Ponca City, OK

Lake Ponca - Bois D'arc

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Lake Ponca - Bois D'arc reviews

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3 0
Upshawt1979
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 548 played 429 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Bois D'oh! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 25, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

It's amazing while playing Bois D'arc, the amount of misplaced optimism I felt about my upcoming shots. Telling my self on the tee "I have a good chance to make this shot." Or maybe, "It's not even 200 feet". I was wrong all too often.

The converging nines have a shorter holes on the front nine, and a few longer holes on the back loop. Despite being on the short end for average hole distance, the technical nature of each hole pushes this one high on the list of most difficult courses I have visited.

The many types of trees are tightly clustered in many densely concentrated areas across much of this part of the park. Numerous narrow gaps, low canopy, sharp bends, and difficult approaches. The pins are difficult to access from most angles for several of the holes, due to the amount of trees, brush and undergrowth.

There are concrete pads at each hole, and the standard yellow rimmed Innova Discatchers at the opposite end. The tee signs are pretty nice. Course layout is efficient and makes good use of the grounds.

I didn't fair well at all on the scorecard, but I really liked a lot of the holes. Hole 1 is a decent starter and gives you a good taste of the course's flavor. A mid range toss with a arc cutting to the right, into a landing zone with thick rough on both sides.

Hole 4 is cool because the basket is sprouting from the center of a very cool tree that branches outward in a few directions. 5 has the lake shore at the end, but the water isn't ominously close to the pin. 9 was my only birdie.

Hole 13 is an arrow straight tunnel shot towards the water's edge. The only par four on the course is hole 14, and it's a beauty. Hole 18 is also not easy, but a fun hole until it goes wrong. 5 of the final 9 holes are over 300'.

I liked the variety of hole shapes, and way no two holes are too much alike. Extremely challenging, true test of aim. It isn't always fair, but I didn't feel cheated.

Cons:

Such heavily wooded courses lead to bad bounces, and difficult recovery attempts. Also bugs and itchy, thorny plants. It was 97 degrees when I played there, so the shade was nice.

Finding the next tee was not always easy. More signs to guide the transitions could help. A copy of the map definitely helps a lot.

I was way over par in the opening holes. The ricochets off branches and ensuing, and often nasty recovery shots left me frustrated. Mistakes pile up quickly, and even experienced players will be hard pressed to play par disc golf. Not beginner friendly.

Other Thoughts:

After playing Bois D'arc disc golf at Lake Ponca, bogies don't sting so much anymore. Any deviance from the line can put you in danger and leave you in some bad places.

24 over par. One lonsome birdie and only three pars. A course under 5000' has never treated me so poorly. It's hard to see the upside of taking such a thrashing, but I will say the course was pretty cool.

I enjoyed seeing the local habitat, and the trails winding through it. The weird cage hiding in the woods was interesting. It appeared to be empty, but looks like it is meant for some kind of bird possibly.

Would like to have another chance at this one, I don't think it could go any worse. Not one of my favorites, but worth checking out. There is also another 18 hole course on site, that I did not play. Chances of return: not totally unlikely.
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1 1
bangmychains
Experience: 28.7 years 5 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Technical Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 9, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Easy to navigate with wonderful scenery and basket placements. Very technical course with only a few 300 to 400 foot holes. I really only remember about 4 holes that I felt any chance of acing

Cons:

Today was not a problem but a couple of basket placements I could see being in the water if the lake is up much. Additionally the parking area is all grass and there are no toilets.
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3 0
DeadOn
Experience: 10.8 years 23 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Awesome time down in the woods! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 3, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course was tough! I haven't played many thickly wooded course but this course has made me lean toward this kind of play. A real challenge and good change of pace from the majority of courses that I've played.

Awesome feel to the whole setup. The wood chip tee pads, the earthy wood signage contrasted by the new cleanliness of the innova baskets and detailed hole maps. Perfect blend of the two elements make this a must play.

Fun course with plenty of scenery and a fun little romp through the woods feel.

Hole 4 is neat with the basket situated inside of a sprawling tree making it tough to hit from any angle.

Cons:

The parking lot is dirt and I could see it becoming a mess when there's been a bit of rain.

