Hastings, NE

Lake Hastings

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3.655(based on 10 reviews)
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4 0
Upshawt1979
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 548 played 429 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Happy with Lake Hastings 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 18, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

The shore of Lake Hastings will be present on the front nine, but the throws across water are short, and low stress. Much of the park is flat and the going is easy with only two par 4's. Enough fairways have sporadic trees to knock down errant drives, but there are a few open throws from the box also. Forgiving fairways offer nice space to learn and practice fundamentals.

I liked the park was well kept, and all of the gear was fully proficient. Concrete tees sat under their trusty signs, guiding you through two logical, easy to follow, converging nines.

There are not any particularly spectacular holes, but there are a nice mix of distances and a little shot shaping required. Hole 2 is the first test of distance and accuracy, with a fairway that is long and pinched early on and into the middle by a few sizable evergreens. Hole 3 is the water carry. The large part of the lake is to your right standing on the tee, making is a simple hyzer is you throw RHBH, as long as the wind is civil. It's only 210', but the pin doesn't have an excessive amount of ground in front of it either so too long is better than too short. 4 is another longish par 3, with the lake looming off to the right. 9 is the longest hole and it has the most noticeable but still modest elevation change. 500' down the gentle slope leading to the small stream crossing in front of the basket.

The back nine begins across the street from the front. Hole 10 tee is visible from the first tee. There are some more trees, on largely flat ground, with holes of varied length. Nice lanes and generous fairways, but nothing crazy. The other par 4 is hole 16. It has a walking path crossing not too far in front of the tee, and the slightest decline of elevation on the other side. As long as you stay beneath the branches, hitting the line and getting a little skip will lead to a decent approach and maybe a birdie attempt.

Cons:

There is the possibility others enjoying the park can be near disc golf areas, so be careful. Water may take a disc if you lose control in the wrong place.

There are no extremely challenging sections of the course to entertain the highly skilled disc golfer. Layout uses the resources it has, but options are a bit limited.

Other Thoughts:

I was missing nearly every makable putt I had, and had quite a few of them. Ended up shooting 5 over, with two birdies. Took a bad run of five bogeys in six holes between holes 6 through 11.

I don't want to sell it short, but this is a fairly easy one for an experienced player. The installation was done well, and it is a very nice little park with several other things If you have any kind of consistency, playing par disc golf is very achievable. Unfortunately, I didn't do it first time out. The conditions were pretty good, I just wasn't up to it that evening. But I did have a good time seeing one more very good disc golf course.
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3 0
rayoflight
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12 played 14 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Fun course with a ton of variety 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 17, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-There are 18 holes that wind along the lakeside for the first 9 holes and then through a sparsely wooded back 9. Pretty much every hole is different.

-The parks department apparently changes the location of some of the baskets a few times a year. Other baskets stay in the same place all year round. It surprised me to find that the course was different when I came back a few months later.

-The course is a little challenging, but not so much that it's going to discourage new players.

-Good signage helps to navigate the somewhat strange layout of the course.

-There are convenient parking spots that are fairly close to both the beginning and end of the course.

Cons:

-There is a fair amount of water to lose your discs in. I know many amateurs won't even bother throwing certain holes on the front 9 because it's so easy to lose your favorite disc. The worst part is that the baskets are actually placed next to the water on a couple holes, so you can be forced to putt with deep water immediately behind the basket to punish any missed putts.

-A couple baskets on the back 9 are placed on the edge of the park, and a bad throw can potentially land you over the fence on private property.

-The back 9 is apparently on a slightly lower elevation, and as a result it gets very muddy when it rains.

Other Thoughts:

If you throw controlled drives and stay out of trouble, then this is a great course. Just be careful not to griplock your disc into the lake or over a fence and you'll have fun.
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0 4
RoyRayJohnson
Experience: 18 years 59 played 5 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Love this course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 23, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very fun course one of the best in the state! Has many different pin placements. A lot of water hazards.

Cons:

The only con is that it is so very far away and that I don't play it very much.

