Chautauqua Park

I would give the front nine a strong "A-" and the back nine a "B" or "B-", so I guess that's how I arrived on my overall rating. This course is in a nice big park that's been around a while, along th ... show more ›

I would give the front nine a strong "A-" and the back nine a "B" or "B-", so I guess that's how I arrived on my overall rating. This course is in a nice big park that's been around a while, along the river in Beatrice (although the river itself doesn't come into play). The park was intended as an arboretum, so there are lots of interesting mature trees, sometimes laid out in unusual patterns (like the grid on #3). The front nine makes better use of the trees and has some ups and downs, along with some scenic water features. The back nine is much longer, much flatter, and more open -- definitely not as memorable, though still challenging.

My favorite hole is #7, which works through a small valley with big trees and a drainage ditch that will have water in it if it's rained recently enough. The long basket position is up on a 7-8' plateau above a road: a tough par 3 indeed. #8 is a lot of fun as well, involving tee shot from a plateau past trees down into a depression to a basket near a creek. #2 has a great view over water from the "B" and "C" tees.

Downsides.... Many of the holes are quite close to the aforementioned road, and on a nice weekend, there will be people driving, walking, and sometimes (unfortunately) parking along it without much concern for disc golfers. Each hole has three tee pads, which sounds like a plus, but some are hard to find, and many are not well marked, making it hard to know which one you're playing from. Once you find them, you may not be able to tell the distance from that particular pad anyway -- although to be fair, the "A" pads have good signage (it just doesn't help you much if you've decided to play the "B" or "C" tees). I would not recommend the "C" tees, however, because not only are they the hardest to find, they often leave you stymied by overgrown weeds and brush, which leads me to believe that the locals never use them. I think if I played there a lot, I would probably develop my own mix of "A" and "B" tees.

Overall, I like this entertaining layout a lot, and if you happen to be traveling near Beatrice, you should at least check out the front nine. With a little love, this could be a top-notch course.