A 9er with some interesting holes.

-Amenities: Concrete tees, single chain baskets, good tee signs including hole maps.

-Opening: Dude, probably the best one-two opener I've seen on a nine-hole course. The first plays downhill through hardwoods and over a creek that could easily gobble ricochets. The second is a slight uphill theme on the same variation - there are multiple possible lines, all narrow, with a scenic green and OB punishment.

-"Friendly": Easy to play, easy to navigate, hard to lose discs. Great difficulty for newer players.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: A phenomenal start with a weaker finish. The first two are great, and (3) is also a cool shot with the river and dam in view. Then, (4) is the best chance to throw a longer drive. From there, (5) and (6) are moderately interesting stock shots, and (7)-(8) are pretty boring and wide open. (9) is a great finish, a big downhill drive with the basket in a cluster of bushes. Although the lengths don't vary much, the type of shot changes up consistently and it's fun to go for the birdies.

Next to nothing, except that it's a 9er.

-Shortness: Only two holes over 300'. There just isn't much room in the park to stretch out, in addition to a lack of usable obstacles. As noted, though, this is a decent length for newer players to enjoy.

-Variety: (7) and (8) are wide open and windy, with only a hill adding challenge. The middle section, while acceptable, doesn't present anything out of the ordinary either.

-Construction: There was ongoing construction on hole (7). Other than being an eyesore, it has yet to be determined what impact this has on the course.

For a park of this size, this is a great course. It uses the park features excellently and doesn't try to be bigger than it is. I loved the first three holes along the creek, and though it loses some momentum, Pepper Branch remains a good example of a 9er. In the scope of all courses, it's solidly Typical, a fun birdie hunt with no issues.

The designers have used this small piece of land about as effectively as possible. There are no completely wide open holes because the course uses a small line of trees effectively on one section of the course and another section uses a small wooded creek to force players to throw accurate shots. Holes are of a decent length and because of the aforementioned use of trees, the course provides a a decent challenge even to intermediate players. There is a course map by the first tee that shows the layout of the course,and the tee posts and corresponding baskets are color coded for easier identification.

The natural tee pads are marked simply by a post with no distances. Some of the tee pads were not exactly level and it was difficult to find a comfortable spot on the tee. Due to the small piece of land that is located on, three of the six baskets played across the same strip of trees. If the course were to ever get crowded, I could foresee some safety issues with the overlapping fairways and close proximity of some tees and baskets. The biggest con would probably have to be that's it's only 6 holes but I honestly don't see where they could have put any more baskets. The pars are listed in the course map and three holes are listed as par 4 but this course is definitely all par 3s to any moderately experienced player.

Overall, I enjoyed this small course. I would consider myself an intermediate player and I shot +2 because of an errant tee shot on 1 that hit a tree (and my poor putting). Every tee shot requires some kind of placement and accuracy. The first hole plays through a tight gap over a creek. The second hole requires a fairly lengthy hyzer shot around a large tree and through a gap and over the creek. The third shot has a fairly small gap about 30 feet from the tree that then opens up into a field. The next shot then comes back to that same strip of trees but you can go over them if you have any kind of distance. Fifth hole is on the opposite side of a patch of trees but you can pretty much just go around them. The last hole plays over the same thin strip as 3 and 4 but requires a high hyzer. I have visited Mcminneville quite often recently and am glad there is an option for disc golf. I just wish it was a longer course but because of the layout of the last four holes, you could easily play a safari 9 holes. If you are in Mcminnevile, you should check it out. It's definitely not a destination course or worth a long drive but I felt like the holes were well thought out and provided a nice introduction to this great sport.