Just gave it 3.5 as to not affect the rating

Looks very poorly maintained. Looks like you'd be searching for disks a lot if you're not really good.

Just a warning that this park seems sketchy. It is in a really rough area of Calgary and is quite secluded. When we pulled in there was a black SUV sitting at the entrance to the park that soon after followed us in. When we pulled into the lot there were 4 other vehicles, 3 of which had men sitting in them waiting for something. We decided to move to the next parking lot where we watched a very suspicious character get out of his truck and walk straight into a bush. Anyways, I'm a 31 year old big guy and didn't feel comfortable. If I had to guess it really seemed drug related so they probably wouldn't bother disc golfers but I didn't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you do go I'd suggest going as a group and not taking any valuables with you or in your car.

The course is really challenging, so if you're looking for more than easy 3s, this is the place to play in Calgary. It has a really cool and fairly unique feature in that the natural grass here grows above the knees in the summer, but the city mows fairways in, to the design of the CDGC. It looks amazing and adds a lot to the charm of the course.

Accuracy is key here. The groupings of trees in play are thick and gnarled, and can be very punishing of an errant throw. Generally it's really hard to find a window to throw through the branches. Most courses, a tree will knock down your disc but you're in decent shape for your next shot. Here, the trees can swallow up your disc and give you absolutely nothing... you might have to throw laterally or backwards to get out. Often it ends up being equivalent to having thrown OB.

At about ~6300ft, it's not an exceptionally long course on paper (though it is for Calgary), but the use of the trees makes sure almost every hole is challenging in some way. 7 holes here are >380 feet. Of the rest, there are only 3 that I would call "very two-able" (1, 8, and 13), and the latter two can still punish you if you mess up.

As is generally the case, this course is in a public park, but it's not as busy as most which is good. There aren't many casual disc golfers here (both because it's challenging and because word isn't out), so it's easy to get in fast rounds on weekends in the summer. This park is also a sparsely used off leash dog park, which is a "pro" if you have a dog you want to take with you.

The big knock against this course is that it's still very raw, but I'm excited about what it can become with some polish.

The tee boxes are worn to dirt and therefore can be muddy. Even if they're dry, they're rather uneven and some of them can make a run up awkward. Right now they're marked with rocks, which makes them hard to spot so navigation your first time or two through is going to be challenging. Signs and concrete tee pads would go a long way to add some polish and make a better first impression.

The park itself is a little rough around the edges, and there's a few spots around where I think a little landscaping and cleanup are warranted. Rugged describes it aptly. For example, as you go down the hill after your tee shot on 13, some stairs would be nice, but a clean up of the little drug user campsite below the tee box would be even nicer. I'm really hoping the city of Calgary steps up here and provides some resources, as I think disc golf has had a really good influence on this park in a short amount of time. There's also some old short segments of fence with interpretive signs on them which have seen their best days, and it's time for the city to just pull them out. A barbed wire topped chain link fence circles off an area where the refining used to happen, and the OB area behind the fence comes into play on some of the final holes. There's nothing wrong with this, but it adds to the "rough" look of the course.

I'm really not very fond of the baskets here; I don't know what kind they are, but the chains used are too heavy and can kick out putts that would have stuck on more modern baskets. Even worse, the height of the target (top of basket to top of chains) is 42cm (on the one I measured), below the PDGA specified minimum of 48cm. Good for "high altitude training" of sorts, but not fit for a tournament.

As the course develops, it would be nice to see the CDGC sell these baskets to a smaller town at a discount, and "upgrade" here.

I've rated the course 3.5; tee pads and signs would immediately make it a 4 for me. If it were a little more scenic and the landscape a little more tailored to the course, it could be a 4.5. It is a lot more fun to play than Baker Park, which I also rated a 3.5, but Baker is in a really well manicured park and has some polish that Refinery doesn't (yet).

While most of the holes are well designed and make good use of the features that are available, holes 11 through 15 really feel constrained by the train tracks and the barbed wire fence. I think if the fenced off area were opened up, that segment of the course could really utilize it and be made more memorable.

I can't say enough about how challenging this course is, by design, in a very good way. I couldn't ask for a better home course, it gives me a lot of opportunity to develop my game that the easier courses in the city (all the rest of them) don't.

Do your research and grab a map before you come, or you'll be lost for sure. It's not easy to navigate but if you use the paths and mowed fairways as clues, it helps. It seems like every weekend I'm helping first timers learn the course... I think I'm going to just start carrying maps in my bag.

I find wind to be a bigger factor here than most courses... if it's too windy, I go elsewhere. Much of the first 9 holes are elevated and exposed, and as mentioned the course can be punishing as you battle with the wind. Baker and Thorncliffe, by contrast, are quite protected from the wind.

As mentioned, it's an off leash park, so you'll encounter a few dogs (and some poop from irresponsible owners). Both are fairly sparse relative to most dog parks in the city. You'll also encounter some cyclists on the pathways (no issues relative to the course design), and some... um.... lonely men who are looking for each other. Fortunately, that particular park patron is on the decline with the increase of disc golfers in the park, and some police patrols through the area.

If you lose a disc over the fence, there's a hole you can get through by the tee box for 16. Like the first reviewer, I'm looking forward to when the fenced area is opened up and can be incorporated into the course.

Well placed in the landscape to make good use of available features and with clean fairways recently mowed in by the city, the course offers interesting challenges in a good mix of holes from 200-500+ feet. Pro's will get to use all their tools and recreational players will find the fresh fairways generous enough to keep from spending too much time in the rough searching for discs. The course also starts and ends against the parking area, which is nice.

There isn't much around the park itself, so most users aren't passers-by thus parking is ample and relatively safe.

The park is shared with a lot of dog walkers who often let their dogs run free. If you have a phobia of dogs, you and your favorite driver have been warned. Pre-mow, the course was mostly rough: often tall or thorny and unpleasant, even off a good drive in the middle of most 'fairway's. Although there are stones marked with hole # and length, finding the next tee is not easy unless you are familiar with the course, although again, being mowed-in aids in navigation as well. I'd go so far as to say the course mowed is +1.5 points of score, in my opinion.

There is a fenced in, off-limits area where the old refinery proper once stood which factors into play on #'s 14, 15 and 18. There are ways under the fence in the advent of throwing over, but it's annoying and wears on the fence. It's a nice mando challenge, though.

Has all the potential to be the best disc golf course in town. I understand the city will mow it three times per year starting in 2014, here's hoping.

Hole #12 can be a beast - if you're playing this for the 1st time, it might blow your mind. Tip: The fence line up to the last tree before the pathway on your right is off-limits mando. Shoot straight/left over the bramble to get an angle on the approach alley. The bramble looks bad, but opens up nicely if you can clear it.

I'd love to see signage and/or poured tees. I also wonder when the city is factoring on removing the inner fenced-in area. This could add to the course greatly someday.

No outdoor washroom facilities here, but lots of bushes. There are plenty of fast food restaurants a short drive away as well.