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More Disc Golf Course Critiques
El Dorado Park, Long Beach, CA 
(Played Nov, 2000) This disc golf course is a nice, flat spot of land just east of the airport. It is a multi-use park, but there are little but pedestrians to deal with. Most of the holes I found easily. They are challenging and fun. Good use of available space.
Printable Course Map
I played this course at least twice the week I stayed there. Midweek I participated in a live taping of "Third Rock from the Sun" in Studio City and Saturday morning I joined in on three consecutive tapings (dolled up to look like different days of the week) of Hollywood Squares.
Anyway, El Dorado did have a canteen-like store that carried some disc golf accessories -- that's rare. They didn't have any course stamp discs, which I will almost always get if available. It's been a while since I've been there, as I'm writing this, but I do believe the signage was good. I do remember one challenging dog-leg hole, well-marked,and a couple gorillas (long arm required). The course winds down near a large skateboard "playground". I don't believe I had seen one like that up tothat time.
DeLaveaga Park, Santa Cruz, CA
(Played July 1996, Dec 2001) Nestled in the mountains, behind a ball-golf course, this 27-hole park is exclusively a disc golf park - no picnic tables, no facilities. It is up, in and around a series of canyons, lots of elevation changes, and few Am tees. If you're not careful, your disc could roll down the wash. The tee for hole 3 (now hole 27) -- "Top of the World" -- affords an inspirational view of the Pacific, with Monterrey visible on a clear day. I managed to play this course twice during the week I worked in San Jose ('96). They just don't get any better than this.
Top of the World, DeLaveaga
On our more recent visit it was easy to see that disc golf has come of age. We found the very last parking spot, and had to wait to play. We (the kids and I) buddied up to a two like-minded gents that showed us the ropes, some tolerance, and lent us a disc. Thanks Kurt and Galen (not PC friendly yet but you never know). Additionally, this is the rainy season, and it must have been the first day it hadn't rained for a while. The mud was thick at times. Don't fall down! In spite of the crowd, we saw a deer. And there are redwoods and other great flora and fauna.
The drive from Santa Cruz, straight up Hwy 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) toward San Francisco along the coast is beautiful and less intimidating. But if you want a real rush, head south of Carmel between Big Sur and Morrow Bay. Holy shit! Can I say shit? Sure I can, it's my site. Web Site and color map
Ken Climo
Cranbury Park, Walton/Norwalk, CT
This course was the closest thing to disc golf I could hope for within sixty miles or so, while training for a week at Bridgeport, CT. The web directions were adequate, and it's really not too far off of Interstate 95, maybe five miles or so. Once you locate the first hole (north of the "mansion"), the course is very easy to follow. I played it twice, so I got a good feel for it. Nice, flat wooded area, there were lots of park-goers (soccer, volleyball, jazzercize, alcohol) but the disc golf course is set aside, and in some spots far from the crowd. Not very busy as a disc golf course, I saw half a dozen other groups, but they were certainly friendly, which is always a plus.
There might have been facilities, but I didn't see them. There was good signage, that usually indicated the location of the next tee. The dirt pads were adequate except in a couple of cases near roots. Some very challenging, and tight, shots.
Buffumville Lake, Charlton, MA °°°°°
(Played May, 2002)
Hartford, Connecticut does not have a disc golf course. Whaz up wi' dat? I had to drive an hour ENE during my visit there to experience one of the coolest courses I've thrown. It is not easy to find, or near any major metropolitan area, really, but it's in a beautiful part of the country with near-mountainous scenic roads all around. The course was set up in the area immediately around the Army Corps of Engineer's marvelous Buffumville Dam structure, which I believe is why there is a Buffumville Lake.
This is gonzo disc golf. 27 holes! Some of the tees (thank God they had Am tees) were outrageous, but a pleasure to endure and I'm sure a challenge to master. Well laid-out, the course has "disc-catchers", which I believe predate Mach IIs but are good baskets and still in great shape. Tee pads were concrete and signage was excellent. I think the basket must have been missing from hole 19. I threw where I thought it should be and it hoiked right and should have dropped in the lake but for a lucky roll that I didn't see for quite a few minutes. That's the drawback of taking one putter and one driver. If I'd lost the driver, I'd been SOL, so I searched extra-hard, and when I found it, much further (but dry) than I'd have figured, it was sitting next to someone else's Cyclone (another driver), so now I have a souvenir.
It was a good workout, a lot of ups and downs. I only managed to get hole 1, holes 14 through 27 and hole 2 in the time alotted. I wanted to drive back while it was still light because I took the scenic long way "home". Nicely maintained with park personnel presence, and bathrooms on site. Tough to find but worth it.
Here's a Course Map - if you go you'll need it.
Slaughter Creek Metro Park, Austin TX °°°°°
(played '95) Austin has many nice courses. I managed to play two of them my first time there. This course is south of the city but worth the drive. It is a beautiful park, well kept, and the course is the same. And IT IS NOT FLAT! Even though you couldn't call this mountainous, it was a thrill for a Florida boy. I hooked up with a nice couple with a kid in a big-wheel stroller, it's always better with someone who knows the ropes. It was a very pleasant day. Nice area.
Russ Pond - Fort Benning, GA
(Played Feb '01, Aug '04) This course was a surprise. In (relatively) disc golf-ignorant southwestern Georgia, it was the only course within easy driving distance, 75-80 miles from where I worked in Albany.
Russ Pond is only 9 holes, but they all have adequate disc-catcher baskets (actually kinda neat), and are well-marked, except hole 7. Up/down shots come into play, and the course is part of a playground, fishing, jogging, recreation area for general use. I played from about 5 to 6 on a February Thursday, and it wasn't even jacket weather - about 65 degrees - perfect. I saw no other disc players, but there were other recreators. Hmmmmm. Anyway, I played it twice and ended up at par. I enjoyed it immensely (especially the second time, once I knew where the pad for 5 was). Go right after 4.
Some of the holes are short, no doubt, but there are some excellent natural obsticles, and the only 90 degree angle "dog-leg" I've seen to date. Thank goodness it's to the left (for a rightie). A few pads seem like they've been in an earthquake. But it was worth the drive.
To get there go in the main base entrance, there are no guards or gates. You drive past the information center (they have maps), down the hill and make a right. And it's the first street on the left up the hill. It's not far.
[Update] - On my more recent visit, I found the course is still there, but it looks like there has been no maintenance or league presence in 3 1/2 years. Maybe being at security level yellow has something to do with it. The pad for hole 7 still eluded me, but I remembered how to find hole 5 from my own web site. Hey, information IS valuable. Once you park, hole 1 is back toward the road on the right in the open field. Now I'll remember that the next time I'm there.
Scottish Disc Golf
Omaha Park, Rapid City SD
(Played summer '99) On our Rocky Mountain vacation my son and I managed to get in nine holes at this small but interesting park, one of four in all of South Dakota. It is painfully flat, has only 9 holes, Mach I at that, but the pin placements made good use of a forested area that was challenging and fun. It is a little northwest of the skyline drive, which I also recommend.
Ken at NE Coachman
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Mark Scott, All Rights Reserved.
