I'm a rec player and thought the course was plenty fun. 18 diverse holes. Some water, some long, some short, a big gator that didn't bother anyone, and nice shade on the back nine. Some lines were tight with trees, some were open for big drives. Neither of us lost any discs despite being pretty rusty.

Very convenient location if you're visiting Venice or nearby. We're staying in Rotonda for the week and it was an easy drive.

The lady at the check in / cart house was plenty nice. We had no problem finding the tees or baskets.

Baskets were grey and blended into the background a bit but we found them no prob.

There's a greens fee but it's affordable. Cheap recreation compared to whatever else you might do in south florida with family.

My wife and I have always wanted to spend time with her folks on the golf course but we are not ball golfers. Today we played Bird Bay Disc Golf - her parents with clubs and we were throwing discs. We had a fun time and a good round. They were curious about disc golf too so now they know what its all about. If it hadn't been for the mixed play option we probably wouldn't have come - so - a nice twist on D-golf.

I've never used a golf cart before but since we were playing with the old folks we joined in and drove a cart. It was pretty fun to have the cart along - nothing to carry and the shade was appreciated on the front nine.

Bird Bay is an 18 hole municipal golf course in Venice. For the low, low price of $12 I received one round and a single cart rental (for more on my cart rental thoughts, see cart rental in other thoughts). You tee off from the golfer's tees, either the longer blacks or the shorter yellows. The Lightning DB-5 baskets are set somewhere around the greens. There are no signs for us disc golfers but I was given a scorecard which so cleverly was clipped to the steering wheel of my cart.

The front nine is mostly open, sometimes boringly so. The back nine was much more interesting. If you're into slinging your disc over open expanses of grass, then the front nine is for you. # 1 is a 580' par 4 with little in your way. There are seven par 4's and one par 5 on this layout. I did like the fact that there were some shorter holes, around 200', mixed in.

The back nine starts out with a sweeping 662' dogleg right with water on your right. Then # 11 felt like a real disc golf hole (a difficult one at that). It's 505' with a fairly narrow fairway bordered by water on the right and thick brush on the left. Then 12 was a little short water carry around 200'. # 14 and # 17 both were longish at 500' and 400' and bothered featured water on one side.

Like almost every ball course, Bird Bay is really wide open compared to the typical disc golf course. I find these wide open plains to be boring.

The grass tee pads were fine on a dry day but would be a little slippery when wet.

$4 to play.

$8 for a cart which is a good deal.

The old, retired Florida seniors playing this morning were playing at a snail's pace but they were OK to let me play through.

I splurged and paid the $8 to rent a cart. Driving across the street to the first hole , I thought, this thing is so gutless. It wasn't much fun driving and it was slowing me down. Plus, I was the only player on the course driving a cart. All these decrepit old folks were walking. Sorry fellow disc golfers, I think I made us all look like wimps. Then on # 14, my gutless cart got so tired, she couldn't even carry me over this tiny little upgrade to get past the 14th green. So I took out my pistol and shot her, just like the cowboys always did in the movies. Grabbed my saddle (disc golf bag) and walked the last four holes. There the kindly manager refunded my $8 after explaining the problem. The temperature was so cold the cart's battery was having trouble holding a charge.

It is a fun course to play; open, challenging, water, esthetically pleasing, nice baskets. OB is clearly marked, alligators, and golf carts make this a unique experience.

Well, there is a map. Hand-drawn like amoebas with stars on it and numbers, and the woman at the desk even added a couple of other hen scratchings that were supposed to assist me. Since this was the first time I played it, I was still a little unsure of what markers were for what. She told me I could play from the golf tees, or the disc tees, my choice. Great, now I have 5 places to pick from per hole. Ball golfers weren't really sure of where they would play from either. So red, white and blue - rec, regular and advanced. On a flat course with 3 baskets in front of you it is hard to tell which is which - so you throw towards the most logical one and hope. So the tees aren't well defined and the baskets have no number plates? Upon getting to the baskets you can see long faded numbers from a time long ago before sun and rain did there damage. So you get the picture. I finish the round - a couple birds, many pars, and bogies and double bogies. Let's face it, the amoebas and lack of signage had me confused! So I very politely suggest to the woman that numbering the baskets would be a good idea. Therein the argument ensued. I said the numbers could be freshened up and they could even take a fat magic marker and write the numbers on the tee markers. Heresy!!! "Well, I'll tell my boss, but he's not going to like it!" I said, that several comments on line over the years referred to the same recurring problem; signage, identification, and mapping. "All right! I'll tell him, but I don't think he will do anything about it, the disc course plays just like the ball course!!" Okay. It doesn't, but thats another discussion for another day.

So my fun outing with a golf cart and alligators was somewhat diminished by the woman at the desk. Please go and play the course, it was fun! The carts are a luxury for me, the open fairways a pleasure, and the course was interesting and challenging. Holes at 600 feet, it's not a pitch and putt. But I have to admit, I hate being confused, wandering around wondering, and being unsure if I was even aiming at the right basket from the correct tees. In the do's and do nots of good courses, good signage is in the top three things you should do. Another thing you should probably do is be receptive to suggestions when the same recurring idea is presented.

This course plays alongside a small golf course and by alongside I mean you pretty much play each hole. The basket is almost uniformly behind the green. The majority of the tees are adjacent to the ball tee although a few are moved to somewhere else. It's a fun experience and the course is maintained for ball golf so it is always an easy play. The fairways are wide open and mostly pretty straight but there is some real distance so the course isn't devoid of challenge. You will be able to air out some drives and try to place tee shots accurately at the edge of driving range. There are a few holes in which water comes into play including one which allows a long layup to the edge of the water or a very long carry from the tee to the basket.

