Greencastle, IN

Big Walnut Sports Park

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2.55(based on 8 reviews)
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7 0
acrosley
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 3.9 years 46 played 22 reviews
3.00 star(s)

No Frills but tons of Fun 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 20, 2021 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Big Walnut Sports Park is basically a sampler pack of disc golf holes.

The course opens with a ~12 foot wide 190 foot tunnel shot before letting you really stretch your arm out.
Walking paths play as OB along the distance holes to keep you honest. The wooded holes require some tight lines.

The layout is very well balanced in regards to both forehand and backhand shots. You can't just spike hyzer your way to victory here (unless you can throw like Simon or Eagle).

Plenty of parking and different options for starting holes. You could park by the maintenance shed near hole 5's basket or the softball fields near hole 12's tee if you prefer. There are some portalets and restrooms scattered around as well. Soccer fields near the maintenance shed are rarely in use and provide a good area to warm up.

Cons:

While there is a variety of holes they're all kind of grouped together so it's sort of like playing two courses in one. 2-7 play back and forth along the perimeter of an open field. 13-19 play through the woods.

The pars on holes 3, 5, 6, and 12 are pretty forgiving. I've played a sanctioned event here and they were reduced by 1 each, so take that for what it's worth.

There's no practice basket, but you could probably get by using hole 17's.

It's not uncommon to catch a faint scent of manure from the nearby farms. Doesn't really bother me but if you didn't grow up in the country it may be an offensive odor to you. I've also heard a loud MOO more than once and if poorly timed I suppose that could ruin a putt or drive for you.

The more wooded holes are pretty overgrown and could use a little TLC

Other Thoughts:

Big Walnut Sports Complex also boasts some softball fields, a basketball court, the afore-mentioned soccer fields and a decent enough playground if you're looking to fit some other activities in besides disc golf.

There is private property across the road near hole 4 that could come in to play if you shank a drive bad enough. Also the woods along holes 8, 9, 11 and 12's fairways could cause a poor drive to disappear. There is a small creek that comes into play on a few of the wooded holes but there's not much risk of losing a disc in it.

All in all, I think this is a fun course that will keep you on your toes and requires at least a couple different shot shapes. If you find yourself driving along I-70 or US-40 and have an extra hour to spare you could do a lot worse than sneaking a round in here.
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7 0
Luckj
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.2 years 65 played 50 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Well Maintained Fun Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 5, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

-The park is well maintained and the disc golf course reflects it. Fairways are mowed and trees are trimmed. Access to bathrooms and shelters as well. Plenty of parking
-Nice teepads and baskets
-Mix of wooded holes and open shots
-Generally pretty empty
-Wooded shots offer tough lines, but aren't long enough to cause terrible trouble if you get off the fairway
-Easy to navigate for the most part, no long walks to next tee
-Hole 1 is a nice 200' tunnel shot, great way to start the course. The course then goes into the open field for the middle several holes before winding back into the woods.
-19 holes that flow naturally. You can basically start on any hole with no break in play.

Cons:

-Basically only 2 types of shots, 300-500' wide open fields and 150-250' wooded
-Pars are generous, 500' par 5 for example. Pars match a beginner's skill level
-Open field can get very windy
-Plenty of thorns in the wooded roughs, especially in the summer

Other Thoughts:

This is the only course in the general area, but is definitely worth a round. The course can feel a bit repetitive after a bit, but doesn't take long to play. It is about 10 minutes off of I-70 so if you find yourself going through the area with an extra couple hours take a quick detour. The whole course took 1 hour to play solo. I parked by hole 6 and started there, but there is plenty of parking and easy starting points. While in town stop by the Dairy Castle for a vanilla coke or Marvin's Diner for a Garlic Cheese Burger.
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2 0
bradtollefson
Experience: 48.9 years 110 played 43 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Extremes 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Concrete pads, easy to find next whole, mix of woods and open. The woods is very attractive, cool and peaceful (until you start whacking trees). They did a great job with the concrete pads and loved the little walkways for those tee's close to the walking path.

Cons:

Maps don't always reflect where you are throwing.
You can't always see the basket so a lot of guess work or running out to see where you should throw.

Other Thoughts:

This course is a mix of extremes: either you are completely in the open with really long holes (which since we only throw 150-200 feet makes for a bit of drudgery) or you are on short holes in the woods with no obvious fairway to the basket. On many of the wooded holes you have to throw short to hit a spot where your next throw is 90 degrees to the side. Some might enjoy the challenge. I thought take out a few more trees and give us at least one path even it's tight.
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0 0
bigronbowski
Experience: 13.8 years 39 played 10 reviews
2.50 star(s)

underated 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 31, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great place to work on power. Hole 5 is over 700 ft. Beautiful park was nearly empty on a perfect Sunday afternoon. Quality tee signs. Course was clean and dry. Baskets are like new.

