This course is interesting, it's not the same old thing. The fairways are nicely mowed and the basket placements and tee areas are creative. Nice parking, decent bathrooms, and trash cans right at the first tee is a real bonus. You can easily spend a whole day in the park, there are nice hiking trails and walking paths, a swimming beach, and decent fishing from shore or a boat (no motors allowed). The crystal clear water here and extremely deep water makes this a popular destination for scuba divers who come from all over the world to dive here. I really like #8, it's a long, curving downhill with nicely mowed fairways that reward a good throw, and it's kind of scenic up along the lakeshore. I'm not sure what kind of baskets these are but they're really nice.

The rough can be a real disc eater, big arms especially could have trouble finding a wayward disc. Some of the rough, and the area right around the 5th tee, consists of thistle and stinging nettle which could ruin your day in a hurry. Many of the basket placements are right up against the rough, so an aggressive throw which goes past the basket more than a foot is in the nasty. Some may find the course a little short, and big arms with poor accuracy could manage to throw a disc in the lake on 6 & 8. #9 was impossible to play for nearly anyone when we were here, you have to throw across the boat launch, to an elevated basket, and the brush and trees on the opposite side had grown up so there was maybe a 6 foot diameter hole to throw through 200' from the tee. Not making your shot on this hole means you get to enjoy the never-warm waters of Lake Wazee. However, you can walk across the launch area and throw from behind a rock wall on the same side as the basket, which actually plays nicely and is kind of interesting because of the height of the rocks and the tight placement of the basket on the right side of the fairway. The 6th tee was hard to find, you have to walk up and into a parking area and the tee is in a little spot with a picnic table. If someone were using that to have a picnic, it would be impossible to throw from there. All the tee boxes could use improvement, cement pads or even gravel, they're a variety of mud, sand, grass, and gravel by they picnic table. Memorial day through Labor day, there's a $3 per vehicle admission fee to the park, a bad deal if you come in by motorcycle as we did.

Reading my "cons" it sounds like this isn't a very good place to play, which is not true. I enjoyed playing here and will be back. There's room for improvement and room for expansion and hopefully both will happen. It was 85 and sunny when we played so we were in shorts and t-shirts. Jeans would be better in the rough, and long sleeves would have saved me a few deer fly bites.

1) Metal signs with the DGA stickers. Nice idea because they didnt have to pay for signs that will so easily crack. Hole #, Par, distance, and a map with the DGA stickers is more than adequate information.

2) Garbage can available at tee #1 and also at the other end of the course by tee #7.

3) Bathrooms available in the parking lot were open in November when we were likely the only people in the park that entire day (cold and kinda rainy).

4) Wood timber sank into the ground at grade to mark the end of the tee area. These were probably 8" wide which is so mcuh bette than 4x4's which often get used . . . because the grass will not grow over it as easily as a smaller piece of wood.

5) Very scenic course. You get views of the water, views of the prairieside, you work your way up the hill for the best views of the park.

6) Cool park with a cool history. This park was established by the mining compnay who used the quarry (Now Lake Wazee), and when they were done mining an area they already had a plan on how to reclaim the land. This park as it exists today is the result of that conscientious company. I thank them for being ambassadors of the land. I also look to see more disc golf here, it looks like there is plenty of land for it!!!!

7) Mowed fairways through prairie areas. It looks like they keep up with the mowing regularly.

8) Elevation change is used well here on holes #1, #8 and #9. The slightly elevated tees above the rest of the hole on #5 and #6 are minor but cleverly used to change the view of the hole. #1 is a bigger uphill, #8 is a big downhill, and #9 throws over the edge of the launch ramp (dive access) and you need to keep it in the air over the other side because if you hit anywhere ont he hill it will likely be back in the water. There also is a big swale just over the water that you cannot see. You want to fly that entire area . . . I did not I hit a tree ended up 20 feet in the water (retrieved my disc) and moved on.

9) Variety is the spice of life here, there is plenty of shot selection needed, water is in play, elevation is in play, challenge is present on many of the holes, trees are used well. Distances are varied nicely also. There are some shorter holes and some longer holes offering a variety of different drives in a round.

10) The fear of dropoffs on holes #3, 6, 7, and 8 are good for this course. You could end up not being able to see the basket if you go more than a few feet over any of the edges of these holes.

1) Rough could be very difficult to walk through and easy to lose discs in during the summer.

2) A couple of the transitions on this course are a little goofy. #8 fairway uses a good portion of #1 fairway in the opposite direction so that could be a problem. The walk from #4 to 5 tee is a little wierd and a first timer might not see it at first. The tee sign is not visible from #4 basket. For #6 tee you walk down the mowed grass (beyond the 5th basket) and up around to the backside of the rock wall that is visible. The sign is up there and you throw from that area. The walk from #7 to #8 is long and then #9 basket ends near the parking lot and I am happy it is where it is, because it makes a great hole but the flow is a little wierd.

3) More garbage cans could be useful here because it is a long way between #1 and #7, but I suppose they do not want to have to send someone into the middle of the course.

4) Walking paths come into play on multiple occassions. These paths are narrow and winding in spots so walkers or other park patrons might not know they are walking through the middle of a disc golf course. Be courteous.

5) Teepads are probably the biggest thing missing here. The ground on some of the tees is lumpy and muddy, others have gravel in the ground. They are horribly inconsistant something I really hate on a disc golf course. I dont mind for fairway shots to be dependent on the ground you land on but a teepad should be nice and consitant between holes. Concrete would make this better but it is a new course so I will be forgiving. Perhaps it isn't allowed in this park however, but I would doubt that considering how much asphalt they have on the path surrounding the lake in this park.

I think this has potential to be nearly a disc course. I would like to see 9 more holes minimum, I would like to see concrete, but the disc golf that they present you with is very good. A few of the other issues with flow and routing could be altered with not much effort too. As it is right now I am giving this course a 3, but I think it could get as high as 4 with some modifications and additions. I look forward to coming back to this park . . . and maybe they will even develop more areas with disc golf . . . there is plenty of property. I am even looking into some property near the park as a potential disc golf/ recreational park as a business venture. The price is right if I can find other investors and can do some work into figuring out how much of the land is usable for DG.

I got to fully experience Lake Wazee today too, it was snowing slightly when I teed off on #9 and my disc went into the lake after hitting a branch on a tree on the other side. It was about 20' away from the edge so I thought it might be too deep for me to get. I grabbed a branch and walked all the way around . . . got down to the water and realized it wasnt that deep and it was a sandy bottom area so I walked in with water up to my groinal region. I threw the disc into the basket from where I could stand and nearly put it in for a circle three. It would have been a sweet 75' throwin with no view of the basket, but it was sitting right under the basket when I got to the top. It was literally 5 degrees or so, snowing, and cold and windy, but I had to go in because the disc I threw was my first ace disc. I changed into extra clothes and went on my way, but I thoroughly enjoyed my stop here as did my wife both fo the DG and being able to videotape myself and the disc retieval.