Staunton, VA

Kiwanis DGC

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3.435(based on 28 reviews)
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12 0
DumfriesLizzie
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 5.5 years 111 played 101 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Valley gem south of Harrisonburg 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 11, 2021 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Most courses have a practice basket to warm up. Maybe even 2 practice baskets. This course has a full practice hole. It sits in a low field beneath the disc-golf parking lot, on the other side of the park entrance road from the no. 1 tee. The field is maybe 250 feet from a natural tee. You cannot stir that with a stick!

The course has a nice balance of open and wooded holes. Ditto, short and long holes. The longer holes also are nicely spread out to give you a break from all the woods. And there are in-betweeners that have a generous fairway if not totally open.

I believe (not certain though) that older framed/gravel and brick-marker tees have been retired, and that we are now shooting from the green turf tees in the long position to either the short basket or long basket. The turf tees are nice. Long enough and in good shape. I believe they all are relatively new.

Speaking of the baskets, I like that the long basket's relationship to the short one is most often really thought out. Sometimes a very long distance from the short basket. Placed in a location with additional challenge, not just distance (i.e. guardian trees or a sloped green). The holes where this is done the best are nos. 1,5,6,8,9, and 18.

I'm partial to a parkland course with significant but not overbearing trees. The holes that best feature this design include nos. 1 (short B pin and the long green), 5, 8, 10 (big and open but that acute slope requires strategy), 13 (through a tree "gate" into and across an open field into a treed green), 16 (wooded pocket, open fairway, wooded green), 17 (sloped with big mature trees spaced out nicely), 18 (similar but more open at the end). Indeed, 17 and 18 could be feel-good ending holes for those having a good round.

Cons:

I feel like most of the short wooded holes are junk holes. Especially 2, 3, 4, short 12 when there is no pond to throw over. One might say that also of 7, 14, 15, but I like all of those. The green of 7 is well-guarded and a challenge. I like how the fairway of 14 is something of an S. And I love the terraced fairway of no. 15.

I'm not sure I encountered one bench...

Other Thoughts:

Do note that the local club has redesigned the course over the past year or so. Some holes totally redesigned and others renumbered. Thus, some of the photos here are out-of-date. For example, the no. 6 tees are now across the street in the same green strip as the baskets. Nos. 7-9 are all different now. Old no. 9 is now no. 10. Old no. 10 is no more. You walk between two baseball fields to get to no. 11 (gated fence to enter). You descend down a short, rocky ravine to the other side of the park.

Happily, new next-hole signs help guide the way. Both the blue arrows under baskets and especially the tall red-on-white signs.

Some holes have white stakes (8 and 9, for sure; maybe also 12). I am not certain these are OB stakes or relief stakes. I recall noticing that the OB line for no. 9 (e.g.) on the temporary hole sign is far more generous than the stakes in the ground.

Overall, an excellent course. Indeed, something of a jewel and possibly gravely overlooked. The happy thing about the latter is it doesn't seem to get overly busy. So you can play a pleasant, comfortable round in peace and quiet.

It's not tremendously far off of the I-81. So if you want a break from driving (those not local and passing through), this would be a nice diversion. So too Westover in downtown Harrisonburg, but I think I like Montgomery Hall better.
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9 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 480 played 245 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great variety, would be fun to play often 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 13, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Variety, variety, variety, you will be hard pressed to find a course with more different types of holes than this one. There are multiple tees on most holes and multiple basket positions on several holes, to change things up even more. The Yellow baskets can be changed between two positions, then Orange baskets add additional length and challenge.
There are a few wide open holes (1,10,17), tightly wooded holes (3,4,7,12,) and everything else was partially wooded, so bring your complete game.
Multi-shot holes to most of the long orange pin positions and even a few to the long yellow pins.
A course maintenance building next to #13 tee has a slot for found discs, while it would be convenient to have this at the end of the course, still a nice feature. I got to use the slot for a disc I found early in the round.
Good tee pads, concrete with turf over the top. Informative tee signs and the DISCatchers were in good shape.

Cons:

A couple of long walks between holes, 9-10, 10-11 and 15-16. While this course moves around the other uses in the park, and finishes back pretty close to the first hole, these walks are necessary to connect the course. (The walk between 10 & 11 use to be another open hole, but its proximity to two ballfields and a playground, probably led to its demise.)
The short pin position on #12 is just a few feet off the only pond on the course, probably a little too close for a true test.
#16 has a Mando that appears to be unnecessary. No outside interference issue and the basket is guarded enough by large, bushy trees, seems strange to have a Mando.

