O'Fallon, MO

Fort Zumwalt Park

3.385(based on 20 reviews)
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10 0
wolfhaley
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.9 years 970 played 542 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 7, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fort Zumwalt DGC is located in a very busy, multiuse park just minutes off the expressway. If you're trying to find hole 1 it's best to park on the road near the restroom building. Hole 1 is just south of there. There's no actual parking lot for the disc golf. This is actually pretty easy to find since the park road is one way.

The course is a mixture of park style holes and more tightly wooded ones on the back half. There is elevation throughout, though nothing too extreme. There are trees to contend with on nearly every hole out here.

The baskets are nice, newer looking Innova Discatchers. These were all in great shape and caught nicely. There's a single basket but two pin positions per hole. Always like to see multiple pin placements.

The tee pads are concrete. These are a little on the narrow side but work perfectly fine for a course of this length. There are also two tees per hole which is definitely a pro. Between the two pin placements and two tee pads there's quite a bit of replay value out here. The long tees range from just 30 or so feet behind the shorts to probably around 100 or so feet back. Really offers up some different looks.

The tee signs are pretty good here. They feature a basic hole map showing both tees. Red (short) and white (long) as well as both different pin positions. There's also next tee arrows and any OB is shown as well. In addition to that they have the hole #, par and distances to each pin from either tee. The best part was that they had a hole drilled and bolt attached to whichever pin was in play. Always love to see this. All of them were accurate too. The tee signs are only at the white tees.

The course was really clean and well maintained when we went. There's trash cans throughout not really any trash laying around for being such a busy park. The course is free and up for most of the year.


Cons:

The layout is kinda wonky. There's lots of long transitions between holes. It wasn't as bad as I initially feared it'd be, but still a very disjointed flow. I'd highly recommend using the Udisc map or else printing one out. It is doable without one, but expect some extra wandering.

The course doesn't start and end by the same area. It's pretty close, but depending on where you park it's still a bit of a walk.

The holes are all on the shorter side. There's no real chance to just air it out either, if that's your thing. Hitting your line and staying in the fairway is the name of the game out here.

The first few holes, as others have mentioned, feel like filler holes. The feel like they're just there to get the hole count up to 18.

The course is closed for a holiday lights festival or something like that from sometime in October through the holidays I guess.



Other Thoughts:

This was a really solid course. I was a little worried about the disjointed nature of the course since there was potential for thunderstorms the day we played. Turns out it stayed pretty clear and the walks weren't too terrible between holes.

This one is definitely worth visiting if in the area or just travelling thru. Fun course with lots of birdie opportunities but plenty of trouble you can find yourself in. This will be one that I'll be sure to revisit the next time I'm down this way. Just a good, par 3 woods course.
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11 0
Tyler V
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 16.8 years 147 played 98 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A Tough Course That Will Test Any Player's Accuracy...And Sense Of Direction 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 15, 2021 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Fort Zumwalt Park's Disc Golf Course, known also as "The Fort", snakes around a shady 48-acre park that resides on a War of 1812 fort site. This relatively short 18-hole course provides a variety of shot shapes that will test your accuracy to nail birdies and ability to navigate tight wooded environments.

Location of Fort Zumwalt Park is very convenient, being just minutes off of I-70 via the exit for Main St./Highway K. After a quick right on Veterans Memorial, the park will soon be on your left. There's plenty of gas stations and restaurants around the area if you need anything before or after your round. This course is also near a number of other courses; you have College Meadows and Laurel Park to the east, T. R. Hughes to the North, and the trio of New Melle Lakes, Quail Ridge, and Indian Camp Creek to the west, making it very possible to make this course a part of a full day of golf. Smokin' Aces is also just down the highway for all of your disc golf needs, offering a wide variety of discs, bags, carts, and other disc golf accessories. There's a Play-It-Again sports in St. Peter's as well with a smaller offering of disc options, though they still typically have Innova, Discraft, and Trilogy options.

Park amenities at Fort Zumwalt are nice, and compliment the beauty of this park. The road through the park is one way, so don't overshoot your parking area. For the disc golf course, park when there is a bathroom on your right and you start to see the lake on your left. This lake provides fishing opportunities, though the park website says fishing is currently prohibited while the newer fish mature. Further up the road, you'll find a rebuilt Zumwalt's Fort and a restored Herald House, both fun spots for any history buff. One of the last things your drive by is the playground and a reservable shelter. Apparently, there's also a model train display somewhere in the park as well. In addition to all of this, you will see plenty of folks using the walking paths and trails around the park. The park hosts a Christmas light display annually, so the disc golf course may be inaccessible around that holiday.

Course Equipment at The Fort is pretty nice. Each hole has two concrete tee pads, and they are designed to resemble wood, a nice touch that I assume is a callback to the history of the land this park resides on. The baskets are DISCatchers, and are in good shape. There's a large tee sign at each long tee, and each sign provides a graphic of the hole layout, a general direction to the next tee, the hole's par, and hole distances from each tee to each pin. Each hole has two pin locations. There's also a limited amount of directional signage to help with navigation on the course.

