S.Y. Wilson DGC reviews
15
0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience:
10.8 years
694 played
680 reviews
North East Memphis Has Its Course Now 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:May 19, 2022
Played the course:once
Pros:
(2.924 Rating) A delightful wooded course with pleasing lines and near seamless flow.
- FUN FACTOR - This is likely a popular local course. For the hoards of us between the Novice and Intermediate level, this place offers the perfect balance between too easy and too hard. Birdies can be had and bogeys will be lurking. Low chance to lose a disc. Despite being heavily wooded, its fairly clear under the canopy, thus searching will likely be limited to the few times the sun-bleached edges come into play. I wouldn't be surprised if there were weekly league events here.
- CHALLENGING - Solid upper Rec challenges. Most of the gameplay demand is technical in nature here, although hole (3) requires a bomb that clears a fence 350 feet away for the chance at a deuce. Hole (13), is a narrow long wooded twisting hole and the hardest hole on the course. I credited it as a par 4 despite the sign indication. Players will need a good backhand and forehand to score well here. This gameplay will be rewarding to both Recs and Intermediates. Probably not enough length for those at the Advanced level and above.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - The prettiest of the three courses I saw this day. S.Y. Wilson is set in an older woods section of this park. The tall canopy allows for some wider than normal lines under the shade and a few of the holes have some substantial eye appeal. Overall, I scored this one 70 percentile for this aspect.
- HOLE VARIETY - About average. Holes break both ways and generally vary between 200 and 350 feet long. Listed all par 3s, but as noted, I credited (13) as a par 4. The course will favor precision players over those that can bomb.
- SIGNAGE AND NAVIGATION - Big nice course map posted near tee (1). Nice accurate tee signs with all the info one will need. There are a few modest gaps, but a quick glance of the map cleared up my confusion the both times I checked. I personally had no issues getting around except briefly skipping hole (8).
- TWO LOOPS - Tee (1) and (10) and basket (9) and (18), are all generally in the same area.
- FUN FACTOR - This is likely a popular local course. For the hoards of us between the Novice and Intermediate level, this place offers the perfect balance between too easy and too hard. Birdies can be had and bogeys will be lurking. Low chance to lose a disc. Despite being heavily wooded, its fairly clear under the canopy, thus searching will likely be limited to the few times the sun-bleached edges come into play. I wouldn't be surprised if there were weekly league events here.
- CHALLENGING - Solid upper Rec challenges. Most of the gameplay demand is technical in nature here, although hole (3) requires a bomb that clears a fence 350 feet away for the chance at a deuce. Hole (13), is a narrow long wooded twisting hole and the hardest hole on the course. I credited it as a par 4 despite the sign indication. Players will need a good backhand and forehand to score well here. This gameplay will be rewarding to both Recs and Intermediates. Probably not enough length for those at the Advanced level and above.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - The prettiest of the three courses I saw this day. S.Y. Wilson is set in an older woods section of this park. The tall canopy allows for some wider than normal lines under the shade and a few of the holes have some substantial eye appeal. Overall, I scored this one 70 percentile for this aspect.
- HOLE VARIETY - About average. Holes break both ways and generally vary between 200 and 350 feet long. Listed all par 3s, but as noted, I credited (13) as a par 4. The course will favor precision players over those that can bomb.
- SIGNAGE AND NAVIGATION - Big nice course map posted near tee (1). Nice accurate tee signs with all the info one will need. There are a few modest gaps, but a quick glance of the map cleared up my confusion the both times I checked. I personally had no issues getting around except briefly skipping hole (8).
- TWO LOOPS - Tee (1) and (10) and basket (9) and (18), are all generally in the same area.
Cons:
A good course with only minor issues.
- FLAT - This course is about as flat as they get. Maybe 2 or 3 holes have over 5 feet of elevation play to them. The course probably doesn't drain well. It's generally not a good sign when you see long wooden foot bridges laying directly on top of the ground. Thankfully there had been no rain in quite some time.
- CHAINS - The ugly lime green Prodigy baskets takes away a touch of the beauty here. To no surprise, they failed once again to catch shots that cheaper baskets would have caught.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - I'm sure beginners get brought here, but this is not the best course for newer players. Just too tight on too many holes in my opinion. Noobs will get frustrated when they hit trees on 3 or 4 consecutive throws.
- MISCELLANEOUS - I wasn't a fan of (10) or (14). There didn't appear to be a good line on either of these. A walking path comes into play several times. A couple times I thought upcoming walkers could appear while the disc is in the air. I thought the transition between (7) and (8) is confusing with (9) tee being right in view of basket (7). Oddly no benches along the layout yet.
- FLAT - This course is about as flat as they get. Maybe 2 or 3 holes have over 5 feet of elevation play to them. The course probably doesn't drain well. It's generally not a good sign when you see long wooden foot bridges laying directly on top of the ground. Thankfully there had been no rain in quite some time.
