New Orleans, LA

City Park - Old Layout

3.215(based on 17 reviews)
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0 2
jeffboi
Experience: 9.9 years 14 played 14 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun to play 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 15, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fun course - pretty easy to navigate in a nice park. Course and baskets in great condition. Parks people continue to work to improve this course. This is a short review because it is exactly what you expect; lots of wide open shots, a few pretty interesting holes with water, lots of people playing - and it is in NOLA - awesome!

Cons:

Not a major downfall, but the course is in a public park and people are everywhere :)

Other Thoughts:

Worth playing for sure!
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2 1
hammerhead611
Experience: 10 years 13 played 11 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Nice course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 12, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

*Nice usage of OB and water hazards were a little intimidating at first)
*Good combination of long and short shots
*Nice park setting
*Liked the tee box markers and signage with the hole layout

Cons:

*Can see where traffic could get heavy
*Some holes could have used arrows pointing to next tee box
*No signage in park indicating where to go to park (finally found the 1st tee after about 20 minutes)

Other Thoughts:

Played City Park this afternoon and really enjoyed the round. I had tried to play it yesterday, but after walking the 1st 2 holes, it was too wet (not to mention the families set up on #1 tee box and partially down #1 fairway).

#1 hole was somewhat intimidating, especially with the wind blowing the way it was.
The next few holes proved to have no surprises, being open throws, with the occasional tree hazard. I like the 3rd hole and the elevated basket (watch your approach shot to the basket as the slightest overthrow could lead to another uphill putt if your disc happens to roll off the hill). Holes 6, 7, and 8, play in and out of the large oak trees. Holes 9 and 10 open back up. I thought for a few minutes about #11 and whether to play it or not. At just 165', it's not a long hole, but plays through a small opening in the brush, over the water, to the basket not too far from the water's edge. Wound up making the throw, and landed just about 7' from the basket. #12 plays over the water, and 13 plays parallel with the water. #14, plays through a small passage in the trees, to a blind basket, located to the left toward the baseball field. 15, 16, and 17 open up again, leading to #18, which plays parallel to the road (OB). While the course map shows it playing over the water, I don't recall seeing a basket across the water, but instead, it wasn't too far from the foot of the bridge (directly across from #11 tee box).

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4 0
BigAl724
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.6 years 178 played 144 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Play While You Can 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 22, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Located in an enormous city park, the course is for the most part sectioned off from other activities. A lot of parking space, water fountain, and porta-potties are available and the course conveniently loops to start and end near the parking lot. There is a great disc golf scene here with an active club and a man (Joe) who is often here selling discs with a huge variety of companies, molds, and plastics.

I really enjoyed the tee signs which give the actual picture of the hole and the clear route to the basket. The yellow Mach 5 baskets with hole numbers at the top of them are easy to spot and in good shape. The tee and pin positions are alternated from time to time, adding variety to the course.

Despite the course's serious lack of elevation and trees, the designer did a nice job incorporating O.B. using the walking paths and the water that is present on about one-third of the holes. The water holes are very well designed in that they offer great risk/reward type shots if shooting for birdie, but allow the player the choice to play it safe. This is the first course that I have played with multiple large water carries throughout the course, and while I felt it changed my shots a little and added to the excitement, it didn't impede on my enjoyment. Hole 1 - for example - can be played directly over the pond or thrown on a RHBH hyzer around it. My favorite water hole was 11 because it was the scariest in that you had the throw over the water with a pin positioned closely to its edge; however, it isn't a very difficult shot or length to make. The fact that the water got in my head at first, but wasn't a huge risk, made this hole fun.

Another aspect that I enjoyed about this course that is fairly unique to other courses I have played is the challenge of hitting drives under low ceilings. Holes 1, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, and 17 offered challenges in this regard, so it is present throughout the course without seeming redundant.

The course offers a good mix of hyzers, annys, and straight shots. The most enjoyable holes to me were the ones with multiple lanes to the basket, such as 13, 15, 17, and 18. 15 was unique in that it required you to hit a small horizontal window between two long tree limbs, I really enjoyed that and that was a unique aspect. I think the course is well designed in that the quality of holes generally improve as you play through the round.

