Because I couldn't find a better picture and I didn't take any.
This course, if it can really be called a course, I’m sure is not widely known. A few friends of mine were passing by the grounds of San Rafael’s Dominican University when we saw a basket through a fence covered in ivy. Of course we were incredibly excited with the prospect of a new course in the bay area that we hadn’t known about before, so we immediately parked the car and hopped the fence to investigate. At first we saw one, then a second, and then a third, but no more. The course only has three baskets. In order to make the course have more than only three holes though, the good people at Dominican have organized the course so that there are nine holes playing to the three holes, which actually provide some variety in playing style. Though the course isn’t terrible, it pails in comparison to surrounding courses. The grounds are covered in deep grass and trees that obviously were not meant to be frolfed around, and losing your disc to the wildlife is a distinct possibility. The course is also incredibly flat, making it rather boring. While I wouldn’t recommend seeking this course out, if you’re in the area be sure to park across the street and jump the fence to check it out. It’ll be an hour well spent, even if you never come back. Trotting through the grasses on a good day is fun even if you do end up spending 20 minutes searching the grass for a disc.
Difficulty: 4:10
Atmosphere: 2:10
Playability: 4:10
Tilt: 3:10
I can only think of a few times when I’ve had as much fun playing our great game of frolf (yes, I’m calling it “frolf,” get off my case) as when I recently played the Delaveaga Disc Golf Course in Santa Cruz. Highland Springs comes to mind as a competitor, near the unbelievably beautiful Clear Lake, but I’ll leave that for later. Delaveaga boasts a massive 28 holes, (perhaps 30 if you play the alternate holes as well), all with alternate pin positions. The variety in hole design is unprecedented. There are tree-covered holes and there are wide-open ones. There are drives so high you might never see your disc again if you don’t keep control over the shot and a hawk eye on the disc at all times (this would be the epic 28th hole, an amazing way to finish the course), and drives so steep you’ll feel like you just spent twenty minutes on a Stairmaster upon retrieving your disc.
The course is in a beautiful location, up in the Santa Cruz Mountains with an amazing view out over the hills if you get up to the higher tees. Tee boxes and markers are well maintained, although you may have to walk out onto the fairway if you want to have any idea where the basket is, as the markers can often times be pretty vague. What looks like a bush on the map will often times turn out to be an enormous eucalyptus tree when you look up at the hole. Lengths also seemed to be difficult to tell from the map. Though this can be slightly frustrating, it presents one of the course’s greatest attributes: its variability. In playing the course I was forced to use all of my discs, some in ways I had never had to use them before. I found myself having to throw fore hands to get the correct curve on my disc to clear trees, which is a shot no other course had ever forced me to throw.
Delaveaga is a course for the serious frolfer (who would in most cases I assume call themselves a serious disc golfer). From the crowds of talented players, to the unbeatable positive atmosphere, to the course’s amazing variability and difficulty, its pretty god damn hard to beat.
Difficulty: 8/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Playability: 9/10
Tilt: 9/10
On a dark and cloudy day in late January I made the trip under the hill and into the mostly unexplored Moraga/Orinda area of the east bay to play Moraga’s 9-hole course. Now, I haven’t driven under the Caldecott tunnel too many times before, and my ignorance ended up giving me a general distain for the whole trip. First of all, I had no idea that getting from Berkeley to Moraga was going to take me close to 45 minutes with traffic, and secondly I decided to go solo, which is no way to spend time in a car with bay area radio stations in their current hardly-listenable state. I know this is completely off topic; basically I just wanted to convey that when I arrived at the course (which was about 15 minutes after parking because I had no idea where the course was in the park where it’s located), I was in a sour mood. The mud covering some of the tee boxes didn’t help anything either. Slipping on approach to a drive is the most aggravating and disconcerting feeling.
From a more objective standpoint, the course is not half bad. For the amount of space the course offers (which is minimal), it has a nice variety of up and downhill shots, with a few pretty epic drives from the top of the hill in the middle of the course. The sixth hole in particular had an awesome downhill drive that you have to play around a few trees, which is both challenging and satisfying. The grounds are nice enough, though a large set of power lines runs through one side of the course and makes the course feel a little ghetto. The atmosphere at the park is particularly nice for families. It’s a great place to bring your kids for the play structures and hiking areas, and there’s also a skate park if you or your kids are into that sort of thing. The course is not particularly difficult, most holes being pretty easily par-able. The lack of hazards and the easy-medium difficulty makes the course perfect for beginners, plus its only 9 holes, so if you decide to play with someone with a short attention span, this course is perfect.
