As my title says, it's so much fun to play this course, I had to give it the best rating I could. I'd like to give it a 4.75, but I'm rounding up due to the great cabins and beautiful State Park it's in. It doesn't hurt that it has another awesome course on site that has a different character, but is still a "woods only" course.

Elevation changes on almost all of the holes (I think only #2 is completely flat) and trees that force lines that are very fair, but punishing if not hit.

As mentioned before, it's like a "ball golf" course. If you stay in the fairway and hit your lines, a low score can be yours. If you live in the rough, good luck on par. Either way, you'll have fun and admire the beauty of the park.

The on site cabins are great! Full kitchens with dishes and cookware. Full size fridge and stove/oven. Loft bedroom with full bed. Bunkroom that sleeps four. It's all the comforts of home with an awesome patio with a grill and great view. If tent camping is your thing, it's a great place for that too. There were quite a few people doing it that weren't there for disc golf. It's a really nice place to go even if you aren't playing disc golf.

The disc golf is there for all skill levels. Play from the longs is true championship level. The short tees give the casual disc golfer a chance to score well and have a great time doing it. The fairways are fair, and although it's an all wooded course, the holes aren't repetitive at all.

It is a good hike for those that like that. Up and down hills in a beautiful setting. Although there are literally millions of spiders (none that had any interest in us) that was pretty much all you'll see. The insects don't have much of a chance. I don't remember seeing a fly, much less a mosquito. We did see a lot of deer on the course at sunset. If you're also into wildlife viewing, this place will not disappoint you.

Woods only. No where to let one go that doesn't have to be "on line".

Your cell phone probably won't work in most places in the park. I have AT&T and I could get some reception on the tops of the highest hills only. (I'm not sure this is a negative). The park does have free wifi, but it isn't "fast". This is a place to escape the rest of the world, not a place to work online.

I'm glad we chose this park for our "Disc Golf Weekend". Both courses on site are fun to play (Whitetail is the best of the two for fun, Dogwood for exercise). I want to go back, soon. If you go there with friends and/or family, you'll have a good time.

We met the guys that maintain the courses as we played. They're very proud of the courses and it shows. If there's something that can be done (repairing natural tees for instance), there's no doubt that it could happen before the next round round if you let them know. The facility is top notch all around.

Lake Bistineau State park is about 45 minutes away with a more open design and another type of Louisiana beauty of Spanish moss from ball cypress trees.

This is a disc golf destination. Take the time to play the courses twice... at least.

Immediately upon getting to hole 1's tee pad, I knew Whitetail would be better than Dogwood. Whitetail feels more manicured (like a ball golf course) while Dogwood feels like every other woods course (rough and newly cut). This might change with time as Dogwood ages, but for now Whitetail stands out.

The number one thing I look for when reviewing woods courses are how fair the fairways are. Sure a course could be "challenging" if it has an old growth tree too many in the fairway, but if your holes are "poke and pray" I won't reward it with a high review.

The fairways at LC - Whitetail are more than fair. If ball golf courses had wooded holes, they'd look as nice as Whitetail. The only hole that came close to being a poke and pray was hole 6?, but it's still fair if you hit the tight line.

I hope you're comfortable throwing drivers in the woods! When I said this place was the best woods course, part of that was because I threw more drivers through trees than I usually do. Normally it's smart to club down in the woods, but if the pin is 1000ft away (as it is on 16) what else are you to do? You'll probably have to throw a confident driver or two in these woods, which ups the challenge.

Looking back, I believe I threw 8 Putters, 2 Mids and 8 Fairway/Drivers off the tee. I tend to throw putters where most might throw a mid, so all things considered this is as well rounded of a woods course as you can imagine.

Counting left/right/straight shots, the pattern continues. You'll throw a lot of straighter shots to start things off, but depending on the pin position, they could be doglegs also. It doesn't noticeably favor one particular throwing style. You'll need to do it all.

Speaking of alt pins, it's always a good idea to have many alt pins if you can, and Whitetail does for most holes. It also has 2 sets of pads per hole which is also important to be able to reach a wider range of players.

Whitetail doesn't have any navigation issues as far as I could tell. We navigated without a map and were just fine. (same couldn't be said of Dogwood). The signs are very nicely made and give you all of the information you need.

My favorite hole was 17. It was close to being a semi-open hole, but was SO WELL DESIGNED. It reminded me of the longer par 4's and 5's of Europe. I loved this hole and wished there was 1 or 2 more like it out there. Hole 18 is also a fantastic finished hole, really allowing you to end on a high note, both aesthetic and challenging.

The property itself is breathtaking, especially as you make your way towards the water. It's not only the best woods course I've played, it also is one of the prettiest. I saw plenty of wildlife and many whitetails (imagine that). It's a place you'd spend a weekend with the family at, regardless if it had a course or not.

