Salt Lake City, UT

Roots DGC

3.175(based on 15 reviews)
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7 0
sillybizz
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 22.2 years 407 played 392 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Magic Number Again?! Yup....

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 6, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Infrastructure is all sound with good, newish baskets, tee signs with distance and map, par, etc. Multiple pins and little circular discs they move around and lock in place to show you which position the basket is currently in. It's a good course for throwing rollers and practicing drives as the obstacles are seldom. Parks people were out here on the morning I was playing cleaning up the fairways and doing other course maintenance, it shows they care about this place, it's in good shape currently.

Cons:

The Magic Number:

I've ranted and raved before and I'm sure I will again. This course suffers from the idea that a course has to be a specified number of holes BEFORE determining if the available land is large enough to accommodate it. Usually this is the idea that a course must be 9 or 18 holes or be a multiple of three, 12 holes, 27 holes, etc. I believe a course should have any number of GOOD holes that are also SAFE when multiple groups are estimated to be playing on it at the same time like in city parks. This is probably my biggest pet peeve that see so often in course design and it is prevalent here. Give me 13 good holes over 5 good holes and 13 fillers!

This place has fairways overlapping, crossing, and having you walk from the last basket into the fairway you just played or another fairway to get you to the next tee. Dangerous layout indeed.

I felt as if all of the shots kind of felt and looked the same. Throw an open shot that's straight, then a dogleg left, then a dogleg right, then repeat. All of the distances are close enough that even 50 feet of difference still felt like the same hole especially with very little obstacles and no punishment of bad throws.

Navigation is a little weird if you don't use Udisc. There are many baskets and tee pads within sight and it's not always obvious which one you should be going to.

Other Thoughts:

I've always hated playing disc golf on ball golf courses and don't really understand why people keep doing it. The challenges are different, the game is different, and what is fun and challenging to a golfer is boring to a disc golfer. If this is your cup of tea be my guest but I will avoid this course and others like it in the future. It's totally fine for driving practice if no one is around otherwise be ready to keep your head on a swivel.
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6 1
Superbford
Experience: 10 played 10 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Solid, fun course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 25, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

First, the course is fun.
Good mix of shots.
Signage is good.
Multiple basket locations, and each sign has a circle marker letting you know the length.
Concrete pads.
Mandatory's are well marked.
Fun mando gate on hole 10.

Cons:

Gets a bit confusing, but if you use UDisc, it isn't that hard to follow.
There are times you have to cross other fairways while playing. If it was crowded you would need to be really careful and pay attention to who might be in your way or who might be throwing your way.

Other Thoughts:

This is a fun course. Not perfect, but if I lived close by I would play it often. Not as good as Creekside in the area, but close and different enough to make both places you would want to play regularly.
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5 0
aphilso1
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.5 years 52 played 49 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Disappointing 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 2, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

+Good permanent infrastructure: 18 long concrete teepads + no missing or damaged baskets + nice/new tee signs.

+Nice variety of length. All holes are Par 3's, but a couple are tough to reach unless you've got a huge arm while some others are reachable via a putter or mid for the average player. Also, the tee signs indicate that most holes have the potential for multiple pin placements.

+Somewhat beginner friendly: not a lot of places to lose a disc, and the foliage is sparse. Layout would be exceptionally confusing for new players that have yet to discover uDisc's maps, though.

+Very nice shady sitting area at the entrance. Would be an enjoyable spot for league night or even just waiting for a buddy who is running a couple minutes late.

Cons:

-It's depressing to read the early positive reviews here on DGCR and see the pictures from 2014 on PDGA's website, and contrast that with the condition the course is in today. Roots has more weeds and dirt than grass at this point, and much of the grass that is left is dying. SLC was handed land in perfect condition and has managed to let it go in less than 6 years.

-Roots was built on a former ball golf course. If you've thrown discs on other ball golf courses then you know what type of layout to expect. However, Roots is less appealing than other ball golf tracks for a couple reasons:
1. Most ball golf courses use water to create challenge. In contrast, Roots has zero ponds (and few hazards in general) and the Jordan River really only comes into play on one hole.
2. A big part of the enjoyment of playing on ball golf courses is the "nice" factor - lush green grass as far as the eye can see, soft sandy bunkers, etc. As mentioned above, that's what Roots looked like when the city inherited the land, but is not at all what it looks like now.

