Best Town/Small City for Disc Golf

[grodney]

I don't think they are at all. The suggestions I gave were mostly examples of smaller towns that aren't too far away from smaller cities with good courses. If the city gets too big then you have to get pretty far away to really be outside of the metro area and your drive will be closer to the hour range (Minneapolis/St. Paul is like this). However, if the city is smaller, like Des Moines or Madison, then you can find a small town environment withing a half hour of the city.

Another good example from your area is Indianola, Iowa (population 14,000). It is separated from Des Moines (and suburbs) by a solid 8-10 miles of farm land, isn't it? Yet you have:
4.44 Pickard - local
4.04 Ewing - 13 miles
3.71 Grandview - 20 miles
So that meets the OP criteria of 3 at 3.5+ within 30 minutes.

I'm not saying you WANT to live in Indianola -- I have no idea how good of a town it is. I'm just saying.

 

[grodney]

Madrid, Iowa is also separated from Des Moines and Ames by miles of open space, right?

It is population 2,500(!), and has 4(!) 3.5+ within 20 miles, (plus a 2.5 local):
Big Creek - 3.60 - 10 miles
Walnut Ridge - 4.04 - 15 miles
Carroll Marty - 3.50 - 18 miles
Iowa State - 3.84 - 20 miles

Probably the same 4 courses for Polk City, although it feels more suburby to me.

 

[Stardoggy]

That's what I liked about the Manitowoc reference. It's over an hour north of Milwaukee, and about 30-40 minutes south of Green Bay, and 20 mins north of Sheboygan (which is just about 50k). It's a relatively small city that stands alone. It's not an unconnected suburb or some random small town that's 15 minutes away from a big city.

 

[schroof21]

Manitowoc, WI (54220)

Silver Creek, Rollin' Ridge, Lower Cato Falls, Winter Park, LTC Cleveland, Jaycee Quarry Park all 3.0 or over within 25 miles, with 3 of them over 4.0. Vollrath falls JUST outside that circle. Nice area, for sure.

I have to second Manitowoc or Sheboygan, and both are right around 50,000 population. Vollrath, Jaycee Quarry Park, and Rollin' Ridge are extremely fun and unique courses!

 

[garublador]

Another good example from your area is Indianola, Iowa (population 14,000). It is separated from Des Moines (and suburbs) by a solid 8-10 miles of farm land, isn't it? Yet you have:
4.44 Pickard - local
4.04 Ewing - 13 miles
3.71 Grandview - 20 miles
So that meets the OP criteria of 3 at 3.5+ within 30 minutes.

I'm not saying you WANT to live in Indianola -- I have no idea how good of a town it is. I'm just saying.

Yeah, there are several towns like that around, I just mentioned a couple. Winterset, Bondurant, Dallas Center, Cambridge or Van Meter would also work.

Madrid, Iowa is also separated from Des Moines and Ames by miles of open space, right?

It is population 2,500(!), and has 4(!) 3.5+ within 20 miles, (plus a 2.5 local):
Big Creek - 3.60 - 10 miles
Walnut Ridge - 4.04 - 15 miles
Carroll Marty - 3.50 - 18 miles
Iowa State - 3.84 - 20 miles

Probably the same 4 courses for Polk City, although it feels more suburby to me.

Madrid is another good one. They have a decent course in town, too. The geography is such that it isn't an obvious place in which to expand from DSM. I haven't spent a ton of time in either town, but my impression is that Madrid is nicer than Indianola. While it is farther away from Ewing and Pickard, it's closer to Big Creek, WR, Ames and also closer to the nicer side of Des Moines.

Even if Polk City counts now, it might not always be that way. Norwalk Granger and Adel are in the same boat. If DSM keeps expanding they're all in the path of expansion. I remember when Grimes and Waukee would have both counted as well. Now Waukee has a 4A school, and IIRC, they're talking about building another one within the next decade.

 

[heartman]

Clemson, SC is pretty good and centrally located close to Grand Central Station, the Trails in Anderson, Shaver in Seneca, Easley, Walhala, Chattooga Belle and Timmons Park in Greenville.

Haven't read the rest of the thread, but Stoney Hill can be added to that list. Would definitely be worth the drive from Clemson to Newbury.

 

[DiscGolfCraig]

Haven't read the rest of the thread, but Stoney Hill can be added to that list. Would definitely be worth the drive from Clemson to Newbury.