Cons:

-Since the course will be moved in the not so distant future, some of the upkeep is not as good as what I heard it was previously. This is apparent mostly just on holes 2-4, which had some tall grass when I was there. Hole 3 was especially bad since it is a straight shot in an open field. Still, not worth taking points away because of this since most of the course was very well-mowed.
-There were hardly challenges or opportunities to choose different routes off the tee, since most holes only had one or two trees to contend with. This was the biggest detractor of the course to me. Even the holes that were more challenging were so because of the initial drive. The positioning of your upshots, however, rarely had any obstacles involved and were generally open shots. A few holes were completely open to the basket and either required a simple, wide open hyzer and anny to get to the pin.
-While the course is mostly set away from the other park activities, it does play close to the road and walking path sometimes, and hole 13 could get crowded from fans watching a baseball game.
-The designers did a great job making the course challenging given the land area that they used, but a course can only be so fun with minimal trees, zero elevation change, and a small variety of distances. Only hole 18 really gives you an opportunity to make two consecutive long shots.

Other Thoughts:

City Park is a course worth checking out if you are in New Orleans and is a relatively quick play. The old trees and water carries make for a picturesque round, though I'll be curious to see what the new course has to offer!
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4 1
IsThisThingOn
Experience: 48 played 12 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Pleasant gem in NOLA 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 19, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

- BEAUTIFUL location in City Park
- variety in shot difficulty
- mix of long bombs and ace runs
-11th hole shot over the bridge is a short gem and a heart stopper
- Surprisingly good use of a mostly flat terrain
- excellent signage
- LOW traffic, had zero waits on a Saturday

Cons:

- very little elevation change
- park goers seem to often hang near baskets
- deceptively muddy in some places
- some holes are too close to the road
- No pro shop
- No water fountains (that I saw)

Other Thoughts:

A surprisingly good course once you start playing. Not going to be very difficult for the best players, but provides enough challenge to be enjoyable. One of the most beautiful locations I've played in. Grassy fields of flowers are a nice change from the typical dust bowls of my normal experiences on south-west courses.
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1 3
Terry 44
Experience: 30.8 years 53 played 5 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Nice for a camera, not for a disc golfer 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 11, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Picturesque! Beautiful park!
Water hazards!

Cons:

Short course with no elevation changes. Poorly designed in my opinion. A lot of holes had a tree in front of the pad. This is not bad for a couple of holes working with a low ceiling, but not to the extent this course had this hole set up. There were a couple holes near the lake that were very pretty, but again could have been designed with more risk/reward. This course also needs permanent tee pads and better signs would be nice as well to show the next hole location. Such a large piece of land with the DG course crammed in to a small area.

Other Thoughts:

I love New Orleans! I just hope that the local DG community asks for more land from the park to lengthen the course and redesigns the layout.

I did walk to see a concert in the park and found baskets bunched up in a small area. No idea what that was about..... a putter course with no signs?
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1 5
BirmingDan
Experience: 14.8 years 6 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

My Original Home Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 16, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Signage. Scenery. Risk/Reward.

Cons:

Non golfers get in the way sometimes. Whole course taken over sometimes for special events.

Other Thoughts:

I learned to play at City Park, so I will always love it. It's a course where you can really fling it on most holes. If you can gently shape a shot, then the big oaks are beautiful obstacles. Lagoons will eat your discs, so take some of those old ones you found in the woods.
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0 6
Jblevins
Experience: 8 played 8 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Open course in public park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 21, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Open fairways and beautiful trees make it a nice walk.

Cons:

Park events can create parking lots in the middle of fairways. Not much interest and many holes are. Repetitive typical grassy park holes dotted with the occasional tree.

Other Thoughts:

Better things to do in New Orleans
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7 1
Qikly
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.7 years 181 played 148 reviews
3.00 star(s)

NOLA's Home Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 15, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Variety of lines: right-turning holes (5,6), left-turning (1,11,14), multiple possibilities (2,7, and 13), tunnel shots (8). This keeps drives from becoming repetitive.

Good job of creating some unique and memorable lines off the tee. Not a lot of throwaway holes out here.

Water hazards add an extra layer of difficulty, and are utilized extremely well (with the exception of 18 in its long-pin form, which IMHO is a bit much as a par 3).

Design is about as good as it could be given the location.

Layout is relatively easy to follow, and both bathrooms (portapotties) and parking are close by. Course is about as isolated as can be, meaning conflicts with non-disc golfers are minimized.

