Charleston (John's Island), SC

John's Island DGC

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2.375(based on 15 reviews)
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7 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 480 played 245 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Fun little Rec course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 7, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

DISCatchers are still in pretty good shape.
Small concrete tee pads and tee signs.
Plays around small pond, nearby but not too close.
Most of the holes are on unused portions of this small neighborhood course.
Pretty quick play.
Please do not feed the alligators sign! :)

Cons:

Tee pads are pretty short, not a big issue here since most of the holes are short and they are flush to the ground, but they are short.
#2 Basket has been pulled, and for good reason. It was along the entrance road and next to the parking lot.
#9 basket is in a bad spot, on about 10 feet of grass between the parking lot and park road.
#3 is a strange hole, you tee behind the tennis courts, the fairway is narrow, between the fence and thick weeds, then nearly a 90 degree turn right, then left into a gap in the trees.

Other Thoughts:

Short rec course in a small neighborhood park. Several things to do in the park, tennis, ballfields, soccer field and picnic shelters, so I can see this being used by families and parents with kids at practices.
As I mentioned in the Pros, the holes are laid out in areas not used by the other activities in the park. You might encounter some walkers or people going from one area to another, but there shouldn't be too many interruptions. They did a nice job of using about the only elevation in the park, the #1 basket sits on top of that mound for an interesting opening hole.
#4,5 and 6 give you the most chances to encounter the pond. #4 behind the basket, #5 to the right of the fairway and #6 provides the most risk/reward. The tee is right behind two large trees, creating a natural double mando, the fairway is mostly open, nice grass, but the basket is to the right, pretty close to the pond. Speaking of the pond, you know you are playing in the Southeast US when you see "Do Not Feed the Alligators" signs!!
The #9 basket is really in a bad position, since they kept this one, I wonder how close #2 was to the road! It looked to me like they could have backed the tee up several feet and created a little more space between the road and parking lot for the basket.
Fun little course, best as a warm up before, or cool down after, playing the better courses in this part of Charleston.
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4 0
Sparkles
Experience: 15.2 years 22 played 18 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fast, Fun and Friendly 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 11, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

*All Innova Discatchers in great shape.
*All concrete tees pad making drives much easier.
*Good variety of distances and use of water.
*Easy to navigate with good signage.
*Great for beginners with shorter distances than most courses.
*Greens up-keep is very nice with great use of limited land.
*Great for Ace Races.

Cons:

*Wildlife and bugs can become an issue
*Short holes can bore the more advanced player
*Playground is very close to some holes, with young kids unaware of disc golf.

Other Thoughts:

A fast, fun and family friendly course that you can play through in maybe 20 minutes. Great use of limited land space and easy to navigate. A great place to warm-up before playing John's Islands better course...Trophy Lakes.
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4 1
TerribleDiscGolfer
Experience: 8.7 years 15 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

very short, fun and user friendly dgc 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 10, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Easy to find - lots of dry parking - most teepads are easy to find (except #3) - cement teepads - all baskets in good condition - set in very nice community park with other amenities - pond comes into play on 3 holes - great practice course...for upshots, putting, mid-ranges etc...

Cons:

very short and a bit too simple for most good players - the basket for #2 has been stolen/removed (we just play to the #9 basket near the tennis parking area) - hopefully the county will replace the basket someday soon...

Other Thoughts:

- after playing #2 - walk down the sidewalk between the tennis courts to get to the #3 teepad - very tough little par 3 with a tiny opening in the middle of the trees in which to try and get to the basket
- I have played a lot of higher rated course with dirt tees, no pretty water features, and crappy parking with no amenities nearby...
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3 2
jamesdevin
Experience: 19.8 years 85 played 22 reviews
2.00 star(s)

practice course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 14, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great for beginners
Good tee pads

Cons:

only 9 holes
mostly short holes

Other Thoughts:

Average course that is good for practice. Nothing special but good for a quick round. I've only seen a handful of people on the course so its rarely busy.
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8 1
Qikly
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.7 years 181 played 148 reviews
1.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 12, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

John's Island Park's DGC is a simple, straightforward affair. The light tree cover is used in a variety of ways, providing a low ceiling on 1 and tight windows on 3 and 6. Water comes into play on a few holes, bordering both fairways and pins, factoring in enough to matter but not so much as to create unreasonable risk. 1's hillside pin adds a bit of rollaway potential and further spices up the hole a bit. 3 forces landing zone consideration with its considerable bottleneck. All of these design elements are simple, but executed well enough to create shot variety and engagement relative to a casual round.

The park seems extremely well-tended, navigation is intuitive, and the concrete tees are great.

