Grand Rapids, MI

Earl W. Brewer Park - South

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3.215(based on 12 reviews)
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Earl W. Brewer Park - South reviews

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3 1
davetherocketguy
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 19.7 years 114 played 105 reviews
2.00 star(s)

3.3 Rating? LOL WUT 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 1, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Great layout and flow. Finish one hole, follow the path to the next tee.
- Concrete tee pads are in fairly good shape.
- Some variety. From uber long to short and tight through the woods. Used the existing topography quite well.
- In a multiuse park but the disc golf is far away from everything else.
- There are benches - could use a few more but it wasn't bad.
- Fairly well kept up. Not a lot of trash on the course.

Cons:

Cons...oh boy, where to start?

- Almost all of the tee signs are completely gone. Those that are there are covered in bird crap and almost unreadable. While I did say the flow was good that doesn't mean you won't need a map.
- The baskets...good grief. These are the types of things that ought to be put in a measem since they are so freaking old. If I didn't know any better I'd swear these were Steady Ed originals.

Yes, I only have two cons...but they're really bad cons. This course is seriously jacked up and it's a dang shame with how many people frequent the place. Replace the baskets and tee signs and this is not a bad course.

Other Thoughts:

Keep in mind most of this course is completely wide open so wind is going to be a HUGE factor. Also, I played here after a rather signifigant deluge of rain so there was standing water everywhere. Seems like the place drains ok so I won't count it in my review.
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1 0
Reniger
Experience: 20.9 years 49 played 10 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

•Variety: Plenty of elevation change, left-to-right, short and long-ish (a few over 400') and a few wooded holes give you the chance to use different shots. Uphill, downhill, valleys, and arches make for a pleasant change of pace.
•Layout: Paths marked from each green to next tee make navigation easy. It is also open/long enough that there are rarely many backups.
•Grooming: Well groomed fairways with enough tall grass and wooded areas to be somewhat detrimental for missed lines.
•Location: Adjacent to a second 18-hole course from the same parking lot. The North course is more wooded and challenging making South a great warm-up for 36 holes.
•Tee pads: All concrete tee pads and most are well graded and in good condition.
•Parking: I know it seems silly, but many West Michigan courses really suffer from parking. At Brewer, there's plenty of room.

Cons:

•Baskets: These things are decrepit! These courses were old in the 90s when I moved to Grand Rapids. It used to be four 9 hole courses that they combined into 2-18s in 2012 (hence the DGCR established date) Most of these baskets are original. They are no-name crown-type baskets with thin chains and most are well rusted. They aren't terrible, but they don't catch like more modern baskets.
•Tee Signs: About half the tee signs are knocked off the post the stand on, some laying on the ground, some missing all together, and very little information is given about the hole. I think the greatest possible upgrade would be new signage.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, this is a nice variety for the Grand Rapids area. There are plenty of pitch-and-putt courses in the region, and a couple bomber courses. This intermediate course is a nice stop for those who have played the area and are looking for a change of pace.

Cheers.
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4 0
BogeyNoMore
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 479 played 183 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Does what it does quite well 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 1, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Solid course in a multi-use, neighborhood park with basketball, tennis, soccer, tot-lot/playground, and walking/jogging path.
• Moderately rolling terrain is well-utilized to give the course it's most significant feature. Nothing major to speak of, but the fairways traverse all over a rolling hillside that comes into play more often than not, enhancing aesthetics and challenge. Sparsely occurring trees and a few islands of brushy undergrowth are nicely employed to create a course that's quite suitable for beginners and intermediate players alike. The relatively wide open design allows numerous lines and strategies off the tee.
• Well balanced mix of distances; six holes play under 250 ft, six play 250-350 and six play 350 ft + (4 of which are over 400 played from the longs). Several holes reachable in two (even for a noodle arm like me), with a few long enough for all but the very biggest of arms to bomb away. Holes 6 and 16 offer short/long tees to change it up by 200 and 267 ft respectively
• Design: Variety is somewhat limited by the fact that most of the course is wide open, but tees and baskets are arranged to make very good use of the trees scattered about the property, as well as the woods around the perimeter and the elevation.
• Equipment: Everything was good enough to not be an issue. Simple, home-made tee markers show hole #/distance/layout, and were a definite aid to navigation. Baskets seemed old and several were rusty, but not bad enough that decent shots would miss. Tee pads were good enough that I never thought about them.
• Course Layout: Flows pretty well with a couple of minor hiccups. Fairly compact, open landscape makes it easy to skip holes to work around slower groups and come back to a hole later to keep things flowing smoothly.
• Routing/Nav: Fairly intuitive overall, with plastic arrows hanging from basket spokes pointing the way to the next tee. Paths mowed to next tee help as well. A couple of tricky spots might slow you down briefly (there's a tee for the north course close to the tee for #3, and you have to cross over the park road to get from 16 to 17), but there's nothing you shouldn't be able to figure out. Map seems reasonably accurate, but even without it, I was able to complete a round in a little over an hour and a half, including searching for a few holes and scouting ahead for pins I couldn't see.
• Pretty forgiving overall - except for a few holes, there's little chance of disc loss. Note: I played in the fall, when all the grass was short. If the grass outside the fairways is left unchecked during the growing season, I can see tall grass obscuring discs that don't land in the fairway, making it hard to find discs while providing no additional challenge to the course.
• 2nd course onsite helps distribute traffic, decrease wait times, provide additional variety and makes a much better venue for multi-round events.

