North Branch, MN

Harder Park

2.615(based on 9 reviews)
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1 3
JIM0NE
Experience: 4.1 years 72 played 3 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Don't let the name fool ya.. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 13, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Has a little of everything except water. Excellent signage, great parking with the layout of the holes.

Cons:

Hole 8 is kinda a nightmare due to the down trees but the fairway is open. Mid summer Bugs as all wooded area have this issue.

Other Thoughts:

This little gem might surprise you.
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2 0
Badgerman
Silver level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.6 years 550 played 62 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Harder Park 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 19, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

1) Located in a clean, Well-maintained park
2) Plenty of parking and easy to find due to the signs on the main road.
3) Nice detailed map at beginning of course.
4) Dual tees
5) Good flow and easy navigation
6) Quick play at about 20 minutes/rnd
7) Tee signs
8) Good use of natural elevation
9) Good mix of open and wooded holes

Cons:

1) The dirt tees have become rutted with use
2) No clear fairway (unmowed) on #2
3) No benches, garbage cans or restrooms on course itself, but they are located in the park
4) The tee signs have number and long tee distance on them, no other Info.
5) A few of the baskets are missing the number on them, it's only confusing on #3 where you can see a #6's basket about 325' away to the left, but #3 is hidden behind the first big tree in the middle of the fairway

Other Thoughts:

# 8 is certainly the signature hole here, a 350 ft tight dogleg to the left.

This was built as a Boy Scout Eagle project and as far as bettering one's community, I'd say this course does a great job.
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3 1
David Mellies
Experience: 26.6 years 112 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun 9 hole 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 1, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Free to play
Multiple tee pads
Good mix of technical shots short and long
Heavily wooded
Ace runs
Decent layout/easy to navigate
Not busy
Quick round if in a hurry
Bathroom on site

Cons:

Sand/gravel tees
Only 9 holes
Minimal elevation change
No water hazard
No yardage marked
Not very challenging
There are not a lot of air it out drive opportunities

Other Thoughts:

I read other reviews and had to chime in on this one. The bugs were not even close to as bad as other reviewers said and poison ivy was not an issue for me. Hole 1 is a nice ace run shot with the basket in a cluster of trees allowing room to swoop in on right or left side. Hole 2 demands accuracy to have a decent drive. You have to split two trees about 20 ft or so from the box. It's a fun shot! Hole 6 is another short hole to try to add another notch to your belt. You must throw left to right at a somewhat protected basket. If you over throw it you may roll down a hill on right side leaving a high risk/reward shot at the basket. Hole 8 is the signature hole. Throwing from the back box is kind of just a lay up shot near the amateur box to have a look at an approach. Par is the goal here for sure. The hole is heavily wooded with a dogleg left and slightly uphill. I'd recommend planning on a skip shot at the basket here. This course isn't worth driving too far out of the way to get to but worth a throw if you are in the area.I'd love to see them make this an 18. I had plenty of fun and already want to go back.
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1 3
Axx3d
Experience: 25.9 years 50 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun little course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 20, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

I drove out here to meet a buddy, i had poor expectations and i must admit i was pleasantly surprised by this course. You tend to not expect much from a small town 9 hole but i was surprised. Some fun technical holes and a couple of long shots. I enjoyed this course and would play it again.

Cons:

No tee pads and the sign-age was poor.. Easy to get around though.
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3 0
mndiscg
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 480 played 478 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 27, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Nice baskets with numbers on top for easy identification
-Course map at the start near the parking lot and first tee box
-No open holes, every hole had some challenge. Many had significant amounts of trees that made you hit a certain line
-The limited elevation at the park was used well, hole 3 is a nice downhill shot
-The course was pretty easy to follow, the map shows no gap between hole 2 and 3 but there was one. Just follow the wooded path then go up the hill once in the clearing. There are a few next tee signs to help guide as well.
-A few tricky greens provided good challenge. Hole 4 sat just past a hillside

Cons:

-Lots and lots of bugs including ticks, ants, horse and deer flys, and mosquitos.
-Poison ivy and a few nettles on the course. The fairways are not very well mowed so even a decent shot could land near poison ivy
-Not a ton of length to this course, intermediate in that aspect
-The tees are natural and very sandy, not the best
-Could lose a disc on a few holes here
-No signage on each hole so you may have to scout for a few blind tees

Other Thoughts:

I think I would have given this course a 3 without the bugs, and plants. I am fairly allergic to poison ivy and nobody likes bugs. It is harder to enjoy a round when you are trying to avoid getting posion ivy or slapping bugs. I did enjoy the layout of the course and the challenge that it offered. I would maybe come play here in the late fall or spring before the bugs hatch and plants grow. It would be much more enjoyable. For TC residents I wouldn't come up here and play unless it was during one of those times.
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3 0
whitechocolate
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16 years 437 played 23 reviews
1.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 21, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Course map and layout before starting
-New Baskets
-Relatively easy to navigate
-Area of park just used for disc golf
-Multiple tees

The course is set in the back end of the park. Baseball fields do not come into play on any of the holes, unless you have a crazy uncontrolled throw. The courses wind in and out of the woods, offering a couple holes that could be found to be more challenging, yet generally very REC/beginner friendly. All you have to do is look at the course map by the parking lot and you should be able to navigate this course with little issue.

