Hood River, OR

Hood River DGC

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1.915(based on 22 reviews)
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8 0
royvin
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 7.8 years 188 played 66 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Better than Advertised 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 22, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

-baskets in fine shape
-hole maps, pars and distances indicated on signs at most tee pads
-nice course map at hole 1
-convenient to stop off I-84 for a quick round of 9
-good use of elevation and shot shapes
-doubt it ever gets too busy
-good for beginner and intermediate level players
-restrooms available at skate park across the street
-parking on the street right by hole 1

Cons:

-dirt for tee pads
-no bomber holes
-hole 4 was blind and somewhat confusing as to which basket to throw towards

Other Thoughts:

I didn't have too many expectations going into the 2 disc rated Hood River DGC, but I am scratching my head as to why it only gets a 2. This is a great 9 holer! If some permanent tee pads were installed I'd give it a 3.5.
I enjoyed the ups and downs of the layout, and the ability to score well, but still be challenged. Sure, there are not long holes, but I think this is designed with the beginner/rec person in mind and the lengths are just right for that. My two and four year old's didn't have any trouble making it through and that was quite nice.
I recommend playing in late Summer and into the Fall as the fallen leaves on the ground add a nice, scenic touch.
If you're heading across the state, this is a fun course to stop by and play!
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2 0
Breh
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 191 played 189 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 27, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

9 holes baskets our in okay shape, and some have the number on them which is important when you get to hole 4 it's not the basket you see from the tee box it's a blind hyzer to the left. All the holes our ace runs and good course to maybe get your first ace. It has some tee signs showing hole number, and some distance.

Cons:

Half the tee signs our broken
No tee pads or markings to where the tee area is besides the tee signs
Lots of little bugs that our super annoying and all over the place
All short ace run holes no driver throws.

Other Thoughts:

Course starts right across from the skate park, not very well upkept and not worth the drive. However if in the area and want a shot at an ace this is a good place to maybe get it. Or if you just want to work on the short game check it out
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5 0
Schreuds2.0
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.8 years 93 played 81 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Nice casual ace run course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 8, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Tee signs are great except for holes 4 and 7, 4's shot is blind, and seems to throw you straight into some trees, the basket for 5 is right out a little clearing so, it would seem like that is the hole, but in fact, it is down in a little bowl on a hard hook left. Hole 7 has a cracked tee sign, not a huge deal as the basket can be seen without looking too hard.
-The one thing that this course does very well is good use of land. The park is definitely not the largest/most ideal location for disc golf, but the course doesn't really feel crammed, even though it kinda is. There are thick trees, rolling rocky hills, flat grassy areas, walking paths, I mean it has a ton of cool features, and they are all used super well. Particularly elevation, there are a ton of little rises, or ridges, or bowls, and all the ones I saw were incorporated somehow
-Navigation, as in hole to hole type stuff is super easy, you just look around and you'll see a sign, some of the holes themselves though are a little hard to anticipate in terms of where they are heading
-This is a short course, I mean, super short, but it has a great loop layout, where hole 9 ends right by hole 1's tee pad, so you can play this course several times.
-Good bench at the beginning in the kiosk
-Great course to introduce someone to disc golf at. They can be punished, but the sub 250' holes are easily par-able

Cons:

-Tee lads are not good. There are signs that at least indicate where you throw from, but it makes you do a double take because the ground there is so rocky and uneven, this makes a run up impossible on most holes, not that you really need one due to the short length of the holes
-Basket Visibility is an issue, there are some holes where you can see the basket clearly, 1,2,5,8, but the rest are more difficult to locate/discerne from other holes, some numbers on the tops would be nice.
-Mach II Baskets are not the greatest, but do provide a decent amount of catch, I hit chains a couple times, but just was coming in a little to hot to stay in (that is until hole 5 temped me to throw all my mids)
-A couple holes seem sloppy, or forced to me. Hole 8 is a great tunnel shot, with lots fo potential, but the ceiling is almost too low for me to walk through, let alone throw. (Let the record show that I am a person of relatively short stature) hole 4 as mentioned earlier is also super weird
-Not a lot of distance variety here, And I cant blame the designer for that really because of the size of th Park, but all you'll need here are putters and maybe a midrange.

