This course is set up on an old ball golf course and has been turned into a disc golf course. There is now a brewery in front of it with outdoor seating so perfect for some food and a beer before or after your round. There have been talks of putting in soccer fields for years, but currently besides a few walkers and a few fishers, its mostly just for disc golf. I have been playing about 3-4 rounds the last two weeks in the morning before work and it takes about an hour to 1.5 hours, including extra drives and trying a lot of new discs out.

- Tee Signs - Every hole has a tee sign with the line and distance to the basket.

-Manicured - This course is always mowed, and looks great when you get out on a play it.

-Shot selection - a lot of different stuff here, Water comes into play, the woods are used nicely when they can be, and they have some nice man made OBs that adds in a little bit of a challenge to it and plays on the ball golf feel. While you may not need a lot of utility discs, you will be able to use a good amount of your bag here.

-Amenities - the course has a porta potty at hole 1, I'd guess about half the holes have picnic tables and every hole has a bucket for trash.

-Business - As I mentioned I mostly play in the morning, but this place doesn't get as much traffic as you would think compared to some of the our courses. Whenever I am at the brewery I hardly see people out there.

-Tee-pads - They have rubber tee pads here and if you play in the morning or with some wetness out there they are very slick and easy to slip on.

-Holds water - Make sure to check course conditions as this does hold water on some of the holes. #1 is normally the worst, but it can be bad. If you play in the early morning or before the suns been out for a while, bring a few towels as you'll need them.

-Pretty wide open - while this course does a lot with what it has, I am not sure a pro would much enjoy this course as all of the holes (excluding maybe #5 and 18) should be fairly reachable if you can throw 300+

-The front nine plays takes a bit longer to play and has some more "extra" walking, but I think ultimately this helps with the design of the course.

-Poison Ivy - make sure you are aware it's there

I have probably a larger list of cons then pros, but being completely honest this is mostly nit picking besides the tee-pads because I have been playing this course a lot by myself lately.

Before getting into final thoughts I wanted to mention the rough as it's pretty rough and deep. I did not want to mark it as a con for the most part as it is supposed to be that way and make landing on the fairway more rewarding, but make sure to be aware of it.

Overall this is a fun course. I wish it had some cement tee pads, but for the most part besides hole 9 you can take relief on the side of them. This is not really a destination course, but if you are checking out grand rapids, this may be a good one to hit before lunch and grab a beer and food, or to finish off your day of discing and have some beers and dinner afterwards.

There is also a disc golf shop called Disc Baron that is about 2-3 miles from here and one of my favorites in town. They have most things you could need including almost every brand of discs, and most accessories to boot and the owner was even a member of here years ago.

If you want someone to show you the course hit me up on DMs and I'd always be down to play a round with you if I can make the time!

Grand Rapids Rotary North DGC was donated by the organization that it is named for. The course is located at Grand Isle Park, which is set well back from the road and backs up to the Grand River. Currently there appears to be some construction going on next to the park, and possibly as a result of this there is no roadside sign for the course or park. Trust the GPS pin location here - the entrance is easy to miss.

The course is flat, low-lying, and mostly open. Signs throughout the course inform you that some of the areas in the rough are wetlands that you should do your part to try to preserve. The fairways are mostly cut pretty wide, so hopefully you don't have to wade into the cattails looking for discs (see Cons). Even though it's pretty open, a few well-placed trees create additional challenge and the need for shot shaping on some holes. Holes 5, 8, and especially 14 have challenging water hazards to navigate around, and water could come into play on errant throws for many other holes.

As others have said, hole 5 is probably the most memorable hole here. It's a 650' par 4 that begins with about 250' of fairway straight ahead with the wetlands on your left. Then it kinks sharply left across the wetlands on a narrow isthmus and opens back up for another 300' or so to the hole. Bigger arms could try to throw out across the marsh and clear the isthmus to land in the second fairway on their first throw.

The course appears to be well maintained. Each time I have played here, the grass had been recently mowed and the trash cans were empty. The baskets are Arroyo Vortex models that honestly look kind of ugly, but they catch well. The tee signs are quite nice, showing an accurate layout of the hole as well as hole number/par. Tee signs for holes 13 and 14 were missing when I played, but will hopefully be replaced soon. Each tee sign post has a small trash can hanging on it. There are picnic tables at or near many tee areas.

The tee pads here are made of an unusual material. I think they are large metal plates. Some are not well set into the ground so they are a little bit unstable to walk on. I also found them to be pretty slippery and stopped taking run-ups after the first couple holes. The course map shows short tees on some of the longer holes, but I did not see these at all.

