- three concrete tees per hole
- high quality Mach X baskets
- multiuse park, but disc golf is generally isolated from other activities
- well maintained park with beautiful natural setting
- incorporates ponds as water hazards
- extreme elevation changes
- next tee signs to help with navigation where they still exist
- full color tee signs with maps
- some basic amenities like ample parking, both outhouse style bathrooms and port o potties, garbage buckets and benches at holes
- good technical challenge, with more forgiving fairways than Moraine State Park
- many details considered, including building platforms for tees on slopes in woods so they are level
- dual pin placement on most holes
- some more open holes mixed in for variety, but mostly wooded

- some red tees are no longer where they are shown on the maps
- several next tee signs are missing and could be replaced
- navigation can be confusing, you will need a map
- no indicators for which pin is populated
- holes 9 to 12 get a bit repetitive out in the open
- hole 18 has the only notable safety hazard, playing close to the road and requiring a bit of a walk back to the parking lot

Moraine State Park and Deer Lakes in the same day is both exhausting and overwhelmingly rewarding. I have trouble deciding which of these courses takes the crown for most impressive elevation change. Both are impressive, and Deer Lakes checks my top two indicators of a fantastic course: great wooded technical challenge, and extreme elevation change. Similar to Moraine, this isn't an exceptionally long course, but all of the up and down will make you feel like it is much longer than its relatively average length.

Triple concrete tees give various options for all skill levels. I was pretty worn out by the time I got here and opted to play the short reds, but I recommend any experienced players do not do this if they have something left in the tank. The whites add some distance and challenge, and the blues even more so. I really appreciated the tees being level even on the extreme slopes of this course.

My favorite holes here were probably 9, 14, and 15. Hole 9 is a long bomb out in the open, but follows up with a tight shot in the woods with a steep drop off after the basket, and requires finesse to place safely. Hole 14 throws over a massive ravine, and hole 15 throws over a small lake from high elevation with some significant risk due to the water hazard. There is lots of technical challenge here and you will be forced to play a lot of different shots. Some holes are shorter, but most require some power as well.

Hole 18 seems like it could have been pushed into the woods a bit more to stay away from the road, but as it is a park road traffic is minimal. That and the walk back to the parking lot were minor cons. I think the only other major con is that navigation was a bit confusing with several next tee signs missing. This is a fantastic course, but a few of these minor cons hold it back from being a 5. With the navigation aids improved, this may be pushing past a 4.5 into 4.75 territory for me.

Very few details were overlooked here, and I think the course may be a bit more forgiving than Moraine, though still very challenging - or maybe it's just that I played the mid tees at Moraine and the shorts at Deer Lakes! I did not see any deer, unfortunately, but they are certainly around in this area. Road noise is minimal here, and you can be alone with disc golf and nature which is what I'm going for. The park did have some crowds, but it still was a pretty average length round for me, near the 1:30 mark (solo).

Moraine State Park and Deer Lakes were my two "must play" Pennsylvania courses when I passed through Pittsburgh. Though exhausting, they did not disappoint, and I would do everything possible to play both if you are in the area. Having disc golf of this caliber at 2 different courses so close together is a real gift.

+ The course takes the player on a nice walking tour of a quiet and gigantic park through adventurous wooded hills and peaceful flat fields.
+ There are two practice pins to get the player accustomed to the landscape here. One is in the middle of a open hillside. The other is among a flat grove of pine trees with roots everywhere.
+ There are three tee pads per every hole each with its own tee sign denoting distance, par, etc. All tee pads that I saw are decently wide and long contiguous concrete rectangles.
+ Plenty of hills all throughout the tunnels, fields and hybrid holes.
+ There is just one basket per hole but multiple pin positions.
+ Most holes end with a bright and noticeable 'next hole' sign.
+ Any OB on the course is clearly and unmistakably marked both on the tee signs and on the course itself.
+ There are plenty of benches and trash cans. Please do not litter!
+ The front nine ends right next to the parking lot in case players need a short break or to claim something from their car.

- Some of the 'next hole' signs are missing like after holes 4, 10, 11 and 16. It's possible that I wasn't looking in the right spot. That's one problem with multiple possible pin locations. There's never a guarantee that a player is looking in the right spot at a certain pin location.
- There is no way to know from the tee sign which position the basket is in.
- A few of the blue tee pads are damaged. I didn't play close attention to the whites or reds.
- Within some wooded holes, the fairways and rough feel interchangeable.

My favorite hole to play and look at was hole 15. I played my one and only session here from the blue tees, and from up there, 15 is an intimidating downhill glide with a big murky pond at the bottom of it. I wondered how many discs silently slept within its depths.
My least favorite hole was either 13 or 14 because I can't mentally pull them apart. They were the most boring to my mind.

As a whole, Deer Lakes is a lovely place to be- almost perfect from start to finish. The issues I mentioned within the Cons section are really more along the lines of minor notes that I briefly took as I played. Nothing flung me out of the experience. I never got hopelessly lost. There were a few times when I had to scout ahead to know which direction to throw as a result of there being no 'current basket' system, but that's about as bad as it got. And maybe I'll again mention that some of the holes are missing 'next hole' signage. I've always said that they are key to the smooth flow of a course. It's not an insult to the player's intelligence. It's a sign of consistency and dedication.

But back to the good stuff!
This is one of the few courses I've played where pretty much any and all levels of difficulty are on offer. I love how the par is identical for all three layouts. That lets players know right off the bat which experience is easiest or toughest to play, so even freshmen golfers can feel as though they are earning their scores here.