According to Google maps, it's a 1:50 drive from Clemson to Stoney Hill so that probably doesn't fit this criteria. Still, the Clemson/entire SC upstate area is filled with a bunch of good courses.

 

[DiscGolfCraig]

I'll make a nomination for Huntington, WV, population 49,160 in 2012. There are two 18-hole courses within the city proper, four other courses, including three 18-holers, within 20 minutes. Of the five 18-holers in the metro area, four have ratings of 3.5 or higher, with the fifth having a rating of 3.44.

 

[ridesbrd]

Augusta, GA. It has Pendelton King Park the best course in the country now that someone has put benches in and cleaned up the fairways. :wall: :doh:

 

[zrxchris]

Tuscaloosa population is just shy of 95k. And it has the university and nobody likes Bama.



Geaux Tigers!

Roll Tide!

 

[heartman]

According to Google maps, it's a 1:50 drive from Clemson to Stoney Hill so that probably doesn't fit this criteria. Still, the Clemson/entire SC upstate area is filled with a bunch of good courses.

Yeah, not within 30min but much closer than Athens is! If I was at Clemson, I'd try and play Stoney Hill every other month

 

[saaber]

Mt Vernon, TX (pop 2,700) will likely fit this soon. The two Trey Texas Ranch courses are both John Houck designed and about 5 minutes from town. Selah Ranch is 10 minutes north.

 

[disctildeath]

The Catawba Valley area of NC is a pretty good location for a smaller pop, three counties have good full sized courses in Morganton, Hickory (largest of the 3 at around 40,000 people), and Sawmills that are right on the Catawba River and a blast to play. Plus where we are, we are right in the middle of the western part of the state, so we have easy and equal distances between Asheville, Charlotte, and several private and resort courses that run like a chain through the mountains so road tripping has many options as well from here.

 

[grodney]

Mt Vernon, TX (pop 2,700) will likely fit this soon. The two Trey Texas Ranch courses are both John Houck designed and about 5 minutes from town. Selah Ranch is 10 minutes north.

Oh duh, yeah that one's obvious. And Mt Vernon became non-dry in the last year. There's no Joe's Place or Dublin Underground, but at least you can buy a Shiner now without driving half an hour.

But if you've never lived in, or been to, remote Texas before, you would want to visit before deciding to move there. It's a decidedly, uhhhhhhh...different, way of life.

 

[Stardoggy]

Oh duh, yeah that one's obvious. And Mt Vernon became non-dry in the last year. There's no Joe's Place or Dublin Underground, but at least you can buy a Shiner now without driving half an hour.

But if you've never lived in, or been to, remote Texas before, you would want to visit before deciding to move there. It's a decidedly, uhhhhhhh...different, way of life.

different=backwards?

 

[apparition]

I'm pretty happy with the five 18-hole courses near me. My town is ~35,000 population.

All these are within a ~30min drive:
Memorial Park, Frankenmuth, MI (4.03)
Wickes Woods, Saginaw, MI (3.20) - Underrated since most reviews from 9-hole design
Tittabawassee Trails, Freeland, MI (3.61) - Soon to be 24 holes
Chippewa banks, Midland, MI (3.24)
The Jungle, Sanford, MI (3.50)

~1 Hour away:
Wildwood (4.10) and Deerfield Park (4.17) - same park
Grayling Rotary (4.08) and Pine Knoll (3.33) - same park

Goldenrod and Holly Woods aren't far either.

 

[Jensonian]

1-90 SE Minnesota

Not so much a town but several towns with good golf on what I call the "I-90" corridor in SE MN between Fairmont and Winona.

*Fairmont= 2 awesome 18 hole courses in same park.
*Albert Lea= 3 18 hole courses inc. the gold level "Oak Island"
*Austin= 1 12 and 1 awesome 27 (soon to be 1 good 18 and 1 really awesome 21!)
*Stewartville= Awesome 18 hole
*St. Charles= pretty good 18 hole from what I hear (have not played yet)
*Winona= 2 18 hole courses (have not played them yet either)

All within about a 3 to 4 hour stretch of freeway that never has traffic jams!

 

[Cgkdisc]

Note that going west from Fairmont you have the new gold course at Okoboji that's even a bit closer than Oak Island gold in Albert Lea and the Adrian 18 is closer than Austin.

 

[Jensonian]

Even better then! I have never been west of Fairmont for disc golf. Was just thinking in terms of towns that I-90 goes through or is real close to though. If we start including north Iowa and a few other towns that are semi close then we are really talkin about some good golf!