-The land is way too small for the layout, and this is a classic example of creating a worse course just for the sake of making it 18 holes. Some examples: walkways to get from a green to the next tee require you to cross other holes' fairways; there are holes running adjacent to each other with no tree break for separation; and there are even back-to-back holes (7 and 8) where the tee pads are within a couple feet of each other, meaning you have to walk parallel to the fairway you just played to get to the next tee. The club has tried to neutralize some of the inherent danger of the layout by installing a bunch of mandos, but the reality is that a shank at the wrong time could easily hit someone.

Other Thoughts:

Typically an 18 hole layout with good tee pads, baskets, and signs is at least a 3* course in my book. Roots is an exception. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I had gotten to play it when it was brand new and in its prime, but currently it's an eyesore and with zero unique/memorable holes. I can think of many 9 hole tracks that I'd rather play though twice, rather than play Roots.
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5 0
flatline
Experience: 23.3 years 1 played 1 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Lots of potential 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 4, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-relatively uncrowded
-good baskets
-good variation on R/L doglegs

Cons:

-lack of tee maps <- really frustrating when first playing here
-cramped
-no elevation changes
-it is a hot spot for casuals atm, expect families and people playing with traditional frisbees on occasion, and plenty of people roaming the course with no idea what order the holes go, not their fault there are almost zero indicators save for numbers on the tees and baskets

Other Thoughts:

I have no idea why somebody bothered to put in cement tees but didn't bother to install maps/signs. The course is literally impossible to navigate for a first-timer. I would have preferred the rubber mats with some kind of map so that noobs aren't constantly roaming the course, jumping in on holes in front of people without knowing.

BTW, don't trust the maps in the photo section on this site, while a couple are still accurate, most are not. The foliage is completely different as well.
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6 0
Notorious21
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.6 years 103 played 48 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Underwhelming 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 20, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

- A decent beginners course with open, mowed fairways
- Easy parking
- Ace runs

Cons:

- Poor signage, difficult to navigate
- Precious little distance, elevation, or variety
- Overlapping fairways create confusion and safety risk

Other Thoughts:

This course had roughly the same rating as Creekside, but they are very different. Creekside is much more of a challenge, with a better layout, and more variety. If you only can play one, skip Roots. If you have time to play both, play Creekside twice.
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3 0
golfbrewer
Experience: 6.9 years 29 played 18 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Good Course, little traffic 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 23, 2017 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

I finally got to play this course. Good course not much traffic. Early morning get a little traffic but by 2 pm there was nobody on the course. Nice tee placement in the trees. Varied long and short holes. Easy to find your disc and hard to lose a disc. All tee have pads some need to be replaced.

I like the Mandos on some holes puts a challenge on the hole.

Lots of open field to throw but a lot of the tees are tucked in trees in which i like.

Hole 1 and 2 are the hardest for me. I am a RHBH thrower and the basket is far right. So I will be working on my Side Arm Throw.

Benches are pretty much all holes.

All Baskets are marked well with the hole on top of basket.

Baskets are in great shape. Baskets are Mach X.

Cons:

No tee information at the holes. Most tee pads are marked but some on the back 9 are missing the marker on what hole you are on.

Bring a map and I found to be helpful is a score sheet so you know the distance that you are throwing.

On the map it shows basket A or B. The B baskets are not there, so it is all A basket.

No elevation at the course. Not much for hazards like water. Would like that challenge.

Other Thoughts:

It is not as hard as Creekside course in SLC, but you don't have the crowds.

Course needs better or updated signage.

But over all really good course. I give this a 3.0 to 3.25. Will play this course again. Fun course.

Bring a Map and a score sheet so you know the distance.
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3 0
kyleocean
Experience: 26.3 years 184 played 12 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Needs Improvement 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 1, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Variety of holes of distances. Beautiful park. Nice baskets. Pretty easy to find. Nicely manicured park and fairways. Easy to find discs. Benches at many holes.

