- Hole 20 is one of the most scenic holes I have ever played.
- NOT cart friendly. AT ALL
- Big elevation changes
- Some really neat basket placements. 17 was fairly interesting.
- Basket look ancient but are in very playable shape.
- While there weren't nearly enough of them the "Next-T" signs look really nice.

- Navigation is far and away the biggest issue here. According to older reviews it looks like it used to be signed pretty well but that is no longer the case. In fact, with the poor cell coverage in the area UDisc can be useless.
- Where is #5 tee pad?
- For the hilliness of this course where are the benches?
- Needs more trash cans.
- Uphill shots are challenging but lets try to keep them to a minimum ...mmmkay? So going from 16 to 17 goes downhill. Why not go parallel to the slope from 16 to the 17 basket? I'm an old man and didn't really appreciate this lol.
- Udisc shows #2 in completely the wrong spot.
- No tee pads. In fact, most of the tees aren't even delineated with toe-kicks so tee off from...?

A few things to note about this course that are neither pros or cons:
- OMG BUGS. Welcome to tick and mosquito hell. Come prepared.
- Wear solid footwear. Huckers with a 40oz in one hand and whatever speed 13 driver you got at Duhnmans down south in the other are going to be hating this course in flipflops.

This is your typical U.P. course: Amenities kinda suck rocks, old baskets set on a gorgeous parcel of land which really is perfect for disc golf. I want to rate this course higher but with the navigation issues, lack of benches and cans...well you get what you get.

Silver Mountain is located just west of St. Ignace, MI - the part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula that is closest to the Mackinac Bridge and Lower Peninsula. The property functions as a ski hill in the winter, and a 24-hole disc golf course the rest of the year.

As you might guess, elevation change is a primary feature of the property here - and there are a few holes that make great use of it. I liked hole 8 which plays up a steep hill, flattens out for a bit, then reaches a basket up on a large mound. Hole 13 is a big downhill bomb (more on this later), and hole 10 is a nice right turning fairway around a raised area near the top of the hill. My favorite hole, though, was #21 which plays 310' downhill. The fairway curls to the left and has a few larger trees in it to prevent an easy throw to the basket. My tee shot hit one of these trees and my approach shot wasn't great, but I managed about a 35' throw in (from an unfavorable lie just off the fairway on the side of a steep slope) to salvage par.

There aren't any water holes here, but the variety on the course as a whole is decent. There are tight lines in the woods, semi-open fairways, and wide open fields to throw across. On the wooded holes I remember a mix of left turns, right turns, and straight shots. The range of distances is also good, from #7's 135' (playing up a steep hill) to #13's 620' downhill. There is enough here to challenge most disc golfers.

The baskets are yellow banded DISCatchers with ads on them. Most also had the correct hole number, which was helpful.

The other infrastructure here besides the baskets is poor.
- No tee pads, although a couple tee areas do have wooden frames to at least create a small level spot to stand and throw.
- Tee signs appeared to be just black number stickers listing a hole number and distance, stuck to small pieces of white plastic and pinned to trees. The distance numbers had fallen off of many of the tee signs when I visited, and some signs were missing entirely. Some of the distances listed didn't feel correct.
- Only a couple of benches to rest at.
- Only a couple of trash cans, that were overflowing when I visited.
- No practice basket.
- No porta potty.
- There was a beat-up kiosk at the parking lot, but no map was posted on it when I played. The kiosk did have warnings about ticks, poison ivy, and RF exposure (there is a cell tower at the top of the ski hill).
- Next Tee signs are few and far between. The ones that were present varied (a few very nice ones, others Sharpie'd and pinned to trees, and a couple of taped basket rungs). But overall, navigation was very difficult. It looks like someone recently uploaded a screenshot of the UDisc map here - I have to recommend using that for navigation.

