Junction City, CA

Miner's Point DGC

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2.715(based on 7 reviews)
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5 0
DuBose
Premium Member
Experience: 4.8 years 137 played 16 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Impossible to navigate! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 10, 2020 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

- The potential for this course is very high.
- Beautiful area with no crowds.
- Some concrete pads.

Cons:

- No signs or paths for tee pads.
- Some concrete pads, but many missing pads. ( I'm ok with dirt or mats, but still need to know where they are)
- lots of poison oak

Other Thoughts:

We had the map printed from DGCR and lots of time to play. Which was a good thing because we spent a LOT of time looking for pads and baskets. Never found pad 5 which we just played near the road. We guesssed at a fairly flat spot for 6 and 10. The first 12 holes took more time than 18 would at another course. Than we got to 13. By looking at the map in reference to the adjacent house, we think we found a flat area to throw from. We left our bags and went looking for the pin. ( We had done this many times for previous holes ) We walked approx 400' to 500' up a hill and found a basket that did not have a number on it. With the elivation difference, it would have needed to be a par 5 which the score card had it as a 3. We walked back down grabbed our bags and threw in the white flag. I've played over 100 courses (I know that's not a huge amount) and this is the most difficult I've played for navigating with a map in hand. To be fair I only go to courses rated above a 3. ( which this should not be yet ) I made the mistake by not reading recent reviews first, which would have been helpful.
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5 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Miner’s Point DGC Left Me Completely Frustrated! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 26, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

I knew I was probably in deep trouble when I had to use on-line map (the map on the back of the kiosk is mostly smudged out) to navigate from # 1 to # 2. And then I had to use it to find every tee pad. With no tee signs sticking up, spotting the concrete tees is no easy matter. Combine this with the fact that most of the baskets are not visible from the tee pad and my frustration level was at heart attack danger level. Honestly, I think I really put forth an honest level trying to navigate Miner's Point and all I did was grow more and more frustrated.

There are some teeny, tiny signs here and there that give a number and there are some little brown signs tacked in some trees that could help but both of these are few and far between and they are most difficult to see. I managed to find my way through the first four holes but looked everywhere for the # 5 tee pad before I finally determined that this slightly worn spot next to the road was the pad. It does have a small ribbon there. After # 6, I got totally lost again. Later I found # 11 and # 12. Even later I found hope. I found God. I found out. I found love in all the right places. By now I had a severe migraine. I felt as though I had just taken the SAT and the Bar Exam on the same day. I was toast, finished and kaput.

Cons:

No tee signs.

Very little navigational help.

Very few worn paths.

On-line map was difficult to decipher.

Map on the back of the kiosk was worthless.

Other Thoughts:

This was fourth terribly over rated course that I've attempted to play in the last couple days with the others being Westport Community DGC, Steelhead DGC and Mendocino HS DGC. All four had reviews from 2 to 8 years back and all four were rated well over 3.0. All showed little evidence that had actually been played lately or improved upon. All showed the clear cut evidence of HBB or "Home Boy Bias" in their reviews.

I think some progress might be taking place at Miner's Point. I realize how much blood, sweat and tears go into a project like this. But later today, I played Deer Meadows and it's one of the easiest courses ever to navigate. The next tee is always readily apparent and what do they have on each basket? A big giant arrow pointing to the next tee. It would be helpful if Miner's Point had a next tee arrow on their baskets.
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2 1
Redline4j
Experience: 156 played 42 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Still needs some work 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 24, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Another course in the middle of nowhere.

Has baskets and some concrete tee pads.

Course layout and multiple pin placement is nice.

You will likely have the course to yourself.

Cons:

Poison Oak!

I took a pic of the course layout that was on the back of the bulletin board with my phone which helped me navigate the course. I played the course the week before a tournament and figured the tournament directors would have prepared the course better. The tee pads were difficult to find. I could not find a tee pad for 5 and stumbled across the tee pad number for 10. I did not play the rest of the course in fear I would get poison oak, so I can not comment on holes 11-18.

Other Thoughts:

This course needs better signs and direction arrows to indicate where the next tee pad is located.

The course needs to be sprayed to kill the poison oak.
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6 0
jasonandsharon
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 39.9 years 498 played 65 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fathers Day Trip #4(ish) Mountain Goat Back 6 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 20, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

