-It's a free to play, very challenging 18 hole course
-Challenges the player to hit lines and place throws
-Great use of elavation
-Tee signs mean it's relatively easy to navigate each hole
-Good mix of par 3s and par 4
-Lots of memorable holes
-New artificial turf teepads are large, even and grippy.

-I'd suggest the course was designed by a righty with no forehand, dogleg right shots constitute the main challenge on most holes.
-A couple of blind holes make it difficult to play alone/coupled with long grass can mean discs are quite easy to lose.
-Rubber tee mats are uneven and slippy all year round. (though these are being phased out now)
-Use UDisc or the croydon disc golf website to navigate the full layout, not always obvious where the next tee is.
-Expect to wait on holes that play through main thoroughfares of the park (holes 4 and 9 especially).

-Oh boy can it get windy. Definitely check the wind further down the fairway in spots, not a pro or a con just a feature of the course.
-Disc golf is really bedded in well here, the locals understand its place in the park and the local club is very supportive.
-It's the course I was introduced to disc golf at and I'm glad it was as it encourages good distance, angle control and the ability to hit lines fairly equally.

EDIT: This has been bumped from a 3.5 to a 4 due to the installation of new aritificial turf teepads. These have made massive improvements to the holes they are already installed on and will greatly improve the rest of the course as they are phased in. You can tell that the club loves this course and the park as well.

Nice mix of par 3 and 4 holes par 60.

Changes down the years have made this more and more challenging.

Beautiful park

Grass now cut for summer

OB now clearly marked with posts

There is an 18 hole gold course par 60
Also there is a 18 hole blue intermediate course par 56 and a red 9 hole short course.

There is a fairly large walk between holes 5 and 6 (although now signposted).

Lots of the rough is spikey (thorns, blackberries) or stings (nettles). So it's real tough on beginners. If you can't control your discs don't wear shorts!

No bins on the course - this isn't going to change unfortunately and is outside of the control of the club.

Thought it was worth a little update:

The club now have an agreement with the park authorities to cut the grass in June. So the days of waste high grass are no more. Summer play is now massively improved. Previously the grass was only cut at the end of summer.

OB lines on 5 and 7 are now clearly marked by posts.

Tees have been changed from rubber mats to astroturf.

Tee signs have been updated. It's worth using UDisc for the transition from gold 5 to gold 6 as there is a longish walk involved.

Litter is picked regularly by club members but it's a public park with no bins so it's an ongoing battle.

Baskets - The yellow rimmed baskets and great. They stand out really well and make shot choice reasonably easy. For someone like myself who has not played the course before this was a useful tool (however see Cons also)

Hole Maps - Every hole (except hole 2) has a map on a post to tell the player what to expect, where the Mando's and OB lines are. Most of these are really easy to follow and so made my playing experience better because it gave me a good idea of where i was going.

Cafe - After a long journey this was a welcome relief. So nice also that the staff were knowledgeable about the sport.

Baskets - Not every hole has a yellow rim basket. On holes 3 & 12 the baskets have a metallic silver band, which for 2 holes where the player doesnt have a view of the basket from the tee seems a bit unfair. Could these baskets not be swapped round so that they are used on holes where the basket is obvious and not leave a player guessing where they have to go.

Tees - The rubber matting is not the best (ive seen worse) and doesnt provide the player a stable footing. Some tees, such as hole 10 seem reasonably new however others like hole 14 are definitely in need of repair

Uploaded photo's - Before my visit i studied the photo's on this site to try and give myself the best idea of where i was going. Unfortunately nothing had been uploaded since 2011 and so the holes have changed order since then.
I have taken photos of each hole so there is now a full set uploaded so it is up to date for players.

As ever i will try now to give a hole by hole run down of what to expect.

Hole 1 - A difficult tunnel shot to start. From the tee the basket is visable and obvious but fail to make the hole in the trees and you will find thick trouble.

Hole 2 - A long par 4 with the Croydon tram way down the right hand side. 3 mando trees stop you sending a drive out over the tracks. This hole is deceptively long. It just seems like it will never finish!

Hole 3 - A straight hole to a basket, huddled on the edge of the trees ahead. 2 mando's left and one right force a low straight shot

Hole 4 - A blind tee shot over a ridge, through a gap in the trees. The hole then falls away to the right. careful not to go long on your second shot as there is a deep ravine 20ft left of the basket.

