Forest City, IA

Forest City DGC

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3.445(based on 8 reviews)
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8 0
knobby325
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 8.7 years 323 played 248 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Flat 10, More Interesting 11 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 10, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

-New Map (loaded on Links page or at kiosk near start)
-3 Tees at many holes
-Cool bridge to 2nd half (back 11) on other side of river
-Concrete tee pads (consistent for all tees on back 11, hit or miss on front 10)
-Decent baskets
-A few benches
-Good overall mixture of long/short
-Back 11 a good mixture of open/wooded, elevation in play
-Good signage to get you around strange transitions in layout.

Cons:

-Front 10 appears very ripe for flooding
-Missing tees (6 Wht/Red, 7 Red)
-No trash cans
-#6 tee (Blue) through heavy brush to blind basket, I can see many lost discs
-#9 Blue plays to its own basket, Wht/Red play to another

Other Thoughts:

Forest City DGC sits in 2 parks on either side of the Winnebago River on the east side of Forest City, IA. The course breaks down into a front 10 and back 11. Make sure you get the current map either on the links page or at the kiosk near the bridge. Many holes play 3 tees, a blue (long), white (intermediate) and red (recreational). Tees are a short post with a reflector of the appropriate color and a small white panel at an angle. At one time these panels had a sticker with a picture of the hole layout along with par and distance. Most of these (especially on the openness of the front 10) have faded and are tough to see. On the front 10, most of the blue tees have concrete pad, many of the white tees also do, most of the red tees are a natural pad. On the back 11, all pads are concrete. #1 plays from just north of the kiosk to a peninsula hole (2 feet wide by 6-9" deep of water), which is kind of cool. 2-5 play flat and straight. 6 appears to shoot straight through heavy brush to a blind basket (although the old map showed a wht/red tee around the corner, I was unable to locate that.) 7 blue is over a small corner of a pond, wht plays just in front of that, I was unable to find the red tee for 7. 8 plays along the pond. 9 blue has its own basket with a carry of about 280' over the pond. The basket for 9 wht/red is to the right, so you stay along the pond, not over it. 10 is open. You cross the bridge and go up a couple flight of steps to #11. Here you get more trees. 11 is mostly open, 12 is down and open. 13,14 are open with a few trees, 15 starts open into an alcove of trees. 16 is down, through a slot in the trees, 17 is open. 18 is straight uphill, 19 down and to the right. 20 a long incline with trees on either side. 21 blue starts by the shelter and is down into a tunnel - red starts at the tunnel. This is another course of 2 identities, mostly due to the selection of park land to use. The front 10, very flat, using water and a few trees (and one big section of brush) for interest. The back 11, using more elevation and wooded areas to keep things interesting. That first hole was fun, you can shoot at the basket without really worrying about losing a disc, even if you hit the water. 7, 8, 9 playing over the pond would take some diving to retrieve a lost disc (unless you know you can carry the pond) I enjoyed the back 11 more overall, plus it seemed more put together. A bit of a hike up 18, but enjoyable even for this novice. Were this just the back 11, I might make a trek to get here, the front 10, other than #1 was meh.... There was some very good signage to get you around strange transitions, a good description on the #10 basket about how to get to #11 tees, another one from the #17 basket to the #18 tee and again from the #20 basket to the #21 tees. Some consistency of tee pads, better signage, and a few trash cans would help this rating overall. The back half is what ups the score as it stands. Overall, I enjoyed my round. I would play here again, if in the area
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3 0
owenrae
Experience: 144 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Water water everywhere 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 7, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Concrete pads. Decently easy to follow once we found hole 1.

Cons:

The water. On the front 9 probably half the holes had standing water somewhere in the fairway. I didn't think there was a lot of rain preceding our trip there but they must have had some. On the back 9 it was a bit more hilly but still multiple holes with standing water

Other Thoughts:

I wanted to really like this course but the water made it kind of difficult (not really the courses fault but due to the low level and flatness of the front 9 kind of makes it inevitable I guess.

The front 9 is basically flat. A couple holes over a pond and the river make it more interesting.

The back 9 are more hilly and in the woods. Woods holes have lots of brush so makes it easy to throw one in and hard to find.

