Orlando, FL

Gordon Barnett Park - Parkside

3.385(based on 8 reviews)
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Gordon Barnett Park - Parkside reviews

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13 0
Moose33
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.8 years 239 played 236 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun course with a lot of water in play

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 19, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

I had designs to play both courses at Barnett park, but sadly was only able to get in one in the fading light. I'm happy with my choice however as it was quite the enjoyable play.

The park itself is one of the more used ones I've seen recently with a dirt bike track, tennis courts, kids playing football, basketball and running on the walking path.

I played the longer blue layout and for the most part it's from the short tees attainable for most players from the short orange pads but more challenging and demanding from the blues. So you could bring newer players here and pretty advanced players as well and everyone can have a pretty good time.

The pads seem newer than the original install date, and are maybe smaller that some would prefer but are perfectly fine and super grippy. Great tee signs and super accurate, and most of the baskets had little arrows to show you where to head next.

For the most part it's a somewhat wooded park style course with a good amount of OB early on from the roads and yards nearby, but as you get into the course you play over and around the rather large pond several times. From the shorts you never have a full on mandatory water carry, but from the blues you have two and need to be able to clear 300ft to have a chance to be dry. It's a fun shot and made me wish I had more discs than the 5 discs travel bag I am going with right now. I did clear both with the beat in DD3 dispute the wind knocking it around a bit.

The mix of semi wooded holes, water in play and relaxed vibe of the park made this a nice play. It's not perfect but it gets a lot right.

I also saw a lot of guys warming up in the golf cages near the start which is a fun touch.

Also met a very sweet cat that followed me for 2 holes and that was nice.

Cons:

The cons are the ones typically involved with this style courses in busy parks. You have a lot of pedestrians you need to keep an eye out for, and between the high fences of the neighborhood surrounding and the pond you have a ton of places an errant shot could lead to a lost disc.

It makes me nervous to throw with people in visibility so I ended up waiting a lot.

Wish the blue pads were two ft longer but they were overall fine.

Other Thoughts:

It's a fun track, but not flawless. Overall a pretty good time though and decent place to spend an afternoon.Would like to try the other course if I'm back in the area again.
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11 0
The Drake
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.4 years 126 played 61 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Significant Improvements 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 8, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Great new design with a back 9 that adds significant difficulty to the course while still be a pretty sweet "beginner" type course
-Tee pads are well designed, concrete, and flush with the ground to accommodate most any player.
-Huge variety in shot selection, shaping, and disc utilization. You'll need most discs in your bag to complete a round here and won't get bored with repetitive shots. You may even lose a disc in one of the many water holes.
-Some really picturesque holes to help tie the course together
-A good challenge even for advanced and pro level players. Though top pros would torch the course, if you're a lower level pro like myself or advanced player you'll definitely walk away feeling like it was a course worth playing
-As it's in a public park there are actually several bathroom options both at the front of the course as well as midway through
-If you bring the family there are a couple of playgrounds, basketball courts, a skate park, soccer/football field, dog park and many many other amenities to keep everyone entertained.

Cons:

-The new redesign has not been adjusted on most of the apps including this one or UDisc so it can be tough to navigate some of the transitions.
-Tee signs are bad or non-existent for many holes so you're kind of guessing on distances and where to go.
-The pro tee for 18 literally plays between the am and pro pad of 12 which was REALLY confusing for me the first time I played the course blind and by myself.
-Hole 14 is just a dud and feels like they ran out of room but needed to put in another hole to avoid only having 17 holes

Other Thoughts:

Truth be told I've actually played both this course and it's sister course (Northside) several times though this is my first review of either. I've always enjoyed the courses but with so many other/better options in Orlando I just don't play them often. I had recently seen an upgrade to the course on another platform and decided to check out Parkside again. It was 100% worth it and I'll definitely be back. What used to be hole 10 is now hole 1 and the back 9 is almost completely different than the original layout. The addition of the main lakes by parks and rec has added a significant element to the course which easily boosts the difficulty level and greatly enhances the pucker factor on the tee. For the seasoned player these water hazards won't make or break your round as they are easily avoidable but they will absolutely test you and add a bit of stress to the round.

