Lakeside Hills, recently redesigned, has a great mix of short and long holes, par 3 and 4, and great hill usage. The uphill holes (1, 4, 8, and 10) are some of my favorite uphill holes I've ever played, since those are usually filler holes on other courses.

Tee pads, signs, and baskets are good quality. There's good signage to help you find the next tee. Rocks serve as benches on roughly half the holes, and there's a new wooden staircase to help you get to hole 4's tee, an area that is often muddy.

The only holes that are heavily wooded, holes 4, 5, and somewhat 18 and 10, are really challenging and provide a nice variety away from the openness of everything else. But maybe 4 is a little too tight, though two great shots will certainly get you to the long pin.

Most holes have some kind of opportunity to air it out, while still having some danger. Holes 3, 13, and 16 have a low ceiling off the tee, 1, 16, and 17 have OB, and the hills provide danger of sailing long or having awkward putts. Hole 9 is a far downhill shot like none other due to trees forcing a higher line than would be optimal. Hole 18 has a weird line into the long position, but a good drive will have a somewhat open approach.

On the longer holes, there's still some variation and obstacles to avoid. Unless you're able to place your disc in the same spot off the tee, approaches will vary wildly from round to round. A small difference in drives can result in different angles to the basket for your second shot. So even if you won't be hitting any trees off the tee, there is still reason to put the disc on a certain side of the fairway.

Most holes, including pretty much every hole on the back 9, play directly either north or south. It gets repetitive, especially when there is little variance with wind direction. Speaking of wind, parts of this course are pretty elevated, so there's a lot of wind sometimes.

A few of the par 4's don't quite stand up to standard. They're still fun and challenging, but a long shot can get pretty far down there. At the same time, there are a couple of par 3's that play as two-shot holes, despite being labeled otherwise. As a result, several holes will have pins whose pars don't make sense for several skill levels.

There's some opportunity for mud after rains, but grass has grown on the new hills in the last year, which should keep everything mostly dry.

A handful of holes seem like filler to me. Hole 2 is just straight uphill and pretty boring, holes 6 and 7 are flat and a little boring, and hole 15 is unexciting as well. I don't think any of those add anything to the course. A few of the open holes on the back nine can start to get repetitive, although they do all have a different fairway shape to them. I'm also personally not a fan of hole 16, due to the low ceiling, then odd upslope. It's unique, but in a bad way in my opinion.

This course has finally recovered from the redesign when the rest of the park was improved and a new road ruined a couple of the former holes. Only holes 1, 9, and 10 are the same as the original layout. With signs and grass, it is in good condition. However, I think there was some missed opportunity to have some really awesome holes, even a par 5 or two. There's certainly the land for it, especially if the pond near hole 3 was available.

There's a path running through parts of the course, mainly coming into play on holes 1, 3, and 17. Make sure to avoid other park users, but the path does make a challenging OB element on those holes, especially since 1 and 3 have woods on the opposite side of the fairway as the path. Fortunately, it's easy to see if there's anyone coming on all those holes.

I really like this course. I think it's one of the more challenging and accessible long, open courses out there while still managing to give a different experience every time. This is certainly a round down to get to a 4.0 review for me.

What I like about Lakeside Hills DGC is the elevation changes. My favorite element in course setting. There is at least a little on most holes here, and a whole lot on a couple of them.

Other positives are the great concrete tees and signs, good baskets with dual pin positions on many holes, converging nines layout, and a little water and woods here and there. There are some very long holes, as well as a few birdie opportunities. Par varies depending on pin position, and some of the par 3's are quite lengthy.

Hole 1 is a good start, a long uphill drive with a pond near the short pin. Hole two was a nice one also, teeing over a ground swell to a blind pin that is down the other side of the hill a fair distance. Hole 4 is a fun drive out of the trees, and a good birdie chance if pin is in the short. Number 9 is long and downhill, and takes a good snap to keep from fading out against the lakeside breeze. The back nine starts uphill again on 10, this time through a corridor of trees until it flattens out. 17 is a massive downhill drive has a couple of mature trees to get around. The finish is strong, maybe my favorite hole here and one of the most wooded. It is moderately downhill and there are gaps that constrict the line.

There are holes that are long and mostly open, that can be a bit dull. Long distance may frustrate newbies and those with limited distance.

I did turn one over and lose sight of a disc on hole 15, and it sailed away down the hill to the right side, never to be found. It was a nice red and yellow tie dye Tee Bird I have had for a while.

The great weather brought out lots of disc golfers, and a large group caused some delay.

DGCR app listed par at 56, but I'm not sure if every hole was accurate to the par for pin locations that day. I was way over what ever actual par was, at 67. Even the three birdies couldn't help me from being double digits over par.