Course design at The Fort revolves around tight and primarily short fairways. The first six holes snake around the south and west sides of the lake, with the rest of the course snaking through the woods in the northern half of the park. Some holes like 3, 4, 11, and a few others play relatively open with some mature trees or areas of brush to shape your shot. The other 2/3rds of the course plays in a tough wooded environment, where the level of accuracy you have can determine whether you're 5 under par or 10 over.

Variety at this course mainly revolves around shot shapes, as there aren't really any open and long holes to air longer drives out. Most of the holes play relatively short, with the short tees playing mostly under 300 feet depending on which pins are in place. Where the course lacks in power drive opportunities, it tries and, in many places, succeeds in providing tight and challenging fairways through the woods. Backhand and forehand dominant players of either hand dominance will find plenty of shots that benefit them. Holes 4, 9, and 17 benefit right hand back handed players with left turning fairways. On the flip side, holes 3, 7, and 16 turn to the right. The other holes vary in how extreme the fairway turns, or how the trees affect your shot, with plenty of holes providing relatively straight shots as well that will cater to multiple shot types. The amount of woods you will have to contend with will vary as well within the wooded holes, with 7, 15, and 18 being especially challenging.

Course difficulty managed to cater to a relatively wide range of players, primarily because of the two tee pads on each hole. The shorter tee pads provide distances that make the holes a little easier for newer players that are working on accuracy, while the longer tees provide plenty of challenges for intermediate to advanced players. Even from the short tees, this is probably one of the harder courses around the area for newer players when considering the number of trees to navigate on some of the fairways here.

Cons:

Navigation can be a challenge here during your first, and even second, round. As a tighter park in terms of how much is going on and how much space it has to work with, this is a disc golf course that has to navigate around other park uses, something that many other disc golf courses in St. Louis are lucky enough to avoid needing to do. This results in a course that at times feels chopped up, with some awkward walks between holes. The walks between 3 and 4, 6 and 7, 9 and 10, and 15 to 16 are probably the ones that feel either the hardest to navigate or the easiest to mix up in my opinion, though there are other transitions that other reviewers have mentioned. All of these transitions would feel less burdensome with additional signage, but there's limited signage on site other than the tee signs. Even the tee signs only help so much. Hole 9's sign, for example, only points in the general direction of 10, and while there is a directional sign as well after this hole, this is still a touch transition given where hole 10 is. Udisc helps with this issue as well, of course, but I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't need an app that many newer players won't have to navigate a course.

Proximity to other park uses also is an issue on some holes. Holes 4 and 5 play pretty close to walking paths and the lake, and a disc that goes astray can easily head towards other park goers. Holes 9, 15, and 16 are also holes where a bad kick or bad throw could end up on a street.

Difficulty and fairness of some of the shots on course feel a little unnecessary. Hole 2 has a shot through a patch of trees that are close enough to each other that the opening drive feels like a poke and pray situation. Considering how open the rest of the hole is, this added challenge feels unnecessary. Hole 7 feels similar, only the trees are throughout the fairway on a blind shot around to the right. Holes 14 and 15 also have significantly tough openings to hit, with 15 being a rough combination of having a low ceiling, tight fairway, and uphill landing zone before going somewhat downhill again. This park has a tough plot of land to fit 18 holes, and there are many factors that come into play when it comes to designing courses. That being said, some of the hole designs on this course feel like they could have been altered to provide challenges that feel fairer.

Pin placement notation is missing from the tee signs on this course, which can be troublesome on many of the holes on this course. Hole 13 has two openings that are hard to see from a distance, and it's hard to tell where the basket is without walking up the fairway first. Hole 15 is another spot where not knowing where the pin is located is an issue, as the two pins are in very different locations, and throwing to the wrong placement can lead to a difference of 1 or 2 throws on your score. Other holes, like 2, 7, and 9, have similar issues. A simple way to notate which pin is in place, like a bolt on the sign as many courses employ, would be an easy fix to this. If you're going to have multiple pins on a hole, this is a feature that seems like an easy thing to add.

Variety is present in terms of shot shapes, but there aren't many opportunities for folks who like longer drives.

Difficulty, while catering to a decent variety of players, as I said in the pros, newer players may not find this course as fun as others in the area, and may leave this course feeling discouraged.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, The Fort is a fun spot for anyone who likes tight and wooded courses, and its proximity to other courses make it easy to make a part of a full day of golf. If you're in the area, be sure to add it to your list of courses to play. If you're visiting the area, I'd recommend the other 18 holes in St. Charles county, as well as other courses in the greater St. Louis area like the JB courses, Sioux Passage, or La Vista before this one. This course isn't a bad one, per say; its navigation and occasionally gimmicky-feeling challenges just don't stand up as much in an area that has so many other great courses.

Come check out The Fort if you're a fan of the woods. If you're in the area, be sure to go give Smokin' Aces a visit as well; they have great customer services and are a great resource for the area.
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5 1
disco40
Experience: 4.6 years 20 played 7 reviews
2.50 star(s)

This shouldn't be 18 holes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 16, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

When I played the course, holes 4-8 were off-limits due to work being done on the lake. I warmed up on the bland but decent 1-3 and walked a few hundred yards to #10.

This park is too small for the front 9, and it needs to go. This part of the park should be for other users exclusively, and the disc golf is an unreasonable encroachment on others' good time.