The rough here can be very thick (think cattails, etc.) and lines the fairway on a majority of holes. The "water" is also covered in algae (light green and opaque) - I would not take a dip in it. Between these two factors there is a chance of losing discs on almost every hole. I would definitely not recommend this course to beginners with control issues. After a lot of rain or in the spring, this course could be pretty much flooded and unplayable.

The course is quite flat. Most fairways are wide and have only a couple of obstacles - a few have no obstacles. Other than the water hazards, thick rough, and a couple longer holes there isn't a ton of challenge here.

The tee signs and map uploaded here show a few sand traps (like you would find on a ball golf course) that are supposed to be played as OB. Unfortunately these have "grassed in" to the point that it is difficult to tell where they are on the course. On many other holes there is OB marked on tee signs, but difficult to tell where it actually is located (e.g. because you are playing through the middle of a field).

There is no practice basket here, although the course does open with an easy 300' hole that is signed as a par 4. There is a kiosk at the parking lot, but the course map uploaded here is not currently posted on it.

There are "Next Tee" signs on pieces of cement dug into the ground in many places. These are nice, but unfortunately I think they are missing from some of the holes where they are most needed. Some of them are also installed a little too far from the basket in my opinion - easy to miss. Overall, navigation isn't horrible but will be easier if you use the map here. There are a couple of places where it's difficult to determine what basket to throw at: The first basket is the one on the right of the two you see, and the third basket is not the one you can see from the tee but rather behind the hill off to the right.

A large number of waterfowl call this course home, so you will have to navigate around the droppings. Honestly this is just something you should expect playing this kind of course, in my opinion. When I played there were also some red-winged blackbirds to look out for near holes 3-5.

The course map uploaded here shows a 9-hole route where you play holes 1, 8-14, and 18. This isn't the kind of place I would come if I only had time to play 9 holes, but to each his/her own.

This course stands out as unique for the area. There aren't many 18 hole courses around West Michigan that are this open, and very few with this many water hazards. The closest comparison that comes to mind is Paw Paw Park in Holland. I think this course is less interesting/challenging than Paw Paw but the rough isn't quite as bad here.

I waffled between giving this course a 3.0 or 3.5. In the end I went with 3.0 due to the teepads and signage concerns. If those things were addressed I'd probably up my rating to 3.5. I think the designers pretty much maximized what this course can be on the land available. It's a fun round for locals, but it doesn't belong in the top tier.

Decent condition, Variety is pretty good.Rubber tees are adequate and baskets are solid.

Goose poop is everywhere. Some missing tee signs, course map was stolen, Sand traps that are listed as OB on the signs are completely covered in grass now so it's not relevant. Seems like a stupid idea anyhow. OB right next to the basket?

As of 4/27/2021, you have to turn in a driveway immediately West of a building that is under construction. Follow the gravel road to the start of the course. The normal driveway is immediately East of the new building but is currently blocked off.

This course plays on an extremely flat piece of riverside acreage with some fairways cut out through groves of cat-tails and the like. While this course doesn't particularly suit my game really well I had a fun time playing it. Being that this was at one time a ball golf course it is extremely well manicured.

Equipment:Tee pads are a non slip rubber which performed well and were adequate in length. Nice visible baskets with orange painted poles. Well made tee signs with accurate distances and pictures. Also there are little next tea plaques in the grass which are a nice touch.

Lots of area to air out drives and practice your rollers.

A couple of well designed memorable holes with solid risk/reward built in. Hole 5 sticks out in particular. This hole goes out a few hundred feet and turns 90 degrees left through tree lined isthmus and up another few hundred feet of fairway. It is designed in a way that big arms can cut the corner and throw over OB the entire way to hit the second fairway past the isthmus and get up and down for a 3.

18 is also a nice risk reward hole in terms of how far out over the OB you want to throw and consequently how far up the fairway you can get.

I like the use of the OB sand traps. This is a different look than your average disc golf course and I think it's a really fun obstacle to play around.

There are a lot of really open fairways but the course designer did a good job incorporating some dense areas of trees that force you to hit your line on the approach shot or possibly get caught in jail.

Taking in to consideration the available land it is a pretty well designed course. Despite what others have said I think the real fear of losing a disc is a positive feature in a course. Losing discs isn't fun but airing out a forehand over 300 feet of water and landing safe feels really darn good.

Update : The other thing this course is really missing is a proper warm up basket...I really feel like any top flight course needs a practice basket to warm up at...

Due to how flat this course is and its proximity to the river it can be nearly unplayable for portions of the year.

Barely any elevation change in the entire park. I can only think of 2 holes where there is really any at all and even then it's pretty moderate.

Some of the holes end up having a pretty repetitive feel to them due to the sparse trees and flat fairways.

