DGCR research aside, do you ever just know that a course is going to be amazing - before you even tee off? That's the feeling I got when I stepped onto the first pad at Rainshadow DGC.

This 18-hole course is located in the northeastern corner of the scenic Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. It's only a couple of minutes drive off of US-101, the main road that runs around the outside of the peninsula. Once you exit US-101, there are clear signs pointing towards the course as you approach. The course's name reflects the fact that it sits in the "rainshadow" of the Olympic (mountain) Range - an area of relatively low rainfall that is the result of the mountains causing all the moisture to rain out of the clouds on the opposite (Pacific Ocean) side. Reviewer Phlick went into a lot more detail about this below, if you are curious!

Rainshadow DGC is set in a park dedicated to disc golf only. The park is quite hilly, and mostly covered in towering spruce trees. Even in June, I caught a whiff of pine needles on a few occasions. The trees and elevation changes are used throughout the course to create all kinds of interesting holes. You could probably ask five different DG'ers what their favorite hole is and get five different answers. Some of the most memorable for me were:
- #1: The first hole features a beautiful view of the Olympic Range from the tee pad. If you can bear to look down from that, it's only a 224' downhill throw to the basket and the fairway is wide open. You'll probably want to throw more than one disc at this ace run, but beware - the terrain slopes downward into thick rough on both sides. Tough recoveries for par (or worse), or even lost discs would be possible here - especially on windy days.
- #2: The second hole tees off from a safe distance behind the first basket. The first 200' or so of the fairway continues down the same hill, but then it turns very sharply to the right and moves into the woods, back up and over a smaller hill for another 275' or so to the basket. The angle of the turn is way over 90 degrees, but the woods are so dense that cutting the corner off appears to be pretty much impossible. Par 4.
- #5: Fun downhill throw through the woods on a fairway carved out in a gentle "S" shape. Signed as a par 4, but birdies are definitely possible on this 388' hole if you can follow the line.
- #7: This is the only hole with two tee pads. From the long Blue tee, it measures 481'. You will tee off from the top of a very steep hill, with another nice view of the valley below. Your target is a straight but relatively narrow grass-covered fairway that begins about 150' off the tee at the bottom of the hill. Thick rough on both sides. The grassy fairway is about 250' long and fairly level, then the last part of the hole curls to the left to the basket. What wasn't obvious to me until after I threw is that the rough also slopes steeply down from the fairway on both sides - making things a whole lot tougher if you miss the fairway. Disc loss is a very distinct possibility here - use a spotter if possible. I actually gave my RHBH drive way too much anhyzer and it may have been lost to the woods even with my spotter there, but I got very lucky and it kicked hard off a tree right back onto the fairway near the short pad. That short pad is near the beginning of the grassy fairway, and makes this hole a lot more approachable for newer disc golfers.
- #11: This one may have been my personal favorite. It's a 433' throw that initially curls to the left, then kinks back to the right and plays down and back up a valley dotted with trees. Very picturesque.

I literally deleted a couple of other memorable hole descriptions here - you get the idea! Overall, the variety is great. There are left turns, right turns, and straight throws. Obstacle-wise, there is everything from the completely open beginning hole, to #13 (only 158', but with a very tight but fair line to hit in the woods). Holes play downhill, uphill, and along undulating terrain - and a couple are even flat. In general, this is a technical course that will require accuracy over distance. Hole distances range from the 158' to 481' numbers mentioned above, with the average hole distance being about 280'. There aren't any gimmes or easy ace runs here though, other than maybe that first hole. I felt like I threw a very good round overall, and finished three over par.

The fairways are a mix of dirt, and grass that was freshly mowed when I visited. The park appeared to be very well maintained, despite being in what felt like the middle of nowhere.

The baskets are yellow banded DISCatchers - they are in great shape and are easy to spot. One pin position per hole. There is a practice basket as well, on the opposite side of the parking lot from the first tee.

The tee signs have the hole number, distance, par, and a rough map of the hole. There is one tee position per hole, with the exception of #7 as discussed above. There are two different trails from #6 leading to the two different tees, and they are well marked.