Hole 5 - A straight shot along the hedge line to a basket protected by 3 trees. A nice easy hole

From hole 5, walk through the gap in the hedge and along the top path (keeping the trees close to your left hand side). You will become aware of white boards in the hedge (at around 4ft up). Go between the 2nd and 3rd boards along a well defined path. This will lead to the 6th Tee

Hole 6 - A short uphill shot, with a double mando on the first set of trees. Difficult to judge the distance but then equally easy to over shoot on your second shot,

Hole 7 - A long hole, with a confusing tee sign. The hole map shows an OB line running down the grass infront of the tee, but i found no way of telling what was in or out of bounds, especially as off the tee there is a small tree directly in line with the basket forcing the player to play out to the let before cutting back right to the basket.

Hole 8 - A shorter hole, with a steep drop off to the basket. OB left and behind the basket means you will need to be accurate with your lay up's.

Hole 9 - A long par 4, with a funnel to the basket. This is a well designed hole which makes the player have to really think about shot choices. There is a mando on the start of the wood tunnel which ensures that you dont miss it out completely.

Hole 10 - Signature hole on the course. Play from off the top of the ridge, down into the valley. This hole is deceptively long.

Hole 11 - Play back up the other side of the valley to a basket which is tucked into a little wooded hollow. I really like this hole, although i feel it is tricky to get it right.

Hole 12 - A blind tee shot over a ridge (a bit like hole 4), however this time don't cut the corner too close as there is a massive fallen tree which will gobble your discs. However don't go too wide as the slope will make your disc roll for miles.

Hole 13 - This hole felt a bit like an after thought and had been forced into a space to link up all the other holes. It just doesn't fit in very well. An open shot down the hill to an unprotected basket. If you have the distance this should be an easy 2.

Hole 14 - Another long par 4. OB down the left and a Mando on the right to stop wide shots to the basket. Hit the gap ahead of the tee and the hole opens out to allow an easier 2nd shot to the basket. Be aware of the thick brambles behind the basket.

Hole 15 - I got really confused here as the hole map shows that the hole bends round to the right, however in reality the basket is actually tucked to the left of the large tree in the middle distance. Be aware of runners and cyclists using the path before you throw too.

Hole 16 - A long par 4 uphill. I got completely lost here and had to ask a couple of players who were luckily on hole 2 where i was going. From the tee use the tall tree which has had all its branches cut off as a reference. I think this is the one which is a Mando to the left of (although not certain). From this tree the hole turns right to a small copse.

Hole 17 - A long downhill shot to a basket protected by 3 tall poplars. I really like this hole. It is framed well with the woodland behind and is attractive to the eye.

Hole 18 - A difficult downhill hole to finish. With the angle that the tee is at, you are not directly aiming at the basket. With the wind blowing this can be a difficult hole to get right. The trees on the left of the basket are not OB, however the ones to right are, so be careful not to overthrow.

I really enjoyed this course, however in winter with no leaves on the trees im sure that it played slightly easier than it would have done at the height of summer.
I will return at some point, when the leaves are still on the trees to see the differences

I Was Confused And Amused At Croydon Park Disc Golf Course!

For being a semi-experienced course bagger, I felt my level of preparedness was sorely lacking today. I hadn't planned on playing this course so had not printed off the on-line map. And then as I made my way to the course, I failed to glimpse the course map which sits just outside the cafe. Had I a map, I might have deduced the general layout of the course. Failing to do so left me wandering about like an Afghan shepherd boy searching for his favorite (giggle, giggle) ewe.

Croydon Park is a large sprawling park with much going on. The large playground with it's zip line was filled as was the fitness area. A group of about a dozen hikers passed by me. The course area is up beyond the zip line. This area consists of slightly rolling hills, area of thick trees and bushes, open grassy areas and many places with tall grass that could use a mowing. There is quite a bit of trash strewn about. I only saw one bench and no garbage cans.