While the tee signs are accurate there are areas in which multiple baskets are visible and could cause confusion on a first play through of the course. The next tee signs certainly help but a map would certainly be useful for a first timer who is playing without a guide. A couple areas feature descent little hikes between holes

This course provides a really fun round but I don't understand the 4.5 star ratings that some people have given it. If a course were judged based on a star system in which 5 stars meant that the available land was used to its best potential then I could understand this being a 4.5 star course. For the given land they have done a really nice job putting in and maintaining this course. However the actual piece of land isn't perfect and limits the ceiling of this course in my mind. In my mind the highest this course could score is about a 3.75-4 so the fact that I'm giving it a 3.5 is a really solid compliment. They have done pretty much everything right here and it shows. Thanks for the great round to the folks that designed and maintain the course.

Playing on an old golf course guarantees that this course will have plenty of wide open holes. Designing a course here means length had to be the most challenging factor. Obviously, you're not to going have many technical throws and this course has no elevation to work with. The water was brought into play on several holes.

I was impressed with the large disc golf course sign out on the highway. I'm seeing more and more signs like this but this was probably the biggest and the best. There is a kiosk, a porta potty and garbage can at the start. The tee pads are this rubberized material. As it was wet when I played, I was worried about these mats but they provided great traction. The baskets are Arroyo models with the center post painted orange. I actually thought they kind of ugly but who really cares, they caught everything. The tee signs were nice, colored metal. Just curious? Why did they show the distance in meters as well as feet? I loved the next tee signs that are flush with the grass so they can mowed on. Great idea!

The course is fairly lengthy as would be expected on an old ball course. Navigation was a little dicey in a couple of places, even with the on-line map. Water comes into play on 5, 13 and 14. # 14 is a challenging, as well as, a potential losing your disc hole.

Open holes with one tree to throw around like # 12. # 17' is a boring wide open throw.

Lots of places on this course to lose disc in the water or like # 8's 330' curving fairway with deep rough on both sides.

Navigation was confusing at times. I was following a player and still had to find my way around.

Some longer walkouts.

I wasn't overly impressed here. It's a solid course but lacks personality. Not the designer's fault but this was still a golf course and disc golf played on ball courses are usually just grip it and rip affairs. Not much line shaping required. Players with the big arms will appreciate this course more than the average rec player. If this flat, open course is a 4.0 then a wonderful course like Fallasburg Park DGC is a 6.0. And that must make Flip City a 7.0.

* Excellent condition
* Solid challenge, but not too hard
* Good tee mats
* Good hole maps/signs
* Garbage Paul's at each hole
* Picnic tables by tees for tag along or to rest

* water comes into play often enough where there's a good fear of losing your disc

Beware: Layout is SUPER confusing. Without a map telling you where to go, you WILL play the wrong holes. Many holes you cannot see the correct hole from the tee, leading you to throw in the wrong direction (where you see a hole). Even with some of the tee maps, it gets tough.

I HIGHLY recommend downloading/printing out the course map prior to playing.

Hole #14, there's a red Star Roadrunner about 5' into the water right by the little "beach" by the hole, just to the right by the cat tails. The depth drops off a decent amount, and I didn't go in above my ankles because I have horrible hydrophobia, but if anyone wants a disc, you can have it! Water is clear enough that you could probably see it if you went in up to your waist, I just couldn't see it from the bank.

Good mix of open and guarded holes
Nice scenery along the grand river

Lots of water and swamp areas to lose your disc
Bugs / Flooding certain times of the year
Gravel Driveway

Course can be a little "wild" if you go off the fairways.

Nice tee pads on all holes.

Very good signs at all tees with hole diagram and distance.

Course appears to be well maintained, with fairways kept cut low.

Garbage pails at every tee box.

Water is around most of the holes, but very rarely does it come into play unless you miss your line by a wide margin.

Navigation can get tricky in a few places. Bring the map or at least look it over well before playing. Especially note that on hole #3 the pin you see in front of you is NOT your target. The actual basket is hiding behind the large bush on the right.

Water is covered by green scum in many areas, so if you do hit it, you probably won't find your disc.

The out-of-bounds bunkers (from the ball golf course that used to be here) are hard to see until you get close to the green. If you are going to play with them being OOB, it's worthwhile walking up to the green to get a better feel for their size.

While most tee shots are open for anything you want to throw, there are enough challenges near the baskets that this is not a wide open course.

Several holes set-up best for forehands (for right-handed players) so this isn't just a hyzer fest.

Nice variety of distances on the par 3s. You'll throw everything from mid-ranges (maybe even a putter or two) to distance drivers off the tees.

This course makes a great change of pace from the tight, wooded courses throughout western Michigan. It's an excellent course to work on your distance and fairway drivers as well as learning to make all throws in windy conditions.

