Turner Park

Update: March 23, 2010
Although inconsistent, the weather seems to be headed for the desired warmer, and more importantly dry, days. Our Saturday 10AM mini's are going great, averaging between 25 and 40 players each week. And, with DLST now in effect, beginning on March 30th, the disc golf club of our neighbor city, Irving, TX, is going to come over and host a weekly Tuesday evening doubles tournament here at Turner Park. Tee times for the Tuesday evening events are scheduled for 6:00PM. So, on Tuesdays, instead of going home after work, come on over to Turner Park and join us for a grand evening of disc golf.

Update: Jan 31st
Nikko, Eric, and J.D. pretty much handled the course with ease. But, it took some pretty good shooting in the very cold weather. Overall however, while maintaining the hugh fun-factor at Turner Park, the course held its own fairly admirably from a challenge perspective. The Turner Park Tune-Up results indicate an SSA of 55.5 (up from the previous 52.84). And, in the 2nd round (long positions), a round of par had a rating of 981. While the course proved more challenging than originally thought, some of the challenge could be attributed to the extreme weather. However, that effect might be somewhat offset by the fact that in addition to the standard 18 holes, the course that was played in the tournament included 3 fairly easy temporary holes.
A big thanks to the City of Grand Prairie Parks and Rec Dept, Dynamic Discs, and especially all the players who came from 10 states throughout the USA to make the tournament a great success!

Update: January 1, 2010
A big thank you to the City of Grand Prairie Parks and Recreation Department, which has already installed two permanent bridges (10ft and 25ft) spanning the creek near holes 5 and 10. Nine other walking board type creek crossings have been installed.

The Funky Town Flyers disc golf club, based in nearby Tarrant County (Forth Worth), just completed its 3rd annual Hangover Classic tournament on January 1st, 2010; this year voted by the club membership (with better than a 2 to 1 margin over the 2nd place course) to be held at Turner Park. This tournament serves as a membership drive, fund raiser, and method by which the 2010 bag tags are assigned. 137 players showed up to play a special 28 hole layout. The event was a great success! Play went very smoothly, with minimal "log jams" no more than 1 card deep. Even with 27 of the 28 holes being legitmately birdie-able as par 3's, the course proved both fun and challenging with the winner shooting a 6 under par 78. Most of the tee pad signs have been removed temporarily as their permanent placement will be coordinated with the installation of the (5x7) x 12 foot cement tee pads. The permanent tee pad installation is planned for the first two weeks in January. A Dynamic Discs tournament is scheduled for Jan 30th at Turner Park, and due to the popularity of the park, at least 4 other tournaments are already being considered for 2010.

In summary, although a few players find the course over-challenging at some holes, the overwhelming majority of players absolutely love it, as is evidenced by it being overwhelmingly selected for the Hangover Classic, the 137 player turnout, and the increasingly popular mini-s held on Saturday mornings at 10AM, which are averaving an open class of 15+ players. From observing consistent course usage throughout a week, since Oct 4th, I estimate over 4500 rounds have been played at Turner Park, and that includes the many rainy weeks we have had this winter.

Based on the PDGA basic course rating formula, the SSA for Turner Park (i.e. a 1000 rated round) is just under 53. A par round of 58 for the typical 18 hole layout would have a rating between 950-960. I'm thinking that the tee pads will significantly improve the scores. Presently, the singles course record is 52, shared by Eric McCabe and Tony Shirley.

The tee pads are in. (5ft x 7ft x 12ft)

All the bridges (11 total) are now in as well.

October 2009
I have really enjoyed working to establish this course. Following is some of the feedback I have received and read elsewhere.

The course is laid out very well! Rolling terrain with big huge trees. I saw the biggest acorn I have ever seen in my life. Wide variety of shots from long to short holes to play. Hole 18 was eight hundred and some odd feet. Holy !@#$ it was awesome. Tee pads were not in yet but was told they will be there in a few months. I can not wait until the concrete pads are put in.

