The main course at Lake Dillon is one of the more picturesque courses you'll play. There's 18 holes playing through a mixture on pines, aspens and shaggy prairie grasses and brush. Elevation is ever present out here, especially towards the beginning. It eases up on the back nine, but never entirely.

The baskets are Discatchers with the yellow bands. Easy enough to spot in most places. All are in good shape and caught great. Two pin placements per hole with a single basket. All were mounted level. Zero complaints with these.

Basic signs but effective. These have a basic hole map showing both pin positions, hole #, and distances. The best part about the signs is that they have either an orange or a blue circle bolted to the sign denoting which pin position is in the ground. All were accurate too. Always love when there's something like this on signs with multiple pin positions.

The flow of the course is pretty simple to follow. There was on one time where I needed to consult the map, besides finding the first hole that is. There's next tee arrows hanging from the bottom of most of the cages. A few were missing, but most had them. These were very helpful.

There's a decent mix of different shot shapes required out here. Most holes are basically right in front of you, but there's a few that bend one way or the other. Even the straight shots require some shaping due to the multiple pines on most of the holes. There's a good mix of up and downhill holes too. A few pretty extreme downhill ones even, which are always fun to throw.

Concrete tees on each hole. One tee per hole. These were all pretty well done, though pretty small. The pads themselves were plenty grippy and most were level.

The course is free to play too. Restroom by the parking lot during the warmer months and pet friendly. This course is probably not usually too busy due to the rugged nature of it.

My number one con here is the absurd walk just to reach the tee for hole 1. You'll be sucking air before you throw a single shot if you're not used to this altitiude. I've never took a break before throwing a shot before. Until today. At least it ends near the lot though.

Lots of potential for lost plastic here. There's no landmarks on the prairie holes. Especially the downhill ones. You better try to really find something to help you locate your disc. A darker clump of brush, ten feet left of that more openish area, whatever. I'm actually mildly shocked we didn't lose anything today. Spent a decent amount of time looking though.

This isn't really a con, more a warning. This course is a serious hike. I could definitely feel the elevation up here. There's some sketchy downhill walks too. Be sure to take your time going down some of these hills. This is not the place you want to roll an ankle. Lots of loose gravel. Also be sure to bring plenty of liquids, especially if you're not used to playing at elevation.

Kind of repetitive feeling course to be honest. It's a beautiful piece of land, but the golf isn't nearly as epic as the views.

This course is definitely worth a play if you find yourself up this way. I was honestly expecting more from it though. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun course but I just can't see rating it above a 3.5, which is very good. But that's it. I'm in the minority but that's the reality.

A course with beautiful views and some massive elevation plays.

-Basics: Concrete tees, DISCatchers, marginally helpful tee signs that sometimes have pin position indicators.

-Scenery: Out of the many beautiful Colorado courses I played in summer 2021, possibly the most beautiful. Mountain vistas surround you on all sides constantly, and on many holes you can see the Dillon Reservoir below, which is just gorgeous.

-Elevation: Among the most consistent and dramatic of any course I've played (Bucksnort is the only other place I have in mind that really compares). Some holes are uphill slogs and some have valleys or ridges that make the shaping way more fun. The highlights are a couple of dramatic downhill bombs on (4), (5), and (7), although several others such as (18) would be elevation highlights on any other course.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Varying levels. There are some wide open shots only made interesting by elevation, mainly the front half. There are a few great shot shaping holes that combine the slopes with gaps and fairways for excellent gameplay, namely (10)-(11) and (15)-(16). And there are quite a few stylistically halfway between, with some trees to deal with but pretty simple shapes--hyzers and such--to deal with. Obviously, dealing with steep elevation will also be a challenge.

-Multi-Pins: Some holes have multiple placements.

-Second Course: Having the family course on site is cool, because it's appropriate for beginners. The main course is not, at all.

Definitely a few cons to balance out the pros somewhat.

-Blind Shots: The tee signs aren't really helpful other than describing lengths, and most shots are blind. Furthermore, the faded yellow baskets blend in perfectly with the terrain. This results in a lot of guesswork, which can get frustrating.

-Lost Disc: Due to the above con, lost disc potential is high. The elevation also hurts here, as a shot can duck over a hill and you'll have no idea which scrubby bush to look in for it. Also, on downhill bombs, if the wind takes a disc it'll sail for days, quite possibly out of sight.

-Variety: Other than a couple of long pins, all par-3s. This is rather disappointing, as you could make some epic par-4s out here. There are also a lot of shapes that are pretty ho-hum, including wide open ones. I'm curious what a re-routing of this course would do for it.

-Long Walk: It's about a half mile uphill to get to the first tee. If you play the family course first, it cuts off a third or half of that walk.

-Exposure: Brutal sun and wind on the hillside. Don't forget about afternoon mountain storms, either, and be smart about when you play.

Lake Dillon is a truly special course for its massive elevation and incomparable views. I can see why it's rated so highly. Personally, I found the gameplay to be underwhelming for the environment, so my rating is a little lower. On the whole, though, it is a Very Good course, and will stay in the mind of any player for quite some time.

Takes advantage of the available elevation. Incredible views of Lake Dillon and surrounding landscape. Unlike Peak One course, this one is remote and there is very little hazard of hitting non-players in the area. Variety of short and long holes, uphill and downhill shots, wide open and narrow forest shots, and plenty of opportunities to get into trouble on every hole. The course is strenuous (some may say that's a con), bring lots of water and a snack. I love hole #8, it's a lot of fun to rip a drive off a cliff!

It's new, so the tees are dirt, some are flatter than others. A couple odd spots in the layout where you could potentially land your disc on another holes tee.

It's nice to have another option in this area, Peak One course is decent, but overcrowded. This will help spread out the traffic some. I do not recommend bringing a beginner here, this is aimed at intermediate to advanced players.

1. A nice variety of shots and a good mix of distances.
2. Some very wide open holes and some tight fairways, with plenty of elevation changes.
3. A few long, down hill throws in which you can really let rip.
4. Very scenic course, beautiful views of Lake Dillon and the surrounding mountains.
5. Navigation from hole to hole is good, there are already well beaten paths.
6. Nice new shiny Discather baskets.
7. Mostly flat, big natural tee pads. Good chance they will put in permanent tee's later on
8. Plenty of chances to really huck your disc.
9. Practice basket with big, wide open putting area.
10. Geared more towards intermediate to advanced players.

1. There's a 10 minute, mostly uphill hike to the first tee in which you cross 2 fairways.
2. There's potential to get hit with a stray disc with the basket and tee layouts.
3. Layout will be an issue on busy days, tee's are close to baskets and you have to walk across or back towards fairways of other holes.
4. Your likely to have to wait for the group in front of you tee off due to the possibility of hitting them.
5. Some tall and thick sage brush can make disc locating difficult on the long/blind throws.
6. A very steep downhill trail with loose rock from the tee of #8.
7. No hole maps, but distances are at least written on a rock on the tee.
8. Wind can reak havoc and really get a hold of your disc.

The course is still in development, only 11 of the 18 baskets are currently in. Overall the course plays well, challenging with good distances and plenty of elevation change. Biggest complaint is the layout, you'll want to keep your head on a swivel, discs can come at you from every direction. Its a bit rough yet but I expect the minor complaints to be improved as the course gets finished and played more.