The landscape that all layouts play through are challenging without being ridiculous. There are slanted hills in the middle of some generously-spaced tunnel shots. There are some wide open fields that follow after punching through a forest.
However, there is one bewildering downhill hole early on where it looks as though you're meant to play pachinko with your disc to get to the basket behind a wall of trees. I couldn't help but laugh at how impenetrable it looked, but it was so much fun to try that I couldn't resist taking multiple shots off the tee. You'll know it when you see it!
What I'm trying to say is that there is a grand assortment of variety here.

So, in closing, Deer Lakes disc golf deserves a visit. It deserves many visits. It deserves many visits very often from all disc golfers. I truly envy you if you play here regularly because of its balance of open and wooded holes, the elevation changes up and downhill, that one pond and the painstaking attention to course maintenance all within a sprawling park. Emphatically recommended!

Oh, and the number of deer I saw during my session at Deer Lakes? Two.

I feel like almost every hole presents a unique challenge. A good mix of up-hill, down-hill, trees, and open fairways. Each time I play I feel like I meet new challenges (because my throws vary so much, likely).

It can get a bit mucky out there. A few more planks to cross muddy spots would be nice. Maps and scorecards haven't been available the last couple times I've played. I don't expect this, but they have been available before, so I'm mentioning it.

I have lots of other thoughts, probably not appropriate for this form but since it isn't letting me post this without being "more thorough," I thought I'd mention it.

This course is what disc golf should be when it is placed in a public park. If a course has this much land, then it has potential. It has rolling hills, tight woods, valleys and ponds.

The course is overall, well manicured and well kept. The local club, the Pittsburgh Flying Disc Society, always keeps the local courses looking their best.

Going through the course, you go through what are some of the finest amenities that a course can have. These being, benches, tee signs, concrete pads, nice baskets, (Mach X) and signage.

The course has every challenge that somebody would want, with winding fairways both left and right, uphill shots, downhill shots, and more.

If there is something a course should have, it is multiple teepads and basket positions in order to provide variety in a course. This course has both, in the finest form. Three concrete tee pads, THREE! Three pin positions, THREE! The pads are long and grippy, and they are well placed to fit the skill level you are looking to play at.

The course is free. When you have a course with so many great things going on, often they come with a price. Not Deer Lakes!

When thinking of cons, they are few and far between. There are seriously not many to go about.

Crowded- On warm sunny days, the course can be crowded with fellow disc golfers. This is a problem on all public and great courses, because who wouldn't seriously want to play here??? There are also some pedestrians and park goers on a few holes, but not many. Maybe three or four holes until you are back in the woods or on disc golf dedicated property.

Ticks- I have come home from DEER Lakes many times with Ticks crawling on my skin. Make sure you check yourself every time you play in the woods in the Pittsburgh Area, or anywhere on the East Coast. Not really a con, but a thought to warn about.

This course is definitely one of my favorites when it comes to park disc golf, as well as disc golf in general. With a park setting, yet a disc golf devotion, this course is definitely one to write home about!

Playing Deer Lakes this morning was a great disc golf experience! I was impressed with so many things about this course, and I know I will be echoing what many have already said, but this was an absolute blast of a course to play.

Has all the necessities for a great disc golf course:

- Multiple pin locations, and 3 sets of very nice, long, and textured tee pads. Never once was I worried about my footing.

- Very nice Mach X baskets with beautiful orange coating on the basket itself made spotting where to go a pretty easy adventure.

- A wide variety of long and short; par 3s and par 5s, with a number of par 4s as well. I never once thought that these ratings were too high or too low, but really right on the money.

- We played from the red tees, as I had a friend of mine new to DG, and I felt challenged on a number of holes. I also felt like I had a legitimate chance to do well on every hole. Balancing those two from the easy pins is difficult to do, but Deer Lakes does it well.

- Benches spread around the course, and the paths were pretty easy to follow.

- Course is maintained exceptionally well, and the undergrowth was maintained appropriately. You could lose a disc here, but it would be difficult and I assume would come from a tree kick out or something along those lines.

- As many have said, the amount of signature holes... amazing. The shot over the water on 15, the elevated tee on 8, the compound open and wooded hole of 9, and the short drive across the valley on 2... there were just some unique shots that made great use of the land available and are absolutely memorable.

- Ample parking

- 18 holes (I play a lot of 9 holers, so it is nice to play an 18, but given the terrain, I was pooped after 18 and consider myself in pretty good physical shape. I can't imagine throwing 20+ holes in a day, let alone doing it twice at a tourney.)

- Easy to spot and use practice basket

- Though the practice basket was easy to find, navigation to the first hole was not. We visited the back of 9, found 10's tee pads, and then walked to the other end of the parking lot before we spotted something that resembled 1. Where the practice basket is located is ideal for practicing, not ideal for course navigation.

- Navigation, as first timers on any course, will always be an issue. For the most part, the flow is pretty logical, but there are a few intersections where it was easy to get turned around.

- We played the morning after it had rained, and encountered a number of soggy areas. Obviously, it couldn't be helped, but a con is a con. I would imagine that this course is that much more enjoyable when it is beautiful and dry out.

This is such a great course, I knew it was close enough to hit up, and have been waiting for the right time. Finally found a morning and I am so glad that I did. All my local 9 holes are going to feel somewhat lacking now, but I enjoyed this course, and if you are anywhere in the Pittsburgh region, it is definitely worth the drive to play Deer Lakes.

