This course is located at the local park complex near softball and soccer fields in an older industrial park type area southeast of downtown Petoskey. Course has 24 holes with a varying degree of difficulty, mostly consisting of fairly narrow paths bordered by punishing rough. A couple of holes are over 500 feet, making this course a notch or two harder than the Crowle Hole course in nearby Harbor Springs. Cement tee pads throughout, at both short and long positions. Baskets are in good shape. Has some unusual paths, such as Hole 2, that will have you scratching your head as to what shot to use. Has a small number of water hazards associated with a nearby creek that are fair, adding increments of additional challenge. Has several blind holes which take a minute or two to decipher.

The meadow in which the course is located offers a number of wildflowers and other flora which one tends not to see at a typical city course. Appears to be a free course, and does well utilizing the available land.

Some holes have very narrow fairways, which wouldn't normally be a problem, but the rough bordering the holes is so thick that a lost disc or two is almost a given. A solo round without a spotter is likely to result in lost discs, even for advanced players. Given the Northern Michigan location, one might expect elevation changes, but there are none to be found here.

Just good enough to be competitive with other courses such as Avalanche or Silver Mountain, but lacking the wow factor that would allow it to compete with top level courses. However, this course has enough variety and challenge to encourage repeated rounds. I'd guess a fall round after the first freeze but before snow might be best, which would clear the rough enough to mitigate disc loss.

Aesthetic-- plays through a river valley and many swampy areas in a large multi-use park. They must have found the lowest area in the city to build this course... It was crazy mucky and wet when I played in mid-may.

Baskets-- all there and in decent shape. Really could have used Orange necks to help increase visibility as there are some blind shots.

Tees-- Long tees are all concrete. some of the shorts are concrete as well but not all of them yet. Tees looked pretty new, maybe late last year or this year.

Teesignage-- excellent-- accurately shows the hole design and footage.

Challenge-- the crazy rough here is the main risk v reward here. The swampy areas aren't really that gnarly but the rough is awful. The bear river on the last few holes is a pretty backdrop but doesn't really come into play.

Routing and nav-- not bad at all. Well worn trails aide in finding the next tee.

Underwhelming-- seems a lot of holes were repeats of previous holes. Didn't have a lot of variety, most holes were straightforward. Some were blind which was truly welcome.

wet wet wet-- they must have used the lowest possible land for this course. I'm sure it holds water way more than it should.

Wind and other uncontrollables-- it was crazy windy here and the bugs, I'm sure, can be crazy bad.

I played six courses this day. I just wasn't overly impressed with this course. I'm sure it's a local favorite as it's not crazy challenging. Go play blissfest!!

24 holes! Tons of vegetation! Really would have been best to have played with someone else to help spot, or someone who played here before. That being said, I had to scope out a lot first but still managed to bogie most holes. Pretty flat with no elevation changes but made up for by pretty good layouts. Maps at all (I think) tees so just pay attention. Big arms will like it here! I played with just alittle wind and was ok. I recommend a bright disk and don't take your eyes off it! Great course to walk and just have a good day! Who ever takes care of this does a great job, very well maintained! This place covers a lot of ground so there are some pretty long drives. Lots of places to sit and rest along with trash barrels. The dual tee pads were cool in that, they were not just one in front on the other, but often with a different line altogether which made it tempting to throw from both! The trees, huge shrubs and bushes and waterways made you really think before you throw.

Tee pads are pretty bad, but they are working on that!
Bugs! bring spray, watch for ticks
Sort of hard to navigate the first time due to lack of signage. High risk of disc loss!
Was abit muddy so don't wear your designer kicks! ha!

Not a beginner course, really more of a planned play course, watch your disk. Most were blind throws which adds to the fun! I do recommend this course for sure!

The trees and bushes really make this course a challenge....and you get to really huck it....but beware - the name of the game here is to be able to manage the course well. Go into the trees or bushes and you can add a stroke or two. Well maintained...bid kudos to the folks mowing, weed wacking and maintaining this sweet layout.

Needs more concrete tee boxes. I've played plenty a natural tee pad and what is offered is sufficient enough....long term, fulfill the dream by putting this course on the map. Blind shots could be a negative, but the more you play it the more you know....definitely an advantage playing with a local your first time out.

If you build it they will come....find the funds....put up donation boxes and have someone collect so that this sweet venue can afford better tee boxes. Throw bright colors, unless you are smart and play safe....which will be my mantra next time.

- Great kept course
- Interesting and challenging
- Beautiful Bear River views

- Played in winter, so vegetation not a factor, as I could see through it and move through it to get to wayward disc. This could really be an issue during summer though.
- Would be hard to locate some tees (and baskets for that matter) with vegetation in bloom. Strange course layout, but print the online map and you'll be OK.

The folks that maintain this course do a super job.
Anyone who didn't play this course Feb 4, 2012 missed an awesome northern Michigan day of excellent disc golf. Tees were cleaned of snow, and enough playing pressure to make good paths for walking and locating next tees.
About 4-5 inches of snow, and no problem with lost discs on this ideal day.
Keep up the great work at the River Road Sports Complex !

