Raton, NM

The Whistle Stop

Permanent course
2.255(based on 4 reviews)
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3 0
Kavv
Experience: 9.1 years 31 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Good Break from Driving 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 19, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Location is really great by being up near some elevation change. Easy to access, and plenty of parking. Pretty good use of the trees for design.

Cons:

Overlap with some holes and other usage of the area.
Signage poor.
Mostly flat.

Other Thoughts:

Fun to play, but I am glad I was there at 6am. Walkers, bocce players, volleyballers, and horseshoe enthusiasts beware. If busy, I'd likely pass on playing a round. Locals seem trained to watch for disc huckers. Most holes are super easy. Only a handful of holes have elevation change.
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3 0
reezyF
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.4 years 277 played 40 reviews
3.00 star(s)

The Whistle Stop 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 26, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

My three pros:
-Easy to find first tee and navigate the course (front 9) despite the lack of a map on this site. I played on a very nice sunday afternoon and saw only one other group but I didnt have any trouble finding my way around the front 9 holes.
-Enjoyable holes with most just over 300' and a couple over 400'. There's not a ton of trees but the holes make good use of what trees are there and I didnt think there were many overly open holes. Im not sure if the back 9 is a permanent as there werent signs at the tee areas for these holes but the holes were a nice addition and used an empty part of the park that wasnt being used before.
-The baskets are all in good shape. And now there are 18 of em! The Front 9 were typical yellow discatcher types but the back 9 are the new bright green prodigy baskets you'll see first when pulling into the course.

Cons:

My three cons:
-No map and its not totally obvious to find the way around the last few holes. The front 9 are easy to navigate due to the visible tee signs but with the signs not yet installed on the back half it was a little tricky spotting the tee areas.
-The tee pads are all natural dirt patches with some stones marking the front of the tees. There are 2 tee areas for each hole so thats nice, but the 'rec' tees didnt look all that different from the longer tees. The tees on the back half only had painted stakes at the tees and threw from the sidewalk and middle for the road for a couple holes. The tee areas didnt bother me much but concrete pads are always nice.
-The course plays a little close to the horseshoe pits and nearby building for a couple holes. Its nothing super dangerous but there is potential for hitting people and/or building so i cant imagine why some of the baskets werent moved a little further from these areas.

Other Thoughts:

Hopefully the back 9 baskets are permanent and the additional signs and tee upgrades are made. If so this could wear into a nice little course in an area with none. The town of Raton is really pretty and the course has some great views of the town center and nearby mountains. The views arent all that stunning but its a nice enough park and some pretty good golf making it well worth a stop for those making a long drive through.
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1 2
REignsDchaiNS
Experience: 8.7 years 169 played 10 reviews
1.00 star(s)

No sugar coating 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 3, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

The people that live their have a course.

Cons:

This course is a dust bowl. No grass to speak of, very few trees to block the wind, sticker patches all over the sand bars which are spread all over the course, layout makes no sense, tees are just black foam pads that are only about 3 or 4 feet long, and any rain and this course would be just a huge mud puddle.

Other Thoughts:

The views of the mountains surrounding this course is pretty much the only reason I'd ever play it on my way threw town again.
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3 1
nightwing
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 273 played 56 reviews
2.50 star(s)

A much needed whistle stop 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 11, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

LOCATION!!!
Sensible layout for Rec through Advanced players.
2 tee pads and enough basic infrastructure.
Easy to follow and quick to play

Cons:

These are not 'Cons', just realities.
Short nine hole layout.
Nearly flat and not many trees.
Pretty easy for strong players.
Dirt tee pads (but they played well while damp).

Other Thoughts:

UPDATE: Late August 2017. Pumped to see a league of 20 mostly new players on a Tuesday evening. The course is serving the community.

ORIGINAL REVIEW FROM 2016: This being the first review, let's just say THANK YOU to the Hardyman's for filling a much needed gap in our Southwestern Disc Golf scene. Not only is this the first course for Raton locally, but the location is a nice, quick 'Whistlestop Round' for I-25 travelers between Las Vegas NM and Pueblo Co. The course itself has it's limitations, but it will serve for anyone looking to learn, to advance, or just get some practice in.

I would suggest you turn right BEFORE the baseball field, and then take a left to go around it. This would have saved me some time with the school letting out, and it puts you going the right way around a one way loop.

I found the gazebo and #1 tee easily. The practice basket is well off to the right. Each hole had what I would call an 'Advanced' and 'Rec' tee. The maps were on the 'Advanced' tee and did the job. My solo round with several extra throws took under an hour.

The use of a few trees and the small ravines to create some interest is good, but this is not a tournament or destination course. As an Advanced player, I had just enough challenge but a big-arm pro might carry a couple mids and a putter around and still be about 5 to 8 down.

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