Grand Rapids, MI

Earl W. Brewer Park - Blue

2.835(based on 35 reviews)
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Earl W. Brewer Park - Blue reviews

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2 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Great beginner layout 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 18, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course plays mostly through tall mature trees with a couple holes playing in a small area of woods. Those back holes offer some tighter lines to hit and a little bit of punishment for missing your line. The rest of the course offers multiple lines to each pin around the trunks of trees with open forgiving space if you throw an errant shot. One hole offers a fun downhill ac run. The baskets are older but in decent shape, and the concrete pads are fine. The signage is basic but adequate, with hole number (and course color) and distance.

Cons:

The course is short and not all that challenging. With open, forgiving holes that are mostly 200' or under, there's just not really anything to test better players. A number of trees had recently been cut down when I played, opening up the course even more and making it even less challenging. Several spots play near other holes, and there's no rough to keep discs out of the other fairways, potentially causing some safety issues with lots of inexperienced players on the course.

Other Thoughts:

This is a fun beginner course with short distances that's very forgiving on errant throws. More experienced players won't really be tested here, and will find it easy to score well even with just a putter. This is a neat little complex, with four 9 hole courses all teeing off from the same complex and offering different feels on each loop.
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2 3
myhouseinthewoods
Experience: 13.7 years 14 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Short Holes, Easy Ace 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 3, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Has alot of short holes that is good for begginers
During I think half of this course there is a camp area which people can relax by, and if not busy could start a small contained fire
Good Design
Lots of cans that can be picked up throughout the park

Cons:

Can get very busy, which can get annoying if you went to disc without waiting.

Other Thoughts:

There are hiding spots in this course which certain "smoking" can be used for.
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1 1
kizzle54
Experience: 16.9 years 10 played 7 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Short range, Trees, and some mud 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 30, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Shorter holds, pretty simple, a good warm up course.

- Lots to offer for a mid-range type 9

- some good wooded holes, and some more open holes.

Cons:

- Mud on 5-7

- Not uber challenging, but thats part of its charm

Other Thoughts:

Other than the mud I really enjoyed this nine. It was VERY busy though which is fine to a point... People were pretty laid back so it wasn't a big deal.
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2 0
jarnson
Experience: 13.8 years 27 played 27 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Brewer Blue Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 2, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- Very simple course, flat field except one hole going down hill (4 I believe)
- Trash can (buckets) on every hole, along with signs explaining the course
- No mando's
- Pretty straight forward, a pitch and putt course, using mainly mid-range (Rocs and Cros are good here)
- Cement pads, good shape, along with good cages.
- Good 9 holes in under 30 minutes

Cons:

- Very busy course, most popular of the four
- Smokers, drinkers, lots of swearing, not family friendly
- Watch your valuable discs here, I saw a couple of players steal discs and run away with them.
- Muddy around spring, around holes 7, 8, 9 are the worst (though 7 have boards to help with the mud problem)
- Traffic, very busy around 3 and after

Other Thoughts:

And overall good course, very fun, small yet challenging with the trees. Come early in the morning or try to play in the winter, early spring and late fall to get the course to self. VERY popular course, and a lot of rude (not all) players. Some steal discs, wont let you play through (which would be fine if half of them weren't stopping to smoke and drink, and groups larger than five are sitting there, preventing groups with 2 to sit and wait.)
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1 4
B1eedB1ue
Experience: 4 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 14, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Short, tech course, when playing all 4 @ brewer, this one offers a break for your arm, and is mostly shaded on hot days.

Cons:

Often bottlenecked on busy days, a couple perpetually muddy fairways.

Other Thoughts:

Brewer park, best in GR by head and shoulders.
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5 1
Terry C
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27 years 54 played 27 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Shortest of the 4 9's at brewer 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 6, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-This is a pitch and putt 9 hole course, a descent player should end up around -6 after playing the blue course.
-Lots of ace runs and deuce chances.
- Some elevation to play with, one shot has you shooting down a small hill, one shot has you shooting up a small hill through tight trees.
-You can bang this 9 holes out in about 20 minutes.
-Cement pads in good shape.
-Trash baskets on most every hole.
-Good baskets although some are getting old, they work fine.
-simple, easy to follw layout, if you get lost here your probably retarded.
-Tee signs on most holes (old and ratty but still have some valuble info on them)

Cons:

-Gets very very busy, this is one of grandrapids busiest courses. A line of 30 people waiting to tee off is not unusual, IM SERIOUS!!
- This park is known for being rowdy and packed with "rowdy,drunk,trashy" people. I guess thats what happens when the park allows and encourages alchohol. (huge sign at entrance used to read: ALCHOHOL ALLOWED) Seems a lot of people come here just to party and not so much to disc golf, that kinda sucks.
-Not really a kid friendly setting, lots of cussing and yelling and drunk trashy idiots in Def Leopard shirts with the sleeves torn off to keep your kids away from here.
-Come here early in the morning if you want smooth flow to your play, after the afternoon you will most likely be stuck behind groups of 10 people taking their time and not letting anyone play through. The course gets really jammed up. You might be able to play all 36 holes in 1.5 hours in the morning and it will take you 5 hours in the evening because of traffic.

Other Thoughts:

This is a 36 hole park. It offers 4-9hole courses. The blue is the shortest and easiest of the 4 to play and thus 95% of noobs will gravitate to playing the blue course. Alchohol is allowed and oddly enough encouraged. There are a few bums who follw you around and sweep off tee pads and tell you how awesome a player you are until you give them a dollar or two to go away so be ready for this. This park is where my league (dogs of disc) usually plays so I have played here a lot. If you came here and played all 36 holes you would have a good time, if you came here to play just 9 holes you would probably laugh to yourself and never come back again. This is an average course for any good golfer. You should end up being about minus10 for 36 holes if your a descent player.
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3 1
Pete Nice
Experience: 25.8 years 47 played 7 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Crowded!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 15, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

36 holes.
Fairly easy to follow.
A nice park.
Cement tees.

Cons:

Way too crowded.
Very little variety to the wooded holes.
Poor layout--discs flying everywhere.
Huge groups of golfers more interested in happy hour than they are golf.

Other Thoughts:

If you're going to Brewer plan on playing all 36 holes. The Blue is not my favorite 9 of the course but it does offer some fun ace runs.
The last 2 times I've played Brewer I swore I would never do it again because of the crowds. I have never heard "FORE" so many times as I do at Brewer. This is the only course I have played where I was concerned about getting hit by a disc-- Keep your head up because errant shots are the norm.
I prefer the 24 hole layout used back in the day to the 4 9's they have now.
I know the locals love the park but I would recomend it as a course to hit if you drive by the area but not a destination in itself.
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3 0
rshrevo
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 45 played 34 reviews
2.50 star(s)

blue 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 25, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

short holes make for lots of birdie chances. nice flow to the course. great course for new players since it is not real technical. you have trees but most holes are easy to navigate around them.

Cons:

can be real busy at times since most everyone seems to gravitate towards this course when they first arrive. can get muddy on a couple of holes if it gets any significant rainfall.

Other Thoughts:

I usually try to play this course in the mornings so as to get started and finish quickly then move on to one of the other nines. it is a nice little warm up course to get your arm ready for the other nines in the park.
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4 1
tallpaul
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 35.8 years 934 played 133 reviews
1.50 star(s)

ace/deuce course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 28, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Concrete tees.
Signs on all holes are quite worn; but, still readable.
This is the course of the four to score on. You may very well need a high birdie count to offset bogeys on the longer holes offered on red, white, and gold.
Most wooded section of the 36 holes.
Very rustic (I needed it and used it) bathroom. (There was a quite dangerous looking spider perched very near where I was sitting.) Toilet paper present.
After playing blue; we were waiting for another player to arrive. While sitting at a picnic bench near blue #1 tee, we saw a number of groups teeing off. Groups included ladies and quite old gentlemen, as well as some "beer belly" players. Blue has allowed all types of players an introduction to the sport for @20 years!!! With the other longer courses here; blue is needed for this reason. Introduction to disc golf courses are as necessary as gold level layouts.
Nice place to carry one or two discs for a round.
Alcohol not allowed in most area parks. Here, a sign used to proclaim in large type: DRINKING ALLOWED. Sign is no longer present; but, drinking is allowed. The atmosphere here, is as laid back as it gets.
I'm adding this paragraph for my pros for all four of these: This is a 36 hole complex. I would give a 3 rating, for the complex as a whole. If you're there; you're going to more than likely play all four. All of the courses balance each other; and allow a number of styles of play.

Cons:

Buckets here the oldest present at Brewer.
Short and flat.
Did I mention that it's the epitome of pitch and putt? Actually, it has enough trees to make it a step above the worst of the pitch and putts. But, for experienced players, will not offer much of a challenge.