Baskets are brand new, however, not sure what kind they were. The caught relatively well which is fine but definitely a more unique basket than most courses have. No one else was on the course, which I would assume is pretty normal, so you can get a quick play out here.

Cons:

-Dirt Tees/Wood markings
-Poorly maintained

Dirt tees don't bother me generally and it does some players. However, these were the dirt tees that had the wood put in the ground where the pad ends. The ones you can trip over and fall when you follow through (or foot fault). I find these completely unsafe and with the tee poles next to the tee, these become unnecessary and unsafe.

The biggest problem is the maintenance. The courses literally looks and feels like someone just can through and bulldozed some trees to make the wooded holes. The ground is not level on any hole. Just ripples of dry dirt and plants. You will be unable to throw rollers here. The fairways were not too bad, however, in time with all the plants growing in, it will get rougher to play. No one really tried to clean any of it up. It has that "good enough for now" feel, that no one has return to. If you have trouble keeping it in the fairway, you will be looking for you disc for a while in places. Or if you're smart, just leaving it in the poison ivy it landed in. The rough is very heavy in places.

Other Thoughts:

The course has potential to be a decent 9 hole. If someone would give it a little love the course would worth checking out. In it's current state, I would just pass completely. If you are heading up to Duluth/Superior for some disc golf for the day and looking to break up the ride, I recommended playing Braham or Pine City instead.

Obviously, the mosquitos were brutal. Not a con, just letting you know. It was July, so obviously going to be a problem. If you have extreme reaction to poison ivy, I would not go here at all. There is quite a bit. There are other plants that look similar to poison ivy as well, however, still a lot of actually poison ivy. I'd wear pants next time if I ever go back.

In it's current condition, I have to give it a 1.5 (Passable). If cleaned up it would be probably a 2.5. Make a couple adjustments to the layout to make a couple of those "standard holes" and it would have potential a 3.0, possibly a 3.5. If nothing gets done to the course, it will become an overgrown area with 9 baskets and poles. Step it up North Branch...just a little.

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2 1
timj5304
Experience: 19.8 years 161 played 32 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 3, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

*Good Technical course
*Good use of elevation changes
*Low traffic
*Dual tee's
*Shots that require backhand and Forehand shots.

Cons:

*Thorn bushes to deal with especially on #8.
*Sand tee pad, eventually could make concrete.

Other Thoughts:

This course is 30 minutes north of the twin cities. Not really worth driving just for this one but I would do exactly what I did, drive to this one and hit The ponds at Linwood on the way back. Well worth the trip to hit both of these courses.
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4 0
dispatch1313
Experience: 13.8 years 9 played 8 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Could be a nice course with a little TLC!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 10, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- Technical course, all holes have strategically placed trees that will have you using every shot in your arsenal.

- Course is well marked. There is a sign with the course map in front of the 1st tee.

- Elevation is used on holes 3 & 4. (On 3 you throw down hill, on 4 you throw back up the hill.)

- Some of the holes are short enough for a chance at an ace.

- Being a new course in 2010, all the baskets and chains are brand new.

Cons:

- MAINTENANCE!!! The only fairways that are mowed are #1 and #9. (These holes are in the park section of the course. The other holes are near the woods or in the woods in the back of the park.) All the other holes have long grass making finding your disc somewhat difficult. The woods surrounding the "fairways" are very dense so make sure your throws are well placed!

- There is a lot of poisen ivy on #3, #4, and # 5. Luckily I am not allergic to it.

- Some of the trees need to be cut back a bit. There is just too much brush and branches on some of the holes which makes some shots very difficult. (Case in point--hole #1 has about 10 large trees in the middle of the "fairway")

Other Thoughts:

Overall I thought this course is pretty fun. With a little routine mowing, brush clearing, and tee pads this would be a very nice course. It's my home course so I play it quite a bit. I'll be the guy crashing through the underbrush looking for my disc that I just threw a mile in the woods.
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3 1
E_Rock25
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 77 played 35 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Poison IIIIIIIVVYYYYYYYYY!!!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 20, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a nice technical park course with lots of trees. The land seems to be used well with some small elevation changes. I could only play 4 holes because of all the poison ivy on this course that is why it is getting such a low review. I wish I could have played the hole thing because it has a good feel and layout. Tees are marked nicely with arrows from the pins to the next tee.

Cons:

Like I said this course is unplayable for me in its current shape because I am really allergic to poison ivy and it is everywhere on this course. Its in the middle of the fairways even. This is very disappointing to me because I live quite close and it looks like a fun course. I will not play this course again until I am sure that they have sprayed and killed most of the P.I.

Other Thoughts:

I don't know how someone found this unhelpful. I like this course but I can't be near the poison ivy! I just wish I could play it.
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