-The course was laid out very nicely
-At the very beginning they have a map that shows where every thing is located
-They have pro and amateur tees
-Every hole has a sticker on it to show what hole the pin goes to
-The sign at the tee is very nice showing exactly where the pin is located, what the par is, what is out of bounds, and the trees in the middle
-The pad that you throw from is nice and easy to throw from
-Every hole is different (some are long while others are short, and some you need to be accurate while others you really dont)
-It is located in a very nice and well kept park
-It is always easy to find the next hole when you finish another hole

-The water comes into play on some of the back holes
-The park really doesn't get much use
-There is some parts with really long grass that is never cut and you can lose your disc in there pretty easily
-The sign at the tee will be placed backwords sometimes and it is hard to tell which pin to go for

I came here in the morning and nobody was here when i came and nobody was here when i left. I was very surprised because it is a very nice park. Hopefully it will get more use sometime soon because if not the it is just a waste because of how nice the whole park is.

I played this course on my birthday last week. Very little traffic. Many wide open holes that allow you to grip and rip. Many tight holes that make you throw at a blind goal. Very good mix.

Navigation was a little tricky at times. I think I might have skipped a hole or two near the back because of poor markers. NO elevation changes. I normally carry a walking stick and it was totally unneeded here.

My wife and I played this course on our way home from Mackinaw City (we live in Kalamazoo, MI). I'm very glad we went out of our way to find it! The course had a lot of variety, although not in elevation, with some holes playing what seemed like over 400 or 500 feet. Each hole had map of the pin and tee locations, distances to the pin, and directions to the next hole.

The rough here can be pretty nasty, so play it safe or bring a spotter. Also, the ground was pretty moist in a lot of areas, and today was a pretty clear, dry day, so I'd imagine that the course can get pretty swampy during wet periods.

There are some blind drives on narrow fairways, so bringing a spotter is recommended. The ninth hole doesn't end up near the parking lot, so plan on playing all 18 (or 24) or walking quite a ways back.

This is a course that truly rewards accuracy with beautiful, well maintained fairways and incredibly well thought out tee and basket placement. Challenges of every type, variety, and distance abound here. Hole #4 challenges big arms with a distance of 646 ft, but threading through the scattered bushes and trees make the hole seem a lot longer than it really is. Three other holes are over 400 ft, but they're balanced out by several really short but incredibly difficult holes. Holes #2, #17, and #22 require sharp left or right turns around big islands of thick brush, or huge thumbers/tommys over them. There's a great balance of very, very tight fairways and more open "choose your own route" holes.

Almost every hole has very creative tee and/or pin placement, fully utilizing the terrain features available on the property. Baskets placed under trees, in small, tight clearings, down tiny alley ways, or hidden behind huge walls of brush keep the interest factor high. On #22, tee pad selection determines whether or not you have to clear the river that flows through the park.

Signage on the 1st 18 holes was descriptive and colorful, though some are a little deceptive as they're designed with North in the top position rather than rotated to show the hole based on the thrower's point of view. Each sign includes obstacles, main fairway, both tee positions, and distance as well as "Next Tee" directions.

The concrete tee pads for the blue tees are well textured and offer plenty of room for a run up. Everything on the course, with the exception of the basket on hole 1 and the signage for holes 19-24, was in tip-top shape and spotlessly clean. The layout is exceptionally well designed to avoid run-ins with other park users. There are 2 port-a-johns available in the parking area.

The kiosk at the parking lot sports lots of information on league play, a beautiful but very faded topo-type map of the course, and a box of nice scorecards printed on colored card stock.

Low lying land and numerous swampy areas mean slogging through soggy grass and squishy black glop during wet periods. The brush here is thick and heavy! Having spotters for the many blind holes is highly recommended as lost discs appear to be the rule rather than exception here. Any discs that end up off the main fairway require determined bushwhacking and great eyes to find.

The dirt and gravel pads for the red tees were rutted and loose, and even the rubber mats supplied on a couple of holes were laid without really leveling the surface below, making for questionable footing.

Navigation for holes 19-24 is a bit challenging as signage is lacking and most of the baskets are blind. These holes have a very different look and feel from the main 18. That's not necessarily a bad thing; just odd.

Although there is no real change in elevation here, the course designer here did an excellent job of maintaining interest and challenge using all the other terrain elements available in the park. With the exception of the unforgiving rough and the need for spotters, this course is a total blast! Even with its shortcomings, I had to rate this course pretty high for its challenge and fun factor. You won't regret driving out of the way to play here (unless you lose a disc, or 2, or 3......)! Before really making a judgement you'll want to play the course at least twice as your first time out will be a chore, but subsequent rounds will become more fun as you get familiar with the lay out.

I thought this was the better of the three courses in the area and is the only one I played more than once,good layout and variety of holes will provide a challenge for all players,fairly easy to navigate with some signs,distance markers in fairways were nice and a first for me,well maintained with mowed fairways,24 holes,clean course,

This course has no elevation changes,several of the Am tees were loose dirt and gravel making it easy to loose balance,thick rough off fairway and several blind holes suggest bringing a spotter,

I had a lot of fun here I would definitely recommend checking this course out,the whole park is flat so adding elevation would be hard but with cement tees and better signs I would give this course a 4,