-Good mix of distances, without favoring long bombers over short technical holes

-Great property that is somewhat off the beaten path (though Sterling is a decent-sized town) in a multi-use park that doesn't have too much in the way of non disc-golf activity

-Ample parking, bathrooms and trash cans..all the amenities you could want in a park course

-Good use of vegetation and water, even on the open holes; paths lead to natural OB that adds to the challenge

-No teepads. A recent tournament (Stake Your Claim 2015) has raised funds for pads to be put in, so this con may not be relevant in the near future

-A tale of two courses...fairly open park style front nine with a tight and challenging wooded back nine. Evidence of the original nine hole layout exists in mixed and outdated teesigns on the front nine

-There is a dangerous tree directly off the teepad of hole 18 for RHBH or LHFH players. I smashed my hand on it pretty good resulting in a gruesome finger injury.

This course is off the beaten path for sure. About half an hour away from the more popular and longer established Optomist course in Ft. Morgan, Pioneer offers a decent course to hit up if you're in the area. Not a destination course, by any means.

Favorite holes: 1,2,9, 13

Least favorite holes: 4, 8, 14, 16

Super bummer hole due to personal injury on the teepad: 18

Great park setting with many other amenities for no disc throwers. Design of the course made for some very interesting holes that kept you thinking. A good variety of length and type of shot. Even the holes that are "open" make extremely good use of the trees that are there. The baskets are consistent. There is a lot of character in this course. This is a very fun course to play and really makes for a good experience.

No tee pads. There are just signs in the ground and baskets down the way. Signage varies and is often without accurate distances on the few signs that have that information. Many of the signs are in the ground right in the way of where one would want to throw. There is no easy way to figure out where the course starts or ends without knowing before hand as there is no general information sign. Some of the baskets could use a little tightening as the baskets are not level despite perfectly vertical center poles. Holes 11-15 feel a little bit repeatative when they are all right next to each other like they are. Several tees feel like they are in the way of the previous fairway or have the previous basket in the next fairway (so be sure to watch out where you are throwing on holes 2, 5, 7, and 12).

I spent the time to make sure I knew where I was going in the park to be able to find the first hole. The second drive West of the ball fields would be the best bet, leaving the first tee next to the horse shoe pits on your right with parking right there. Make sure you look at the map or take a map with you the first time because some of the tee signs are hard to find from the previous basket. Rumor has it that this course is in process for improvement which might include tee pads. It really is a gem of a course and with a few improvements will improve significantly.

Pioneer Park DGC in Sterling Colorado is a mix of park course and high plains forest. The front nine have marked yardage and tall metal signage that duels as bag hangers with a crude map drawn on them, they are quality. The back nine is marked with knee high posts that only bear the number of the hole, but the quality of the holes in the back nine make up for what the signs lack.

The course can be broken down into three main parts with their own characteristics. Excellent park grass and occasional tall trees on numbers 1-3, and 16-18. Arid weeds of the high plains and the occasional dry tree on long holes behind baseball fields on numbers 4-8. Tight woods with short interesting lines on 9-15. The three different styles provide good game transitions, but mostly this is a great big arm course.

9-15 make a day trip worth the effort. Unheard of tight woods, nearly Washington like, but drier, unlike any place I've played in the High Plains regions of Wyoming Colorado and Nebraska. While playing, I wanted to say that this course was nearby Optimist in Ft. Morgan's twin, but the woods in the back set it apart. The fairways in the back have been cleared away of debris and mowed, including the paths from the basket to the next tee.

There is only dirt and grass to tee off from. Pioneer Park has only one pin position per hole that I can tell. Some of the wooded holes are mostly straight short shots. Ants all over the area behind the baseball fields. The maps only show the first nine holes. The yardage for the back nine is not marked anywhere. Numbers 3 to 4 and 8 to 9 had me turned around a bit and the map was helpful.

Whomever designed this course is getting the job done piece by piece. It's obvious that the back nine is more recent than the front. I imagine that better signage in the back and then tee boxes will follow. Other than that, there isn't much more to improve upon, great job Sterling! One more note, for being in a busy park with people everywhere, I never once had a problem with people on the course. The park is very clean. I didn't see one speck of garbage anywhere. The creek that two and eight play with even have little schools of fish in it.