* Beautiful Setting with the lake visible from many holes. Very secluded and quiet.
* Camping on sight. Restaurant near Tee #1.
* Direction to next tee marked with landscaping flags. Was easy to navigate.

* No signage (I assume that this will change given time)
* Dirt tee boxes
* VERY thick undergrowth in some areas
* Because the course is long, there are several drives that are blind.

I believe that this is a course that you will either really love or really hate. It is longer than any course that I've seen. What I mean by this is that a majority of the holes are longer than 'standard' and the scorecard has them listed as par 4 or par 5. So, if you can throw long, and/or like the idea of holes longer than par 3, you will love this course. If you cannot throw long and prefer the 'traditiional' par 3 course, you will hate this course.

I hated this course and stopped playing after unsuccessfully searching for my disc in the thick growth on hole 4 for over 20 minutes, although I did followe through with my dgcoursereview duty and continued taking pics to upload.

As others have pointed out, the drive to get here is insane. The mileage listed from other courses is deceiving and it will take you longer than you think.

Still, you should definately give it a go for yourself to decide if you will love it or hate it.

Easily the most spread out and dynamic course I've played (barring De La Vega). Hole 1 is 650 ft and hole 12 is 813ft! Lot's of elevation and terrain change. This is a recently renovated (completely re-laid) course so as another reviewer says it's still a work in progress

No t-pads yet!! kind of a bummer. Undergrowth is thick with blackberry bushes and recently cut and cleared terrain. So it takes a bit of extra time to find your disc.

it's crucial that you get the map and score card from Frank at the cafe on the course. Without proper t pads this is the only way to figure the course out. He is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. This will be a truly great course in time. One last thing for first time visitors here, I recommend a time saving complete walk though first, otherwise during gameplay you'll be walking up down and all around trying to figure out the layout what with the huge distances. The course wraps around the entire lake with no repeating terrain. The signage is poor verging on non existent. Tee 1 is at the beginning of the bridge and it is simply a set of two orange flags in the ground.

This course is awesome! Im not pro and I love it. It makes you play golf!!! Many challenging holes but plenty of easy pars and some easy birdies as well if you play within yourself. Most people I konw that didnt like the 1st time loved as time went on and they learned how to play the course . The new course needs pics up all the pics are of the old course which was bland. the new one has epic shots and views!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its new and needs time to develop but with time will be the best course in norcal. Poison oak and heavy ground cover at times of the year are the only real complaint

Must have Frank cook you a meal why your there you wont regret it.

The course is in a great location, and the drive up mosquito road is fun, but not for the weak of stomach (especially the one-lane bridge and canyon). This is a very large property, suitable for camping, dining (very friendly and the food was great), and getting out of the valley for an afternoon in the foothills.

It is a fun hike around the course while you play, in a foothills-ranch-like setting.

The holes and arrangements are very unique and I think most players will enjoy seeing them even if they don't play them well.

With the map in hand, we were able to navigate the course without getting lost, although we had to scout basket locations a few times.

Many of these holes are too long for even above average players to even dream of playing par 3 disc golf. It is like a place where the Gods can play par 3. I felt like more holes of more reasonable length could have been put in instead of trying to sprawl 18 over the entire property. Of course, that increases the cost, but if more money becomes available in the future that might be something to try out. I think that putting in more holes in the more densely wooded back part of the course would be best, so long as reasonable fairways could be cleared (it was a bit cluttered).

Some of the holes were hazardous. A couple fairways had been cut through dense groves and undergrowth, leaving stumps everywhere. Watch your step! One could easily sprain an ankle.

If you want better-groomed courses, you can go south to Jackson, north to Auburn or Grass Valley, east through the Sierras to South Lake Tahoe, or west to Orangevale or Rocklin.

The Cafe makes the best breakfast around. other than that...

