Denver, CO November

[R-Ogre]

Got most of a round in at Green Valley this evening before it got dark. Park golf, but still had a good time. Also holy crap how is that course still there? Non-golfers must get hit like once a week.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Got most of a round in at Green Valley this evening before it got dark. Park golf, but still had a good time. Also holy crap how is that course still there? Non-golfers must get hit like once a week.

Yeah that course had me nervous due to how close it got to other park activities. Recall shanking a shot with a basketball court near the basket. Saw quite a few folks around there and kids running around, tried so hard to keep it low I basically threw it right into the ground to avoid hitting anyone.

Old Johnny Roberts (RIP) was like that as well, walking paths so close or even crossing fairways. Loved that course but I understand why it was changed drastically to the new, park friendly version. Maybe its a Denver thing? Quite a few courses really push the boundaries of disc golf safety and encroaching on other park goers. Expo, Interlocken, Green Valley, old Johnny, Arapahoe CC, etc...

 

[R-Ogre]

Yeah that course had me nervous due to how close it got to other park activities. Recall shanking a shot with a basketball court near the basket. Saw quite a few folks around there and kids running around, tried so hard to keep it low I basically threw it right into the ground to avoid hitting anyone.

Old Johnny Roberts (RIP) was like that as well, walking paths so close or even crossing fairways. Loved that course but I understand why it was changed drastically to the new, park friendly version. Maybe its a Denver thing? Quite a few courses really push the boundaries of disc golf safety and encroaching on other park goers. Expo, Interlocken, Green Valley, old Johnny, Arapahoe CC, etc...

There's at least one hole that literally has you shoot across a basketball court.


I think it's just a suburbia thing. There's only so much open space left once the developers get their grubby little hands on an area, and it's hard to sell a stand-alone DG park over a multi-use playground/soccer/basketball park to the type of people who control HOAs and city councils. One thing that did surprise me was how sketch that area got after dark-driving in it seemed like a fairly nice neighborhood but there was definitely at least one drug deal going down in the parking lot when I left.

 

[JuanA]

I saw the pictures in the media section on that course, and decided my occasional shanked shot couldn't afford the lawsuit.

The picture of the basket next to the playground really sealed the deal.

 

[R-Ogre]

Ok, changed my flights a little. Getting up early tomorrow to hit prickly pines and then swing by flygreen on the way the the nature and science museum.

 

[R-Ogre]

Prickly Pines is a stellar course. By far the best I played this trip. Then I stopped by flygreen which was an expensive little pit stop. Finally got a bit of time at the Nature and Science museum, saw the dinosaurs and got some souvenir gear for the munchkins. All in all good day!

 

[R-Ogre]

I didn't mention it because you said you were short on time, but Prickly Pines is a great woods course and just under an hour from DIA. Definitely NOT a Park course.

I just wanted to come back and give a shout out for this recommendation. Prickly was 100% worth the hour drive.

 

[JuanA]

I just wanted to come back and give a shout out for this recommendation. Prickly was 100% worth the hour drive.

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with how good it is especially since it's almost two hours for me to get there. My ex still plays a lot of rounds with me, and her only complaint was that we didn't play it twice.

I'll definitely be back.

 

[aphilso1]

I saw the pictures in the media section on that course, and decided my occasional shanked shot couldn't afford the lawsuit.

The picture of the basket next to the playground really sealed the deal.

This reminds me of what I used to say after a shank in my ball golf days -- "please don't be an insurance claim"

 

[Nick Pacific]

Beaver and Bailey are about 90 minutes from the airport. I would make the time.

Approximately when do they shut those down for the winter? I'd wager a guess they gotta be getting snow up there in late October/early November?

Been awhile (2014) since I was out there.

 

[Monocacy]

Approximately when do they shut those down for the winter? I'd wager a guess they gotta be getting snow up there in late October/early November?

Been awhile (2014) since I was out there.

I am not local so I suggest contacting the folks who run the place:

Beaver Ranch Disc Golf Course

 

[jeffmonty]

Approximately when do they shut those down for the winter? I'd wager a guess they gotta be getting snow up there in late October/early November?

Been awhile (2014) since I was out there.

