The Aptos High School course is by far the best course that I have ever played on the campus of a school. The course isn't without its flaws but on the whole, Aptos surpassed my expectations completely. The terrain for golf is beautiful and there is plenty of challenge to be had even though many of the holes are relatively short. Relatively thick rough also ensures that poor shots will be punished, so you'll be *thinking about safety shots on some of the more challenging holes (even if you still gunning for birdie).

Variety: Aptos has oodles of it with right/left turns, steep elevation changes, open/tight fairways, and a range of distances. Aptos also quenched my thirst for steep uphill shots - everyone wants to play big downhills but often a course designer will avoid uphill shots like the plague. Aptos doesn't shy away from asking players to throw in the 'other' direction and the course is that much better and more balanced for it.

Memorable holes: The stretch of holes from six to eight really stands out in my memory as a particularly fun group. Hole five shoots steeply up a hill to a rather large flat top of a hill. From there, hole six tees down a really tight corridor of interesting trees so thickly grouped that getting off the fairway means serious trouble. From there, you meet with a complete contrast in hole seven which is wide open with plenty of options to the pin. Seven still has big danger though as the pin is tucked out on the ridge of the hill. Any shot fading, turning, or flying too far will find themselves way off course! Finally, hole eight is a more traditional type of memorable hole - the big bomb off of the hill. By top-of-the-hill shots, it is fairly standard with some reasonable tree coverage and a good sized drop. The interesting thing is that you throw right over a BMX ramp - there were a few kids there doing huge jumps right as we were getting ready to tee and we had to coordinate so as not to have a midair collision. Check out the pictures, this is a great stretch of holes.

Safety: Other reviewers have mentioned it but you play by roads and a parking lot on several holes and even semi-decent shots have a chance to nick a car.

Navigation: From finding the first tee and then walking the rest of the course, we got lost several times. There are several places where the layout just isn't intuitive and without good signage, you'll just have to do some scouting in a few areas. Of course this 'con' is only a problem for first-time players.

I'll call out hole six on the design front really quickly. This hole throws steeply up a hill side with a pin perched about 20' from a WALL of trees in back. My issue is that players can really throw pretty much as hard as they wish, hit the wall, and land within the putting circle. A hole either tucked into the wall or farther away from it (closer to the tee) would force players to either throw more accurately or control distance better. As it stands right now, the hole doesn't make players throw either very accurately nor with touch.

Aptos is an excellent course for what it is, but I'd agree with the previous reviewer in that this type of terrain could have made a 'championship' caliber twelve hole course. I can understand the choice to keep it a bit shorter because it is a perfect course to have at a high school for up-and-coming players.

Quite often we have played DeLaveaga without ever considering trying to play other local Monterey Bay courses. It was always a matter of convenience (DeLa is closer to SC) as well as being very difficult to imagine any other local course that would be near DeLa in quality. However, what I found at Aptos High School was indeed impressive, and I'm glad I found the time to play another course in the region.

Aptos High School is set in wooded hills just on the north side of the Pacific Coastal Highway, and has property containing a mixture of oaks (these come into play on holes 2-3), tall Eucalyptus, dense young Eucalytpus jungle (behind the basket of hole 5), and open areas (15-17), and mixtures of all of the above. The topography alone made me drool when I drove onto the campus, because I love the unique challenges that arise when topography, foliage, and wind (onshore wind is dominant) are combined over a course.

Younger/newer players will really enjoy this course, since there are a lot of short holes that reward accuracy and control. I couldn't think of a single hole that rewards distance alone, except maybe perhaps 17. Good tunnels, some with ceilings, and a diverse mixture of kinds of shots will ensure that a player will try every shot in their arsenal. This is a great place to learn disc golf!

The directions on the course were good, I never felt like we were lost at any point in our round.

There are a handful of epic holes at this course, which I'd love to play again and again, and is why I'm giving a higher than average rating for this course. The series of holes 6-10 are really fun...hole 6 (fun little tunnel along a ridge), hole 7 (short putter pitch out onto a narrow ridge with huge cliffs on all sides and lots of wind!), hole 8 (this course's "top of the world"), hole 9 (uphill and right turning dogleg through dense brush and trees), and hole 10 (a 400'-ish shot over a low treeline at 250'-ish off the tee) were the pinnacle for me personally.