May not be a popular thing to say to disc golfers, but it's not a reasonable spot for 18. However, it's great for the back 9. We should work on that back 9 and give the rest back to the other users.

--

(Back 9)

Nice yellow Discatcher baskets.

Good tee pads.

Decent flow (but have a map for your first rd).

A pleasant rolling woodsy hills experience.

Interesting lines and plenty of trees to punish bad throws.

Plenty of room away from main park users on back 9. It has potential to be quite good.

Cons:

Some of the back 9 is a little tight and possibly unfair. Didn't detract too much, minor complaint.

Lots of blind throws to pins that were not specified on the tee (am I throwing to the 'B' basket 100 feet left of the 'A' placement...?). Quite a bit of "throw and hope" during my round.

Ground gets very slick when damp, and you cannot trust your footing. The veneer of grass or solid dirt unpredictably gives way to a mud slide.

Other Thoughts:

I sincerely hope this becomes a 9 (or hell, even 10 or 12) hole course when everything settles. I had a great time playing in the woods here and I think there's still potential.
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7 0
Three Putt
Staff member
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 29.3 years 152 played 127 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can… 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 10, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Fort Zumwalt Park is actually a fairly fun disc golf course with some good shots. There is a nice variety of park-style and wooded hole. The course had good elevation changes for uphill/downhill shots, although it doesn't have any cool elevated tee-type shots. The pin placements are done really well; it's a rollaway waiting to happen. There are two tee pads and there is a big difference in the length of most of the pads. The course plays much easier from the short pads and can handle a good variety of skill levels because of it. The course leans to the technical, there are no open bomber holes. However some of the wooded shots are long for the type of hole they are. There is a good bit of challenge in the design. The park itself is very nicely maintained, and once you get past hole 6 there isn't much conflict with other park uses despite this being a muti-use park. Shot for shot, it's a nice disc golf course. None of the shots stand out to me as really notable, but most of them were pretty solid in design.

The park itself is well designed and well maintained. It's a really nice spot to spend an afternoon. The wooded holes were cleaned out very well, there wasn't a lot of punishing rough to contend with and finding your disc after it ricocheted crazily of a spindly little tree in the fairway was pretty straightforward. There were restrooms by hole one. The baskets were DISCatchers, and the long tee on each hole had a tee sign.

Cons:

One of the limitations of designing a disc golf course in a multi-use park is that you sometimes have to chop up the course into sections and the flow isn't good. While I understand that, the flow here is atrocious. You play to hole 3 into a corner of the park, then wander across the street and up a hill searching for any sign of the next tee. After hole 5 you walk down the street hoping that you will eventually find another tee. The path to hole 7 is a long, meandering hike. You play 7-8, cross the road and throw hole 9, then you end up on a path that goes two directions and no indication of which way you should go. If you go left, you end up at the tee for 13. If you go right, you come out of the woods into a road/parking lot and start searching. The tee for hole ten is way over behind a building. There was one little "10" with an arrow on some sort of box along the way, otherwise no directional sign at all. You play holes 10-11, cross the street and backtrack to the tee for 12, head into the woods for holes 13-14, have to cross the road to find hole 15 and then...Aaargh! The next tee you come to is the tee for hole 17. Hole 16 is across the street. Even after you figure that out, the tee is wrapped way back around by the park entrance. The only redeeming part of the flow here is that you already walked past 17's tee so you know you have to go back across the road to get to it. All along this meandering nightmare of course flow, there was exactly one little directional sign on the whole course that I saw. The wandering meandering flow helps the quality of the golf, but if you are going to design a course this way it HAS to have directional signage to help people figure out where to go. This course does not have adequate signage, which makes it frustrating for a non-local to navigate.

Some of the shots don't really have a clear route that I could tell. I threw a lot of poke and pray shots. It was a fun layout, but it needed some more trees cleared out to be a fair design. Hole 7, 15 and 17 stood out to me as holes that should have been good, but were too pinballish. A couple of other holes (2 & 11) have the tee right behind some big trees for no good reason.

There is no parking lot, you park on the street. There isn't really any indication of where the course starts while you are on the road, so it's hard to know where to park. It turns out that it really doesn't matter because hole 18's pin is nowhere near hole 1's tee. The locals seemed to park by hole 7 to spilt the distance.

Hole 11 is marked as a double mando between two trees that are maybe 20' in front of the tee. There is no safety reason for a mando there, so I assume it's an attempt to make the hole harder. It's really, really dumb to have a mando right in front of a tee for no reason, and a double mando in front of a tee is double dumb. The signs do not look like park signs, so it may be the work of locals. I ignored it.

The tee signs show the A and B placement, but do not have a way to indicate which placement the pin is in. A lot of the shots are blind from the tee, so there is a lot of walking up to see where the basket is. There are also little arrows on the tee signs to direct you to the next tee...if you can remember where they were pointing to after you finished playing the hole. They were pretty ineffective in helping me find my way around.

Other Thoughts:

The course I played right before Fort Zumwalt was The Canyons in Lockport, IL. The Canyons has a similar issue in that the park is multi-use and the course is chopped up in sections, but the flow is a non-issue at The Canyons because of the amount and effectiveness of the signage they use to get you from one hole to the next. To me it was a interesting study in directional signs done right/directional signs done wrong (or more accurately, not done at all.)

