Portage, WI

Collipp-Worden Park

2.65(based on 10 reviews)
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10 0
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.9 years 970 played 542 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 10, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Collipp-Worden DGC is a niner that features a pretty even split of more open park style holes and short, but tight wooded holes. There's some elevation involved here, both in the way of up and downhill, but also playing along a right to left downhill slope for 3 of the wooded holes.

The baskets here are older Innova Discatchers. These are all in solid shape over a decade later. One basket and pin placement per hole. The yellow bands help them stand out on the thicker wooded holes. Hole one has a red banded one for whatever reason. Either way, these get the job done just fine. There's a practice basket just to the west of hole 1's tee for good measure.

The tee signs, where present, are pretty basic but generally effective enough. They're metal signs with the hole #, par and distance to go along with a line showing the general shape of the hole's fairway or intended line/shape. Very simple but effective enough. These are mounted on nice wood posts which are easy to spot. Solid enough.

The park itself is on the smaller side. The course plays along the outskirts of it for the most part so as not to interfere with the other main park activities. Again, for the most part. Navigation is pretty easy I'd say. I had played this course probably almost a decade ago though, so maybe that influenced my call on that. Pretty small park, so once you find hole one (NE corner of park) it shouldn't be too tough to figure out.

Most of the tees are concrete but there were a couple, two if I recall correctly, that where just natural. One tee per hole.

Cons:

My number one con, which I remember from my first, and only other time playing here, is that that wooded holes are awful in the greener months. These seem to be much worse than my first play here. The rough is brutal and the "fairways" are little more than hallway sized. These could be fun little holes with some trimming. They probably were when new. Currently they're just frustrating.

The first hole throws very close to, even over the edge of the playground, depending on your throwing style. The bordering road comes into play on a couple throws with an errant shot as well. With the lack of trimming in the woods and the trails going through that section it's a minor miracle someone hasn't been decapitated. Hell, maybe that's happened actually. The rough IS pretty damn thick.

The course doesn't end too close to the parking lot. It's not a huge deal and understandable even. Just mildly annoying more than anything else.

A few of the tee signs were either missing or laying on the ground. A next tee arrow or two would've been nice in the wooded section. Either I missed them or they went the way of the maintenance on this section. The open holes are all simple enough to sort out at least.

Other Thoughts:

You can do a lot worse than this course for sure. But you can certainly do better too. It's worth a visit if you're near here. Once at least, and preferrably in the early spring or late fall. I remember why it's been so long since I last played here now though.
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3 1
Bfrolfer
Experience: 3.8 years 35 played 15 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Hidden holes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 7, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

A well maintained course in a nice city park for 6 holes.

Cons:

There is no sign or clue for holes 2-5 that ate in the woods. 2 was the only woods-hole with a tee sign. I found another tee pad but it wasn't apparent which hole it belonged to. I didn't even play holes 3,4,5. There were a few deer paths through the brush and trees.

Other Thoughts:

I wouldn't go out if my way to play this one. Better choices for this course would be to get all 9 in the park or put concrete tees and signs with a bit of mowing maintenance on the woods tees. The pars were very generous too - many 4s and 5s with most under 300ft.
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7 0
Stardoggy
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 12.7 years 1002 played 214 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Fun...ish. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 17, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Small 9 hole course in a city park, with playgrounds and other small park amenities.

Concrete tee pads, in decent enough shape. One tee per hole. While they could stand to be a little longer, they weren't really an issue for me. The holes that really required any type of extra runup were pretty level to grade.

Discatcher baskets, which really help in the wooded area. All were in decent enough shape and caught like you'd expect. One pin position per hole. Practice basket at the beginning of the course.

A decent mixture of hole types, with a few short, tight and technical, a couple tweeners, and a couple open shots. There's not a ton of space in this park, and the designers did a decent job of fitting in nine holes.

Tee signs were fine, and helped with navigation (once you realize hole 2 is in the woods). Flow was decent.