Cons:

The consistency of distance (220'-320', with most between 250' and 290') becomes repetitive. It'd be great to have at least one or two longer holes, and as others have said, these could be possible. Even one or two more longer holes would be a nice change of pace.

The general lack of challenging upshots limits the experience: a disproportional amount of significance is placed on how you drive. Even a crappy drive often gets you clear of the obstacle(s) which define a hole, leaving you a relatively direct and uncontested approach to the basket. Great for beginners, but limits the replay value and challenge.

Dirt tees become swampish regularly, given NOLA's wet climate. This can lead to some awkward drives from improvised positions.

As somebody else stated, the fire ants really are a concern, in the summer months, at least. I've had some nasty bites, and witnessed others deal with them regularly enough to give me pause.

Not sure if it's actually a con, but the openness of the course coupled with the weather means the wind can be especially unforgiving.

The road comes into play in a few shots in a negative way.

Other Thoughts:

The local community, which is represented almost daily in one fashion or another, is fantastic and welcoming. Good people.

There's a football field nearby which allows you to accurately tabulate your throwing distances, which is nice for a number-cruncher/stat-keeper like myself.

Be prepared to throw discs you wouldn't mind losing if you don't plan on skipping any holes; I've lost a bunch myself, and gotten my feet wet going in after discs more than a few times. 11 isn't as bad as it looks, 12 is probably worse than it seems, especially if you shoot for birdie.

I'd put the difficulty on the easier side of the scale, although there are enough challenging shots (8, 13) to keep it interesting for everyone.
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0 4
eupher61
Experience: 21.9 years 110 played 13 reviews
2.50 star(s)

fun, not tough 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 11, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great surroundings, even if a bit messed up from Isaac.

Cons:

Others have written most of my concerns, except for tee signs not reflecting what is there. Apparently a couple holes have been moved recently, and while the pins arent' too far away, it helps to show what is where.

Other Thoughts:

hoping this doesn't get moved!
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9 2
ohtobediscing
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 44.5 years 401 played 41 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Driving on the City of New Orleans 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 19, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

In 1810, the governors of the US-wooed West Florida parrishes [that's right, Texas---once upon a time you were destined to be Alabama!] petitioned to secede from Mexico. Much as Mississippi gamblers did in those days, the budding US bluffed rube, showed hard and pretty much took what they want. Just as the Louisiana Purchase was Thomas Jefferson's gem, so this course is New Orlean's.
Its a beautiful 18, with giant oaks, palmettos, pines, Spanish moss and very little undergrowth. The drives are mostly open, and many can be approached with debonair, swashbuckling aplomb. But obstacles are grouped either as a lane near the tee, an obstruction in the fairway preventing certain shots, or one or two fort-like defenses near the basket. Mostly the obstacles are 300-400 year-old oaks, with spreading, drooping branches ready to knock your disc in the dirt. Heh heh. Hmm...
There is a continuous-loop lagoon that provides great risk, as it drops off quickly to ribcage-deep and is tepidly murky. On hole #1 it lies 20 ft. left of the basket, debauching many a RHBHer, leaving them demoralized and adrift. #3 also flirts with the lake left of the fairway, and about 30 ft. behind the basket.
A small creek backs the baskets of #s 4 and 6: discs should be easily recoverable from this, but watch out for the random surly water moccasin.
#s 11-12 throw over the water, #11 being an obscenely short ace shot with a tight window [and tragic consequences for an errant throw], and #12 being a peninsula with some fortunate backing vegetation.
#18's basket is also backed closely by the lagoon, with some ground-effect shrubbery strewn about like neglected Mardi Gras beads that might keep your disc from scooting into the drink.
Tees are natural with added, packed gravel, tee signs are absolutely gorgeous, a scattering of trash cans and benches.

Cons:

There are a few "throwaway" holes: #9 is an open field hole, and # 2 is fairly tame.
#s 11 and 18 parallel the road, adding a safety/confrontational risk. # 13's basket has the road 30 ft. behind it. Fortunately, there are few pedestrian paths to interact with, but people also just seem to wander at random through the fields on occasion, especially during festival events.
The DGC seems to have been relegated to the "shaggier" section of the park. The trees look slightly beat[not by discs---these are enormous trees] and the landscaping isn't quite up to the park standard.
May-August 10 AM to 8 PM is brutal humidity/temp/bug-wise.

