+ Tees are flat, long and sturdy concrete.
+/- Baskets are numbered but on the old side.
+ Colorful and effective tee signs attached to bag stands at every link (except the first one).
+ The venue is spacious and pretty, but...

- ...It is too open and flat for my taste.
- No lost disc box, but maybe that's not much of an issue at this course.
-/+ The guiding signage is hit or miss. There are some places where nav signs are direly needed.

As I was passing through Arkansas in late 2023, I regretted that I didn't have more time to play more courses. I had to stick to courses close to the Interstates, and Lower DeGrey was in the right place at the right time. But while Lower DeGrey Lake isn't so bad of a choice, I don't think I'm wrong to suspect that there are better courses out there.

For starters, I must say that Lower DeGrey has a nice feel to it. Everything is spread out. There is a river as a permanent backdrop that you can admire. There are plenty of pines and sunny fields. Disc golfers can come here to relax and unwind. Link7 illustrates that idea perfectly. From the tee you face a peppering of trees, which slightly block your view of the Caddo River. Once you finally reach the basket and stand on the shore, the other side of the river displays more lush greenery. The setting is an important factor for a disc golf course. This one has no problems with setting.

The actual disc golfing, however, is a different story. It is on the short side with below average challenges. Most of the fairways are shorter than 300 feet, and the tree cover is mostly that park-style configuration, which is to say that there are definitely trees in the way, but there is usually so much space between them, that it doesn't feel like it. Sometimes, there are no trees at all. Links 5, 6, 9 and 10 are the clearest examples, and 10 is by far the most boring. Power players who can consistently air out their throws may enjoy this place more than I did. Credit where it's due: link9 might be completely wide open, but it features a literal protected basket with wooden structures surrouding it on three sides. That was cool to see.

I prefer wooded disc golf, and some of the links here did resonate with me. The final four or five were nice challenges of woods management. My personal favorite was link15 because of its choice of fairway tunnel to reach the basket. It couldn't make up for the dull nature of the majority of the others, though. This course is flat with just a few exceptions. I honestly don't mind a little bit of ankle risk in my disc golf, yet this course has virtually none. On the plus side, that means this course is very cart and kid friendly.

It could be tough to find your way. Nav signage (as of late October 2023) is spotty and especially needed after links 4 and 10. And since I'm talking about the course's infrastructure, tees 8, 9 & 14 were damaged, and basket17 needs a quick fix.

All in all, Lower DeGrey is neither awful nor wonderful. It gets a slight recommendation for its nice setting and consistent presentation, which frames a competent if bland circuit of 18. I can't promise you'll be blown away by this one, but I also can't imagine anybody walking away unhappy.

This course is clean, well-marked, course maps and scorecards are available near the first tee, there are few navigation issues if you pay attention to the signs and much of the course is shaded. There are some very interesting holes, 2, 7 and 8 come to mind. There are a few (3-4) longer holes for airing out your drives. Mostly, this course rewards accuracy over distance.

There are a number of holes that are in a semi-cleared/forested area to the east of the roadway that leads to the tubing/kayaking staging area. These holes are all mostly very short with difficult lines to the basket (some are actually nearly impossible). However, the difficulty level is diminished due to the very short length and the fact that all underbrush has been cleared. So if you miss your line with your midrange or putter off the tee, it is no problem to put the second shot under the basket in most cases. These holes get repetitive and even though I am writing this shortly after playing, the holes left little impression to distinguish them by. It may be that there was simply not enough land, but many of these holes were just too short and too well mowed for the technical nature to make them the difficult holes that they should be IMO.

There are several wide open holes. Though I think the backstop on 9 is a good addition to prevent it from being wide open too.

Oh, and did I mention the mosquitos. Much of this course is in prime mosquito habitat. Bring plenty of repellant in the summer.

There seems to be some areas that contain elevation changes that were not utilized. Still some holes, 2, 3 and 18 do have not completely insignificant elevation changes.

This is a fun little course and certainly worth the stop if you are on 30, but Cedar Glades is a better experience if you are on the way to Hot Springs.