If I was in the area I would play it again but being from Des Moines I don't think I would make a special trip there to play it again.
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4 0
cydisc
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.9 years 257 played 84 reviews
3.50 star(s)

A solid 18 (of 21) 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 13, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Good baskets
- concrete tees
- Multiple tees available
- Varied terrain
- Interesting shots

Cons:

- Tee signage could be bigger and more descriptive.
- Some annoying hikes between some holes.
- Parking?

Other Thoughts:

Driving up to the first tee, I was faced with the uncertainty of 1) where I was supposed to park, and 2) where the first tee actually was. The course starts from an RV camping area and parking for visitors seems to be anywhere along the gravel road. The first tee was not well marked as it is actually on a bike path that runs through the park. The tee is marked by a short length of 4x4 wood post with a small picture depicting the hole as viewed from the tee. All the other tees are concrete pads that are sufficiently sized.

The course is located on a piece of property with two different personalities. The first 10 holes travel along a fairly open and flat track. Several mature trees and some water features add challenge, but the real challenge is the length of these holes and you are encouraged to air it out in several places.

The other 11 holes are across the river in a more hilly and wooded area. These holes are more short and technical and adequately challenge the player with varied routes to the holes.

The course is well-maintained. The first-time visitor to the course might have some trouble navigating the course in places. The first tee had a place where course maps would be found, but there were none when I was there. There are a couple of long-ish hikes between holes and one where you need to cross a bridge and back again to play the hole (long tee). The front side had probably too many holes in the 330-350' range.

Overall, I liked the course despite a couple of annoyances. It's well worth a trip over from I-35 if you happen to be traveling that way.
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3 0
rhettro
Experience: 22.9 years 37 played 17 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Poor Planning but nice attempt 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 21, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Very nice tee signs, and most of the harder to find tees are marked at the previous pins. I read some reviews that the tee signs wont hold up, that is true but someone is actively replacing them, they were quite fresh and clear.

- first course i have ever played with fully stocked free score cards at tee #1. big plus.

- good mix of holes, wooded unwooded, long distance and short shots, a tad bit of elevation, waaaay too much water.

-nice chainstar pins.

- well mowed fair ways

- three tees for the majority of holes. very nice

Cons:

- do you like water? Do you want to play all day with wet feet? this is the place for you!

- This course was altogether poorly planned. From what i gather from previous reviews and ppl in the area, the first 9 holes are playable for perhaps 1 month a year. Water is everywhere, some times it a few inches deep, sometimes its a few feet, all together unplayable.

- the back 11 have very thick unforgiving brush, so thick it is a bit more of a hazard then the water.

- i think there was one trashcan at hole 17. so prepare to carry your trash for a while.

- there is maybe one hole that wasn't partially submerged, a seasonal thing yes, but still they could have made better use of the land with the knowledge that this is easily flooded.


Other Thoughts:

This course was highly rated here so i made the trip very excitedly. I was altogether disappointed between the first 6 holes being unplayable and every hole after that being a swamp. I will say that this course would be a lot of fun to play without all this water. there are a lot of tricky shots that put your discs at risk, shooting over ponds and streams, i love those holes. the back 10 or so has a really fun composition, i really liked a lot of the hole layouts.
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1 0
DjKilliQuik
Experience: 21.8 years 57 played 17 reviews
4.00 star(s)

best course in north iowa 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 25, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great mixture of water shots. Long and short holes. Back 9 has a lot of good technical wooded holes. Front 9 is a lot more open and longer. Love the set up.

Cons:

Really the things i dont like are the long walk in between hole 10 and 11 and all the paths and things running through it. And how close it was to that play ground on hole 10
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3 0
iblanchard
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20.9 years 244 played 28 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2 different courses 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 19, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Had scorecards with a map at hole one.
Easy to follow, the holes that have a little walk have signs with directions
1-3 tee pads per hole
Good use of water
Weeds in the woods are a little thick, but much is beaten down so finding a disc isnt too difficult.
Good variety of holes, open, few trees and in the woods.

Cons:

Not all red and white tees were concrete
Signs clearly indicate hole and tee, but a map would be nice and not all distances are legible.
I almost parked by hole 4 then realized I had to drive deeper into the park
Not a big fan of ballfield obstacles.