The only other con being that it's not closer to where I live :)

Other Thoughts:

I really hope that the club who designed and maintains this course so well keeps it up because I will be spreading the word!
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7 0
Chained Evil
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 1091 played 232 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Excellent technical challenge 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course is a technical players dream come true. Brand new discatchers with cool added machine cut nickel plates which have the hole sponsor and hole number on them.
Great tee signs displaying all the appropriate info on them. Wood chips at the tee area for added grip. Walking paths from hole to hole are well laid out and defined with log/branches to show you the way to the next hole.
Trash cans at most holes. Next tee arrows are wooden signs attached to trees to point you in the correct direction. The flow is very logical and the parking lot can be reached after 9 holes.
Has both long and short holes and dog leg left and right holes as well. Has one hole, 13, that throws downhill.
This course will provide you with an excellent technical challenge requiring you to think about your shot instead of just ripping it down the fairway. You will need to hit your lines to score well here. Setting up your next shot is going to be key.
There is ample parking and a homemade practice basket. Has benches at some holes. Good course to play on a windy day because it blocks most of the wind. Also provides excellent shade for those hot summer days.
Will offer A & B pins,right now there is only one set. Has good foot bridges for crossing the drainage ditch. Water will come into play on holes 2, 5, 10 & 18 if it ever rains again enough to fill it up.
Lastly my favorite holes are #4 with its basket placed into the V of a tree, see the pics, the epic tunnel shot on #13 which slopes downhill with the lake behind the basket. #14 with its length and 18 with its uses of the drainage ditch are just a few of my favorites.

Cons:

These cons are a little nit picky but still worth a mention:
The walk from 14's basket to 15's tee and 15's basket to 16's tee are a bit long.
There aren't any amenities, so prepare accordingly.
There are a few stumps that aren't flush with the ground here or there so tripping could be a possibility.

Other Thoughts:

Accuracy is key on this course. This isn't a course that will favor a player with a cannon for an arm. This is a course that could be frustrating for beginners. If you miss your line, chances are its going to cost you a stroke or two to get back on track. This is a course where your drivers won't see a whole lot of action. You would be best advised to use putters and mids here so you can better place your shots and give yourself better looks at par.
If you can shoot par on this course that would be excellent in my opinion. This course is going to frustrate you at times, but staying calm and discing on will help keep you in the fairway.
Overall I really love this course. It is a nice change of pace from the wide open grip and rip style of course, or a short 9 hole park style. Its nice to see a course that has this many technical holes on it to really help challenge you as a player. As the previous reviewer has stated this course is going to be really stellar over time. I want to personally thank the PCDGC for all their hard work that went into this excellent course.
If you are in the Ponca City area this is a must play course. If you favor a more open course with length then you can give its older sister course Lake Ponca a try. I for one will be back to play this stellar course.
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11 0
wake_rider
Experience: 13 years 21 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

This course is going to be amazing in time. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 28, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course is wooded and beautiful. Windy day? No problem. You'll very rarely feel the wind in this place, it is so densely wooded and canopied.

I saw probably the largest tree I've ever seen in Oklahoma at this course.

The holes are very well designed and give a great mix of long and short, but every single bit of it is technical. There is not a hole here that doesn't make you think about your line, disc selection, and release.

This course makes you pick landing spots in order to try to get to the basket on your approach on about 3/4 of the holes, yet it gives you a few bird opportunities and one reasonable ace run and one brilliant throw ace run. No chuck and putt here.

There are really cool design aspects to this course that both come into play, and just add eye candy. Not only will you enjoy the play of the course, but you'll enjoy the walk as well rather than just hurrying along to your next throw or hole.

There are plenty trash receptacles and places to sit.

The paths to the next hole are usually pretty well marked with carved wood signs which looks really nice, but with a few signs still missing can be a little confusing.

The natural teepads are in good condition and this whole area seems to drain pretty well, and I think that is a reflection of the designers hard work.

Quite a few drainage creeks cross over and over throughout many of the holes, but the designer put in some really great bridges anytime you need to cross water or even steep embankments.

The baskets are all brand new and catch wonderfully.

The signs here are unparalleled by any course I've been to. They are accurate and very explanatory.

Cons:

This course can quickly get into your head and kill your score if you try to do too much. Not really a con for me, but might be for some.

Natural pads (though I heard they're going to be pouring concrete pads before long). I actually prefer the natural pads, but some might not.

Being so brushy and wooded, as well as being surrounded by the lake, this place can get pesty with mosquito's and ticks. DEET it up.

The tees are not yet greatly marked and can leave you wondering "do I toss at this root, or this one?" Flags had been set up, but many of them had been pushed over or torn down, or removed completely.

Walking the hole to figure out where exactly the basket is located is pretty common on quite a few holes.

No facilities of any kind exist here. Just a warning.

Other Thoughts:

This course is great. The cons are so petty when you consider how awesome the course is. Go with water, bug spray, and humble expectations and you'll leave this course with a massive smile.

If you feel defeated when you leave and don't want to see another tree for days, just hop the trail over to the wide open Lake course and grip it and rip it to your hearts content. It's WIDE open and very long, so you can air out all your 25 speed drivers that lived in your damp dark bag without ever seeing the light of day at the Bois D'Arc course.

Enjoy, ladies!
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