Manistee, MI

Red Szymarek Park

1.385(based on 4 reviews)
Filter course reviews

Filter reviews

Filter reviews

Red Szymarek Park reviews

Filter
10 0
MasonCountyDiscGolf
Experience: 17 played 5 reviews
3.00 star(s)

FINALLY, the volunteers changed the course to be playable!!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 13, 2021 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Mando signs that create tight wooded fairways.
-Every shot used for a simple five-hole course(left/right/straight/mid-range-drive)
-Will NEVER lose a disc unless you leave one there by accident
-Fun, simple, easy, simple course for some quick play
-Beginner-friendly as well as advanced friendly
-Perfect practice course

Cons:

-Only five holes
-Pedestrians always have right of way, may need to skip a hole

Other Thoughts:

My god, they finally did it!

For over a decade this park was utterly useless after the old Manistee Parks Department installed the tee signs DIRECTLY behind the tee pads here (see previous reviews/pics). Volunteers got together and got the city to remove the obstructionist tee signs then went ahead and created new more park aesthetically friendly ones that don't interfere with play. This simple act has shot park usage up by over 300%!

There are now mando signs creating true fairways and lanes where before players were throwing over roads and into neighbors yards creating unsafe pedestrian conditions.

It's only five holes, but it certainly is a fun five-hole technical little one city block course! Locals do a 3 loop 15 hole round for a longer day in the park.

Currently, as of 9/13/2021 the course has decade-old DGA baskets in place but has a local business dedicated to putting new baskets in by the end of the year.

This course is definitely not a destination course by any stretch of the imagination but it is a great little side throwing experience if you're traveling between the great courses in Ludington and Traverse City area!


Was this review helpful? Yes No
20 0
DFrah
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 5.8 years 227 played 225 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Bagged it! (Update: Enjoyed the practice!)

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 16, 2020 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Red Szymarek Park (fun name) is a flat, small piece of land sandwiched between a residential neighborhood and a beach in Manistee, MI (It's not close enough to the beach that you can see it, or that any water comes into play). The flora here is scattered old growth trees. I don't think it would be possible to lose a disc here, unless it gets run over by a car or something (see Cons). The tree trunks are thick enough to force some degree of shot shaping around them on each of the five holes. New since my first play in 2020, several mandos have been added to force particular lines and also keep discs further away from the street.

All five baskets here are brand new Chainstar Pros! They were installed on May 13, 2022 (+/- 1 day). There are also five small cement tee pads. You'll have to stand and throw - no run up. But I think that's fine for this course. Small tee signs with the hole number and distance are next to the pads.

Cons:

You can see the whole course from any vantage point within it, and play it in 10-15 minutes. Nice for practice, but not necessarily something that is going to attract any non-locals to the course.

Even with the redesign I still have some safety concerns. My biggest safety concern now is that hole 5's basket is nearly in hole 1's firing line. It's also still a fact that holes 4 and 5 tee off pretty much right next to the street - even with mandos theoretically keeping discs away from the street this is still a little bit troubling for me given that this course could be played by the beginning-est of beginners. There is also a swing set in the right side of hole 2's fairway, and several picnic tables in play. None of this is the WORST safety wise in my book, because you will only be throwing shorter shots and there are no blind shots here. Be smart - keep it away from the road, and from any other park users - and it shouldn't be an actual issue (but might be less enjoyable for you if you have to skip one or more of the holes - remember, there are only five).

There is no real street parking on the two streets that border the park, and you should NOT pull onto the dirt drive in the park (it is in the firing line on holes 1, 2, and 5). So there is really nowhere great to park. I pulled mostly off the street onto the sidewalk.

Other Thoughts:

I am in the Manistee area several times a year. On this occasion, my girlfriend and I ordered takeout from one of the local restaurants (The Fillmore - it was quite good if you are passing through). We were looking for something to do for half an hour while we waited for the food, and this course fit the bill. Even though it was the very end of a cold day (was twilight when I played), another group was leaving just as we arrived and a third group arrived to play just as we were finishing up. The Manistee area is still a little thin on DG options, so if you are local and similarly have 30 minutes to kill, go for it.

UPDATE MAY 2022: I returned to the course this past weekend and found that lots of changes have been made, as discussed in the most recent review by MasonCountyDiscGolf. I updated a lot of text in the above review, but to summarize the changes in one place:
- New Chainstar Pro baskets
- Addition of mando signs
- Removal of tee signs that were literally at the back of the pads, and were preventing proper teeing off
- Slight lengthening of holes
It also seemed like what was a dirt drive in the center of the park is being grassed in a little bit, eliminating another potential safety concern I had. With all of these positive changes, this has become a much more playable course and I am much less concerned about recommending this one for beginners and families in an immediate area that is still pretty thin on DG options. If no one else is in the park, you could play the baskets safari-style too. I was originally only going to increase my rating from 0.5 to 1.0 but changed my mind and bumped it all the way up to 1.5. This is still by no means a destination course, but it's a nice place to get a little practice in if you are already in the area. I'll probably make a point of checking in here each time I visit the area.

UPDATE MARCH 2024: Stopped by the course again today. The tee signs have been improved since my last visit - they now have the hole distances.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
13 1
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
0.00 star(s)

awful. worst of the worst. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 25, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Baskets and teepads--they're all there and in good repair. See cons for teepads also.

Cons:

Aesthetic-- plays through a small city park near the beach. plays very close to amenities within the park and is seriously dangerous in places.

Teepads-- each hole has a pole at the back of the pad with a mailbox on the pole. not sure who though this was a good idea but it was a good place to hang my putter while I was throwing my mid.

Challenge/design/danger-- This course plays near playgrounds, across the park "road" and near the roads and bike rack around the perimeter of the park. This course is dangerous. There really is no other way to put it. As for hole design, there are no feasible lines on four of the five holes. hole 3 is the only one that makes any sort of sense. The small park road (you have to drive over a curb over to get to) is thrown over twice. DO NOT PARK IN THE PARK!

Other Thoughts:

if you want to tack on another course to your total go for it. if you just want a course in manistee, go to udell...
Was this review helpful? Yes No
24 1
tomjulio
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 77 played 41 reviews
1.00 star(s)

um...yup 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 19, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-cement tees
-new baskets
-it's by the beach
...it's a disc golf "course"?

Cons:

-tee signs DIRECTLY at start of the tee pad....backwards.
-crammed into a city park no bigger than one block
-no straight forward flow for the layout

Other Thoughts:

Not much to say about this little nine holer in Manistee except, wow.

Some city planners heart was in the right place by creating a mini course near the beach, but poor design and obvious lack of any disc golfer in the consulting construction has made this park useless to anyone but families and beginners.

The tee signs are DIRECTLY connected to the back of the small cement tee pads making any forward movement from the back of the pad obsolete. It's a stand and throw pad.

Had no idea where hole #1's tee pad was.

...I feel like I've already written too much about this course.

Hey, great for practicing putting and some small mid range shots by playing safari golf!
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Top