There seems to be both a long championship course and a shorter beginners course. I never quite got with the flow of this course. Sans map, I was reduced to just playing whichever tee I happened upon. I didn't find out to later that some baskets (I think either seven or nine of them) are used for multiple holes. Sometimes, I ended up playing 4-5 of the short holes in a row and then I would chance upon a championship hole and play those for a while. My best guesstimate would be I shot somewhere between 10 under and 22 over par. Who cares and I only used her majesty, the Queen's name in vain six or seven times.

The tee signs are small plastic ones attached to short poles. The long course has orange signs and the beginner/rec course has green signs. The orange signs give the distance in both meters and feet while the rec course doesn't reveal distances. The tee pads were a some kind of rubber mat and the baskets are the European version of our Discatchers with DiscGolfPark on the yellow bands. Most baskets had a round next tee arrow pointing to the next tee. And there were two silver baskets. All were in need of some kind of a number.

The rec course is a nice little beginner layout with most holes in the 150' to 175' range. The orange championship course is obviously more challenging. It has more holes with tighter fairways and distances up to 450'. There were no signature type holes. No really creative tee pads or basket placements. I think the course in general was pretty nondescript.

Navigating this course the first time through playing solo was most difficult. I talked to a father-son tandem who had just finished and they too, were hopelessly lost.

The tee pads are somewhere south of adequate.

The baskets had next arrows signs pointing in the direction of the next tee but even with them, I still couldn't always locate that next tee.

The underbrush was mostly prickly with blackberry bushes. On the plus side, you could forage for blackberries while playing.

The course would be so much better if the long grass would get mowed. Trying to throw uphill in the tall grass was most painful.

Quite a bit of trash lying around.

No numbers on any baskets. Even if some kind soul would just write the number on the basket with a Sharpie, that would help.

To me, it's very apparent that there isn't a strong club presence here. Gees, an organized work party could do a whole lot of trimming and cleaning up the course in a couple of hours.

Disc golf hasn't really caught on big here in the UK. Maybe, they need to convert the soccer ruffians into disc golfers. I would love to see this course draw a little attention from someone, especially the government entity who mows the grass. Maybe convince Prince William and Prince Harry and their foxy wives to start playing? That might spur some interest with the serfs.

DELICIOUS BURGERS: The cafe in the park serves up the most delicious double burgers and fries for 5 Euros. As good as any burger anywhere. I give them a 5.0.

Lloyd Park has been my 'home' course ever since I started playing in 2009. It has undergone many changes in that time, from new holes, to rubber tee pads, to its first new set of baskets (currently being installed). It's tough to rate it as low as 3.5 but after playing some of the world's best courses I think this is reasonable.

It is a full length 18-hole course with lots of variety, in attractive parkland.

There's plenty of challenge here, particularly up to about 970 rating, I'd say. Players in the 850-950 band should love it.

If you're visiting London it is easily reached by public transport. There is also free parking and a short course layout.

The grass is only cut twice a year by the council - usually in early May and September. That means from roughly mid-June to the end of August the grass gets very long and it can be very easy to lose discs if you play without spotters.

The tee pads are better than they were but can still be slippery when wet. On the whole I would recommend your grippiest shoes for this course.

It may look from the course map that this course is mando-heavy - don't let that put you off! Many of the mandos don't really come into play and are just for safety; others shape the holes nicely, using the space as well as possible.

There is a long-ish walk between holes 5 and 6: after hole 5, walk through the gap in the hedge and follow the tree line up and to the left, probably about 250 metres, before turning left through a gap and up into the next field for the tee of 6.

- Good tees (grow through rubber matting) and tee markers throughout
- Great mix of holes testing a range of shots
- Fantastic location and straight off a tram stop with car parking available
- Cafe on site with I believe disc hire again
- Excellent friendly local club and local club chairman. If you are coming to play get in touch with them first you won't regret it.
- For a public park in the middle of greater London I have hardly ever had to wait for pedestrians to throw. Couple of holes around the lower field and squeaky bum Causeway can block up a bit but most of the rest of the park is very little used. Hardly any rubbish or dog mess that I have noticed here either - the local club does a good job of litter picking on rounds.
- Really well done website - http://www.croydondiscgolf.com/course
- Great views out to the city from the top of the hill.
- Two courses a beginners and an 18 hole Blue course

- Grass. Almost impossible to play by yourself from late May - to the autumn cut. Prepare to lose discs if you do.
- Baskets - old, and not the best catchers.
- flow is sometimes a bit tricky especially getting out to the back top field holes 6 - 8, there is a long walk to get there and it is not particularly intuitive.
- Few unintuitive walks between holes on the beginners course

Superb facility and the only one of it's kind inside the M25 belt. I love playing here and always look forward to the challenge it sets. What was the old 3 and i think now hole 17 is my particular favourite and an iconic hole, an 125 meterish slightly downhill long par three playing into a basket in a dell, it's as wonderfully shaped fairway and always a good two to pick up likely to grab shots on the field.