Fort Zumwalt disc golf course ends up being a hard course for me to rate. It is in a very nice park, so that's a positive. The shots themselves were well designed INT/ADV-level shots. On the other hand, the course has a lot of issues. Flow is bad, signage is inadequate, the course doesn't end close to where it starts and there are a few too many poke and pray holes. I think it comes down to what kind of experience you want. If a pretty challenging INT/ADV-level technical course is your cup of tea, the issues probably won't matter to you. If you are local and know the layout, a lot of the frustrations with the flow become a moot point. If you're on a road trip and really don't want to waste your time trying to figure out a mind-boggling flow pattern, the shots are not good enough to override that. It's a good course, it just has limitations.
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3 0
Jacobpaul81
Experience: 25.1 years 101 played 7 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Technical Course requiring a complete game 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 24, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Requires a complete game. It might be the most technically challenging course I've ever played. No grip and rip but not a Pitch and Putt. Deceptive Distances - LOTS of trees in the fairways. On this course, I only pull out a DD (Tesla) on a handful of holes - the rest of the time, it's OS Fairway driver (Resistor), Mid-range(Axis), and a driving Putter (Atom).

I really enjoy this course. It makes me a better player. The first 5 can get your score down. After that, advanced players who don't know course well will find themselves fighting for a 4. #10, #12, #13, #15, and #18 are the highlights.

#10 is a raised gap shot with basket deep to the right. I throw a hyser flip with a tesla and hope I can get to ridge to the right. Out to the left leaves you with lots of trees in front of you.

#12 is a Flip Hyser to the right with road OB tight to left and tree row tight to right. One of the few holes I break out a DD on.

#13 is low pad with a narrow raised gap and a dirt hill defending. Past that is LOTS of narrow trees in fairway - both basket positions are deep requiring a very well placed drive and upshot. If you can get a flick out far to left, you can up with a Putter or Mid.

#15 is another elevated gap shot - this time across a gully to a steady climb through thick trees. On an open course, you'd go DD but trees won't allow it. Throw a mid to the right fairway. From here you can work your way up the right side or throw a backdoor shot. I like a FH backdoor avoiding the fairway completely. Watch out, #18's teepad is below the backdoor route.

Hole #18 is my favorite hole - a tight downhill tunnel shot with ace potential. There's few aceable holes on the back 9. This is one of them.

Every hole has 2 teepads - Unlike many dual teepad courses, the pro pads are not only longer, most of them are far more difficult to play due to the trees and terrain.

Cons:

I really enjoy the course. There's only two holes that I'm not crazy about:

Hole #3 is filler. Even a bad drive to the left will net you a 3. To the right is an easy 2. It's not a bad hole, just not challenging.

Hole #6 is forced. The course needed a transition from the easier front 5 to the back 12 holes. This was the solution hole. I imagine a lot of discs are in the lake from all the trees / steep hillside.

Albeit required due to the shape of the park, walks from 5-6, 6-7, 8-9, 9-10, 13-14, and 15-16 can be confusing to first timers. Take a map or find a player to follow.
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3 0
mrbro855
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.5 years 363 played 105 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 26, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The usual: Great concrete pads- both long and short. Signage was excellent- always located at the long tee pads. Multiple pin placement options- have played there more than once- so it's been a different look each time. Wooded, but not so wooded that you can't recover from a tree hit. (Not unless multiple throws strike a tree like I did on #2 today!!)
Different looks and lengths on each hole.
No overly memorable or signature hole, but absolutely no clunkers either.
Nice location in the middle of a community park.

Cons:

The walk between a couple holes was long and disrupted the flow a bit. (2-3; 3-4; 5-6; 6-7; 9-10; 15-16)

Other Thoughts:

Fort Zumalt and neighboring Quail Ridge are similar courses. I really enjoy Fort Zumalt compared to how I feel about QR (Read that review on the QR page)
To echo another reviewer or two.... thinning out a fairway or two would bring my score up to at least 3.5. But it is what it is... a good course, thus the 3.
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2 6
Chasse Ballard
Experience: 9.5 years 16 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Coarse 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 28, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very well put together
Very easy to find way around course
Concrete tees
lake
Has a park














.

Cons:

The only con that I have ever noticed is that occasionally people will walk through the course.












.
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3 0
Chained Evil
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 1091 played 232 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun golfing at The Fort 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 14, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course has excellent elevation changes with both uphill and downhill shots being accounted for here.
Multiple pin placements and multiple tees also add to the diversity here.
Very challenging lines on several holes.
First 3 holes are very birdieable and maybe even Aceable.
Hole 4 will let you air out a drive.
Good signage and the tees are plenty ample and grippy.
Has both dogleg L/R holes.
Course is well maintained and the grass was nice and green upon our visit.
Good mix of open and wooded holes.
You will need a multitude of shots in order to score well on this course.
Some holes have protected baskets to add to the challenge of your round.

