Tucson, AZ

Rillito River Park

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35(based on 6 reviews)
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11 0
Shadrach3
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.1 years 339 played 322 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Flat, Bushy, Forgettable 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 8, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

A bushy desert course with a handful of lines.

-Amenities: Concrete tees, dual baskets per hole (shorts are old Chainstars, longs are red DISCatchers), excellent tee signs with maps, next tee arrows, course kiosk. This course clearly has gotten some love.

-Dual Tees/Baskets: each hole has two fully developed tees and two basket options. The baskets aren't particularly different from each other, but the tees are a clear difference of difficulty.

-Out and Back: Hole 1 begins right where hole 18 ends, which is close to parking.

-Technical: Several holes out here will be enjoyable for more technical players, with low ceilings, odd shapes defined by bushes, and lots of trees.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: An adequate mix of par-3 holes with acceptable challenge. Most holes out here don't require specific shapes, more avoidance of a couple of obstacles. While I suppose this is nice and accommodating for different styles of play, it's also not particularly interesting to me. However, there are some tunnels mixed in - mostly not tunnels of the "row of trees on both sides type", but tunnels where just a handful of big bushes/trees constrict the route to a straight shot. None of the holes stick out more than the other, and the sum is a perfectly normal rec- to intermediate-level par-54 course.

Cons:

-Over the Top: With enough power, any of these holes can simply be thrown over all the short trees that force shaping. This wouldn't be a good course for competitive play, imo.

-Overgrown Bushes: Primarily from the long tees, some of the big bushes have grown in too much and block either the comfort of the tee shot or the logical line. Nothing some volunteer hours can't fix.

-Disc Loss: Some property lines are in play on the south side, while the north side has a deep gully that may not permit recovery if you sail a shot far left.

-Flat: Very little elevation, which doesn't help the forgettable nature of the course.

-Basket/Tee Proximity: A lot of baskets are dangerously close to the next tee pads. I don't know how full the course gets, but if you have someone behind you, best watch their drives carefully.

-Creativity: Besides the best five or so technical holes, the course falls flat. Shots are bounded by one or two trees but otherwise open, leading to lots of lazy hyzers. Mandos are incorporated, but even then they aren't particularly interesting. I don't necessarily know if there was a better way to use the land, but every hole is thoroughly forgettable.

-Desert Pricklies: In between the gritty dirt, some sharp plants, and plenty of random overgrowth, this is one that had my legs well scratched by the time I finished my round in shorts. Some bushes are unscrambleable, and require a tiny pitchout.

Other Thoughts:

Rillito, to me, is nothing special. It was fine, but at no point were the juices really flowing. The combo of flatness, lack of interesting shaping, and annoying desert undergrowth hold it back; however, the excellent amenities and competent design (given the boring land) are pros. On the whole, it's right in the middle of my courses rated at Decent/Typical.

~Similar Courses: Two Mile High DGC (Fairplay, CO); Montiel Park (San Marcos, CA); North Midway Park (Broomfield, CO).
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10 0
calvinc44
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 4.4 years 128 played 11 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Fun course if you are in the area 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 25, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

* concrete tee pads
* good directional arrows
* practice basket
* easy to follow
* nice desert vegetation
* different shot shapes

Cons:

*multiple tee pads but only one are concrete(although I saw them working on them soon)
* very short
* not super challenging
* no elevation
* no tee signs, must use udisc or dgcr for measurements
* broken glass everywhere
* park seemed kind of sketchy when i pulled up

Other Thoughts:

I just visited here over thanksgiving from Saint Louis and I was excited to try out my first Arizona course. First of all, I enjoyed the course. Playing in a new scenery, with differerent "trees", other Arizona obstacles (even a piped triple mando), and skippy sand was all a cool new experience. I played from the concrete pads (the A ones) and the course played wayyy too short and easy. With limited obstacles facing you and almost all holes shorter than 250 feet, it felt like there needed to be some what of a bigger challenge. I shot a -6, with only one bogey on hole 18 from a 3 putt, and was C2 in regulation on 16/18 holes (I'm only a 920 rated player). I hope that the Tucson scene can work on the C pads to provide more of a challenge. Also, whats with the broken glass literally everywhere??

I think this course is a must-stop if you are in Tucson. It's a fun course to boost your confidence on. However, considering this is one out of only two legit 18 hole courses in Tucson, I might get sick of it quickly if I lived here.
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6 1
Schreuds2.0
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 7.4 years 93 played 81 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Wow, those are some neat rocks...oh wait, that’s broken glass 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 19, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Tees are very nice, amply sized concrete, each one has a tile that displays the hole number. I should say though, this applies to the "A" pads, the "B" and "C" pads are marked by plastic whiskers in the ground and they tee off of dirt.
-Fairways are pretty good out here (with the exception of holes 14-16) I played in February after some rain, so the dirt was a little harder packed than it probably is usually, I can see it getting super dusty out there during the summer.
-For a relatively flat course, there is nice elevation use. Wherever there is a mound or ditch there is usually a basket near by, which represents thoughtful course design, and also improves the enjoyability factor at this course.
-Trees are used well here, there are a couple awkward shots (hole 13) but for the most part, the trees are the biggest obstacle at this course.
-For the lack of signs and arrows at this course, Navigation is surprisingly easy, I only looked at my map once to find hole 16.
-Water is used as well as it could be, there appear to be some seasonal ponds that my just be dry year round, but under the assumption that they have water in them every now and then, they are used well as something to think about, but not something that you are afraid of losing your disc in to badly.
-There is equal representation for forehands and backhands here, most holes feature an open tee shot with a guarded green, so you can pretty much play each hole however you want.