Lots of poison oak here, folks. Seriously, everywhere I looked there was some of this stuff lurking beneath the brush. If you're sensitive to it, be sure to wear pants and proper shoes, and use a towel to retrieve your disc out of the schule.

The tee signs were not good, and many had graffiti all over them instead of useful information such as distances. Nevertheless, We only had one confused drive (from tee-4 to basket-18) before catching that the real basket was elsewhere.

Holes 16-17 weren't all that interesting, being completely open (even though 17 lets one air it out more, it was a straightforward uphill shot). I kinda felt like they were there just to make 18 total. Holes 1 and 4 were also not very interesting.

What a fun course to have at a high school, I wish I had that when I was younger!

Aptos High School DGC is located in the beautiful city of Aptos, just minutes away from the beach, and neighbors Santa Cruz where De LaVeaga resides. This course in a lot of ways reminded me of a miniature De La, with the towering Eucalyptus trees, fast dirt fairways, ravines, elevation, and even the oak! Fairways were a mixture of tight tunnel shots through a labyrinth of trees and wide open fairways which required both distance and touch. Elevation was incorporated in much of the design, which makes this course much more challenging and enjoyable. During a round, players will have the opportunity to throw several types of shots at various distances so bringing your disc golf bag is a good idea. However, pros could get away with using a few discs or even just a Buzzz. This course is perfect for intermediate to advanced players, but would still be the perfect place to practice for pros. The holes are balanced, flow well, and are easy to follow if using the course map.

Even though it was my first time at this course, I grew up and lived near this area for over 20 years. That being said, directions to the course were extremely easy to follow, and the high school had plenty of parking available in the gravel lots below the football field. Bathrooms are on campus, but are not open to public during school hours or weekends, so just be aware and know that at least there are plenty of bushes to water. Terrain can be pretty rugged at times so bring good walking boots, sunscreen, and lots of water. The course was clean and well maintained, and the cement tee pads seemed to be the proper dimensions for this size course. The New Mach II baskets were all in great shape and caught well, and were placed strategically on many of the holes near obstacles.

Holes #6 and #8 stood out as two of their signature holes in Aptos. Hole #6 was a low 263 foot tunnel shot between two rows of Eucalyptus trees. Hole #8 was their most famous "top of the world" shot, which lived up to its name...although no De La. The hole was 435 feet with a steep drop and a fairway that gets increasingly more narrow toward the pin.Both are quite challenging in their own way, they're picturesque, and would make a fine addition to any course.

Although there were several things about this course that impressed me, tee signs was not one of them. Without a map, first timers will definitely have some issues with navigation considering the course plays all around the campus and along the hillsides. Many of the tee signs are there but most have been marked up.

The walk out from hole seventeen to eighteen is a little long and all uphill, which I imagine can get old quickly. Fortunately, hole eighteen is a fun little downhill birdie shot that makes its way back toward the parking lot. There are however, some short open holes on this course which makes shooting under quite easy.

Last, the poison oak. Even though I don't have many issues with it, just be aware and know that if you stray too far from the fairway you could end up in trouble. It did look though that much of it had been cut out.

Aptos High School DGC is one of the better courses I have played yet on a campus. These students are very fortunate to play this anytime they want. It can easily be incorporated in to their Physical Education program, a sports club, or for physical therapy. It is a perfect complimentary course to the other nearby ones like Pinto Lake, De LaVeaga, and Black Mouse.

-Well planned course, no real chances for crossfire
-Excellent variety of shots, downhill, open shots, short holes, holes guarded by trees
-Challenging and Fun

-Poison Oak is not hard to find
-Maybe a little more signage, like an arrow pointing where to go next after a few baskets

When I went, they were missing #17, but it was moved near 1 and called 1A, so we still threw 18 holes. #1 was kinda lame, basket between a road and a fence, but everything after that was beautiful. Directions are spot on and parking is plentiful, This course all around is very cool.