This review refers to the Blue Tees layout for the 2015 Worlds: Outstanding course design with a great mix of tightly wooded and open crushes that demands a variety of left-right, right-left and straight shots that will test the abilities of the best players. The majority of the fairways are well defined (hole 14 can be a bit tricky, but there is a way!), and many feature landing zones where a few feet can be the difference between birdie and bogey (or worse). Precarious pin positions invite roll-aways on several holes that will test your mental fortitude. Water is available on the course (look for the pumps). Swirling winds can make it difficult to judge the proper speed and angle on several of the holes.

Steep hills makes it difficult to use a cart (for those of us with back problems who almost never carry their bag). Thank goodness it did not rain during the 2015 Worlds, as some of the steep inclines would be hard to traverse in mud.

A phenomenal course that can be enjoyed by all pro and advanced players. Less experienced folks should play the short tees.

A long course, many nice changes in elevation, grassy fairways and some woods, some water. Deer Lakes Park is strong. The park is nearly spotless, and the grass was nicely cut. A really nice variety shifting between open and wooded, and mixing lefts and rights. The triple tees on each hole were concrete, with very nice signs. Mach 3 baskets are good. A number of great memorable holes. 3 is a long run over rolling hills with woods on both sides. 6 is a good one, long and wooded. 7 is a fun bomber, with big drop in elevation with few trees. 9 is really long, also downhill, and crossing an expanse of grass, then moving into the woods. I pulled off an awesome approach and made a birdie on the 846' par 5 beast. 11 is really sweet, downhill into woods. 14 is a really long, thickly wooded and tough. 15 is pretty cool, teeing from an elevated position well up a hill, across a pond at the bottom. Risky, but very fun and exhilarating. 16 us another densely wooded, lengthy hole. Par is listed at 66, I shot a 70 on the first round. Not bad, but left me wanting more. Benches in many places to rest when needed.

Map available to print, was very helpful for me on a couple of holes. Leash law for pets. Open on half of the holes, a couple are maybe less than phenomenal, but majority are great.

Deer Lakes Park disc golf course has a great layout design, that is very fun and pretty difficult. There are lots of long holes with many ups and downs, but they are well worth the effort. Cool tree stump with 3 owls carved into it, I think it was on the way to the 10th tee. I would recommend this course to any player who is in the vicinity, playing this one at least once is a good idea.

I have been playing this course since the weekend it opened in 2006 and the improvements have been tremendous. It showed a lot of promise seven years ago and is filling out those hopes in preparation for the 2015 Worlds.
Deer Lakes provides fantastic variety in a secluded setting. It is very rare to see people other than disc golfers on the course although I did run into a wedding last year on #10. There are three sets of concrete tee pads (Red- 875, White-925, Blue-975) on each hole and several of these have taken a lot of work to put in and look great.
One of the more unique aspects of Deer Lakes is the fact that the par of the hole stays constant for each set of tee pads. This allows everyone from beginners to pros to enjoy this course while feeling happy about their score. I think this is a wonderful idea that more courses need to implement.
Now, back to the course's variety. There are 9 par threes, 6 par fours, and 3 par fives on this par 66 course. There are downhill shots, uphill shots, an 800 foot par 5 in a pipeline, tunnel shots in the woods, and wide open field shots for those who like to throw big. This course has everything, including #15 the only water hole in Pittsburgh( if you want to be 100% sure of making it over the water, use the red tees). Most holes present a variety of routes to the basket; therefore, Deer Lakes will test your decision making as well as your arm and your endurance (the course is long and hilly).
Deer Lakes is especially wonderful to play in the fall when the leaves are a palette of colors on the wooded holes. Hole #14 ( par 5 in the woods) is especially spectacular. Most of the leaves turn yellow so you feel like you're walking Oz' yellow brick road.
The tee signs are also excellent. Each sign has a marker pointing to the next hole so as long as you pay attention it is hard to get lost or skip a hole.
Best Holes:
#9- One of my favorite holes in disc golf, this par 5 invites you to bomb your drive down a gently sloping fairway. The next shots are more technical as the last 200 feet consist of a narrow, corkscrew path in thick woods.
#3- A long par 5 in pipeline that is probably 40 feet wide. Stay on the fairway or strokes will pile up fast.
#7- A fun, steep downhill par 3 that lets you admire the flight of your disc.
#11- A tricky, heavily wooded, downhill par 3 where the basket is on a severe slope across a casual relief ravine.
#14- One of the most complained about holes on the course, but one of my favorites. This is a par 5 deep in the woods that seemingly presents no paths off the tee. It may seem this way at first but contrary to popular belief there are actually multiple fairways. I throw an anhyzer down the left side.

There are few negatives about this course. Chief among them is the tendency of a couple holes to turn into shoe-grabbing morasses after a hard rain. #3 and the walk around the lake on #15 are particularly treacherous.
Hole #8 is a little boring, but really every other hole is a pleasure to play.
The park is not located near any major highways and can be difficult to find. Make sure you have good directions if you're not a local and are playing it for the first time.

This is one of the top courses I've played along with Moraine, Idlewild, and Nevin Park. I gave it a 4.5 rather than a 5 because there a scant few things that could be improved.
I have played this course over 100 times so I might be a little biased and neglectful of what a first time player might think. Some of the baskets on longer holes (#3, #9, #14, #13) can be in surprising positions.
But in conclusion, if you live in the area, or enjoy traveling to play good disc golf courses, and you haven't played Deer Lakes, shame on you.