A few ace runs, if that's your thing. Also, a chance to throw as hard as you want on hole 9.

Cons:

The wooded holes have some erosion issues on the tee pads. It's not a huge deal, as these are the shortest holes on the course.

Speaking of the shortest holes on the course, while they're reasonably fun, I was left to wonder if the course wouldn't have been been better off having just a couple longer holes in the woods, and working some extras into the open area (looking at you, oddball 460' hole 9). It's hard to figure out what this course's identity is.

There could be some possible safety concerns on a couple holes if the park is being used by small children or families.

The course sits right next to some marshy areas, and the bugs were pretty bad when we were there.

Other Thoughts:

While there are a few fun shots, this course is pretty nondescript. It's not bad, it's not great, but it's plenty playable. I wouldn't go out of my way to play it again, but you could do worse in a pinch.
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3 1
Spike Hyzer 23
Experience: 30.7 years 92 played 87 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Anomaly: Great holes, but bad design... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The individual holes are all well above average except for two holes that are simply boring (7 and 9).

The course is in a clean city park and the baskets are in very good condition.

Cons:

1--The tee signs are ALL oriented in the wrong direction. When the signs are on the left side of the pad, the basket is to the left and the golfer to the right and when on the right side of the pad, the basket on the right and golfer on the left (a few are in front of the pads). This forces the player to reverse the image in his head to know which direction the hole runs. Also, one of my big pet peeves is signs that are too close to the basket, and almost all of them are very close. Tee signs should NEVER be closer than 10 feet from the pad, as a player may start his approach up to 3 meters off the pad.

2--Tee pads are super short. The are barely 12 feet, which only allow me a 3 step approach and I usually take 5-6 steps. They are a minimum of 10 feet too short.

3--The map at the beginning is fairly accurate, but it doesn't show the woods between #1 and #2 (the presence of the #9 basket causes further confusion) and you don't realize right away that you must go into the woods (it seems as if the next hole is outside the woods). Along with terrible tee signs, it makes the course hard to follow the first time around it.

4--The overall design is HORRIBLE. It doesn't know if it wants to be a short beginner course or an exceedingly difficult intermediate course. There are almost no holes in the medium range, two that are far too long, and the really short ones are either too technical or not technical enough. The designer built this course with little sense of balance or flow.

5--The walk between 7 and 8 is far too long. The walk from 9 to the beginning is both far too long AND--here's another pet peeve--it forces you to walk back across the fairway of #1. Back tracking or shots that could cross other fairways is a hallmark of terrible design.

6--Hole #8 runs far too close to a shelter and the path a right hander would take goes right over the horseshoe pit. Terrible design.

Other Thoughts:

There are a few simple solutions to the design flaws of this course.

#1--Make this the long hole on the course. Place the basket far to the left along the tree line, between the last tree and the light pole. This would turn the 307 foot hole into about a 375 footer, and you would be looking directly at the path and can see the tee sign for #2 from the basket (it would be just about 25 feet short of the current #9 and far to the left of it, preventing these crossed fairways).

#2--Make it 35 feet longer, to a protected green that offers a bit more of a medium length hole to the course.

#3--Great hole.
#4--Great hole.
#5--Great hole.

#6--It's a great hole in some senses, but I'm a lefty and the extreme turn to the left is almost unfair.

#7--The hole is simply boring and far too long. It appears as though there are many obstacles, but it's almost impossible to hit any of them. If you should hit a tree, you will have a slightly longer second shot, but 3 is still easy to get. It's boring because only the big arms will get deuce and anyone else will get a 3 every time.

#8--The tee should be moved to the right, about 50 feet from the light pole. This will put it much closer to the basket from #7 and be more obvious from that green. The basket should then be moved to a shorter position, out of the way of the horseshoe pits, the pavillion, and the volleyball courts. It should be positioned somewhere almost exactly in the center of those three things, and it will still be the blind, uphill humpshot through a lot of tree to a guarded green.