That brings me to the other signage here, which is impeccable. There is a huge kiosk at the parking lot that has a detailed course map, park rules, and other information. High quality "Next Tee" signs are pinned to trees wherever needed. When there are other paths leading off into the woods, these are also marked. For example, a service road that is presumably used to maintain the course is identified with signs. There are cautionary signs at what appeared to be a couple of ORV trails that skirt the edges of the park, warning anyone who may enter that way of the potential flying disc hazard. There is even a trail that leads from the far side of the course back to the parking lot that has clear signage explaining what it is for.

The front nine and the back nine each loop back to the parking lot. Between this design feature and the cutoff trail mentioned above, you could easily play a 9-hole round or some other number of holes if you are short on time.

There is a porta potty available at the parking lot.

The only really firm Con I have here is the tee pads. I think the first two holes had concrete pads, which were great. Most of the remaining ones were large sheets of a rubbery material, set on wood boards. These were large enough, but some of them were a little lumpy especially near the edges. My real issue though was with the maybe 4-5 holes that had metal plate tee pads. In my opinion, metal may be the worst possible material for a tee pad. They are slippery when wet, and even can be slippery when dry. The fact that the first couple pads are concrete gives me hope that the remaining ones will be upgraded sometime soon. UPDATE: I was told in a DM that they are all now concrete!

There are a couple of benches. I think a couple more would be nice. This is probably not the most extreme up-and-down course you have ever played, but it is definitely a workout.

The path down from the long tee on hole 7 is steep and narrow. Some stairs and brush clearing here would be nice. In the meantime, I would recommend just playing the short tee on this hole if you are not sure-footed. In other areas, stairs have already been cut into the hillsides.

The hole distances were more than adequate for me, but touring professional disc golfers who can routinely throw 350'+ with accuracy might feel that there isn't enough distance here. There also aren't any water hazards.

As mentioned above, disc loss is definitely possible in a few places. This is more of a note, and not a serious enough issue to impact my rating.

There are no trash cans here. The kiosk mentions that the course is maintained mainly by volunteers, so pack out what you pack in. Don't be lazy and spoil the beauty of this park and course with your litter. This also didn't impact my rating.

There are some areas nearby with spotty/no cell service, but reception was fine for me at the course itself.

This course was an instant favorite for me. It caught my eye when researching courses in the Seattle/Olympic area, and I came in with high expectations. It still exceeded those expectations. Out of 151 courses I have played as of this writing, Rainshadow is probably in my personal top 5 - and if we are talking about natural beauty alone, it's probably top 3. My girlfriend is not a disc golfer, but she walked this course with me and by hole 6 or 7 she was saying "wow!" unprompted and shooting photos of baskets and scenery with her $1,000 camera.

Does a course need multiple layouts to earn a 5.0 rating? That's the question I will have to weigh if and when I return here to find the tee pads all concrete. My answer right now is that while another layout would almost definitely help the rating, I might feel this one is over the 4.75 threshold even without that. The variety and challenge in the 18 holes is outstanding, and I could definitely have played two or three or four rounds here in a row without getting bored. It might be a little bit on the short side for very experienced players, but I think even those players will be happy to shoot a well-designed and interesting course several strokes under par in such a beautiful setting.

This is a must-play course, period. I recommend planning a vacation to the Olympic Peninsula in general - from the mountain views of Hurricane Ridge to the lush temperate rainforests to the rugged, rocky beaches, there are a wide variety of beautiful sights to take in. If you have even a passing interest in disc golf, you should stop and play this course on that trip. On its own, this is still well worth a day trip from the Seattle/Tacoma area. I can't wait to visit again!

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2022: I did not personally play the course again (I wish!) but I received a DM which stated the local club has installed all concrete tee pads at the course since my visit in June. I guess now that puts the onus on me to return and figure out if I need to up this rating to a 5.0. Challenge accepted!

Great elevation. Awesome lines. Navigation and signage top notch. One of the best. Getting more and more cart friendly and harder to lose discs the more it's being played. Club is starting weekly's and tags began March 2020. Awesome course.