Other Thoughts:

I really enjoyed playing this course, it starts with an open, uphill shot, then a few in the woods. I was starting to think it was going to be another slug through short, tightly wooded holes, then I came to #5.
#5 starts in the woods, then opens into a grassy open area, that's where the short pin position is, but it was in the long position the day I was there. Just beyond the short position, the ground drops away to the park road, the basket was around to the left another 75' or so and perched on a rocky ledge, just above the road. A very cool, fast pin position.
When the locals had to remove old #11, they redid #6-#9, #8 and #9 are two of the best holes here. #8 is a Par 4 just over 500' to the long yellow position, it plays down, then up through a powerline ROW, with the basket tucked in the woods on the right. #9 another Par 4 at 475', from an elevated tee down through scattered trees to a partial clearing, then left about 45 degrees through a narrow fairway to a basket on a slope leading up to the ballfield.
#10 plays completely in the open, downhill, until you reach the basket guarded by large trees. #17 is another open hole, but it plays up and over a rise to a basket heading down the backside.
Then the course finishes with an interesting closing hole, the tee shot carries downhill to the basket just in front of the tennis courts fence. A large, wide branched tree is in the middle, a small bushy tree protects the hyzer route and the large branches create a long path around on the annie route. Most players will probably have several options to mull over on this hole.
From earlier reviews, it looks like the redesign and added work (including the turf tee pads and new signs) were great improvements to this course. Its definitely worth a stop if you are in the area of Staunton, VA.
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9 0
littlej13
Experience: 8.1 years 58 played 3 reviews
4.50 star(s)

A Gem after Recent Improvements 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 6, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

After a recent redesign of several holes by the local club, this has become a course worthy of notoriety. The biggest improvement has been the new turf tee pads. All the pads are pulled tightly allowing no bumps or blemishes on the surface, creating smooth and level pads to drive from. The size of each pad is more than adequate as well. The newly designed holes are well executed, and allowed the club to remove a couple problem holes that were a bane on the old design. Many holes have 2 pins up at all times. This allows you to either play a very score-able par 54 layout, or play the longer layout which contains a plethora of very nicely designed par 4s and even a par 5 on the first hole. (I'll add probably my favorite starting hole after Cannon Ridge up in Fredericksburg). The upkeep in this park has also greatly increased in the past year since the redesign was implemented.

Cons:

The course is usually not too busy, but if the park gets packed it can be difficult to find parking by hole 1. Tee signs are not the greatest, some falling to the ground, but the course is marked well enough that you shouldn't become lost. There are old gravel tee pads strewn across the course that make it look a little cluttered, but that has never bothered me. Finally there are 2 very long walks between holes. The first is between 10 & 11 due to the redesign having to avoid a natural playground, and then between 15 & 16.

Other Thoughts:

If you do have trouble finding a parking spot, there is a second lot up by hole 10 right by the tee pad. There are a few spots where the course comes close to intersecting with some practice fields and bike trails, so you should be careful if the park is in use when playing. Overall this is a very distinguished course with many holes and features that are difficult to find on any other course. I would mark this as a must play for anyone that is making a road trip on I81 and has the time to stop by.
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4 0
TimboBaker
Experience: 13.8 years 19 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Improvements look great! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 13, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

The new tee directional signs are good, since I'm from out of town, had no problem negotiating the course.
New tee pads also good. You all have done a LOT of recent clearing it looks like, with signs up for the next work day. Hope you get it all tip-top soon.

Cons:

You may want to cut a better path around the pond/mud on 12, it was a little rough getting around it. A couple of the early holes are right along the road, with trees. I imagine you could get some unfortunate kicks out into the traffic there.

Other Thoughts:

Overall it is a great, well-balanced course that is well taken care of. I will play again if I get back to town! Thanks.
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10 0
mshelton
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.9 years 140 played 32 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Help needed 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 8, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

2 tee pads and 2 baskets per hole
Nice elevation changes
Some nice shot lines, couple of almost forced right handed flick shots

Cons:

Teepads are in bad shape
Hole signs missing or faded beyond legibility on some holes
Navigation can be frustrating in spots for the first time player
Rough has gotten quite bad on the wooded holes
Some holes seemed kinda not so well thought out where others had too much going on

Other Thoughts:

I played here back in 2011 and on a recent trip with my girlfriend we stopped in for a round. I had forgotten most of the course with the exception of 17 and 18 so it was pretty much a new experience for me.

Started off with really high hopes when we stepped on to the first tee pad which is large and concrete, looked around to a well maintained park, even commented "Why can't Richmond keep a park up like this". Unfortunately things declined after the first hole, the teepads turned to rutted out 4x4 lined boxes and then to mud spots on some holes. There were some pretty cool shots to be had in the first wooded section but a lot of limbs had started to grow into the fairways and kinda hurt the fairness of those holes, thinking 7 and 11 specifically. The rough thicket is pretty bad also, I understand it's not supposed to be easy when you miss the fairway but having to crawl to get to your disc or bleed through briers or both, doesn't make for an enjoyable round.