Other Thoughts:

All courses here have undergone a number of different layouts. I believe this one has undergone a few modifications; but is much the same as when installed many years ago. In it's time, blue would have been a fun course for anyone. Ace count definitely would be helped on blue.
This is really below a l.5 rating as a stand alone course. I've upped it a bit due to being a component of the 36 hole layout; and for offering said ace runs. Many of us probably don't return to courses like this very often; but, because of the number of total holes here; as I mentioned, I think this course would get played by me quite often if I lived near by.
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2 0
scrotman
Experience: 13.9 years 16 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 31, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Perfect distance holes for beginners. Could be possible first ace course** for anyone. Couple of holes are changed up to make it an interesting course to come back to, particularly hole 4 and 6. Wooded coure makes it fun and a challenge.

Cons:

Very busy. Some players may find it to wooded. Pay attention to flying disc from the other courses present.

Other Thoughts:

Brewer Park is a fun day get away, play 4 rounds on 4 different 9 hole courses.
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2 27
RedXIII
Experience: 13.9 years 7 played 1 reviews
5.00 star(s)

in with positive, less neg 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 1, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

great course. easiest of the four. best times to go are early morning or late in day.

Cons:

besides being busy mid day, the usual you find any any course when people need to unload every disc they got, which is un nessesary when they have a good throw.

Other Thoughts:

people need to quit making this place sound so bad in the "cons"
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7 0
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years

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

Pros:

short, slighly technical course in Brewer's four 9's complex. Nothing long or overpowered here.

Most holes are aceable.

Easy to follow flow. no real navigation challenge.

Cons:

Busy course, a LOT of waiting going on here. Big groups can be more of a nuisence and a distraction than anything.

Bugs on the "low holes" (4-6) can be bad at times.

Hole 6--No lanes of any kind... Tomahawk is all I can recommend, or a roller...

Other Thoughts:

Its not a bad course, it's just a busy busy park. The baskets are in good shape and there is good flow, but it's definitely not my favorite course I've played.
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9 0
Jukeshoe
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.6 years 315 played 266 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Short but fun! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 16, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Short hole length without too many trees in the way allow for multiple ace runs and/or birdie opportunities.
-Decent use of elevation changes things up a bit from the flatter half of the Brewer complex.
-Beginner/casual friendly.
-Adequate signage, tees, and baskets. Course flow is obvious and leaves you back near the parking lot, ready to begin another of Brewer's 9-holers.
-Raised wooden platforms near tees help to keep your bag clean and dry.

Cons:

-Mostly dirt fairways might make playing in wet weather treacherous and/or messy.
-Tightly packed onto the available land. Beware errant discs from other parts of the course.
-The course can become crowded at times, including many casual players.

Other Thoughts:

-Part of Brewer Park's fun 36-hole complex. Four nine-holers allow for variety and multiple starting points help to alleviate crowded course conditions.
-Alcohol allowed.
-My rating is based on this nine hole course only. If I were to consider all of Brewer Park as one rating, it would easily be rated higher (in the 3 1/2 disc range).
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2 0
sgamerp
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16 years 99 played 73 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 8, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

I liked this the best of the 4 9's because I like all the woods to it. There are a lot of ace chances but it can make it hard if you're just whippin it and hit a tree. You can also drink here if you want.

Cons:

Lots of clutter and people. Sometimes groups of like 15 won't let you pass if there are two of you.

Other Thoughts:

Come early after like 3 or 4 this place is packed and sometimes with not the nicest of people
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4 0
Durso
Experience: 35 played 2 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Only 1 disc needed 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 24, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Easiest 9 holes in all of disc golf. Searching for that first ace? Then start here. You can literally be wasted off your butt and still shoot a decent round on the Blues. Unfortunately many people are wasted off there butts please see other thoughts.

Cons:

If you show up during prime time 2PM-8PM prepare for a long wait on this course. Large groups of 8+ often throw indvidually and take forever. Lots of mud after a good rain on #6 if you don't make it through the trees.

Other Thoughts:

This course is a redneck haven. Busch light tall boys and tire squeelin action every day. Defintiely no etiquette involved. On a brighter note it does serve as a good warm up round for some of the other nines at Brewer. If you show up in the morning most of the "regulars" are still sleeping it off from the night before.
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3 0
SirRaph
Experience: 74 played 17 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Bring Yo Putta 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 9, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The only course I've ever played where a putter would reach every pin, yet I still enjoy playing it over and over.