After a quick detour to Lee Fong, I know I wasn't going to stop at Lee Fong, but it is so close to the road and I'm an addict I just had to, I arrived at Junction City Park. There are two roads into the park one is JC Park Rd which goes straight into the park and horse corral, the other like the address listed here is JC Dump Rd. and then a quick turn off to the right to get to the parking lot. Either way will bring you to your destination as the course is literally right off 299 and there are signs on the highway. I have actually played here once before a couple of years ago, but at that point in time it was tone poles, not baskets, and it was very much a work in progress course and it was near impossible for me to navigate. It is still very much a work in progress course but now there are baskets, that look and catch like any other on the market. Although they appear to have been fabricated by a local machinist shop, they are well done. There is a club kiosk with some information including a hand drawn course map on the back. The park has bathrooms and a picnic area. There is a horse corral and a small playground. The fairways are quite tree lined and without gathering some local route knowledge are going to probably require some luck on some holes. The first 12 holes are very different from the back 6. The first 12, while there is some slight slope in play, are quite flat compared to the rugged back 6. The first 12 are also fairly easy going and relatively easy to navigate, although we had a few problems. Some of the holes play close to the parking area and picnic areas, and the incoming road, but seeing as how there really isn't anyone here, not really that much of a problem. At hole 13 you start making the trek upward to Miner's Point some 100 feet above the park floor. 13 is a rough uphill par 4 underneath the power lines. Holes 14 and 15 do some criss crossing the road up on top, before a slight downhill on hole 16. Hole 17 is another steep uphill across a valley but much shorter than 13, and then finally you arrive at Hole 18 (Miner's Point), a huge epic downhill run to the basket all the way down and across the valley floor. Most of the holes have very good length and are quite challenging to play.

Cons:

Navigation. While greatly improved from the last time I played here, navigation was still very tricky. A lot of the ground with the needles and leaves covering it make paths and worn spots for tees hard to find. Figuring out where to go after hole 12 was a little tricky my inclination was to start walking up the road before realizing that the course plays up the rather steep hill as the road diverges. Without the course map I picked up at Angela's Beads in Weaverville I would have been lost though.
Tees. The tees are carved out of the soil in spots, or use the edge of dirt roads. They are adequate but not great, would definitely benefit from concrete pads or even rubber pads for better grip.
Signage. The tees are marked by 1 x 4 stakes painted white with a red number on them. They are staked in the ground at most holes, but a few had been broken and were simply lying on the ground. They were about 6 inches above ground making them fairly difficult to spot, although I think we found all 18, but it would have been impossible without the map as we walked past several along the way and had to come back to them. There were a few signs in trees pointing to the next tee but they were few and far between and as the tees themselves were difficult to find, only aided slightly. A few of the holes had 1x2 stakes painted brown that stood up a couple of feet off the ground, these signs had hole length as well as the number on them, but being painted brown were still hard to find.
Location. The location of the park is both a pro and a con. The pro being that the course is located about midway between Redding and Eureka and makes for a great roadtrip on the 299. However as a single play course this is located quite a ways from anything. The "city" in Junction City is a little bit of a misnomer because there is not much to Junction City, with a supposed population of 600 in the surrounding area. There really is nothing to the town, there is basically this county dump and park and a small store about a mile down the road heading east and that's about it. The closest place to really pick up any supplies is Weavervile.
Crossing Fairways. Hole 18 as mentioned is an epic downhill top of the world shot from up on "Miner's Point" and gives the course its name. It is a long bomb well over a 1000 foot hole that plays down about 100 feet in elevation. Like so many "top of the worlds" it is reminiscent of Dela's top of the world at hole 27. Like hole 27 it suffers from the same pitfalls though of crossing several other fairways to get to the basket. Hole 18 at JC crosses holes 7, 8, and 11 before getting to the basket. Unlike Dela though you don't have the same amount of traffic below but you still run the risk of beaming somebody with a disc.
Hiking. Holes 13, 17, and 18 require some significant hiking. Hole 13 is the monster uphill that takes you to the top of the ridge and really wears you out. Hole 14, and 15, and 16 are not that bad but after 13 you're worn out and it feels tough. Hole 17 is another uphill but nowhere as bad as 13, but erosion has made the trail up to it quite steep and narrow. Hole 18 though is the monster downhill and is quite steep on the way down. Somebody has tied ropes at places to help you climb down, and they have cut switchbacks into the cliff to help with the descent, but it is still one heck of a climb down. What goes up must come down.

Other Thoughts:

Miner's Point Disc Golf Course is all the bare bones of a great course, what it lacks is the spit and polish to raise it to that level. This course would benefit tremendously from tees, signs, navigation aids, and benches, greatly raising the score I would give it to 4 or higher. This course is a long way from anything and I don't know how many people are working on it, but if it continues to get improvements I only see a brighter future. Trinity County has a real nice mix of courses located either right on the 299 like this one and Lee Fong or just a few miles off the highway like Lewiston. Lee Fong in Weaverville has an old school kind of broken in rec course kind of feel and fairly easy to play. Lewiston is a wide open long bomber with massive amounts of ob that even though its on a slope plays relatively easy and flat with control. Junction City in contrast has a much more rugged adventurous style with massive elevation changes and you're probably going to need a little luck to get you through all the tree lined fairways and heavy woods. All in all it makes for a good trinity of courses, and marks about the halfway point between Redding's grouping of courses and Eureka's.
On to Willow Creek.
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3 1
nickrew1
Experience: 10.8 years 77 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Tons of Potential! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 17, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

No two holes play the same way
Tight but fair lines. Definitely forces you to be creative and keep your shots on line.
Challenging greens-
Good use of elevation, both extreme uphill and downhill
Awesome outdoors, you likely will be the only group on the course.