Unless something has changed recently, they don't technically shut down for the winter. Most storms around there are far enough apart that when they do get a dump, after a few days or so they can be playable again (unless it's really cold afterwards, then the snow will refuse to melt). Even with old snow on the ground, it gets crusty, so with decent footwear you can likely play with few problems. I assume since it's P2P they keep the tee pads well cleared of snow and ice. ** Bailey is not P2P, it's donation, so those pads may not be so well maintained.

 

[the_lung]

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but I'm going to be at a wedding in Denver in September and looking for the best course nearest to the airport and metro Denver. Is it still Adams Hollow in Brighton?

(Yes, I'm well aware of all the fantastic courses elsewhere in Colorado…please don't suggest anything in the mountains! I am only looking for courses near DIA and Denver)

 

[R-Ogre]

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but I'm going to be at a wedding in Denver in September and looking for the best course nearest to the airport and metro Denver. Is it still Adams Hollow in Brighton?

(Yes, I'm well aware of all the fantastic courses elsewhere in Colorado…please don't suggest anything in the mountains! I am only looking for courses near DIA and Denver)

As of the last time I visited I would say so. Prickly Pines is probably too far out to qualify but it's at least on the airport side of DEN. I'm also a big fan of the museum of nature and science.

 

[the_lung]

As of the last time I visited I would say so. Prickly Pines is probably too far out to qualify but it's at least on the airport side of DEN. I'm also a big fan of the museum of nature and science.

I'm not sure what kind of courses you're used to up in Juneau, R-Ogre, but I'm scratching my head at any recommendation, even a lukewarm positive one, of this Adams Hollow course.

Maybe they did the best they could with the land available, but I got the heebee jeebees on the drive in. And sure enough, while this may be great land for ball golf layouts, for disc golf, it could hardly be any worse. The fact that this course is billed as having "mature trees and a variety of terrain which allows the course to evolve throughout the year" and is "the Denver region's top-rated disc golf course" is simply farcical to me. A pancake has more elevation changes than this course, with the exception of man-made mounds and a waste ditch running through the middle of the course. The entire course is dirty desert scrub, with a comically few number of trees, which do absolutely nothing to force flight lines. Every basket position is pretty much straight in front of you, and you can basically throw any shot or flight path you want on any hole. Want to simulate a round at Adams Hollow? Go out into a open flat field and place a portable basket and then walk 200-300 feet in all four directions from the basket and throw back at it. And after slogging through all the blandness, to add insult to injury, the walk from the basket of hole#18 back to your car in the parking lot is probably close to a half mile.

I think that the reviewers on DGCR who gave this course an average of 3.78 were surely smoking too much of the legal recreational weed here in the city of Denver. I feel bad for all the courses which I gave ratings of 3.75 to. Out of close to 300 courses played lifetime since 1995, this is surely one of the bottom 25 I've ever played.

 

[ray1970]

I'm not sure what kind of courses you're used to up in Juneau, R-Ogre, but I'm scratching my head at any recommendation, even a lukewarm positive one, of this Adams Hollow course.

Maybe they did the best they could with the land available, but I got the heebee jeebees on the drive in. And sure enough, while this may be great land for ball golf layouts, for disc golf, it could hardly be any worse. The fact that this course is billed as having "mature trees and a variety of terrain which allows the course to evolve throughout the year" and is "the Denver region's top-rated disc golf course" is simply farcical to me. A pancake has more elevation changes than this course, with the exception of man-made mounds and a waste ditch running through the middle of the course. The entire course is dirty desert scrub, with a comically few number of trees, which do absolutely nothing to force flight lines. Every basket position is pretty much straight in front of you, and you can basically throw any shot or flight path you want on any hole. Want to simulate a round at Adams Hollow? Go out into a open flat field and place a portable basket and then walk 200-300 feet in all four directions from the basket and throw back at it. And after slogging through all the blandness, to add insult to injury, the walk from the basket of hole#18 back to your car in the parking lot is probably close to a half mile.

I think that the reviewers on DGCR who gave this course an average of 3.78 were surely smoking too much of the legal recreational weed here in the city of Denver. I feel bad for all the courses which I gave ratings of 3.75 to. Out of close to 300 courses played lifetime since 1995, this is surely one of the bottom 25 I've ever played.

Ha. Adams is five minutes from my house and according to Udisc is my most played course. If it wasn't so close to home I guarantee it wouldn't be my most played course. It's location just makes it convenient for a quick round after work.