-Located in a very big park that has a ton of activities available: fishing, hiking, running/walking trails, baseball field, children's play area and multiple pavilions
-This is one of - if not - the most well maintained and aesthetically pleasing course I have played in my short career. I can't wait to see what it looks like in the fall. Deer Lakes is tremendously well taken care of, and the course is constantly freshly mowed. The amenities are tremendous, as there are multiple bathrooms, benches, and garbage cans located throughout the course. You'll be hard pressed to find any litter on the ground. The maturity of this course is unmatched, with at least a dozen bridges located right where you could use them, a few sets of stairs and clearly defined paths to make hiking in the woods and finding the next tee easier, and clearly defined fairways in the woods with very little rough. Almost impossible to lose a disc here, everything is very well cleared out.
-The tees are perfect, with red, white, and blue on each hole. They are concrete, have great grip, are dug nicely in the ground, and are the perfect size. On many of the holes, the tees have gravel around them, and/or raised on a platform made from wood and carved out of the angled ground, adding to the aesthetic quality of the course. Each tee gives a different approach on almost every hole, adding to the diversity of the course. I've thrown from every tee, and there is a respectable difference on many of the holes, greatly supporting that tee's level of difficulty. Tremendous care went into selecting the tee locations.
-Tee signs look brand new and give all three tee and pin locations. They also point you to the next tee, which in my mind helps and makes navigation a breeze (minus one or two parts of the course). There is also a next tee sign where appropriate (between 10 and 11), which definitely helps.
-Mach 3 baskets are in good shape and are easy to find, even in the woods. Some pin positions are really creative and unique (2, 3, 9, 11, 15). Definitely some death-putt scenarios.
-You will truly experience every kind of hole here. Multiple straight shots, hyzers, anhyzers, open, wooded, terrific changes in elevation. The only thing that is slightly missing is that there are no gimmicky or extreme uphill elevation shots, but all but two holes (4 and 17) have some kind or multiple kinds of elevation change. Also, there is a tremendous variety in distances with some pretty short (2, 4, 5, 8, 11) and some very long (3, 9, 14, 16, and 18) holes, and everything in between. There is even a water hole - a rarity in this region - which gives you the fun option of taking a risk from the white or blue, or playing it safe from the red tee as it is placed near the edge of the water. There are multiple justifiable par 4's and 5's. There are clearly defined multiple lines on every wooded hole. Finally, many holes change dimension and dynamic, being flat then going uphill/downhill on the green, throwing from the open into the woods and vice versa (9, 11, 15, and 16 are great examples of this). Definitely one of the best qualities of this course.
-Loops back near the parking lot multiple times

-Some of the holes in the woods and walking around the pond always seem to be at least a little muddy, but there has been a significant attempt to avoid those problems with all of the bridges and pathways.
-For a course of this magnitude, some holes can come off as a little underwhelming
-The walk from 8 to 9 can be confusing, even though there is a pole with a sign pointing you in the general direction. My fist time playing, my brother and I followed the road and spent a half hour venturing further away from 9. Make sure you stay to the left of the road and as you get to the end of the gravel lot, you will see paths directing you to the tees. Other than that , the navigation of the course flows well.

This is such a fun course to play, and literally the only thing keeping my giving it a 5 is the few lesser holes. Deer Lakes has multiple holes that are some of the most beautiful, technical, and fun holes to play. A 5-rated course in my mind must maintain that top-level consistency on every single hole, as Moraine does. 4, 8, and 12 - while not throw-aways - are a few notches down from the other holes here. This course is a good as a 4.5 can be in my mind, and I toyed with giving it a 5. Just couldn't justify those very few lesser holes. Holes worth special mention:

3- Plays very long, going slightly downhill and then back uphill. Tough pin location uphill and behind a tight line of trees.
6- Very hard anhyzer line with OB on the right and plays uphill through a lot of trees
7- Beautiful hole! Throw downhill over some trees and battle the wind
9- One of my favorite holes in all of disc golf. Plays very long and open then through a tight path in the woods, ending with a death-putt scenario with the pin on the edge of a cliff
14- Another one of my favorites, beautiful hole, playing very long through the woods with multiple lines. Can never play this hole two times exactly the same way
15- Again, throws over a pond, not common around here

So many great signature holes!

Spectacular pro-level 18-hole course set mostly in the woods of a large town (county?) park.
- You're in for a treat from the start - 2 practice baskets night near the parking lot and tees for hole #1
- Ample parking lot, kiosk with course map, flyers, etc.
- 3 concrete tee pads on each hole, beautifully framed and level
- 3 pin locations on each hole, generally grouped close together
- Colorful, detailed tee signs at each pad provide great hole map, tee locations and flight path for each tee, par, distance for that tee and next tee arrow
- Picnic tables (with attached benches) at almost all of the tees (generally in between blue and white tees)
- Mach 3's for all holes plus practice baskets
- Challenge - this course will beat you up because you not only have to have good throws, but you also have to deal with the up and down walks
- For not having much water (1 pond throwover and a couple small/dry creek beds), a few select OB areas added to the difficulty
- Didn't appear to be a high chance for losing discs (well except the damn pond that ate my TL) - not much brush on the sides and most of the fairways were trampled
- Terrific variety - uphill on #1, #8, #10; downhill on #5, #7, #15; down then up on #2, #3, #11, up then down on #13; right on #6; left on #13 - the list goes on and on
- Having multiple "signature holes" is one sign of a true gem - holes #3 with the long down tunnel and #15 with a downhill drive over the end of a pond obviously get a lot of love - I loved hole #7 and could spend all day unloading my bag on that 350' downhill all the way hyzer hole - hole #9 was also terrific with a long hyzer drive into a tree-smattered field, slight left to right approach to a tight opening in the woods, only to have another left turn in the woods with a steep dropoff back/right of the pin
- You dont' get all punishing holes right in a row - after the long, tough #3, you get a nice flat field throw in #4 and then short, downhill at #5 - after long, wooded, uphill #14, you get the awesome downhill pond throw on #15, neat, right to left on #16 and a couple relatively flat holes on #17 and 18
- While I always enjoy wooded courses over open course, I love "grove" holes, with a select smattering of trees in optimal locations creating necessary lines - #4, #7, #9 come to mind
- You're generally off on your own - only a couple spots where I could envision coming near other park-goers, but if you come with family or kids, there are pavillions, playgrounds, fishing ponds, etc. close by
- Water available in a few palces out on the course (refer to the map)

