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Best Courses in OR?

Oregon kicks ass!!!

Having just moved to Portland from CA, I have to say that the courses in this area are top notch. There is a course for whatever type of play you feel like - Hornings is a great destination and so secluded and beautiful. The challenge Milo offers is great, and pier is a great "after-work" course.
Whistlers is amazing, and it lives up to the hype; I would say it is my favorite course I've yet played in OR. Having played La Mirada and De La numerous times, I feel that Milo and Whistlers are superior courses in challenge, beauty, and overall fun.
 
Yeah, the wooded holes are extremely technical and actually probably need *a little* opening up in some places. At the same time, it seems like the west coast is a little claustrophobic, further east, there's nothing wrong with a few trees to help shape your lines :)
 
I just played Hornets, Milo, and Pier for the first time this past week. Having never played any other courses in Oregon I would rank Hornets as the most difficult course, Pier was the most fun for me, and Milo was a good mixture of a great course with a lot of fun.
 
My fav's...
1) Horning's Hideout (3 fun courses)
2) Pier Park
3) Milo
4) Whistler's Bend

I haven't played Dexter, but I hear it is also good. Whistler's Bend is nice, but not at all challenging (I shot something like 6-7 under my first round, and would have been 13-14 under if not for bad putting).

I prefer Horning's Hideout to most destinations in California, except Tahoe (8-9 world class courses, concentrated). Other than that, Oregon is a backwater in comparison to California. I like DeLaveaga way more than Pier Park, Milo, or Whistler's Bend, and I personally consider it more challenging than any of those. Meadow Ridge at Horning's Hideout is perhaps one of the most challenging courses I've ever played. I also love Lake Casitas, the back 9 at Golden Gate Park, several of he big mountainside holes at Stafford Lake, the monster back holes at Waller Park, etc..
 
My top five, in this order:

1. Hornings, Meadow Ridge
2. Pier
3. Whistler's
4. Milo
5. Dexter

I really need to get out of Oregon and play some of the other top courses around the country to see how Oregon courses stack up. But there are some special courses in this state, too bad they're inundated with rain 6 months of the year.....
 
Whistler's, Pier, Adair and Willamette are all great fun. Will get to play Hornings for the first time soon (maybe in the rain...?).
 
Hornings Hideout!!!

Hornings Hideout is by far my favorite place to play. It has three courses with fun and unique designs. All the holes are easy to navigate and have great signs with the hole's distance, elevations changes, mandos, and even the direction to the next tee. The entire complex is really just a hippie/disc golfer paradise. The new pro course is a must play.

I also have enjoyed Milo, Pier, and Dexter.

Still need to play others such as Adair and Whistler.
 
Lots of people looooove Pier Park, but I agree with a previous post that Dabney is better. Pier feels like playing in a park with a bunch of trees in the way. I returned to Pier after moving out of the state for a couple years, and was as unimpressed as ever. Plenty challenging, just not that much fun. Dabney is more of an adventure, with water hazards (hole 2), huge blind shots (4 and 15), some great risk / reward shots with the gully in play for the last group of holes, and generally more variety and challenging shots. When hole 13 is in the back position, it is one of the hardest / coolest par 3 holes I have played.
Not having played Hornings Hideout, my list is
Dabney
Willamette
Dexter
Adair
Milo
 
Having lived in OR I have played the following

Timer :thmbup:
Dabney
Hyzer
Champogee :thmbup:
Lunchtime
Pier :thmbup:
Scorisis :thmbup:
Hornings Hideout :thmbup:
Pendleton (NEW)
Bend CC

Now I live in SE AK and I love the Juneau course!!
 
I find it most interesting what people think of as the best course and what people look for in a course. I tend to have the most fun on courses where I can really wing it with a few trees for me to work around. When a course is really narrow and tree filled I just do not have as much fun.

I imagine that might have more to do with my skill level then my actual enjoyment. So I wonder if my opinion is going to change as I get better. I have enjoyed both Pier and Milo equally and I am going to play Dabney on Tuesday so it will be interesting to see how they compare.
 
I hope to experience Waterloo tomorrow (9/26).
Dexter and The Grove are my local courses and both are great. I'm lucky to have both so close. Whistlers can't be beat for on-site camping (w/yurts & free showers), fantastic location /scenery and a top notch course.
Willamette and Adair are similar, well designed park courses but i like Adair for the signage and lack of crowds.
Milo is big and beautiful but didn't seem as fun as my ever challenging local course, Dexter.
Tom Pearce park is remembered fondly as well.
There are many I haven't played but that's about my order of preference for now.
 
My fav's...
1) Horning's Hideout (3 fun courses)
2) Pier Park
3) Milo
4) Whistler's Bend

I haven't played Dexter, but I hear it is also good. Whistler's Bend is nice, but not at all challenging (I shot something like 6-7 under my first round, and would have been 13-14 under if not for bad putting).

I prefer Horning's Hideout to most destinations in California, except Tahoe (8-9 world class courses, concentrated). Other than that, Oregon is a backwater in comparison to California. I like DeLaveaga way more than Pier Park, Milo, or Whistler's Bend, and I personally consider it more challenging than any of those. Meadow Ridge at Horning's Hideout is perhaps one of the most challenging courses I've ever played. I also love Lake Casitas, the back 9 at Golden Gate Park, several of he big mountainside holes at Stafford Lake, the monster back holes at Waller Park, etc..

