Two nine-hole loops of shots through the trees, right, left, up, down, and across to the next hill! This course has everything you would want. It is a very tough course and still really fun to play. The lake and surrounding buttes make a great dramatic backdrop for the course. I think the seasonal changes (trees/water) add to the interest of this course. Nice benches at most tees and they also just put in tee signs with distance to pin (and bag hooks).

The grass can grow to more than 3 feet tall, but does get mowed occasionally. Still, I have seen a lot of friends lose discs on this course. The water level of the lake really determines the degree of water hazard and can go from not a factor at all to menacing. Wind can also be a factor, coming from any direction. The rubber tees can be a bit slippery when wet.

I wish it wasn't 40 minutes from home I would play it all the time. It should be mentioned that it is very hot in the summer (but very nice the rest of the time). Bring plenty of water and sunblock. There is a campground right across from the course that would be cool to stay at.

Awesome course design with mix of short and long; use of elevation with back drop of the lake is creative use of space. Challenging course with epic hole 18 shot to finish off the newest big time course in Northern California. Chico Rick takes Napa concepts one step better...add water to the elevation!

-Varied terrain with plenty of obstacles in the form of oak trees
-Mowed fairways
-Fairly easy course to navigate
-Clean
-Benches to sit on at each tee box

-Lots of pesky flys
-Swirling winds
-Risk of losing discs in the lake

I played on a day with cool temperatures for the summer (76F) and light to moderate winds that seemed to swirl on some holes. The course was lots of fun and was well maintained. I played with a friend and we were the only people on the course for a majority of the time we were there.

Lot's of elevation changes
Good variety of shots
Extremely scenic
Extremely well laid out into two nine hole loops
Mixture open and wooded shots.
Benches at most tees

Teepads need work
directional signs need work.
No holes upwards of 400 ft.
Flows beautifully but there could be more holes that slope right to left.

Wind has been a factor each time i have played this course.
Hole one is a relatively simple hole it curves slightly to the left with little slope available lines fore each type of shot.
#2 slopes slightly downhill with more trees and a shorter, straighter shot than #1
#3 Shoots over a small hill, reasonably open with a left to right fairway and the pin is guarded by a couple of trees with a downslope just behind the basket.
#4 is a slightly narrow, slightly up hill shot. not too much else to say.
#5 the up hill slope increases, the fairway is a little more open but watch the downslope on the other side of the basket, an overshot can send you way down the slope and towards the lake.
#6 is the first true bomber hole, you shoot from the top of a slope across a small valley and around the trees to the next hill over. The left to right slope that predominates this hole should make sidearm or lefty backhand throwers think twice.
#7 is a similar shot to hole six except it is significantly shorter and has a large down slope on the other side of the pin. I got a tap in birdie last time i played this hole but the drive could have very easily gone way past and made for one hell of an upshot.
#8 shoots across the valley made by the creek leading into the lake. It's a little hard to see the pin from the teepad. Getting your disc caught in a tree on your drive is a major concern here because your drive sends you directly into a lot of tall oak trees.
#9 shoots across another left to right slope and forces you to shoot slightly uphill on the upshot.

Intermission: I would like to again complement the designer's of this course because holes one and ten start right about where hole 9 finishes. making a single 9 hole loop of either the front or the back 9 just as easy as an entire 18 hole round from start to finish.
#10 is a reasonably flat and open hole with a dead tree on the ground about forty feet from the tee.
#11 shoots straight up hill requiring a left to right shot to avoid the trees and get to the pin
#12 is a deceptively tough hole, with a slight downhill slope throughout and a very aggressive slope behind the pin. Another hole to watch out for i alway seem to over shoot this one and end up a hundred feet and atleast two strokes down hill.
#13 the entire fairway is dominated by a left to right slope including the green. Aside from the extreme slope nothing about this hole is all that difficult.
#14 is the big downhill hole of the course the wind from the lake makes a slow, easy turnover almost out of the question. Navigate the downslope and watch for the cliff behind the green and this hole shouldn't be too much trouble.
#15 is almost the exact opposite of #14, it shoots directly uphill with a slight left turn around some trees to get to the pin.
#16 Is a reasonably flat risk reward hole with a couple different lines created by the trees in the fairway, watch the right to left slope on the left side of the fairway.
#17 Is one of the few holes i can think of with a significant right to left slope. other than that it is a moderately narrow hole with trees on both sides of the fairway.
#18 Is a beauty of a bomber, the tee has you shooting across the creek valley that should be very familiar after playing #11. If you can keep it over the trees in the valley the pin is a couple hundred feet up the opposite hillside of the tee and a little bit to the right. One of my favorite finishing holes in the sport of disc golf.

-Challenging course
-Good mix of shots ranging from short to long.
-Lots of elevation change from uphills to downhills, even side hills and holes that threw across valleys.
-Course seems very lefty / righty fair not realy favoring one or another.
-Great views of Black Butte Lake in the background.
-Nice break from the long boring drive of the 5
-Brand new baskets, still had plastic on some of the tops of the chains
-Easy to navigate

-The elevation change near baskets definatly opens up the possibility of some "Napa Rollers" taking place.
-Teepads are a little short.
-Rubber teepads can be slick in the rain
-Walk from 10 - 11 could use to be marked a little beter. (go left from the basket)
-Tee markers arn't realy the best, just brown poles in the ground, but the framework is there for new signs to go in.

This is a fun new course in the hills surounding Black Butte Lake. It's a short drive off the I-5, making it a good break from the long drives that usualy take place on the 5. There is also seasonal camping across the street from the course. There are lots of oaks around on the 2 hills that this course plays over, so be ready to keep it low. A well laid out course with each of the two 9 hole loops meet up neer the start so you have a chance to grab extra supplys from the car, or cut out after 9 holes if you have somewhere you have to be. Having played Napa the weekend before I couldn't help but to see the similarities. Both courses are set on oak studed hillsides with the chance for big rolls to take you far away from your pin, so make sure to lay it down flat.

This is a very secluded course set up along the southeast shore of Black Butte Lake. I really enjoyed the long challenging shots. If you are looking for an endurance course, this is the one in Nor-Cal. Very tough long power heisers over deep gullys and big uphill shots. Plenty of variety with straight shots, dog leg lefts, dog leg rights, and blind drives. This course was good for a nice hike around the cliffs and hills surrounding the lake!

Oak trees, Oak trees, OAK TREES! Oh and did I mention oak trees. This made it very tough to figure out the right shot for the hole. I found myself siting at the tee pad for a while, thinking huh, I don't know. I also thought that the tee pads could use some work. The tees were short with no room for run up shots, and with the rubber pads it was very slick. I had to back up and shoot from behind the pads for fear that I might fall on my butt. Hole markers were practically non exsistant. Good thing I had my energetic 9 year old daughter to scope out the baskets, and pick up the discs that rolled down huge hills. Oh and you might want to watch for rattle snakes!

Beautiful, scenic location. The view alone is worth the trip out here.

Very Hilly and tough for older players. If you do not have a good anhyzer in your 'toolkit' life will be tough.

It is difficult to find the Tee Boxes as the poles are painted Brown. Lots of small injuries from scrub Oak branches.