#9--It simply needs to go to what is now the #1 basket. It will be a shorter hole, but this is compensated for by making #1 longer. It brings you closer to the start of the course and you won't have to walk through the fairway of #1 to start your subsequent rounds.

There is a lot of land to the left of the holes in the woods. It looks a bit marshy, however. It seems as though a couple of holes could be shortened and perhaps the top area could be expanded to 12 holes. If the marsh is at all navigable, they might be able to add 6 holes there and have a great 18 hole beginner course.

As is, it will never be the 3* course many have rated it, but if they were to make these improvements, I would change my review to 3.5*s.
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1 3
Knick
Experience: 31.4 years 89 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

fun fun fun 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 28, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

this course plays fast, clean park, has everything to offer

Cons:

i have to throw my putter on 4 holes but they are chalaging shots

Other Thoughts:

i love this course it has evrything to offer i find it challages me every time i play it
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2 3
Jimmy_Saskatchewan
Experience: 21.8 years 13 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Thoroughly enjoyed! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 11, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Simple yet challenging
- Concrete tees
- Clean park
- Holes steer clear of major park ammenities

Cons:

- Tees are not mapped out well. Creates a bit of confusion.

Other Thoughts:

- Bring plenty of OFF! There are tons of mosquitoes!
- This is a good course and wish it was another 9.
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4 1
rmerg
Experience: 23.9 years 24 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Little diverse course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 22, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great course for beginners and advanced players.
Course has a little of everything most players look for.
There are a few technical ace run holes along wooded area.
Park is maintained very well and clean.

Cons:

Mosquitoes are very bad along wooded area. Bring your repellent!
Watch out for bad throws along wooded area and disc ricochets off trees into grassy marsh.

Other Thoughts:

Locals have solar lighted all pins for Glow playing which is a plus for me.
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10 0
HeavyCritters
Experience: 24.9 years 712 played 7 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Short But Sweet 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 31, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

1. Nice, new baskets.
2. Interesting, semi-challenging layout - Good play in and out of the woods made for an more-fun-than-expected round.
3. Nice practice basket.
4. Clean park with well maintained fairways.
5. Decent elevation changes and hole lengths.
6. With a little luck, the holes in the woods are definitely ace-able.

Cons:

1. Finding the Tee Pad to #2 from Basket #1 took me about 10 minutes. Pro tip: It's in the woods directly behind Basket #1.
2. Woods are still a bit dense, so you need some luck, especially on the left to right shots.
3. Layout is a bit on the short side. It took me 26 minutes to play nine holes, and that's INCLUDING the time I spent looking for Tee #2.

Other Thoughts:

I actually liked this course a lot more than I thought I would. It's certainly not the hardest 9 hole course in the world, but it's challenging enough that the next time I'm in Portage, I'll most likely stop by and play it again.
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6 0
harr0140
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 15.2 years 1508 played 475 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Not quite finished, but average. 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 30, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

1) Diverse park with all sorts of activities and a couple pavillions. Sand Volleyball, Horseshoes, playground, etc.

2) Practice Basket is available near the first tee and it looked like they tried to do a perfect putt 360, but I only found a few bricks. They could have been covered by some leaves, but it didn't look like a complete game.

3) Discatchers are such an attractive basket and especially nice for finding the baskets in the woods and sensing the general layout of the course by seeing baskets across the park.
They seemed to all be installed correctly and level.

4) Will be concrete tees installed because all of them are already excavated and framed.

5) Nice variety of a couple wider open holes, a few through old growth Oaks and deciduous trees, and a few tight technical holes in the dense woods.

6) There is some moderate elevation change used on this course which is nice to see. It is well balanced ups and downs and a few across the slopes.

7) Distance variation is pretty well done here with a wide range of holes from mid 100's to mid 400's.The shorter wooded holes play much longer than their distance because of how many trees there are.

Cons:

1) A little grafitti on the #8 basket. It had been spray painted on the Yellow Band. I am unsure if the person who wrote the distance, hole # and next tee was the course designer, installer, or park worker, but that makes the baskets look even worse. It will just promote someone else to write on the nice yellow bands! Hopefully it can come off and vinyl stickers could be put in their place.