Cons:

Walks between some of the holes tend to slow the pace of the round down a bit. 3's basket to 4's tee, 6's basket to 7's tee, 9's basket to 10's tee, and 15's basket to 16's tee. On some of these holes you will have to cross the street so please pay attention to oncoming traffic.
Finding your disc during the fall on the wooded holes could be very challenging so keep and eye on where your disc lands.
Some of the hard pack areas can become slick after a good soaking rain.
Holes 3-5 may have people playing soccer or throwing football/baseball, etc, so pay attention before you throw.
There might be a stump or two on the wooded holes that aren't flush with the ground so pay attention so you don't twist your ankle.
This course will get a lot of traffic so please be patient.

Other Thoughts:

Overall this is a very beautiful course in a very nice park. The course is getting a lot of play and judging by the quality of golf here I can see why. This course will test your accuracy on the wooded holes but will still provide you with the opportunity to improve your overall game. There are a few holes where you can air out a driver or two but this is mostly a technical course that will help you sharpen your short game.
You will need to place shots in places that will allow you to get to the basket on next shot.
For me this is a quality course that has good balance. Play this course if you are in the area and if you have time visit Quail Ridge in Wentzville. Both of these courses partner up well together IMO.
Enjoy your round at The Fort.
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5 0
renaudski
Experience: 9.9 years 14 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fun Beginner/Intermediate Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 1, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

I played this course yesterday and had a lot of fun.

Overall this course will be challenging for newer players and a nice easy course for more experience players. All holes reviewed as RHBH

Hole 1 - Short par three. Used a DX Leopard to fade left to right. Cleared the trees (luckily) and was able to drop in for a birdie. Nice hole.

Hole 2 - Par 3. One of the more open holes. Need a nice drive and low to get past the trees. Can't remember what disc I used, but I did hit the tree and had to pitch and putt in for par.

Hole 3 - Short par 3 again. Need to either fade in left to right (DX Leopard again) or a side arm. Easily birdie with a good drive.

Hole 4 - Par 3... Here's your chance for a long bomb. Open and hole position in a pretty good spot. Echostar driver put me nice and close.

Hole 5 - Par 3 - Pretty annoying.... A lot of trees... Good luck Threw Discmania Fever low and skipper

Hole 6 - Par 3 - Short and wooded on a hill... Innova Roc hit a tree. Threw it again and got lucky on a bounce. Dropped in for par.

Hole 7 - Can't remember anything about this hole except it is wooded.

Hole 8 - Side arm hole... Used my trusty Champion Boss and chucked it down the hill. Fun hole. Technical but managable.

Hole 9 - Hyzer time! Used my Echostar Destroyer for a nice drive.

Hole 10/11 - Parallel to one another. Long with trees intermixed with the fairway. Destroyer again.

Hole 12 - My least favorite. Filler to round off the course. Slight turn to the left. Sidearm or fade... Chose the fade with the Leopard but I don't have that kind of range with that disc. Ended up with a pitch and putt for par.

Hole 13 - Got really lucky. Wooded and long. Destroyer flew through the trees and gave me a nice putt for bird opportunity.

Hole 14 - Short and technical. Very nasty with the trees. Used my Roc on a gentle flip to get some nice glide right to left. Overshot the hole though.

Hole 15 - Side arm and up hill through the tree. Very fun if you can get out of the woods

Hole 16 - Long hole that turns left. Side armers will be able to get down into the hole w/ little difficulty.

Hole 17 - Throwing from the open into the trees. Players have to try to thread through again.

Hole 18. Technical and tight with alleys for both RHBH to throw backhand or sidearm. I elected sidearm as there seems to be a larger window. Short enough that if you hit a tree you can recover

Cons:

There are some holes, the very wooded ones, that require exceptionally technical holes that almost all players will run the risk of hitting a tree.

It can be frustrating as these holes seem 'unfair' and require mostly luck...

Other Thoughts:

Almost all of these holes are forgiving in the fact that if you hit a tree on the drive you can recover. Fun course that's not too long that it wears out your arm and not so wooded you feel like you are always frustrated.

This course is pretty good for the area and with the exception of some unreasonable wooded holes, a very fun and relaxing course.
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8 1
Lazerface
Experience: 5 played 5 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Almost 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 12, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

I waited several months to see if the holes that have virtually no fairway would be cleaned up a bit - well it has been in for a long while, and I think what you see is what you get with this one. I want to give less than 3.0, but in reality this course is about 5 or 6 holes away from a great course, so I'm giving it a 3, which = Good - per the rating scale.
Most of this course is GREAT. Excellent use of the land and some really great holes.
It is a typical Gateway/Dave Mac design requiring good placement shots and some good risk/reward - with the exception of the holes I list below.

Cons:

If it were not for the handful of TERRIBLE gimmicky holes that have a gauntlet of trees and good shots are about 90% dependent on good luck we would have a true gem.
All off the comments below reflect the long tees. I have not played the shorts, so please take that into consideration.

Hole 2 - Tee Pad is positioned behind a group of old growth trees. There are several gaps to hit - all of which are not a true shot shape and are too small to consider fair. After that it is wide open and the basket is tucked into the tree line on the right. This may have been an attempt at Risk/Reward but was a failed attempt. When it comes to competition this is the kind of hole that players dread because skill is not the key factor here. I have resorted to throwing a little forehand roller off the tee, then a putter upshot, and treat it like a 300 FT PAR 4. Yes, I have aired out a perfect backhand and parked the hole - but the idea of Risk/Reward is conceptually about a player having to decide - any experience player knows you don't go for this type of hole in competition because the risk is just silly. The gaps that you actually have to hit to shape a true shot shape become about 3 feet wide or less (when factoring in the trees closer/farther).