This place is really easy to locate as there's signs saying disc golf on the roads all the way to the course. Upon arrival there is a giant kiosk board with course maps and scorecards huge bonus!!! It starts off with a fairly simple short downhill shots and then goes into a crazy hole 2 par 4. Which is a theme with this course great mix of distances from ace runs to holes you can throw the distance drivers. Hole 7 is a huge downhill throw that you will probably want to utilize a spotter on but a great fun hole. Baskets were in great shape, as well as tee signs. Good layout that dosen't criss cross eachother and good elevation change.

This place does have a few drawbacks keeping it from perfect. The tee pads are a mix of rubber mat and gravel. The gravel ones are very uneven and not in good shape. Fairly small as well. If playing by yourself good chance at losing a disc without a spotter on couple of holes mainly hole 7. Umm hole 2 is a terrible designed hole. It's a par 4 that most advanced open players will just go over the top on because there's no real true line. Sure as a par 4 it makes sense but u type holes aren't my favorite things.

Overall this is a solid course and with more work and time could become even better. I think it's great but maybe just a touch overrated in its current state

There's something about disc golf on the west side of Puget Sound. Almost every course I play over here is a favorite. If you asked me to list my 10 favorite courses in Washington state? More than half of them would be over here.

Equipment: It's a new course, so the equipment is what you'd expect. Bright new DiscCatchers in the woods. The signs are all visible and in good shape, and the teepads (while being rubber mats) are grippy enough and long enough.

Navigation: The navigation here is perfect. There's a massive kiosk at the parking lot that has a course map on it. There are maps and scorecards in a weatherproof box too. And there are signs everywhere. A sign leading you to the first tee and next tee signs within feet of every pin. The only thing missing is a moving walkway.

Design: The design is where this course stands out. I don't know who designed it, but I want to hug them. This course has everything. Wide avenues and narrow fairways. Elevation galore (uphill and downhill). Short and long. Straight and doglegs. Right and left turning. Open and wooded. Wind and trees. And just enough variety to keep a casual player from hucking their grocery bag of discs down a hill. There's very little underbrush to contend with and none of the fairways really encroach on each other. Even better, none of the teepads are in danger from any other holes. That's hard to do in the woods. The flow of the course is amazing too. You play around the outside for 9 holes, and then you can either do it again to make it a 27 or you play on through the middle of the property for the back 9. Both hole 9 and hole 18 finish by the parking lot, and there's even a trail running through the center of the course if you need to leave mid-round. They also did a phenomenal job of taking what would be fairly forgettable holes and making them more challenging. Like hole 2. That hole should be a smooth uphill shot through the trees. And it is. If you manage to park your first shot at the turn, because it's the meanest dogleg I've ever played. There are also a couple of holes where an average designer would have placed the pin at the bottom of the hill. But not this one. This one makes you play on up the following hill to an essentially elevated pin. Signature hole has to be hole 7 with a narrow fairway that falls away to the right and left so you have to focus on shot placement. There's a massive downhill blue tee or a more accessible red tee at the bottom. But neither one is a gimme. One gust of wind and you're wasting strokes climbing back up that hill. In essence, the designer makes you think about every part of every shot. What line do you take? Where is your skip going to take you? What are the weather conditions? You can't just spray and pray here, and that's amazing. As I've said many times before, the best compliment I can pay a course designer is that if you play their course it makes you a better player. This is never more true than it is here. I applaud you.

Equipment: The 6 basket had a lean to it already. This is a disc golf exclusive portion of the property, but it has that look that baskets get once teenagers start climbing on them. And I guess the rubber teepads can be a con. They get really slick when there's sand on your feet, and I only saw one broom on the course.

Navigation: No cons to list.

Design: I have a hard time complaining about the design of this course. I wrote a gushing bit about it just above that you probably read. Some might consider hole 2 a con because it's so tough to get into the right landing area to play back up the hill. But that's a challenge that you don't often get. Just like the wind here. It's a challenge you don't often get. If it's a con for you, then work harder on that part of your game. I think the closest I can come to a design flaw here is that there's only one hole with multiple teepads. There's enough space here for red tees on many of the holes too, and probably red tees with entirely different looks. But what do I know? I only played it once. Someone who knows the property better than I could very easily disagree. One might also complain about the lack of bomber holes. You get a variety that includes longer shots, but the longest holes are downhill so they play shorter than they sound. That's it though. Complaining done.

