School Street Park Disc Golf Course in Agawam, MA

Basic Information

Course Location: School Street Park

Geographic Location: Agawam, MA (42.07622, -72.59217)

Date Visited: September 2023

Number of Holes: 9

Course Length: 2083 feet, par 28

Cost to Play: free
Difficulty Level: beginner

Carts: should be fine here

Potential to Lose Discs: medium; some thick brush beside fairway and some nearby property boundaries

Park Information: https://www.agawam.ma.us/255/Parks-Recreation

DG Course Review Page: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/school-street-park.7056

UDisc Page: https://udisc.com/courses/school-street-park-dgc-ul90

Course Walkabout Video: (coming June 14)

Driving Directions: From the rotary at the intersection of US 5 and SR 57 on the west side of the Connecticut River, take the northeast exit to begin driving south on River Road.  Drive River Rd. south 0.8 miles to School Street and turn right on School St.  The park entrance is 0.1 miles ahead on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, and park at the rear of the parking lot.  To reach #1 tee, walk to the restroom building at the rear of the parking lot, turn left, cross a wetland area on an asphalt trail, and look to the left beside the soccer field.

Course Constructions:

Tees: 1 per hole, dirt/grass

Baskets: Discatcher, 1 per hole

Signage: course map at restroom building; hole sign on each tee

Amenities: restrooms, playground, athletic fields, shuffleboard courts

Summary Review: 1.5 Stars (out of 5)

The disc golf course at School Street Park is the quintessential beginner's course.  No hole is particularly long, and several holes have no real obstacles between the tee and basket.  Also, the terrain is almost completely flat.  Thus, skilled and experienced disc golfers will find nothing of interest here.  That said, you could still lose a disc or two: a couple of holes play close to extremely dense underbrush, and several holes play close to a private property boundary.  Along that line, the course route basically follows the perimeter of the park, but it does not form a true loop: you have to walk several hundred feet from the 9th basket back to the parking area.  The park is fairly popular, but I was the only person on the disc golf course when I came here on a sultry Monday afternoon.  While I don't like this course, it is more or less the only permanent course in the Springfield area (Mittineague Park a few miles away has a "temporary" course that has been left up for a few years now).  Hopefully enough beginners will enjoy this course that it will lead to a nice permanent course in the area.

Hole-by-Hole Review 

Distances taken from scorecard.  Picture sequence for each hole is 1) tee, 2) approach, 3) basket to tee.

Hole #1: 325 feet, par 4

Comments: a very open hole with a single small tree between the tee and the basket.  I would say this should be a par 3 on most courses, but the par is reasonable for a beginner's course.  Check for pedestrians on the asphalt walking path to the left and on the soccer field to the right before you throw.  #2 tee is to the left across the bridge and the parking lot.

Hole #2: 215 feet, par 3

Comments: a repeat of the first hole but shorter and with a small tree directly in front of the basket.  #3 tee is behind the basket and behind the shuffleboard courts.

Hole #3: 100 feet, par 2

Comments: an ace would be a challenge due to the tree directly in front of the tee, but a nice right-to-left throw will give an easy par on this hole.  #4 tee is a couple hundred feet away to the left of the restroom building.

Hole #4: 220 feet, par 3

Comments: slightly uphill and a slight dogleg left, some dense woods guard the inside of the dogleg.  A disc thrown into those woods could easily be lost.  #5 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #5: 180 feet, par 3

Comments: slightly downhill, the largest tree on this course stands directly between the tee and basket, so you have to decide which way to work your disc.  I chose a right-to-left disc flight and would have made a birdie with a better putt.  #6 tee is to the left near the boundary fence.

Hole #6: 196 feet, par 3

Comments: a completely open hole with the property boundary too close for total comfort on the left.  #7 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #7: 377 feet, par 4

Comments: a repeat of hole #6 but longer.  #8 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #8: 210 feet, par 3

Comments: a sharp dogleg left with a large number of pine trees guarding the inside of the dogleg.  Pine trees are notorious for gobbling up errant discs, so you have to decide how much risk to take with your tee shot.  The risk/reward calculation makes this my favorite hole on this course.  #9 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #9: 260 feet, par 3

Comments: a completely flat and open hole to finish, which suits this course.  The parking lot is several hundred feet to the right.

Holmes Park Disc Golf Course in Greenville, SC

Basic Information

Course Location: Holmes Park

Geographic Location: northeast side of Greenville, SC (34.87991, -82.36832)

Date Visited: August 2023

Number of Holes: 9

Course Length: 1930 feet, par 27

Cost to Play: free
Difficulty Level: recreational, low

Carts: should be fine here

Potential to Lose Discs: low

Park Information: https://www.greenvillesc.gov/1585/Holmes-Park

DG Course Review Page: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/holmes-park.1365

UDisc Page: https://udisc.com/courses/holmes-park-4Sic

Course Walkabout Video:

Driving Directions: From the intersection of SR 291 and US 29 on the northeast side of Greenville, take SR 291 north 0.4 miles to Mallory Street and turn left on Mallory St.  Where Mallory St. ends in 0.1 miles, turn sharply right on Holly Street.  The parking lot is 0.1 miles ahead on the left.  #1 tee is just east of the parking lot.

