Red, white, blue and gold tees. Mix of technical and open holes with elevation and a few water hazards. Ample parking space, nice tee signs, teepads are currently being completed. The community is presently grooming the course back to glory. Course is very challenging depending on tees played. A true must play in New York State.

Red tees and blue tees can be hard to find if not playing with someone who has been there, or using a mapping app.

The one thing that makes Black Diamond great is care given to it by the community. When playing here, please carry out your trash and bottles. If not sure to play here or not, just go for it!

- Lots of terrain in play. Uphill. Down hill. Flat...oh crap...that was more up or down hill... Overall and excellent use of the varied terrain that keeps you thinking. After a few really steep holes some that look flat sneak up on you are over/under throwing a hole that you thought was flat but snuck in some elevation.
- Varied basket placement to challenge even short putts and approaches. One with a small mound (really too small to consistently land an approach on - but enough risk that a putt off the basket will be a roll away 25' elevate putt. One on the edge of a steep slope with a smaller LZ at the base - but still that rollaway risk if short. Another where your approach most likely leaves you putting downhill slightly to the pin with only a few feet behind the pin a slope down to an OB creek (~25' away...but the slope makes the rollaway a real possibility).
- Legit Par 4 & Par 5s with some great risk / reward choices in the placement of your tee shot. Many of these are short enough par 4s that a hero line could get you a long look at eagle (or a bogey if you miss it). Or you could play it safe off the tee and leave a challenging upshot. Or - bite off somewhere in the middle.
- 4 sets of legit tees offering a challenge to all skill levels. To give some context - Par is 70 or 71 depending on tees. The tourney we played the winners averaged over 2 rounds - Open (gold) 73, Advanced (blue) 70, Intermediate (white) 73, Adv Women (red) 72. There were a few rounds in the 60s....but nobody averaged under par and folks were cashing with rounds close to 80.
- The longer tees don't just add distance for most holes - they add additional challenge in line shaping to the shot. Quite a few I threw from the white....and was challenged. Looked back at the gold and wondered how you could even make it.....walked up to the red and saw a different challenge than I was presented with. Very nice.
- Hole 1. It smacks you in the face to start. It is fair and makeable if you have excellent control, but man can it make you pay. It is a long (782/934/1100/1166) downhill down a very tight ski slope with some reasonably thick rough off both sides. There is also enough of a curve to it to force your hand on your second & third shots (assuming you were in the fairway) as you are trying to keep it in the fairway. It then opens up the last 100' on the flat at the bottom - but you still have an OB ski shed right and OB road behind / to the left.
- This course is a test of accurate line shaping and placement over pure distance...and you'd better bring more than just a hyzer line....you'll need em all. I found myself breaking out a large variety of discs and shots off the tee (and a whole lot more for recovery/2nd shots). Definitely not a course where you'll be throwing your primary driver on a hyzer line then putting more often than not.

- Natural tees were in pretty rough shape. It didn't help that it rained on / off all day and the night before. That certainly made them worse. Even without that they were a big con - some had big pits from wear. Some had roots sticking up in them. They are marked with painted bricks on each side which would likely be difficult to find normally (they were flagged for my tourney). If these were fixed - even to be just leveled, filled in, marked, and graveled - I'd raise the course to a 4.5.
- Navigation can be tricky. There are lots of parking areas by a few different holes (we actually started at hole 11). There are some long walks which aren't always obvious. Unless you are adventurous - I'd grab a guide if possible your first time through.
- Although the tee signs were well done and had all the info - they were back at the golds which very few play and are in many cases out of the normal walk from pin to red/white/blue tee. This made them a lot less helpful.

This is an excellent course that I wish were closer to me so that I could play it more often. It reminds me of a good 'ole backyard tackle football game - you come home bruised and battered - but man was it fun.