I could see that my girlfriend, a novice level player and a pretty good sport, wasn't enjoying herself much though she would never admit it. Seems the short tees to short baskets really don't work real well for players he caliber, seems to be an opportunity missed, with 2 tee pads and 2 baskets it would be nice to see a beginner-novice level challenge to bring new players in.

Some of the holes were pretty cool throws, 4, 6, 12, and 13 I really did like, other holes like 16 and 11 kinda let me down. 11 seems to have been over thought, throw out the tunnel back into a tunnel to an hillside basket in between 2 trees and is on a a 6' pole with rollaway potential, I think every trick in the book was used on that one. 16 felt like a filler and is a shame because there's a long walk from 15 to 16 through some area that could make a really nice wooded hole.

In going back and reading this I feel like I may be bashing the course and that's not my intention, it's a good course but seems to be falling into disarray like a lot of courses. It has a lot of potential with the woods and elevations, with some work and few design changes it could be a great course.
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5 0
eric_vdberg
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 40.8 years 1532 played 40 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Navigation is tricky 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 3, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice baskets.
Good next tee signs in many places.
Some good use of elevation.
A variety of distances and flight paths.

Cons:

Navigation - more next tee signs would be helpful, especially from #10 to #11, but a much simpler solution would be to tape or paint the spokes orange and blue to point to the next basket. Also there was no course map at the starting sign board and after playing hole #10 with it's handmade tee sign, I thought that the course ended there and the count of 18 must have been by playing to both baskets, with the 10th recently added to get closer to the tennis court parking area.
No right turn allowed to get into the tennis court parking lot 50 feet away from the entrance, forcing a circumnavigation of the entire park for no good reason.
Rutted & obscured tee areas,
Signs exposed to direct sunlight were badly faded, some were missing.
Overgrown sides of fairways, with the rough being quite dense in places.
Most of the long baskets were in overgrown areas.

Other Thoughts:

After seeing the rutted small stone blue (long) tee area and the beautiful concrete orange (short) tee pad on #1, I decided to play the shorter tees. Unfortunately #1 was the only pad that was concrete. After that it was a challenge to be sure what pad you had found, as many had faded so much that the effort to find it was not worth it, so I just played from whatever tee I found first.
Every hole might have had an orange basket, but if they did then many of them were buried in overgrown foliage that made searching for discs a certainty.
Many of the distances seemed to be off. A local told me that there has been some redesign in the last year or two, so that could explain it, however reading other reviews a lot of these issues seemed to have been there since the beginning.
It seems like this would be an exceptional course if maintenance was better.
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5 1
Moose33
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.2 years 203 played 201 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Cool course, nice layout. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 2, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

The park is pretty nice, well maintained with baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, horseshoes, a really nice playground and a petty nice disc golf course.

It's a full 18 with two sets of baskets on every hole one set is gold banded disccatchers the other appears to be mostly chainstars but not 100% uniform.

They are all in pretty good shape and placed well.

Signs at the tees are nice and tell you distance as well as the preferred route. Many good next tee signs too.

The layout is nice and widely varied, some really tight wooded holes, some shirt with a lot of OB, some long and more open, but fewer of these.

If your Simon Lizotte looking to air out your arm this isn't the spot, but the old growth hardwoods meandering pathways and two layouts make it well worth a play.

Cons:

A couple long walks between holes, 15-16 stands out and a few more that aren't so intuitive. #1 isn't super easy to find either.

Pads weren't my favorite, not too long, gravel and in need of some leveling, I don't like wooden posts at the end of pads either I always fall.

Overall the weirdest thing is a giant, old, mostly empty admin building that looks super haunted.

Other Thoughts:

This is a pretty good park in a place that I didn't expect one, rural courses in the south typically aren't this good or well maintained.

Someone loves this place and it shows, thank you of your the club or p&r person responsible.

It has flaws and I probably would have used the money for the second set of baskets for concrete tee pads but that may have not been okay with the parks people. A lot of times they like the idea that the courses could be easily pulled if they wanted.

I would happily play again!
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1 1
SMontgomery
Experience: 13.5 years 49 played 15 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Good Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 4, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Very good variety of shots and layouts.

Cons:

Very confusing to navigate if you dont have a guide.

Other Thoughts:

Better tee signs and course maps would be great. I like the fact that there are score cards and pencils at the practice basket. I will definately play mulitiple times.
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10 0
sidewinder22
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.7 years 297 played 197 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Welcome to the Jungle 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 14, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Dual gravel tees and dual Discatcher baskets on 18 holes provide a variety of playing options. Practice basket and kiosk by parking lot and hole 1. Excellent hole designs with variety of shots over rolling elevation in the open or heavy woods and over a pond. Navigation was fairly easy with good signage. 2 loops of 9 holes back to parking lot. Fairways are well maintained.

