Pros:
If you follow the directions listed on this site/your GPS to get to the Porcupine Mountains disc golf course, you will pass a road sign stating that the end of the earth is only 2 miles away. Don't worry - by the time you get here the sign may feel accurate (you are a full hour's drive away from the nearest town large enough to have chain restaurants) but your drive was not for nothing. The course is only a half mile after the sign on your left.
This course is seasonal and makes use of a ski area with the same name. The signage here is very well done. There is a kiosk at the front of the course with a large color course map, as well as distance and par for every hole. All 18 tee signs show the map/distance/par for the hole. Kudos to Ryszard Olszewski who is credited with making this signage for an Eagle Scout project in 2019. There are also nice Next Tee signs in the places they are needed.
The 18 baskets are all present and in good condition, but they are the wheeled/seasonal variety so they are not necessarily level.
The course plays as two very distinct 9 hole experiences that start and end at the same point (same tee area is used for hole #1 and #10). The front nine is mostly flat and short, and plays along some fairly tight dirt/gravel paths through the woods. This front nine has some holes that would be suitable for beginners or families just looking for something different to try in the area. The back nine is much longer and plays up and down the ski hill, with wide fairways (often the ski slopes). From a couple of the back nine tee pads you get a great view of the ski chalet down the hill and Lake Superior in the distance behind it. On hole #17 you throw down the slope the chairlift is on, again with a view of Lake Superior in the background. I would say this back nine caters more towards "serious" disc golfers.
Cons:
Course maintenance appears to be minimal. The fairways on the back nine are mostly tall grass, with some muddy areas when I played. The rough is also thick throughout the course. There is real possibility of losing a disc here.
Pin placement and hole design is pretty unimaginative. It looked like the designers chose to mostly use existing pathways (front nine) and existing cleared slope areas (back nine) rather than clearing any new areas for the course. Most baskets are just in the open, other than a few that are placed right next to the thick rough. There is good variety in length, but probably not much challenge for a "serious" disc golfer even on the back nine.
Natural/gravel/dirt tee pads.
Other Thoughts:
This is not a "pay to play" course per se, but you need a current State of Michigan Recreation Passport to enter the state park where this course is found.
There is no cell service here, so plan accordingly.
Thanks to the state and others involved in putting in a disc golf course here and giving visitors to this area something else to do besides hiking and camping. That said...I honestly left this course somewhat disappointed. This was my first time vacationing in the Porkies (Porcupine Mountains), and I'm pretty sure there isn't a boring trail in the park based on the ones I hiked. The entire region is absolutely beautiful, and this ski resort area is no exception. Yet, this disc golf course manages to have a front nine that is entirely unremarkable and a back nine where several holes feel like they aren't worth the trek up and down the hill. There are probably at least a couple of individual holes here that players of any skill level would find interesting and accessible. But, I don't really feel like the course as a whole would be fully satisfying to anyone. Some of the front nine holes will feel like throwaway holes to a serious disc golfer. A family might skip the entire back nine.
The land here has "destination course" written all over it but this current course design mostly fails to take advantage. I think with a significant redesign and some regular maintenance the land available here could become a 5 star course, but right now it falls far short of that. I am glad I played the course, but honestly unless you are vacationing in the Porkies it's probably not worth the drive.
If you do decide to make the trip to play this course, don't leave without continuing up the highway to take in the view at the Lake of the Clouds overlook!