I think its pretty obvious that this course doesn’t stand up to the likes of Golden Gate Park or Stafford Lake, but it’s still fun, and if you don’t mind that there are only 9 holes and each hole only has one pin position, then you should have a great time playing it. I wouldn’t make the trek again unless I was going to bring someone new to the sport, but even then you might consider taking them somewhere else with nicer surroundings. Overall, this place is decent.
Difficulty: 4/10
Atmosphere: 4/10
Playability: 6/10
Tilt: 4/10
Overall: 5/10
Stafford Lake is far and away the hilliest of the bay area disc golf courses. This leads to some shockingly difficult uphill drives, as on the first hole, but also to mouth wateringly downhill drives, giving your disc a chance to fly until it is a mere pin prick on the horizon. The somewhat secret monster tees of the sixth hole are not to be missed. If you happen to play the course, make sure you turn up the hill upon approaching the sixth tee to find the gargantuanly high monster tees. This course also boasts one of the longest holes in the country, coming in at about 1000 feet. Before trying to tackle this hole, be sure to read up on “Discology #1.” You’re going to need to be one with your disc. Between monster drives, shots around trees that won’t have you burning your bag in frustration, and the three possible basket locations on each hole; the variety of the eighteen holes here is unbeatable, providing an enormous amount of difficulty.
The shot from the monster tees on hole #6... incredible.
The atmosphere on the Stafford Lake course destroys that of surrounding courses to the south. It’s far separated from the city and located on Stafford Lake, but not so close to the lake that you’ll be cursing its existence as you might at the Aquatic Park. Only the worst of throws will find their way into the water. Deer and wild turkey are abundant on course grounds, along with long grasses and wildflowers. These combine to provide a feeling that you’re truly out in nature while playing the course. As awesome as it is to get outside, poison oak runs rampant, and you need to be particularly careful to avoid it. Sometimes though poison oak is unavoidable, and in the summer time when the plant grows into enormous bushes, your discs will on occasion plummet into an oaky death from which you will never reclaim them.
Given all the highlights of the course, poison oak is easily forgiven. If you’re on the fence about disc golf, get yourself to Stafford Lake and let the fun overwhelm you. Maybe even head out for the weekly on Saturday mornings and you can learn a thing or to from the guys out there. It’s an awesome way to learn the game and have a great time doing it.
Some holes to look out for: 6, 9, 17
Difficulty: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Playability: 9/10
Tilt: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
I love a course with hair raising-ly difficult shots. Now, that does not necessarily mean shots that I prepare for by looking up to the skies and making a quick prayer because there are so many trees and so little visibility that I have no idea if my disc is going to make it more than 20 feet, no matter how well I throw it. The Golden Gate Park Disc Golf Course has its fair helping of shots that fall into this category - shots that feel like they fall to luck instead of skill. Generally though, there are as many shots that force you to play around trees and other obstacles in an interesting and challenging manner as there are frustrating ones. The course itself is covered in eucalyptus and cypress trees, varying in size and shape, but all with the unwavering ability to stop your disc dead in its tracks.
The setting in Golden Gate Park offers a beautiful respite from the surrounding urban landscape of San Francisco. Many pedestrians, bikers and dog walkers equally enjoy the park’s facilities alongside disc golfers playing the course and rarely present any form of interference on the fairways. The course itself has a terrific atmosphere. Tees and hole maps are well maintained, and the position of the basket is clearly marked beside every tee box. Each hole generally has three possible positions for the basket, offering an immense amount of variety in the way each hole plays out from round to round. Though the course often times gets clogged up when players come out en masse, if you’re not against jumping a few holes and coming back to finish up un-played holes later traffic tends not to hamper the experience of playing.
The course’s variety is its strongest attribute. Holes are generally flat, but you can find yourself throwing some nice up and down hill drives and approaches all over the place. From hole to hole you’ll find yourself having to take advantage of every disc in your bag, and hucking some monster drives on the longer holes. Each hole is also variant in difficulty from one to the other (and from basket placement to basket placement on a particular hole), and though this can oftentimes be attributed to a tiny branch turning your beautiful drive into an embarrassing chance at bogie, the course still brings me back time after time.
Difficulty: 6/10 (tough to score, a lot of luck involved here)
Atmosphere: 7/10
Playability: 5/10 (knocked down due to the trees)
Tilt: 8/10
Overall: 6/10
