De La

“The De Laveaga Disc Golf Course is one of the most highly rated disc golf courses in the world. It is famous for its inspiring natural setting, as well as for its uncompromising challenge.”

Ben and I have been regularly playing at De Laveaga Disc Golf Course. We are truly fortunate to have such a great course in town. We often meet people from all over the US, who have made a special trip to play at this course. If you go out on the Internet and read some of the Disc Golf message boards, people from all around the country talk about wanting to come play De La.

So what makes De La so great? Hmm, I am probably the wrong person to ask, since I have only played one other course, but I will take a shot anyway. The first thing that comes to mind is the variety of holes and obstacles. Some holes have low branches or brush that require you to throw it high. Others are down a tunnel of trees, where you need to keep your throw low, under 15 feet high. Some holes have trees that are smack in the middle of the fairway and require you to throw the disc around the tree.

There is also a wide variety of elevation changes. Some holes are 100 feet higher than the tee. On one hole, the tee pad and the hole are at the same elevation, however there is a 75 foot deep ravine in between. Sometimes the fairway or hole is on the edge of a hill. A slightly misplaced shot can easily end up at the bottom of a steep wooded ravine. It can be almost impossible to throw back out of the ravine.

Last Saturday, Ben and I were playing a hole. Ben's approach shot landed and stopped about 2 feet away from the hole. My shot landed a few feet from his, but my disc landed on its edge and decided to start rolling. I ended up 50 feet away behind a tree. Ben was able to drop his disc into the basket. I needed to make a tough shot to just get back close to the hole.

The signature hole is number 27 called “Top of the World”. The start of the hole is on the top of a 200 foot hill that gives a spectacular 180 degree view of the Monterey Bay. The tee pad lies on the very edge of the hill. You can see the hole 500 feet away across wooded areas and meadows. Any reasonable throw seems to float off into the horizon until it drops into a meadow in front of the hole. The parking lot is behind the hole. If a strong thrower is starting the hole, you will often hear yells of “Parking Lot”. All of the people in the parking lot will duck and look to the sky to see if the disc is heading their way.

Most holes have a 2, 3 or even 4 different hole placements. So each time you play, you may have a different target on each hole. The different hole placements can be hundreds of feet apart and can drastically change the feel of the hole.

Ken Climo is the top rated Disc Golfer in the world. He has won the World Championship 12 times. Climo lives in Florida, but has seclected DeLa as one of his top 4 courses in the world. He has this to say about the course:

“Okay sports fans, here is your dream course. Awesome views, serious elevation change, danger everywhere. DeLaveaga will work you hard for 27 holes while not once allowing you to drop your guard. The fairways are dangerous. The greens are dangerous. The entire place is loaded with pitfalls, yet there is hardly a more fun place to play golf on the planet. This park just brings a challenge to the table that most players cannot answer.

If you traveled to DeLaveaga and only got to play Hole #27, aka "Top of the World", you would leave with a feeling of euphoria. Many disc golfers have traveled just to see this famous hole and none have been let down.”