I wrestled with the fact that the tee pads are only natural. Part of me feels like some turf or similar pad would really up the respectability of this place. At the same time, if there was ever a natural/beautiful property that deserved to stay as close to natural as possible, Whitetail is it. They really do work out here, BUT since you already have big hunks of metal and chain + signs everywhere, maybe a proper tee pad wouldn't be terrible.

There weren't many (if any) benches to take a quick rest at. If this course were highly trafficked (the location makes this rare, I imagine) it would need benches. If any huge tournaments were ever held here, with the long waits at holes that are inevitable, I feel some nice seating would really help.

It was strange to have all of the longer holes on the back nine. Not really a con, but it would've helped the flow to have a few more on the front.

The course isn't two 9-hole loops, so there's no going to your car during the round. This also makes it harder to host tourney's/weekly's as many people will have REALLY long walks to their starting pad. For the traveling player, however, this doesn't matter.

I can't really say too many good things about this course. It deserves the praise it garners. I'm a very nit-picky reviewer, but it's because I believe constructive feedback (and never settling) is the only thing that will push the envelope. Dream big and grow the sport!

As I've said before, I can't find myself giving a "one-trick-pony" course a 5. I believe you have to challenge ALL aspects of a players game to be considered perfect, and to date I've only given a 5 to two courses (Selah Lakeside and Hawk Hollow). This is one bad ass woods course, however!

That being said, there are places for woods only courses in our sport and many would say they're arguably MORE challenging than mixed courses. Lake Claiborne is, simply put, the best woods course I've ever played. I feel kinda bad that my 4.5 will pull the rating down slightly, so normally I wouldn't review the course, but at the same time I feel my review is needed. I'm a trusted reviewer and this course has very few of those reviews. It's also a newer course that doesn't have the number of reviews to gain a reputation, so hopefully this helps.

As an aside, it seems like there is camping on site. If you're into that, I'd certainly recommend it as it's a drive from the closest town (Ruston?). It's feasible to stay in West Monroe and drive in early if you need more stuff to do at night.

Amazing scenery. The hole type features all sorts of elevation changes and obstacles that strained my newbie skills. Great terrain to play on (cut grass and straw). Very detailed teepads. Amateur tees included. Nice baskets. They give you scorecards.

Its hot in Louisiana.

I played the first time as a beginner and it was very difficult but it was still very fun with mixed success. I would recommend coming prepared with all sorts of shots.

This is a challenging course that rewards shots that stay in the fairway and punishes those that don't. The course is well-maintained, so the rough is "clean" and you won't have a problem finding your disc, but you probably won't have much more than a pitch out if you stray off the fairways.

You'll need every shot in your bag as the course mixes left/right, short/long, and up/down. Many holes offer multiple routes with risk/reward considerations in play.

Excellent signage with detailed tee signs and additional navigational signs as needed.

There is a bit of a walk from hole 3 to hole 4.

Limited cell service.

Seriously, that's about all I could come up with for negatives.

Whitetail is the original course and the longer of the two. If you're only playing one, I'd recommend Whitetail just because there are more "signature" type holes (1, 10, 16), but both are worth the trip.

Beautiful property
Good mix of distance and elevation
Good signage
Challenging but fair

Needs more trashcans and benches
Dirt teeboxes

I loved this course. Very challenging and very well designed. Absolutely beautiful woods. This is located in the most hilly part of Louisiana, a bit different than our flat swamps and bayous. I would like to see some gravel on the tee pads, and maybe a few more trash cans. I hope to do a disc golf camping trip here soon. As others said, better be in shape, because this one's long and hilly.

The terrain is very unusual for Louisiana. The scenery is awesome. The course is shady and very relaxing. There are two courses at the park. You can play and stay too. You can't find a better spot.

The course is new and needs playing. There are a few things they are working on but the guys are adding new stuff all the time. With a little more work this course can be a premier course!

Better be in shape. It's not your mommas DG course. It's bad a$$. It will really work you.

I had a chance to visit this course on business last July and was surprised of the caliber of course that was in a state park. IT had very nice full color tees on the Blue tees on every hole with shorter red tees with just wooden posts and number plates. Course has a cool entrance with a heavy metal signed hanging over as you walk through.

Hole 1 starts off like a roller coaster and drops you into a fun filled round including a scenic hole 10 (or 11) that looks over the lake. The last bit of holes will test you on all levels. the last 5 or 6 holes changes dramatically into par 4's and 5's finishing on a large uphill par 4 back to parking.

Bring water! I'm not used to the heat down in Louisiana. Not any on course that I saw.