Cons:

The biggest con IMO is the jungle rough and lack of groomed fairway width on the wooded holes. There are thorns and poison ivy/oak throughout the rough and the fairways are quite skinny, so one tiny kick off a tree and you are in the suck. The long basket on hole 2 says 6. The map on here is not correct for the back 9, as hole 10 is what the map says is 11, although the navigation without the map was pretty easy. The first section of wooded holes 2-6 is a bit cramped together. Hole 6 plays over a park road. Hole 16 plays over the edge of the baseball field. Many of the long baskets are just tucked into a ridiculous jailhouse of trees and rough. Biting flies were abundant. No bathrooms or drinking water.

Other Thoughts:

Welcome to the jungle
We've got fun 'n' games...

Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed...

I have a real hard time rating this course because of the rough, some of it boarders between genius and insane. It reminds me of Rockburn Branch when the rough used to really bad there. I had a lot of hope for Kiwanis when I stepped up to hole 1 and is nice looking par 5 uphill, but as I approached the long basket fear set in as the window is maybe 10' wide with nasty rough on both sides 100' down the tight woods. I really enjoyed the more open holes here, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17 and 18 come to mind, great back 10 holes in general. The wooded holes are also great, but oh the rough!

This course has potential to be a 4 with it's nice rolling elevation and mix of open and wooded holes, but the long basket positions were borderline silly in places and the rough is just too much unless you are into machoism or pitching short shots down the fairway. Most of the holes are great, they just need to clear the brush out to make them playable and enjoyable. If you are traveling through the I-81 corridor I have a hard time recommending playing this course in the summer unless you don't care about poison ivy or losing discs a few feet off the narrow wooded fairways, winter should be more playable though.




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6 0
aPfaff
Experience: 14.5 years 78 played 11 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Work in Progress 2+ years drive by

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

Pros:

-Lots of hole variety, up down left right straight tight open
-Interesting holes (6,11,12,13,18)
-It is set in a nice park with lots of amenities (Baseball, Tennis, Basketball, Swimming, Park, Shelters, Walking Trails)
-The baskets are very nice discatchers that are color coded to the layout you are playing
-Greens are very tricky (i.e. 2 has a steep downdrop that ends with OB)
-There are no throw and hopes
-Thorns were not a problem on the fairway
-Locals were friendly
-Not a lot of trash on the course

Cons:

-Hole 9's long pin - the pin is situated on a very steep slope with pine needles on the ground, even if you throw a perfect shot, it may roll/slide back down the hill
-Teepads, they are crushed stones and most have little mounds in the middle of the teepad where one could role your foot, hopefully they can install concrete some time

Other Thoughts:

Overall it is a pretty good course. It has definitely improved over the last few years. When I first played this course it was pretty bad, not the design, but the upkeep and the dirt tees. The club (SAW) is improving this course and it will only get better with time.
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6 0
aussieinva
Experience: 12 years 18 played 7 reviews
4.00 star(s)

A hidden gem! Great for disc golfers of all levels! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 6, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a course that I look forward to playing whenever I am in the Staunton area. It has many of the characteristics of an excellent course: a good mixture of open and wooded holes, great use of elevation, tough enough to challenge experienced player but forgiving enough to allow beginners to enjoy the game and as a bonus, free scorecards with maps on the rear make navigating the course a breeze for newcomers. The course starts off with a nice open hole to allow players to get warmed up before heading into the forest for progressively tighter fairways for the next few holes. It then follows a pattern of an open hole and then two or three tighter holes that will test your accuracy skills. This pattern gave the course a nice flow and didn't really give an advantage to any one style of play which is nice when playing with friends.
Below are some of the main positive points about the course.
1: Course provides scorecards and pencils that are located in a mailbox between the practice basket and the first tee. The scorecards have a map on the back to help first timers and infrequent visitors navigate the course.
2: The course is free and has a dedicated parking lot next to the practice basket for disc golfers.
3: There is very little pedestrian traffic on the course. This allows you to throw to your heart's content without fear of striking an unsuspecting hiker or someone walking their dog.
4: Good use of the parkland and elevation. Has plenty of hole types to suit just about every type of player.
5: Beginner friendly - This course would be great to bring friends and family and introduce them to the game but still challenging enough to test the skills of seasoned players.
6: Signature Holes. Every great course should have at least one memorable hole and for me this is hole 6. The tee pad is perched on a small hill and to reach the basket you need to launch your disc over the road and onto the green and avoid the thick brustle to the right and behind the green. Its like playing across a river without the fear of going swimming for your disc if you come up short.
7: Well sign posted: It was easy to tell where the tee pads were and which hole they are for.
8: Multiple tees and baskets: Multiple tees are an essential part for any good course and have two different baskets on many of the holes allows for a different playing experience.