That has to be the shortest con list I've ever written. This course is great and easily a top 5 for me. I found myself craving another round before I even got on the ferry to go home. I highly recommend it. Well worth the drive no matter where you're coming from.

1. Could not be easier to follow for first time player. Signage and flow is top notch.
2. Requires many rounds to figure out how to throw all the holes.
3. Big advantage on this course for locals.
4. Only one flat hole, good use of elevation.
5. Nice combo of tough and easy holes.
6. Good workout making your way around.
7. Unique holes.

1. There is a time of the year when the stinging nettles (not poison oak) are around. They sting for a few minutes. Wear pants and have someone point them out to you. They don't bother me, but those unfamiliar will pay the price once or twice.
2. Course is remote and has very low usage.
3. Not many bomber shots.

1. This course is just gonna get nicer and nicer as the area "beats in" and as the rhody's and other plants and trees fill in.
2. As a local here, I get to talk to folks who made their way out to the course. I keep getting people telling me that this is their favorite course period. The feedback from the visitors is very, very positive.
3. Pack it in and pack it out. No trash cans here. But there is a port-a-poty.
4. Is this a destination course. It is a question people keep asking and providing their feedback. I've thought about this and my answer is this: Combine a trip to Rainshadow with a weekend on the Olypmic Penisula and for sure it is a destination course. Port Townsend/Sequim/Port Angeles are all nice towns and there are lots of outdoor activities including another course over in Port Angeles at Lincoln Park.

- Beautiful Scenery. Its like the best of hiking and DG combined out there. So beautiful.
- Good baskets. Cannot stress this enough. After playing rusted out Milo and wobbly baskets at LA courses, these were a real treat.
- Easy access off highway.
- Free to play
- Fun, unique shots Ive never had in my years of DG. I dreamt about several of these holes for a few days afterward. Left that good of an impression.

- Poison Oak (or poison something, my leg was burning)
- Don't go off the fairway on the downhill shots. Ugh...just don't. Throw a putter.

This was one of my favorites on a 12 day West Coast DG road trip with some friends. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality, the use of terrain, and the challenge level of Rainshadow. The weather was perfect. 71/72 with light clouds. Finally some nice weather! Was over 100 at Whistlers and 99 at Estacada the day before. Had to play by 9am. At Rainshadow we started at 3 and barely broke a sweat.

Sunshine, trees and mountains - what more do you need? If you answered Disc Golf - then this is the course for you. Situated in the hills outside Sequim, Rainshadow is a dedicated disc golf park smack dab in the middle of nowhere. The small but adequate parking lot sits right next to the practice basket, a VERY nice Eagle Scout Kiosk (THANK YOU!) which includes a very nice map of the course which leads you up to hole 1. Hole 1 is a good preview of the course and displays the key to scoring well here. Make your drive and you're going to score well. Go off the fairway though and you're going to have a hard time. Course Equipment (baskets, signs and teepads) are all new and in great shape. The only thing this course is lacking as far as equipment is benches and trash cans. Course length is short to medium, but I wouldn't call this a beginner friendly course due to the punishment meted out for a wayward shot. Port-a-potty in the parking lot, no running water. Hole 10 is at the parking lot making for an easy stop off/alternate starting point. Great design and flow, never had a difficult time finding next basket or figuring out where the target basket was based on signs. Besides the trees, which every course in the PNW can mostly tout as a Pro (and this course has more than most...) where this course really shines is in it's use of elevation. There's a lot of it here. While the course is not overly long, it more than makes up for it in the use of elevation, lots of high to low and low to high shots, more than maybe any other course in Western WA.

The only Con I really have is that it's semi-remote and there's no running water, so bring your own, and be prepared to pack out what you brought in. Something else to consider is the off fairway schule, which can treacherous. I mean like fall down and not get back up treacherous. This is only on 4 or 5 holes, but has to be said. For that reason, carts are not recommended, but certainly do-able. While there aren't any open field 500'+ bombers, you're still going to need to bring your big arm and a fast disc to have a chance at bird on several holes. Several holes feel like a poke and pray, just LOTS of trees, usually located right where you want to throw.

