Detroit, MI

Belle Isle DGC

3.675(based on 3 reviews)
Filter course reviews

Filter reviews

Filter reviews

Belle Isle DGC reviews

Filter
5 1
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Urban Decay at it's very best 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 1, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Aesthetic-- plays through an abandoned ball golf course through rolling terrain, tall grasses and insane scrub cover the landscape. Keep it on the fairways for sure!! area is DISC GOLF EXCLUSIVE with huge fences to keep your discs in play (for a few holes)

Routing and navigation-- bring the map. it's easy but it's not a snap. the area where #7 and #12 intersect near the old comfort station is a bit confusing as there isn't a tee "pole" for #12 that I found. #5 loops back on #4 and then #6 loops back on 5 before heading out to the longest point of #9.

Variety and challenge-- great variety. long, short, water, wind, insane rough. This course has it all as far as challenging the player to push themselves.

Baskets-- DGA's in good condition. #15's basket was pretty wonked out. It's possible a tree branch fell on the basket portion to bend it.

Tee poles-- nice. big and bold standing out on the landscape. #12 was missing a pole but it wasn't a huge deal.

Urban Decay-- This place is creepy in places. The whole island is slightly creepy. It feels like a page out of time that just stopped at one point. The covered bridge in the middle of the course is COVERED in graffiti and spiderwebs. walking across it in the middle of #14 is a bit unnerving. The views of Detroit from the course are second to none. There is no where else to play disc golf with views of this once (and again to be) great city.

Cons:

amenities-- the course could use more benches on the back end (near 9) where the rough gets really rough. and there are no garbage cans throughout the course. Entering the course is a bit of a challenge. I thought the "gate" was more of a security fence but it was not. The only parking lot was flooded and very hard to find a spot to park.

Teesigns- I fully believe that this will improve with time but the teesigns are more phone poles with the tee number on them. No distances or diagrams hurt a bit.

teepads-- I also think this will improve. the tee areas are a bit rutted out in places. Little marking flags are present in most places with orange marking the longs and reds marking the shorts. It is difficult to find the shorts the vast majority of the time. Once again, I think this will improve with time.

Utter Destolation-- I don't mind playing in solitude, in fact I love playing in isolated courses but the fact that this course is urban makes it feel a bit insecure. It kind of feels like someone is watching you the whole time and is gonna shank you or something. I'm sure it's fine though.

Other Thoughts:

This course is a long time in the making. I have been wanting to get out here for a long time and I was more than stoked to get out there today. Get out to the belle folks, support this great course, I can only wait to see what happens to this course with the proper following and support. It's a great locale and a great adventure to play!
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 1
esdubya
Experience: 28.8 years 106 played 23 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Olmstead Would be Proud 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 26, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

18 wonderfully challenging and unique holes.
Totally unique property, like nothing else in the world.
Sweet people involved with the design, installation and administration of the DGC.

Cons:

Still a work in progress, but it will be amazing when finished. Natural teepads, and the rough is rough (as of this review).

Other Thoughts:

I will have to quote a line from my friend here: "There aren't many urban courses throughout the country, and none that I know of on an island park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted."

That pretty much sums up the crazy unique-ness of this course. There is and never will be anything like it.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
6 0
BogeyNoMore
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 479 played 183 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Decent Discin’ in the D (with room for improvement) 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 12, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