There's a tendency to automatically call any short rec course a good beginner course, but John's Island DGC really is that. The short hole lengths are kind to beginners, the rough is virtually nonexistent, and there's enough variety of lines and obstacles to expose newbies to ideas of both shot-shaping and risk/reward. I've taken my uncle, who is not a disc golfer, to play a few courses with me, and this is the first course he truly enjoyed: the lines and obstacles were interesting to him, and the distances were well within his comfort zone. I think this is a great course for beginners.

Cons:

John's Island DGC is super short and super basic. Holes like 2 are as throwaway as can be, with simply a tee at one end of a small field and a basket at the other. Many other holes have basic line shapes or a few trees in the fairway, but are too short and too open to provide any real threat. The challenge factor here is quite low for any regular player.

Hole 3 plays directly alongside a tennis court and tempts the serious player to throw over it, creating some potential for conflict with other park goers. Ruling out that route, it's an ill-designed tunnel shot.

Other Thoughts:

John's Island DGC was quite fun for what it is. Short courses like this frustrate when they're unkempt, hard to navigate, have unrealistic hole design, or factors that swallow discs. John's Island avoids all of these pitfalls while having enough design consideration to expose the beginner to various aspects of the game, so it's a win in my book. My low rating is simply a product of where it stands in my experience relative the the wide spectrum of courses I've played: against the field, it just doesn't stack up, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a visit for a quick, low-key round!
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6 1
Timeetyo
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10 years 41 played 33 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Short, fun course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 6, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- Concrete tees in good condition
- Park is clean & well maintained
- Bathrooms, playground, tennis courts, volleyball, and baseball on site
- Quiet little park without much DG traffic
- Great use of the pond. It is close enough to be on your mind for errant throws, but never forces a carry. There is always a way to play it safe for a beginner.
- The park is fairly open but does a good job with the trees there to force a variety of shot types.
- If offline or in a tree - you aren't punished as there is always a route to save your par (unless you hit the pond).

Cons:

- Hole 3. I'm not sure what the thought was here. First it is hard to find and doesn't flow well. Then you look at the shot and wonder what they wanted you to do to play this. IMO the ONLY way to play this as a decent hole is to go over the tennis courts which is obviously a bad idea if they are occupied. If you tried to play it around it leaves several short throws that aren't quality DG throws. Throw ~150' to the corner of the courts. Throw ~75' to the opening. Throw a 75' putt/approach. Meh. Playing over the course makes it a nice more challenging 3 (for the course) but is a no-go with folks on the course, which has happened a few times I played it.
- Hole #9. It is a 175' throw to a small 'island' where you have OB road left and OB parking lot right with a ~25' wide island. There is a tree almost dead center in the way taking a straight approach away. The shot I'd want to throw on this hole is to the right, over the parking lot and letting it fade in. If the OB island were defined by anything BUT road/parking lot this would be fine....but something about designing a hole that is best thrown over a parking lot isn't a great idea. Again ok if the lot is empty...but if they are playing tennis there is a good shot holes 3&9 are drastically impacted.
- Playground comes into play on hole 7 (I think, from memory).

Other Thoughts:

Of the three John's Island 9 hole courses, this one is by far my favorite to play of the bunch. It requires a more complete game (for a short 9) with some thoughts on risk/reward on the few shots with the pond in play. Like the others, you can easily get a round in less than 30 mins. The safety concerns I have with holes 3/7/9 have prevented me from giving this a higher rating. I have mostly played this during the day when it was open and I wasn't impacted but when I played an evening round I had people on the tennis courts and the parking lot which interfered with holes 3&9. I was able to "make do" with #9 with a more boring approach to the hole but #3 was out and I ended up making up my own safari alternative.

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6 1
reposado
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.7 years 278 played 273 reviews
2.00 star(s)

For Starters 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 24, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

I thought this was a nice beginner-appropriate course which is actually a rarity. It's a nice park and there's a pretty lake so it can easily be an enjoyable experience for any discer but for once, someone made a collection of holes that will be both playable and interesting for new players.

The first couple holes are very easy. One plays to a nice little mound. The other is a straight and open shot. From there it gets tougher but not too much tougher. 3 introduces trees as obstacles without making the gaps too narrow. The next few holes circle the lake. None of these holes are too long and they play around the water without forcing difficult carries. Really, the course has everything that a player will eventually encounter, just on a smaller and easier scale.

Additionally, experienced players could play some nice safari here. With some of those basket locations, great carries could be created with some made-up tees.

Cons:

There are two problems really. The third tee, which everyone seems to have trouble finding, and which I eventually skipped, needs navigation aids. And the ninth hole is going to lead to discs in the road, regardless of what is declared OB.

Fix those two things and this is a course I would eagerly recommend to those who want to try the game for the first time. It still won't be a course that veterans will find much challenge or thrill at, but rookies need courses too.
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2 3
SmittyDisc
Experience: 17.8 years 15 played 7 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 22, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice baskets, concrete run-ups, well maintained park and a fun layout. Good beginner course, but interesting for a seasoned player as well.