Other Thoughts:

Take the whole family, granny too. There's a Museum of Modern Art, a library, sculpture garden, arboretum, giant kids' playground, "Storyland", a mile-long kiddie train, ballfields, and by 2013 a waterpark. You could play 3 rounds and still have to hunt down the family...
COURSE UPDATE: It appears that the dgc is to be moved to an entirely new location in the park by spring 2014. Alas, it also appears from the aerial photo that all water hazards will be eliminated.
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2 2
killjoy
Experience: 16 played 5 reviews
3.00 star(s)

beautiful course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 24, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

I really like this course, it offered a great challenge of a beautiful bit of the park.Lots of great water shot, good technical bends lots of low canopies. And tons of shade i was very impressed. Great signage no problem navigating the course with the exception of the 12 its a bit tricky if you didn't look at a map before hand. We also fond a mobile pro-shop on site that was nice.

Cons:

At time the course was a bit noisy,and i would have preferred some real tees,rather than gravel but this is a minor gripe at best. The gravel is well packed so it does allow for good footing. This park is rather crowded so be careful of people. And last but not least this is not a beginners course,water hazards are deep and unforgiving so bring extra discs.
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7 0
Cainadien
Experience: 12.8 years 1 played 1 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Play it while you can 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 25, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very technical course with all kinds of challenges for any level player. Water hazards, mandos, ancient giant oak trees, pro and am tees on all holes.

Hole #1 - The pro tees here are possibly the hardest ones on the course. It's either a straight shot over 300+ feet of water or you have to take a distance shot to the right and go through some very big oak trees and still have to stay out of the water with a dog leg to the left. Am tees are a heisser through some big oak trees with a dog leg to the left with the danger of a large water hazard on the inside of the leg.

Hole #2 - Pro tees are thrown from inside a very old brick building. Anheisser it out the building of water and fade it around or near a large oak then a straight shot to the basket. Am tees are a fairly straight shot 317' to the basket with water all the way to the basket on the left side of the hole and a large oak about halfway down the hole. You can either anheisser it to the left of the tree over the water or just try to rip it hard to the right of the oak and land elevated.

Hole #3 - Pro and am tees are the same shots just longer distance on the pro tees. It's a staright shot 289' (am tees) the the basket with mounds of rocks and dirt to the right of the basket and large oak trees to the left. Basket is surrounded on the right and backside by very tall vegetation.

Hole #4 - AM tee starts with a shot through a path of palms then the basket sits to the left of a large oak with very low hanging branches. Best bet here is to probably try to rip it to the right of the oak and fade it in towards the basket.

Hole #5 - A 256' shot through some heavy vegetation to the right with a low hanging branch above and a small tree to the left. Basket is elevated and sits near the back edge of the hill.

Hole #6 - A 310' shot. Basket is a good bit to the right of where the teebox faces, but trees are to the right at the box so a good anheisser here is a MUST. Basket is low and under some trees with a very large drainage ditch behind it so be careful on the approach.

Hole #7 - In my opinion this is the hardest hole . It's only 268' to the basket, but the shot off the tee box is obstructed by a very large oak tree. If you throw to the right of the tree you have to miss the tree and the low hanging branches then come back in bounds because the OB is immediately to the right of the tree all the way down to the basket. Now if you want to go to the left of the tree you will need a good anheisser. Right after you pass the tree there is a bunch of palms to the left, a gazebo area at #6 teebox and then 2 giant oaks to the left with branches touching the ground all around. Basket sits to the back right of the 2 oaks.

Hole #8 - A 270' shot to the basket. Two large oaks sit in the center with the basket behind the last tree and slightly to the right. You can either zig-zag it through the 2 oaks and lay it up or try to make it through the low lying limbs to the right of the tee box and rip it good to clear the low lying branches from the other 2 oaks. Either way the name of the game on this hole is "keep it low".

Hole #9 - A great ace opportunity here. It is a straight shot with no real obstacles and only 220' to the basket. OB is the sidewalk, but you have to really have some serious griplock to go out.

Hole #10 - A 338' foot shot with the only real obstacle being a very large oak tree about 40' in front of the tee box with fairly low lying branches. Basket sits under another large oak to the left of the trunk with low hanging branches. It is OB about 40' behind the basket so watch your drive distance.