Cons:

Course seems quite humble yet quite solid at the same time. Nothing spectacular, but no glaring faux pas jumped out at me either.
• Lacking variety in terms of "fairway type." A few short holes (10 - 12) force you to carry a specific line to get a good look at the pin for two, but other than that, most are pretty wide open and don't force you to execute any particular line. Missing your line badly off the tee should have consequences on the scorecard - here, there's still a good chance you can save par with a good upshot. This has more to do with the parcel of land the course sits on than with the actual design. As noted above, they did pretty well with what they had. Nonetheless, IMHO it still prevents it from being a complete and well-balanced course (and keeps me from rating it higher).
• Probably a bit too easy to deuce for advanced players, especially those with the D to reach the circle off the tee on longer holes.
• While they caught OK, baskets are old and hard to see in the distance, especially as sunlight's fading. A shot of fluorescent paint on the poles would greatly enhance visibility - but that's really only an issue for passersby, so I understand if it isn't high on the local club's agenda.
• A few tee signs need to be replaced or at least re-installed.

Other Thoughts:

Brewer South is a solid course that does quite well with the land it occupies. The low risk of losing discs and the openness that allow for all sorts of lines make it a fun course to play and a great place for beginners to develop their skills. It wasn't windy during my round, but I'd be surprised if strong breezes aren't a frequent factor here... another nice attribute for developing one's game.

All this combines for a course that's fun, somewhat challenging, and plays pretty quickly. It's nice to have a course where you can squeeze in a complete round if you're pressed for time (even if you don't know your way around). This is an absolutely great choice for glow rounds (no secret to locals based on all the glow sticks I saw left on baskets).

Way more going for it than against it, it's a good course for sure, but lacks the variety I need to say it's very good.

Didn't get to play the north course this time, but that parcel of land looks well-wooded to complement the south course quite nicely, and a 2nd course on site is always nice.
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3 0
dandther
Experience: 48.9 years 47 played 18 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Blast from the Past 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 24, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

*I love the mowed fairways
*Good mix of left and right curves needed
*Some long holes that really let you rip it
*Most of the holes with trees are fair. In fact, most of the holes with trees use them very effectively to protect the basket or obscure your view of the fairway/basket. I liked how technical 10 is (totally through the woods, but with several playable lines). 16 is the exception to this (see below).
*Simple red arrows hanging from most baskets point you to the next hole
*Elevation changes make for a good challenge on several holes

Cons:

*Baskets are ancient and rusty. They don't catch discs well and they are hard to see at a distance because they aren't brightly colored.
*15 and 16 are a problem. The tee for 15 is parallel to the road, but the map indicates that the basket should be off to the right...over the huge thicket of scrub? When we played it today, there didn't seem to be a 15th basket at all.
*The basket for 16 is buried too far into the woods.

Other Thoughts:

*I started playing disc golf on the original 18 at Brewer Park using 119 gram World Class Whammo Frisbees back in the 1970s. Some of the holes on the south course are identical to the old course, but with concrete tee pads and baskets instead of wooden posts. One thing that hasn't changed is the almost constant wind out here.
*I rarely play the North course because of issues with mud. That hasn't changed since the '70s either.
*What has changed since the '70s? When we played today it was the first time in a long time that we didn't see someone drinking beer or smoking weed in this park.
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1 2
edcarpus
Experience: 25.8 years 38 played 3 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 6, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice setting
Clean park
Well maintained grounds
Variety of shorter shots required

Cons:

Fairly easy layout
One teepad points directly at a post.
Some distances seemed a bit off but it could be me...

Other Thoughts:

There are some areas that seem like they would be very wet had it rained recently. It played well but had kind of a generic feel to it.
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1 2
catkiller12
Experience: 12.2 years 17 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Brewer Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 26, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

1) A great place to work on long distance driving.

2) The fairways are nicely mowed, which makes them unmistakable and presents a clear path to the basket.

3) There are a few shots that go through wooded areas, but for the most part, the majority of the holes are in open areas, which can be nice for beginners.

4) I liked the tees on this course. Mostly because they are concrete and the signage for the hole was carved into wood plaques.