Cons:

Teepads need replaced as soon as possible. No teesigns. No map anywhere to be found. Horrible layout, fairways crossing each other all over and then next teepad is rarely in an obvious walking direction. I found myself constantly checking the map online just to figure out where the next tee was. No distances marked anywhere.

Other Thoughts:

I played this course while traveling through and I have now officially played all the courses in Salt Lake. I think this course is worth playing, especially if you have already played everything else and want to see them all. I saw some reviews and expected this course to be better than it was but was not overly impressed. Am I glad I stopped to play? Absolutely. However from here on out I will play creekside instead. This course needs a lot of improvements but has a ton of potential. If the caretakers got cement pads poured, simple teesigns in, and just rearranged the layout using the exact same holes but in a better order so you are not crisscrossing around walking through fairways, this could be a 3.5 or 4 easily. Also, I played on a Monday morning at 9AM and ALL of the sprinklers were on, my feet were soaked and I was constantly avoiding the grounds keepers or park workers. So that was interesting.

Other Other Thoughts: I am pretty decent at disc golfing and usually shoot around 3 or 4 under on average. I shot a -8 on this course only using a Teebird, Buzz and putter, and also not putting well this day. So its kind of an easy course in my opinion, you will be more challenged by creekside for sure.
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3 0
AeroPurt
Experience: 15.7 years 59 played 29 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Solid course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 21, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Course is situated on an old 9-hole ball golf course.
- Course was well maintained.
- Plenty of long semi-open holes, bring your distance drivers.
- Good use of mandos and OB sand bunkers.
- Baskets are in good condition.
- Rubber tees in good condition.
- Tee signs.
- Jordan River that runs just east of the course adds a challenge to a few holes.

Cons:

- Course could use new tee signs. Par, distance, and hole diagram are missing on the current signs.
- Course could use some "next tee" signs.
- A couple fairways run parallel (5/18, 6/7) which could cause a safety concern. There are mandos in place for this reason, however, mandos don't account for errant throws or high wind scenarios.

Other Thoughts:

- I asked around before visiting SLC and was told by many that Creekside is THE course to play in the Salt Lake area. This might ruffle some feathers, but after playing both of these courses, I have to disagree. I preferred Roots largely because the course seemed to make a bit more sense.
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1 1
travelsurflive
Experience: 6.8 years 40 played 20 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Played in winter with about 1-2 feet of snow 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 21, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Spread out holes
- Course is well mapped out
- Nice tee pads
- Bathrooms in multiple locations
- Long holes
- Dog friendly
- Cool benches at a few holes
- trash cans

Cons:

- Lots of snow, had to shovel off each mat
- Lost a disc in snow and one in river out of 5 people
- Probably should bring a map, unless your following another group

Other Thoughts:

All in all fun course would love to play again with less snow! Parking lot is chill could probably stay over night if you needed to.
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1 1
Taylor510ce
Experience: 10.1 years 15 played 12 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Quick play, needs work 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 1, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great baskets. Rubber Teepads are great. Plenty of space to warm up at the practice basket.

Cons:

No course map, no signage. Only the tiny yellow stumps on the ground by the teepads tell you what hole you're on. Sometimes you have to backtrack to your next teepad, kooky.

It's a little bit difficult to find when you're driving there unless you do your research and figure it out.

Other Thoughts:

If there is a club in town, just a couple of work parties and a little bit of thought into making it more challenging could really make a big difference.
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10 1
bobmcnelly
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.9 years 324 played 189 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years

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

Pros:

- some of best baskets I have ever played with
- good flat rubber tee pads
- easy access, just a couple minutes off 80
- quick play 18 hole
- pretty quiet for a city course
- great use of the terrain, trees come into play on nearly every hole, the river and mandos also add to the challenge
- multiple pin placments

Cons:

- the tee signs only have numbers
- you can see multiple baskets from many of the tees making it confusing
- navigation signage would be an upgrade as well
- the course mostly flat
- a few holes play close to other fairways, greens, and teepads making injury from a errant shot a possibility