Cons:

There really isn't a whole lot to say negativity about this course as it is a fun course but I have a couple of items that you may want to be aware of:
1: It's easy to end up on the tee for hole 6 instead of the tee for the third hole. Just keep going past the tees for hole 6 and you will find the tee for hole 3. If you have your trusty scorecard map it will point you in the right direction.
2: The pathway behind hole 11 down to the tee for hole 12 is steep. If you have mobility issues you may need to find a different way down to the 12th tee.
3: It can be a little confusing to find the 16th tee. Its a decent walk and there seems to be a few paths on the way. If you follow the map on your scorecard you should be ok.

Other Thoughts:

The course is a great way to spend a few hours with friends or even as a solo challenge to get a new personal course record. It may be missing a few of the "nice to have" items like concrete pads, bag hangers etc but this does not detract at all from having a good time here. If you are in the area you need to stop by and play a round, you won't be disappointed.
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1 1
JeCroisQue
Experience: 23.3 years 40 played 8 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 6, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Lots of variety here. There are a solid mix of wooded and open holes to help you hone your game.
-It also requires a good bit of shot making, a lot of the holes demand specific shots which I like as a challenge.
-Alternate pins.
- Fairly well maintained.

Cons:

- I wasn't fond of the tee pads, they were gravel and were kind of annoying. I had stones in my shoes all day.

Other Thoughts:

There wasn't anything really special about this course for me. It was nicely laid out and fun, but it didn't have anything that would make me want to drive 30 minutes there when my home course is so close. It is a nice switch up though when I get bored and will go back.
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2 1
VaDGer
Experience: 17 years 4 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

winter improvements 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 13, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Nicely maintained. Great mix of holes; open, wooded, lefty, righty, long, short. New red tee boxes of gravel dust on holes 12 13 and 15. Tees on 4, 14 and 16 will be completed by months end. More coming. Nice scorecards with accurate maps. Professional signs will be installed over the winter and early spring. Every hole will be marked and easy to find.

Cons:

Need more signage for the casual and visiting player. Working on clearing a little more brush from various areas. Thanks to Parks and Rec for this help!

Other Thoughts:

This is my home course. It will be transformed over the winter of 2011 and spring of 2012.
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2 5
Stud Muffin
Experience: 18.3 years 30 played 14 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Unappreciated Course, GREAT DGC 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 29, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

>Awesome variety, woods, open, differing elevation.

>A real challenge, not a pushover course.

>Looks great. Well taken care of, nice views.

Cons:

>Natural Tees, always a negative to me.

>Sometimes confusing. Could easily go from 2 to 6, missing 3-5, if not paying attention.

>15 to 16 should be better guided with a sign or 2, so far away. [16 outside right field of baseball field, over the fence.]

Other Thoughts:

>I have to acknowledge that the low ratings on this course is unjustified. This is an excellent course to play.
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13 1
DiscGolfCraig
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 19.8 years 585 played 539 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Pleasant surprise 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 17, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Solid 18 hole course with multiple tees & baskets, allowing for all skill levels to enjoy.
- Very good mix of holes, with course playing in and out of the woods. Elevation isn't a factor on most holes, with it only playing a major role on #1,2, 16 & 17.
- Kiwanis follows the "less is more" mantra when it comes to course layout. Holes have solid, but not complicated layouts, but still require precise shot-making to shoot well. There were no overly difficult/frustrating holes, but there were also no easy, birdie 2 holes.
- I liked the multiple tee pads and baskets. It gave some nice variety of looks, although there could have been more. The different tee locations could have been better identified on several holes. I couldn't figure if the long baskets were UVA orange or Va Tech orange?
- Course flows nicely throughout the park. Front 9 is much closer together, back 9 is more spread out, which means more walking. #10 tee is near first tee, so you can easily play only the front or back 9 if not enough time for the entire 18.
- Very good signage between holes, especially when there are long walks between holes. There's also some very nice scenic views while you're playing.
- Very nice, spacious park. I drove in through the first entrance, instead of the main one, so I was surprised to see the park have so much space. There's a lot more room in the park past all the disc golf space. I noticed the park gets much hillier in the back, and with plenty of land back there, maybe a second 18 one day?

Cons:

I didn't have a lot of problems with the course. The local DGC seems to be on top of things here.
- The biggest problem was that I couldn't find the long (blue) tee pads on some holes. I couldn't find a long tee pad on holes #5, 9, 13, 14 & 18. According to the course map, some of these holes (#9, 13 & 18) only have 1 tee location, but according to the website, there are different distances for the long & short tees. So I'm not sure which one is right. On #14, there are broken blue colored bricks along the fairway, so not sure where exactly the tee should be. It'd be nice to have a final verdict on which is correct, then have either the map or the website updated.
- Layout could be a little better, especially on the front 9. Holes #2 - 6 are way too close together. From #2 tee, you're within putting range #4 basket. You then walk past tees for #6 and basket for #5. The tees for #5 are in the fairway for #4, or at least close enough to the fairway that you couldn't tee off on #4 if someone is standing on #5 tee. As mentioned above, there's enough room in the park to create a new hole or two (or 18), and unclog this traffic jam. When the course is crowded this could be a real problem.
- There could be a little more maintenance on some holes. A couple of the holes in the back (#7 - 8 & 14 - 16) could use to see the rough shorter and some trash (broken bricks, litter) & branches removed. On these holes, it almost felt like the course was still being broken in, and not several years old.
- I never saw restrooms or water fountains anywhere near the holes.