• Wonderful use of natural elements. Water figures prominently on a few holes (most dramatically on hole 14), and the design incorporates the few modest elevation changes on this parcel to their fullest. See next point regarding use of trees.
• Nice balance between being open and woodsy. While I'd describe the course as very lightly wooded, tee and pin locations have been well chosen to use strategically placed trees to take away some lines while presenting others. All the fairways are pretty open from the tees, but each hole presents some obstacles, so you have to find a line and execute. This makes it possible to really air it out from the longs, while still placing a reasonable premium on placement - poorly controlled distance can be costly here - especially if the wind comes into play (see Other Thoughts).
• Great shot variety, with many holes offering several different lines - makes you think about what line to take/type of shot to execute off the tee to attack a given hole. Gives you a chance to go with your strengths or work on you weaknesses.
• Layout flows well from hole to hole, and is pretty intuitive for the most part, although there are some spots where one unfamiliar with the course could proceed to the wrong tee. For the most part, the front 9 flows out heading east, with the back 9 flowing back towards the west returning to the beginning. However, with no more for tee markers than foot tall orange flags, you'd be well advised to print the scorecard/map (linked to this page) to make your first couple of outings less of a scavenger hunt.
• Dual tees on all holes are well conceived for the most part. The shorts should be pretty accommodating for beginners, while the longs add considerable length on many holes (longs play 6175' vs. 3720' for short). Most provide different looks, along with different levels of risk accordingly.
• Baskets- collars are permanently installed in the ground, but baskets are only present when events are run. No more wooden posts.
• Belle Isle offers some of the nicest views you'll ever see of the Detroit and Windsor skylines.

Cons:

• Uneven terrain: few courses anywhere would benefit from concrete pads as much as Belle Isle. Good run ups aren't possible on several tees (not to mention quite a few fairway shots). While there's not much that can be done about wallowy, uneven footing on fairways, pouring concrete essentially eliminates the issue for tee shots. This would allow you to get further down the fairway off the tee - which would make run-ups less of a factor on some holes. Hence, pouring concrete could also improve a few of your 2nd shots - being closer makes throwing from a standstill more feasible.
• Navigation: Relatively open terrain, natural tees (two sets of 'em to boot) marked with small flags all combine to make finding the next tee particularly tough for first timers. While the course flows well from a disc play standpoint, navigation can be confusing for the uninitiated - PRINT THE MAP.
• Retains water and can be extremely soggy. Unless it's been dry the past few days, you might want to keep this in mind when choosing footwear.
• During the summer, the grass here is going to be tall, thick, and disc swallowing. The kind of stuff that doesn't affect your shot, just impedes your ability to find discs. Bring friends and looks discs down (locals: think holes 10-17 at River Bends).
• West to east, east to west layout without dense cover means the sun can make following discs down during early morning/late afternoon rounds a challenge for several holes in succession - sunglasses and/or cap as you prefer.

Other Thoughts:

• Wind - it can be strong and flows through the course generally unimpeded. It can gust or go slack. Neither pro nor con, it's simply is part of the game, but one that's likely to figure more prominently here than on most courses. Those who deal with it best are sure to gain strokes on their competition.
• Willows: they present a different challenge than most trees. They're bushier and extend closer to the ground than most trees, providing an obstacle that can prove tough to get through or around should you get an unkind lie. Rather than giving good or bad kicks, they simply slap shots down on impact, often inside their "umbrella." Getting out can feel a bit like throwing through a soft-cloth car wash. Hole 15 features a 200' tunnel shot/Ace Run through several willows.
•Signature Hole: IMO, 14 (long) is most inviting hole on the course: 300' from tee to pin featuring a 250ft (give or take) water carry into what is usually a prevailing headwind. A few of the aforementioned willows stand guard duty on the bank, making a safe landing more than just a matter of distance. While there are openings to make it through for what could be a park job, their dreadlocks can drop a disc dead in its flight - perhaps only feet from landing on dry land. While the pond was frozen, I kept one low and skipped off the ice for a safe landing. Misplay the wind and your drive could get squirrely over the water/ice - gone (just because the ice can support your disc doesn't mean it can support you).
• Close to downtown - best choice for a fun round before an afternoon or evening Tiger, Redwing, or Lions game.
• Overall, I really like this course - good design, plays great, interesting round, with a high fun-factor, but there's simply no avoiding the fact that there's room for simple improvements that would make it much better.

Rating Updates:
Bumped from 2.5 to 3.0 when they replaced object poles with baskets.
Concrete tees would make a bigger difference here than on most courses... call that a 3.5.
Thow in some decent tee markers (even simple 4x4 posts with hole #, distance and line drawing) to make navigating a course with dual tees foolproof, and I might give it a 4.0. Just a matter money and labor - I'll be happy to do my part on both, and update this review as things progress.

But for now, it's a good course that's only available once in a while for specific events.
Was this review helpful? Yes No

Latest posts

Top