This is a very fun course and provides a nice mix of birdieable and challenging holes. Favorite holes included the reachable par 4 18th, and the 15th(?) which parallels a large water-filled quarry.

-Nicely Maintained.
-A lot of Out of Bounds keeps accuracy a premium, making you think about your shot choice and how the wind will effect your throw.
-Risk/reward decisions
-mostly open air course letting you see the full flight of your disc.
-Trees used as much as possible.
-Out of bounds wetlands and sand traps from the former ball golf course make for unique obstacles.
-Has the feel of playing on a ball golf course.. because it was.
-Awesome Arroyo Vortex Baskets with custom orange powder coated poles
-"slip proof" rubber tees
-Disc Golf only park
-High Fun Factor

A few place holder holes until the mining in the large pond on the east side of the park is complete. Then we will be able to install 2 holes next to the pond and one along the river through the woods.

I am the course designer. There were a ton of factors I had to consider in the design of this course. It was a 3 year process with the wetlands being created. 3 wetlands designs were denied by the MDEQ. The wetlands took away about 1/3 of the area I hoped to use for the course. We had to get permits for everything. Permits to dig, permits to put cement in the ground, permits to install the baskets. The Plainfield TWP Board had to approve the course design and the tee signs. We had to jump through so many hoops to get the course installed. The Parks Director wanted a course "That would be fun for everyone". The Plainfield Parks Dept. is planning on doing Doughnuts and Cider on Saturday mornings. So, they wanted it to be semi family friendly. (Thus the short tees on 1,5 & 18) The wetlands dictated the proximity of some tees and baskets. The White Pine Trail will be going through the park from hole 6 along 9,10,15 and 17. I had to design the course knowing the path/trail would be going through the park near the river in the future. There are plans for a basketball court (that will be to the right of hole #1) and 5 soccer fields in the open area of the park as you enter. So, safety for the future non disc golfing park goers was definitely involved in the design. The mining going on in the pond limited the area used for the course for now (liability reasons). Once the mining has completed, the course will go along the pond towards the camp ground, up to the river through the woods, then along the river through the woods and back to the existing course. This will allow us to eliminate some of the place holder holes (ex: #15 & 11) and stretch the course out.

The course is still pretty raw overall. It's only been in for 1 month. We are constantly working on the course trying to improve it. Future plans include building up/ adding structure to the mound #3s basket is atop. Defining the Out of Bounds sand traps and lining the Out of Bounds with stakes and rope. Adding some little trees and bushes is in the works (we will have to get permits like we have had to get for everything).
Big Thanks to the Grand Rapids North Rotary for pledging up to $18,000 for course installation and development. The Plainfield Parks Dept has established a budget within their budget for the course. So, the course will always be kept nice and it will be improving every year.

Aesthetic-- plays through an old ball golf course. Very little chance of running into non-disc golfers out there as this park is really not asthetically pleasing or a place anyone would go for recreation or really a park at all. Strip mining is going on near the course at all times and is loud.

Navigation-- pretty decent. With the bridges being closed at the present, it is super difficult to navigate 6-7 and 18 to the parking. That said, the map does a good job of illustrating where to go.

Baskets-- ARROYO VORTEX, that is all...

Risk v Reward-- super high here with the ever-present lakes and wetlands that surround this course. Big highlight on #5 here, there is a definite risky water carry here or a safe route which should include a route mando (if that's a thing) through the tree bridge.

Challenge factor-- there are a lot of things going for this course that make it challenging. There are a lot of uncontrollables that will make this course near unplayable at times however also.

Teepads-- I know they are coming and these will help to elevate this course quickly as will...

Teesigns-- the teesigns are no more than stakes at each tee with a hole # and distance. there are many places here where there are several baskets visible from a tee so it will be helpful to have teesigns to help guide.

Straightforward holes-- along with the challenging, aesthetically pleasing holes like #5, there are also a lot of plain-jane boring straight shots with NO trees or any other route deterrants. I hope this is remedied at some point.

I know this is a work in progress and I know that a lot of work has already been done here. There, however, is a lot of work to be done yet. I enjoyed my round here but there were several deterrants that, when fixed will elevate this course to a top course in GR.

- Good mixture of length
- OB to make up for some lack of difficulty
- Asthetically pleasing
- Relatively easy
- Shot shaping vs targeted lines (pro and/or con)

Most cons are only because it literally just went in

- Relatively easy (pro or con)
- Some walk ways cross other fairways
- Some of the trees that create the difficulty of the holes are already dead and will eventually fall
- No teepads yet

Good new course that the area desperately needed. Reminds me a lot of Riverside before the ash bore killed a good number of the trees. Ability to.play a variety of shot types because its so open. Nice to play a course where wind will actually effect shots.