Cons:

1) The grass off the fairways was tall when I played there. Sometimes the wind caught my discs and sent them off to who knows where. Spent some time looking among the grass for my drivers, which reminded me of looking for my baseballs in cow fields as a kid.

2) The signage could have been a little better when determining where the next hole is located.

3) Someone spent their time stapling business cards to the wooden signs on some of the tees. Really? Don't treat the signage as your personal billboard.

4) Found it annoying when kids would come up to me and the guys I was with trying to sell us discs they had picked up off the course.

Other Thoughts:

Overall I really liked this course. I wouldn't hesitate going back again. Check it out. You'll most likely enjoy yourself.
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0 1
JSquizz
Experience: 12.6 years 16 played 14 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Let em fly! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 24, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Wide open for the most part (so long as the rough is cleared), many places you can unlease big drives, but with some shorter more technical holes.

Cons:

Many places to lose a disc, overcrowded at times, too long for a novice to have fun with.

Other Thoughts:

I prefer this side to the North course.
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5 0
sgamerp
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16 years 99 played 73 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 5, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

They have tee pads, some of them are a little broken from the move but they are tee pads none the less.

Variety of shots. They have elevation, a few short holes, some log bombs. They have some blind shots, and a few hidden baskets (making a few of the old red/gold holes a little bit longer).

Challenge. This one is a little bit harder then the North side, and as being broken up from Red and Gold it has a good amount of long shots, with some nice buffer(short holes) in between.

Cons:

NoSigns. This is less of a con here then North side as this one is a little easier to find your way through then the other one.

Old Baskets. They are nice because they have baskets, but these are old and rusty and very hurtful. I think I have missed more putts in the basket at Brewer then any other place.

Other Thoughts:

Honestly I liked this part a lot better then the North side. I have heard that they added some signs in, but I am unable to confirm this myself. I honestly think brewer made a step forward with these new courses.

Hopefully, if they haven't already, they get some signs and this will improve Grand Rapids area Disc Golf.
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1 0
chad groen
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.1 years 42 played 41 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Kind of Good, But Mostly Open 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 25, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Most of Brewer Park South is on a hillside outside the woods, where most of the North course is located. This one offers grassy fairways with weeds in the rough that can grow quite tall in the summer, and there are also some trees and bushes scattered throughout the area. For the most part, it offers a decent variety of layouts. A few holes are located next to wooded areas, one is located entirely in the woods, the length of the holes vary, there are some blind tee shots, and the elevation comes into play every now and then. There are also red arrows hanging beneath some of the baskets, showing you where to go to get to the next tee box (which is really helpful if you're not familiar with this course).

Cons:

A lot of these holes have few or no obstacles to worry about, which makes it too easy to get low scores on them. Unfortunately, this course is still using some of the same old, rusty baskets and also some of the same cracked and chipped up tee boxes that the former courses in this park used. You would think they would've replaced those with brand new ones when they redesigned what is a hugely hugely popular disc golf course. Also, some of the holes flood easily, and there's no way to walk around the marshy ground. You have no choice but to walk right through it, making your shoes and socks soaking wet.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, I think this is a decent course with a decent variety of layouts. However most of the holes don't have many obstacles, making it a little too easy for experienced players to get low scores. As a result this course feels more like a beginner-friendly course, though it does have some long holes. I think more experienced players will still enjoy playing here, but they'll find the north course to be more challenging.
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1 0
jarnson
Experience: 13.8 years 27 played 27 reviews
3.00 star(s)

New South Park 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

- They took the old Blue, White, Gold and Red courses, all 9 holes and made it two 18 holed courses.
- Good challenges, a few changes
- Still have good cement pads
- More mandos, right off the bat
- Good distances, some challenges with hyzer and anhyzer shots
- Posts more or less describe where basket is, but you will have to play once or twice to get the feel of the course set up
- More or less, if you have played Brewer before the change, its basically the same except a few changes, better long distances and a good twist or two.
- A lot of blind shots make it a little more tricky... and fun!

Cons:

- Mud right now, makes for walking around a pain in the butt
- Course is confusing, but you'll eventually get used to it
- Make sure you watch your discs, as it was before, players will steal discs... shame
- Chains seem to have gotten worse and some will not even catch the disc. Also, the baskets are kind of short, so make good putts
- Some posts are in yet, so it will be tricky figuring out the course set up. I can't even begin to tell you the path I took, I will have to wait till they get more done before then.
- Grass is mowed now, but I predict that when it gets warmer, it will grow and become annoying to find discs and such

Other Thoughts:

