Austin Vacation

[orion487]

Hey everyone,

My family's vacationing in Lago Vista just a bit northwest of Austin over New Years and we have time to hit up (hopefully) 4 or 5 courses before we go? I've seen some good ones on this site, what are people's recommendations? Any must-plays? Thanks!

 

[sidewinding]

Williamson County Park is the only must play that's close to Lago Vista and If you want to check out a big arm open course play Old Settlers. I wouldn't call it a must play but it's definitely the second best course on the North side after Wilco and you'll get to see a couple of 1000' monsters and a few 700+ footers as well if that's your cup of tea.

If you want to drive then Manor and Circle C are the two that are worth the drive.

If you want shorter, faster playing courses then Cat Hollow and Zilker are very fun and Rivery park is a sweet little beast of a course but hard to navigate without a map.

 

[FRIZZLE TOSSLER]

My personal faves are:

1. Austin Ridge Bible Chuch Brand spankin new. IMHO, the most challenging course in all of TX... very technical & long w/ elevation changes on every hole. Give yourself @ least 2-3 hours to play the 20 holes & plenty of hydration. It's a total workout (physical, mental, emotional) playing this course. My body aches after playing this course like no other course I've ever played...

2. Circle C Metro Park The most complete, well-groomed course in town. Dual concrete tees & signs on just about every hole. Two practice baskets. Challenging and very fun. A beautiful park.

3. East Metro Park A very challenging course w/ dual concrete pads on most holes. Plenty of cacti & other prickly stuff in the rough. Also a beautiful park. **please note** They will lock you in this park if you don't get out before dark & there have been a few instances where they want to lock up before sundown. Morning/mid-day rounds out here are safest.. unless you are prepared to camp.

4. Williamson County DGC A great course w/ dual concrete tees on just abt every hole. Precision game required. $1/ day (honor system) to play. Don't try to play this course if it has rained a few days prior b/c they close it down.

5. Brushy CReek Sports Park IMO, the most fun & challenging 9 holer in the state. 3 par 4's & 1 par 5. Great if you don't have a lot of time & easy to turn it into 18 by playing twice.

6. Rivery Park A neat 18 holer w/ good use of elevation. Dirt pads... little tricky to navigate.

If you want to check out the most well-known course in town try Pease Park. It's a neat course, but not one of my personal fave's b/c of the high amount of traffic it gets. Searight Park is also very popular & a lot of fun, but they are doing renovations & the back nine baskets are pulled at the moment.

Hope this helps. Drop me a pm if you'd like a guide while you are in town. Enjoy!!

 

[skurf]

Yeah, you could probably get 3 courses with tons of diversity in one day if you start early. Wilco usually takes around 2.5 hours, but is well worth it. Cat Hollow is a fun little course that you can get through around 1.5 hours depending on traffic, and then right down the road from this course is Brushy Creek Sports Park, which is a very challenging, tightly wooded 9 holer. All of these courses are within a few minutes of each other.

Those are the closest courses that I'd recommend, but if you're looking to get your ass kicked then I'd recommend driving a little further to East Metro or Austin Ridge Bible Church. Austin Ridge is new and still rough around the edges, but if you play it be sure to play the alternate holes as they go up and back down the biggest vertical change of any holes in Austin.

When it's all said and done, Circle C is still the best course in Austin IMO and should be played be any and everyone that comes to Austin. Pease Park is a disc golf staple in Austin and has a wide array of shots, although it does seem to cater to the RHBH player. If you're planning on going downtown for any reason this would be the course to hit.

 

[jgillia]

My personal faves are:

1. Austin Ridge Bible Chuch Brand spankin new. IMHO, the most challenging course in all of TX... very technical & long w/ elevation changes on every hole. Give yourself @ least 2-3 hours to play the 20 holes & plenty of hydration. It's a total workout (physical, mental, emotional) playing this course. My body aches after playing this course like no other course I've ever played...

2. Circle C Metro Park The most complete, well-groomed course in town. Dual concrete tees & signs on just about every hole. Two practice baskets. Challenging and very fun. A beautiful park.

3. East Metro Park A very challenging course w/ dual concrete pads on most holes. Plenty of cacti & other prickly stuff in the rough. Also a beautiful park. **please note** They will lock you in this park if you don't get out before dark & there have been a few instances where they want to lock up before sundown. Morning/mid-day rounds out here are safest.. unless you are prepared to camp.

4. Williamson County DGC A great course w/ dual concrete tees on just abt every hole. Precision game required. $1/ day (honor system) to play. Don't try to play this course if it has rained a few days prior b/c they close it down.