I will say that other than the walk to and from the course it is fairly representative of most of the courses along the front range- lots of dirt and weeds for fairways, few trees in general and they typically don't come into play, little to no elevation in play, and most baskets visible from the tee and generally straight in line with the pad.

The mountain courses are where it's at for Colorado disc golf but even us locals along the front range don't always have time to make a trip to the mountains every time we want to play.

 

[R-Ogre]

I'm not sure what kind of courses you're used to up in Juneau, R-Ogre, but I'm scratching my head at any recommendation, even a lukewarm positive one, of this Adams Hollow course.

Maybe they did the best they could with the land available, but I got the heebee jeebees on the drive in. And sure enough, while this may be great land for ball golf layouts, for disc golf, it could hardly be any worse. The fact that this course is billed as having "mature trees and a variety of terrain which allows the course to evolve throughout the year" and is "the Denver region's top-rated disc golf course" is simply farcical to me. A pancake has more elevation changes than this course, with the exception of man-made mounds and a waste ditch running through the middle of the course. The entire course is dirty desert scrub, with a comically few number of trees, which do absolutely nothing to force flight lines. Every basket position is pretty much straight in front of you, and you can basically throw any shot or flight path you want on any hole. Want to simulate a round at Adams Hollow? Go out into a open flat field and place a portable basket and then walk 200-300 feet in all four directions from the basket and throw back at it. And after slogging through all the blandness, to add insult to injury, the walk from the basket of hole#18 back to your car in the parking lot is probably close to a half mile.

I think that the reviewers on DGCR who gave this course an average of 3.78 were surely smoking too much of the legal recreational weed here in the city of Denver. I feel bad for all the courses which I gave ratings of 3.75 to. Out of close to 300 courses played lifetime since 1995, this is surely one of the bottom 25 I've ever played.

Ok dude. And what on that side of Denver is better? Dry dock? That city park one that has you throw over basketball courts and walking paths? Sure it's not great, just better than anything else on that side of town. You have to get out of town there for better Dg.

 

[the_lung]

Ha. Adams is five minutes from my house and according to Udisc is my most played course. If it wasn't so close to home I guarantee it wouldn't be my most played course. It's location just makes it convenient for a quick round after work.

I will say that other than the walk to and from the course it is fairly representative of most of the courses along the front range- lots of dirt and weeds for fairways, few trees in general and they typically don't come into play, little to no elevation in play, and most baskets visible from the tee and generally straight in line with the pad.

The mountain courses are where it's at for Colorado disc golf but even us locals along the front range don't always have time to make a trip to the mountains every time we want to play.

Yeah, I get that, Ray.
Sure I have my local courses which are quick and convenient for a round after work and before sunset. They do the trick quite well.
I guess the difference is that I wouldn't rate them 3.78 and actually advise out-of-towners that they are the best course in the area.
I'd be giving them a caveat that yes, while this is the highest rated course near the airport and the east side of the city, set your expectations low.
I'd tell them to expect a completely flat course with about 25 trees on the entire property with a ridiculous walk from the parking lot to the first tee, and then back again.
I guess that's the big difference.

 

[R-Ogre]

Yeah, I get that, Ray.
Sure I have my local courses which are quick and convenient for a round after work and before sunset. They do the trick quite well.
I guess the difference is that I wouldn't rate them 3.78 and actually advise out-of-towners that they are the best course in the area.
I'd be giving them a caveat that yes, while this is the highest rated course near the airport and the east side of the city, set your expectations low.
I'd tell them to expect a completely flat course with about 25 trees on the entire property with a ridiculous walk from the parking lot to the first tee, and then back again.
I guess that's the big difference.

Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I assume any golfer who course bags while traveling is familiar with that difficulty. I've played a fair number of mediocre courses because that's what was nearby while I was out for work, still beats drinking by yourself and using up the hotel bottle of lotion.

 

[jeffmonty]

Sadly, most of the Colorado front range courses are underwhelming, to say the least, compared to other parts of the U.S. I really wouldn't give anything in the Denver area anything more than a 3.5. I've not played Prickly Pines but it sounds and looks more legit. The best of the ones I've played would be the Optimist and Pessimist courses in Ft. Morgan, but those and Prickly Pines are like an hour from Denver. At least those have trees. If you don't want to play those specifically, you might as well drive to the mountain courses, they're the best. The drive time would be about the same.