Other Thoughts:

This is a solid, mid-level course. It's enjoyable with some reasonable challenges. I played the 2nd longest layout (blue tees to yellow baskets), and never felt any of the holes were overly difficult.
- I think the best way to describe a course like this is that it's fair. You're not going to (or at least shouldn't) have any blow-up, high-score holes. Even the wooded holes had clear fairways. But, while you can keep racking up the pars, you're going to have earn your birdie chances.
- The course definitely got better as it went along. After getting through the congestion of holes #2 - 5, it was solid from there on out, with the back 9 being better than the front. I loved the stretch of holes #12 - 15 (3 of the 4 holes in the 270 - 290 range), that all had different, and enjoyable layouts. I loved the old wall along the side of the fairway on #14. Very nice touch seeing that incorporated into the hole.
- The coolest hole is #6. Short hole that plays slightly downhill over the road. Holes is open except for trees to the right of the basket, so disc has to hold its line to get it close to the basket. This is a hole where you want to throw multiple shots for fun.
- Good course. It's 10 minutes off the interstate, so if you're in the area, you should check it out.
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5 1
pascal
Experience: 26.8 years 19 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Solid 18-hole course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 1, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Discatchers (always a pro for me.)
-Alternate orange baskets on some holes
-Good exercise, this course is a bit of a hike.
-Excellent variety of Wooded and open holes
-Multiple tees
-Good signs designating holes and directing to next

Cons:

-Hard to find the beginning of the course.
-Rough terrain
-Map needs updating
-Tees can be difficult to find

Other Thoughts:

This is about an hour drive for me. The distance and the fact that Walnut Creek is just down the road from me doesn't have any bearing on the quality of this course. But in the interest of full disclosure, it does affect my perspective on some level.

That said, this is the second Kiwanis course I have played. I had some real difficulty in finding it. If you're coming from the east, don't trust Google. The location on this site is right, but Google tells you to use some roads that I'm pretty sure don't exist, or are on private property. Use the written directions on the course page and you'll be okay.

Once I got there I had some trouble finding it. This site says that the first tee is next to the practice basket near the tennis courts and that maps are in the black mailbox. The basket closest to the courts is 18 and there is a black mailbox next to it. Don't be fooled, this isn't it. There is an orange basket (alt basket for 9) viewable from the tennis courts, the mailbox with the maps is next to it.

The course is a little confusing. Some backtracking is required but there are enough bunny trails to prevent crossing too many fairways.

The hardest part is finding the tees. They are a little schizophrenic. Nearly every sign shows two tees (red and blue). However, distances are given for a third tee (gold). The signs don't give any indication of how to find the gold tees and the map doesn't show where any specific tees are (I only found one gold tee the whole time). Sometimes the signs and the course disagree. For instance, on five, the gravel tee (had to be the blue tee based on the sign) also was painted red on a part of it, while two red tee blocks where both tossed to the side of the right fairway 30 feet up.

Aside from not specifying specific tees the map was pretty good. Just don't take it too literally. It had me searching for #14 for about 15 minutes. It's very detailed, perhaps deceptively so. Treat it like a rough sketch and you'll be fine.

As far as the alternate baskets go, they are nice. Orange-topped discatchers. However, they are not on every hole and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to which holes have them. The map is wrong about two of them. #9 is next to the blue tee for #1 and not up in the woods on the left of the reg #9. Also, #17 has an orange basket not on the map (visible from the regular basket).

My only complaint about the orange baskets is that they don't seem to add a whole lot to the course. #6 and #11 are alright. But some, #7, #16, for example, just seem like they were dropped in a clump of trees and don't really require any different type of shot to par the hole. Others make the course frustrating. Maybe this is just because the signs say they are all par 3's. But on #1 from the red tees, even if you drop a perfectly accurate 350 ft drive in front of an opening of trees, you still have a technical mid-range shot to get to the basket, and all that just for par.

But I'm being a little hard on this course. Once you get the hang of it I'm sure it goes a little more smoothly. There is a good bit of variety and someone with less of a commute could enjoy this I'm sure. I won't go back myself.

The last thing I'd say is that parts of the brush are really rough. I'm okay with trees and bushes, but certain sections are just bushwhack brush, or piles of cleared brush, the kinda stuff that you can walk across. Go off the fairway on the back nine and prepare to be scratched up big time.