Hole 18 is in my opinion one of THE best finishing holes I've ever played and that's having played over 100+ courses to date. It's 100% fair but both the initial tee shot AND the approach will test you. Accuracy and not distance prevail.

Really the only knocks on the course are things that will be fixed in the future which are tee signs and directional signage. I would definitely like to see something different done with hole 14 as it's a super short, semi-technical (but not really) hole and just feels like it was thrown in at the last minute. Otherwise I wouldn't change anything. If you're in the Orlando area and don't mind playing a course with multiple water hazards you really can't go wrong with this course.
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9 0
LeeZ
Experience: 4.9 years 16 played 10 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Drowning Discs !! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 2, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice setting.
Easy to find.
Great location.
Very good and very clear signage.
Two concrete tee pads in great condition.
Baskets are in perfect condition.

Cons:

For an advanced player this course would probably have very few cons however this is not a beginner friendly course. Far to much water for me and my "grip locked" buddies. We lost 4 disc among 4 people and got lucky enough to retrieve another 4 or 6 that went OB.
Several holes play parallel to several private homes, back yards.
Hole 18 makes no sense at all and even the tee pad sign shows the basket in the wrong spot.

Other Thoughts:

This is a very nice course as far as layout and course design goes. The water is very nice and adds character. Bathrooms are at the entrance and at hole 12. I would love to play this course once I'm a better more experienced player. If you're an advanced player I would recommend you try this course.
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1 3
GOC7187
Experience: 20 played 1 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

New design as of June 2019. Fun open layout. Much more of a feel good course than the second course on site the "North" course

Cons:

Permanent pads not all installed yet. Not all holes have signs yet.

Other Thoughts:

Will be 5/5 once the renovations are completed.
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12 0
cesar32935
Experience: 15.3 years 27 played 12 reviews
4.50 star(s)

New Layout Review 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 17, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

***New Layout Installed in June 2019***
-Challenging Layout. I'm a Rec/Borderline Intermediate level player, and enjoyed the fact that the course is challenging. I only had 4 holes that I can drive "inside the circle". Only 2 of the 3 Par 4s I have a legitimate chance to birdie with a good 2nd shot. It's not an easy course, but it is a fun layout that I can work on getting better and better.
--Good mixture of left/right/straight shots
-Park maintained well by the county. This is an active multi-sport park that the county maintains very well.
-New baskets (Red and easy to spot).
-Permanent restrooms and water fountains

Cons:

-Very hot if you're playing in the middle of the day. Play before 10am, or after 3pm
-Would be nice to have a long pole by the side of the lake
-I haven't seen the disc shop open at any of my 3 visits to the park, would be nice to buy some drinks, and have disc selection
-The new holes 13 & 14 area can use some cleaning
-They need new tee signs, or at least put up some temporary signs on all the holes (almost half the holes have a sign)

Other Thoughts:

New Map was uploaded here to DGCourseReview, and it is also posted on the side of the shack next to hole 1.
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11 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.8 years 694 played 680 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Partial Redesign 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 29, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

(2.896 Rating) **REEVALUATED** , A mixed bag of a course that just went under a moderate redesign that resulted in several partially altered holes. On my initial review post on October 11th I had commented on the courses unfinished state but I was promptly notified of the finished layout and thus this revision.
- CHALLENGING - The one thing the Parkside course has going for it is that it offers a fairly nice challenge. The back tees offers up numerous wooded shots well over 300 feet. I'm going to estimate that your average 950 rated advanced player will be around course par to a couple under on average. The front tees (12 holes) should challenge intermediate players to break par.
- UNIQUENESS - Above average and pretty good for a par 56. A good mix of fully wooded holes to fully open holes. Some of the fully wooded holes offer up some great shot shaping opportunities. A very nice bender on (6) as well as a few partially defined pocket shots. The hole distances seem to vary fairly well. Distances include ever thing from a 238 foot putter run to a plus 600 foot par 4. Lots of water in play as well with a couple clears and several parallel creek plays.
- COURSE MAP - Be sure and download the course map on this site, I am not certain if the course map on site is up to date with the finished layout.
- CHARACTER - About average. 12 holes have multi-tees and it also appears that most holes have 2 or 3 basket placements. Seating is only at a couple tees currently but I think I saw some benches at a few abandoned tees, so it may just be a matter of moving them. There is a practice basket as well. The biggest missing item is up-to-date hole signage.

