Joe's DGC is fantastic. Very pretty land, mostly playing on the forested slopes. Rocky outcroppings make for a fun obstacle or cool pin location here and there. A few holes are more open, and play into and/or out of gaps in the trees and along the edges of the woods. There is a creek in play, but it was not much danger of losing a disc in there.

If you like the challenge of a heavily wooded fairway as much as me, this course has a lot to offer. Then mixing in elevation changes on most holes gets me even more excited. I appreciated that the fairways are tight but do have playable lines. Elevation changes are minimal on a couple of holes that play across the hill rather than up and down all the time. There are some longer par 4 and 5 holes on the front nine. The variety of shot shapes will
allow you to use most every shot in the bag.

Joe and the other fellas that were out working on the course were all really nice. They gave me a couple of tips to help with course navigation.

I would love to see some improvement to the tee pads. The natural tees are ok, but could be soft and not super level. Upgrading with turf or pavers would be cool. The tees are numbered, and navigation is fairly easy, but in a perfect world some signs would be cool, too. Baskets have been around and some of them can be tough to spot, but they are in pretty good catching condition.

There had been some rain in the days prior to my visit, and one hole on the back nine had some squishy mud in the fairway. I think it was hole 12 or maybe 13. I was able to avoid it, but a bad bounce could have turned in to a mess. One or two of the tee pads were soft enough to require a move to a patch of drier ground to throw a drive.

There are a couple of holes on the back nine that play next to barbed wire fences. I got a great drive next to the first one, and a lucky bounce kept me from crossing over the second.

While it is a bit remote, the drive from Springfield was nice. The course is fun and challenging enough to be worth a bit of a drive. I love the course, but there is a bit of room for improvement on the equipment end.

I think the layout has changed slightly since the pics were posted, but much of it is similar. I liked the large boulder at the top of hole 2, it might be my favorite feature on the course. 3 is a good hole as well, a great arc around well placed trees with some elevation drop to a pin on another cool rock feature. 17 is a fun putter toss down the hill, that plays next to the creek. 18 is a. good finisher that has a tough line and interesting pin location.

It's a course I would like to return to now that I know the layout. I shot a 72, but I think I might be able to shave off a few strokes.

Every kind of trick needed to play this course and score par. Easy to find, once you have followed someone. You need a Guide. Bendar is awesome guide, along with Harvey

I really can't think of one. It takes a guide to figure out course first couple of times. Great Course

Contact your friends and let's have a tournament here. It is rugged but great exercise.

Joe's DGC is an absolute gem of a course! Situated on 60 some-odd acres of privately owned land (Joe's), the course plays up and down the Ozark hills and is surrounded by a State Park (Mark Twain?). This course demands multiple shot selection (Fore and backhands, flicks, thumbers, rollers and CONFIDENT putts, as many baskets are set against steep dropoffs). The course also demands endurance and stamina, as you are ascending rocky terrain, climbing a few boulder outcroppings, and then making your way back down, then up and down again. The tees are all natural. Bring water, wear good shoes, don't whine The course plays long with tight wooded fairways 85-90% of the time and elevation obstacles 90% of the time. Our group drove down from St. Louis and it was more than worth the trip! (If any of you have ever played Dave McCormack's Vichy courses, this reminded me of Akita's Run)

I am not grading this course on it's CONs. It is a private course made for the love of the game that we were graciously allowed to play. The accoutrements Joe's lacks that normally constitute a 4.5 course are negligible given the fact that the designer (Caleb, who walked us through the course) built this on a friends property and maintains it strictly out of love. But, in the interest of full disclosure, some things to know:
No bathrooms, no trash cans, no benches.
Hornets, ticks, rocks, barbed wire, tree stumps, and only a mention of snakes. You will sweat. You will need deep-woods OFF. You will decide its time to quit smoking.
You will be silenced by the beauty, humbled by the challenge, and you will be sad when the day is over.

When trying to arrange this road trip, I had the good fortune to speak with Bender, who was super friendly and accommodating. He made plans to take us around the course, and then when that fell through, he set us up with Caleb, who as it turns out designed the damn thing. Caleb was a super nice guy, great player and all around swell cat. A couple other local guys showed up for the back 9, Tony and Seth. They were welcoming and friendly as well. Does it sound like I'm jocking them? Yup. They were great, no pretension, no ego, just proud of the course and happy to show it. If you can make the trip, Joe's is well worth it. Just make sure you remember it's a private course and treat it as such. Cheers and throw 'em well!

Very difficult. Lots of elevation change on holes. My favorite course to play for difficulty, scenery, elevation and a good workout. You will use about every type of throw you can come up with. Most of the course is in the woods with several holes playing up against national forest. You can camp on the property. I will have pictures up just as soon as I can figure out how to resize all the photos.

Tee boxes are in rough shape right now. They are natural and are super slippery after it has rained. This course is definitely not for beginners. Groups of more than four will take 3 or more hours to play so get there early.

We are still constantly working to improve this course. We still have a lot of trees we want to take out and brush piles to burn. I played my best round out there 2 days ago and shot a 56 which right now is the course record on all 18 holes for singles. The course will test you. Please contact me 6203881664 or like us on facebook: Ozark's Flying Disc Club and leave a message so someone can take you out there and show you around.