The top of the world drop hole 10 is a throw your bag hole looking for the cubby ace.

Hole 4 is a really good par 4, requiring a couple of different shots to pick up the 3

The last two mandos on Hole 2 are poorly defined trees which are easy to throw over the top off causing confusion as to whether you have passed the right side or not. I'm not really sure they are necessary for the hole, which would be a good long gold level 3 without them, IMO they don't really add anything on this hole for a top level player.

I remain unconvinced on the change to Squeaky Bum causeway (hole 9) , think this would be a better hole with a change of tee position to allow an attacking shot up the tunnel. Not a big fan of forced putter positional/layup shots off the tee on par 4's. I preferred the old layout.

All in all a must play course when you are in London.

EDIT* Just noticed lots of the hotos are out of date - the course has been substantially redesigned back in about 2012 with the old holes 1 and 2 disappearing 3 and 4 becoming one hole and three new holes out the back coming into play. Another one must have been lost somewhere but can't think which. Tee position for 1 and 18 have changed as has the overall flow. Better course now all round although old hole one was my first ever ace so some sadness for me!

- Big area, not stuffed together but mostly a fair amount of space for each hole
- lots of different holes, asking every type of shot
- long holes, no putt and approach, but still not only bombers' holes, but a lot of difficult placement shots or gaps
- not many pedestrians around, they have another area in the park so there should never be too many non-discgolfers on the course

- relatively high grass, there was no problem with finding discs at all, but it was fairly high. it's just nicer having a little shorter grass
- on the part where most holes are (1-4;12-18 or so), you don't really have designated fairways. You have lots of different sized trees that are around 30-60' apart from each other. The holes are pretty well designed between those trees, but you never have the feel of a designated hole that you play, especially not on 13-15. Probably it's also the high grass which makes this "worse" for me

Love the fact that there are quite some par 4s on the new layout and the par 3s are not too easy as well. With cut grass and maybe one more tree between fairways put in here and there it would be an aaaawesome place!

a wide variety of shots required for this course plus some big holes too, great use of landscape, on-line hole by hole score card app.

some of the basket have been BBQ'd (but still work ok)

since I played there last they have been installing Tee mats so it should be even better now..

- Easy access from public transit

- Friendly locals.

- High grass in fairways (and everywhere else). Before you give me a negative review for calling three feet high grass in the fairway, hear me out. It really does make for a different DG experience and will change your shot selection greatly. As long as you have a spotter, it is a pretty cool change!

- Great use of elevation.

- High grass everywhere could lead to some lost plastic.

- Dirt tee pads.

- Course layout can be a little confusing, particularly the walk between 5 and 6. If it seems like you are going the wrong way to hole 6, you probably are doing it right.

Check out www.croydondiscgolf.com and post on the forum to let them know you are coming. They have a very active club and were more than willing to help getting me a guide!

I got a little lost off of the transit. Although it takes you straight to the park and cafe, it doesn't quite take you to the first tee. Once you get to the cafe, walk to the right all the way down the open field. You will see 18's basket and the teepad for number 1 is just to the right of that.

-Beautiful Park - My girlfriend walked the course with me and kept talking about how great of a place it was.

- Baskets

- Tee post with numbers and maps (minus one hole)

-Good Variation of shots.

-Tee Pads - most holes have rubber tee pads, which are big and pretty nice, different then what I am used to seeing. althought they are not the best they are pretty decent.

- Hole Ten. This is the signature hole throwing off a ledge 260ish feet.

- Baskets are a bit weathered, but still catch good.

- The grass is a bit high there are (fairways) but these seem to be walking trail paths.

