Sioux Passage – Briscoe Woods is a technical, recreational 18-hole course that has a mix of woods, fields, and hills. This 2014 installation is the scrappy little brother to the original Sioux Passage course across the park's main road and makes for a shorter but more technical round than the long, open OG course.
Location of Sioux Passage Park is at the northern most point of Florissant, Missouri, right up against the Missouri River. The park is located on Old Jamestown Road, and you'll be directed to the park via Vaile Ave from the south or Old Jamestown Road if you're coming from Illinois. Once you enter the park, take the first right turn, and then you'll see parking next to hole 1 and the black practice basket. If you want to make a day out of golfing, the original course is just located further up the main road. Other than that, Yu can go south for north county courses like Dunegant, Hudson, or White Birch, or cross the river for the collection in Alton and Godfrey. There's nothing but rural feeling subdivisions around the park, so get your snacks ahead of time.
Park Amenities are pretty robust in this expansive park. In addition to the two disc golf courses, you can find two playgrounds, trails, horseback riding, tennis courts by hole one, fishing, basketball, cross country courses, and a boat ramp. There are also some camp sites, and the park is also designated for winter outdoor sports. There' also fishing along the river in the back of the park. The closest bathroom is across the street from hole 15, though there's a year-round bathroom at the shelter across from the start of the original 18-hole course.
Course Equipment is coming along nicely and is a continuing project this year for Briscoe Woods. Most tee pads are concrete, with just a couple that still need to be upgraded. The baskets on both Sioux Passage courses have been upgraded as of last year to Black Hole Portal Version 2 baskets, with Briscoe's being Orange and the OG course being Yellow. Each course also has a black practice basket, both of which have plenty of space to practice approaches and longer putts. The signage is due to be upgraded soon at Briscoe, but what's in place as of this review's writing is alright, with pars, hole graphics, pin placements, and next tee directions. Overall, this course should be up to par with the original course hopefully by the end of 2024.
Course Design at Briscoe gives you a bit of everything, with the start of the course having tight wooded lines, and the back half being primarily more open shots along the hills and fields in the front half of the park. While the original course is very open and long, Briscoe will require more technical ability, and will also challenge you to throw both right and left turning shots. Overall, this is a course that will require multiple shot shapes and will punish you a bit if you aren't on your game with putting your disc where you want it.
Elevation is prominent on this course, with plenty of hills being present throughout the park. Holes 1 and 8 come to mind as hole that have open fairways but play downhill, with both greens having some elevation around that can result in rollaways. Holes like 3 and 7 also play uphill in addition to having wonky fairway shapes, and 11 is a steep but open uphill shot. Holes 12 and 14, while vastly different in distance, have similar feels wit downhill elevation, which can be tricky when gauging how hard to throw your approach. Hole 9 is a very abrupt uphill shot, and can leave you with a tough upshot if you don't make the hill or hit a tree in the fairway.
Shot-Shaping is also crucial at Briscoe, with more fairways requiring a particular shot shape than not. Holes 2, 3, 5, arguably 7, and 13 all turn to the right and will favor RH forehand shots off the tee. Meanwhile, holes 4 (depending on the pin position), and 17 both require RH backhand or similar shot shapes off the tee. The rest of the holes are either straight or leave you options, but many will require straight shots or good accuracy off the tee, such as 1, 7, and 15. Overall, I think this is definitely one of the more RH forehand friendly courses in St. Louis, and it was fun to practice playing with that shot more as someone who throws forehands about as much as James Conrad.
Distances are pretty attainable for a variety of plyers, with this course being around 6,500 feet long across 18 holes, playing 1,000 feet or shorter than the original 18-hole course. Most holes are between 225 and 400 feet, with holes 13 (555ft), 14 (562), and 16 (560) being outliers, though all three are par 4s. The first half of the course is very short relative to par, with hole 5 being only around 210ft long. The back half of the course is more open except for 17, and will play longer as well, a nice change from the more intricate front 9 once your arm is warmed up.
Difficulty Level is towards intermediate and advanced, as anyone who can't reliably hit a line with their drive is going to really struggle through the front 9. Even when you get through the first half of the course, you still have prairie grass, hills, and longer shots, all of which can give newer players trouble. While easier in some ways to the original course, this course has it's own unique challenges to its older brother, and newer players should probably get experience on easier nearby courses like White Birch and Gordon Moore before giving the Sioux Passage courses a go.
Highlights – Hole 8 is a very fun open shot that plays downhill to a relatively open green, being a nice opportunity to rip a fairway with less risk involved. Similarly, hole 12 is downhill and has multiple fun lines to the basket, with anything from a straight putter shot to a stalling hyzer over the trees to the right being viable options. Hole 16 might be the most complete hole n terms of challenges, with a long open field shot to a gap in the woods, followed by a technical upshot to the green.