Looking at it from a local's point of view, that is an unusual perspective on Oregon courses. I like the Horning's Meadow Ridge course but it is still new and needs work in several areas to bring it up to the level of a Milo or a Whistlers. Your take on Milo is what surprises me the most. It is widely considered by the majority of die hard golfers around here to be the crown jewel of the state. Perhaps when you visited the baskets were not placed in the best pin positions. If you get a chance to play the course when it's set up in the 36 hole tournament layout I'm sure you would be converted to a fan.

Horning's does make a great destination due to the fact that there are 3 seperate 18 hole courses, each with their own character. 2010 is my second year with an annual pass to play there. It is a great venue for camping and multi-day events. It's not quite yet on par with the best the state has to offer purely in terms of disc golfing though. Another issue is the handmade baskets. They are on the 3rd generation, I believe, and have the latest version PDGA approved. They look fantastic, but they still haven't worked out all the issues with cut through and spit outs.

Anyway, I've played some 40+ courses in Oregon. Milo McIver is my top pick. Whistler's Bend runner up, with honorable mention going to Dexter. Another great course that has not come up in the discussion is Trojan. It is beautiful and boasts some classic risk/reward water holes.
 
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I just played Dexter and Whistlers for the first time. Really fine courses both. Milo is the tops though, and some pros (Nate, Avery, Val) say that it is their favorite in the world.
 
Looking at it from a local's point of view, that is an unusual perspective on Oregon courses....

I suppose I'm biased towards heavily forested natural dirt/rock fairway courses with lots of elevation change, tight tunnels and routes at all levels off the ground (from shrub-level, to mid-level, to canopy level). I love distance shots, but only when there are limited routes and lots of forest to throw through along the way to the basket. Long wide open fairways bore me. Manicured grass fairways don't impress me. My ideal course setting is more along the lines of DeLaveaga, Redwood Curtain, Grass Valley, Zephyr Cove, etc....
 
Having played over half of Oregon's fine set of courses and the bulk of the courses in the discussion for the top courses, it's a tough call, in all honesty, Oregon doesn't, in my opinion have a definitive 5 star course in it's year round condition. All of the top courses have at least some flaw that keeps it 4.5, that being said, we have a nice number of 4 and 4.5 star courses with which to romp around on.

I'd say that the best course in Oregon, in my opinion judging on quality of golf, is Milo in its 36 hole BSF layout, with the course fully marked and all the pins in what I would call their "marquee" pin locations, it's an absolute stunner of a course, albeit difficult and long enough that it might frustrate newer players. Milo's 36 layout stands out as a top notch 5 star course, Ken Climo himself remarked that it was in his personal top 2 nationwide.

I'll second Eric's comments that Trojan should really be in the picture, its rating on this site is rather unfair because many of the ratings came before the course was, in all honesty, finished. I also think some of the flak comes from how frustrating it can be to newer players with more than half the holes holding a serious risk of losing discs in the water. The course should be thrown up there in part because of its true test of golfing ability, the course is amazing in tournaments, especially when it's lengthened for the pro divisions.

I definitely love the work Bob Horning has done on the new Meadow ridge course, and it certainly ranks as the best disc golf "destination," that being said, I don't think it's as good as the ratings attest, as far as a stunning impression, it will definitely have that effect on players, but the course itself has a few flaws, the baskets being one of them. And personally, I can't see myself wanting to play it as often as a few others as it is very draining, technically and physically, and it has a higher luck factor, in my opinion, than Pier or Milo.

I could say more about the other top courses, but I don't want to write all day long.

My personal top 5 (largely based on personal enjoyment factor)

1. Milo
2. Pier
3. Trojan
4/5.Horning's Meadow ridge
4/5. Whistler's

Dabney and Timber are both tremendous courses I play frequently, what keeps them off the list for me is the lack of the "wow" factor, those big challenging holes that crank up the excitement level for me Those two as well as Horning's Canyon and Adair would all line up as number 6 on my list.

The only course I can think of that's up there that I haven't played yet is Dexter. Finally, I would give a nod to the Mt. Bachelor Alpine course, I've only played it during the Lava Launch tournament which souped up the course and added another 9 holer down the slopes, but that was one of the top disc golf experiences I've ever had.
 
I definitely love the work Bob Horning has done on the new Meadow ridge course, and it certainly ranks as the best disc golf "destination," that being said, I don't think it's as good as the ratings attest, as far as a stunning impression, it will definitely have that effect on players, but the course itself has a few flaws, the baskets being one of them. And personally, I can't see myself wanting to play it as often as a few others as it is very draining, technically and physically, and it has a higher luck factor, in my opinion, than Pier or Milo.

So i have a question for you about the baskets. What is the flaw you see in them? I know that the high gloss paint paint makes it very slippery. But what else...

Hippy007
 
So i have a question for you about the baskets. What is the flaw you see in them? I know that the high gloss paint paint makes it very slippery. But what else...

Hippy007

Eric O said:
They look fantastic, but they still haven't worked out all the issues with cut through and spit outs.
I'm sure this is what Josh is referring to. I don't think the paint is a significant factor. In my opinion it is mainly a chain configuration issue, and a solvable one at that. Every successive attempt by Bob Horning to upgrade the chain rack has improved the catching to some degree. The baskets are also nubless, which increases the odds of a putt sliding out off the rim. Anyway I wish I could be out there throwing with you guys today but I am headed to work in a few.
 
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