Other Thoughts:

This is a real fun city park course, however with nearly no signage playing it the first time can be very frustrating. I am aware that this is a relatively new course, so I would imagine eventually these issues will be fixed.
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5 0
hollman
Experience: 20 played 20 reviews
3.50 star(s)

A good change to the typical park or wooded courses 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 28, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

* It's often fun to mix up your playing of a tight, wooded course with one that is more open where you can let the disc rip; that's this course
* Well maintained and the old golf course features like the sand traps and tree layouts really make the course interesting
* You really shouldn't lose any discs on this course or have too much trouble finding them, although there are a few brushy spots where you might spend some time searching for a couple minutes
* If you have kids (or a companion) and like bringing them with you, this course is perfect because it flows back and forth (flow is really good) and you always have a good view of where they are at

Cons:

* Maps were out of stock when we played, so it was a little confusing to find the tees. Another guy playing there said he ended up skipping some because he was confused, but it really wasn't too bad if you looked around. After playing it once, it would be really easy to play again.
* Bathrooms were closed, but they did have a portable available.
* Signage was very lacking. With better signage, I might rate this course a 4.

Other Thoughts:

I really wanted to give this course a 4, but it was just short of being there. With some better signage it would certainly be a 3.75. There aren't a lot of big elevation changes. It looks like it was probably a short par-3 golf course before being converted. That really makes for a fun experience. I appreciate that disc golf allows the player to play a wide variety of courses from wooded, to flat, to open, and tight. This made for a good change up for us after just playing some wooded, mountainous, tight courses. Add it to your play list if you are planning on being in the area.
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4 0
LiquidDivide
Experience: 9.9 years 5 played 3 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Ball golf converted to disc golf 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 18, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

It's a ball course converted to disc golf, which gave it a unique and pretty neat feel. Most of the baskets were nestled into some trees or at least had you going through or around trees to get near it. Clearly marked mandatories that added some good obstacles and challenge to the course. Good variety of long and short holes and direction too (curving left and right).

Cons:

Some of the tees and pins are a bit close to each other, which caused some confusion at times, even though I brought a map. The map should two pin locations for all 18 holes, but I don't know if or how often they are moved. A nice map at the entrance and an indicator to tell you the current pin positions would really improve the experience.

Hole 11 is a bit odd and doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the course. It's really short, through a narrow gap and then through a fence. I felt like I was going into somebody's back yard.

It's a relatively flat course, but I think they did a good job utilizing the elevation change they did have.

Other Thoughts:

Overall I had a great time at this course. Took me a little over an hour to play a round and the locals were helpful in giving directions, letting me play through, and even helping me dislodge a treed disc once.

I visit this area somewhat frequently and plan on playing here again. Fun technical course.
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2 4
thespeedokid
Experience: 9.4 years 110 played 34 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Superb course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 8, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Really good rubbery tees. Variety in length of holes and trees. Variety of shots required. It's built on a ball golf course so the grass is really well kept. Variety of curved and straight holes. Nice vibrant Mach X baskets. Wood blocks at each tee with the hole number on it.

Cons:

No hole signs. I'm personally not to fond of water although it doesn't really come into play. (I mean who wants a lost disc). Hole 8 and 9 have the same location for a tee.

Other Thoughts:

It's a really nice young disc golf course. I would like to see the old golf pro shop turned into a disc golf pro shop. Holes 1 curves way right. Hole 10's basket is long and just past the trees on the right. Since I also play ball golf this was a really cool course.
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2 7
aegolius14
Experience: 24.8 years 85 played 2 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Great new course in SLC 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

Fantastic new course at the location of the original Utah disc golf course. Beautiful layout in a park like setting with the feel of a ball golf course. Good variety of short and long holes with challenging mandos and shots for righties and lefties. For larger tournaments the ball golf practice area just north of the course will be used and will add some very long par 4 hole options.

Cons:

A bit flat and hole 11 will need some work.

Other Thoughts:

Welcome to Roots Disc Golf course.
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