Hole #11 - This is my favorite hole and it is a great ACE opportunity. Basket is only 164' from tee box, BUT (that is a VERY big but) the basket is surrounded by OB to the right and behind with water hazard to the left and front side. You have to tee off from the other side of the water with a bridge in front of you and too many trees to the right so it is very risky to go that route. Most will give it a hard heisser over the bridge and try to just land it in bounds and pray that you don't roll into the water as well.

Hole #12 - The signature hole on the course. A 226' shot through some low hanging branches off the tee box. The basket sits on a lagoon that is nearly surrounded by water except for to the right of the lagoon area. Another very fun hole I say.

Hole #13 - One of the harder holes on the course. A 321' shot with plenty of routes to take. Right off the tee is a large elevation with plenty of large oaks right afetr and further down as well with another large elevation in between and to the right. You can take this route if you can keep it low enough to clear the trees, but high enough to get over the elevations. There is a large body of water most of the way down on the left side. You can try to either go over the water with a really good anheisser or go the same route, but try to roll it instead. Basket is perched between two large oaks with an OB about 20' behind it so watch that approach.

Hole #14 - Another favorite of mine. A short 197' shot but there is a dense wooded area with large cargo tanks blocking any view of the basket which is behind it all and to the left. Most shoot a very hard heisser shot here to the right of the wooded area and just cross your fingers. Basket sits in the middle of plenty of oaks, but branches aren't too low.

Hole #15 - A 236' shot with 2 very large oaks trees in the way with very low hanging branches. Try to shoot it straight through and avoid the trees or try to give it a hard heisser to the right of the trees and put some power behind it. Basket lies behind the 2 oaks.

Hole #16 - A distant 365' shot that is fairly straight, but there are plenty of large oaks with low lying branches near the basket.

Hole #17 - A 255' shot that is fairly stright forward, but has some palms and large oaks off the tee box.

Hole #18 - The basket on this hole changes positions fairly often from long to short. Short shot is still about 400' from tee box. Three palms are directly in front of the tee box with a mando about 200' down on the right side. So you can either throw it to the right and try to clear the mando, throw a strong anheisser to the left or throw a roller in either direction. About halfway down you will be met with a handful of large oaks and a handful of palms as well. the basket is elevated and sits right near water behind it and the left side of this hole is an OB with a street and walkway all the way down. The long position basket sits across the water (about 70' past the short position) and is blocked by a large oak with low lying branches that sits right on the water's edge.. It is a very dangerous shot and claims many discs.

Cons:

I'd say that only real cons of this course are that It is in a popular park so non-playing citizens are bound to be in the way here and there and the city workers do not do a very good job of keeping the grass cut often and for some insane reason they recently had a BBQ cook-off and they let people park and do everything on the front 11. there are many ruts and people poured out used oil, ashes, and food on the course. Park officials say they are going to fix it all up, but it makes no sense why they did all of this stuff on the course when this park is GARGANTUAN and has plenty of empty spaces elsewhere.

Other Thoughts:

If you want to play this course as it is now, then I suggest you do it in the next year or so. A water park has been planned to be built over where many of the holes are and the NOTEAM that runs the course (Lafrenniere and soon to be pelican park as well) is probably going to be moving the course elsewhere.
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1 5
WaterLogged
Experience: 12.8 years 9 played 8 reviews
3.50 star(s)

DG in the city 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 18, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great course in the heart of one of the best cities in the country. Very spread out with a viriety of distances, hazards and scenery. perfect for an afternoon in the park. And after a good round there is a perfect eating spot just down the street called cafe navarre. cant think of a better way to spend the afternoon with some friends

Cons:

there are some very long holes and some deep water hazards. this may just be a personal problem but if there is deep water i am destined to throw a disc in it...
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0 6
Josh The Leech Long
Experience: 13.1 years 6 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

City Park: The Challenges 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 19, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Beautiful lagoons, the large overgrown oak trees provide for difficult tee offs and make for a challenging, but enjoyable playing experience. The holes offer an innovative approach, leaving options on tee off.



Cons:

Some holes play very close to the street. Some players might find themselves sticking the disc into oncoming traffic. Also some of the tees are confusing and placed in close proximity to one another, possibly leaving room for collision.

