Beautiful landscape/scenery - rolling hills and oak trees
Concrete pads
Yellow DISCatchers with practice basket
Good fairway design
New bathrooms at site at hole 1/10
1-9 loops around back to the start for a quick 9
Out of the way - my group were only ones in parking lot for entire round
Lots of elevation change

Tee signs give no information
Navigation is subpar
Multiple tee pads/pins can be seen at one time
Out of bounds = crossing barbwire on several holes on front 9
HOT. Not much shade
Mostly short holes

This is a cool course near a campground/reservoir off the I-5. No real parking lot, just in the dirt along the road. Short walk to hole 1 where there is a map, bulletin board, practice basket and bathrooms. Solid amenities for the start/end of the course.
The fairway design is pretty solid throughout the course. Gives players an opportunity for many different shots. A few holes along the front 9 play along the barbed wire fence line which is definitely not ideal, and going OB here can be pretty easy.
I can see this course playing a lot differently in winter/fall. We played in early June and man, the heat was pretty brutal. Also all the leaves on the trees were in full play, which definitely adds some enjoyment to the challenge of the course.
I with they could have somehow used the water as well. I know it's not always easy to do everything a course designer wishes, but when you have some water right in the area I always wish it's incorporated somehow.
There are two main issues I had with the course that leads me to mark it lower than I previously thought I would.
1) The tee signs. All you get is a hole # and a distance. Nothing else, no next tee, nada. This became pretty frustrating, even when having the map on hand. Either there was a blind shot, or you could see multiple pins at once so there was a bit of a guessing game. It also wasn't clear if there were multiple positions from the map alone. If not I wouldn't think it would be that tough to tape a laminated piece of paper with a map for each hole. As a local this probably isn't an issue at all, but as a first timer it wasn't the most fun always trying to figure out where to shoot in 100 degree heat.
2)14 of the 18 pin positions were all on serious roll-away hills. And not 20-30 foot rollaways. 100'+ down back into the ravines/creek beds that run through this course. I am all for extra challenge and to make holes harder, but this was more of just an inconvenience to our group. A very low speed chainout for par turns into a 5+ cause your disc went 120' away and is 50' downhill. I could see a couple of these, but it was practically every hole. There seemed to be plenty of other options to put the pins with still lots of risk/reward. Or if you throw some woodchips in a ~5' radius around the basket or a couple big logs ~35' away to act as some sort of green. It reminded me of ball golf trying to chip onto the green if the green was made of stone.
Overall I would definitely play this course again, preferably when it's not boiling outside. I think if they added some tee maps and had some different pin positions I could rate this course much better.

The course is set on rolling hills with scattered mature oaks. There are enough trees to make you shape some interesting lines, with a pretty good variety of left and right turning shots mixed in. The tees are placed near trees for the most part, and the low hanging canopy makes it so you're forced to take the intended shot, I thought it was impressive how many holes managed to take away the easy hyzer shot with how open the land is. The tee placement also does a really nice job of providing shade at each pad which is a great perk on a hot summer day out here.

The course is mostly pretty short but there are a couple longer holes mixed in that will make most players pull out a driver. The front 9 is fairly flat, but the back brings a lot more elevation into play. There are some fun downhills and tough uphills mixed in with tricky sidehill lies and valley shots with big punishment for coming up short. There are lots of opportunities for rollaways around the greens if you're not careful how you place your upshots. There are some nice views of the lake and the surrounding buttes from a lot of spots on the course.

The signage could use an upgrade. There are numbered 4x4 posts but nothing indicating hole layout which would be nice on a couple blind shots. The course is pretty short, there was enough land for some bigger shots and some use of the bigger elevation that would have added some fun challenge. There is some long grass, but the fairways are mowed plenty wide so it only comes into play on really terrible shots. There are a couple spots where a next tee sign would come in handy.

I thought the design did a nice job given the limitations in foliage density. It's a fun course for beginners, though the rollaways could be tough for players without a lot of control. Experienced players won't find this one all that challenging, but there are some enjoyable shots and some nice views that make this worth a stop if you're driving through.