- North I believe is the top course, when you enter. South would be where red and white... I believe... were.
- Bathrooms, no alcohol, good parking. I believe we can't park up close till May
- At the moment, just park in normal area, then walk up the road past the gate to the course. South is facing the way back towards the main parking lot, but the first tee is near North, sort of were I believe White's tee was.
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1 1
rshrevo
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 45 played 34 reviews
3.00 star(s)

New Layout 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 12, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

New concrete pads on holes 5, 10. alt 6 and alt 16. They did a nice job piecing the old slabs of concrete from the old layout into the new pads for the current layout. Good mixture of shots needed to navigate course. A lot more challenging then the previous layout. Good use of the open areas, trees, and the wooded section on the south side of the park. Some holes will make you think of how you want to approach the basket. New tee signs for most of the holes are now in place. only holes with out new tee signs are hole 5, 10, the tee signs for 17 and 18 right now are the old gold 3 and gold 4.

Cons:

blind basket locations can be a problem going from basket 8 to tee of 9 might be a small problem if you didn't notice the the 9th tee pad was right near 7th tee pad. you might end up walking to the 14th tee by accident. but that is a minor problem. some of the baskets are in hidden locations so if its your first time you may need to scout ahead a little bit in order to find where it is.

Other Thoughts:

They have already changed the tee location for hole 5 again. played Friday the tee was in one location played again on Sunday and the concrete pad had been removed and a rubber mat was put in a new place now its a concrete pad. Although i didn't like the old location since you had to pretty much walk back down the fairway of 4 in order to get to the tee of 5. you also had to be carefull of people driving on 4 while you were on the tee of 5.
Hole 1 is pretty much straight ahead but just over the crest of the hill.
Hole 2 is a downhill shot to a somewhat protected basket in the trees.
Hole 3 is a nice lengthy hole with woods down the entire right side of the fairway and a narrow gap to drive through because of the cluster of trees on the left side of the fairway just off the tee.
Hole 4 comes straight back nice chance to get a birdie here or at least a par.
Hole 5 the new tee is now located by the two big trees. the big branches sticking out can easily take down any wayward drive.
Hole 6 is one of the two longest holes on the course over 500 feet up the hill and pretty much down the other side.
Hole 7 is almost the same as the old red hole 2 just shooting from a different tee location to the same basket location as before.
Hole 8 is pretty much straight out with the basket slightly over the top of the hill. basket can be hard to see at times because of the rusty color.
Hole 9 a let it fly downhill drive to a very protected basket that is placed in behind two pine trees at the very edge of the woods.
Hole 10 the first all wooded hole on this course. a short little hole with a little left to right to left fairway to a basket protected by a circle of trees.
Hole 11 a short little anhyzer shot from just outside the tree line to a basket just tucked inside the tree line. blind tee shot here.
Hole 12 another short little par 3 shooting to a basket tucked just behind the pine tree.
Hole 13 A straight shot but one that will make you think about your line to the basket due to all the small trees that could interfere with your line.
Hole 14 is a short little par 3 good chance for birdie here if you can throw straight. the trees near the hole make for a narrow tunnel like shot.
Hole 15 is a blind tee shot with the bush in front of you and the basket by the road near the parking lot. be careful if driving directly over the bush due the fact the the 16 tee is directly on the other side. you may want a spotter on this hole since in a strong wind it may blow your disc way off course and over the driveway.
Hole 16 is the other long hole on this course. You will more then likely need two long drives on this hole to reach the pin that is tucked about 75 feet into the woods.
Hole 17 is the same as the old gold hole 3.
Hole 18 is the same as the old gold hole 4.

overall i enjoyed the challenge i may not shoot well on it but it is a course that will make you work on every shot in order to score well.
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5 1
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Brewer--souf side yo 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 6, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Teepads-nice concrete (all but one) It's obvious that many of these tees have been moved from the old layouts to mak the new but these ones didn't have the unevenness that the ones on the norf side did

Challenge-These holes are very reminiscent of the old Red and Gold Layouts that they replace. The lines are long and cross hills and fields without much obstacle most times. The addition of the wooded pins and the one "woods" hole are kind of nice.

Variety- there are wide open shots, hills, elevation, hidden pins and blind shots... oh and a short woods hole.

Cons:

Baskets--plusses and minuses here. There are some seriously old baskets at this course and there are a couple newer ones. they all catch reasonably but some of the actual baskets are super shallow and some of the chains are mega rusty.

Teesigns--- all of them aren't in yet. I will add score and update review when they are.

Routing--tricky. because all of the teesigns aren't in, routing can be daunting at times. #15 (I think) is a long 558' hole that is followed by two 300+' holes. routing at the top of the hill where 7 and 9 throw from is a bit tricky as the signage isn't all that good. a streetsign type thing would be nice :)

Other Thoughts:

Heres to hoping the new layouts (which are far more challenging) keep the huckers away. Brewer Park has definitely matured, lets hope the peeps who frequent it do as well...
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