SHARA stands for "South Haven Area Recreation Authority". This authority is apparently responsible for installing an 18-hole disc golf course near the southwestern Michigan beach town of the same name.

This is a generally technical course with good challenges for rec to intermediate level players. The fairways range from narrow to moderately wide, with no thread-the-needle holes but no wide open ones either. You'll need to throw a variety of shots accurately to score well here. There is a decent range of distances, with seven holes listed under 200' but six others over 300'. The longest two holes (at 394' and 368') are listed as par 4's. It seemed like some holes had been recently lengthened, and now play longer than what is shown on the tee signs/hole info here.

SHARA DGC has some of the best navigational signage I have ever seen. There is red tape on each basket rung pointing towards the next hole. Then, they also have these great big bright blue arrows nailed to trees everywhere. I think you'd have to be blind to not be able to find your way to the next hole.

The other course amenities here are great too.
- Blue Prodigy baskets (one per hole) in great shape.
- Large, level, and grippy concrete tee pads (one per hole).
- Tee signs that are built to last and have all the info you could ask for (including QR codes).
- Periodic trash cans and benches, the latter in the same blue color as the navigational signage.
- Practice basket and porta potty near the parking lot.
- A kiosk including a detailed course map (this is at hole 1's tee, not the parking lot).

The main knock I have for this course is just that it's a little mundane. The holes are all flat, and there aren't any water hazards or other memorable obstacles to work around (I saw no sign of the retention pond shown on the course map). The holes are also not long enough to really challenge advanced players.

Some tees are a little bit close to the previous basket. It's nothing egregious, but could be a slight issue if the course were very busy.

The one place where I could have used some helper text with the arrows is pointing towards hole 1 from the parking lot. There is a tee pad right at the parking lot, but that is actually for hole 18 (and the corresponding tee sign was missing when I visited, which added to my initial confusion). And as others have said, it's also a little bit annoying that hole 18 plays away from the parking lot then you have to walk it back to finish the round. Only a very minor thing though, as they have established a dedicated path through the woods for this walk back.

Road noise from I-196 can be heard throughout the park. Again, only a very minor annoyance.

I almost gave this course a 3.5, but decided there just isn't anything memorable enough here to tip me over that boundary. Writing this only 2 weeks later, I already don't really remember many specifics about the course other than those great big, wonderful blue arrows. That's more a limitation of the land available than it is a knock on the course design though.

Anyway, SHARA DGC is a fun addition to the area and a great contrast with the huge, mostly open holes at Lake Arvesta Farms down the road. Nothing to go out of your way for here, but a nice and convenient stop if you're headed between the Chicago area and various points of interest in western lower Michigan (Grand Rapids, Holland, Ludington, etc.). I'd play here again if I were passing through the area and had the time.

First off - this is a beginner level course meant to introduce folks to the sport. This course accomplishes that goal pretty well.

- When I'm playing a course out-of-state, I really enjoy seeing the terrain of where I am. This definitely feels like coastal Michigan. Sandy fairways, tight lines - the only thing that's missing is the elevation.

- The aesthetic with the amenities is outstanding. Bright blue benches on every hole to go along with the blue Prodigy baskets really looks nice. Tee signs and directional signage once holing out is all great.

- Part of why I wanted to review this was seeing other reviews talk about rough. It seems like they've done a pretty good job clearing out rough, because it didn't stand out as unruly or unkempt. You probably don't want to be off the fairway at all, but lines were pretty much carved out well.

- Course design. I get that it's a beginner course and there's only so much you can do when pretty much every hole is 280 or less. It's a barrage of fairly tight lines with either a straight shot or a little right-to-left action at the end.

I'm curious how this would have played with others on the course. Fairways, basket to tee - everything felt very close together. Hole 17 ending at the parking lot you started at, only for 18 to go 320 away from your car is a little weird. So is having a blind mando on a hole [we all made it of course, because who knew ]

- No elevation. I was shocked at how flat it was.

I was jumping in between a 3 and a 3.5 for this course, but the amenities ultimately won me over to a 3.5. I love the touch of having the name of the hole sponsor on the basket.

