Mallard Park

This is a revision to my previous review, which follows below. Since that review an Eagle Scout made Mallard Park's disc golf course his Eagle Scout project, and did a very nice job of upgrading all o ... show more ›

This is a revision to my previous review, which follows below. Since that review an Eagle Scout made Mallard Park's disc golf course his Eagle Scout project, and did a very nice job of upgrading all of the tees. They now have a concrete pad with a very nicely done sign portraying the hole and the out-of-bounds areas for each tee. At this time Mallard Park is the nicest disc golf course I've tried, although I have limited experience. It does seem to me that many of the holes' par rating is hopelessly optimistic, which is why I can't give the course an A+.
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Just got into disc golf, although I used to throw a frisbee a lot in my college days, an unspecified number of decades ago. I live near Mallard Park, so it's easy for me to get to. It's a nice open course, and the changes in elevation can make for some really long throws.
I'd give the park a better grade, but there's one very irritating deficiency in the course. The tees/pads are very badly marked, and one I have never found. The arrows hanging from each goal denoting the next tee are almost all missing now. You have to look for small bricks set into the ground and grown over by grass. Even with a map of the course you'll spend an extra half hour or so just trying to find the pads to throw from. Note that at least two of the tees are not located correctly on the map.
There are a couple of other groundskeeping concerns, such as quite a number of boggy areas from overwatering or leaking irrigation lines, and many gopher holes in which you can turn an ankle if you're not paying attention. And as was mentioned in another review, the park borders immediately on two busy roads. So if your discs are equipped with road magnets, like mine, you may find them skipping off the asphalt or diving into the gravelly berm and getting torn up.
The park is nicely interlaced with many walking paths, which makes for a better surface to walk on in places, but does mean you'll be waiting for people to clear your throwing area from time to time. Nice restroom and even a drinking fountain provide for the human needs.

Pros: • Elevation throughout the park. • "Next Tee" signs on every basket. • Several long downhill shots where you can air it out. • Some challenging "Mandos" • Hu ... show more ›

Pros:

• Elevation throughout the park.
• "Next Tee" signs on every basket.
• Several long downhill shots where you can air it out.
• Some challenging "Mandos"
• Huge park.
• Many tight shots due to narrow fairways with multiple OB areas.
• Good workout for overweight old guys like me.

Cons:
• Grass tees
• 3 holes very close to a busy road; be ready to run and retrieve your wayward throws before your precious plastic gets squashed.
• Nasty thick corn field along the very long and narrow hole 7. Send out a spotter or risk losing a disc. (my friend lost his Boss in the corn).
• Too many long holes for my liking.
• Only two holes with any Ace chance, and they're even on the long side (270-280) for small arms.
• Small, widely scattered trees don't provide much obstruction (should get better as they mature).

Other Thoughts:

Mallard Park covers a large area on the north side of Lake Lowell. The designers took advantage of this and made a massive, spacious course. Big arms will LOVE this course because it is heavy on long shots (Multiple >400', 1 >500', 2 >600', and 1 >700'). I do wish that they would have mixed in more <300' holes for weak arms like mine. I shot +2 and felt pretty good about it. There are many OB areas and a few Mandos that make this otherwise wide-open course more of a challenge than it looks. Because the park is new, the trees are very small and don't create much of an obstacle. This will change as the trees mature, but they are quite widely spaced, so it will never be considered heavily wooded.
The park was crowded on the day we were there, but there is so much space here that we had few conflicts with other users. The layout meanders all over the park, but if you print a map before you go, you'll navigate without trouble. The baskets were the new DGA Mach X (I think) and very nice. I hope that they will be able to make permanent tee pads in the future; the grass is going to get slick in the winter.
Adding short tees on a few holes might be a great idea here because of the multitude of long holes. This course is going to be an instant hit with the big arms; they can air it out all day! The addition of Mallard Park and nearby Lake Lowell Park should help ease the crowding at Ann Morrison by giving players some other options. It is definitely worth a trip to if you're in the area.