Birdland kind of reminds me of a more tame version of Blue Valley in KCMO. Fun and well designed, but not as much elevation change or trees. It is one I will give my seal of approval. One of many great courses in the area, and worth checking out.

Versatile course. Open and closed, short and long fairways with drastic elevation changes.
Most holes have maps

Lots of snakes
short tee pads
Some maps scratched out

Great course that calls for every shot in your arsenal

- Well maintained
- Great tee pad setup (concrete pads with lots of rock around them, signage, and benches and/or boulders, and pretty consistently shaded)
- Well signed
- Area the course is in is dedicated to the course
- Old golf cart paths follow some of the course
- Some pretty good elevation changes

- Not enough trash cans
- Could lose a disc pretty easily
- No convenient restrooms

This course plays more towards the strengths of distance players as opposed to technical players, especially when the baskets are at their long positions. Water is only really a hazard on hole one and wind can be a big issue. The course seems so big it rarely seems all that crowded to me.

- Concrete tee pads, Discatchers, and signs with footage.
- A serious disc golf course with only DG traffic.
- Long and challenging resulting in an arm and leg workout.
- Elevation changes on most holes.
- 7 or 8 bomber holes.
- Easy to navigate.
- "Tree Pads" - Most all tees have shade trees.
- Tee areas are stunningly well manicured.
- Large stones by tee pads double as benches and landscape markers.
- During growing season rough is tall but fairways are manicured giving
the course a ball golf feel.
- Holes 14 through 17 are four of the most picture perfect disc golf holes I have ever thrown.
- After hole 9 you can swing by car to grab more goodies.
- I have played this course over 10 times in the last two years and the turf has always been maintained beautifully. One of KCs best.

- Can be somewhat busy during prime throwing hours.
- May be a little open for the technical crowd.
- Pack water, bug spray, and a sweat towel.

This course is a serious challenge demanding concentration and stamina to score well. Though the course is only two years old, it has matured overnight into one of KCs most premier
disc golf destinations. When people mention courses such as Wyco, Water Works, Blue Valley, Swope, Cliff Drive, and Rosedale this course can be added too that list of championship level courses. The parks dept. and course designers should be commended for creating such a beautiful disc golf course. The disc golfers in KC are some of the luckiest throwers in the world.

Happy Putting

After visiting this course today (3/8/2015) I had to update my review. It looks like the course has been worked on and updated for the 2015 season. My overall score on this course has gone way up as most of the negatives have been addressed. The improvements are listed below.

- Front 9 is the best half of a course in KC area.
- Fun challenging holes

- Tee pads are too short

1. I love the new hole 12. One large tree in the middle of the fairway has been cut, as well as two directly guarding the basket. Instead of having to lob a shot over the trees to the basket, you now have the option of a low line drive up the middle.

2. Hole 11 basket is on the hill right now. This placement is far superior to the previous placement

3. Underbrush has been cut down.

Variety in holes. Great Scenery. Concrete tee pads. Multiple pin placements. Disc only land, so no walkers or picnickers. Trash can and seating at every hole.

Three holes on the back 9 are very similar, they vary in length but feel to similar. No restroom Facilities, unless you count an out of place looking porta potty near hole 15 I believe.

This is my new favorite course.

Lakeside Hills contains a great combination of some shorter, technical holes, and some super long, let 'er rip holes, with a lot of variation in between those extremes. Many interesting holes without anything being overly frustrating if you screw it up. There aren't a ton of places where you're going to be searching and searching for a disc, but there are definitely places that will be more than just an inconvenience if you find yourself there.

The terrain is also used very very well. The course gradually leads you up the hills, many times in interesting ways, such as a few blind shots where you only see the location once you get uphill. You're also rewarded with a few big throws from the top of the hills, which is always very satisfying to watch it glide down the hill.

Navigating the course is an absolute breeze, as nearly every basket has a sign near it pointing you to the next tee. There's really only one transition from 9 to 10 that would be tough without the signage, but it's definitely appreciated.

The main cons are mostly due to the course being so new.

The first is that there are not any signs at the tees showing the pin locations and distance. It was actually kind of fun to explore this way the first time out, but will definitely be necessary once they have multiple pins in place.

Which brings us to the second con; there is only one pin per hole currently. However, it is obvious that the holes are set up such that there will be many interesting alternate placements. I would wager they thought about multiple placements when this was planned, so I look forward to the course's continued improvement.

An amazing course for a course that is so new, and I can see this being a real gem of a course in Olathe.

This course used to be a ball golf course, and the way they used the lay of the land is fantastic. It plays very well and has something for every player. There's very straightforward holes with minimal elevation change, tunnel shots, technical holes, and lots of other fun with the rolling hills.