Other Thoughts:

All in all this was a very enjoyable course for a player who has just started or been playing on the intermediate level for some time. I do think that a professional would find this course a little easy though, some of the holes are very short and there are no 500+ holes.
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4 4
bserpas
Experience: 13.5 years 2 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Home Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 1, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Being my only course through this point in my discgolf adventure,this course seems like a very good beginners course. I think the layout works well with no jams or players in the way.I would think the course is difficult enough for all levels to have a good and fun day.

Cons:

The only cons ive experienced on this course are sometimes you have "scavengers" trying to retrieve disc from the water that get in the way and just plain ruin the peacefulness of it.The other is hole 11 is always slushy...its pretty much played over a mud bog.

Other Thoughts:

Like i said this is my first and only course thus far. Im very happy to be introduced to the game on this course and to have it as my home course.I plan to enjoy it for many more years!
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5 2
lxdawg25
Experience: 19.8 years 34 played 21 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Overdue in NOLA 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 21, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Okay so I've been really critical of Lafreniere Park mostly because it is shared use and almost impossible to play. This course is a god send to the area. The lay out is creative and thoughtful especially for the space. I love playing this course, and have re found my love for the game with this course around.

Cons:

Is it the best course I've ever played on? No. It needs some work and the lack of elevation in the area in general makes it very hard to have really creative course layouts. This is a fun and challenging course though, I've lost a couple discs already to the water, which isn't really a con but beware of gators. There is some other activity in the area but under normal circumstances this mostly for DG. I will also warn be mindful of fire ants the course is covered in mounds so it's better to keep an eye down.

Other Thoughts:

Again this is a great course with a great challenge to it. I'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination but I find this course to be fun and enjoyable to play. I can't wait to go out more and more.
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14 9
the_lung
Experience: 28.8 years 257 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A good work in progress 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 1, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

I was down in New Orleans for the weekend to see the Steelers play the Saints and hang with a buddy, who lives about a block from City Park. I headed over to the park on Friday to check out what I could of the new 18-hole course and listen to some of Voodoo Fest, which is a large 3-day music festival held every year in the park. I had been warned in advance that Voodoo Fest would prevent access to some of the holes, but I had a day to kill while my buddy was working, and I've already previously done all the other touristy things to do in town, so I figured what the heck. After I found my way around the festival to the area of the park where the course was located, I was pleased that I could still play nine of the 18 holes, and I was able to still to walk hole#1 and hole#11. On Monday, I went back to see if I could finish the course and while festival deconstruction was still ongoing, I could play several of the remaining holes and walk the rest; holes 13,15, 17 & 18 were a little too busy but holes 1,11,12,14, & 16 were good to go. So the following is my thoughts on the preliminary course, of which I played 14 of 18 holes over the span of two separate days.

Disclaimer: For the record, I've been playing disc golf for more than fifteen years, and play in the Open division in tournaments. I am not a long thrower by any stretch of the imagination and am unable to even eclispe more than 375 feet on flat ground with my best huck, but I still personally prefer longer holes and courses that feature pro par 4 and pro par 5 holes. I am sick of pitch-and-putt courses! I also like courses which offer a wide variety of hole distance lengths, offer or force varying flight paths, utilize elevation and water (when available) and effect scoring separation, where the best drives offer birdies, average drives yield pars, and poor drives are punished and only heroic recovery shots allow players to save par. Furthermore, I have worked as Scoring Director at five of the last six PDGA Pro Worlds and multiple National Tour and A Tier events and have seen what goes into premier and championship courses. I have done scoring analysis on hole scores from PDGA sanctioned events based on player rating and we have used this data to tweak pin and tee locations on courses to effect proper scoring separation for the intended skill level - the world class Animal course in Warwick NY is one such course where we have utilized such data. I am a member of the Disc Golf Course Designers Group where we discuss course design principles on a regular basis, and have worked in conjunction with others to both design and revise the design of several courses. I have played over 200 courses in the U.S. and Canada since 1995 and believe I have run the gamut and seen nearly every type of course, from New England heavily wooded to ski hill, from "prairie" course to ponderosa pine, from Pacific northwest rainforest to desert scrub and everything in between. I think my opinions are going to be therefore biased, so for everyone else, your mileage may vary.

Furthermore, I am a Safety Nazi. Beveled edge driver discs hurt (I've been struck by one from a distance) and in the wrong circumstances, I think one could seriously injure or even kill. I do not believe in disc golf courses sharing land with other park activities. If a course plays through or near playground equipment, shelters or picnic tables, fishing ponds, parking lots, park roads, streets outside the park, or any other park facility, or has holes too close to each other, then I'm going to blast it for unsafe course design. I've seen how both seasoned and recreational disc golfers are, and they are impatient and do not wait "until the coast is clear" and they throw on unsuspecting park users. I believe proper course design simply avoids these situations to begin with.