- Concrete tee pads on all 18 Holes.
- Multiple pin locations on most holes.
- Many birdie opportunities, without too many gimmies
- Easy to follow layout, flows similarly to ball golf layout
- Good variation between short and long holes

- Very dry course
- Weeds were a bit tall w/ star thistle beginning to grow
- Not sure how accurate the marked out distances are, they seem a little off
- Extremely windy (20+mph)
- HOT (110 degrees)

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. The front 9 is open, and considerably easier than the back. The layout is very entertaining. I don't exactly know where water would come into play on this course, as there was none to be found. I would recommend this course to anyone traveling through the area.

Black Butte DGC is a free, beautiful, secluded 18 hole course just outside the town of Orland, CA. Laid out along the hills surrounding Black Butte Reservoir the course is lined with oaks and is quite beautiful. There are plenty of ace opportunities at the innova chainstar baskets throughout the course. The tee areas have signs and bag holders and most have a bench to take a breather. Cement tee pads have been installed as of 4/27/13. The course is dog friendly and will most likely be all yours. The early spring time is my favorite time to play because the grass is green and short and the trees don't have their leaves yet.

Bring water because there is none for you out there. Wind and heat can be a factor at certain points in the year. Hole 11 is a filler hole, but what can you do. The grass can get high but it is regularly mowed. Too far from my house in Chico to regularly play. Make sure your shots land flat because you can get some nasty rollers (this is not a con rather on of the unique hazards associated with the course). Water does not come into play unless you really mess your shot up. The oak trees on this course will catch your plastic better than Buster Posey, just to let you know.

This was the site of the 2010 Nor Cal championships and annually holds the Banging Chains for Charity C-tier event. There are proposals to make the course 27 holes. Camping is available right near the course during the summer months.

Close to I-5. Excellent mix of holes. Clean. Well laid out. Easy to find your way around. Hole # signs at every tee. Plays out and back front 9 and back 9. Plays near water but its only a factor if you over throw one hole on the back nine. Clean course

I am sure in the summer its a no go due to weeds, heat and snake hazards. Otherwise its a great course!

played on a weekday had the place to myself. Campground across the street, taco bell, gas station and more just over 5 miles away back at the I-5 exit. If your traveling 5 make the stop you will be glad you did. Some killer holes. Cool ravine shot on 9 and a killer across canyon shot on 18.

- great terrain for disc golf. Lots of nice oak trees, rolling hills, potential water shots, great views of a stark but beautiful landscape.

- incredible potential for championship caliber disc golf

- a nice set of A pins are currently utilized for some fun and slightly challenging tee shots with plenty of risk/reward.

- nobody out there, meaning that you can get a round finished in about an hour and a half.

- easy access off I-5.

- nice campground for tournaments or for those who'd like to chill for the night or two.

- course was a little too easy for my taste. With all of the potential out there for championship quality disc golf, it was a little frustrating that the course designers didn't do a little more (written with the caveat that I don't know if the Army Corps placed any restrictions on the course design). No hole was over 400ft.

-To further expand on that point, course plays near the water, but water doesn't come into play. It would be pretty easy to make that happen by creating some nasty pin positions that come closer to the reservoir's shoreline as well as to create a hole or two that plays over one of the arms of the lake.

- tee pads are a bit rough, but that's to be expected on a new course

- boiling hot in the summer, and long grasses if it isn't mowed. The course is probably awesome in the spring, winter, and late fall.

To reiterate, this place has the potential to be one of the top courses in California if it gets the following:

- next tee signs/hole maps at each tee
- fly pads/concrete
- consistent mowing
- championship pin settings
- a second course may be in the works, making 36 holes a true potential.

As for now, a 3.5 rating seems pretty accurate for now. It's a nice place to chuck some discs just 5 miles off the long boring ride on I-5. The potential for having a par 60+ course with fun water hazards is there, and my guess is that the local club will get there sooner than later, forcing me to come back to enjoy the realized potential of the course.

-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.

-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.

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.