There is a $2.00 fee to play, but well worth it. I was told there was another course be install on the property.

This is an excellent course that plays on beautiful land. You'll throw every shot there is, and you better throw it well because this course will punish a bad shot as much as it rewards a good one. Holes 1-12 are birdie-able for most players but once you cross the road to 13, it's long, technical golf at its finest for pros and ams alike.

Bring plenty of water and bugspray, you'll be taking a hike while playing your round.

This course has many different elevation holes on it. Very scenic and requires many different types of shots to score well on the course. The first twelve holes are definitely birdie able. You'll need them for the last 6 holes. Holes 13-18 are the longest part of the course and require the utmost accuracy to score well. My favorite course in North Louisiana!!!

No Cons in my opinion,

This is disc golf at it's finest. It is not a course for whiners who do not like to walk between holes or go up and down hills. This course will challenge you and definitely make you a better golfer.

Tons of elevation. A wide range of shots required. Beautiful fairways, surrounded by wildlife and nature. The lake is enormous and well taken care of. The Ranger is supportive of the sport and very friendly. Cabins available and fun is welcomed!

N/A

This course has been recently updated. You guys should go check it out if you haven't been out there in a month or so!

It is fantastic to see a course of this quality in a State Park. For the princely sum of $2 you can play this course all day long, if your legs hold up. Be sure to ask for the excellent map/scorecard when you check in.

Easy parking right right at the Headquarters Building, with a beautiful cut-out steel sign marking the entrance to the course. Restrooms in a couple of places on the course, with benches, trash cans, etc. all available as well.

This is an outstanding piece of land for a course. Plenty of elevation with rolling hills and creeks cutting through the area, and a healthy forest of mixed hardwoods and evergreens. The ground is mostly clear, so locating discs isn't much of an issue,even if your drive kicks hard off of a tree.

Very nice tee signs at the Blue Tees, with a simple distance sign marking the Red Tees. Two basket positions for most holes, which are clearly shown on the tee sign. However, there is no marker to show which position the basket is in. Baskets were Innova double-chain models that looked brand new.

Navigation was easy, with "Next Hole" signs where necessary and dozens of arrows on trees.

Every hole requires lacing your drive through the trees, with many requiring significant shaping of your shot. Hole 17 is a great example, requiring a sweeping right-hand turn to a landing area, followed by a second shot that turns left toward the pin.

There is a lot of up-and-down on the course, with many baskets placed on hills so you have to consider the risk/reward of running your putt. I had an outstanding approach on hole 4 get up on an edge and roll about 75' down the hill.

Only Hole 10 brings the lake into play, but it is a scenic hole with the lake directly behind the basket to discourage a too-long drive.

Hole 16 is an arrow-straight 1054 foot hole down a pipeline right-of-way. While not really creative, it will test your ability to throw long, straight drives.

My only real con is that there was no indicator for which position the basket was in at each hole. Several holes required a walk up the fairway to make that determination. UPDATE MARCH 2018 - Still no basket indicators.

While I usually consider "natural" teepads to be a con, in this setting they fit very well, and all were flat and smooth. I don't know if they stay in this shape all year but they were perfect the day I played. UPDATE MARCH 2018 - While the natural teepads were still in good shape, there were a couple of bumps and lumps that were obvious, and an exposed root on one that could catch a toe. I think that this course would benefit from concrete tees.

Much of the length on this course is on the back 9 with 50% of the total course length on the final 6 holes. It would have been nice to have distributed that length a little more evenly.

Just a great course out in the pristine woods. We had the entire thing to ourselves on the Tuesday afternoon that we played.

After first playing (and reviewing) this course in December 2014, I was able to return and play it again in March 2018. I found it to be just a good a course the second time around! However, the natural teepads have deteriorated just a bit and will continue to detract from my overall rating of the course.

We really enjoyed this course. It is very well laid out, and the signage is great. With this being our first time on this course, we had no problems knowing where the pins where, or where the next tee box was located. The location is picturesque, with great views of the lake, and plenty of wild life. Although we didn't see any deer, there were plenty of tracks. Some of the fairways were narrow, but that is what makes it more challenging. Even when the discs DID go in the woods, they were easy to located, due to the low amount of undergrowth.

The only thing I can think of that was confusing to us, we didn't know if the pin was going to be in the "A" position, or the "B" position, until we got close enough in range, on some of the holes.

This is just my opinion, but I think the natural tee boxes are just right for this course. Concrete is fine for city courses, but when you are dealing with a natural area, you want to leave as little behind as possible.

We played this from the Blues, which I guess is good for experienced players. We have only been playing about 5 months, and were REALLY wishing that we started from the Reds.

That being said, I can't wait to come out and play this course again. It is fun, and challenging.