- Certainly not an overwhelming amount, but for such an overall top notch course, I felt a few holes were throwaways (an unexciting throw across a flat field, etc.) - #12, #17 and #18 come to mind - less than spectacular way to finish your round
- While the next tee arrows on the tee signs were good, it would be nice to have some next tee indications near the baskets in case you forgot to look at the tee sign - navigation was generally fine, regardless (#9 took me a bit to find)
- I know I played it in spring, but this course really seems to hold water (#3, #6, #14, #15, etc.) - I found a little round-about path during my second round on #15 to avoid going down to the lake shore where it was real soggy, but there was no sign for it and ended up soaking my feet during my first round - a little sign to the path would be nice
- While having 3 tee pads is awesome regardless, they are generally just shorter/longer versions of the same line (some are definitely not - #1, #11, etc.) - would be nice to have more variety overall
- Path down to the parking lot after #9 is pretty steep and was very slippery due to mud
- While the pin positions are generally pretty close, it would be nice to have an indication on the tee sign as to what position it's in - would require less walk-ups to see where you're going
- Picky here, but I'm partial to Innova baskets on wooded courses, since the ones without bands/flags can easily blend into the wooded background on longer holes

- No trash to be found anywhere on the course
- Course lived up to its name as I saw a deer with 2 babies running through the woods near #3/5/6 and then again crossing the road on #17/18
- I actually felt like I was getting hunted/stalked by bumblebees a couple times

I'm so glad I was able to play this championship level course while I was in Pittsburgh. No question - it makes you work (I was a few over from the whites), but the terrific design and variety make it all worth while. The tees, signs, baskets, etc. are all very refined - kudos and thanks to those who built and maintain this wonderful course.

There are A LOT of pro's to this course!! 1: Its challenging yet fun! Lots of up's & down's, around's & through's. 2: Its very beautiful & scenic! A few wide open, grassy meadows & hilltop views of the bright blue sky! 3: Its rarely crowded. Enough said. 4: You face obstacles you won't find at other courses. The 2nd time through you will do much better!

I'm not a big fan of the 15th Hole with the water hazard. We lost a disc in there our 1st time through the course.

Overall.... this is one of coolest courses I have seen in the Pittsburgh area! I've played Schenley Park, Knob Hill & Philips Park. Playing this course makes me better each time I go back and play the others.
Don't get disappointed if you have a rough go on your 1st time, you will improve the next time, I promise! Everyone in my group did. Just stay focused & don't get down on yourself if you have a bad hole. You will eventually LOVE this course more than you love chocolate milk!

I took my kid (she's nearly 10 but the size of a 6-year-old) and wife and except for the tantrums on a few holes because the kid was scared to walk down a few slopes (kids are soft these days! ), we all had a great time.

The course has red, white, and blue tee pads that are all ample sized concrete slabs. I have a short-run-up when I x-step and they were at least twice as long as needed.

The signage on the course is great. The tee signs clearly show where the next tee is and most holes have an arrow pointing you towards the next tee.

The multiple tees offer not just the same shot but different angles, which was nice.

The undergrowth is kept to a minimum which allowed for relatively easy finding of discs as well as skip shots and other things that use the ground. There are not too many trees - just the right amount to punish bad shots and reward good lines.

The elevation changes work into the design of the holes *beautifully*. The second hole is a great example of this, and many pins are tucked onto slopes.

I've only played here once but the multiple basket locations are varied on each hole, which is great and will keep the course "fresh" for many, many rounds.

OB is clearly marked on the tee signs AND in most cases marked on the ground with white stakes and even some rope or string. Awesome.

Great scenery. We didn't see much wildlife but the hills are nice and though we could hear other players, we didn't see them more than once or twice. You feel like you have the course to yourself.

There are variations in hole design, from those in the woods the whole way to those in the open the whole way to those, like the ninth, that start in the open with a big bomb and end in the woods. Great variety.

Even though we're all new to disc golf, all three of us found the course challenging but fair. We had a great time.

Really nit-picky here because this course is pretty darn good. If I could give it a 4.75 I would, but it's not *perfect* so I have to choose 4.5.

Some of the lower holes get pretty damp, but that's just how water works - it goes downhill.

The signs pointing you towards 7 after 6 could be a *little* more specific, and after 9 to 10 as well.

A few of the slopes MAYBE could use some steps, but again, that's mostly because my kid hasn't been in the woods very much.

Uhhh... Yeah. That's about it. Like I said, really nit-picky.