Probably the best chance you can have for an ace.

Cons:

Previous white trash comments are unfortunately accurate. It's very crowded, as previously mentioned.

The bathrooms are absolutely horrific. Imagine a port-a-john with a 20' deep pit that no one ever cleans.
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3 4
Jak3
Experience: 5 played 5 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Brewer Circus 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 6, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

4 different 9s to play, can drink legally in park, tee-pads are real nice......

Cons:

Park is full of wiggers and white trash.
So overcrowded everyday after 3pm people park on the grass in front of tee-pad #1 on gold sometimes making it impossible to play. Most of the scrubs up there only play blue between loitering, drinking Miller Highlife and being loud so they dont give a shit where they park.
Another thing ive notice is theres always someone sitting in the parking lot beating a system so you can hear it throughout the whole park. Sometimes youll have a group behind you walking around the course with secret radios in their bags playing techno music that sounds like car alarms going off (Pretty common course ethics there)... Or how bout every time i go up there i got bombarded by random kids walking up to me asking if i wanna buy any weed...

Way too overcrowded with scum for my likings, every time i go up there im reminded of all the garbage that plays this sport.....

Watch out for people on quads racing thru the park too.

And that greaser bum that cleans up the cans... whats his name? Guy or something.. Get a job.

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4 1
chad groen
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.1 years 42 played 41 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Brewer's Worse 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 9, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

All 9 holes on this course are short enough that the baskets can be reached on your opening drive, which some people might like because of the multiple birdie opportunities and hole-in-one opportunities, but that's not always an easy task. For most of these holes, the trees are significant obstacles that force you to find different ways to reach the baskets. It might be best to play this wooded course with a large group of people, because the course can be so unpredictable and unforgiving that you never know who's going to get a low score and who's going to get a high score on each hole. Unfortunately this course's biggest strengths might be it's signs and concrete tee pads.

Cons:

The holes are real short and close together, and some are also close to the holes on the white course. This can cause problems on a busy day. Some of the holes have too many trees in the way with almost no strategic route for your disc to follow in order to reach the baskets. On these holes, it seems like more luck than skill is required to get a low score. Due to the tree cover, the ground is mostly dirt with a lot of big roots sticking out, and mosquitoes can sometimes be a problem in the summer. Also, the ground can stay wet and muddy for a long time after it rains.

Other Thoughts:

There are a few decent looking holes, but overall this course is set up rather poorly. If you're an accurate thrower who likes threading the needle through a bunch of trees or if you like having multiple chances of getting birdies and hole-in-ones then you might enjoy this course. Those are some big if's, though, because there's a wide variety of issues with this course. You'll be much better off playing one of the other three courses at Brewer Park.
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4 0
nrohtlaw
Experience: 30.3 years 37 played 9 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 29, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The shortest of the four nines.Has some technicality and aceability on most of the holes.Has some trees but not very many except on 4 and 6,which still have a window and both have been aced by many people including myself.Can use midrange on 7 or all holes depending on ability.Good warm up for playing something more challenging.

Cons:

Too busy,will find mobs of 10 or more people lollygagging through a round with no etiquette for any other smaller groups.Lots of loud,drunk,stoned "wiggers".

Other Thoughts:

Prided myself on going months at a time without playing the blue.Very easily bored with it.Some people have not and will not play any other course but the blue,which I find sad and humorous at the same time.
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3 1
mmyersdisc
Experience: 15.7 years 14 played 14 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Beginner friendly for sure! 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

I would LOVE to have a course like this around my town. Eventhough it IS just a 9 hole, the holes play out so smooth and easy that it just makes it enjoyable to play! You have a possible ace run at almost every hole and that keeps the excitement up there! Along with tee signs, concrete tee pads, and visible baskets on almost every hole this course definetly offers something for the beginners to the game and even the pro's!

Cons:

The signs ARE a little vandalised, but honestly, you can still read them just fine and you can see the baskets from almost every teepad anyways so it really isn't that big of a deal!

Other Thoughts:

Overall the time I spent at this course was a BLAST! The locals were VERY friendly and willing to help me! I went in the early morning because I was up that way for work and so I stopped off and played 2 of the courses here. The others that were there were very friendly and guided me around and told me which course would be the best to play next in my allowed time!
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