- 10 baskets, 10 pads, 10 signs telling you the deal. Why 10? I dunno, cram 'em in 'til ya run outta space, I guess...
- This course plays in a circle around a circular road that comprises the park. The outer bounds is a marshy waterway, pond? River? The tall reeds make it difficult to tell exactly. I didn't want to get too close and give 'er a look, to be honest.

- Well for starters there was the guy outside his car fondling himself near hole #1. He didn't seem at all put out by my appearance. In fact, not sure he even saw me.
- There's no god damn parking for this course...what the hell?
The trick is to exit the park, cross over the bridge and hit Ottawa St (1st right, IIRC). Then, park as close to Boom as you can, it's still a bit of walk.
- Repetitive. Large chance of losing discs if playing "honest"... otherwise it's just a bunch of super lame putter layups to manage the course, and avoid creepy dudes oblivious to their surroundings.

- Good Heavens, why did someone decide the Hell that is Boom Park would make a Paradise on Earth?
- Probably not the safest neighborhood to be abandoning your car and walking toward creepy peeps.
- Made me pine for the halcyon days of Rocket 3....

Boom Park in Muskegon, MI (also known as Richards Park) is a small piece of land sandwiched between a major state highway to the east, a railroad track to the west, and two branches of the Muskegon River to the north and south. There is also a large pond in the center of the park. Boom Park DGC is a 10-holer that plays counterclockwise around the pond.

As you might guess, there are plenty of water holes here. Baskets 5-8 and 10 all have water just behind/to the left of them, while on holes 1-3 it's on your right throughout the hole. These pin locations will make you think twice about trying for aces or long throw ins.

I agree with apdrvya that hole 7 is the signature hole on this course. On this hole you have to first throw across a small canal that is maybe 100' off the tee, then another 240' with water on your left to a basket tucked near the water. I also like hole 1. It's a 240' hole that is a sharp dogleg right off the tee, with thick swampy rough defining the dogleg. The river lurks just behind the basket to catch any discs that sail past it. This is the only hole on the course that strongly encourages an anhyzer for RHBH throwers.

The baskets are Chainstars and all in good shape. There is also an extra basket near hole 9's basket/hole 1's tee. If this is supposed to be a practice basket, it's a little too close to hole 9's basket for my liking.

The tee signs are all there. I don't really like the aesthetic of them (they have enlarged photos with clipart-style arrows pointing between tee and basket), but they get the job done with hole number and distance.

Hole ___ [hole number] plays on flat terrain ___ [next to/across] the park loop road, to a basket located just ___ [in front of/next to] the ___ [pond/river]. Fill in this Mad Lib and you have likely described one of the holes here. The only ones that vary significantly from this theme are: hole 4 (starts next to the water and plays away from it), hole 7 (as described above), and hole 9 (no water, but straight across a flat field with no obstacles). My point is, the variety here is lacking. Even playing only 10 holes, I started to get deja vu. Given the land available, I understand the lack of elevation and unusual majority of water holes. However, it seems like the designers could at least move a couple baskets away from the water and maybe plant a couple more trees to spice things up.

There isn't really any challenge here besides staying out of the water, and the thick rough next to it. The distances are respectable but not long enough to really air it out, and there aren't enough trees to force any shot shaping on most holes.

As mentioned above, the park loop road around the pond is in play on almost every hole. With the course so open there aren't any blind shots, so safety is your responsibility. The bigger issue is that this park seems to be popular with fishermen, who will park anywhere along the road...and set up anywhere in the weeds next to disc golf fairways. Throw carefully.

The tee pads are basically nonexistent (natural) as of this writing. It looks like they were wooden boxes in the ground filled in with gravel at one point, but now the gravel is missing, the wooden boxes are mostly buried, and the marsh is encroaching on a couple of them. Some tee signs also mention alternate tee pads, but I couldn't find them.

Other than the tee signs there is no other signage. Some signage indicating where to park would be a good start, as the course starts at what feels like the back of the park. I also had to look around to find the next tee on a couple of occasions. The map posted on here is accurate and helpful, but you'll have to download it as it isn't available on site.

I don't understand why hole 10 was added. This is one of two Muskegon area courses that have 10 holes, and on both of them hole 10 does more harm than good to the overall course experience. In this case, hole 10 starts with a tee pad that is just a few feet in front of/to the left of hole 9's basket - too close for comfort. Then it plays basically the same as holes 5, 6, and 8 before it - across the park loop road to a basket near the pond. This hole also plays away from hole 1, whose tee pad is nicely located near hole 9's basket (but that one is not so close as to be dangerous). If you were playing the course twice it would be nice to have hole 1's teepad near hole 9's basket, but the addition of hole 10 negates this benefit.