The course redesign in general

What a shame. Jim Oats turned what was, in my humble opinion, one of the best 'greater sacramento' area courses and completely and thoroughly ruined it. Sure, for 2% of the disc golfers this will be a challenge. but that just means that 98% of the disc golf playing population will find the course rediculous and do the same thing our group did, walk off the course in disgust.
hole one was probably closer to 500 feet with no real fairway for the first 200 or so feet, then you walk up a 70% grade hill 100 feet or so to the next tee box. hole 3 however, was the one that was the most rediculous. at least 3-4 hundred feet up a tightly treed ravine running nearly straight uphill. and when you get to the top of that hill? Jim has conveniently placed the basket at the top of a 20 foot mound of dirt. So after the rediculous fairway you can throw your putter back and forth like you're miniature golfing at the volcano shaped hole. It also doesn't help that the 'fairways' are covered in both thistles, thorns and poison oak. I'd tell you about the back 9 but we were so thoroughly disgusted that we did something I'd never done before. We quit. Thanks Jim, for taking away a great course!

The new layout of the Finnon Lake course is amazing. Not one hole is the same if you have played it previously. It went from par 54 last weekend to a new and improved par 63?? Many more elevations changes and a much more difficult course.

Just follow the orange flags all day and you'll find your way around. First tee is now mid-dam. For more info look at the other thoughts section.

Camping there is well worth the $13 a night.

The second tee is a brutal way to get your round started.

From Craig Getty..."The Finnon Lake re-design is about 95% done. Tees are all there however some still need a little more work, but playable. Baskets are all moved. Renumbering of the baskets has NOT been done yet so don't go by the numbers yet. Hopefully that will get fixed this weekend. Also still some more clearing and clean up needs to be done which will come in time. I'll give some instuction to help you from getting lost. Hole 1 you now throw from mid dam to the old 17 pin under the the big oak.Then hike up the hill to the top where you will see tee 2. This is a hugh right to left down hill shot - Don't play to the practice basket the correct basket is yellow and to the left of the practice basket. Hole 3 tees from the end of the dam and is a long tunnel shot back up the hill. The 2 big pines at the top of the fairway is a mando between them and the basket is about thirty feet past the trees over the hill. You can't see the basket till you are over the hill. After playing 3 walk up the gully on the left side of the "getto fort thingy" and you will see tee 4 to your left marked with old beer cans and stones. This hole looks easier then it is.Throw well or land in hell. After 4 walk to your left and tee 5 is about 100ft up the trail to the left. Another big righty downhill shot. The basket is on a little hill by the road. After 5 walk to the left towards the old bathrooms - tee 6 is above the old bathrooms and the pin is old 13 position - Hole 7 tee is just beyond pin 6 and fairly straight forward. Hole 8 tee is just up the road aliittle fron pin 7 and fairly staight forward as well - Big crush across the gully. After 8 walk up the road about 120ft and tee 9 will be to your right. Hole 9 plays to old basket 10 - Yes another big righty downhill shot. After playing 9 walk towards the bathrooms and you will see tee 10 between 2 big digger pines on the side of the road. Pretty staight forward hole. As you walk up the fairway you will see tee 11 to your right. 11 plays to old pin 9 - A lefty loving hole. After 11 keep walking towards the dam and you will see tee 12 which play back up toward the hill. You can't see the basket from the tee so just throw it as far as you can towards the opening in the trees then you will see it up the hill. After 12 walk to the right along the dirt road for about 150ft and you will see tee 13. You can see the basket from the tee on this one. After playing 13 walk up the road about 200ft and you will see tee 14 on the right. You can see the basket down in the trees. After playing 14 walk to the right and tee 15 is down about 100ft on the right. Just play up the fairway and you will see the basket on your second shot. tee 16 is to the left of pin 15. Hole 16 just play across to the hill then you will see the basket on the next hill over. The barbed wire fence is OB. After 16 walk across the road and up the hill slightly to find tee 17. Hole 17 plays staight across then up the hill to old pin 2. After 17 walk to the left up the hill by the big oak you will see tee 18 this is a little righty hyzer shot down the hill. So far we are guessing this course at about a par 63."

