Hilltop Meadows DGC is an 18-holer located near Newberry in Michigan's remote eastern Upper Peninsula.

As the name implies, the course plays mainly through a large meadow area that seems to be higher than most of the surrounding terrain. There are a few scattered trees that act as obstacles on some holes. The land through most of the course is rolling, leading to many holes with elevation changes. I really enjoyed the first two holes that play up and down (and up and down) the undulating terrain. Later in the course, there are a couple of more extreme elevation changes. Hole 5 plays down a ski hill and part of the way back up the other side. A few baskets are located on sloping hillsides, forcing DG'ers to put some thought into approaches and long putts.

There is a ton of distance here, but I think that is actually a Con and I will explain more below.

The baskets are yellow banded DISCatchers, all in good condition.

Other than the baskets, the infrastructure here is rough. The tee pads are natural. There are supposed to be three wood posts per hole that create Red, Blue, and White tee positions (for some reason, the White tees are longer than the Blue tees). The different tees were indicated with colored paint on the posts at one point, but this paint has mostly worn off. The white tee on each hole had the hole number Sharpie'd on. Someone had also taken the time to scrawl lines, distances, and other notes on a few of the tees - thank you! On most holes the three tees were just located one behind the other behind the other, changing only the hole distance and not really adding much. Some of the posts were missing. There were no benches or trash cans.

There were a couple of Next Tee signs, but more are needed. I used the map uploaded here quite a bit to find my way around, although the way it is drawn was slightly misleading in a couple of spots and as a result I still did a bit of extra walking. The map was not posted anywhere on site. There was no kiosk. However, there was a mailbox nailed to the top of the first White tee post that had pieces of paper literally crumpled up and stuffed into it. These pieces of paper explained the rules of disc golf. As you might have guessed, other extras like practice basket, porta potty, etc. are absent.

In general, the course was poorly maintained. A few of the fairways had been mowed relatively recently, but others were so bad that it looked like there was no course there. The rough (and unmowed fairways) mainly consisted of thick knee to waist high weeds that were thinning out by the time I played in late September, but even then could definitely hide discs without really adding much challenge to the course.

My issues really started on hole 3. This one plays down a valley and back up the other side. Looking across the valley from the tee, I couldn't see the basket and thought it might be tucked into the edge of some bushes next to the top of the opposite hill. After I got up there, I still did not find a basket and at that point assumed it was likely missing. Thinking I'd just proceed to hole 4, I followed a tight walking path through the bushes for about 100'-150', up and over a small ridge at a right angle to the fairway. That's when I found the green and basket for hole 3. I did not feel that there was a realistic line to approach this basket, even if I had known it was there. What's funny is that this would not be the last time I thought a basket was missing on the course, only to find it a couple hundred feet further away.

The trouble continued on hole 4. At one point, this may have been a fun tight hole running 300'-350' through the woods. At the time I played, it was so overgrown that there was no discernable fairway left. Someone had scrawled "through the woods" on the long tee.

Hole 5 is the ski hill hole mentioned above. If maintained properly, this would be a fun hole. However, other than a tight walking path down the middle this fairway had clearly not seen a mower for at least all of 2021, if not longer. The weeds on either side were thick and waist high. I threw a drive that faded left, but still would have been on a fairway that was reasonably wide. I couldn't believe I found my disc 5-10 minutes later. It was at this point that I decided to stop trying to play an official round and just walk through the course looking for any other fun holes to play.

Two of hole 6's three tee posts were missing.

On hole 7's tee sign someone had scrawled "Send spotter on every hole."

Most of the remaining holes played back in the meadow. I could have thrown some of these but ended up not bothering until I got to the final hole 18. As of my play, the hole info page here only showed info for the front nine so I had some question about whether the back nine actually existed. It does exist, but I was not impressed with the variety. Hole after hole just played along a straight fairway over the rolling hills, with very few trees or other obstacles in play. Without any tee signs, I can't give hole distances with any degree of certainty but I can say that these holes are LONG. I think some of the front nine holes are longer than what is currently shown on here, and the back nine holes are equally as long if not even longer. Every hole here might reach the 400'-500' range, and several are more like 750'-1000'. There are also huge walks between some holes, especially 9-10. If you actually play an entire round here, you are going to be tired by the end. Fortunately, there is a health clinic at the parking lot.

Several holes play near or along a walking path and dirt drive. I don't think these get much use, so only a minor concern. There is also a (gun) firing range near the back corner of the course, but there is a sign to warn of this.

With most of the course being so open, wind could definitely be a factor.

As my round/walk went on, I got a stronger and stronger vibe that this course was the dream of a small number of locals who had/have a vision for a nice course here, but are struggling to find the funding and time to fully bring that dream to fruition. I just read the previous review and unfortunately, the course has not been updated at all since that time. I would say the state of the course at the time of my visit was even worse than glassila described. If there were a local club, etc. that could find that funding and time, this plot of land could be turned into a nice course. On the flip side, I wouldn't be surprised to be scrolling through my list of played courses in a couple years and find this one RIP'ed.

I'm not sure what disc golfer would enjoy this course in its current state. It's way too long for recreational players, even from the Red tees. Better players with big arms might kind of enjoy airing it out on hole after hole in the rolling meadows, but even for them I don't think there is enough variety or amenities to make for a satisifying round. I felt like I fulfilled my civic duty as a course bagger and reviewer by walking the whole thing and playing about 1/3 of it.

The 1.5 "passable" rating I am giving for this one feels generous. I don't recommend this course, even over non-DG activities in the area. I have become a bit of a UP enthusiast, but I will not be back here unless I read about significant improvements or a redesign. One of my all-time favorite courses, Superior Pines, is about an hour's drive away.

-Very scenic, Hilltop Meadows mostly plays through rolling meadows with a few holes incorporating an old ski hill.
-Nice elevation changes throughout the course, but I did not get the "up-down-up-down" feeling I got from some courses out there.
-Brand new Innova baskets.
- Each hole had 3 teeing locations - on the down side they are on the exact same line, just different distances.
- Hole # 5 is a bombers delight, 750' from the long, 560' from the short tee. The landing area was nice and wide at 250-300'.

- A lot of the rough was the worst kind (tall, thick grass/weeds which hides discs, but doesn't make for a more difficult throw)
- There are no tee signs to speak of, just 4x4 posts with distance and a line drawing of the suggested flight path. My advice to the course workers - use Google Earth to get actual satellite images for tee signs.
-The "next tee" signs are 1 inch strips of wood stuck in the ground with a few words written on them. If any of these get knocked down or removed, it will be difficult to navigate the course.
- Hole # 3 will be an incredible hole when finished, but at this point it is not ready for play. It plays up hill for the first 300 feet then goes over a ridge then back down to where the basket is tucked behind a big oak or maple tree. While a narrow foot path and a green have been mowed out, none of the other trees and brush around this hole have been dealt with. I assume the course designer plans to mow a fairway to the basket, but at this point you are throwing a blind shot (due to the ridge) over thick brush and small trees.
- Hole #4 is also very rough. A brush hog was used to rough out a fairway through some trees, but a lot of stubble and tripping hazards were left behind.
- Hole #8 basically just played along a two track road.

With its elevation changes and length, Hilltop Meadows will be a challenging course for good players. New and lesser skilled players may struggle to have fun and learn to play here.
While Hilltop Meadows is certainly"playable" it is a bit rough and will require a good amount of work to get it ready for casual players out for a fun round.
I gave the course a 2.5 grade based on current conditions, but it can definitely become a solid 4.0 course if necessary work gets done and improvements occur.