Sequim (pronounced 'Skwim') advertises 300 days of sun a year from the 'rainshadow effect'... which is surprising being so close to Seattle.

In case you didn't know - here's a couple of interesting facts about the rainshadow effect - from http://www.olympicrainshadow.com /

Winter (Nov-Jan) saw 5X as many mostly sunny days in the shadow vs. Seattle.
Winter saw only 1/4 as many dreary days in the shadow vs. Seattle.
Spring (Feb-May) saw the highest number of "rain shadow" days per month, at nearly 8!
Summer (Jul-Sep) saw rain shadow areas and Seattle with nearly equal mostly sunny days.

All that said - this isn't a destination type course per se, but shouldn't be missed if you're in the area, and a great resource for the locals to add to their growing collection in the region. While not an NT/Gold level course, nor a beginner level course, it will meet the needs of most and is a great addition to the growing number of truly great courses in the area.

A brand-new course in fairly dense second-growth hemlock/cedar forest, Rainshadow requires precision, versatility, and a sense of humor. It will challenge you with left turns, right turns, uphills, downhills, over hills and between hills, usually with walls of trees crowding you on both sides, and a few more cluttering the fairway. You won't encounter any 1000-foot fairways here, but if you want to practice your technical shots, this is the place.
The planners did not treat this as a project that drags on for years; they opened it this year as a complete course, with a smooth gravel parking lot, fences, a big map kiosk, even little brown "Disc Golf Course" directional signs out on the highway. All the tees have excellent signs, as do the trails between fairways and shortcuts back to the parking lot. The only thing the signs don't show is the elevation changes. There's a lot of that. Besides gravel and a sign, the parking lot boasts a shiny, new outhouse and a practice basket, placed the way a practice basket oughta be: on a broad ledge, partway up a bit of a hillside. While waiting for your partner to show, you can practice uphill putts, downhill putts, and level putts, all within conversational range of the cars.

It's not in my backyard. If you live in Seattle and want to devote a single day to playing Rainshadow, you can, but you'll get up early and drive a lot, and take a couple of ferry rides.
It's still raw. Some of the fairways look like fresh Cat tracks in the forest, because they're fresh Cat tracks in the forest.
A few places are steep enough that if you have problem knees or ankles, you'll be reminded of them.
There's no pro shop, no snack bar or convenience store, no picnic shelter, no drinking water. Just a nice place to drive to and play disc golf.

Veterans Day is only 5 weeks short of the shortest day of the year, but it gave me enough time to drive from home (an hour north of Seattle) in daylight, take a short, enjoyable ferry ride, and test out the first 5 holes before joining up with the regulars here for random doubles (11:00 Saturdays). I could have followed the trails and signs and maybe the map stored on my phone to play alone, but the people I met led me around, gave me hints, and generally made the day a blast.
Watching from the tee as your disc veers into the forest, it looks like it's gone forever in impenetrable jungle. Until you walk up the fairway and find the trees are spaced more widely than you thought, the brush isn't nearly as bad as it looked from back there, and the disc is in plain sight. Mostly. Some of the fairways are bounded by brush that's almost as bad as it looks, but on most holes, what looks like a disastrous throw turns out to be a problem only in terms of your score.
I finished early enough to continue west to Port Angeles and a round at Lincoln Park, and still catch the ferry home that night.
The Olympic Peninsula easily has courses that justify an overnight road trip, but if you only have a day, you can still do it.
And Rainshadow is worth it. I'm definitely going back and dragging friends along.

This is the way a disc golf should be planned out and then constructed. You start with a large wonderful piece of land. Next you have the complete and total support of the county and their resources. Then you add a course designer with a vision, an active local club, a free chain gang labor pool and then you finish with a young man looking to earn his Eagle Scout badge. No bake sales needed here. This course was done right.

As you get near the course you'll see three different road signs announcing, "Disc Golf Course." You turn into a nice parking lot with a great little wooden fence surrounding it. There is a giant, well made kiosk (Eagle Scout Project) here complete with course map, professional score cards, rules, etc. There is a sani-can, a practice basket and steps leading up to the first tee.

