Patriots Park Disk Golf

Written and Media by Austin Stephens.

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Warm weather is here, which means it’s time to go outside and do activities! One of my favorite things to do is go disc golfing. Luckily, the Kingsbury Park District, along with Dave McCormick from Gateway Disc Sports, put in a disc golf course this year at Patriots Park. It’s a huge improvement from the “course” that winds along the trail in the Gullies. My wife and I decided to go out last week and check it out. It’s an 18 hole course that winds its way around the entirety of the park. The front 9 are pretty close to each other, staying right around the entrance, but the back 9 go across the water and really stretch out across the park. The tee offs are marks by posts stuck in the ground with the hole number on it and the baskets have numbers on them as well. Although, basket 1 is wrongly labeled as hole 2. (At least it was last time I checked. Hopefully they fixed it.)

I took a picture of each hole and mapped them out in order. Yellow arrows point to the baskets and blue arrows indicate the shape of the fairway. The course begins right at the entrance closest to the soccer fields, so if you’re traveling from Greenville, it’s the second entrance. There’s a parking lot right there, which is really nice. The first 4 holes are pretty much out in the open, with the random tree getting in the way, but 4 ends down in the woods. Holes 5 through 7 are completely in the woods. 5 and 6 and two of my favorites. 5 is a long straightaway through some trees and up a pretty steep hill. A strong tee off and a hammer throw can put you on top of the hill right next to the basket. Hole 6 is short, but it takes a sharp 80 degree turn to the right through the woods. I was able to drop my arm and get a hard bank on my disc to curve it around the trees and land it next to the basket. Hole 8 is back out in the open and hole 9 is a long straightaway down a tunnel of trees.

The back 9 are where the course gets really tricky. The entirety of the holes are in the woods, and right now it’s hard to navigate because there aren’t any signs with directions to the basket or the next tee off spot. We got lost a couple times and had to wander through the woods to try and find a tee off post or a basket. Holes 10 through 12 are fairly straight forward holes, but the small fairway makes them difficult. After 12, take a hop across the pond and hike up the hill to the right to find hole 13. 13 is much like hole 6, but is a bit longer. On hole 14, you’ll have to thread your disc through the two trees in front of you if you want a good tee off. 15 and 16 are fairly long and take hard turns to the left a ways down the fairway. Hole 17 is one of the harder holes. It travels along the path, so it’s easy to follow, but it’s incredibly long. It snakes along before finally dropping off to the right to a basket by the water. I didn’t even try to do hole 18. It’s a long ways across a wide open stretch of water. There is an alternate tee off that’s much closer, but I just don’t trust myself enough to not put my disc at the bottom of the lake.

I’d say that this course is great for beginners and experienced players alike. The front 9 are easy and really fun to play, great for new players, and the back 9 are difficult and would challenge even veteran players. Disc’s are available to rent at the Kingsbury Park District office located at 630 East City Rt. 40 for $5 for a 3 disc set, along with a $25 deposit. Definitely go out and check it out when you have the time while the weather is nice.