Pros:
(3.089 Rating) (REVISED - replayed September 2017) A beautiful course that will test your accuracy.
- CHARACTER - Major upgrades were made to Tocobaga in Dec 2016. Brand new and absolutely beautify signs designed by Jason Zahara. They have a pirate theme to them, which is fitting for the Tampa Bay Area with all its pirate festivals. See the designs for yourself under the media tab. In addition, it seems like more seating was added and it's on almost every hole now. In addition, you'll also find 7 extra hole sleeves, numerous bag holders, numerous tables, shelters, restrooms, a drinking fountain and a practice basket. After finishing (18), walk 200 west toward the water. There are three shelters with scores of picnic tables and beautiful views. A great way to end a round.
- TEES - Brand new concrete tees as of Dec 2016. They are adequately long and wide. 15 of the holes have two tee pads and nearly all of them are shaded.
- CHALLENGING - Not the most challenging course in the Tampa Bay region, but if you can't throw very straight, you will be severely handicapped. The holes are fairly short from the back tees at around 5,100 feet. The front tees will subtract both a good amount distance and difficulty. Advanced players should break par from the backs on a routine basis while intermediate players should break par on occasion.
- UNIQUENESS - The overall uniqueness is about average or a bit above your average 18 hole course. to start, the holes finish in a near even mix of all three ways, straight, left and right. There is a very challenging dog-leg par 3 on hole (14). Hole (2) is an over top play. There are numerous tight tunnel fairways, a few blind shots and a few mandos. The biggest missing item at Tocobaga is elevation, with no hole varying tee to basket by more than 5 feet. Also missing is a par 4, par 5, and a true open hole. Only one or two good opportunities to let one rip as well. Note, there is water on a few holes (12), (13) and (18) but it really doesn't come into play on the first two. As for (18), if it hasn't rained in a while, the hole can be dry. However, if it has rained a lot, (18) can flood quite a bit.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - The overall course beauty is well above average. There are a couple holes that are less than to be desirable with roads in play on holes (3), (6) and (14), but the course more than makes up for it on a bunch of other holes. My personal favs for beauty are holes (11), (12) and (18). I've posted new pictures for the course, check them out under the media tab.
- CHILL AREAS - Lots of secluded areas along the layout and a bunch of picnic tables as well.
- LOCATION - Super easy to get to from I275. Literally like two minutes from exit 16 to the course.
- QUICKER PLAY - A single could easily complete a full 18 in under 75 minutes. Groups of four would probably finish in under two and a half hours.
Cons:
I have a couple of concerns with Tocobaga, and the rest are just ticky-tack things.
- FORGIVENESS - This course will test the placement of your shots. Being off your mark by a few feet sometimes isn't good enough. In addition, if/when you a hit tree, the resulting punishment is sometimes more than one throw. I've had to make pitchouts several times in a direction farther away from the basket. Also note, this course is littered with palms. They will steal your disc if you land on top.
- OVERGROWTH - Tocobaga has arguably the most dense vegetation in all of Tampa Bay. Couple that with tight fairways and grounds full of palmetto bushes, you can assume that you'll be looking for your disc at some point. Holes (2) and (7) are especially bad and I advise using spotters on those holes at a minimum.
- NAVIGATION - It will be tricky in a bunch of spots so I don't advise playing your first time here as a single. I made a map of the course and posted it under the links/files tab . The course does generally do a good job with next tee arrows after you finish a hole, but there are gaps in directions, and a bunch of hole transitions are well over 200 feet.
- SPACING - There are a couple of minor spacing issues. The walk to tee (5) crosses the middle of (18) fairway. On hole (6), the back tee is located about twenty feet past basket (5). Tee (8) and (9) is a double back condition where if you park your drive on (8), you can carry your bag 40 feet to drop at tee (9).
- TIME WAITING - This Park gets heavy use and has a bunch of walking paths and roads that will affect your play. Rarely will one play a round here and not have to stop and wait at some point.
- CHAINS - The baskets were brand spanking new in December 2016 and they are already rusting. Also not my favorite style of basket as the chains on these Mach New 2's are a bit light.
- DRAINAGE - 85% percent of the course drains really good. However during the rainy season (Summer and early Fall) the course will flood in spots. Hole (11) and (18) will be the first to have standing water but i've also seen standing water on (8 and 9) as well.
Other Thoughts:
A wonderful update during December 2016. My metrics rating of the course shot up quite a bit due to the revision at that time. Tocobaga is not for everyone's tastes. If you like wide open courses I'd suggest checking out Azalea, which is a shorty course in St Pete, or 22nd Street, a long course in Tampa. I also don't recommend bringing beginners here. Way too many trees for arms not adjusted to a precise release point. As for recreational thru advanced players who like technical courses. Those players should very much enjoy this one.