It is important to realize what you are in for though because I could see someone being upset if they didn't have realistic expectations. More holes than not are tight and wooded with some rough lines and big consequences for failing. Physically - the course is demanding. It is long. There are additional long walks between holes. These walks are up and down a LOT of terrain. After 2 rounds all but the most in shape were beat just from the wear and tear of the course. You will hit trees - a lot of them. You'll probably grab some birdies...and some bogies (or worse). And if all that sounds good - you'll want to come back for more.

*One more note on the tees. Be realistic as to what your skillset is and play that tee. They will offer PLENTY of challenge. If you are an INT player playing from the golds...well...it'll be a LONG day.

The Black Diamond is an absolute beast. If you want a challenge this is the place for you. The park is spectacular. It's very large and scenic. The course has the most variety of terrain of any that I've played. Open, wooded, water, elevation, ridges, rock structures, humps, and waterfalls. What a beauty. If you like hiking this is the place for you.

Hole #1 is one of the most memorable hole 1's on any course that I've played.

There are 4 distinct tee pads on this course.
Reds-Recreational 6,136 Ft
White-Intermediate 7,771 Ft
Blue-Advanced 9,052 Ft
Gold-Professional 10, 468 Ft
True par 4 & 5 golf.

Excellent baskets. Discraft Chainstars.

Great tee signs. Very descriptive with hole number, distances, hole design, and all tees.

Although the tees were marked with painted blocks they were all fairly easy to find on each hole. They maintain them nicely.

The front is distinctly different from the back. The front is mostly wooded with great elevation. The back has a lot of long open holes.

The biggest con I have are the tee pads. They are natural and were super muddy the day I played. It's really hard to enjoy a course when you are slipping all over.

Bring a map. It can get tough to navigate the first time thru. Try to set up a guide. With a course this long there are tons of blind holes. It adds a lot of time to the round. Don't expect a quick round here.

The tee sign is only located at one of the 4 positions on each hole.

If you play the Red tees you'll have a ton of walking to do.

At one time the baskets had flags on top of all the baskets. Many are missing now. They could use new flags or some kind of bright tape on them. It's super hard seeing the baskets in the woods and from some of the long distances.

With proper tee pads I'd bump this rating to a 4.5.

Get an update on conditions. If this course is dry it's fantastic terrain.

This review is coming from playing the White tees. I did check out all the tees on each hole.

Bring a map. You'll need it.

Description: ranked 3rd or 4th in ny
Uniqueness: great design on cool property. 1st 9 are mostly wooded with major elevation changes. Back 9 are longer holes, mostly flat but fun holes and a nice change from the front. Get a mix of everything here
Hole designs: great use of terrain. Tight holes, more open; to the left, to the right; uphill, downhill (first hole's about a 1000 feet down a ski slope).
Basket locations: very good placements. Baskets are in challenging positions. Hole 2 has you approach downhill with the basket close to water, daring you to see how close you want to place your drive or approach. Hole 3 is uphill with the basket on a 8 foot mound which will test you to go for the birdie or settle for par. Many other baskets are in cool places, but my favorite is 18 where the basket is set in the center of a circle of pine trees with high branches.
Favorite holes: so many holes could be my favorite, it's easier to think of holes I didn't like, which was only hole 6 (see cons). Holes 1, 17, and 18 are my top 3.
Difficulty: can choose your own with 4 tees per hole
Flow: red arrows help. Long walks between some holes so you could still get lost if you don't have a map or course guide.
Tee signs: awesome. Great graphics and accurate representation of hole
$: free
Conditions/maintenance: good. 
Crowds: lots of groups were here, but pace was still good. 

Hole 6: poor considering all the other holes
Navigation: because flow is pretty difficult at points, this can be a con 1st time playing
Tees: only grass, some are hard to find

Easily best course in buffalo. In my favorites. A must play!