Other Thoughts:

For what this course is, it is super nice. A great pit stop to stretch your legs, a great place to bring beginners, or to try and hit an ace. Fun course, not worth going out of your way, but if you're in the area, it would be silly to skip this one.
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2 0
DGTrower
Experience: 2 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

A good little course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 5, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

- a great course for putting and approach shots.
- a great course for beginners and tactical players.
- a very good use of space.
- its an interesting and unique course.
- you can play the whole thing in an hour or less.

Cons:

- the baskets are short, the longest was 203ft. I believe.
- not good for the player looking to bomb it 300+ ft. down the course.
- packed into a very small area overall.
- the tees are dirt and some of the signs are damaged.
- it's only 9 holes.

Other Thoughts:

This course is worth a play if you are just passing through or in the area. Its a pretty neat little course. I enjoyed the change of pace. Basically, there is no need for your big drivers, just bring some putters and mids. I almost didn't come here because the reviews were quite poor, but I'm glad that I did.
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3 0
danhyzer
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 36 years 2296 played 124 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 2, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

When one seeks out to play a 9 hole dgc, you don't expect much. But this course was pretty cool considering.

elevation changes brought out the best of this course. Baskets perched on the side of rock formations, behind rock formations made up for the fact this course is in a very small tract of land and really couldn't air out some shots. Never the less this course was fun to play (even from tghis season course bagger)

Cons:

parking on the street.

beat up and tagged tee signs!!

dirt tees

Other Thoughts:

no street address, but it right across the street from a pretty cool skate park.
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2 2
BirdMan15
Experience: 11.7 years 11 played 8 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Technically a Shorty 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 11, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Lots of technical holes, good for a few times around.
Right off the road and very close to downtown. Easy Access.
Holes 3, 5, 7 and 9 are lots of fun, good use of the natural environment.

Cons:

Kind of muddy.
No paved launch pads.
Only (1) trash can...

Other Thoughts:

I went with a group of 6 guys and it was perfect for that, easy enough that we weren't bogged down by losing discs, but challenging enough to be fun.
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1 4
thespeedokid
Experience: 9.4 years 110 played 34 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Short but fun 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Easy to read hole signs. Map of course at hole one. Variety of elevation and trees.

Cons:

Dirt and rocky tees. It is a pretty short course. It's unkept.

Other Thoughts:

It's really just a short fun course that is good for begginers. Due to the trees it is more of a tactical course.
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5 1
JerichoBronco
Experience: 10 years 36 played 19 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Putt Approach & Poison Oak 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Decent little putt and approach course. Course has a compact design. Very efficient use of the space. Baskets were nice, has some buckets for garbage. Has a good flow once you figure out which way you are suppose to be going. Even though it was windy, it was irrelevant as this course is staged in the trees.

Cons:

Definitely has poison oak. There are also lots of sicker weeds that stab through the soft parts of your shoes. Plenty of underbrush.
For such a small course there is a distinct lack of directions between holes. Also there aren't any distinct tee boxes. Just a sign showing the hole ahead.

Other Thoughts:

WEAR PANTS & BOOTS.
This is a very easy course. But it can be used to help hone your mid and approach shots. Not a lot to the course. Most of the shots are pretty straight on at One Hundred-Something feet away. Hole 3 was a nice blind hyzer shot from the top of a ledge, and 6 was a nice little blind shot over a hill but other than those 2 it wasn't very imaginative. Despite that lack of imagination this is a pitch and putt course of for that it delivers. I enjoyed it and plan on going again.

This could be a great family course for those of us with wives and young kids who don't enjoy large courses but they really need to do something about the poison oak and clean up the underbrush better. It's a shame, but I know it's a difficult task to maintain an area of this size.

For those of you in Portland this little course wouldn't be worth the drive up by itself unless you plan on seeing some of the sites in Hood River.

If you haven't made it to Hood River it's a great town. Hit the Full Sail Brewery or Pfriem family brewery down the street for some great food then hit the course.
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7 1
sillybizz
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 22.2 years 407 played 392 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Has this course had a redesign?? 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 22, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Reading older reviews of this course I believe that there may have been a redesign and many brush clearing work parties in the not so far past. The Valkyrie Kid's review from 2010 tells of a poison oak and lost disc fiasco of a course; a very different experience than I received here.

You pull up and the course is literally on the side of the road, walk ten feet and here is hole one. All of the holes on the course are under 220 feet, a real pitch and putt so no need for your speed 13 drivers here. Hole one is a nice little 160 foot hole throwing through the gap in some trees and hole two is an open open near the road. Hole three is on top of a little mound throwing downhill and over the rest of the park which is only three acres maybe. There are a few interesting shots here that turn left and right, just a little variation and a couple of slightly up and down holes.

