Thoughts:

Very well maintained and a very enjoyable course, play it if you get a chance.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Top