The PDGA app, oddly, has this course with 18 par threes. I shot +26 or something like that according to the PDGA app, and that's not right. I submitted the proper pars but I don't know if that matters.

The course has great signs and great tee pads. Good baskets. Great long holes through the woods. Has elevation changes. The signs help you navigate the course with ease going from one hole to the next.

Has one hole where you have to throw across a lake and there are low hanging trees which will knock your disc into the lake. Very risky shot from the white tees. The course takes a long time to play but it is such a good course that really does not matter.

Some of the out of bounds is unclear. This course is definitely worth driving 45 minutes or making a special trip for because it uses the land well and is one of the best courses in PA if not the best one. The course takes a long time to play but it is such a good course that really does not matter.

18 baskets with three pin positions. Nice tee signs at each of the three concrete tees. Great variety of hole distances, pars, and open vs wooded holes. Excellent use of the rolling elevation, water and terrain. Beautifully manicured fairways and scenery. Rough is not too rough so disc loss potential is low except for the pond. Two loops of nine holes back to the parking lot. Benches and picnic tables a plenty around the tees. Restrooms and water scattered around the park.

No signage to know which pin the basket is in. This would be easily fixed with some letters, wood hooks, and a moveable lock(or even zip tie) to locate the pin position. Navigation a little tricky in places, but not too bad.

Deer Lakes is certainly a top tier DGC and you can't miss if you play here coming from just about anywhere. This course is well suited for just about any type of player from beginner looking to get more competitive to a world class player looking to challenge their game. The whole Pittsburgh area is really sick! When is World's coming to town? I really enjoyed Deer Lakes, but a few minor things that kept me from giving a five disc rating(I've only given a five to Paw Paw). Not knowing which pin the basket is in, and also the alternative pin placements don't seem to change many shots. It'd be nice to have a little more separation between some of the holes. The variety of holes is pure excellence, however I feel the last two holes end a little weak. I think if hole 18 went bigger downhill that might have iced an fiver for me. Maybe it's just a peeve of mine to end with a more epic hole. With all that minor bitching aside I'd highly recommend anybody come play here, it's probably one of the best courses you'll ever play!

Scenic course winds through a nicely wooded section of a fairly large, well maintained county park that offers several other activities.
• Challenge: Particularly well suited to the intermediate/advanced player, but pros and beginners will enjoy themselves here as well. Only a couple of holes struck me as something beginners should find truly intimidating from the short tees. High marks for a design that can pretty much accommodate all skill levels.
• Shot variety/Course Design: Excellent. Features many moderately to well wooded holes, but still has a few fairways that are open enough to air it out, with a few holes that start out open that have you putting to a well-guarded basket in the woods. Fairways can be difficult, but are reasonable to hit, and if you start bouncing wide off trees, strokes can pile up quickly. Nice balance in terms of fairways that favor hyzer/annie/straight /S-shots from the tee. Some offer several lines, others pretty much restrict you to one or two. Each set of tee pads offers a nice selection of distances (check out the distances on the scorecard).
• Elevation: plenty of it and well used - has you throwing downhill, uphill, and over gullies, with a few holes playing relatively flat. Some pins on or near slopes, so you gotta hit putts and upshots right or you could lose some strokes.
• Multiple Tees: Red, White, and Blue, concrete pads offer increasing challenge. More often than not, they provide slightly different looks at the fairway, and occasionally different elevations... pretty much guarantees an assortment of distances you'll be happy with if you're willing to switch up which pads you tee off from during a round.
• Multiple Pin locations: I don't recall what position the pins were in during my round, but the fact that they vary pin placements from time to time helps keep it from getting boring and adds variety - always a plus in my book.
• Natural Beauty: Deer Lakes is certainly a well-maintained, and pleasant place to play a round. Mature trees, rolling terrain, water, well defined fairways, and mowed grass on open holes, all make for a wonderful setting and a really enjoyable round. I can only imagine how beautiful this place must be in the fall. Not as rough around the edges and rugged as Moraine.
• Equipment: Excellent. Large concrete pads, baskets in great shape. Each pad has color tee markers with hole layout, tee locations and, distance (pretty sure they also showed possible pin locations) . Long fairways equipped with markers to let you know the distance remaining to the basket. Next tee signs to help move you in the right direction.
• Memorable/Unique holes: several 2, 3, 9, 15
• Surprisingly little rough for a course of this caliber.
• Navigation/flow: My guide was quite familiar so I can't elaborate, but most paths were obvious and course seemed to flow pretty well. The only section I recall being confusing was where the course opens up around holes 7-9.
• Amenities/Other: Fresh water available every few holes. Large park offers plenty of other activities - fishing, playgrounds, restrooms. Course was spotless - amazing when you consider how long and spread out this course is and the amount of traffic it must get.

Take these with a grain of salt:
• I like the idea of three sets of pads, but on a few holes, they were essentially longer/shorter versions of the same shot. Ideally, at least one of the pads should provide a significantly different view of the fairway that makes you choose a different line or type of shot/release.
• Water in the lake seems stagnant. Sure, it looks nice from a distance, but up close, it seems a bit on the nasty side.
• Hole 8: I wouldn't necessarily call it a bad hole, but in comparison to the rest of the course, it seemed a bit "meh."

This is a long course with lots of up/downhill trekking , plan accordingly; give yourself time to play, bring a water bottle( maybe even a snack), and wear comfortable shoes.

Hole 15 can be soft/muddy around the lake, but it's a water hole, if water level drops, the exposed ground is bound to be mushy - I won't list that as a con.