Overall, this is a solid 18-hole course. The designer generally knew what they were doing and did a good job using the space. It looks like the plans were grand and they ran out of money before the tees were completed. If your in the area, it's worth the time to play, or if you're local and have the time to find all the tees or play with someone who knows them I can imagine it would be a great experience. It's not worth driving an hour if you already have some good courses where you live.

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8 1
1978
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.7 years 392 played 48 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Almost 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 24, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course has some good moments. There are a few neat holes, some in the spring play over ponds where a wet disc is possible if you go for the pin. Luckily the ponds are shallow so getting your disc is not a problem. There are wooded and open holes and multiple basket locations. This makes for a very interesting course. Extra baskets definitely moved my rating up a bit. I played with a group of beginners and was able to show them almost every different type of shot I could think of. The variety of the course is a plus. I think half the holes were wooded and half open, and there were some decent bomb holes. The course was well maintained. I saw someone doing course maintenance while I played. It was awesome.

Cons:

Layout layout layout. The first 9 is rough. It is almost like a spider designed the front 9. It is extremely confusing. You have to cross over or walk back down fairways multiple times. One hole throws over a road. Many of the tee locations are too close to adjacent fairways.

Other Thoughts:

All in all a decent course for the area. I would play here if I lived nearby. It just doesnt hold up in layout, design, and looks to 3 rated courses in more developed disc golf towns. Compared to other local courses I would imagine this would be a 3 or so, but you can't review according to what is nearby. Definitely stop by if you are on your way north along RT 81. You will have fun.
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13 1
optidiscic
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.8 years 156 played 147 reviews
3.00 star(s)

DG Stew...hard to digest 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 19, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

My title reflects my sentiments about this course. It's like being force fed a huge dinner of different types of food. Some are wonderful treats. Some repulse you. Some you want to savor and some you want to throw up. It really comes down to your tastes. Afterwards...when someone asks you how was your meal. You are puzzled in what to answer. I really enjoyed certain aspects of this course. Other aspects I hated. I have a feeling this course might be an acquired taste and if I played it more...I might enjoy it more.
OK enough driveling analogy. The course caters to all levels with orange (expert) and yellow (rec) baskets there are also 2-3 tees per hole with varying tighter looks or twisted angles from the tees and not just distance added. Course is set on some hilly terrain and this is implemented into the design. Good balance with 1/3 technical woods,1/3 more open and 1/3 fairway golf. 2 holes (12,13) played over water when I was there but this was after rainstorms and these may usuaaly be boggy marshy areas as opposed to interesting pond jumper holes. A lot of unique features here: a warm up tee pad and fairway to the practice basket (yeah you actually have to warm up your drive before starting on a <200 ft practice fairway from the kiosk to hole #1..I never saw that before) the overhand vs traditional throw decision from the tee pad of hole 1, some fast greens (2,8,11), Some monstrous drives and some snaking wooded fairways(14,15). Good elevation changes throughout course. 18 is a gorgeous finishing hole that provides some relatively open downhill canopied drama as you can birdie it but most likely won't.

Cons:

This might be tough to swallow but its my opinion. Seems that thorns and schule are seen as part of the design here. I love big trees, spindly trees, evergreens, and even bushes. I have no patience for thorns and underbrush directly off the fairways. On several holes such brush is apparent and seems to almost be part of the design. Maybe the course is raw and the volunteer manpower has spent time in other areas of the course and schule removal is seen as low priority. I have a beef with schule and if I have to wade into thickets and bleed more than a handful of times for shots that are not too errant I am discouraged. Hole 1 to me was looking to be one of the most brilliant holes I have played until I saw the peek-a-boo basket with a narrow lane with schule surrounding her. Why not keep the tight approach and the trees and get rid of the sloppy underbrush. A missed opportunity there IMO. A few other holes had thorns and thickets precariously close to the greens. Putting around trees and over bushes is fun...standing in a picker bush with thorns digging into your legs as your putting for birdie...not so fun.(I might be dramatic but once you remove a picker bush it's gone and the trees actually grow better and the course improves aesthetically and playwise w/o losing difficulty) Some confusion re: layout as is the case on all multi-tee multi-basket layouts. Poorly marked. Navigation was an issue....Missing basket for hole 9 (I believe its now the practice basket?) It's an odd layout that weaves in and around available land within the park...dodging other activities. No conflicts with other park uses but you never feel like your on a DG course as much as your in a park playing DG. The course is raw as of this writing...I would not go as far as to call it ugly. I think I would have enjoyed the old #14 shot across the valley. Looked like a signature hole to me. I wish they kept that and got rid of one of the woods holes earlier in the course. Tees are natural..some scoff at this.Roads, baseball fields, power lines...not the best scenery. My only true gripe is keeping the schule and pickers as an obstacle.