Cons:

Without a guide, it may be tough to find the teepads, although most of the baskets were fairly easy to find.
Watch for poison oak, particularly hole 18. It got me bad!!!
If the trails are wet, footing can be an issue.

Other Thoughts:

Got the chance to play with the designer, Tom Johnson. Fantastic vision went into this course, and above average design. Having both the front and back nine end at the parking lot is always a huge positive.Hole 18 is an EXTREME downhill shot, make sure to throw a couple because the hike down will wear you out! Front nine plays on more flat terrain and there is some birdie opportunities. The back nine plays up the hills and incorporates elevation on most shots. Thanks for the hard work Tom, this is must play if you are in the Redding area!
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7 0
tomjohnson59
Experience: 15 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

from the designer 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 13, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Thanks for checking out the reviews. When we started building this course, the vision was to eliminate overhand opportunities, and to have a good mix of non-biased holes. The new course record is -9, so it can be scored on. The front nine is easy to walk and circles back to the parking lot. Good time to refuel. There are 7 new concrete tee pads on the lower part of the course (1,2,3,4,8,9 &12) There are also five new alternate locations on 1,2,8,9,12. The course is a slow growing evolution, so bear with us as we chip away at it's growth. Have fun on hole 18, the course's namesake, Miner's Point. Top of the world shot.

Cons:

The biggest complaints that I hear are tee signs and poison oak. Tee signs are in the works at this moment, and there is a course map on the backside of the kiosk by hole 1. Take a picture with your phone. We are always working to eliminate poison oak, so just know what it looks like and avoid it. The back nine is not an easy hike, so leave your pull cart in your car after hole 9, and bring water.

Other Thoughts:

Thanks to CalFire for bringing crews into work on the course. Over 60 days of crews of ten plus people have crushed work on the course. Thanks to Gregg Barsby for input on the alternate basket location and course features.

The annual 299 Shootout is fundraising tournament that benefits the completion of the course. This year it will be on August 26th, 2017. Thanks again for reading up on Miner's Point DGC. Hope you enjoy it.
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10 0
lion
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 21.4 years 1524 played 22 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A Step in the right direction 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 9, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

1. Nice location for a course in a nice foresty park with little traffic.
2. Park does have bathrooms.
3. Practice basket on course.
4. Course has a really good challenging layout with a good mix of distances.
5. Nice elevation changes on course and well placed mando's.
6. Lots of tight shots thru small fairways down in picture frame like openings to the baskets, nice.
7. The baskets that were constructed for the course are very nice and very visible with the candy cane look.
8. Top of the world shot on 18 is cool, nice finish to the round and walking down hill to the beginning of the course is nice. Always nice to finish were you started.
9. There are birdie holes out there and layout was creatively done.
10. There is another 18 hole course near by in the town over and junction city earns its name to perfection because its a junction course. Its right in the middle of two major areas of disc golf. Right in the middle with Redding and Humboldt on both sides.
11. Park and course will be good for future tournies with the small turnout at the park.
12. Camping is right down the road.

Cons:

1. Parking needs to be figured out. There are a lot of spots that you could park, but not many that look designate parking spots.
2. Yes there is bathrooms but when I went they were locked. Need to get those open, especially since the course is located out of town and away from other possible restrooms.
3. There isnt any close stores or fast food. 15-20 minutes away is Weaverville your best bet for getting supplies before you get to the course.
4. Tee signs will need to be upgrade from stakes with number and distances eventually. If you have never played there I would download a map because finding a few tee pads are tricky.
5. Teepads are dirt and some looked like they could get really muddy in the future. If they ever go to rubber pads or cement I could see my review rating going up.
6. Crossing fairway sucks, but the hole is nice. I would like to see maybe multiple pin places on the course in the future to stop this from happening.
7. Course is still young and needs to be beaten down in a few spots that still have a lot of vegetation. Course will open up and get better.
8. There are a few walks from baskets to the next tee that can be tough without a map or if your a first timer.
9. Watch out for poison oak, the course does have it lurking.
10. I felt a few holes were one demensional and didnt offer more then one look or direction at a hole. Always nice to be able to attack from multiple angles.
11. I would put some more trash cans out if thats an option or signs saying to pack your trash out.

Other Thoughts:

All in all I liked this course. I would play at Miners Point more often if I lived in the area. Definitely not a beginner course, so for the more advanced and non weekend warriors its a great challenging course. Next time I come up I plan to camp down the road and get some fishing in at the near by river when I'm not golfing at junction city or Le Fong.
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