Cons:

There are a couple of funky throws here that take you into other fairways but considering the size of the park and the ease and speed in which it takes to play each hole it shouldn't be too bad most days. The small piece of land here really hinders what can/could be done and really this course is a practice course, safari or lunch time course. Great for beating in new putters (or playing SuperClass) and having a fun and a laugh but nothing here to challenge anyone other than Grandma, Grandpa and four year olds.

Other Thoughts:

The Valkyrie Kid mentioned briefly in his review of a strange vibe he got from the skaters across the road and I would echo those views three years later. One of the later holes there were some teenagers sitting near this rock pile by one of the tee pads throwing rocks and pine cones near me. I threw my drive and they laughed and kept throwing things, not sure what that was all about but it had thinking about why I was the only person on the course on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
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3 2
CodeMonkey
Experience: 11.8 years 189 played 14 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Technical but sad 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 12, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Baskets and signs seem fairly well maintained. Decent amount of traffic but not overly busy when I was there. Easy to find from the road/highway. Technical but not terribly ridiculous shots.

Cons:

Even with the signs, many holes needed to be scouted. Signs indicated next tee locations but were often still difficult to find without some rooting around or scouting. All the holes were under 200'.

Other Thoughts:

This course should be used to practice technical shots and aces. I'm surprised that I didn't land any aces but with one quick one through I came pretty darn close on most holes. Definitely under par on all holes that I didn't completely botch my drives. I bet with a couple rounds I could land a few aces at this course and I'm still a pretty new player.
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7 1
ohtobediscing
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 44.5 years 401 played 41 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Midget with Attitude 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Since the course was reworked in spring 2011 it has improved remarkably. Gone is most of the poison oak, blackberries and scotch broom, so disc-hunting, unless the grass is bolting May-early July, is not a problem.
The whole park is just 7-10 acres, but is dedicated to disc golf, and well-hidden from the roads and one obvious house on most holes. 4 holes are 200'-300'---the other five run 79'-150'--basically, an intermediate ace course. Despite the shortness, it plays like a longer course, due to close/challenging obstacles and sudden/dramatic/multiple changes in elevation. 50/50 wooded/open, but the trees are mostly scrub oak or long leaf pine and will easily slap your disc around. Lavarock boulders/terraces create some of the elevation changes, and are usually intermixed with short ferns, providing a bit of a rain forest vibe.
Noobs will enjoy playing, but kids might find it too frustrating unless they're experienced. As it doesn't attract casual players, I've never seen it crowded here.

Cons:

I-84 is 75 yds away-a constant presence. Wind can greatly affect #s 5-9, almost always blowing in from the W/NW. We encountered dog-walkers a few times on the course, but most were polite enough to move on from our throwing lane. There is one large area of blackberries between hole # 3 and tee #s 4-5 that could cause disc angst, blood, cursing, etc.

Other Thoughts:

Table at # 4, but no garbage cans, requiring responsibility on the part of discers to help keep the course tidy. Immediately across the street from tee #1 is an excellent city skatepark[the skaters have never interacted with me], playground, and bathrooms. If you've got time, stop at the incredible Double Mt. Brewery/Pizzeria in downtown..
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5 1
CaptianTrilogy
Experience: 19.1 years 81 played 11 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Short but Sweet 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 26, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This was a great use of the land. The holes were quite short but very fun. There was a deal of easy shot (ex. hole 2) but others had many trees and this made it a tad challenging. One huge pro to this course was the signage, they were very well placed and were extremely clear. The course was laid out very nice. The usage of hills and elevation helped make this course a desirable destination.

Cons:

Some cons that I can think of were the fact that during a round a truck pulled up and block hole two and a family with a dog got out, set up a picnic near hole three and began playing fetch with there dog in front of hole five. That being said the locals were not aware of the DGC.