- CHAINS - The ugly lime green Prodigy baskets takes away a touch of the beauty here. To no surprise, they failed once again to catch shots that cheaper baskets would have caught.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - I'm sure beginners get brought here, but this is not the best course for newer players. Just too tight on too many holes in my opinion. Noobs will get frustrated when they hit trees on 3 or 4 consecutive throws.
- MISCELLANEOUS - I wasn't a fan of (10) or (14). There didn't appear to be a good line on either of these. A walking path comes into play several times. A couple times I thought upcoming walkers could appear while the disc is in the air. I thought the transition between (7) and (8) is confusing with (9) tee being right in view of basket (7). Oddly no benches along the layout yet.
Other Thoughts:
There are going to be some regulars at this track. S.Y. is the kind of course that's good for many skill groups. Its not cup cake, but it's also not a punishing behemoth. For those that live in the Memphis metro area. I advise checking it out at some point. I've played 9 total courses in the metro now, and it really doesn't remind me of any of them. Probably closest in appearance to Sycamore among the ones I've played as of this review. Overall, I'm going with a solid 3. Worth a look see for those traveling to Memphis if this one happens to be close by of where they are staying or along the traveling route. For travelers just looking for the best Memphis gem, this isn't it.
- TIME PLAY - Figure an hour or a touch less for first time solos.
- TIME PLAY - Figure an hour or a touch less for first time solos.
6
0
stor
Experience:
4.4 years
28 played
4 reviews
Fun Wooded Course 2+ years drive by
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Feb 9, 2020
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
- Engaging wooded course that emphasizes shot-shaping and hitting windows, only a couple holes ask players to uncork big throws.
- Generally fair fairways with lots of opportunity to execute your shot and lots of opportunity for a bad shot to get you into trouble.
- A handful of more open holes, including the first couple, but even on those the woods plays a factor, acting as an effective rough.
- Great signage, concrete pads, nice new baskets, big map in parking lot.
- Fairly easy to navigate (there's one place in the 6-9 area where it's easy to skip a hole if you aren't paying attention, so pay attention there), compact with short walks between holes.
- Very unlikely that you'd lose a disc here.
- Never crowded, though I've always seen another group or two.
- Generally fair fairways with lots of opportunity to execute your shot and lots of opportunity for a bad shot to get you into trouble.
- A handful of more open holes, including the first couple, but even on those the woods plays a factor, acting as an effective rough.
- Great signage, concrete pads, nice new baskets, big map in parking lot.
- Fairly easy to navigate (there's one place in the 6-9 area where it's easy to skip a hole if you aren't paying attention, so pay attention there), compact with short walks between holes.
- Very unlikely that you'd lose a disc here.
- Never crowded, though I've always seen another group or two.
Cons:
- A couple of holes feel a bit repetitive and a bit easy assuming you can fire a putter straight.
- A couple holes could maybe benefit from a tree being removed just to open an actual window or fairway rather than just requiring throw-and-hope.
- Not much topography, but that's not really anything that anyone could have done anything about. Not an especially beautiful course, but not an ugly one either.
- Course plays along walking trails at times. Never crowded, so it's not a big issue. Just means you need to pay attention and sometimes need to wait for a park user to pass.
- A couple holes could maybe benefit from a tree being removed just to open an actual window or fairway rather than just requiring throw-and-hope.
- Not much topography, but that's not really anything that anyone could have done anything about. Not an especially beautiful course, but not an ugly one either.
- Course plays along walking trails at times. Never crowded, so it's not a big issue. Just means you need to pay attention and sometimes need to wait for a park user to pass.
Other Thoughts:
With the pin on a hill, OB right, and wind often gusting, the first hole can feel a bit unfair and can really punish an errant shot out the gate. If it's windy, you're likely better off just taking your medicine than running a long birdie putt here. Hole 3 and 13 (I think? Or maybe that's 14?) provide unique challenges. Other than that, just pick the right disc and hit your windows.
Very much a family park. There are parts of the course that are farther from family activities, but there are parts that aren't. So behave accordingly.
Overall, I rather like this course. Had trouble deciding between a 3.0 and a 3.5 Rating.
If you're visiting and are only playing 1 or 2 courses while in town, this place should not make that short list. If you're driving past town on I-40 and want to get a round in quickly without going far off the interstate, it's a good choice, though. And if you're a local who's played everywhere in town, I think this one is very worth working into your regular rotation.
Very much a family park. There are parts of the course that are farther from family activities, but there are parts that aren't. So behave accordingly.
Overall, I rather like this course. Had trouble deciding between a 3.0 and a 3.5 Rating.
If you're visiting and are only playing 1 or 2 courses while in town, this place should not make that short list. If you're driving past town on I-40 and want to get a round in quickly without going far off the interstate, it's a good choice, though. And if you're a local who's played everywhere in town, I think this one is very worth working into your regular rotation.