Cons:

During my round there were lots of issues with the uncompleted redesign. However, several of the issues I dealt with in July are now fixed.
- NAVIGATION - Was in sad shape. However, I have been informed that it has been adjusted since my round and now just needs a few more touches to finish up. During my I ended up playing several holes incorrectly.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - Holes (9) and (10) put lots of people and property into play. I personally grip locked one over a row of cars on (10) but thankfully I did not hit anyone or anything. In addition to these two holes, there are several other occurrences where you'll wisely decide to put the disc back in the bag rather than throw due to all the kids running around.
- LAYOUT FLOW - Several sizable gaps between holes. Also, some holes play around pathways, roads and other park amenities, so you can figure there will be some holes that will back up with groups when the course and other park amenities get heavy use.
- TEES - The unchanged holes still have average sized concrete tees and there are still a few temporary mats in use.
- ELEVATION - Like most Florida courses, a very flat course. Perhaps one hole (5) changes by 10 feet. The North course has a lot more changes in elevation compared to the Parkside Course
- NATURAL BEAUTY - There are some really nice parts to this course, but there are also some duds as well. I think the course falls just below average. I gave its counterpart, the North course, a touch higher rating.
- TRASH - The creek that runs along several holes of this layout is just littered with trash.

Other Thoughts:

- Upon arriving to play, I did not realize that the Parkside course had been going thru a redesign. I played to wrong baskets several times and once teed off to a blind basket that didn't exist. It resulted in one of my worst disc golf round experiences. Post round I found the redesigned map and contacted timg to achieve the old layout.
- In all, a really tough course to rate since it was still being updated. Within hours of initial review post I was informed by another DGCR member (thank you Chainedwraith) that the update is mostly complete and he graciously got me a link to the finished layout with holes distances. Still however, I think the North course at Gordon Barnett is a slightly better layout.
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2 0
allenshorter
Experience: 4 played 4 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Needs work 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 21, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course has potential. Not the worst layout.

Cons:

The grass is poorly mowed. The signage, when it does exist, is confusing. Hard to find the next tee. But not as hard and confusing as the Northside. Sometimes there is a lack of challenge on this course as the obstacles are not present on every hole and sometimes you are just chucking it any way you want at the baskets. OB is not marked on the signs or on the course.

Other Thoughts:

This course could be great, but it needs a lot of work. A few holes have moved around since the map was made. It is slightly easier to find the tee pads than the northside course. I never felt unsafe as folks passed through the park. One guy that lived over a fence off of 17 came out of his house and helped us get a disc out of his yard.
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6 1
WhereTheIDivides
Experience: 6 played 6 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Great for beginners and intermediates 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 3, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- No underbrush except for a couple of holes. Trees are great, but underbrush/palmettos are snake magnets.
- No leaves or sticks on the ground. The course is out in the open.
- Good use of using the field in multiple directions.
- Park is well kept.
- Huge park has multiple bathrooms, soda machine, water pool, BMX, baseball, football, lake docks, skateboarding, billiards, ping pong, weight room, golf diving and putting green and lots of stuff.
- Staff inside main building are nice.
- 2 bathroom buildings along course.
- Course is near roads so if you loose a disc, you can get a rake from the groundskeeper and drive right up near the hole.

Cons:

- Signs and maps are wrong. Multiple pads on some holes that go nowhere. A complete mess.
- Park is located in the middle of the gettos of Pine Hills Florida (AKA Crime Hills).
- No putting green (but there is a putting basket) and no driving range with distance markers.
- No circle markers.
- Not to sound racist, but the park is in the middle of the gettos. The only caucasions are on the disc course. You'll hear plenty of loud rap music from all directions. And just don't go into the woods on the northside unless you feel like becoming a statistic. and whatever you do, get out of there before dark.

Other Thoughts:

- Map shows hole 9 before water ditch (east). It's on the far side of the ditch (west).
- This is a favorite of just about everyone. It is located behind the central florida fairground and is huge. It's not to hard. Your disc can go in the woods on hole 6 but not far to get to. It can go into the watered ditch on hole 9 as well. Other than that, you don't have to worry about losing your discs as the course is out int he open.
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