2) Not real beginner friendly because of how tight the woods holes are. I hit a tree on each hole and beginners might hit a few leading to frustration.

3) A little too much luck needed to throw Holes 2, 3, 4, and 5. The shots may be executable, but the gaps are really tight.

4) Concrete tees are always nice, but a couple of them look like they will be buried well below the grade. This is going to lead to water on the tees, dirt washing onto the tees, and poor footing. #5 is the biggest issue, but #7 and #8 are also well below grade. There also was no gravel placed underneath where the concrete will be poured. I am not sure if this will be a problem on such a small piece of concrete but frost heaving could really lead to shifting and cracking of the concrete pads. I would hate to see a brand new course not be done right, because it will only lead to problems down the road. We need to increase the quality from day 1 to make sure the courses stay in and are as sustainable as possible.

5) Safety concerns on Hole #1 with the playground and errant approach shots from #9 turning left into #1 green. Hole #8 runs by a pavillion, across a horseshoe pit, and beside a sand volleyball court. This area should really have been avoided if at all possible.

6) Balance of shot shaping is not very good. It is almost all hyzers or straight shots. There is one big anhyzer or flick but it is so tight I'm not sure it is an executable shot.

7) The wooded holes could use a little more cleaning up. There is brush everywhere off the fairway and it might be tough to find your disc from time to time because of the brush and the rough.

8) Little to no amenities. No tee signs (yet), no benches, no garbage cans anywhere on the course.

Other Thoughts:

This is an allright course. It has some good holes that are fun to throw. There might be a little too much luck needed on a few of the holes (or a couple more trees needing to be removed).

I really hope they figure out the issue with those tees before pouring the concrete, but I doubt it will happen, which will end up being a constant maintenance issue.

The couple of issues with safety are bothersome also, but I have no idea how busy that park is, but it should always be part of the design process.

You can still have fun here executing some tight turning shots and some nice S curves through the old Oak trees.
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6 0
puttlikeablowfly
Experience: 23.8 years 139 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Solid beginner / intermediate course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 16, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

* Attractive, multi-use park with shelters and vending machines
* Practice basket with bricks embedded in ground for "around the world" putting practice
* Concrete tees should be in soon (already framed)
* DisCatchers help with visibility in the woods
* Good variety with two open holes, four in heavy woods, and three in moderately wooded parkland with mature trees
* Variety of hole lengths (140' - 456')
* Some holes require hyzers or anhyzers
* Takes advantage of modest elevation change
* Arrow for next tee written on yellow band on top of basket

Cons:

* No tee signs (yet)
* Seems a little more friendly for LHBH (or RHFH) ... good for me though.
* Picnic table in play (but blind from tee) on the right side of #8 ... not fixed though, so hopefully they will move it.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, this a good course, especially for beginners and intermediates. Other than #1 & #9, accuracy is much more important than length. My rating assumes completion of the concrete tees and tee signs.

Quick description of each hole:
#1: Open field shot with one guardian tree short and right. To get to #2, go to the left from #1 basket into the corner of the woods (basket for #9 is in view behind #1 basket)
#2: Short wooded hole with tree directly in front of tee to make you pick a side
#3: Wooded, uphill hole with sharp right turn at the end, but tree just to front and left of tee narrows the window
#4: Fairly straight, level wooded hole ... a slight left-to-right fade works best
#5: Another wooded, uphill left-to-right hole, but more of a continuous curve compared to #3
#6: Second half of the hole is downhill. A dogleg left with the woods on the left and parkland with mature trees on the right
#7: Long, straight, slightly downhill hole with plenty of trees left and right, although second half of the hole is more open
#8: Uphill for the first part of the hole, then flattens out (you can only see top of basket from the tee). Plenty of large trees (and a lightpole) in the way.
#9: Open bomber (~465'), with woods far right
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