I am sure countless hours of blood, sweat and tears went into this course, and I have tried to keep any negative comments to a minimum, I fully understand that this is brand new course and far from a finished product and I am evaluating something which is only in its infancy. In general, I really like what I saw save for a few minor quips and I think this course will be wildly popular.

For starters, while the tee signs aren't finished, they are going to be some of the nicest I've ever seen, with chain link wooden frames. Don Perkins's custom concrete tee markers also mark the exact teeing location on each hole. What incredibly nice touches to the course! It was also tremendously cool to play disc golf along with the music that was ongoing. When you are at the tee of hole#7, you're probably no more than 100 feet from one of the stages.

Hole#1: This is a really fun start to the course, playing around a small pond. There's an ultra high risk left-to-right shot out over the pond for a strong lefty hyzer or righty sidearm but at 330' to carry the water, the safe play is to use the ample space out right.

Hole#2: This hole was one of my favorites on the course, offering a straight route over water to the basket or a route wide right around a tree. If I had brought some old discs with me which I didn't mind losing I would have taken the straight route but the risk of fading left into the pond was sufficient enough that I was forced to play conservatively. Big armed players should be able to take this outside route and hyzer in nicely for deuce.

Hole#3: Pretty straightforward

Hole#4: This was also one of my favorites because it was one of the few accuracy testers on the course. It also offered multiple choices with a route wide left or wide right if one chooses. The wide left route is there for a shorter righty backhand roller, lefty hyzer, righty turnover shot or righty sidearm and is probably the safest bet for a par 3. The right hyzer route is a little crazier and fairly risky because it plays over some very tall shrub near the edge of the park and the railroad tracks. The up-the-gut shot is probably the best chance at a deuce but early foliage could result in a bogey. More choices = a true "golf' hole and good design!

Hole#5: This hole plays to a basket up on a small raised portion of land which makes the green "fast." The drive requires a little bit of a turn from the tee but is shorter than it looks, and both times I played it, my drive landed close to the basket but the fast green kicked my disc down by the tee of hole#6 and hole#8, where I had nary a look at deuce. A nice hole.

Hole#6: This is a cool slow turn down into a corner of the property. Again, a shorter righty backhand roller, lefty hyzer, righty turnover shot or righty sidearm is the ticket here but I found out the hard way that a roller can carry a little too long into a wet ditch behind the polehole.

Hole#7: What makes this one really challenging is a sidewalk which runs the length of the right side and any shot which lands on or across this path is OB. Because of Vodoo Fest, a chainlink fence ran along the sidewalk and I actually used it to keep my drive from turning over too far and give me a nice birdie putt. But obviously, this fence will not remain in place and the hole will play much harder normally.

Hole#8: This is a fun ultra-low ceiling shot, and it's tricky to try and thread a low burner only a few feet off the ground all the way up to the target. I see a lot of these kinds of holes in the south and enjoy them - I don't know why northern course designers don't feature them more often.

Hole#9: This was surely my least favorite hole on the course...it's short and completely wide open. Pros and advanced golfers should feel silly not taking a score of two here.

Hole#10: A fairly straightforward hole with the exception of the sidewalk and road if a drive should stray a little too far right.

Hole#11: This shorty plays over a narrow water hazard near a picturesque bridge. It's not that long but the water, trees on the left, and bridge and road on the right conspire to mess with your mind on proper execution of the drive.

Hole#12: The signature hole on the course, it's not very long but is surrounded by water on 3 sides - short, left and right. Players can throw safely off to the right if they wish to keep away from the water. If it's windy, this hole could play treacherously despite its short length. It seems like there's also room for a Pro tee to back this one up a bit to make it even more challenging.

Hole#13: This one wasn't playable because of the Voodoo Fest, but it shoots from the open and right along the lake to a basket perched underneath some of the beautiful old growth trees found all over City Park. The drive likely requires a shot initially out over the lake for a bit.

Hole#14: This hole was also one of my favorites because where most of the course feature straight shots or only slightly turning shots, this one was a HARD righty hyzer. Southpaws might want to try a backhand roller here, and right-handed players who can throw a good forehand roller would be wise to utilize it here.