Cons:

The course starts and ends at the back of the park. I would recommend starting with 6 and ending at 5. The large open meadow that 6 of the nine holes plays through could use some trees. There was no course map anywhere; not online, not at the park, not anywhere. The tee pads are small.The distances and lack of map leave you wondering at times which basket to throw at (most notably on hole 6, it's the basket to the right. I threw into OB flower patch before I figured it out)

Other Thoughts:

I didn't find the basket for 2 until after I played 9. It's in the thick bush pretty well straight north of the tee and there really is no line to the basket. I thought the course was an interesting mix of distances and I enjoyed just ripping discs with no fear of losing them. I would recommend playing this course of you happen through Greencastle.
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6 0
mashnut
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.1 years 831 played 767 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Not good 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 7, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course mostly plays through a large open park with a couple holes in the woods. A few holes bring some small elevation changes into play, and two of the open holes have a tree in the fairway to make you shape your shot a little. There is some length variety, with three bombers that will require multiple drives, and some aceable holes mixed in.

Cons:

The course starts and ends nowhere near the parking lots, but plays near one of them. I'm not sure why the first hole wasn't where hole 5 currently is so there isn't such a long walk to and from the course. The layout is odd at other times as well, and it's not always obvious where to go next. The tees are tiny, and the alternates don't change the hole at all. It almost would be better to take the two rubber mats and make one reasonably sized tee.

The course doesn't really do a good job of challenging any level of player. Beginners will hate the really long holes and how punitive the wooded holes are. More experienced players might be challenged by length, but in a boring way, and the rest of the course isn't interesting at all. The wooded holes, especially the first one, don't offer real fairways, and need some real cleaning and clearing to be real golf holes.

Other Thoughts:

This wasn't the best piece of land to work with in the first place, and the design really doesn't make the best of what's there. The wooded holes are silly, and the 3 long bombs just don't fit the idea of a beginner friendly 9 hole park course at all. With some work and some changes, this could be a decent course, but as it is there's not a whole lot of fun factor.
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6 0
Matthew boals
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 29.9 years 274 played 65 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Well, it's a course!? 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 3, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beginner course in a multi-use park. Bathrooms, playground with shelter by parking lot. All but two holes play in a open field with the wind being the only factor. As stated in other reviews two holes over 500 (598,565 ft.) and one at 745 ft. The two in the woods #2 122 ft. Blind shot. #9 181 ft. Tight fairway shot. See pictures. The rubber tee pads are short,but level when I played. New DGA Mach V baskets with basic signs.

Cons:

First, the layout. I hope the parks dept. Kept the designer from making this a better layout,by restricting where the course could be built. If that's not it than the designer had never played before. Pull 2 or 3 holes that are in the field and put them into the woods. The flow of the course is another reason for a redeisgn.Obviously,the alt. Rubber tees in the open field only shorten the holes,and not that much. Why have them? No Course map.

Other Thoughts:

Rather than putting another 9 in plant some trees. I'm not sure another 9 would be a worth it, at this park. Maybe a different city park. Pulling into the park go to the second parking lot,on the left. Walk the paved trail to the Eastside of the Baseball Fields. Take it to the "T" in the trail, #1 tee to the left. If you are in the area go out and play,atleast once a week. If your on a long road trip and you have some time get a few rounds in. The more the course gets played the better the chance of getting another 9. This will only be a good thing if all 9 go into the woods.
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4 0
crawdad62
Experience: 18 years 2 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

G-castle Sport Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 14, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

If you're a bomber this is your course. For the most part it's wide open and long. Big throwers will be elated. If your driving isn't up to snuff you might find it intimidating. #3 & 4 are >500 par 4's. You either throw big or your short game is stellar.

Cons:

Course could've been laid out a bit better. Hopefully that'll be taken care of with 9 more holes! Signage is a bit convoluted too. I'd like to see signs that point to the hole in play but as of now there's just a sign at the tee box which maybe pointing at the target..... or maybe not.

Other Thoughts:

The wooded holes are sort of added on. #2 is absolutely none-aceable (at least with leaves on). #9 is okay (reminds me of some of the back 9 at Avon) but is extremely challenging. Most of what I've written seems somewhat critical and that's certainly not the case. I'm extremely pleased that we've got this course. Hopefully it'll go over and we can add to make it 18 in the future. I will say from what I've gathered the park director is open to suggestion and that is a good thing.
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3 0
Dice
Experience: 17.1 years 25 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

New Course Greencastle 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 14, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice to have a course in this part of the state.

Takes about fifty minutes to play a round.

Will be mowed weekly I have been told.

New Rubber Tee Pads.

New Baskets.

Nice long holes (including three in the five hundred range) holes three, four, and five.

Two holes that will be relatively easy to ace; holes one and seven.

If the course increases in popularity there may be an expansion.

Cons:

Layout is slightly convoluted; holes don't seem to follow an easy to predict order.

Holes two and nine (the woods holes) seem tacked on. They are short (play with your putter) and the path has not been beaten down enough. It has been clear cut.

The signage sucks. It's nice that it is there but the way it is laid out it is hard to predict where the pins are according to the signs. There is no overall course map anywhere in the park that I have seen. I have found is no park signage directing you to hole one. This maybe corrected as the course ages (it is only week one).

There are very few obstacles as of today. I have been assured that trees will be planted in the next months. But as for right now it does not add to the overall challenge of the course.

Lots to improve, but doable.

Other Thoughts:

This course is new, just having one here is great, but there is still plenty to do. Some week night league play would be awesome.
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