There is a long walk to hole 1 from the parking lot, although at least that was well signed. There are long walks between some holes, and what feels like doubling back in a few spots. Even taking the ski hill terrain into account, I felt like the designers could have done a better job of spicing the progression up. For example, holes 15-18 are all short technical fairways that run steeply uphill. It was especially annoying playing hole 16, then walking all the way back down the hill past the tee to reach hole 17's tee.

From reading previous reviews, I was led to believe that there would be at least one panoramic view of Lake Michigan. That is not the case. There is one hole (#20) where the lake is visible off to the left, but it's largely obscured by trees. Also, the hole is flat - it's NOT as if you are shooting down the ski hill with the lake off in the distance behind it. To add insult to injury, US-2 is nearby and you can get similar views just driving the highway right next to the course (and better views by pulling into the roadside park across from the course). You'll also be able to hear road noise from US-2 throughout your round.

The obligatory "ski hill bomber hole" (#13) was also disappointing. The view was more open here, but not towards the lake. My real issue though was that the 620' "fairway" mostly consists of thick tall grasses and wild brush. I looked for my tee shot for over 10 minutes, and then lost sight of my second shot and ended up looking for another 10 minutes. I would recommend a spotter here (and throughout the course), especially if you are concerned about disc loss. I was rather surprised to drive away with all of my discs.

The rough throughout the course alternates between waist high thick weeds, and tree trunks so thickly spaced that it's complete jail and your best option is often just throwing 10' straight back out to the fairway.

Even taking into account that there are 24 holes, this is not a quick stop by any means. I had the course to myself and it took me about 2.5 hours to finish my solo round, of which probably somewhere in the range of 30-45 minutes was spent searching for discs.

Overall, I felt that Silver Mountain DGC was kind of underwhelming. There were no doubt some cool throws, but the amount of hiking between holes and the amount of holes that felt like filler, combined with the lack of good infrastructure, took away from the experience for me. I was also disappointed by the lack of true Lake Michigan views. This one is fine for locals, but for those visiting the area (especially for the first time) there are probably better ways to spend the time.

1) Baskets are good quality, well secured, plumb and often with brightly colored visibility bands.
2) Fairways are all maintained well, with proper tree trimmings and mostly mowed fairways.
3) Signage is adequate to complete the course, but some signs are missing as of this review.
4) Beautiful terrain and at least one panoramic view of Lake Michigan. Smells like fresh fragrant forest all day.
5a) Big course that feels like it uses a lot of the available real estate.
5b) One great ~630' downhill drive, otherwise mostly mid-length technical holes in the woods.
6) Lehto's Pasties in St Ignace made a great after round meal.
7) Locals are great. Wave and say hi to strangers, if there even are any on the course. Not crowded.
8) Guestbook at the entrance.
9) Free.

1) The rough is very rough. Poison ivy, thick undergrowth, thorns, pine, hills, bramble, you name it.
2) BUG SPRAY. Ticks are particularly bad this year. Our 4 man group checked constantly for ticks and flicked off over a dozen during the round. After the round, closely check all of your clothing and check your shoes and socks. Ticks are probably a bit less of a factor if you can stay out of the rough, which is tough. Mosquitos are also thick.
3) Signage is only adequate, and required some scouting to find tee pads and baskets.
4) The tee pads are natural and not always clearly marked or delineated.
5) No facilities and an occasional bench.
6) No maps. No scorecards.

Silver Mountain is a beautiful course set on a ski hill, but the design really under utilizes the potential fun factor of playing on a ski hill with only one "good" downhill hole. And, that hole, #13, is nearly completely thick tall grass between you and the pin 600 feet away. There are many uphill holes, which become a grind on this long 24 hole course. The scenery is fantastic, with big pines and hardwoods, set on a hilly course that partially overlooks Lake Michigan. Despite the bugs and cosmetics, we had a fun round, because it isn't always about what course you are at, it is the trip to get there and the experience at a one of a kind course that makes it worth it. So, I went back for a second time, and I'll go again next time I'm travelling through the U.P. It looks like the locals are making some modifications to the course and have some handwritten signage up. Hopefully they are able to improve the navigation soon (posted June 2020).