Perfect weather, nobody out, nice tee pads, nice baskets, lots of parking

Missing some tee pad marker maps, more trash cans,

Super fun course with some tricky shots, all in all a well rounded course. Look up the map on here you will need it in a few spots playing your first time.

such a fun course! very challenging amount of trees. most of the holes are not super long, which my kids really enjoyed.
fairly intuitive layout.
some serious elevation changes.

probably a tad easy for a top level disc golfer.
some occasional brambles that you will want to stay out of.

is on a college campus, so be aware of college type activity's. for instance we were there on move in day, so there was an inordinate amount of traffic on campus....

Great course on a college campus. Challenging and short. I played 18 in just over an hour. It rained the night before and the course still played well with little mud due to pine needle ground cover.

Great parking. - Played on the weekend and did not have to pay. Not sure if payment is required during the week or school year.

Need to have sign directing folks to the back nine across the soccer field. Overall the signage is very well placed.

The layout: good selection of par 3s and par 4s. There's even a nice par 5 (#15) down a hill.

The upkeep: NAU keeps their course very nice - all tee pads are in tact, there is great signage, and the fairways are clear of trash.

The foliage: If it rains consistently, mint leaves will grow in the area near baskets #2 and #4. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

The parking: probably the easiest place to park and play disc golf ever. This is often overlooked for most courses, but NAU makes it great. There are plenty of parking spaces (especially for a university), and the tee pad for #1 is just a short walk from the parking lot.

The challenge: the course is generally easier than most. Additionally, the first few baskets on the back nine are not the most creative. But considering this course is on university property (and universities typically put buildings on all of the land they own), the designers did a great job of making the most out of what they have. Kudos.

If I'm playing disc golf in Flagstaff (and the Snowbowl course is not an option), NAU is my second choice. Which is good! There are some quality courses in Flagstaff, and NAU is one of them.

- Practice basket
- Water Spigot
- Tree trunk obstacles
- Branch obstacles clear below 15'
- Obstacles near tees
- Obstacles near baskets
- Spectacular Ponderosa pines
- Stunning mountain views
- Blind baskets
- Clever use of elevation
- Couple grip and rip holes
- Great on-line map for smart phone navigation
- Excellent signage
- Decent, but awkwardly sized, concrete tee pads
- Much rock clearing done
- Rock bordered paths made
- No parking pass required on weekends according to campus signage.
- Couple of stores that have a display of discs nearby.

- No bathrooms
- No turnover
- No glide
- Gusts of high wind
- Current pin locations not stickered/noted on permanent signage
- Parking requires pass on weekdays during the peak times
- Couple tricky navigation spots for those first timers not prone to paying attention to the previous tee sign (like myself).

Reviews made it seem like Thorpe was the one to try if you were only in town long enough to try one, so I did. Although a beautiful course, Thorpe was quick to reveal that the hole design lacked creativity, variety or challenge. I noticed the next morning I happened to be staying in walking distance from NAU so I got over there for 8:00 on a Sunday, well before any students were stirring, to give it a try.

The setting: Rolling hills, in view of the snow peaked mountains, laden with tall Ponderosa Pines, occasionally playing tangent to NAU sport and parking facilities. The entire course was brush free and a tremendous amount of effort had been put into clearing loose rock from the playing surface, repurposing it as borders forming walkways to guide to the next hole. No water, no moisture to speak of and no bugs - The tall pines provide intermittent sun coverage.

The Course design was so well done and I was so intrigued after playing it the first time that I skipped some things I had planned before leaving town just to go back and give it a second whirl. What makes this course special is that almost every hole has a reward for a well placed shot. Most holes can be deuced, but none of them easily so you might be ten down one day and even the next - That is what makes a course great. This course uses elevation, near and far obstacles and distance exquisitely to accomplish this. That said, it is a surprisingly open course, easy to pick your lines amongst the obstacles, but you have to execute them precisely over 250'-350' of distance. Add in persistent blasts of wind and some blind targets and you really can see yourself falling in love with the pursuit of a perfect round here.

Here's the rub though for you out of towner's like myself. I normally play at sea level, 7000 feet below this course. I thought there was something wrong with me - I was struggling to drive 300 feet and couldn't get the Boss I brought to click at all. I finally realized after my putts kept dropping like bricks in front of the basket that this thin air really does make a difference. There simply isn't any glide and any disc you bring becomes overstable. At times it was like I was throwing a discus and not a disc. You get used to it, but wow, I never thought I would notice the difference, but it hit me like a sack of door knobs.

Not ready to proclaim this a destination course, but I would recommend making time to try this one of you are in town. Much credit to the course designers for making great use of the hand they were dealt.