- Nice variety of shots
- Easy to navigate
- No crowds
- Water and restrooms
- Camping on site

- Sketchy roads to get there
- Poison oak
- Rattlesnakes
- Some walks beteween holes

Talked to the lady at the cafe and she said they're switching the course around(start around 18 finish around 1) and adding 9 more holes. Wooooh 27! Can't wait to check that out. If your hukking in the Tahoe area it's worth playing. Bring your pole, word is theres some fat bass in that little resovoir.

-Large variety of shots, Lefts, Rights, Uphill, Downhill, and Flat.
-Good ballance of left and right handed favorable holes.
-Beutifull scienery.
-Nice new baskets.
-Long holes that you can realy open it up on
-Good mix of open and wooded holes
-Cafe on site with good food
-Camping on site
-Lots of elevation change, big down hills, canyon shots, uphills, and mixes of the three
-Championship level course with more par 4's than par 3's
-I've only seen other golfers on the course once
-Benches being instaled around the course

-Lots of poison oak around the course
-Hard to find your way from one hole to the next
- Definatly not a course for beginers
-Long narrow mountan road to get out there
-Watch out for ticks
-A few holes are disc eaters with very rough areas just off to the side of the holes
-Tall grass in many areas
-Spoters needed on a few holes
-No real tee signs, most holes have a laminated sign with the hole # and par, but no distance or map of the hole
-Tees are mostly dirt with a few rubber teepads around
-Many long walks in between holes, some long enough that there should be another hole in between them
-A guide is a big help for your first round

The Finnon Lake course was designed by Craig Getty (one of the top designers in the Tahoe area) and the local fire department. I met one of the firefighters that helped to get this course instaled, nice guy, helped me find my way though the last 4 holes. This could very well end up being the top course in El Dorado County, I would already rate it higher than Placerville. It could use some concrete teepads so their a little less slick when wet. It could also use signs on some of the later holes to help you find your way around on the first visit, In fact if they made them just like the ones on the front they would be set. Great place for tournys as it has camping and food on site. When I talked to the people that run the cafe they said that the disc golfers were helping to increase bussness in the area (which is very rural), and they were thinking about starting to cary discs. I told them that they should get a disc with a custom hot stamp for their course, that it would help them make some extra cash. So if you go up there mention it while you get some great food.

*UPDATE*
I have now played the course twice sence the redisign. It is alot longer and harder to find your way around on it. This course is definatly not for beginers, they will end up giving up, or loosing all of thier discs before the end of the round. There are alot of par 4's and par 5's, with some of the par 4's feeling like they could be par 5's. There are alot of long walks from hole to hole, some are hard to spot (keep an eye out for marking flags). The new layout is great for top level pros, but it makes it allmost unplayable for beginers. They could realy use some sinage, both on the tees and to mark the way to the next tee. This would save alot of walking back and forth looking for baskets. When I was there last there were 2 new holes in between holes 9 and 10, one being a shorter anhyzer to a portable basket, the other being a longer slightly downhill shot from the inside of an old water tower (or something) to a rino-lined DiscCatcher.

Nice setting. Some fun holes.

Still a little rough; tee pads only on a few holes, and others hard to find; some blind holes with some nasty brush hidden 'around the corner'. Tight fence line along one hole.

It's nice to have a full-service cafe right at hole #1. Very twisty road to get to it. This course has some nice potential, but it looks like it will require some serious maintenance to keep it playing well.

Fun course that circles a small lake. Every hole is well marked with signs detailing all the hole info. A good mix of challenging fairways and long shots.

The road to the course is very narrow and twisty. The course is new with patches of torn up blackberry and some poison oak.

This is a nice diversion off the beaten path. The cafe at hole 1 accepts donations for playing to help fund the course. A good course to check out.