- Great Mix of Open and Wooded holes. The wooded holes all have something unique about them and have great scenery and most of the open holes have interesting basket placements and different obstacles to keep it interesting. Bottom line the course doesn't get boring.
- Great variety of shots are required for this course. There are anhyzer, hyzer, uphill downhill, a few that you have to keep straight. This course will test every throw.
- Very good signs that show you where all the tees are, (very important on this course because they are hard to find and there are four of them for each hole), how long it is for each tee, where the basket is, and where the next tee is(pay attention to where the next tee). The signs are located at whatever tee you would reach first after finishing the last hole.
- Alternate basket placements. I haven't played the course too much but I have never noticed the baskets actually being switched. I am sure the niagra region disc golf club takes care of that
- Multiple tees allow for Pros and amateurs to both play and have fun. An ordinary hole may have tees from 877 feet to 505 feet or 508 to 315 feet. The longest hole is 1165 feet to 782 feet. This course has a good mix of long holes and average distance holes. No short ones though. I wouldn't bring a beginner here because of its length. It could get frustrating.
- The course is configured so the first nine holes start and end at the parking lot. The back nine start and end just across the street from parking lot. This is nice since this is a long course. If you want to play just nine, its easy to do.
- This park as far as I can tell is used mostly for disc golf and it is not nearly as busy as chestnut ridge. Occasionally you will see people walking their dog or having a picnic, but it rarely interferes with your game. Also there are shelters around the park that have at least sinks to fill your water bottle and probably bathrooms.
- Probably because it is not used as much, the course is in much better shape than chestnut ridge. There is less garbage and bottles lying around

- Navigation: This course is very hard to navigate even with the provided map(online DGCR). They have added red directional signs to make it better than before, but I would still play this course with someone who has played it before if it is your first time. After you get the hang of it, this will not be an issue anymore.
- Even though there are four tees, they can be very hard to find because they are just colored bricks buried in the ground. Use the signs to help you find the desired tee.

I find this course very fun to play despite its length because of the abundant variety of holes. I found that the average player (everyone I have asked) uses the white tees. These are still long(7771 ft.) but not unbearable. Also make sure you play with someone else, especially the first time, so you can spend more time playing and less time looking for the next tee. You will also have players for spotting. Although there are no disk sucking black holes, there are some blind drives. Overall this course is a "blast!"

Beautiful landscape with elevation, rocks, trees and creeks. In the fall you also get the changing leaves. Multiple tee positions for different levels of abuse. If you had your Wheaties in the morning play the longs to the tune of over 10,000' of throwing. And there are more than a few uphill throws that make it seem even longer. Signs at every hole showing tee placement and basket positions. New and nice. Front 9 is a heavily wooded beast that can crush you if you are not accurate. Lots of challenge. Basket are all new and in great condition. Navigation wasn't a problem, altough there is some long walks between holes. Bring a map and keep your eyes open for the wooded arrows on the trees directing you to the correct path.

Natural tee pads. It is probably not practical to have tee pads for the 4 different tee positions available at many of the holes, but some kind of pad would be nice. Positions are marked with colored bricks that can be hard to locate, especially in the fall. When you are in the woods leaves are everywhere.

#16 plays through a playground area. Nobody around when I was there, but it could be a problem on certain days. Multi-use park, so you might have to share the space. 2 of the guys I played with hit the bathrooms off the tee, so look for pedestrians and kids.

Even on the wooded holes it didn't seem like there were holes that forced me to shape lines and make a certain shot. Many straight shots through scattered mature trees or WTF wooded fairways.

I can understand why some people have rated this course very high. It is really nice, and has a ton of long holes. Basket positions are located in areas that try to make the course more challenging also. #18 is surrounded by trees, and #14 plays right along a creek bed. But overall, it just didn't seem like a fun course. I usually star every hole that is unique or really impressed me, and I didn't have any marked on my notes. But I also don't remember seeing any bad holes either. Just good solid play. Definitely worth playing if you are in Western NY. My impression is that this course would be great for players with big arms that want to air it out. Just don't looking for a ton of technical shots. Several of the wooded holes were overly tight, bordering on a hope and a prayer. There may be lines, but they certainly aren't obvious. Overall, it's a good course, but not on the level of other top courses I have played.