Other Thoughts:

I have a feeling this course might develop into a pleasant play. I prefer to get away from people when I play so this course will never have that quality but it has a lot going for it. The design is ambitious with length and variety. Some grooming and a few signs, maps, tees to help first timers and this place could easily be a 4.
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7 1
svens06
Experience: 16.9 years 2 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

A good mix 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 25, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course definitely provides a good range of challenges from long range open field drives to narrow wooded clearings.

The nice thing with this course is most of the holes have some options on were to tee off from and which basket to choose from.

My home course in Stroudsburg PA, is completely in the woods which some of the holes remind me of this. Even the open field shots have some challenges when the basket is behind some trees, or around a turn, or on the side of a hill. I will definitely play this course again.

Hole six is really fun, you get to throw off a hill side cliff (make sure your throwing at the right basket tho)

Another pro is that there is minimal water. There is two little duck ponds on the back nine, one would be a really bad shot if you hit it, the other you need to shoot over but you throw from the top of a hill and its nothing crazy. It doesnt look deep so i think u would be able to retrieve the disk.

Even if you walk this course its going to be good exercise, if you can run it, your basically the man, or part machine.

The area seems pretty nice, and while i was there they had park maintenance so its prob really nice in the summer.

Cons:

The course layout is alittle crazy. Tee boxes aren't usually withing eyesight of the basket, or u kinda have to think about where to go. While the multiple tees and baskets are nice, it causes some confusion.

Since it was my first time playing on three separate holes i ended up throwing at the wrong baskets so i had to walk back to the tee box.

The tee boxes are a bit haphazard, some are dirt with colored stones as markings, while others are nice wooden framed with level rock fillings. For me its a bit inconsistent. one or two holes you just know where to tee off because the ground area has no grass from people throwing.

The woods could definitely use some trimming / planting grass or sprucing up. (clearing trash) I went in the spring so, i don't know how it is in the summer or fall.

While i like having trees as obstacles, its annoying to trudge through thicket when your disc goes 3 or 4 feet left or right (on the wooded shots).

Other Thoughts:

If anyone goes to Stroudsburg PA, I would rank Yetter Park DGC first, Field of dreams in Great meadows nj, then this course, then Rivers edge park in shawnee Pa.
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8 1
Chutney
Experience: 17.9 years 27 played 3 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Lots of great changes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 3, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

There are lots of different combinations of holes. Two current sets of tees, and nine holes with long basket overlays. Many of the greens on the more open holes have sloped greens that add in the factor of 3-putting.

The red tee-yellow basket layout is pretty short, is good for beginners, but still has a few longer holes. The red-orange and blue-yellow layouts are good for intermediate-advancing players. Blue-orange is well suited for advanced/open players. I almost always play this course from the blue-orange layout, so I tend to think of it in that setup. It has the best selection of holes including nine par 4s.

A fun and challenging assortment of holes with well thought out extensions. These holes require controlled distance along with a solid upshot/midrange game to score well. You'll get to throw every shot at some point on the course. Wooded-open, open-wooded, tight woods, forgiving woods, and a few air it out holes. Everything from ace runs to long bomb double driver holes.

Never have to wait to play. The course is getting busier but you can always just walk on and play.

The park is always nicely mowed and the course is free to play year-round.

Several tee boxes have been built recently. Timbers with packed gravel. Most are still grass.

Cons:

Lack of consistent tee signs. Also, hard to know where the pavers are buried if you aren't familiar with the course. There is a map on the back of the scorecards that are in the black mailbox by the first tee.

Not many trashcans available. There's one on the way to hole 9 in the parking lot by the upper softball field, and in the parking lot near hole 17's tee. There is some litter around.

The course is in a multiuse park with a road running close to several of the holes. If softball season is in full swing, occasionally you might have to ask someone to move or wait for cars to go by before you throw.

Some list natural tees as a con. I guess I have played on them so long I don't mind. Some of the tees are a bit uneven, but most are fine.

On holes 4 and 5, there is only one box constructed (the blue tees) Holes 3, 7, and 8 have both red and blue Most of the tees are still grass.

Some of the wooded holes still have small piles of logs next to the fairways that have not been moved.

Other Thoughts:

This is my home course, and a lot of people have contributed creative ideas and worked hard in implementing it's redesign. The main reason I gave the course a 4 was because of the of the longer layout and the full range of golf shots you will throw. A really well rounded setup. I know a public park isn't the most beautiful setting you will play disc golf in, but I think the course makes up for it.

Gold tees will be finished soon.

Estimated SSAs
Red-Yellow- 47
Red Orange- 51.5
Blue-Yellow- 53
Blue-Orange-60

Hole 14 is completely different. Now a wooded par 4. Hole 15 is now 100' longer and turns right down the hill.

Hope to add new pics soon
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