Saint Paul, MN

Hillcrest Knoll

2.35(based on 5 reviews)
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6 0
Thomashasfun
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 22.8 years 496 played 494 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Typical Park Course

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2024 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Easy navigation so no need to look at the phone
- Baskets catch just fine, seems fairly new
- Big fan of the artificial turf tee pads whenever I see them
- A few holes have little bunkers in the fairways, basically long grass rough like on a golf course
- Some of the baskets are tucked away in trees or off to the side to try and provide some sort of challenge
- Easy course that is perfect for beginners with little chance to lose to discs while gaining skills
- Really quick round for the course baggers trying to get another course in

Cons:

- It's a really short course that should only be played with SuperClass discs or putters (Perfect Zephyr only course)
- Lots of open holes with only a few trees on a few holes
- Sans one hole that has a basket up a small hill, not much in terms of elevation

Other Thoughts:

This is good option to have for people in the neighborhood but not something you go to if you're looking for a serious challenge. As a bagger course or leg stretcher, practice course for locals or introduction to disc golf it's pretty much perfect though.
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12 0
Jess Holle
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Nice beginner or practice course drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 15, 2023 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

+ Good baskets and (recently upgraded) concrete tee pads
+ Great for beginner to just focus on their throws
+ Short holes, but varying in length
+ Very few trees
+ But just enough for learning, e.g. hyzering/fading around
+ Introduces out-of-bounds and mandos
+ No water hazards (unless after right after a big rain or snow melt)
+ Nice easy practice course for others

Cons:

- No hole really rewards a RHFH or RHBH turnover
- As a learning course this is the biggest gap IMHO
- No elevation to speak of
- All available elevation is used; there's just not much here
- Nothing challenging or long

Other Thoughts:

I gave this course 3 stars because I think it's great at what it is.

If you want challenge, elevation, or long holes then you're looking in the wrong place.

If you want a simple course for an easy, unintimidating introduction to the sport, if you're avoiding length and elevation, e.g. due to leg injury, or if you just want something really simple and ace-runnable then this is a great course.

I honestly don't make the drive over to this course for my own practice rounds, but I do enjoy the course when I play the course with those interested for one of the reasons above.
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11 0
mndiscg
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.4 years 502 played 494 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Excellent use of a smaller neighborhood park

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 15, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

+9 nice baskets. Orange prodigy. All in good shape.
+9 nice tees. They are artificial turf now, updated from the natural tees in the photos.
+Course map at the start with a prompt to open Udisc for hole info and navigation questions. No signage but the layout is straightforward and Udisc has the info if you need it.
+Ace runs available on most holes for a lot of players.
+Shouldn't lose a disc here. There is some rough along holes 1-3 but it's not too thick.
+The layout is really well done for this size of park. They didn't have a ton to work with but they utilized the few elevation changes, longer grassy areas, and trees well.
+Practice basket which also appears to be the unofficial 10th hole. There is a marker for hole 10 on the sidewalk behind hole 9's basket. There is a 20 hole layout in Udisc but I didn't play it or look into it much.
+There are some other nice courses near here. This course would serve as a great warm up round for those courses. It also probably doesn't get super busy due to having other great 18 hole options nearby.
+Great place for beginners and shorter arms to play.

Cons:

-Pretty short overall.
-Not much for elevation.
-No water or too much for hazards.
-Won't challenge more skilled players.
-Street parking only. No bathrooms or much for amenities at all.

Other Thoughts:

+Despite its ease, this course had a high fun factor for me. Ace runs galore. If you are playing competitively, you will need to score between 18-20 to be competitive at all.
+Great design and nice use of a little green space. Even though it's in the middle of St. Paul, it felt like it also could have been in a much smaller town.
+This course isn't really worth going out of your way too much to play but it would be great paired with Acorn, Kaposia, Lakewood, etc.
+Best holes were 8 and 9. Both played into some trees/woods. Baskets were elevated a bit on a hillside. Fast greens made putting risky and strategic.
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9 0
PhilLaJoie
Experience: 21.4 years 39 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Short but Sweet

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 8, 2023 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

It's short and fun. Sort of a mini-golf feel of a disc golf course. The course is well maintained and looks very nice.

There is a practice basket that has painted bricks in a spiral marking out 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 feet, which was a really nice touch.

Cons:

It's very short. You're not going to be able to air out any big shots here.

Other Thoughts:

It would be a good course to practice your upshots on, as that's probably a good comparison to the length of most of the holes.

It's very quick to play, which may be a plus or a minus depending on how much time you have.
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15 0
playrecords
Silver level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 18.4 years 772 played 27 reviews
1.50 star(s)

One block in the city yields fun times

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 18, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

Hillcrest Knoll is a fun cute little 9 hole park in the eastern suburbs of Saint Paul. Nice to have another option to throw between Lakewood, Kaposia and Acorn. Lines are fun, bring your putters and mids and maybe fairway drivers as the longest hole is maybe 250' Nice hole shapes for what it is. Most holes can be ace runs if you are into that (who isn't)? Course runs clockwise in the park, super easy to navigate. Nice new Prodigy baskets with an orange coloration that pops.

Cons:

One square block in the city makes for a tiny course. Short drives, but I had fun throwing it.

Other Thoughts:

Not much to this one, fun factor is high. Don't know the designer but did a fine job with the tiny property to work with.
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