The course lived up to it's hype! As usual I enjoyed the the nature; I arrived after a heavy rain and the ground was almost dry again! I had a guide for my first round and was able to play a confusion free round. What a nice mixture of heavily wooded fairways and dramatic elevation shots that will leave even big arms worrying that they fell into the poison oak infested canyons!

I can see where a beginner may have a hard time navigating this course...but the locals are great and they will help you. The last hole, even though it is a must, is sort of a hazard to folks walking up the first couple fairways. But that's no reason to skip it just keep your head up!

I loved this course and I will be back!

- multiple pin positions (ranging from pretty easy to very hard)
- very grippy tee pads, considering the dusty environment
- a good mix between open/wooded holes
- a good mix between flat holes/holes with lots elevation
- Top of the World (27) is a picturesque hole
- Flymart van in the parking lot in case you need to pick up a disc before the round, or grab a snack/drink

- EXTREME overcrowding, and many holes with backups almost all the time
- a few of the holes overlap, or share fairways (5&6, 13&16, 20&22)... this isn't fun, and adds to slow play and creating backups
- many of the distances on the tee signs are inaccurate, or the sign is just graffiti-ed over (there are however, a few new, laminated signs)
- very dry/dusty, and because of the hills you'll really want something to drink with you
- $2 parking fee

There currently is no hole 17 at DeLa, that hole has become 26A, and plays right before Top of the World.

DeLa is easily one of the top courses in the nation. It is a challenge for anyone who steps on tee 1 and worth every second it takes to play it. Some of the views are great, the holes are creative, and it is one of the most respected courses in the nation. That alone should make it worth playing.

The environment can seem a little barren at times, and DeLa is almost always overcrowded, because it's pretty much the only really worthwhile course in the area. So be prepared to play a long, hot round because of all the waiting you'll be doing. It's almost better to come in a group of 4, rather than play in a smaller group, because sometimes passing just isn't an option because there are so many people there, all the time. So bring your friends, but you'll have a blast either way.

28 (!) holes. Variety of hole-types and shots needed. Concrete teepads. Signs showing the various basket positions for each hole. Practice basket. Excellent map. Clubhouse ½ mile away. Area dedicated to disc golf. Baskets #6, tee numbers 20, 23, and 25 are all near the parking lot, if you need to re-load with water - or discs.

Hole #27 needs to be experienced - words don't do it justice. Take a break, sit on the bench for a bit, and enjoy the expansive views you have of the entire course below you, and the forest and hills you can see for miles about you. Imagine the glorious flight of your disc will experience as it glides effortlessly down the long hill. Anticipate with joy as you release your disc into the clear sky, wondering if you'll actually hear the chains being struck so far away. Experience the horror of seeing your normally stable disc get caught in the wind, and begin turning towards basket #5 ... no, tee #1 ... wait, fairway #6, wondering if they'll hear you yell "fore" from so far away. Relief as your disc settles between basket #6 and tee #1, and then hustling down to make sure nobody finds and makes off with your apparently-abandoned disc!

Crossing fairways: #5 plays perpendicular across the midpoint of #6's fairway; #13's and #16's form an X-shape. #20/#22 can interfere with one another. Some basket locations and/or "typical" flight-paths can put some tees at risk - Tee #1, in particular, risks being hit on throws from #6 and #27. An errant throw (may my Squall rest-in-peace - or be found by a deserving soul) on #12 or #15 can end-up in a difficult-to-traverse ravine that contains quite a bit of broken glass.

The current-position marker at each sign was inconsistent - sometimes it was correct, sometimes not, at other times it wasn't set at all! A victim of its popularity - crowds. On a random summer early afternoon, there was already a decent amount of people on the course. Some groups are savvy, and know when to let a single player play past, and others, well not so - twice I had to skip a pair of holes when groups wouldn't let me play through. By the time I left, people were already double-parking in the lot. $2 to park.

Variety of:
- contours: some quite flat, some with very gentle changes in elevation, yet others with extreme up or down
- distances: good drives will sometimes lead to birdie opportunities, sometimes leave you with moderate approach shots, yet sometimes you'll still need to make a fairly-difficult second shot.
- shape of shots: left-turning, right-turning, S-shape, up-n-over, a roller if you care (I'm sure there were other opportunities, but I'm limited in my abilities)
- tightness: a few grip-n-rip drives, but you typically have to deal with trees at some point. Where the trees came into play varied - beginning/mid/end of opening drive, and/or near to the basket - and a few times, the entire length of the hole.

Challenging and fair - there was no hole, practically no shot, where I thought either a) this is too easy, or b) this is impossible. All baskets were accessible, but most every one had a tree, or more, nearby. Very fair fairways- nothing ridiculous. Hole #17 appears to be no more. There is an extra hole between 8/9, and another one between 26/27 (teepad to right as you reach top of ridge, basket farther to the left).

