What course won't you play alone?

[Dave242]

oops, maybe a mod can fix that. Reedy is a nice course. I did not mean to confuse it with the drug infested crap hole.

The course at Reedy is safe, but believe it or not, there have been quite a few break-ins into disc golfers' cars there. The parking lot is very secluded.

Another one with car break-in's was Renny. Right across the street from tee #2 is (was?) a well known crack house. Also, on the back side of Hornet's Nest is a pretty seedy neighborhood. I have heard gun shots while on that course.

I agree with many posters though that I have never felt unsafe during the day time.....but I would not spend a lot of time on or around many courses after dark (alone or even with 1-2 others).

 

[Toro71]

Hurricane Shoals?

Bingo. Nice get!

 

[kingjames1014]

Brookside Park in Indy. You may find a body instead of your disc.

http://www.wthr.com/story/8787797/brookside-park-body-identified?nav=menu188_2

 

[Toro71]

I only played Sugaw once. It was a warm day last February and the park was packed. I didn't even think it was in a bad area (although I do remember hearing something about that). I felt completely safe. I actually dropped my smartphone somewhere on hole 9 or 10 and didn't even realize it until a few holes later when some guys were going group to group behind us asking if anyone dropped a phone. I thanked them and we kept playing on.

Yeah, I generally don't feel iffy there, and play it alone all the time, but some of my friends have stories to tell that make them uncomfortable with Sugaw. It's usually full of legit park-goers.

When you pull out from the park, if you were to cross Sugar Creek Rd you'd pull onto Hidden Valley Rd, into the Hidden Valley neighborhood. Back in the 00's there was a pretty serious gang called the HVKs (Hidden Valley Kings) that were based there. They even made an episode of the Gang show on the History Channel.

A federal task force/local law enforcement teamed up and took them down pretty much a few years ago now, after a high speed high profile car chase/shoot out between some HVKs and a local dealer on N Tryon.

Since then the area's been quieter, but the truth is that Sugaw-Eastway-Kilborne can all be a little dicey.

 

[DiscChainBasket18]

Home alone

I dont throw alone! Who's gonna see my awesome shots?

Mentionable: Morningside Park in Knoxville, TN. Golfers found a woman in the bushes barely alive after being assaulted & raped:
http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/17918874.html

 

[AdamE]

Of the 150+ courses I've played, the only two I've felt unsafe at are Brookside and Washington in Indy.

I've never felt very safe when playing at Brookside alone, the neighborhood is very bad and some of the people hanging around the park look pretty sketchy. A buddy of mine got cussed out by a guy sitting on his porch for looking in his direction during a tournament years ago. When I was at a tournament up there last summer I heard locals say that cars have been broken into on occasion and it doesn't help that you can't see your car from holes 5-16.

Washington seems a bit safer with a police station very close by but it's still not in a very good area. A friend of mine was playing there once and when he was just a few holes in he looked back and saw a guy with his face pressed up to his car window looking inside.

Edit, kingjames1014 beat me to it.

 

[AndyJB]

Phantom Falls. Technically, it's possible to play there alone on singles days, but a group of 4-5 is much, much better. Personally, I think disc golf is always better played in groups, but there is something to be said for playing alone on occasion as well.

Just not at Phantom. you'd miss the whole experience.

But for safety's sake (not fun's sake, since that's what we're talking about) the only course I got bad vibes from was Pueblo Park. There is grafitti and broken bottles and trash and Latin Kings and sea monsters. Okay, the last two were exagerattions. But I did see a car pull up once and stal a kid's (and I mean a KID, like 10-12 years old) disc and haul arse away. Plus some of the park lurkers looked like they were about two minutes away from stabbing me.

 

[mashnut]

Meh, Brookside and Washington aren't even close to sketchiest places I've played, neither of those really made me feel uncomfortable at all. I wouldn't leave valuables in my car at any disc golf course though, no matter what kind of neighborhood it's in.

 

[Js73]

I've never felt nervous about Fredericksen at all. I love that course. Not "pay $30 for a round trip ride on a ferry on a regular basis" love, but love all the same. It would get a lot more play from me if I lived over there, NAD and Bud Pell didn't exist, it wasn't a workout just to get to the first teepad with a full bag of discs, etc...

I've played SeaTac alone plenty of times and never had trouble or felt like anything sketchy was going on. Lakewood is too crowded to be scary.

The wife and caught the tail end of one heading back into the brush last fall. Talk about pucker factor lol. I've only played it a handful of time and had a blast navigating thru the trails. Good call on hole #1, the first time we played we kept asking if we made a wrong turn somewhere and then it finally showed up.