Hole 7 - Another PAR 3 distance hole that is best treated as a PAR 4 if you don't want to deal with the 40 or so 4 inch diameter trees spread throughout the fairway. There is a legit side arm gap that you can hit on the left side of the fairway, but because of the curve of the left tree line and numerous trees that eventually interrupt the line, a lay up is best. Once again - this shot can be parked - but it is completely dependent on luck and going for it means risking hitting a small tree and shooting into the rough. Remove some trees and create a fairway here and this hole is great - it has a really cool shape and green down toward a pond. As it is right now - TRASH

Hole 8 B - OK, hole 8 A is a great tunnel shot - tight but fair - more recently I noticed they put in another position up to the right - so you have a clean tunnel for 200 feet, then just a bunch of skinny trees before you reach the basket - for this position - best shot is a straight up the middle and then try to make a 50 footer. There is a clean gap, but it's a 90 degree turn at the end of the short tunnel so...... - STUPID

Hole 11 - Again, more huge trees just off the tee pad and an EXTREMELY LOW ceiling. Problem is, if you hit the first gap, you are heading right for more giant trees. Once again, it is really close to an excellent hole with moving the tee pad over and creating a tight and risky line to go for it, or lay up. Not sure what they were thinking here. Great green, I especially like the long position. For me RHBH - I throw a low skip hyzer towards 10s fairway - typically hit a tree and land somewhere in the middle and putter up shot.

Hole 14 - No comment - this is simply a waste of life and makes me want to puke. Everyone try to hit the little S turn 150ft side arm gap that turns out to be about 3 foot side when you factor in the early/late trees.

Hole 15 - Dear God, who did this???? What really gets me is this should be the best hole on the course. I guess they figured they could make it a PAR 5 by delegitimizing the fairway - from the long pad you have a low ceiling and your aiming point is a large tree directly in the middle of the fairway about 200 FT away (first mistake). The landing area given is small, but worst of all - ITS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO LAND. If you throw a nice touch shot about 100 feet in front of the am pad (this is the only shot that negates throwing through the woods and crossing your fingers) and land dead center of the mulch - well, you have no good 2nd shot. The shape of the first fairway - s turn through the woods, does not allow for a 2nd shot to at least get you out to the open - this means you are actually better off when your tee shot lands off the fairway and you may have a chance to get out and maybe get an Eagle putt pending everything lines up OK. I hate to play lucky golf so I throw the touch shot off the tee, then a gimmicky little forehand or putter back hand another 150 feet up the fairway or so, and then try to nut my 3rd shot on the really cool sloping and guarded green. What I hate most is that with the removal of some trees, this could be one of those memorable holes, but as it stands, it is just a gimmick one again based on luck rather than skill.

Hole 17 - this hole is not as bad as the ones above - but I'm adding it because 90% of the golfers are going to throw straight up the gut - and when the long position is in, this is pretty much a poke and hope halfway there . I throw a huge spike hyzer up and around, but this is a big shot and the majority of casual players cannot execute this.

Other Thoughts:

I love challenging holes. I especially love Risk/Reward. What I am describing above is challenging by gimmickry, not by good design. When I first played, I just assumed it was a work in progress, then pads went in, tape came off trees, and it's going to take 10 or 15 years to make fairways via tree smacks.
So far, it is the worst Gateway design I've played - and I consider Dave to be a premier designer.
**Keep in mind there are a lot of politics in course design and every removal of a tree requires permission - for all I know, this was not the final plan, but ended up being so. I don't have those details, so I'm giving an honest review as is. **
I sincerely appreciate all the hard work that went into it, and this area has been begging for a disc golf course for many years.
I have 7 holes listed above, but one is jus a pin placement and the other is really not that bad. Meaning there are only 5 throw away holes and 13 really good ones.
My 3 rating is being nice because 5 holes is a lot, and this is perhaps one of the worst courses for tournament play due to the high luck factor on some of these holes. I assure you many high level players echo my thoughts here.
I know there are golfers out there that like this type of gold - it certainly does level the playing field and allow average Joes to out shoot above average Joes with a couple of bad breaks.
All the holes are fixable by creating true fairways and removing some trees.
Make no mistake, I'm not all about cutting down the forest - but if you cannot create a reasonable fairway, then don't put in a permanent tee pad - bottom line.

The most frustrating part about it is that my scoring spread here is always based on if I get shafted on one of the above mentioned holes or note. I think 54 is really solid here.

I look forward to seeing the course in another 10 years or so.....



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2 0
maxburn
Experience: 11.1 years 20 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Nice course, very pretty landscape 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 12, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

I (had) to play 'the fort' before it closed for the holiday season. I plan to visit next spring, for sure!
All 18 holes are short-ish. Very fair, lots of righty shots, threading of needles, down hill, uphill.
All set in a beautiful chunk of woods.
There is nicely maintained turf, great woods and a clean lake. (not in play except for a few holes at most).
Tee pads are concrete.
baskets are perfect
Laid back atmosphere, can feel secluded in spots.