Other Thoughts:

Pretty good course. If I'm in the area and have time I will try to play it again.
Even though water is in play, there is usually a safe shot (except on 9 where there is water left long and short, almost plays like an island off of red and white tees).
You need to cross the bridge after 10.
I didnt see the river on hole 21 due to trees, but it was closer then I thought with a sharp drop off after the tree line.
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2 0
djschnabel
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 27.3 years 253 played 27 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Very Nice 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 24, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very nice course set in a city park setting. Plays on both sides of the river.

There are a few water holes, and multiple tee pads allow you to play the round that suits your skill level. Nice cement tee pads that are plenty large.

A variety of ace runs, holes with elevation, bomber holes, and tight technical shots.

Cons:

Some of the holes might play too closely to the ball fields and playground. I think it's hole 9, that plays from the long tees over a pond. The Teebox faces the pond, and we think it's direction should be modified to allow an easier choice of slot selection, so you can either shoot the gap to the right (thin line) instead of almost forcing you to throw a huge drive over the pond (350?). I think a circular tee pad here would be perfect. A small investment in signage would go a long ways to improving the flow of the course, as some longer holes leave you wondering, is that really the basket?

Other Thoughts:

The signage issues are pretty nitpicky, as the course's flow is pretty intuitive. In my opinion, I would decrease the length of holes 5 and 10, to decrease the chance of an errant drive because somebodies trying to outthrow their disc. When we played, some distances are on the teepads in paint, some are written on the wooden posts in sharpie, and some are not written anywhere. Some of the holes are longer than what our great site says, for example, hole 20 is 485 from the blue tee. It looks as if hole one is getting a new nice landscaped putting area, so it's pretty obvious the course is in a state of advancement. If the course was closer to the freeway, I'd play it anytime that I drove past. As it is, I would make plans to play it, but I could see it getting bumped if time didn't allow. It took three of us about 2.5 hours to play, 20 minutes of that looking for a disc on hole 20 (we lost sight of it's flight path, so our bad).
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7 0
Martin Dewgarita
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.4 years 1589 played 93 reviews
4.00 star(s)

A gem of a course. 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 22, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Amenities. A camp ground with rest rooms on site, could be a fun place to camp and play disc golf. Designated parking is limited, but it appears you can park nearly anywhere in the park.

Beautiful. Views of the Winnebago River and a journey through the woods offer some nice scenery. A walk across the swinging bridge provides a great view of the dam and the river.

Tees. Red/White/Blue tees offer a level of challenge for everyone, each hole has nice level concrete tees for each location.

Baskets. Nice Chainstar baskets on every hole. some holes have multiple pin placements as well.

Water. Great use of water on this course, water comes into play on several holes and is a decent threat.

Variety of holes. From wide open grip and rip holes, to straightforward anny/hyzer lines, to technical wooded holes this course will test your accuracy and line shaping ability as well as your distance.

Ace and birdie opportunities. Ace runs are limited, but do exist, some good risk/reward opportunities for a birdie out there, and some of the holes will test your skills to achieve par.

Locating discs. If you keep the disc out of the water, despite being rather wooded - the underbrush is kept relatively clear, most of your time should be spent playing the game, not searching for discs.

Navigation. Each hole is easy to find after the previous hole - if it isn't immediately obvious, there is a small note nearby to describe where to go (After hole 10 cross the swinging bridge to find hole 11).

Cons:

Signage. A solid attempt at providing a small map of each hole with distances and pars will not last very long. The laminated sheets of paper are still there on most holes, but are falling off or missing in many places - I'd hope to see something more permanent in the near future.

Tee Maintenance. A small gripe, only as to have something in the "con" section. Though relatively new, the tees are getting over grown in some areas, or are covered in gravel, or goose poop, though not a huge problem at the moment, it could be in the near future.

Parking. I mentioned earlier that you can park just about anywhere, this results in people parking very near some of the holes - Holes 3 and 4 I had to contend with vehicles parked near the basket, this could be a problem on many of the front 9 holes, depending on where fishermen are parking.

Other Thoughts:

An Excellent course, well worth the trip if you're in the area.
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