St. Stephen, MN

Mississippi River Park

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2.95(based on 10 reviews)
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2 0
Uptightjoker
Experience: 7.7 years 76 played 7 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun for Intermediate 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 28, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Nice park overall
-Good variety of left and right curves, as well as straight shots
-Well groomed fairways (should be wider)
-multiple tees
-Decent signage, although I think the distances are off
-Good variety of lengths and pars
-Almost all holes are well marked to get to the next tee

Cons:

-Got lost trying to find tee 2, ended up at 3. (I am not really counting this into my review score, as I may have missed a sign or something)
-Lots of bugs (Again, not really counting this into the score, as it's a rural park in central Minnesota, the bugs are going to be bad)
-Easy to lose a disc if you leave the fairway
-Many of the fairways are very narrow, and could be mowed out to twice the length.
-Mix bag of baskets on the holes, included a decent number of what seems to be homemade baskets that have a bit of an inward curve causing them to be narrow at the opening

Other Thoughts:

-This course has a high number of technical holes, some of which are similar or the same as others.
-Overall a very enjoyable course in my opinion. I will be going back, and it's an hour drive from my home, but worth it in my opinion.
-Very long walks in-between some holes, but overall still a good flow to the course.
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3 13
Spike Hyzer 23
Experience: 30.7 years 92 played 87 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Something for No One 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 23, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Holes 11 and 12 were unique and interesting holes that the course should have been built around.

Cons:

--Dirt tee pads. Unclear where pro and am were in winter. Tee signs look good but ineffectual.
--Terrible baskets. Home made. Weird ones with curves in the
basket itself.
--Terrible design. I can't say enough about how awful this course was. It's nothing but tunnel shots down the paths that are groomed for XC Skiing. Almost every hole is an unreachable shot down a 'fairway' that is 10-12 feet wide.
--Hole 7 is very long and goes down the path between two rows of pines that were planted to be harvested by the lumber industry. I've seen this sort of hole a lot in MN and only once in WI, and I don't know what these designers are thinking. One hole like this on a course is too many, but a shorter version appeared only two holes later. It is almost impossible to go 100 feet without hitting something and kicking outside the path, then it is impossible to do anything but lay up and put it back on that narrow path. Inexcusable.
--Hole 13 is a reachable hole that is completely unfair. The only possible shot is a RHBH with an overstable disc on an anhyzer. All paths to the left are completely blocked (did I mention the course is almost wholly righty friendly?). I only saved par with a miraculous thumber right handed.
--Hole 14 is equally bad. 200 feet straight ahead down a 15 foot wide fairway (one of the widest). Then a 90 degree right turn and a shot of 75 feet under a low canopy. I've seen a very few holes like this and can't say how much I hate them. Designers who think this is appropriate are insane masochists.

When the course finally opens up a little, the holes are ludicrously long and boring, though they too come to unbelievably well guarded greens.

Other Thoughts:

I'm a huge proponent of technical courses and testing the skill, rather than the distance, of players, but a course has to be fair.

There was nothing whatsoever fair about this course. There were only 2 or 3 reasonable holes and the rest were just terrible.

This is not what disc golf should be about.
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3 2
Rush2112
Experience: 27.8 years 13 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great 18 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 24, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

- wonderful, challenging, layout, tip of the cap to the designers
- lots of twists and turns in both directions requiring a complete game
- some super cool, straight, tight shots through tall red pines (fair and fun!)
- mostly wooded but still a nice variety of holes
- excellent directions between holes (and it needs to be as this course is a good hike)
- nice map and score card available just before #1 tee
- for as wooded as it is, not all that many places to lose a disc

Cons:

- bring bug spray (but it's mostly woods running so it's to be expected)
- the most eclectic mix of basket types I've seen (but I'm nitpicking here)

Other Thoughts:

If you like a challenging wooded course you should love Mississippi River Park. The signage is nice but it has a bizarre par rating difference between the long and short tee's. On quite a few holes you'll have a distinct advantage if you play them as marked and from the long tee's... but who cares really, play it as you wish and just enjoy this wonderful setting. I talked to a park maintenance man before leaving and it sounds like the deer fly's would be out in full force within 2-3 weeks. Mosquitoes were numerous but manageable with spray as long as you kept moving; I could see this course being difficult to play once the deer fly's are present. I look forward to playing here again, I can't say that I played it all that well but this is one of those places you drive away from feeling like you were given a fair chance to make your shots and the ones you missed were your fault rather than the layout being unrealistic. All skill levels should enjoy this place if you're up for a challenge!
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5 2
djgimli
Experience: 19.9 years 36 played 2 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 23, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Challenging fairways, a great course for perfecting shots around broad obstacles without too much penalty for failure. There is undergrowth but it's more navigable in finding discs than many countryside courses, and there are many fairly open shots too. A skillful curve will do you well, but you can survive without it.
There are rarely others on this course (of the 30+ times I've thrown it, I've seen others only once) and so it makes for nice privacy and relaxation. It's very secluded and not near traffic, a town, etc....sometimes the tee signs are the only reminder of civilization. You'll really get disoriented walking out there (a good thing) which makes you feel like you're on a hike. I've even taken a nap at hole 8 without incident.
A decent variety of holes, no two are the same and although it's wooded, there are at least patchy openings on almost every hole.

Cons:

Hole 11 has a very thick, 15-foot tall thorny patch in which it's quite easy to lose a disc, and there are some fairways where the branches could use a little trimming. This course could very easily become a 18+ hole course...in fact, I've gone off down splits in the trail and tossed at trees I've scoped out previously just to extend my play on a lazy day. It's true, if you walk up to some of the baskets and try real hard, you can get a disk throught the grill....

Other Thoughts:

I know this breaches protocol for reviews, but I think it's important to point this out: the most common 'con' listed by previous reviews is in regards to the baskets, and several of those have been replaced with nice baskets just this summer, so that problem is half taken care of. I throw this course frequently and have had a fall-through occur only once in 30+ rounds. Don't worry about it happening on a hole-in-one, this course isn't designed for hole-in-one's....

I enjoy this course more than many others with high overall ratings, but I should probably just be saying that this course sucks, I'd prefer to keep my hidden gem to myself I guess....
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2 2
hornu007
Experience: 13.8 years 8 played 2 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Natural Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 4, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Nicely groomed fairways.
-More challenging than the courses in town due to all the trees and thick, tall grass.
-Enjoyable for the nature hike itself.

Cons:

-Rough is definitely getting tall and can make finding and retrieving discs a pain.
-Some baskets let discs fall through, saw it happen with my friend's putt.
-Lots of bugs; the spray kept the mosquitoes away but not the biting flies.
-Tee pads were natural with a small strip of concrete at the front; they were usually just fine but a couple were more difficult to use.

Other Thoughts:

-A tree was down across the fairway of the first hole making it quite difficult to even walk through, let alone throw a disc.
-Without the provided map, we probably would have had a hard time finding some of the tees.
-New baskets, better tee pads, and trimmed up rough would make this an even more enjoyable course.
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6 0
mndiscg
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 480 played 478 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Accuracy needed! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 24, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Trees everywhere!
-Good variations of distance.
-No two holes were the same, they went straight, right, left.
-Scorecards/maps at the start were very helpful.
-Maps weren't even necessary because all holes had great signs and smaller signs helped to navigate the course.
-Dual tees
-Bugs weren't bad when they are at almost all MN courses at this time.
-Hole 7 is similar to blue ribbon pines #4, great hole. I almost aced it from the long tee too!
-Nice mowed fairways, appears to be upkept fairly well.

