I could not believe the previous ratings were that high. So, I drove 50 miles to play this baby. This course has a lot in 9 holes. They have deep woods, wide open, protected baskets, OB, blind drives, and much more. I will have to admit, when I showed up, I looked out there and thought I wasted my time. I was pleasantly mistaken. The baskets were brand new "almost homemade looking," but were just fine. The tee signs were in good shape and somewhat helpful. There is one hole where you must tee off into a deep wooded are and try to get your shot up and over the woods to the basket that is in the wide open but has woods all the way up to it. It was so much fun; a few drives were thrown on this one. The title was representative to me finding where this basket eventually was. The protected basket holes were well done. This course has a nice layout and ends you back up at the beginning.

The dirt/grass tees were in good shape but can get muddy quick. The ground here will hold water, so playing after a rain will be a wet adventure. There were two holes along a fence to a field. These are just pointless obstacle style holes, but maybe some think it is clever. This may be seasonal, so I won't count this against my rating, but the horseflies and mosquitoes were horrible. The baskets are so bright, it really helps navigation, but sometime finding the next hole was nota as easy as I thought it should be. Parking could have been better, but parking next door and walking over was a good deal. The first hole was near there anyway.

The Fun Factor was so much more than it looked like from the parking lot next door. There were poor holes and some fun holes and some typical holes. The fun holes were worth the trip for me. Others may not feel that way, but it left an impression on me. So, nice job shout out to the designer and their clever layout. I would certainly play here again!

Literally brand new baskets! These things are the newest baskets I've played on. They are all placed creatively and there's only a few that you can approach from straight on.

The grounds are meticulously maintained well, freshly cut grass.

Fantastic signs at every tee box, that were engraved plastic, really wish my home courses would invest in some of these. With the footage and par (All Par 3's except 1 300' hole labeled as a Par 4)

Despite there being no Tee pads (There's a piece of wood designating the end of each box) The ground behind each one was flat and level.

Quick games, played about 3 rounds in a little more than an hour with my group of 4.

Very friendly locals. When we pulled up a man who identified himself as the grounds keeper pointed us in the direction of the first tee.

At the first tee there's a sign with rules and a large course map.

Despite being a short course, you will have to throw a variety of shots here, anhyzers, hyzers etc. Surprisingly technical and challenging. But a great placed for beginners to improve there game and work on a variety of shots.

Very short, 1 300' hole, other than that I don't recall there being any longer than 200' Just bring along your favorite midrange and putter and you're set.

Drainage is sketchy at best, there were flat areas of the course that were very soggy so expect to get your feet a little dirty if you play after a rainy day.

The baskets had fewer chains than I'm used to, So they took a little bit of getting used to as the discs didn't grab as easily.

Despite the natural teepads being level and flat and more or less uniform. I still prefer concrete or asphalt pads.

The town in which it's located is very small population under 200. So take advantage of the amenities and businesses located in Grand Rapids (about 15 minutes away)

I was very discouraged after I played Itasca Community College, thinking DG in this area of Minnesota just wouldn't compare to what I'm used to in Portland.

However Norththern Lights DGC was a very pleasant surprise. Despite it being short it's very challenging and technical and there's a lot of variety between the holes.

The friendly groundskeeper I spoke of earlier also told us that the course is brand new, opened on May 20th, 2010 and it was designed by the Students of the local school (grades 6-12). Not only that but all the funds were raised by said students.

Itasca Community College students should be ashamed. Just 15 miles down the road from their joke of a course is this tiny gem. Designed by kids who are anywhere from 3-5 years younger.

I was very impressed with what they were able to do with this course and the challenge it provided. Despite it's very few and very minor shortcomings I'd recommend this course to anyone passing through the area. It's a great place to gauge your putting and midrange game.