Standout holes include:
(#3) An arduous 600'+ uphill gauntlet that's fairly tight the entire way, but not ridiculously so. Nose one up and fade hard and you could end up in jail :-( Keep things on the straight and narrow and you win.
(#9) The longest hole on the course is a sweeping bomb that plays right to left from a moderately elevated and unobstructed tee to an open field sprinkled with a smattering of trees below. At the edge of the field, the woods guard a basket (perhaps 100 ft away?) placed on a moderate slope. Approach shots that slide past the basket can rollaway for a two-putt.
(#15) Red, white and blue tees line up like steps with a canopy of trees overhead framing the water you have to throw over. The higher up you choose to tee off, the farther you must throw to carry the water, to a pin that lies close enough to the edge of the pond to provide plenty of thrill. Even if your disc hits solid ground, it could roll back into the water or slide past for a long putt... with the lake now looming ominously behind the basket. That being said - there's no denying this hole is really an Ace run!

Bottom Line: Deer Lakes really is a special course that's a helluva lot of fun to play, and locals have every reason to be proud of it. Every bit as good as Moraine, but in many ways entirely different, everyone will have their own opinions and preferences. Throw in Knob Hill and you really have genuine destination-worthy discing.

Clean and Kept
3 Tee Pads and 3 quality signs on each hole
Amazing elevation changes
The 3 tee pads make it a great course for any skill level, definitely leans more to the advanced player
Shot selection, everything you could ask for
Perfect water hazard design on hole 15
Fairways are perfect both in the woods and out.
Clearly a lot of thought and work goes into this course and every bit of it shows

The only con I could think of is that a lot of the time the Red, White, and Blue Tees were all one on top of each other in a row. Making them longer versions of the same shot

Some mud in the valleys but it's not near enough to stop you from having a great time

I don't like to give out 5's but I came really close on this one. I gave it a 4.5 but it's more like a 4.95. Easily in the top 3 courses I've ever played. The fun factor is off the charts. It's a challenge but not in a frustrating way. Having a big arm would definitely help but it's not a necessity, accuracy is just as important

There is not a shot or an obstacle that this course lacks, I think it's strengths are the elevation changes and this course has plenty of great ones. But it also has great open shots, great wooded shots, it doesn't seem to favor a right handed or left handed person, dog legs, blind holes, open bomb, shots, tunneled bomb shots, valleys, scenery, nothing is left off this course. This place is special.

Each hole has 3 paved tee pads and each one has a well made sign with the distance and course map one it. As I played the course I bounced around from the mid to long tees depending on which one I thought looked more fun

If the elevation changes are the strength of the course then the fairways are a close 2nd. Perfect, The open ones are beautiful and the wooded ones are wide enough to give you a fair line but tight enough to challenge you to shape your shots. I can't say enough about the people that designed and take care of this course. Some of them can be muddy though.

At one point I wasn't paying attention and skipped holes 12-15. I didn't take me long to figure out my mistake so I went back for them and I am glad I did 15 barely beats out 3 for the title of signature hole. It plays 200-250 feet straight down a hill depending on which tee you throw from then about another 80 feet over a lake. If your skill level is not very high or your a coward you can also throw from the bottom of the hill straight across the lake. I would have sat on top of that hill and emptied my bag before moving on but I parked my first shot and was afraid that pushing my luck would just result in lost discs.

If I had a complaint it would be that a lot of the times the alternate tee pads were just longer versions of the same shot. Some of them provided different changes in elevation and that's great but I always felt pro tee's should give you a completely new and harder shot at the basket. On courses I play a lot I like to jump around to different tee pads. The different perspectives keep courses that you play routinely from becoming stale. I have had this argument on this site with some of you before and I know a lot of you disagree but it's just my personal preference.

I struggled a bit and I wish I brought my 'A' game that day, I wish I didn't have to work so I could get in another round and I wish I had time to hit up Morrain while I was there but none of that stopped me from enjoying your wonderful course. Much to wonderful to be used by all those annoying obnoxious Steeler fans that live down that way. (I know that remarks gonna cost my at least 10 thumbs down votes. Travel any distance to play this course. If you live nearby and don't play it regularly, shame on you. It's definitely one of the best

Multiple cement tee pads for all levels of play on every hole. Great signage on each individual tee placement (3 per hole). Great lay-out all around. Sick distances through heavy woods. On another level from other "top rated" courses I have played.

Poured rain while I was there. Some of the tees are a bit of a walk from the last basket. Without a map it would have been difficult to navigate.

I was in Pittsburgh for a conference and took a taxi to the Deer Lakes course. As it turns out just because a taxi drops you off there, doesnt mean it will pick you up there. I jogged back into Russellton and stopped in at the Deer Lake Cafe. I could not get a taxi service to pick me up. The owner of the cafe drove me about 15 miles to a place where I could get a cab back to town. PLEASE buy something from this cafe every time you play Deer Lakes! They saved the A$$ of a out-of-town fellow disc golfer.

Absolutely incredible. The first hole leaves an impression on you in regard to the tee quality, tree placement, elevation, and difficulty ahead -- and then it exceeds your expectations!

- My feet were so happy on the concrete teepads; they are the perfect length and have a nice grippy texture to them. The "bunker" tees are as impressive of an engineering feat as you'll find in Pittsburgh -- short of all the bridges, of course!

- Some of the best signage I've ever seen

- Navigation is incredibly simple and intuitive, with well-beaten paths. Those handy "next-tee" signs help you out as well.