Love NAD and BudPell, hitting them both this weekend. Have you tried Shelton Springs yet? Super fun and totally worth making a day out of it. I haven't made it out to SeaTac yet, heard it's pretty cool with the jets flying overhead.

 

[rd.bittle]

I second Woodson in OKC. Didn't scare me but too boring to be worth the neighborhood.

 

[BrotherDave]

I never had any issues at Mazerick park but Bro D may have seen somthing I didnt.

Just some unsavory types getting their drink on in the parking lot. The park is right beside an elementary school so it doesn't worry me too much but that area of Fayette-Nam isn't the nicest and that course takes you all over the place. I could easily see a break-in happening.

Speaking of break-ins, I always heard that the Rocky Mount courses were notorious for this. How bad is it?

 

[Clonan]

Silver course at Lemon Lake in Crown Point, IN

That would be one long lonley round.

 

[Clonan]

Silver course at Lemon Lake in Crown Point, IN

That would be one long lonley round.

ha now that i understand WHY you wouldnt play a course alone, lemon lake is like a country club.

Ottawa Park in Toledo, OH was pretty sketchy. There is a about 5 holes that play along the ghetto and a straight up crack house right next to a few others.

 

[b-mart]

The wife and caught the tail end of one heading back into the brush last fall. Talk about pucker factor lol. I've only played it a handful of time and had a blast navigating thru the trails. Good call on hole #1, the first time we played we kept asking if we made a wrong turn somewhere and then it finally showed up.

Love NAD and BudPell, hitting them both this weekend. Have you tried Shelton Springs yet? Super fun and totally worth making a day out of it. I haven't made it out to SeaTac yet, heard it's pretty cool with the jets flying overhead.

I also love NAD and Bud Pell. Wish I could make it out this weekend, but work is getting in the way of discs far too often lately. Shelton is on my to do list for this summer. SeaTac is definitely fun if you don't go in expecting a bunch of 2's and 3's, and it improved my game more than any course besides Terrace. I played there every Sunday afternoon this summer, but now I save gas and play Silver Lake (walking distance) or Terrace.

 

[PhillyMatt]

@rube, did you keep the drugs?

 

[aggreen]

Sugaw in Charlotte is scary.
The first time I played it alone, never again. That neigborhood is just seedy.

^^^this - never played, but drove by many times. Whew, rough neighborhood. Played Boyd - that was interesting, but did it mob-style, so safety in numbers. Actually a decent course.

 

[Shuie]

I myself will have to concur with Martin on this one, i have yet to play a course that i wouldn't/haven't played alone..

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

I'll never play BOP alone.

F. That's a lie, I camped out at BOP by myself and when I woke up in the morning I tossed a few holes with the sunrise.

Thought I had something there.

I guess there's a handful of private courses that I've played with the owners that I will probably never have the opportunity to play alone.

 

[filobedo]

Sugaw Creek - seemed sketchy during the Carolina Clash last year when the sounds of several rounds from an automatic weapon was fired nearby on Sunday morning.
Owens Field (Columbia, SC) - I have played it at least 100 times and never had problems but gang graffiti used to be on several baskets.
Earlewood Park (Columbia, SC) - I have played > 500 times and the only problems I have had was in 2006 when a guy was passed out in the #9 fairway and the next week a cop chased a guy up to the train tracks by the #9 tee in his police car then jumped out and chased a guy through the park.
Southeast Park (Columbia, SC) - I have only played it once but there were several people just wandering around in blind spots on the course (#5 and #12? possibly) near the brush.
West Meadowbrook Park (Greenville, NC) - I was told by a local to never play the course without several others when I played the Down East Players Cup. Kids nearby have evidentally taken several bags and discs.
Boyd Hill (Rock Hill) - I have played it at least 10 times alone during the day with no problems but I remember a few years ago when someone from NC was robbed the week of the USDGC in the middle of the day.
Edisto Gardens (Orangeburg, SC) - The first couple of times I played it in 2005 there was some sketchy activity on the side by the river which now has baskets. Random people drove through there about 5-10 mph and circled the place for around 30 minutes with no apparant reason to be there. I have not seen that in years though possibly because the OB DG club is active again and detering that.

 

[Tee1]

I've yet to play a course that I wouldn't go back and play alone. Druid Hill in Baltimore is in a rough neighborhood but I've played rounds there by myself and have never felt threatened by anyone.