Cons:

-No tee signs, not that they are really needed, but it would be nice for some holes, especially for finding your way to the next tee pad, or the alternate tees.
-Baskets aren't my favorites. The Chainstars all have little pink flags hanging from the basket which aren't quite large enough to be an ideal marker, but they do allow for some wind reads, which from what I can tell about Tucson, is very important. I would also have liked to see some basket numbers, a couple baskets are in the same general area, and there is some confusion, 3 and 4 are close, so are 6 and 14, not too bad with uDisc, but still a little confusing
-As alluded to above, hole 13 has an awkward enough tee shot to merit its own bullet point in the con section. It has you throw through one of two gaps which are about 10 feet wide each and about 5 feet tall, with a group of trees between them, and all of it only 15 feet from the tee. Luckily you can count on a pretty hefty skip, but nonetheless, this shot came across as a sloppy and forced element.
-There are Mandos on this course, if you see a white piece of paper on a tree, it's probably a mando, I couldn't tell what they were at first because they are so faded, but they are there nonetheless, this is another spot where Tee signs could be very helpful
-Definately not the most scenic course. It plays behind an industrial park, which seems to let its waste accumulate on the other side of the fence, which happens to be the course. This course has a large amount of garbage covering the back 9, and a little of the front. As the title alludes to, holes 14 and 15 are home to what I'm calling "a legendarily horrible fairway" it is virtually covered in broken glass, I would not wear sandals, and I would never bring any pets to this course. Honestly, I don't know how there could possibly be so much broken glass in one spot without any attempted clean up.

Other Thoughts:

Ok, I know I was a little harsh on this course in comparison to some other reviews, but there are some serious issues at this course, there are also a lot of great things though. This leads me to my 2.5/5 rating. The good and the bad seem to meet somewhere in the middle, which means 2.5 stars, which is half of 5. I'm sorry if I angered anyone by ranting about you home course.
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2 3
capskorner
Experience: 8.4 years 15 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 15, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

Clean course, it would be hard to lose a disc. Variety of obstacles, mandos are cool.

Cons:

Not sure where the next tee was. Colored things in the ground probably have a purpose.

Other Thoughts:

Next hole tee signs would be nice.
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4 0
jdog17
Experience: 11.5 years 13 played 13 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Much Needed New Tucson Course drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 13, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

A cute little course that follows a no-mans land area of Rillito river, right next to (south of) the bike path, between La Cholla and La Canada roads. Shots aren't long but there are trees, hills and/or shrubbery on many shots which makes for interesting & variable play. The baskets are new and in good shape. Some of the shots require going over small hills, and there is a reasonable path throughout the course. It's scenic, in its way, and isolated (in the best sense). Concrete tee pads are terrific and make it easy to navigate even without a map. The course has been substantially updated since I played in 2018 and now has several nice benches, a few trash cans, and much better tee arrows. There are now consistent A and B concrete tee pads, and two baskets for each hole.

Cons:

-In summer, the mornings are best but the first half the course is directly into the sun
-It's a short course, not so challenging for good players

Other Thoughts:

Great to see a new Tucson course! Thanks to everyone involved in making this happen, and it's a terrific site for a disc course. So glad to have the concrete tee pads ...and really nice to see all the updates since it first went in.
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5 1
sssrn
Experience: 10.4 years 11 played 8 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Nice New Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 25, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

1. New Course
2. Fully designed as a disc golf course and not just sticking 18 baskets on an unused patch of land and calling it a course.
3. Next to a river basin so much plant life/trees so many obstacles to contend with.
4. Local disc golfclub, http://tucsonchainlightning.com/?page_id=18

followed through with many little details to ensure success of the course including getting approval from neighboring Homeowners Association and businesses so the city couldn't refuse.
5. Unlike many desert courses this one isn't rocky so your discs won't get chewed up.
6. Abundance of plant life makes this course much less dusty than most others in Tucson or Phoenix area.

Cons:

1. Not a long course but technical and still challenging.
2. Still in a desert and area is more appealing to rattlesnakes than other courses plus with the flora many places for the snakes to hide. I've been an ICU RN in this area for almost 20 years so I know August/September is peak snakebite season so be very careful!
3. Water fountain would be nice and no plan to add one. Port-a-John on the way though.
4. No signage yet so very difficult to find tees and corresponding baskets. Bring a copy of the map to play.
5. Flanks a major walking/biking path. If your drives tend to go a little wild like mine be careful of others enjoying the area.

Other Thoughts:

When this course is fully developed I think it may be the best in southern AZ. All the plant life offers shade and cools it off a couple of degrees as well (there's actually more of a difference between 101 and 98 degrees than you would think). The negative to that is that it creates a mosquito issue that the city has yet to acquire a permit to address. Hopefully that is pending as well.
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