5. Brushy CReek Sports Park IMO, the most fun & challenging 9 holer in the state. 3 par 4's & 1 par 5. Great if you don't have a lot of time & easy to turn it into 18 by playing twice.

6. Rivery Park A neat 18 holer w/ good use of elevation. Dirt pads... little tricky to navigate.

If you want to check out the most well-known course in town try Pease Park. It's a neat course, but not one of my personal fave's b/c of the high amount of traffic it gets. Searight Park is also very popular & a lot of fun, but they are doing renovations & the back nine baskets are pulled at the moment.

Hope this helps. Drop me a pm if you'd like a guide while you are in town. Enjoy!!

What he said. Also there is a lil 9 holer that has two different tees to make 18 in Lago that plays right along the lake. Not the greatest but if you are in Lago and are bored its definitely still fun.

Arrowhead Point - http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=972

 

[SpringDgLover]

My personal faves are:

1. Austin Ridge Bible Chuch Brand spankin new. IMHO, the most challenging course in all of TX... very technical & long w/ elevation changes on every hole. Give yourself @ least 2-3 hours to play the 20 holes & plenty of hydration. It's a total workout (physical, mental, emotional) playing this course. My body aches after playing this course like no other course I've ever played...

2. Circle C Metro Park The most complete, well-groomed course in town. Dual concrete tees & signs on just about every hole. Two practice baskets. Challenging and very fun. A beautiful park.

3. East Metro Park A very challenging course w/ dual concrete pads on most holes. Plenty of cacti & other prickly stuff in the rough. Also a beautiful park. **please note** They will lock you in this park if you don't get out before dark & there have been a few instances where they want to lock up before sundown. Morning/mid-day rounds out here are safest.. unless you are prepared to camp.

4. Williamson County DGC A great course w/ dual concrete tees on just abt every hole. Precision game required. $1/ day (honor system) to play. Don't try to play this course if it has rained a few days prior b/c they close it down.

5. Brushy CReek Sports Park IMO, the most fun & challenging 9 holer in the state. 3 par 4's & 1 par 5. Great if you don't have a lot of time & easy to turn it into 18 by playing twice.

6. Rivery Park A neat 18 holer w/ good use of elevation. Dirt pads... little tricky to navigate.

If you want to check out the most well-known course in town try Pease Park. It's a neat course, but not one of my personal fave's b/c of the high amount of traffic it gets. Searight Park is also very popular & a lot of fun, but they are doing renovations & the back nine baskets are pulled at the moment.

Hope this helps. Drop me a pm if you'd like a guide while you are in town. Enjoy!!

I agree with all those and I also like the 18 hole course at Brushy Creek (Cathollow) as well, it doesnt get the crazy good reviews but is a really fun course.

 

[FRIZZLE TOSSLER]

What he said. Also there is a lil 9 holer that has two different tees to make 18 in Lago that plays right along the lake. Not the greatest but if you are in Lago and are bored its definitely still fun.

Arrowhead Point - http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=972

I ran into a guy a week ago that said he tried to play that course in Lago Vista & said that they had closed the course (pulled the baskets??) recently. I'm abt 90% sure he was talking abt Arrowhead Point. Hope I'm not spreading misinformation... does anyone know for sure 'cause I'd like to play that course if it still exists??

 

[srm_520]

I agree with all those and I also like the 18 hole course at Brushy Creek (Cathollow) as well, it doesnt get the crazy good reviews but is a really fun course.

Agreed about Brushy Creek. Maybe not the best of the lot, but still a really fun course to play.

 

[jgillia]

I ran into a guy a week ago that said he tried to play that course in Lago Vista & said that they had closed the course (pulled the baskets??) recently. I'm abt 90% sure he was talking abt Arrowhead Point. Hope I'm not spreading misinformation... does anyone know for sure 'cause I'd like to play that course if it still exists??

As far as I know the 9 holer that plays as 18 is still there. Thats coming from a buddy who plays there every so often. He hasnt been there in a few months so unless its been very recent I think its still there.

There used to be a full 18 at a resort in Lago but that has long been closed down unfortunately. That was a fun course.

 

[DGtourist]

I think the new Metcenter and the new bible church courses have been mostly overrated (but still good) so far. Circle C and East Metro are top notch.

 

[sidewinding]

I think the new Metcenter and the new bible church courses have been mostly overrated (but still good) so far.

:clap: amen brother!

I think alot of people are afraid that if they say a super difficult course is not great that it will make them look like they are not a very good disc golfer. It's a syndrome that deserves it's own thread and is not unlike HBB and FTF in affecting a courses rating.