If you find yourself in the Bay area, it is certainly worth making a diversion to play this varied and challenging course- its worth the effort, and with the beach/rides at Santa Cruz not too far away, there are other things to do in the area.

27 holes. This course is a great challenge for both pros and ams. There is a great variety of layouts - big open hucks, technical shots throuh wood with OBs, up hill, down hill, blind dog legs. Excellent use of land/ topography. Friendly locals. This is a big fun course that will improve your game for sure.

Some holes play too close to each other. The course gets crowded.

I hear that the number of holes was being reduced from 27 to 18. I hope not.

-28 holes of every flavor you can imagine.
-DG cultural hub. I felt i joined the DG community here. great discs and snacks. available at the parking lot/ tee for 17.
-Felt like the course had 5-6 signature holes. i've never been so excited walking up to the next tee pad
-plenty of every shot in the bag will be demanded here.
-friendly, helpful people
-soil was fairly soft and sandy with low ground cover mostly
-very nice long level concrete tee pads
-most intimidating course i've played

-crowded with a couple crossing fairways
-lots of erosion some spots
-i'm not a big arm, so i preferred the wooded holes earlier in the round to the open field blast offs later.
-not hard to sail one into the parking lot from top of the world (my friend did twice)
-a bit out of my ability range. my best round is +6 or 8, i think... and i was on.

-this course will show you who's daddy.
-big selection of some really cool custom stamped discs available there...
-donation box at the tee pad for 1.
-porta potties were the only bathrooms and there were snacks, but no meals available on grounds.

Every hole is fun and challenging. Requires every shot in the bag. Different pin positions that completely change the layout. Skip shots, rollers, tunnel shots, crushes, finesse shots, this courses demands it all. And the wicked fast greens demand great respect. A simple lay-up can lead to disaster.

Incredibly nasty poison oak infested valleys of doom if your disk kicks the wrong way off a tree. Very crowded, with some crossing fairways.

Juliana Korver once asked me "What disc do you throw off of Top of the World?" I answered "All of them." My favorite 24 hours of golf ever was playing DeLa in the late afternoon, catching the Red-eye back to Baltimore, then driving to Paw Paw, WV for a late morning round at the Woodshed.

The general diversity of the course is amazing. The beauty with the Pacific Ocean in the distance. The overall challenge of the course. The fast greens, how treachorous they can be to quickly turn a birdie opportunity into a bogey 4. The competition a player can find there. If you are a top player or think you are or want to become a pro, then you need to make the effort to play this course. The chance to play #27 which is probably the single most famous hole on any disc golf anywhere. I don't think it the prettiest hole I've ever played but it's the one that I'd like to return to play again and again.

The two crossing fairways is not a preferred option. Playing up the hill to get to #27. As a weak, armed, amatuer type player, I felt the course was too "big" for me. Not too long off the tees neccessarily like Paw Paw or the Texas Circle R Ranch courses, just the overall experience.

Can the average ball golfer duffer enjoy a round of golf on a championship course that challenges Tiger Woods? I say yes to some degree and in other ways, it just leads to degrees of frustration. Maybe DeLaveaga is that. But in stating that, Golly, I want to go back and play #27 again.

Never played a course this challenging. Dying to play it again sometime. The variety of shots was amazing.

Hole 27 is breathtaking, but having those teeing off and yelling is only useful if one is acquainted enough to know where they are standing. It was a bit scary hearing "___ tee!!!!" and thinking hard to figure out where I was. The port-o-potty was filthy and overflowing.

Length, layout, variety, wild, beautiful setting, design, elevation changes.

At least one crossing fairway, other minor flow issues.

This course deserves every accolade it gets; it is in many ways one of the best and most interesting courses I've ever played. Like Novato but wilder and woolier, DeLaveaga is whole different game. Way up a hill and in the wilderness, this course is surrounded by canyons and well wooded. Except for water, this course has plenty of every challenge possible: uphill, downhill, trees, in the open, dog leg challenges, elevated teepads, and just plain long holes. None are unreasonable in their demands, but each is just challenging enough. I'll also remember this course for the abundance of serious players. Lots of friendly people who could really throw were out the day we were.

DeLaveaga features mid-size concrete teepads and good signs, and if you use the color map on their Web site it should be a real easy course to follow. Without a map, though, it was a challenge. Lots of baskets are up big hills or down big hills or way back in the trees and it's tough to know where to throw.

Overall, if you're in the area at all, you've got to play this course. The layout and unique challenges and sheer scope of the course make it one of the best courses in the world.

Favorite Hole - #27 - launch off top of huge hill with view of the Pacific on a good day down over tall trees.