What I liked about the course was the elevation changes. It had a lot of very big mature trees that did make for a pretty course. A few of the holes (3, 4, 6 , 7, 18) made really good use of the trees and I enjoyed them quite a bit. Hole 13 was pretty interesting but it took me a while to find the basket.

It's like this course was meant to be. Great mix up of shots, love the elevation changes. It's nice to see a new course not cut into the rough. Location, location, location. Great drainage, played after heavy deluge; could see the high water evidence (lots of washed up trash), but for the most part the course was not too muddy.

First off there are some really great holes on this course that make it worth the drive all the time. The elevation is used on every single hole and almost all the greens. And you will feel it in your legs by the time your done, I promise. The baskets are really nice and are labeled so you can pick out the right basket, which is helpful and many times. Some of the memorable holes were 10 and 12. Both were tunnel shots that you have to have an accurate drive or you could get into trouble. Both have a little creek running through them making for a little pucker factor for OB but not for losing plastic. There is a great mix of shots here because you need just about everything you have. You have to be very accurate for the most part and you have to be able to throw low and straight. You also get some holes to air it out. There aren't too many "gimmie" birds but you need to get the ones you can when you get to them in order not to lose strokes. The fun factor was really there because like said before almost every single hole is different. You get to throw uphill, downhill, and everything in between. It is amazing that there is that much elevation in Dallas, it really is. No real places to lose plastic unless you yank your shot over the fence on 8. A gas station is right across the street from 14 so if you need anything you can make a pit stop. Right now some of the pads are in awkward areas for now making for difficult drives. Too many mandos on this course for my liking, some are needed I understand but I think the mando fairy got a little carried away. This is a great course and will get better with time I'm sure. The pads and signs are needed because navigation could be an issue without the map available...print it off, it saved me. I really liked this course and will be back for sure, I just think that they tried to do something with this course that wasn’t possible and that was make it a "champion" course which it is not. I read in the post about this course, one guy says "Without the mandos, the course would be a good challenge of skill for the average golfer. With the mandos, it plays like a championship-level course that can easily produce some big numbers." This course is fun and should be in your list to play if you are ever close by, you will enjoy it and it will make you a better golfer.

This course has great elevation, pin placements, finesse routes, excellent use of surroundings, many mandos, great par settings, variable hole lengths, OB's, light water, and a few really picturesque holes. This course is well designed. If you are a Backhand Lefty, you may have just found one of your favorite courses. The layout is really fun and pushes your shot selections. The pin placements are very tough in the fact that many of them have a danger side. Some pins have a long down hill slope on one side of them. They make you think about just what angle you want your approach to come in on. I putted with an anhyzer line a couple of times to help prevent a bad rollaway. The surroundings were well used. Straight away laser shots are a good weapon on many of these holes. There some double mandos on a few holes to prevent shots out over the roads. The holes where aces are possible are still very technical, which makes for lots of fun. There are portable bathrooms available. ALSO, this place has 2 practice baskets that let you putt back and forth! VERY COOL! The fun-factor for this course was really high for me. Each hole seemed to be completely different from each other. I wanted to throw multiple discs on many of these tees. For me, that means I am really enjoying how the hole is laid out. This is a great place to play. I will be making this 30-minute drive quite often as it is well worth it.

This course has a lot of WOW! I love playing it.

Outstanding scenery, rolling hills, majestic trees, winding creeks (but not too deep to loose a disc). Great elevation changes. Fun and challenging holes. The course lends itself to long laser-like shots. Each hole is unique. There are 2 par-4s and 1 par-5. Fair for both righties and lefties. Centrally located in the DFW area. It is like God created a disc golf course there, and it has just now been discovered. The (5ft x 7ft) x 12ft cement tee pads are not in yet. Five temporary board-bridges have been put in for easy creek crossing, but the permanent bridges are not in yet. When finished, this could be among the top courses in the DFW area. I hear they are planning mini-s there on Saturday mornings at 10AM.