Gorgeous views of Lake Olathe from several of the holes.

Not very crowded yet. We had a few groups playing around us, but nothing major.

Tees are now concrete, with pea gravel all around them. Big flat rocks take the place of benches throughout the course.

This course is probably a bit above our skill level, but even as such, we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Even when we did horribly at a hole or two, I could see where the designer was going with the layout and appreciated it greatly.

Navigation is somewhat intuitive, and generally there are signs to guide you to the next hole. Just be aware of the longer hike to the left after you finish hole 9.

This course is out of the way somewhat. We were there on a gorgeous day and there was almost nobody there, minimal road noise, etc. On the back holes you feel like you're almost in the middle of nowhere; great for concentrating on your shot without road noise or other distractions.

Feel free to zip over the lake to the Lake Olathe beach afterwards and cool off with the beverage of your choice. Swimming isn't technically allowed, but we liked the touch of having something right next to the course to do after, since we traveled over 30 miles to get here.

Several trash cans around for all your refuse needs.

There was very little trash scattered on the course; maybe just because it's new and hasn't been played as much, but it let us enjoy the nature of the area even more than usual.

UPDATE: I came back in early November to play a round and was pleased to find the course still very well maintained. It has shaped up nicely and although they haven't made any upgrades, this tranquil, gorgeous course was still a ton of fun to play.

Again, since this was an old ball golf course, there are cart paths everywhere; sometimes these can come into play if your disc lands on them just right.

The last few holes (14-17) got somewhat repetitive, and were basically switchbacking over the same section of ground with minimal changes between them. The rough around those holes is also VERY tall and we almost lost two discs in it, so be accurate and careful!

Watch for poison ivy/oak! My burning, itching legs urge you not to make the mistake I made.

Try to stay out the rough -- I've never played a course with so many burrs! I had to throw out the long socks I (thankfully) wore to this course.

This is part of it being a new course, but there are no real signs, just markers indicating the hole number. Also, no bag hangers or benches.

Parking is fairly minimal, and just along the side of the road. Not a big deal when we were there, but it might be if this course gets busier.

For visitors to KC or anyone else, this is way out on the far southwest edge of the metro. You can make the judgement on whether it's worth coming to; I personally think it's very unique and a very fun play. Of the farther-out suburban courses I've played, I might actually recommend it for something different if you're from out of town.

This course is very long, and there's not a convenience store or anything too terribly close. I might bring water and a snack if you're not used to the long hike.

The first half of this course, even without the signage and benches, almost deserves a 4.5 in my book. The back half is slightly less exciting, but it has enough right-left/left-right and elevation change opportunities to keep it interesting.

Since the course is long, it does take a while to play, but I think it was definitely worth it. Gorgeous views, nicely done! Can't wait to see this course grow and mature over time.

UPDATE: Not sure if they added pin positions between when we first played in September and when I came back in November, but for holes 1 and 10, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! 1 was already a pretty long slog up a hill, and they basically just extended it about 50-100 feet. 10, instead of being a neat uphill tunnel shot, now has a fierce left dogleg that goes about 100 feet -- then you have to double back over it to get to 11. Also, with no signs up, they should be pretty careful moving pins around as to not confuse us too terribly much. Course is most definitely still a 4!

- This course uses every element the land has to offer like woods, hills, etc. to make this the best course it could be.
- Tee stations are very nice! Concrete tee pads were very long and grippy. Gravel around the tees was good to keep it from getting really muddy. Large rocks at tees are a good natural bench and each hole has a tee number so you know what hole it is.
- Fairways are mowed very well to tell where the pin is and are just really nice looking
- Brand new Discatcher pro baskets are always a huge plus in my opinion
- Scenic views of the lake and beyond
- Tons of variety in each hole! I had to use every throw and every disc I had on this course to score well!
- Natural flow of the course was pretty good and navigation was a breeze with the next tee signs
- Excellent variety of lengths. Some holes were very very long and others were super short. This really adds to the fun factor
- Very challenging course layout!
- Good park and grass was pretty well mowed

- I do wish they had tee signs that gave distances and told where the basket was becuase this would be useful.
- Some holes had a longer than normal walk to the next tee, especially from nine to ten
- Brush has tons and I mean TONS of burrs that get all in your leg hair and socks and tons of poison ivy so stay in the fairway!
- Would have liked some multiple pin locations to mix it up
- Rock benches were a little too close to the tee pads on some holes and sort of crowded even though there was room to put them somewhere else

Overall, this is a pretty good course that uses the rolling hills very well and is just really well designed. I would like to come back and play this course another time and it is worth the stop.