Suicide Flats DGC at Hart Memorial Park

This course has it all great lay out has a great long shots and even some over the water shots just make sure you bring water there are a few drinking fountains however they are early in the course

Suicide Flats DGC is located in Hart Memorial Park on the extreme northeastern section of Bakersfield. It is one of two courses located in the park (the other course being Shark Tooth Mountain). Suicide Flats is an 18 hole course laid out on mostly flat grassy land dotted with big and small trees that form variable obstacles. The course also does include some holes with water hazards. It’s an extremely long course booking in between 7,000 and 8,000 feet with a few par 4 holes and the rest being par 3.
Made it out on an early Sunday morning around 7 AM. With only one group in front of us (I had my old man along from the round), it was relatively quiet and laid back. The main downside to this early morning round was the extremely wet grass. According to some locals we talked to after the round, it’s wet in the morning all year long… leaving me to believe that getting a dry round in only happens mid afternoon or during the hot months. But who wants to play here when it’s 90 plus degrees?
Navigating the course was a bit tough as I forgot to print out a map (used my phone to bring up a picture of the map) and some tee signs were missing. Tee pads were all concrete and with the wet grass made for slippery drives.
Here’s a few other things I noticed during my round :
— If you have a good roller throw, it can come in handy here on some of the longer and more wooded holes. Although on mornings with the grass being so wet, I’m not sure rollers are that good of an option.
— I was beyond done by the end of the round, being how the course is extremely long. If you decide to tackle both Suicide Flats and Shark Tooth Mountain in one day, be ready for a workout. Especially since I hear Shark Tooth is more a hike than a stroll in the park. There is camping nearby, so I would suggest maybe playing one course a day or at the very least spread out your rounds throughout the day.
— For some odd reason, there are a lot of Farrel cats and peacocks wondering around in this park.
— Water hazard holes could lead you to lose discs. Water on some (in particular Hole 6) are quite deep and murky. Lost a yellow blizzard Katana that was floating on the surface not too far from land… did not chance getting anywhere near the water since it looked scummy.
In all, Suicide Flats is a challenging course that will force you to step up your drives and power out your throws to meet the demand of the distances on many holes. I will admit that this course wasn’t too exciting to play. Very little as far as variance of elevation and layout of the course. If I didn’t have my dad with me, I would have tackled Shark Tooth Mtn but for what it is, Suicide Flats is worthy of at least one round of play.