Other Thoughts:

There was a local we ran into on our second time around and told us about the old layout and as far as I can tell Hood River parks and rec did a great job at making this course much better than it had been in the past. Great course and will play it again.
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4 1
Huck Plastic
Experience: 13.8 years 9 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Need a confidence boost? Play this course! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 19, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Short but sweet Pitch and putt, can do 18 in under an hour
-Good for beginners
-Good for anyone that needs to work on their short game
-Can be played solo, no spotters needed
- Requires a variety of different and challenging shots
-Controlled underbrush and foliage (winter helps)
-No poison oak
-Very hard to lose plastic
-Never crowded
-Perfect for the lunch or after work round
-Maps at the first tee box
-Good labeling of tees and baskets

Cons:

-No holes long enough to warrant a full drive
-Intermediate players will find the course relatively easy
-Much more foliage and underbrush come spring time
-I-84 runs along the back tee box of 7, 8 and 9 which is noisy
-Dog walkers may get in the way at times
-Skate park across the street could bring questionable folk to the area

Other Thoughts:

When I read older reviews about HRDGC I was very concerned about playing there. The reports regarding poor layout along with the multiple warnings about poison oak almost kept me away. But I finally went and upon playing, it seemed like the last work party really did a number to improve the layout and poison oak situation. For that I want to give a big shout out and THANK YOU to the local HR disc golfers that worked so hard to improve this course.

There is plenty of opportunity for alternative pin placements to make this a little more challenging on the back 9, please see the review by "Dan-Hyzer" for a summary of alternative pin placements we have concocted.

And Remember, always play the role of "Unofficial Park Steward" as this will invariably improve the courses we play and the image of our sport.

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4 1
Dan-hyzer
Experience: 13.9 years 2 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Improved but not perfect 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 19, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The Poison Oak is all removed! This is by far the best improvement. It makes it a nice pitch and putt course. It's difficult now to lose your disc. You can still do it if you lose your focus but I haven't lost one there and regularly play there.

Cons:

Short course.

Other Thoughts:

I've been playing this with another DGCR'er, "Huck Plastic" and we're starting to identify alternate tee spots to make the course longer.

For instance, trying playing the first round as a "front nine" from all the normal tees, then make the following changes on your second time through shoot at the same baskets in the same order, just use these tee adjustments.

1. Normal tee
2. Alternate tee not found yet so use normal but we're looking for another spot.
3. Use teebox for number 7 but shoot to number 3 basket.
4. walk straight back from the normal number 4 tee. As you walk west, you'll start to come out in to the open field. Keep looking on the ground and two stones will be there in a very coincidental position and they'll look like tee markers. This gives you a Hyzer route or anhyzer route.
5. Use Normal tee. Try a tomahawk over the low oaks.
6. Use the tee spot for number three but shoot towards number 6.

7. Still looking but perhaps use the number three tee and shoot towards 7.

8. Thinking about using number 6 tee box and shooting at the number 8 basket. Untested yet.

9. Use the number 8 or number 7 tee area and shoot towards basket 9.

Feedback on these alternate tee pads is welcome, send me a PM!
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7 1
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Don't Attempt To Play This Course Alone! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 25, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Hood River DGC sits in a small (maybe 3 acre) extremely rugged park across the street from a skateboard park. There were about 50 kids skating while I had the park to myself. I sensed some kind of weird vibe from this. Stepping up to hole one, there is a sign pointing down and saying, "This is poison oak. Please don't remove this." And then naturally, there is nothing there so walking through the rest of the course I'm paranoid about stepping into poison oak.

Hole # 1 is listed at 220' to a blind basket. I consider skipping it due to the risk/reward of hunting for my disc in these poison oak infested roughs. But I throw a couple of overly cautious short lay ups finally finding the basket.

# 2. This hole is 420' into the Bermuda Triangle of lost discsville. I call this a NFW hole. Meaning there's No F- - - - - - Way I'm risking it.

# 3. I wander for a while and finally find the basket I just skipped and the # 3 teepad. It's short and almost safe.

#4 teepad was back with the #2 pad so you have to backtrack to get back to it. #4 is also a NFW hole.

So now I walk back to the pad where both # 3 and # 5 tee off from. By the way, this pad is about 50 feet from I-84. Cars are whizzing by at a 100 miles an hour right next to you. I think I might be clipped by one while in the middle of my back swing. But # 5 is a playable little hole.

# 6 is a short 179' little hyser shot.

# 7 Another NFW hole. I estimate needing five spotters minimum before playing this hole.

# 8 is 173' to a basket so buried that it qualifies as a NFW hole. Probably the shortest NFW hole in America.

# 9 Plays back towards the skateboard park, I think. It's another major NFW hole. The only route I saw was throwing along the street and then sending explorers to find the basket.

On the plus side, lately someone has actually done some mowing or weed-wacking on the course. Probably the FBI looking for bodies.