Cons:

-Tees and baskets!! The tees were just small 1x3 concrete strips laid in the ground. The baskets were all different kinds and none of them I had ever seen before. I too had one of my discs slide out the bottom which should never happen! They also had odd amounts of chains and seemed to be taller than normal.
-Break-ins have been reported so be careful with what you leave in your car.
-Also used for hiking and other nature like things so dont hit anybody!
-Keep in on the mowed fairways or you might not find it in the very tall grass and brush.
-Not alot of elevation but its challenging enough without it.

Other Thoughts:

Could be made into a 18 or more hole for sure. This park is huge. If 6 or more quality holes were added and the baskets and tees replaced this course would become at least a 4.5. It was highly enjoyable to play there in its current state and could be even better!

To get there keep taking the left of the fork til you get to a parking lot with a shelter and bathrooms.
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3 4
d4nk
Experience: 15 played 6 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Could be better. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 6, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Usually not crowded, sometimes it can be, but usually not. Secluded.

Cons:

Trees, trees, trees I don't mind the trees but I do mind that they haven't once bothered maintain the trees, many of the holes have become overgrown making for very frustrating play the trees need some branch pruning.

The baskets are just awful here, not regulation at all, nor are they even the same baskets some holes have ones that curve inward making it a very hard put. Some of the baskets have too wide of spacing allowing discs to fall out the bottom...what if you got a hole in one and it fell out??? wtf...
Update this course it could be so much better.

Other Thoughts:

12 Holes, but plenty of room for the powers that be to add another 6 holes, perhaps they could do that if they get real baskets.

Hole 7 is a neat hole.
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5 1
Cradical
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.8 years 110 played 61 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 12, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The course is layed out in an easy way to follow. There are good signs at every tee, with distances of both tees and also the general location of the hole. There are signs to the next tee eveywhere so you just have to watch for them.
The course has a lot of very tight fairways, so it can get frustrating. There are opportunities for birdies, though you'll need some luck.
Signature hole #7 is a very tough hole. Two rows of pine trees run parallel for 309 feet.
The pro par is generally a few strokes higher than the rec par even though the "pro" tees are only 20 feet behind the rec tees.
This course doesn't really favor forehand or backhand. It has a good mix of forehand and backhand holes.
There are very few baskets you can see from the tee, so it's good to scope it out before you throw.

Cons:

The baskets here tend to spit out discs. Also the bottom part of the basket is large enough so a disc that has gone in can escape.
There's a lot of extra room, it seems as if an 18 hole course could be built pretty easily.
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4 1
marcusriewer
Experience: 15.8 years 38 played 3 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 13, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Nice course in the woods. They did well designing it in the space they had provided. Not a long walk between holes. Also a challenging couse due to the amount of trees and location of the pins. Score cards were available, and they showed how the course played out.

Cons:

The skeeters were terrible. The grass was too long for my liking. Every hole was like the previous one in the fact that they are all narrow. The pars on the secondary pins did not corespond with the primary ones. A longer more challenging shot could be a 4 compared to a shorter par 5 on the same hole.

Other Thoughts:

Bring the spray for the mosquitoes. If your in the area, give the course a chance. One of a kind hole number seven is a must see!
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3 0
mike_riewer
Experience: 17 years 44 played 19 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Mississippi River Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 7, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Definitly a unigue course and well designed with its site. Going from hole to hole was easy and there were score card available to see the layout of the course. Dual tees are a plus, closer tees usually much easier. The signature number seven hole is a must see. The hole runs between two rows of pine trees but they are trimmed up at least 14 feet so the hole is not unreasonable.

Cons:

The dual pins are nice but they the pars seem to change out of proporsion with the pacement of the tees. Some holes the shorter tee moves up 20-25 feet but the par drops by 2 strokes. THe course is tucked into the woods, making very narrow fairways if any at all. If one strays off the path trees and tall grass and shrubs will make for dificult shots. The baskets seem to be old and discs can fall out. Because of its placement in the woods, mosquitos are terrible, so bring spray.

Other Thoughts:

The couse is like a disc course on a walking trail. But it has great character. To change the couse for the better while keeping this character, better baskets and mowing the path woult help.
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