- picnic tables at virtually every hole. I can imagine this being nice for tournaments or really busy weekends. As for crowds, I've played here twice -- both on weekends -- and I've seen very few people. I'm wondering if its distance from Pittsburgh (compared to say Knob Hill or Schenley), helps keep the numbers of people manageable.

- red, white, and blue tees provide variety in difficulty that would satisfy even the most novice players. How many top-tier courses can boast that?

- Absolute stunning beauty. To be fair, I did recently play on about the most gorgeous autumn day, but the landscaping, scenic fields, and well-groomed forests provide a real natural scene for those who play here.

- Great variety in terms of elevation (uphill vs. downhill), doglegs (hyzer and anyhyzer), terrain (wooded vs. wide open), tree placement (lined fairways vs. scattered "gauntlet" types of holes), and length of holes (short technical challenges vs. long bombs). The only thing this course is really missing is one of those epic ski holes (see cons).

- I know some people rip on hole #8, but I like how it's kind of a blind shot. If you don't scout it out before you throw, you're probably going to overthrow it.

- The water hazard on 15 is phenomenal! A downhill drive across a pond to a basket not too far from the water's edge. Throw too low and it's in the drink; throw too high and you hit the canopy and it's in the drink. Super fun!

- Other great park amenities nearby if you want to do stuff other than disc golfing

- Last few holes don't end on a "WOOOOW" note like, say, Jordan Creek or the Whippin' Post do. This not to denigrate the quality of the last few holes, but they're not as memorable as others on the course (such as 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 15).

Now I'm just being picky, but I truly think that if this course is to have the complete disc golf experience, it needs some hole with a drastic drop in elevation (i.e. a ski hill or some type of major slope) with which to watch your disc go forever. While I noted some elevation changes, there really isn't that kind of hole here.

Again, this course just lacks the number of signature holes. Nearly all of the holes are solid, but there aren't a whole lot that stand out in disc golf epicness -- with the exception of 15, of course

Knob Hill is a nice course, but Deer Lakes without a doubt deserves to join Moraine as the other course played at the annual Pittsburgh Flying Disc Open. Participants like Doss and Jenkins deserve to complete at a course of this caliber.

I played here not too long after I started playing disc golf and waited until I played a second time (by which time I've since visited dozens of courses) until I made a judgeship about the quality of this place. With the exception of maybe Jordan Creek and the Woodshed, there are no courses that even come close to this one.

There's a reason this course is currently among the best-reviewed on DGCR. The 4.5 an 5 disc reviews aren't inflated or exaggerated; come see for yourself!

This course is one that always keeps me in check on my practice levels. Each tee position offers a moderately different challenge on each hole, and the course set up offers a challenge for any level player. From tight fairways to wide open air outs, I can't think of a shot in my bag not needed on this course.

The only con to me is hole number 5. No definitive line, a real wing and pray.

Other than clearing out a line or two one hole 5 I can't honestly offer any critique to this layout or course. It is one of the best maintained public courses I have ever encountered.

Deer Lakes is a tough course that really offers some fun shots. Holes 9 and 15 really stand out. Hole 9 is a gorgeous par 4 that starts with a huge hyzer and then comes back at the end and requires a turnover or flick shot (for a righty) for the second shot to a well guarded green. The signs at the course were extremely helpful and the course in general was very well maintained. The course is also an excellent work - your knees will take a beating walking this course in the Pittsburgh summer. Having three sets of tees is a big benefit to me - I think it's very valuable to offer beginners the chance to play a course without getting murdered. Some of the holes really made you think off of the tee - hole 6 is a good example of this, as you had the option of going way out wide from the pro tee or taking the straighter route. The course did very well to make you think off of the tee. This course had a serene feeling to it, especially on the back nine. It really made you feel like you were playing disc golf in the middle of nowhere.

I found it hard to give this course above a 4.5 - a 5 rating is for a course that is perfect. There were some things about this course that were problematic, in my opinion. To start out with, holes 3 and 14 were tough holes to play. I played the back tees and typically like to play the pro tees and fared pretty well on the course (+2), but both of these holes were a serious work in progress. Even taking aside the fact that not all holes have concrete tees (I understand this is being taken care of, so this is not a con to me), holes 3 and 14 were more than 800 feet but really needed some more work. It seemed that the first 400 feet of hole 3 needed some serious trim work. In addition, hole 14 really just seemed to be a mess through 800 feet of woods. It was difficult to even identify the fairway and the hole seemed to really be under construction. Also, it wasn't a lot of fun starting uphill on hole #1 and then never making that up (ie, there was a downhill walk back to the car - why not extend 18's basket into the woods to at least feature a downhill ending?). The navigation was pretty good, but for some reason I had a serious problem finding hole #9. A sign up in the gravel lot pointing towards the tee (#9 sits down further and is tough to see from the gravel road) would be very beneficial. A small con was the locations of the alternate pins - they all seemed to be very near each other, and in my opinion would have been more benefited by being further apart. This also led to some very easy pro par 3's right around 330 feet. There seemed to be room on some holes to have a pin further back and to have tees that extended the shorter pro par 3's further back.

All in all Deer Lakes is a FANTASTIC course that still needs some work. The tees look like they will be very good when finished soon, but once again some of the holes really seemed to be a work in progress.

EDIT: With the finishing of the concrete tees and the noted work done on hole 14 (or future work), I am changing this rating to a 4.5 after hearing from multiple people involved with the maintenance of the course. However, I still stand by my thoughts on hole 18 and hole 3.