Eight years ago, in 2013, we spent a week in St. Petersburg, Florida. We spent the week playing disc golf at the numerous courses in the area.  When we happened upon Taylor Park Disc Golf Course in Largo, we enjoyed it so much that we returned to play again the next day. For the next six years, our vacations were road trips to Florida, playing great courses along the way. Taylor Park is one of the courses we returned to year after year.

The course stretches along the bank of a lake where we have frequently spotted alligators. The birdlife in the park is exquisite. One year, a flock of parrots suddenly appeared. They flew over our heads for a few minutes before flying away. It was a surreal moment.

We have always played the course in March, and it has always been in pristine condition. So imagine my dismay when we arrived at the course this past September. The lake was in bad shape, and the grass on the course was overgrown, nearly a foot tall in some places. I was devastated and nearly in tears at the condition of the course.

As we played that day, a father and son team behind us was playing at a faster pace. We decided to wait at the tenth tee to allow them to play through. When they approached, I noticed the young man was wearing an Electric Enzo hat.

While I recovered from Covid, I binge-watched the last two seasons of American Ninja Warrior. I love the show. It is a positive, inspirational show that makes me feel good. This year, for the first time, they allowed teenagers to compete. Electric Enzo was one of the top teenage contestants.

I asked the young man if he was Electric Enzo or a fan. He said that he trains with Enzo. In further conversation with his father, we learned that the son was Asa Lache-sa, a contestant on this year’s American Ninja Warrior Jr. Of course, we watched his episode when we got home that night.

As the conversation continued, we expressed our disappointment at the condition of the course. However, we were happy to learn that it was temporary. While we had seen a lot of rain in Lutz, in Largo, it had rained every day for the last three weeks, making mowing impossible. In addition, the lake was victim to an algae bloom that happens every summer. Sure enough, when we returned to the course this past Monday, it was back to its normal condition.

Most of the holes have both a short and a long tee. There are two to four pin positions for each hole, making for a different course every time we play. There are bag posts and benches on most of the holes, with some even having equipment to scrape mud off your shoes and whisk brooms to clean the tees.

The course is gorgeous, filled with palmettos, trees, and plenty of flowers, depending on when you go. A trail follows the lake through the course, so you must watch for people walking along the path.

While the first hole looks relatively straightforward, it can be tricky to wind your disc around the trees. The second hole plays through an open area, with the basket nestled in palmettos. There is a bell after the second hole, designed to signal anyone behind you that it is safe to throw. The third hole plays along the fence line and into the open field. Use caution as over the fence is out of bounds.

The rest of the course plays down and back next to the lake. The fourth hole is across the field, with the basket protected by palmettos. While the course is primarily flat, some undulation on the fifth and sixth holes keeps it interesting.

One of the pin positions on the seventh hole is perched on an elevated wooden box, while another is in the trees far to the left. The eighth hole plays along a fence, with the road on the other side, toward the lake. The ninth tee is next to the lake. Six of the next seven holes have the potential for your disc to end up in the water. Landing a disc in the water can be a daunting proposition when you’ve just seen an alligator in the water.

Once we make it to the ninth hole, I usually start scanning for alligators. One year an eight-foot alligator was just off the shore. When I pulled out the camera, he came closer as if to pose for me. While I had seen alligators here in the past, this was the closest I had been to one.

On this day, Chris saw what looked like a gator on the other side of the lake. Through the telephoto lens on my camera, I confirmed that it was an alligator. He looked to be a big guy, and he was swimming swiftly. Unfortunately, he wasn’t close enough to get a good shot, but I was still happy to see him.

The tenth tee is a little tricky to find, as you have to walk back from the ninth basket. If you are not paying attention, you can easily skip to the eleventh hole by mistake. One of the pin positions for the eleventh hole is right next to the water. I have thrown a few discs into the water there, but fortunately, we recovered them all. Or, I should say Chris recovered them, as he wasn’t about to let me get near the water.

The twelfth hole has a mando that forces you to throw through an alleyway with thick foliage on both sides. It is a fun hole if you manage not to get trapped in the undergrowth. Once again, the thirteenth hole plays along the water.

While the fourteenth hole plays away from the water, there is still a chance for an errant shot to end up in the water. The fifteenth hole is the last hole along the water. One of the pin placements is on top of a post, close enough to the water to be a tricky shot.

The sixteenth basket is underneath a beautiful banyan tree. The seventeenth hole plays back toward the first. It is a long hole where palmettos come into play. There are restrooms next to the seventeenth hole. Finally, the eighteenth hole plays back across the field, with the basket close to the third hole.

We tend to play Taylor Park during the week, so it isn’t usually crowded, and we can finish a round in about an hour and a half. Taylor Park may not be a big course, but it is challenging and fun. Several charming touches include a tree with a face, a directional sign pointing to other courses with mileage, and a lovely mando sign with an alligator. These details, combined with the beauty of the course, the spectacular wildlife, and the easy navigation, make Taylor Park my favorite course that we have played.