The course is a ton of fun with a lot of ace runs. And it seems like the community is giving it a lot of support. But I can't imagine playing here often unless you love throwing putters and some mids off every tee.

- SHARA DGC has 18 holes of deuce-or-die, pseudo-technical discin' that play through scrubby savanna-y sorta semi-woods, jack pines and such. Most of the fairways are broad lanes occasionally punctuated with trees. Distances range from really short (e.g., hole #'s 2, 4, 6 & 9 are all less than 180') to a bit longer (hole #17 is the longest at 394'). Aggressive scoring on the shorties help balance out some of the tougher, longer looks. Anything off the fairways, though, and it's in some scrubby thick nastiness, and some work to get a recovery shot. Beginners should be able to do well here score wise, and advanced players will enjoy making putter ace runs and some of the longer, leaner holes (#'s 5 & 8 were particularly tasty).
- Brand new concrete tees, well done; trash cans, tee signs, benches, maps at the donation kiosk by hole #1. Port-a-john in the gravel lot. Great next hole arrows, impossible to miss. Juust a tad cramped in places but mostly manages to keep from stepping on its own toes flow-wise. The exception is hole #18 leaves you a 400-ish ' walk back the length of the fairway, which is a bit weird. But okay.
- One or two of the longer holes have nice low ceilings off the tee that make getting a good shot off all the more difficult.
- French drains were strategically placed near where I suppose the muddiest spots form after rains. The map shows a retention pond crossing hole #'s 13 & 14, but I saw nothing of the sort: bone dry during my round here. It was more desert than pond throughout. SHARA desert.

- Some short almost gimmicky shots (hole #2 I'm looking at you). Wooden railing thingys on each side of the basket apparently provide difficulty? Maybe don't make the hole 177'.
- Not a lot of kicks in the 3rd dimension (i.e., this course is flat).
- The suboptimal routing back to the lot is a minimal irritant. Having to hike out the final length of the hole you just threw is a bit of a kick in the shins, but not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination.

- I really liked this course! Really short fun holes balance out the longer stuff nicely. The putter driver holes are great practice, and the longer holes provide nice scoring separation.
- Some gnarly fungi: saw a bunch of fresh choice oysters on a stump in the fairway.
- I'd jam out at SHARA, rough or no, any day.

- New and blue benches all over the place
- New and blue Prodigy baskets
- New and blue directional arrows all over the place. You won't even need uDisc to find your way around.
- Sounds like there is some amazing community support here.
- This course is only going to get better as time goes on.
- Tee signs are great.
- Distances are accurate for once. They had a professional surveyor measure out all of these holes. Your overpriced range finder or uDisc is not right. Trust me.
- Fairways have been mowed to what I consider a fair width.

- I cannot over emphasise that this course is ROUGH. Going off the fairway means going into some stupidly thick weeds, thorns and all sorts of nastiness. This stuff is thick even by Michigan standards.
- Gravel tees. This is only going to be an issue for a short time. What I was told is that they want to leave the tees in the current position to make absolutely sure they like the tee positions before committing to placing concrete.
- I just do not understand #2. One of the quirkiest holes I have ever played. Not only is the tee at almost perpendicular to the throwing line but the basket sits at the end of...a bridge? Just an oddball layout.
- The shared tee for hole 10 and 12. I don't get this. Seems like there is more than enough space for two tees here.
- Since much of this land has been recently cleared there is all sorts of ruts and holes all over the place which is not terribly unusual for a brand new course You just have really pay attention to where you're walking.

SHARA is not a destination course nor was it ever intended to be one. Its fairly short but still fun to play. The fairways are tight but not unfairly so. This is exactly the kind of municipal course the South Haven area needs. A championship course here would be overkill and probably not a good fit for an area with no course to begin with. Once the course beats in some and some concrete tees are placed I feel like this easily should be a 3 to 3.5 rated course.

Something to keep in mind: The course designer said that he has installed courses in the Amazon. He also said the brush here is worse than what he encountered in the jungles. Until this place beats in long pants are strongly encouraged.