Cons:

Holes will here by be referred to by the PDGA and DGCR recommended number of spotters needed formula (RNOSNF) or by the more familiar RNOSNF. Pronounced Rhino-SNFFF.

Hole 1 - 1-2 spotters recommended
Hole 2 - A minimum of 5
Hole 3 - 0-1
Hole 4 - A minimum of 5
Hole 5 - Only 1
Hole 6 - 0
Hole 7 - 4-5
Hole 8 - 3-5
Hole 9 - 4 plus

Other Thoughts:

My advice here consists of two options:

Option # 1. With Parks department approval, Using park approved heavy machinery, cut, clear and trim about 90% of the underbrush. Leave baskets where they currently are.

Option # 2. Move every basket closer so that every basket is visible from pad. This would probably leave you with a course with no hole longer than 100 feet. A virtual disc golf pitch and putt course. But that would be much improved over the current inpervious thickety design.
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4 3
cyamasaki
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
0.50 star(s)

This course is terrible 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Nice baskets. Nice skate park across the street. Seriously, even if you don't skate, you're better off going there than this course.

Cons:

OK so the area is small, but what really makes this course terrible is the design. There is definitely enough room to make a decent course out of this place. Pins are very close together in some spots, Pin placement is ridiculous, and the maps aren't even close in most cases. Terrible, Terrible design to whoever is responsible.

Other Thoughts:

This is the first course I have played that I can honestly say I will never come back to. I had to write this review just in case someone will read it and not have to go through what I did. DO NOT PLAY THIS COURSE.
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10 0
k2trcs
Experience: 22.8 years 75 played 2 reviews
1.50 star(s)

try a control game and good luck with par on this little one. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 28, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-In HR.
-high quality Mach Vs: practice anyone?
-never busy

Cons:

-small space: < 4.5 acres for 9 holes
-difficult layout: some serious backtracking req'd
-minimally maintained, much dry brush.
-some Poison Oak here and there: Be vigilant.
-skater trash

Other Thoughts:

-I highly recommend playing this course with slow, control discs. I play with avairs only here.
-Aim for the well-traveled short grass and keep the fun up.
-Many of the holes are really par 4s: #1,#2,#5,#7
-Play #9 from the corner of the park road where some gravel sits...not from back by the tee where you would have to throw up the road. Then you get a short RHBH hyzer fairway shot like is depicted on the Tee sign.
-Feel free to hate this far-from-standard-design while you bogey hole after hole. Once you shoot par here suggest a constructive redesign or travel to North Bonneville or The Dalles. ;)
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1 8
sweetman
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Worst course I’ve ever played 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 13, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

it's in Hood River, brand new pins, a few nice trees to make it interesting

Cons:

Very short, full of scrub brush, under brush, thistles, black berry bushes.
Quite a few blind shots

Other Thoughts:

They need to dig up the pins and move them to a park
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9 0
Uhlman
Experience: 20.7 years 18 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

a Short 9 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 11, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

A gerat place to work on your midrange and putting skills. This course now offers at least 9 great technical midrange shots.

Cons:

This course is short; you could do this course now with only a putter if you wanted. However, I would recommend that you take your "bread and butter" midrange and a putter.
There is a poison oak issue, and a lot of it on the fairways and trails is marked (so it can be sprayed) but still need to be careful while in the rough.
The park is near the freeway and the car noise can be loud on busy days.
The walk out between 8 and 9 is really close to the fairway for 8 but at least you are looking the direction the discs will be coming.

Other Thoughts:

This course's layout was recently changed to a pitch and put style course. It is still rough in places but a lot more playable than the previous layout. With the help of some local and not so local golfers, this course is shaping up nicely. My rating of this course remains the same
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6 3
runnaman
Experience: 16.7 years 42 played 23 reviews
0.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 24, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

- The baskets where good and well maintained.
- There were signs at every hole with distance and par marked.

Cons:

- The holes were absolutely rediculous. Twice, I had to throw blindly over huge trees.
- The maps weren't much help so I had to walk down every hole to see where I was throwing.
- When searching for the 4th hole basket I stopped and realized I could see 4 baskets all within 50 feet of each other. The area is simply too small and cluttered for a course.

Other Thoughts:

I'm glad that they tried to bring disc golf to hood river (seeing that the next closest one is ~15 miles away), but I really hope someone realizes that this course is not helping anyone and relocate somewhere better.
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