Cons:

I'm not sure what the thought process was for hole 3, but the teebox is hard to find, and the best approach to the basket is to lob it high over the tennis courts or play several short shots around them. I can't seem to make it make sense in my mind.

Other Thoughts:

Great course for a lunch-time 9, you can finish in less than 20 mins. and the park in generally empty midday.
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5 0
nevets4433
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.2 years 62 played 60 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Short Course in a Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 28, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Innova Discatcher Baskets...always nice.

Actually a good, interesting mix of shots required for such a short course. Requires you to throw high, low, left, and right.

Lots of fields around the course for warmup.

Nice concrete tee pads and hole signs...its always a huge plus to have quality teeing grounds.

Water fountain, Porta-John on site. Always nice to have the basics

Definite ace runs for the intermediate/advanced player, while not being too easy.

Cons:

Only 9 holes.

Baskets on 6 and 9 are somewhat bent. The one on 6 is very wobbly.

Hole 3 is a very poor design. It is obviously an attempt at a short S curve hole, but it really leaves nowhere to throw the disc without endangering tennis players.

Hole 9 plays way too close to the road and parking lot!

Other Thoughts:

The course's local rules declare something to the effect of roads, walkways, and "recreation areas" being out of bounds. Considering this course runs through a park, that leaves a bit of ambiguity. Is across the road out of bounds? Is the tennis court out of bounds? How about the volleyball court and the parking lot that are involved in hole 9? Overall the local rules could just use a bit more clarification, as they can become a bit vague as you are actually playing the course.

Navigation - course starts near the tennis courts. Look for the green sign. Hole 3 is dififcult to find. From basket 2, walk down the sidewalk between the tennis courts.
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3 3
discslinger02
Experience: 3 played 3 reviews
4.00 star(s)

fun course with a playground 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 10, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This is my favorite course, it has all discatchers with all concrete tee pads, very well kept greens. It offers me a 9 hole round and my kids can play at the playground that surrounds hole 7 and 8. It is the best of both worlds if you bring your family. The course also features a water hazzard and hole 4, 5, and 6 offer a little better challenge for control.

Cons:

On a weekend their are a lot of kids at the playground, some may wonder into the disc golf path, or fishermen on hole 6 can get in the way.

Other Thoughts:

A great course to add to your list.
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10 0
Carolina Crushers
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15 years 25 played 25 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Relaxed 9 hole! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 20, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

*Very quiet compared to the other local courses (traffic at park circle, or jet ski's at trophy lakes.)
*Very quick 9 hole, easy to navigate.
*Great for beginners or intermediate players.
*Great scenery with little wildlife.
*Nicely kept greens with all concrete pads.
*Free to play, Free to park.
*All Innova Discatcher Pros
*Public water fountain, and a nice picnic shelter near hole 7.

Cons:

*Hole 9 is very close to the parking lot.
*Although the course water hazards are small, they do exist.
*Alligator warning signs are never a good thing.
*No alternate tee's.

Other Thoughts:

Park Circle is a fun 9 hole with alternate tee's offering a bigger challenge than this course for Free. Trophy Lakes offers the best challenge for $5 play with bigger water hazards and great scenery.
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10 2
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 585 played 539 reviews
1.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 20, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Very scenic, mostly-open 9-hole course in a local park. Overall, not a challenging or demanding course.
- Very good nature feel to many holes. Part of course plays around a pond present very nice scenery. #5 was a great looking hole with some nice trees and the pond to the right.
- Paved tee-pads. Nice for such a new course.
- Good course for beginners to intermediate players. Lots of birdie chances, but also some lost disc potential.
- Park has other nice amenities - nice tennis courts, ball fields, playground, pond for fishing.

Cons:

Course has a couple simple, "no challenge" holes -#2 & 9. It's also lacking a true, challenging "signature" hole.
- #3 has a poorly designed layout. It a rough S-shaped hole that starts out with a narrow "fairway" with tennis courts on right and thick, disc-eating rough on left; goes behind tennis courts, back to the left to a narrow fairway and basket in the woods. You can't cut the corner over the tennis court (unless its empty), and you don't want your shot going too far (or you end up in the woods). The hole is under 400 feet, so it's either a really difficult par 3 or uninspiring par 4. I understand what was trying to be accomplished, and if it had been successful, it'd be a really good hole. But as it stands, something with the current layout needs to be changed to make it enjoyable & fair.
- No tee signs, maps or arrows pointing to next holes. Unless you've played the course before, it's a challenge finding #3 tee.
- Rough/underbrush is extremely thick on #3, 5, 6. Water also comes in to play on #4 - 6. Water is covered with green algae and has alligator warning signs, so any disc that gets wet is probably a lost cause.

