Gordon Barnett Park

I really didn't like this course at all. Lots of little reasons. 1. It's a super busy park, with alot of people doing alot of different activities....all of whom give zero care to walking directl ... show more ›

I really didn't like this course at all. Lots of little reasons.

1. It's a super busy park, with alot of people doing alot of different activities....all of whom give zero care to walking directly across your line, or stopping and having a conversation 5 feet from a basket, or any other number of rude behaviors. On 18 holes, we had to wait at least 10 separate times for others at the park to clear the area so we could throw.

2. Signs are horribly inaccurate, as are the maps you get at the pro shop. Maps also do not accurately show the water hazards.

3. Flow is terrible here. Either the next tee pad is right next to the previous basket, or you have to go searching, using an inaccurate map as a guide.

4. The ground is a mess. I usually play in very wooded/dense areas, and those all have better walking conditions than this park. blind divots in the grass, random holes everywhere. How no one breaks an ankle there is beyond me. Also there were construction barrels right in the middle of one hole.

5. The water there is NASTY. Smelled like an out house through the first 6 holes. Really bad.

6. Some local kids there go walking through the muck/water fishing for people's discs, then try and sell them to others, even though they are inked, with phone numbers. Saw them get out a sharpie and cross out people's info on the back of a disc.

The guy who runs the pro shop is really nice, and the other players were super nice too. of course, I've yet to meet a disc golfer who wasn't super friendly.

Great park in central Florida with plenty of distance and shots that require controlled heights and aim off the tee. Two course to choose from and grass is groomed. Some water holes and and snack ba ... show more ›

Great park in central Florida with plenty of distance and shots that require controlled heights and aim off the tee. Two course to choose from and grass is groomed. Some water holes and and snack bar/pro shop between the front and back 9. It is a facility park so get ready for the noise!!!. The creeks are disgusting and a disc thrown in there can easily get lost due to the muck.

Gordon Barnett Park is a fairly nice park, the course offers a decent variety, and overall an enjoyable experience. The reason I felt it should only get a B is there are simply better courses in the a ... show more ›

Gordon Barnett Park is a fairly nice park, the course offers a decent variety, and overall an enjoyable experience. The reason I felt it should only get a B is there are simply better courses in the area, the water is simply gross, and this park generally isn't a quiet place. (not that it's really a bad thing but it can be obnoxious sometimes when all you can hear is someone's base turned up)

Pros: Barnett North makes use of limited elevation in a good way. There is not a lot to work with, but where there is it seems to be used to achieve some challenging pin placements. The course is also ... show more ›

Pros: Barnett North makes use of limited elevation in a good way. There is not a lot to work with, but where there is it seems to be used to achieve some challenging pin placements. The course is also broken up well between open and wooded holes, preventing a monotonous run of one or the other. The tunnels in the woods are mostly well defined, with routes that make sense (there is always a flight path that will bring you to the pin placement on your drive, if you can hit the line and get the distance).

I also enjoyed the fact that a few holes gave you some genuine choices. Hole 2 provided the option of a straight route, with risk of skipping out of bounds, a huge but safe hyzer to lay up short if you have the arm for it, or a massive anhyzer to try for the pin, which has a deep slope and creek next to it. Hole 5 has an absolutely gorgeous and well manicured approach and green. And, as has been said in all reviews: hole 18 is beautiful.
Cons: With all of that said: the course is poorly laid out. I can't understand why, with so much land available, and so many potentially great holes that would flow so much better - you're stuck walking across fairways to reach the next teepad in some areas, you have to backtrack a good ways in other areas... In multiple areas you're going to have trouble finding the next tee, even with a course map.

This is especially true in a few areas where the signage is missing completely. For someone with vision problems (no depth perception, blind in one eye) - signage is absolutely vital. Admittedly all of these things are problems that are solved by multiple play-throughs - but when someone is in for a weekend and wants to hit a course any one of these issues can really add some undue irritation to what should be a relaxing day of golf.

Additionally - the course was not much of a challenge. From the blue tees it is relatively easy to score in the 40s, even on a poor round. It was supposed to be the more challenging of the two courses on the property - but only a few holes were really a challenge.
Other Thoughts: Keep in mind that although I only rated the course decent at 2.5 - it is accompanied by another disc golf course. I did not play the other course, but having two 18 hole loops on the same property really does increase the worthiness of a visit to the property on the whole.

Along with that there is a very nice little pro-shop out on the property as well with discs for sale. Although the selection was virtually all Innova, it was a nice selection. But I would improve one thing - the map here on the site is far clearer than the one printed off and available there, I would recommend that they switch over the map they're using.

Finally - I will state that the course has the potential to really amp up the difficulty. It has some fantastic looking long pin positions. Some of the holes were in the long positions but most were medium or short positions. Glancing at the positions available I'd say that with them all in the long spots (something that the fellow at the pro-shop said doesn't happen, sadly) the course would be a much more enticing play.

Gordon Barnett Park is a fairly nice park, the course offers a decent variety, and overall an enjoyable experience. The reason I felt it should only get a B is there are simply better courses in the a ... show more ›

Gordon Barnett Park is a fairly nice park, the course offers a decent variety, and overall an enjoyable experience. The reason I felt it should only get a B is there are simply better courses in the area, the water is simply gross, and this park generally isn't a quiet place. (not that it's really a bad thing but it can be obnoxious sometimes when all you can hear is someone's base turned up)