 

[DGtourist]

:clap: amen brother!

I think alot of people are afraid that if they say a super difficult course is not great that it will make them look like they are not a very good disc golfer. It's a syndrome that deserves it's own thread and is not unlike HBB and FTF in affecting a courses rating.

I think that people were thinking that new = good with a litlle bit of HBB But you may be on to something. I'll review those two very soon. I think that yours and smatta's reviews of Austin Ridge were the most acurate and its a shame that you guys sot the amount of thumbs down that you did......... for what? being honest, that's all. :wall: Some people just want smoke blown up their course's ass and not a review.

I think Austin Ridge is a little bit > than the metcenter but the met has cement atleast.

3 and 1/2 - 4 (generous) for each, Austin Ridge's land is MUCH better but still needs more development to live up to where people are grading it. I had to pee out in the open at the Met! How in the world could that be a 4 and 1/2?

Oh and I've been out of the loop because of my move down here....... What is FTF?

 

[sidewinding]

First Timer Friendly.

 

[sidewinding]

There are about five basic types of reviews:

The honest review that takes everything into consideration and weighs the pros and cons.

The Home boy biased review that is blind to what a first time player of the course might experience.

The First Timer playing the course review that is biased and often nitpicking and overlooks the true heart and soul of a course.

The review done by people involved with the design and/or construction of a course.

The clone review done by a person that really has no opinion but since it's free and anyone can do it will just basically match what the majority of other reviewers wrote.

 

[judson]

Don't forget the "I got my butt kicked so I don't like this course" review.

 

[DGtourist]

Don't forget the "I got my butt kicked so I don't like this course" review.

I like to get my butt kicked at a course, in fact its to a fault, I rarely keep score.

 

[skurf]

Austin Ridge is in its infancy as a course so there is still room for improvement on many aspects of it. It's hard to critique a course that is clearly unfinished, yet has so much potential (I have yet to rate/review it). You can't play this course one or two times and feel satisfied with your game. There are so many landing zones, windows, alleyways, slopes and other intricacies that you may not realize your first couple play-throughs, and in time it can only get better. The one thing that already makes this course great is its uniqueness. There's nothing in central Texas like it. No other course requires the consistent accuracy and distance that this course requires. At times it would be nice to have a little more fairway to work with and some of the teepads are disasters (the stumps in the teeboxes are the biggest con to this course imo), but the challenge of hitting that perfect drive that lands right in line with the next alleyway for a chance at 3 when most will get a 4 or 5 on...well, that's something that makes me want to play this course over and over. There is one fact that I can not deny: I will never come close to mastering this course, and I love it for that fact.

 

[sidewinding]

Austin already had enough long, rugged, rocky courses with narrow fairways cut out of dense cedar. What makes the ridge different is Hole A and Hole B. Take away those holes and your'e left with basically another Manor, and Circle C minus quality dual teepads.

 

[FRIZZLE TOSSLER]

Austin already had enough long, rugged, rocky courses with narrow fairways cut out of dense cedar. What makes the ridge different is Hole A and Hole B. Take away those holes and your'e left with basically another Manor, and Circle C minus quality dual teepads.

IMO, the more the merrier. Holes A & B @ the Ridge are by far the most memorable. Circle C & Manor don't even come close to having the extreme elevation changes & pin placements that the Ridge has. IMO, the Ridge is far more challenging (requires ultra precision from your first shot till your last) than both Manor & Circle C. There isn't one grip & rip hole out @ the Ridge (w/ the exception of maybe #12 from the long box) I've heard that the Ridge is waiting on concrete tees to make sure the placement is ideal. Kudos for their patience! :clap:

 

[DGtourist]

IMO, the more the merrier. Holes A & B @ the Ridge are by far the most memorable. Circle C & Manor don't even come close to having the extreme elevation changes & pin placements that the Ridge has. IMO, the Ridge is far more challenging (requires ultra precision from your first shot till your last) than both Manor & Circle C. There isn't one grip & rip hole out @ the Ridge (w/ the exception of maybe #12 from the long box) I've heard that the Ridge is waiting on concrete tees to make sure the placement is ideal. Kudos for their patience! :clap:

I don't know dude, Manor is still pretty hilly, to say that it don't even come close to having the extreme elevation changes is a stretch. The ONLY thing I give Ridge over manor is location, but then Cricle C has Ridge beat on that one. I'm also a little bit schocked at how many beer cans have already started to appear. But that's the fault of creeps.

Ridge reminds me of a Colorado course more than any of the others, but then again, like Ridge, most of those are still 4's and lower too.

PLUS its not as OMG hard as some are making it out to be.