Other Thoughts:

This is another decent Charleston area DGC. The area has plenty of 9 hole courses, but it's still screaming for another 18 holer.
- It'd be nice if some of the rough was cleared away, especially on #3 (because of the narrow fairway - it leaves no margin for error) & #6 (you're right next to the water, that you don't want to be reaching into underbrush, especially right next to alligator warning signs).
- The course would be nice to play before or after a stop at Trophy Lakes, which is only a few minutes away.
- This course didn't impress me as much Park Circle or even Tidal Creek. It was much closer to CSU's Buccaneer Bay in terms of overall quality.
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5 1
pascal
Experience: 26.8 years 19 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great Beginner Course 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Very Compact, quick play, low risk fairway shots. The second shot is nearly always a putt of some distance.

Cons:

Spooky pond in the middle covered in green slime, no way to get a disc back if it goes even in the edge of the water. Signs say don't feed the Alligators. However, there's a playground there too. It can't be that dangerous.

Other Thoughts:

This is a great first course to take someone to. Also the type of course one could play every day since it just takes about 20-30 min to play nine holes.

Not a lot of shot variety. I could see even intermediate players who use this course on a regular basis scoring at or below 20 consistently. #3 is probably the only one that would prove difficult to get in two. I carried a bag of about fifteen and never pulled more than three discs including the putter. A better player wouldn't have even used a distance driver. The water generally just comes into play if you flip a disk right, so low chance that a beginner has to worry about the water. I shot a 25 having never played it before. Only one hole would actually be difficult to consistently birdie. If you are looking to pick up a quick nine in the area without losing any discs, this is it. Just don't expect to be challenged if you have played much at all. Lot of Ace opportunities for intermediate players.
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5 3
OzzyMac
Experience: 23 years 18 played 17 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Warm it up 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 7, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

As the previous review said, this is a great little warmup course before playing Trophy Lakes, or practice for beginners/approaches/putting. The course plays so fast that I played twice in about 30-40 minutes. The atmosphere is kinda nice. The portos on hole one are a nice amenity. The posts for the tees look nicer than most courses, and the concrete pads help make this worth the play (especially if you're going to Trophy).

Cons:

Really short holes, pros/highly skilled players could have an ace opportunity on almost every hole. The pond in the middle is a nice little obstacle, but it sucks that you could lose a disc on such a mediocre course (which I did).

Other Thoughts:

This is the kind of course you could play everyday if it was in your backyard, but not worth going out of your way for. All in all, well worth the play if you're already going to Trophy Lakes for sure.

I lost a disc in the trees/vines on hole 6, and honestly I wasn't going ANYWHERE near the water that was closeby. There's a champion disc over there for some brave soul.
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15 0
RussMB
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.4 years 131 played 110 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Playground Rec Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 10, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Good place to practice Approach shots and putting
-Cement Tee's
-Discatcher Baskets
-Portos next to the first tee
-Hole 3 actually was kind of interesting
-Other amenities in the park (i.e. Tennis, Baseball, Playground)
-Playground available if you have kids, and you need a DG fix.
-Makes for a good warm up course before playing Trophy Lakes
-Good Landscaping
-Actually has a couple of water holes
-Good for fast play
-Great beginner course, or to bring non-DG'rs to play.
-Navigation is easy (except for hole 3, to access it, go between the Tennis courts
-The surroundings were actually quite nice to walk through. It has that "Low-Country" feel to it.

Cons:

-Holes were really short
-Maps not really needed
-#7 Basket is right on the edge of a playground
-This could be a one disc course.
-There are Alligators in the pond. Just an FYI.
-Didn't have a "fun factor" for me

Other Thoughts:

Lets call it what it is, This is a small, playground rec course. I'm not going to give it a list of "what it isn't". Because someone put the effort into installing this course. This is a course you would come to if you have kids, and one spouse can watch them on the playground, while you get in a quick game. I equated this course to a "stroll through the park". Which was quite pleasant. But if it's a good game of Disc Golf you are after, Trophy Lakes is just down the street. Other than that, this is where you would bring someone to introduce them to the game. Now, just so I don't leave it on a bad note, I did actually enjoy the walk through the park. I thought playing around the pond was really enjoyable, as far as just being in the park goes. I would say that this course was put in for those casual beach players, that do not have the ability, or the want to, to play Trophy Lakes. (By want to, I mean Trophy Lakes being too much course for casual players.) So, sometimes having a smaller, easier course available can be a benefit. If your date doesn't play DG, then Trophy Lakes might not be the place to go. You could actually take a non-playing date to this course and have fun. I wouldn't drive out of my way to play here. I would use this to warm up my arm before playing Trophy Lakes, if I was waiting for someone.
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