Cons:

Take a map first outing. I was lucky and buddied up with a few regulars. It helped navigate, but the course flows well. (Only a few tees are across a street or out of view from the last basket).
A little muddy the day I played, I could imagine that in summer it would offer some great skips.
Not much wrong here, be ready to throw short, accurate shots. And avoid tree trunks. There is a lot more air than there is tree trunks, so it should be easy, right? ;>

Other Thoughts:

I can certainly see how game management is important here. You may want to lay up to stay out of the woods, or avoid hitting a tree squarely, and to get into putting range with minimal throws. Easy to park, seems like the other park goers are aware of flying discs and the course, generally. Nice and clean grounds.
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1 0
StLZep
Experience: 10.1 years 32 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 20, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Really pretty park. Excellent tees and baskets. Forced to throw different types of shots(one of my fav parts of disc golf).

Cons:

Layout was a bit confusing, even with a black and white map. Print a color one. The wooded holes are too a bit to tight for my liking. We played the short tees on most of them cuz the likelihood of getting through the lines wasn't worth the risk of plinking a tree from the pro tee and not making it to the short tree.
Update from a year later...between my improvement and more of the brush and small trees being cleared, I found this a much more fun and manageable course. Looking forward to playing it again.

Other Thoughts:

I really liked about half the holes of the course. The park is great and if you know the layout, it's a nice walk.
A very fun course when you execute your shots.
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1 1
stlstretch2
Experience: 13.8 years 7 played 3 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Decent, But Needs Work 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 20, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very tidy course
Good mix of long and short tees
Bright, easy to find baskets
Tees are constructed well

Cons:

Not well laid out
Overgrown
No bridges over some creeks
Practice basket in bad location

Other Thoughts:

Pretty good for a new course. I've been playing disc golf for about 4 years now, and I find this course tough because it's overgrown and worn out. Once it's more well known, I think the course will get a lot better.
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2 0
cronek
Experience: 12.6 years 68 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fun for beginners 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 13, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful park setting. Holes were placed nicely away from other park goers. Lot's of shade. Two tee placements made this course beginner friendly. Looks like it would be a challenge from long tees, too. We had a large group of kids age 6 to 12 and it was very playable from the short tees.

Cons:

A couple holes were too risky around water and pit hazards, especially for beginners. Hole 10 seemed to have wrong distance on sign, seemed to be marked about 100 feet too short.

Other Thoughts:

Two nice restrooms near the course. Great variety of open field and tight wooded shots.
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2 0
thrillthrower
Experience: 10.5 years 53 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

"Fort" -titude 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 11, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Tight, technical shots
Left to right and right to left
Elevation Changes
Woods, and a few open holes
Textured tee pads - very classy -
Professionally looking tee signage
Multiple tee pads, A/B pin placements
Decent distance from long pads

Cons:

Without map difficult to follow
A little muddy/wet after rain

Other Thoughts:

Great change up from others courses in St. Louis
Loved it - need to be precise with shot selection and placement off tee -

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3 0
birdman101
Experience: 14.7 years 59 played 24 reviews
3.50 star(s)

The Fort 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 24, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

First off the course went through a slight redesign along with having a lot of work done over the winter/ early spring when it was closed for the festival of lights.

It plays through a fairly busy park, but with a few exceptions most of the holes play away from other park patrons, but there are several places where really errant shots could get close to bystanders or vehicles.

every hole has 2 concrete tees, and 2 pin placements (unsure who has keys or how often the baskets will get moved). but between the 2 you could change the course up and work on different aspects of your game.

Most of the holes either play into, out of or through the woods, meaning you have to be accurate.some of the holes have some length as well forcing you to think a little bit as to how you play the hole.

with the 2 placements on every hole it seems to even out the lefty vs. righty holes a little better.

Baskets are still virtually brand new, and the tee signs have a picture of the hole along with distances for both tees, and a clip showing which pin location is currently in play.

Cons:

Course still lacks some amenities that most of us look for. I don't recall seen many trash cans on the course itself, and there are only a handful of benches (several of which already have disc chargers drawn on them :/ )

There are only tee signs at the long tees, which isn't terrible most of the holes you have to walk past it to get to the short tee anyway.

There are a couple of ditch crossings that could use a bridge of some kind.

The flow is a little strange in spots as well (seems to be a common trend with new courses in the area). You do have to cross/ walk on the park road several times.

There is no parking lot for the course, you just park on the left hand side of the road that runs through the park. So the course loops back to your car between holes 5 and 6, but then never gets you back over there. After holes 18 you have to walk a short stretch down the road to get back to the start.

Other Thoughts:

There is a practice basket by the first tee, but its a different style basket than the ones on the course.

There is a bathroom right by the first tee, and attached to the wall by the 1st tee is a box containing score cards and maps (assuming it stays full).

seems to draw in a bit of a crowed (not as bad as quail), but the course is difficult enough that it may scare off some of the new players.