Often multiple baskets can be seen from the tee so you need to pay attention to the map. You will also need the map to find each tee but the map is solid so this isn't too bad.
The course is pretty much completely flat and most of the holes are pretty straight and intended for golf so there isn't a lot of challenge and the fun comes in large part from novelty.

Not a destination course but I think most will have fun and it is playable by any skill level so it is worth a stop for those on I75. If you haven't disced on a golf course before, you should definitely check this one out.

room to air out drivers on multiple tee locations.

DB5 baskets in good shape

Water on a few holes.

Course well manicured due to golfers

Very friendly staff

Ribbons on basket to guide you to next tee

2 loops of 9 holes with bathroom and air conditioned club house in between.

Amazing variety of tropical birds all over the course, one of the few things I will remember about this course.

Course is vanilla. I used the same 2 discs on every hole. Driver-putter-putter.
The flow was a bit off on the front 9 and tee signs were missing, lacking information, and generally unhelpful. Baskets not labeled to ensure you are throwing at correct basket.

The tees were not in the ground and were being moved constantly. The disc golf tees were in totally different spots between the first and second round as if golfers purposely move them. It was best to play from golf tees.
$4 to play with no current option to buy membership. Golf cart would be a total waste of money.

Hole 11 had water, but a very small landing area. It was an odd hole.

This is a golf course with baskets added. I appreciate that it adds a place to air out long drives, which the area needed, but that is all it offered. This is a must play one time, after that North Charlotte is worth the travel time.

Well maintained course via the ball golf grounds keepers. Good area,easy to find and staff is super disc golf friendly. Ball golfers play on same fairways which everyone let me play through.
Great addition to the pitch and putt in Venice. Plenty of wind

No tee signs for disc golf yet. Bit confusing first time to locate a couple basket
#11 was a hard water hazard but not a problem for pros

Great place to play

The course plays on an active ball-golf course, which means virtually no schule. It's fun to have the option to throw rollers on the tight fairways on many shots.

There are multi-shot holes and plenty of opportunity to air the discs out.

With the OB greens and some water hazards, there is a fair amount of technical challenge. Many of the basket placements use the mini-hills well to provide dynamic putting situations.

Three sets of tees provide multiple skill options.

The staff is very welcoming to disc golfers.

Without a proper disc golf map and no additional on-course signage, the course is a bit confusing.

Several of the disc golf tees were placed on slopes without adequate flat ground for run-ups. (the spots would have been fine for ball golfers to tee a ball.)

All tees are Au-natural and the baskets are less-than optimal.

Many of the distances listed on the scorecard did not seem to correspond closely with the actual distances. Many of the white and red tees are too long for the intended skill level, creating par 3.5 "'tweaner" holes that require a full drive, followed by a NAGS and a tap-in.

Some of the baskets crowd adjacent golf holes unsafely.

Hole 11 has a overly-difficult forced carry for less than advanced players that would result in the majority of that group losing plastic in the water.

The front nine is very redundant in design.

Worth a visit if you're in the area.

Plays on a traditional ball course. Good open holes to air it out. some holes are sightly tight but no worries. Carts are available to rent. This can be a good idea in the summer since there is little shade.Easy to navigate ( just follow the ball course and there you are). NIce clubhouse with all types of beverages. Remember in Sarasota county no alcohol sales before noon on Sunday.

Single chain basksts. Some of the signs on the holes indicate distances. But sometimes they seem not to be correct (some seem alot shorter than the stated lengths).

A very fun course and being so new improvements will come. Please support this course. Freindly staff, and the Sarasota Sky Pilots will soon be holding weekly games. Met the dsigner and gave him a few thoughts. even though the teepads are grass they are quite level and work fine.

Open layout with lots of length which is definitely different than other local courses. The wind and water can make it challenging. If you live in the area it is a must play.

Some of the shots you can not see the water until after you have thrown your tee shot. I am sure Tee Signs will take care of this.

I like the fact that this course gives you a chance to air it out and throw some bomb drives. Also there is a lot of open land to throw rollers if you so choose.

There is not a lot of character though as each hole is easily forgotten as you walk to the next. No real signature holes. This could change over time. Still a welcome addition in Venice where there is no disc golf other than the pitch and putt on Pinebrook. Hopefully this will spark more interest in Disc Golf in the area. Such a great pastime.

Start out at the clubhouse, with a friendly staff. Get your scorecard, and a cart if desired. (The course can easily be walked). Beverages, including the adult type, and snacks are available. There is a practice basket/putting green.

3 sets of tees on almost every hole, ensure that all skill levels from rec to pro will enjoy playing here.

The course kind of follows the ball golf course layout. You could have ball golfers and disc golfers playing in the same groups!

The front nine is more open, and the back nine is a little more wooded.

Water comes into play on many holes, mostly on the back nine, and mostly from the pro/adv tees. There is only one water carry, with most of the water on the edges of the fairways, and behind a few pins.

The course has a little bit of elevation change, considering that most of this part of Florida is pretty flat.

Sand traps and the rough along the perimeter of the course are ob.

There are benches on every hole, and drinking water stations on the course.

Needs dg specific signage.

Grass tees. They are plenty big enough, and flat, and work alright. Could still benefit from concrete pads.

The course can be very windy.

Most of our 18 hole courses down here are wooded jungle romps. This course is a more open type, with plenty of room to air it out.

I played this course when they first put it in, and after having recently played it again, I was disappointed in the lack of improvements being made to the course over the years. This is a fun course, but the navigation sucks. This course can be something special, she just needs a little love (and signage).