Flaherty Park is located in southwestern lower Michigan - just minutes from I-94 and I-196. The park offers nine holes of disc golf with two layouts to choose from. The first six holes are cut out of a densely wooded area at the back of the park, and the last three play through a lightly wooded area in the main park. You could play just the first six, or last three holes if really short on time.

The hole design here is great, and several of the holes stood out to me. Hole 3 plays downhill along a moderately wide, question mark shaped fairway. Hole 4 (if playing the long tees) asks you to tee off through a narrow "Y" shaped tree, to a fairway that curls to the right and again slopes downhill. Hole 7 plays along a river, with a railroad bridge behind the basket (and way up a hill, so it is not a safety issue). The basket sitting next to the river in front of the steep slope up to the bridge is a nice photo op.

Overall, this is a technical course although the last three holes are semi-open. The distances are respectable, averaging about 250' from the long/intermediate White tees and 200' from the short Red tees. The tees are arranged to create different lines to the basket on several holes, in addition to the distance/difficulty level. With elevation also in play throughout the course, the White tees should be enough to challenge disc golfers up to an intermediate level. The Red tees are a great option for beginners or those looking to work on shorter throws.

The tee areas are great. Each hole has two concrete pads. The tee signs are small, but are color coded and have the required info. Trash cans and benches appear at some tees.

The baskets are Chainstars. One per hole.

There is a kiosk at the beginning of the course, complete with a high quality course map. Next to this is a practice basket. There is a porta potty available at the parking lot. Stairs have been installed where needed to help with footing.

Navigation is a bit tricky in a couple spots. I recommend snapping a photo of the course map on the kiosk, as there aren't any arrows on the course. Finding the beginning of the course could also be challenging if you don't have a map (it ends, but does not start, at the parking lot). You have to walk away from the lot, following the river around the bend, to find the practice basket and kiosk.

There's a walking path in play on hole 9, and I suppose people could be at the river's edge around hole 7 as well. These are both line of sight, so only a minor concern.

The distances are too short to challenge advanced players.

I'll keep this conclusion simple - Flaherty Park is one of the best 9 hole courses I have ever played. Furthermore, the only reason why I'm not saying "THE best" is because I'm worried that I am forgetting one and don't want to scroll through my list of 210ish courses played (at least 1/3 of which are probably 9ers) to try to remember. This is a solid course that I'll definitely be back to in the future. I honestly considered a 3.5 here, and would probably bump it up if the navigational signage were improved. I like 9ers more than the average player, so I actually added this one to my Favorites. If you're in the area, I highly recommend it!

Nice tee pads and signs. Two tees to each basket give you a different look, although usually similar distance. Designers did a good job with available space.

River only comes into play on one hole. Too many mosquitos. Not enough length to make it a destination. Too many "luck" shots.

Overall a decent course close to I94.

+Well maintained
+Concrete pads
+Good signage
+Brooms at the teepads
+Wooded and Open Holes
+Both Red and White tees allow for 9 holes to become 18
+Nice wooden bridges and staircases

-Not impossible to lose a disc to the river
-Only 9 baskets