Course Constructions:

Tees: concrete, 1 per hole

Baskets: Discatcher, 1 per hole, in good shape on my visit

Signage: hole sign on each tee

Amenities: picnic shelter, playground, tennis courts, baseball field

Summary Review: 2 Stars (out of 5)

The disc golf course at Holmes Park is a short neighborhood course with a couple of more interesting holes.  The course has some nice elevation changes, and it has just enough trees to make you shape your disc flight on most holes.  Route finding can be a problem.  Frequently you can see multiple baskets from the tee, and the hole signs and basket numbers provide little help in knowing which basket to aim for.  In addition, some of the concrete tee pads do not point directly to the basket.  Although these hole signs are better than no hole signs, an upgrade would be helpful in that area.  Also, there are some safety issues.  Some holes are too close to each other for comfort, and a paved walking trail winds through several holes.  Fortunately, I had the park almost to myself when I came here on a warm and humid Tuesday afternoon, but if you come here on a weekend you may not be as lucky.  The course maintenance was fantastic when I came here.  Overall, I enjoyed my half-round here, and despite its flaws this course is worth a quick stop if you find yourself on the north side of Greenville.

Hole-by-Hole Review 

Distances taken from hole signs.  Picture sequence for each hole is 1) tee, 2) approach, 3) basket to tee.

Hole #1: 293 feet, par 3

Comments: The tee pad aligns with Holly Street and points due east, but in fact this hole plays uphill about 30 degrees south of east.  Thus, there is no need to bring the large trees beside the Holly Street sidewalk on the left into play, and there are no obstacles directly between the tee and basket.  A throw with good distance and decent accuracy will set up a birdie opportunity.  #2 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #2: 168 feet, par 3

Comments: kind of the opposite of the first hole, this downhill hole presents a couple of options.  You could keep your disc low and take a direct line to the basket (which is what I unsuccessfully chose), or you could go with a left-to-right disc flight and choose a line that gives a higher ceiling.  In either case, check for pedestrians on the walking path behind the basket before you throw.  #3 tee is 100 feet behind the basket and across the walking path; the tee directly to the right is #9 tee.

Hole #3: 131 feet, par 3

Comments: an interesting hole with a small drainage ditch to the right, but this hole is compromised by the fact that the fairway basically is the walking path.  Also, private property sits less than 20 feet left of the basket.  But for those 2 items, this would be a nice short hole.  #4 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #4: 333 feet, par 3

Comments: by far the longest and hardest hole on this course, it plays significantly uphill to boot.  The first half of the hole plays through a cluster of trees that squeezes the fairway, and a bad ricochet off of one of those trees will leave you in a desperate scramble for par.  The area around the basket is very open, although a public road sits 30 feet left of the basket.  This is my favorite hole on this course.  #5 tee is behind the tennis courts behind the basket; go around the left side of the tennis courts.

Hole #5: 141 feet, par 3

Comments: a short but clever hole, it plays slightly uphill with the basket located behind a row of trees.  So you need to pick a gap in the row and hit it in order to have a good birdie opportunity.  #6 tee is back on the east side of the tennis courts; go around the tennis courts to the left, through the playground, and under the big beautiful live oak tree.

Hole #6: 189 feet, par 3

Comments: this downhill hole gives a couple of options: take a direct line with a very low disc flight or use a sweeping right-to-left disc flight around the tree.  I chose the latter option, and it worked!  There is a steep downgrade just beyond the basket, so don't miss long.  #7 tee is uphill to the left and back toward the tee.

Hole #7: 205 feet, par 3

Comments: this hole finishes the downhill ramble started by the previous hole.  It is the tightest hole on this course unless you choose to use the fairways for nearby holes #6 or #8, which raises safety and routing issues.  #6 basket and #7 basket are less than 100 feet apart, and the holes play the same direction.  #8 tee is behind the basket and to the left.

Hole #8: 233 feet, par 3

Comments: now playing back uphill parallel to hole #7, a right-to-left disc flight works best here.  The basket is located directly behind a large oak tree, so a very good tee shot will be needed to have a birdie opportunity.  #9 tee is downhill to the right and across the walking path.

Hole #9: 237 feet, par 3

Comments: the course ends with a rather boring, mostly open but uphill hole.  A low disc flight with good distance will set up a birdie opportunity.  The parking lot is past the picnic shelter to the right.