- Front nine is a bit of a mess in navigation, I didn't play holes 6,7,8 because I couldn't find them. (I forgot to print off this map http://www.croydondiscgolf.co...oyd-park.htmlso it was very hard finding the holes)

Honestly this course was a ton of fun. The grass was a bit tall, but it has been matted down and still a great course to play if in London. I am not sure if Disc in the UK/Euro is set up different but this course was a lot different then what I am used to play. Good change.

It's about 40ish minute with Public transport.

Make Sure you print off this: http://www.croydondiscgolf.co...oyd-park.html

When you get off the tram walk towards the playground/outside gym. There should be a fence that you will walk around and this is where it starts.
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If you do not like my review, please give me what I can improve to help. Thanks!

Very nice course with a good variety of holes.

Some elevation changes on the holes that add to the difficulty/variety.

A very nice park.

Aging baskets, that could use a little maintenance. they had good heavy chains though and caught well. (except for hole 1 which was missing chains entirely!)

Watch out for locals walking the various paths that intersect and cross quite a few of the fairways.

Would be great to see improved tee boxes on this course. Cement or Rubber even would be better than the ruts that are forming on each hole.

Having a guide is recommended, and on some holes a spotter is a good idea, to watch out for people walking the park.

I was trying to find a way of playing disc while on a very short business trip to the UK. I posted on their local club's forum and got a response the same day from someone who would come out and help me.

He met me at the course with a few discs for me to borrow and we had a great round.

I wish I had more time to play another, but unfortunately I had a plan to catch.

If you play disc and are in London I definitly say you should make your way out and play a round or two. Even though DG is not very prevelant in the UK, this course is a good one. Not the best course I've ever played, but it's definitly better than many of the courses that I've played in Illinois.

Keep spreading the word about DG in the UK guys.

-Awesome DGr's
-Lot shots to the rights. Requires you to use your side arm if RHBHer's or be very acurrate with some BIG Anhyzers. Dream Date for lefty's
-Nice Discraft Baskets.
-With map easy to follow.
-Easy to get to get to.

-If you are RH'd and don't have a side arm... good luck!
-Tees are grass/dirt, marked by posts. Some of the tee pads are tripping/rolling ankle hazzards. (play within 2m of post)
-Weeds under trees are vicious, wear pants or your legs will go numb from all the stab'n/jab'n/poke'n for some neadle weeds.
-Not DG exclusive, but use a spotter and all is good.

This is a very fun course and a GREAT Practice course for RH sidearms.
All the guys I met were awesome.
Contact Richard Wood if you are travelling to London and have a chance to bang chains.
Richard mentioned that they are trying to add some additional baskets and add some more durable tee pads in.

Map and directions available at http://www.croydondiscgolf.com/LloydPark.html make it easy to navigate the course.

Useful map at each tee area showing basket location.

Nice mixture of right/lefty/neutral advantage holes.

Single basket, single tee, tee area dirt/grass/mud. Baskets have taken a bit of a beating.

Lot of trash scattered about the park.

Nettles will give you a persistent sting if you happen to touch them.

Couple of holes under 150', couple of holes over 400', average for course just under 300'.

Gently rolling landscape with a few trees and bushes providing the obstacles.

Like most UK courses, ground is soft, so have a towel to wipe of your disc, wear water resistant shoes, and expect your discs to stick into the ground, vice roll, quite a bit.

About an hour by car from Heathrow. Can also reach the course from central London by train then tramlink, which has a stop right at the course!

A great 18 hole par 3 (one par 4) course.

For amateurs it is a perfect and accessible introduction to disc golf. For more experienced players there is plenty of room to air out and throw every single shot you know. As well as enough challenge to make you think.

Its even better when the winds up and its damp out, suits the UK!

Fairly simple, not very punishing to bad shots. Only one par 4, lacks some tech and tight wooded holes, although that wont stop you form taking that route! Could really do with some 'Pro' tee placements.

When this course was first installed some other local residents took exception to the baskets and set them on fire, beat them with baseball bats, filled them with rubbish, pulled them out the ground and threatened the organizers.

In the face of all this Rich Wood and the crew kept at it and the course does not disappoint.

The course is from the heart.

Much respect to all involved.

http://www.croydondiscgolf.com /