Other Thoughts:

GO PLAY THIS COURSE!
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4 0
Chained Evil
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 1091 played 232 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Tale of Two Halves 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 2, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a well kept course that plays by a lake for a few holes and the back 9 plays through a moderately wooded area.
There are both short and moderate length holes here and there were a few benches too.
There is water threat (a con for some) and the back 9 uses the trees to their fullest.
The tee pads are ample allowing for a good run up.
Other amenities here like pavilions and a playground, as well as the lake.

Cons:

My main beef with this course was the long walks between some of the holes which slowed the flow of the game down a bit. The transition from 4's basket to 5's tee, 9's basket to 10's tee, and 15's basket to 16's tee were some that come to mind.
Some of the signage is starting to fade or has been vandalized.
Some players could lose a disc on the water holes(risk/reward for other players). And the wind could be a factor on the front 9 which will affect your throws.

Other Thoughts:

This is still a pretty solid course. I liked the fact that there were a few water shots and a couple of holes where you had the opportunity to run the chains. The back nine is more my style with the trees and the technical shots that must be shaped. It appears that the back 9 gets more traffic than the front 9, at least this was the case when I played. I saw several players starting on 10 and finishing on 18 and repeating the cycle. Maybe they didn't want to lose a disc in the lake or maybe they just preferred the more tree lined holes?
My favorite hole here was #9. I liked the little creek that guarded the basket especially after the downhill shot from the tee.
If you are in the area this one is worth the play. There is a shot here for just about every player with every type of skill level.
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6 1
Hector Chain
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 222 played 189 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Wind and water 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 4, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course is set in a nice park along Lake Hastings, and the scenery is pretty good, with some trails and bridges intersecting parts of the lake. The front half of the course plays pretty close to the lake in an area with some trees and bushes interspersed. The back half plays across the street through a rectangular section filled with mid-growth trees (I'm guessing 20-30 years old; point being the trees aren't super thick and have branches maybe 10 feet off the ground). These trees provide plenty obstacles to keep you honest, but you won't necessarily be punished for every bad shot.

There is not much rough on the course, other than along one edge of the back 9.

Tee signs are decent. They are just small plates on small posts but show the distance and basket location. I did not have a map, but navigation was not too difficult, especially on the back 9.

A couple holes had some fun design. I like #9's shot to an "island green" across a drainage creek (it's not really an island), and #10 calls for a good turnover shot with an approach to the basket nestled among some trees.

Cons:

There are no alternate tees or pin positions here, so the way you play it is apparently the only way you can play it. I think they do put in some temporary positions for tournaments.

My major beef with the course was the way the holes along the water were designed. One hole (#3?) was just a 200 foot across a corner of the lake. Problem is, the hole plays to the northwest. In Nebraska, if there is any wind, it's almost always coming from the west, so there isn't necessarily an easy shot if it's windy. The next hole played along the shore and required a shot to stay in the 50-foot strip between the walking path and the water (again, facing northwest). This may not be a concern all the time, but when I played the wind was howling over 40mph. I lost a disc on hole 3 and didn't even throw from the tee on 4. This isn't the most rec-friendly course, although you'd be fine on most holes.

I can only recall two holes that had any elevation change. It's a pretty flat park.

Other Thoughts:

The types of holes here are a little similar to Seymour in Omaha and Roper in Lincoln, but with less elevation and more water. It's worth a look if you're close by.

By the way, to get here you need to drive through a bunch of residential neighborhoods on North Shore Drive, so it's not obvious from the highway that you're heading toward a park.
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3 0
888HUSKERS
Experience: 53.4 years 19 played 18 reviews
4.00 star(s)

High Tension Front 9 - Relaxing & Rewarding Back 9 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 16, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a great course for the experienced player if you play both the front and back 9. It offers a lot of different experiences and a lot of good memories that will last for a long time both good and bad.

This course really goes out of it's way to make sure that the people playing the course have an enjoyable experience because of good signage, teepads, well kept baskets, and a good scenic view throughout the park.

The course gives you a chance to work on your risk vs. reward decision making skills in the game of disc golf and also will help to expose your strengths and weaknesses in a hurry.

The back 9 of this course has to be one of the most pleasurable places to play a round of disc golf in central Nebraska without the fear of loosing discs while still feeling challenged by the course layout.