As of July 2021, the park cannot be entered in a vehicle via Ottawa St. Cement barriers are blocking the street at the Muskegon River bridge/entrance to the park. However, you can park on the south side of the Muskegon River bridge on Ottawa St and walk approx. 750' to the first tee. Alternatively, you can enter the park from the north via M-120. I updated the Directions on the Course Info page accordingly.

With all of the water hazards and very thick rough, there is a serious chance of lost discs here. I would not recommend this course for beginner players or anyone with control issues. Those looking for a friendly recreational round should check out Smith-Ryerson DGC less than one mile away.

This course is at the mercy of the land it is on. If you read the Wall posts, you will see that it was unplayable when I first visited in September 2020 due to high water table levels. Between September 2020 and July 2021 the water table dropped dramatically, making the course playable. However, it could easily become unplayable again in the future if the water rises.

Overall, this course provides decent practice for those looking to play some water holes. If not looking for that specifically, there are several better options within a short drive.

new baskets
well done tee signs
easy to navigate

Muskegon river
cars parking in the way of tee shots
thick thick thick rough

pretty decent little course using unused park land
plays well lots of OB keeps you honest
you better shoot good or you'll lose it in the super long rough or the river or the pond

I really like that they have put this park to good use. I have driven past this park my entire life, and not once had a reason to actually drive in, until now.

Brand new Chainstar baskets. Love the fact that they have the sticker on the pole inside the chains, with the hole number.

The layout is really nice, and flows well with the land. You do have to double back a couple of times, but nothing to get in a fuss about.

Water. Others may not see this as a con, but for me it is heartbreaking to see one of my discs fly into the abyss. The Muskegon River is in play on the first three holes, any disc thrown into the river will be taken downstream so finding an errant thrown disc will be challenging.

Traffic. I guess I didn't realize that so many people drove around this park. We were there at 7 pm, and encountered cars on 4 of the 6 holes around the pond in the middle. People must not know (or don't care) that there is a disc golf course running through there because we had cars just sit there, directly in our throwing path, on three separate holes.

Tee pads. Gravel. I personally didn't do a full run up, x-step at all here. Concrete would be much better. Kind of seems like a rolled ankle waiting to happen.

Overall, my family enjoyed Boom Park. There are some concerns, but not enough to keep us from playing there. I definitely wouldn't go night discing there, but the park is "closed" between 11 pm and 5 am so that shouldn't be an issue. The course for the most part is made up of short holes with a few 300+ holes near the end, which makes it nice for a beginner or novice. Advanced players that can throw over 300 feet may have issues with the water on 8 out of the 10 holes. Some of the people that were driving through seemed kind of sketchy, but a few waved and seemed friendly. We could also hear what sounded like dog fighting going on past the parking lot either along the railroad tracks or bike trail. It could have been strays, but it went on from hole 7 until we finished up. Kind of creepy. All in all, Boom park is a nice addition to the Muskegon disc golf scene, and will be played by my family in the future.

Aesthetic-- plays around a "forgotten" park near the causway and Cobb plant in a historic portion of Muskegon. You are sharing the park with cars as you throw over the road many times. Be vigilant.

Baskets-- nice new discraft baskets. grippy and highly visible where needed.

Teepads-- gravel. I'm iffy on this. the grave pads I've played on before utilized pea stone as a base and didn't have larger rocks on the pad. Here, they used regular large gravel that has been broken down but left much of the larger rocks on the pad. You may need to kick a few rocks off the pads to run up with out getting wonky.

Routing and Nav-- fairly easy with the map. You do have to walk back down some fairways (or at least near some fairways) to get to the next tee.

Water-- The water is the star here. With 8 of 10 holes incorporating some sort of water hazard your plastic may be an endangered species...
I think the thing to remember here is finesse over power. Most of this course could be played with a mid and a putter and you likely wouldn't lose anything... get a driver out and the likelihood goes up.

#7-- Signature hole here. First throw over a small canal then throw down the grass with constant water on the left side. Hard hard hole.

Safety-- I think I mentioned that the course throws over the road MANY MANY times. I understand this course is space-constrained but I am somewhat indifferent to throwing over the road so many times. I also worry about the water here. I don't know how much this area floods but I can see the water in the pond and river being very very deep and swift. Be careful when retrieving your plastic (if at all).

Teesigns-- I know they are in process but a con for now. sparpied distances on the poles near the pads.

Hole #10. I think this course could have easily been left at 9 holes. Hole #10 really doesn't add much and I think that #9 could have been made "better" by leaving #10 off the map.

Overall, This is a nice addition to the Muskegon scene. Not a superstar but a nice addition.