Hole#15: This is also another low ceiling shot underneath a magnificent old growth tree.

Hole#16: This one plays in the open, but then funnels through a tree line to a polehole position out by the lake, although it's far enough away from the basket that it doesn't come into play. This one looked long from the tee, but I uncorked a really nice (for me) Sidewinder shot and actually landed in the circle for a birdie putt which I sadly didn't convert.

Hole#17: Pretty straightforward

Hole#18: The tee was pulled up because of Voodoo Fest, but it plays along the road and then to a basket position perched in a pretty section of land near the bridge and it's a really nice basket location. An alternate position plays across the lagoon.

Cons:

I think the course designers did the best with the available land they were given. It's a shame that more of the old growth trees and prettiest parts of the park weren't available, but that's the way it often goes. A course in the ground is better than no course at all right? In general, I would have liked to see a little more hole length variety. All of the holes feel like they play at just about the same length, except for perhaps 9 and 11 which are shorter. I understand that it wasn't possible to make for a championship par 66 course with pro par four holes and pro par five holes, but this course could desperately use at least two or three longer ones. A two-shot par 3 hole of about 450-500 feet is missing...one that requires a solid drive and then a longish upshot. It could also yield a spectacular deuce for the gorilla arms out there who can throw monster roller shots. The course could also sorely use several 575-650 ft. pro par four holes which requires two solid drives and a putt to earn a birdie 3. Having to make honest approach shots is a critical part of the game that is missing from this course. (and what makes, for example, the front nine of Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge so much fun...earning a birdie 3 on holes#2,4, and 8 feels like a real accomplishment) Again, I know that the course is a work in progress and pro tees may later be added which may make it much longer and more difficult.

Another something I noticed is that unless a drive were to find water, there's really not going to be many scores of bogey 4 or worse on this course. Even an average drive for skilled players leaves just a long putt or very short approach shot on most holes. You can pretty much spray your drives on most holes and not be punished for it. Most advanced golfers and Pros are either going to take all scores of either 2 or 3 on this course and there will be little scoring separation. I realize that a lot of this is just simply due to the terrain available..the land simply doesn't have the heavy foliage to punish errant drives like the Rivendell Farm course in St. Rose did; that course demanded accuracy every step of the way and was an amazing test of disc golfing skills. In fact, there is so little foliage on the new City Park course that it makes Lafreniere Park seem as tight as Greenwood Park in Baker!

And lastly, while the course designers did a good job fitting the holes into the land they were given, I feel there are few places where it just feels too cramped. There are a few spots where tees and baskets are too near each other, and other areas where fairways run adjacently and errant shots from one hole could stray into another. I realize that this may not ever become a heavily utilized course for tournament play to make for a problem, but at best it's a distraction and at worst it's a safety hazard. Some examples include the following:

Hole#2: If you take the wide right route, you are basically throwing directly at people standing on hole#3's tee.
Hole#5: Drives that come into too strong could end up on people standing on the teepad of hole#6 or hole#8.
Hole#7: Drives that fade left early could hit people standing on the teepad of hole#8.
Hole#13: People standing on the teepad of hole#14 are right in your line of sight
Hole#14: People putting at the basket of hole#16 are right in your line of sight
Hole#17-#18: These holes run too close together and hole#18 plays WAY too close to the road.

The most egregious holes on the course are easily hole#11 and hole#18. While quite picturesque, as previously mentioned I'm of the opinion that holes should never play close to park roads. Hole#11 basically throws over the bridge and a road which will surely be utilized by traffic in the park. I doubt that park management is going to be enthusiastic of hearing about discs hitting cars and the angry confrontations that could ensue between disc golfers and motorists. On hole#18, especially to the long position, I envision golfers throwing poor drives out onto Palm Drive, as well as poor approach shots which hyzer out into the road. I also think golfers will throw blind left-to-right approach shots out over the bridge after bad drives that may end up on the left near the road. Sorry, but I just don't like course design which has the potential to encourage people to throw blindly out over a bridge & road.

Other Thoughts:

Again, I fully understand that I am evaluating something which is far from a finished product but I wanted to offer some honest constructive criticism about what I think could be improved. I am greatly appreciative of all the work which has gone into the course so far and will continue to go into it. Thank you!
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