The front 9 of this course offers you a chance to throw over or beside the lake on multiple occasions. I really enjoyed the "green" of hole 9 but wished that it was better kept like the rest of the park.

Cons:

There is a very high chance of loosing a disc in the lake at this course. While we were there one of our group did loose a disc but we were able to recover it with a little help from a long stretch of rope/string which we stretched across the lake to pull the disc back to safety while the lake was frozen but not thick enough to walk on.

The course maintainers could fix one of the tee signs which was vandalized on hole 8 but it was fairly self explanatory since we could see the basket not far from the tee.

Other Thoughts:

This is a must go to destination course for anyone in the state of Nebraska. I look forward to playing this course many more times and would recommend it to anyone of any skill level to give it a try sometime. I would caution you though that if you are working on control issues not to play the front 9 because there is a high likely hood you will loose some discs.

This course could add another 9 holes like Roper park in Lincoln and easily make it one of the premier courses in Nebraska and possibly draw people from out of state to come enjoy the course.
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4 0
JAAAKE
Experience: 12.2 years 15 played 10 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Play it safe or lose it all? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 15, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Good tee pads. 18 Holes.
The park is well maintained.
Front 9 has enough elevation changes to work up a sweat.
Front 9 has some risk reward shots.
Back 9 holes have decent distance and 3-6 trees between you and the basket.

Cons:

Front 9 has multiple opportunities to lose a disc in the drink. (I would've on hole 9 due to a crazy roller but the lake was frozen and we have means of recovering discs :)
Back 9 will not challenge the advanced player.
Back 9 has very little change in elevation.

Other Thoughts:

I enjoyed this course. There were 12-20 people playing Sunday afternoon but we didn't feel in-the-way or have to wait on another group.
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6 1
Wheelz
Experience: 14.2 years 28 played 22 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 25, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course is a blast to play. It offers almost everything you could want in a course. Trees dot the course and are thick in the majority of the back nine, but not too thick. There are a couple of water holes which can be tough if the wind is really blowing. There is a good mix of long and short holes. Several holes are very technical, forces you to use multiple shots. The tee's are nice and baskets are in great shape. The tee signs are simple yet efficient. It isn't too terribly difficult to find your way around without a map. The course is a lot of fun and is probably best suited for intermediate-advanced players.

Cons:

There is a bit of a walk to the restroom and only one tee per hole. The course can be very challenging if it is windy, especially the water holes, so bring extra discs. Not much for elevation. It could have used a few more wide-open shots to really drive for distance.

Other Thoughts:

Overall this was a great course. It had a little bit of everything. It will offer every level of golfer a nice challenge. I highly recommend it!
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15 1
Donovan
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 37 years 300 played 187 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Hastings Can Be Proud 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 29, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course was just ok for me. It is well maintained for sure. The holes on the front 9 are fairly straight with not a lot of trouble, with 3 exceptions. Hole 3 is over the lake and the pin is right next to the lake. Hole 4 is right along the lake and hole 9 has a 15' wide creek in a short distance in front of the pin. I realy liked #9. The backside has lots of trees and will give you a few ways to look at approaching the tee shot. The cement tee pads are nice and long and the baskets are in great shape. Not an overly busy park, which is always a plus!

Cons:

There really wasn't too much wrong with this course, except the fun factor just just OK for me. Number 7 was missing its sign. No restrooms and hardly any trashcans. There was a message board there, but it did not have much information.

Other Thoughts:

I suppose you will have to take my rating based mostly on the Fun Factor. It is a nice course, but it just didn't overly excite me. The terrain was so different between the front and backsides that it was like playing 2 different 9-hole courses. I actually enjoyed working the trees more on the backside. Hastings can be proud of their 18-hole course and it was in really nice shape the day I was there..
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2 6
High Flyer
Experience: 23 played 22 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 26, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

A very spacious, beautiful park. Just enough trees to make things interesting.

The pins are well placed to provide a little challenge curving around the trees.

Cons:

Not a whole lot of elevation changes, but otherwise a lot of attractive features to this course.

Other Thoughts:

I was glad to be with someone who had played this course before, it might be a little challenging to find your way around.
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