May 30, 2012 UPDATE : Went back for another pound and tried the White tees this time. I still have the same love, hate feeling for this course. Tee pads would be a huge upgrade. The wooded holes still are a little odd. #3 has a line, I think, but from the tee it is not anywhere near obvious. #4 could be a great hole, but too many trees and too much luck get in the way. That hole makes little sense IMO. This is still a fun and very scenic course. White tees made more sense for my ability than the Golds I played before. I won't knock a course for long walks or up hill climbs, but I'd love to see a few fairways altered, and some decent pads put in here. It's a very nice course, but not quite in the upper echelon. Yet. Definitely worth a stop ifmyoumare in Western NY.

Well Marked, Wide range of shots required, great scenery! loved the elevation changes, crossing the creeks and rustic bridges. there was a course map right there at the parking lot as well as some info on upcoming tournaments

Some of the holes are flat out tough, especially on the front 9. For a first time player at the course sometimes your taking your first two shots with out a visual at the basket (and i'm talking about two good shots)

Front 9 requires alot of accuracy. I found myself shooting alot of midrange discs off the Tee just for the accuracy aspect. Many tight windows to shoot through. Back 9 was more wide open, take out the drivers and bomb away.

A round here is a journey every time you play it! massive course through every type of terrain you can think of!

Detailed signage and 4 tee placements on every hole.

course is on a ski slope to give you an idea on elevation changes.

Four tees per hole yes, two colored bricks in the ground also yes.

One round with two people can take about 3 hours from the golds.

Lots of bugs in the summer months.

Bring your cannon! this is a very long course with lots of ups and downs! if you like to really heave them, this course is up your alley.

I can't wait to play this one again!

Great variety and mix of difficulty. It is now our favorite course in the area. A "must play" course for everyone.
The new tee signs are excellent. On our first visit there were none. It was difficult then, but now it is easy. If you look closely at the signs it tells you exactly where you are or need to go. Easy...if you pay attention.

Course can be muddy because of terrain. As another mentioned, there are a few places that can tear up disc for the lesser players.

Wish there were more holes

18 holes with multiple tees, many of which would be signature holes anywhere else.
course had a great mix of variety in elevation, open and tight holes, and tons of unique obsticles.
Trees were strategically planted and baskets were carefully placed to make you really think about your shots. On many holes putting requires major decisions that can make or break your game (baskets on mounds, hills, near water)
The hole surrounded by tees is a nice grand finale for the round at hole 18.

There is a lot of throwing blind, waiting to see the basket. It was hard to know where exactly to throw. There were also holes where you have to throw towards picnic tables. (drunks are not cool when an Orc ends up in their potato salad)
Tees were often difficult to find. I had a guide, but if I went back, even after playing it, I would not know where to go without a guide.
There needs to be arrows or signs directing you to the next basket. You will already be walking alot, you will not want to walk any extra than you need to.
(just a note: just walking from gold tee to basket on each hole is over 2 miles, that does not count the walk between baskets or walking after your discs. Plan on playing here for hours)
Par is extremely hard to acheive, the average score is around 15 strokes over par.

I like long courses, but this course went over board with an average distance of 520 feet (from blue tees) and one hole over 1,000 feet. However the scenery was great every step of the way. so it is not a pro or a con.
Bugs were a small problem, but I can't fault the course, I have played through far worse. Bring bug spray!

Great variety of woods, open holes, elevation changes, longer holes and 4 tees to choose from.

Loved the last 10 holes.

[edit] The course was considerably drier this time around. Foot paths are getting nicely worn and signage is awesome. Arrows pointing the way to the next tee are extremely helpful! The other noticeable Pro about the course is how clean and well kept it is. Let's hope it stays that way for a long time.]

The first 9 may be a bit much of the back woods and mud. We played after a steady week of on and off rain in WNY so the course was very wet and muddy. The paths between several holes were nearly impassable due to the mud. Later in the summer or fall, when the weather gets a little bit drier, might make for a much more pleasurable round.

Being our first time here, even with maps and scorecards, the course is a little hard to follow. It would be very helpful if the sign makers marked a "you are here" location on the sign so the tees could be found a little easier in relation to where you are standing. Bring waterproof shoes with very good traction to walk through the muck along the course.