The signs are small but very workable and are mounted on 8" x 8" posts. They're not coming down anytime soon. The pads are rubber mats nicely sized.

The course loops back to the parking after 9 and 18 finishes right there, too. There are many places on the course where the chain gang constructed needed stairs and walkways.

# 1 is 224', straight with about a 50' wide fairway. On the left is a deep gorge with ugly rough. You want to stay out of there.

# 2 is 489' and the hole almost makes a u-turn so you need to lay up to a landing zone before throwing back toward the basket. We looked and looked and didn't see a way to cut the corner through the thick woods.

Much clearing, cutting and trimming has been done. The fairways, while possibly filled with trees, are cleared of brush. I thought some additional clearing could be done on the left side of # 14.

There are shorter holes, under 200', but they always demand a tight, technical route or a giant hyser or a steep uphill throw.

A couple of holes play up and down this old, raised road. # 7 is the only hole on the course with two tee pads, a Red and a longer, higher Blue throwing off this very large hill. It's about 600' from the top. The fairway on this hole is only 30' wide but has a big drop off on both sides and thick, ugly rough everywhere. You need a spotter and about a 300' laser straight tee off.

I felt there were lots of good holes but not one that stood out or could be considered as the signature hole. This is a definitely a course where spotters are recommended on a few holes. Losing a disc or two is a distinct possibility.

The course is intermediate in difficultly. Rec players could enjoy this course with proper supervision and a spotter or two. I would not call the course beginner friendly

Rough is deep and nasty on 4-5 holes.

The holes that play along the raised roadway are scarier than most.

Quite a few sharp doglegs where you lose sight of your disc. Spotters needed.

No hole where a big armed player can really crank it up.

The course is miles and miles away from the world.

I really wish this course was closer to the Puget Sound population base. It's a long trek out here from the Tacoma-Seattle area. It's a wonderful course, easily a top 10 course in the state, and probably will end up in the top 5. It's not as long and challenging as Sea Tac or Shelton Springs but offers a better variety of holes and better elevation for your enjoyment.

My rating....If I could, I'd probably go with a 3.75 but since I'm forced to, I'll award it an excellent rating of 4.0.

I understand there are always players here on weekends so that would probably be the best time to hook up with some regulars or to hire yourself some spotters.

Great parking lot. Has an outhouse. Signs are the best around. Gives you length par and a picture of the route your throwing. Fairways (even the 'Mounds') are very clean with little or no trip hazards. Signs through out the course point the way to the parking lot if you have run out of time or gas. Signs directing to next pad for every hole...this is a super plus! Course is fun, fun, fun. Highly recommend it for almost all players.

4 holes built on 'mounds' that are only 50' across punish an errant throw with the chance of a lost disk. The sides are steep off the mounds and are full of black berry's and other thick underbrush. I lost a disk first throw on hole 1, off the left side of the mound...no way to find it. Next round I threw different and birdied the hole. Hole 7 another mound hole has two pads, a long one and a short one. Long one just about guarantee's you a trip into the under brush. The short one if you throw fully to the basket on the left side of the mound you will do well. COME prepared for steep walks down the fairway on a couple of the holes...take your time going down or you might find yourself on your backside sliding down the hill. These cons are all really about nothing...Pro's totally out weigh the cons or the whatevers.

Beginning players may struggle with the "Mounds" holes. If you can throw fairly straight with no super big bend...recommend you throw a 1,2,3 approach. A mid range a mid range a putter. You will do awesome that way. Hole number eight (a "mounds" hole) that's exactly what I did both times. Two pars is a-okay.
Builders of this course did an excellent job and the course is well thought out. Have fun...we did!

Very easy to navigate. Signage is excellent. Two 9 hole loops means you can easily return to the parking lot. Well planned course. Lots of birdie opportunities. A few very challenging holes.

Errant throws on 7 and 8 are punished severely. Could be longer, found myself throwing a putter off the tee too many times.

It's definitely a great course. Excellent views, beginner friendly. Shot 4 under, and had 2 bogies, so there's plenty of birdies to be had.