The parks department and everyone involved seems to be putting a lot of effort into the course so changes could still happen.
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3 0
Golden Tuna
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 23.1 years 185 played 31 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great Updates 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 26, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

**UPDATE**
I haven't been out to this course in a while, but I'm please to share that they've made some serious upgrades to the course that will certainly push up my rating! Multiple pin placements & concrete tee pads - tee signs and a lot of the underbrush has been cleared.
New Baskets - Restrooms - Works Out Your Short Game - You Get a Good Walk in - Well-Maintained Park

Honestly, the best part about this course is that it is another place to play in St. Charles which means the sport is continuing to grow and the other courses (hopefully) won't be as crowded. The brand new Discatchers are nice and easy to see once you walk up the fairways. This course is a great place to hone in on your forehand shots and turnover midranges (if you throw RHBH).

The new pin placements and multiple tee pads give this course a lot more variety and challenge. There are still areas with broken flow that would be difficult to navigate without a map or guide. But, the course seems to get a lot of traffic, so shouldn't be too hard to find someone to drop in with or follow.

Cons:

Interesting Layout - Repetitive Hole Design - Crowded Park - Lots of Casuals - Parking

The first 6 holes aren't terrible in regards to flow, but there is more walking then there needs to be. The walk between 6 & 7 on the other hand, is pretty long. Hole 9 does not cycle back to the parking area. They have better signage now, but without it, you'd easily get lost. The park wraps around a beautiful lake but (unfortunately) it doesn't really come into play except on hole 6.

Nearly every hole was a left to right shot. If you're left handed, you'll probably love it but the rightys need bring plenty of understable mids, flick shots and patience. This course also attracts a lot of casuals that don't understand speed of play or etiquette.



Other Thoughts:

The recent updates at this course double the enjoyment you can have here. Again, the flow is still somewhat fragmented in places, but the multiple pin placements and multiple tee pads give you a ton of options each time you approach the hole. The new tee signs are also really helpful for those who haven't been to the course before. I still think they should get a second set of signs for the shorter tee pads, but it's obvious that this course is moving in the right direction!
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5 0
Brokensaint
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.4 years 336 played 31 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Another Gem in the St. Charles Crown! 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 21, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

"The Fort", the newly-installed addition to the St. Charles line up (The Ranch, The Ridge, The Crik & The Wood), is an exceedingly beautiful county park course that winds through mature woods, up and down rolling inclines that will engage and challenge your game. Can you say tunnels? Low ceilings? Lots of lefty shots? The fort has it!
The tees are marked by white stones, one has the hole number and distance, the other a drawn map of the hole that is simple but effective. The red tees, the "kid" tees, are super short but ideal for kid-sized beginners. The white tees, well... They're quite a bit more challenging, adding not only length but different shot choice angles to many of the holes.
Navigation was pretty clear and simple, using arrows to point you around.
The course will take you through tightly wooded tunnels, wide rolling fairways guarded by mature trees, and moderate elevation changes just about every hole.
The park itself is quite lovely, wrapping around a popular fishing lake.
I had an awesome time playing the Fort and will definitely play it again and again!
UPDATE 4/18/14: There are now dual concrete tees in place, imprinted with a very cool wood plank relief and big descriptive tee signs at each long tee. There are plenty of trash cans around the course as well. And about six million trees to hit. The Fort just gets better!

Cons:

It's a brand new course, with plans for growth. That said, it needs trash cans and concrete tees. (UPDATE 4/18/14: dual concrete tees and ample trash cans abound)
Also, I was made to understand that it is a heavily-trafficked park on the weekends, and the course, while away from the obviously-populated areas, still winds close to people.

Other Thoughts:

Play the Fort. Seriously. Quite fun.
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2 4
Broll
Experience: 10 played 10 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 20, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

very nice course with a lot of differnt shots and a wide variety of fairways. has 2 t-pad placements, one for beginners/youth one for the more advance players. it is challenging and flows well. 2 loop course 1-6 for a qiuck pick up game and 7-18. this course makes you throw different throws with some precision. eventually there will be 2 -3 pin placements and concrete pads in the spring for the the grand opening. great location close to I -70 with multiple food and beverage place close by.

Cons:

still in a trial run to get locations of play to see how things will be laid out for perm. t-pads and optional pin placements
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9 0
Gflap
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20.7 years 423 played 33 reviews
3.00 star(s)

FORE at the Fort 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Course located within 1 mile of interstate I-70. Nice manicured city park. 2 sets of natural tee pads with whites set up as longs and reds set up for youth/ beginners. Innova yellow banded baskets for greater ease for locating baskets. Good use of moderate elevation changes. Moderately wooded on half the holes and heavily wooded on the remainder of holes. Currently there are temporary signs with distances labeled for both sets of tees. Next hole signs with arrows for greater ease with navigation of course. Excellent variety of hole types as no 2 holes are alike.

Cons:

Lack of concrete tee pads however there are plans to install pads this fall. Interference with other park goers is inevitable on some holes. Lack of wide open longer holes. Still a work in progress with some very tight and unforgiving fairways.

Other Thoughts:

Fort Zumwalt park provides for a very fun and unique disc golf experience even in the course's infancy. Lines to the baskets will eventually become more defined as this course is expected to get a lot of play. Park workers are involved in making the course better for all levels of disc golfers. Will keep this site updated as the course progresses.
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