Great map/scorecard.
Well marked entrance to the course.
Tee signs (short 4x4 posts with a red or blue number plate) are easily recognized, along with directional (arrow) signs.
Good flow in general.
Only $2 to get in the park and play all day.
Good mix of different length holes.
Great scenery throughout the course.
Fairways seemed perfectly cleared out to me, especially for a new course. The paths have already been worn in as well.

Natural Tees. I think concrete tees are on the way, and as soon as they come, I will update this review.
There is no way to tell which location the pin is in. The map would say the holes bent one way, but if the location is changed, the line changes. This caused us to throw in the wrong direction, but only on one or two holes. I suggest having a bolt on the tee sign that can be switched out showing if the pin is in the short or long.
I think I saw somewhere that there are real tee signs being made, and I hope they include both pin locations.
A tee sign that shows the lines, pin locations, and the current pin location, combined with concrete tees and this is easily a 4.5 and the best course in the state.

The rough isn't all that thick, but it will definitely add an extra stroke if you miss the fairway by too much. There is a lot of elevation change, and the course design complements that very well.

There are no bathrooms, water, or benches around. This didn't bother me, but it would be something to consider for new-comers. I wish the park could just put one water cooler on the course, even if it's just on the road where the trail crosses. That would be a great little bonus for this course.

I had a great time playing this course. It is definitely going to become the top in the state. I hope to see more from Mike in the future.

The elevation and it's use by the designers is the best feature of this course. The very first hole is a 320' shot that travels downhill about 40 feet. I haven't played all the courses in Louisiana, but the elevation changes on this course are drastic compared to the ones that I have played.

There are some simply phenomenal holes that combine elevation, narrow but fair fairways, and fair distance. The holes that really stand out are 4, 9, 10 and 13. Many of the remaining holes are merely excellent by comparison.

Shot shaping will be rewarded above all else. Some of the baskets on fairly steep slopes are nothing to be trifled with. You will need your putting game here as well. A miss can easily take you out of putting range with a sickeningly long rollaway. I can only image how bad it could be on the 18th hole. I don't think that it would be impossible to roll from the basket all the way back to the tee.

Most of the course is shaded which will help some in the hot summers.

There is little interplay with other aspects of the park. Most of the course was blazed out of forest although trails were used in places. As a consequence there should be few pedestrians or bikers to deal with. I saw none on a weekday afternoon.

There are only a few holes that seem to be dictated by routing considerations. Much more emphasis seems to have been placed on creating some really challenging and beautiful holes.

For a course on a lake I expected the lake to come into play more than it did. There is only one hole with any realistic danger of losing a disc to the lake. Not knowing what was available to the designers, I can't count this as much of an issue, but I was a little disappointed.

This is NOT a course for beginners. Even intermediate players would be wise to consider playing the short tees. This is also not a course to play if you are not in reasonably good shape. Pushing carts may be a challenge here due to the terrain.

This course has natural tee pads. I would ordinarily lower my rating, but they do not hamper my game and unlevel tees can mess up my throw.

This is perhaps the most challenging and enjoyable course in Louisiana. The only real shame is that it isn't closer to my home.

If you are on I-20 on your way through North Louisiana, this is a must play course.

The nearest comparison among courses that I have played is Cedar Glades although I prefer this layout much more.

Ask for a scorecard with a map at the gate or take a picture of the map at the beginning of the course. You will need it - often. It is only $2 to play, which is a better deal that anyone should ask for.

The main thing I like about the course is that it rewards a good shot and punishes a bad one. It forces you to throw shots you're not used to and find creative lines. The elevation really adds a different dimension to the game than what I'm used to playing. There are 2 sets of tees and I recommend playing the reds if you are new to sport. The Blue tees will test your skills and endurance.

The park has a great entrance to the course(s) and great lake views. Scorecards are available at the entrance station.

Another course is being installed sometime soon, so a camping trip with friends would be fun.

This is a brand new course the was cut from a forest, so the tees are a little rough. I hear they are getting concrete tees sometime soon.

The course could use some navigation signs, but if you get a scorecard from the gate there is a map with paths marked on it to help.

When these 2 courses are finished 100% and broken in, it will be a great destination in LA.

I played the course for the first time during the doubles tournament on the opening day for the course. It was a fun course with some tough shots. There were a variety of shots from shot to long and from tight to open. Unlike many of the courses in the area, it has some great elevated holes. They were still adding signs and concrete tee's, but the course is off to a great start. I plan to play it as often as I can. If you plan to play make sure to bring your hiking shoes, as this is not a short or flat course.

None that I can think of.

Big thanks to the guys that took the time and effort to build the an shape the course. It will quickly become one of the best known courses in Louisiana.