Got a few days in Des Moines, local suggestions?

[tomjulio]

Gonna be in the Des Moines area(Granger to be specific) for a bunch of days over the Thanksgiving day break. Looked at reviews both here and and on Udisc but would love to hear from the locals what two or three courses should I make a priority playing while playing? Thanks!

 

[elmexdela]

i played grandview uni grandview crivaro and ewing

i found those all to be boring park style

apparently i played the "wrong ones" and was directed by the fine folks on here to try out moar wooded ones like becky or walnut or big creek

 

[MarkDSM]

Within 15 minutes super easy drive…
Top pick is Big Creek. Weekly Glow disc at Big Creek 6p Wednesdays has a good turnout. Park open until 10:30 daily though the winter.
Walnut Ridge is quite nice. I am frustrated I cannot find the winter gate closing date online though. No problems in the past parking in neighborhood and walking in though.

Within 30 minutes…
Both 18 holers in Ames are decent. Stable Run my preference over Gateway Hills. College town.
Heritage in Ankeny is not very thrilling, but might be a mix in with dinner and shopping. Not much in Granger.

Avoid McHose in Boone unless you are a complete maniac. Some really neat holes in the woods and gorge area, but hard navigation with very rough terrain. I struggle to get anyone to go with me for my once a year play.

… if lonely, Lots of friendly folks on Facebook in 515 Disc Golf Club and Des Moines Disc Club. Healing mallet fracture on throwing hand has me out until maybe mid December.

 

[tomjulio]

Within 15 minutes super easy drive…
Top pick is Big Creek. Weekly Glow disc at Big Creek 6p Wednesdays has a good turnout. Park open until 10:30 daily though the winter.
Walnut Ridge is quite nice. I am frustrated I cannot find the winter gate closing date online though. No problems in the past parking in neighborhood and walking in though.

Within 30 minutes…
Both 18 holers in Ames are decent. Stable Run my preference over Gateway Hills. College town.
Heritage in Ankeny is not very thrilling, but might be a mix in with dinner and shopping. Not much in Granger.

Avoid McHose in Boone unless you are a complete maniac. Some really neat holes in the woods and gorge area, but hard navigation with very rough terrain. I struggle to get anyone to go with me for my once a year play.

… if lonely, Lots of friendly folks on Facebook in 515 Disc Golf Club and Des Moines Disc Club. Healing mallet fracture on throwing hand has me out until maybe mid December.

Awesome my friend, this is exactly what I was looking for! Def hitting up Big Creek and Walnut Ridge based on your input. thank you!

 

[tomjulio]

Within 15 minutes super easy drive…
Top pick is Big Creek. Weekly Glow disc at Big Creek 6p Wednesdays has a good turnout. Park open until 10:30 daily though the winter.
Walnut Ridge is quite nice. I am frustrated I cannot find the winter gate closing date online though. No problems in the past parking in neighborhood and walking in though.

Within 30 minutes…
Both 18 holers in Ames are decent. Stable Run my preference over Gateway Hills. College town.
Heritage in Ankeny is not very thrilling, but might be a mix in with dinner and shopping. Not much in Granger.

Avoid McHose in Boone unless you are a complete maniac. Some really neat holes in the woods and gorge area, but hard navigation with very rough terrain. I struggle to get anyone to go with me for my once a year play.

… if lonely, Lots of friendly folks on Facebook in 515 Disc Golf Club and Des Moines Disc Club. Healing mallet fracture on throwing hand has me out until maybe mid December.

Thanks for the Big Creek and Walnut Ridge suggestions, and they were literally right next to Granger where my wife's family lived. Had two great days over Thanksgiving break and played both and had a blast! Met some locals who were great and who helped me climb the bluff after I damn near threw my disc in the river at Big Creek! Walnut Ridge was my fave and spent all day there. Had one of my hottest rounds of the year on the first play through blind and smiled the whole time. So thank you again for the great suggestions!

 

[dmoore1998]

Avoid McHose in Boone unless you are a complete maniac. Some really neat holes in the woods and gorge area, but hard navigation with very rough terrain. I struggle to get anyone to go with me for my once a year play.

You might already know about this, but they added more holes to the top of McHose. There's now a 15-hole layout where you never go down to the bottom "9". You also avoid throwing over the gorge and then hiking down and back up (unless you go long on a different hole, then you're screwed). It's a lot more fun if you're trying to play casually, as opposed to torturing yourself by going down to the bottom.