[edit] This course seems to reward accuracy over distance for about 75% of the holes. Pick your shots well through the wooded holes and you will do far better. Be prepared to leave with a tired arm as the total distance on this course is LONG. Nearly 10% longer from the White Tees, 25% longer from the Blue Tees and a whopping 45% longer from the Gold Tees than Como Parks Blue Tees. And Como Park is no slouch in terms of distance as it previously was one of the longest courses in Western NY]

UPDATED: Long, challenging, and tons of fun. Me and a couple friends live close to Emery so we play there a bunch. Without a map the course is difficult to navigate but every Tee had signs to show you where everything was. This still confused people and we had to show them where to go but it was a lot better. You can get a map at nrdg.net site under the courses section (along with scorecards listing par and average distance of each hole). They recently put up a Kiosk with score cards and maps and that was nice to see. There were some new people there when we were and they appreciated it. A lot of people couldnt find the first tee but had no issues after that. Near each basket there were arrows on trees or somewhere pointing to where the next tee is. Last time we were there, we were very unsure where the baskets were but recently nice large flags have been installed to the tops of the baskets. The flags help determin where the basket is through the trees and obsticles.

Just learning was difficult since we cant drive too far but it did help a lot on technique. I doubled my driving distance today. Fewer people playing along the course than at other places made it a lot of fun too, you weren't stuck waiting, and you didn't have to worry about getting hit by other peoples discs.

Not a huge con but the ravine was scary. I was nervous to lose my disc because it didn't look too easy to go down the sides. After going to the park a few times we found a set of stairs near hole 9 that allows you to go down into the ravine if you lose your disc on 8 or 9. Some tee's were still harder to find if you didnt know where they were but not too bad. On the back 9 there was a tee next to a jungle gym. It would be nice to move the tee on 16 a little to the right so your not so close to the kids playing. I have no issues here but I have seen noobs messing around and having issues.

The signs at each hole were new and accurate. It helped find where the course went, it was nice seeing an arrow after the baskets showing you where to go for the next tee. The grounds were also very clean and not trashy there was no noticable garbage and it didnt seem like ratts were playing there. I have played here many times and never have a dissapointment. Its a long course and really helps your accuracy. When we were noobs, first time here it took 3 people almost 4 hours to complete (includes searching for a lost disc, and stopping at the store in between the first and last set.) Now, we can power through a round in about 2 relaxed hours. The course is long and you can play at a nice pace and have fun. Some holes seem extremely long and its nice to see how far you can drive. If you dont splice your shot really bad the long holes are not that bad but if you mess up you can easily get a high score on that hole. A friend of mine shot a 12 on hole 1 since he couldnt stay out of the woods. The starting blocks were well painted, but could use another more permanent indicator other then the flags. All in all, this is my favorite course and it really helps my game.

I have moved out of town and just played here twice this weekend and my shoulder is so sore. The course was updated and looks beautiful. Thank you for all your hard work. Everyone involved did a wonderful job and it is very appreciated.

Awesome new course, still nedds some refining, but very nice. Very long and hilly course through the woods. A very good mix of terrain. Makes for an excellent hike.

Played here about a month ago and there was still about 6-8" of snow which completly hid the tee off markers. which made it very hard to navigate if you dont know your way. No tee sign maps yet either, but all in good time, Im sure!

Once cleaned up and completed this will definitly be one of my favorites. Very,very challenging course.

Very well layed out. Very imaginative with different challenges at every turn. This course is tough! Four tee-off placements for each hole.Even from the green dot "easy" tees this course would not be a walk in the park! we played the intermediate tees mainly due to the snow level and inability for a decent run-up.

Newly installed and a bit "work in progress" tees are marked only with small orange flags or so it seems anyway. some were buried under the snow.

Played this course with @ 8" of fresh powder snow on the ground. only one lost disc among @ 7 golfers. look forward to seeing this course in the summer months!