I have only been playing for 2 months and had only played the course in San Francisco. The guys at the first tee told me that the course will be very humbling, and boy was he right! It's a great course in a massive park and the holes are long. I shot a legit 8 on the 1000+ foot hole and was happy. If you're looking for a very good hike with lots of elevation changes this is your course.

Poison oak is every where and I mean every where! If you throw a disc into a patch of poison oak you're gonna be in big trouble.

I spent at least 40 minutes of my day searching for the tee box on several holes. I would really be nice of there was some type of marker that would direct you to the next tee.

Challenging. Multiple Pins and Tees. Scenic.

Parking fee. No water or restrooms on course.

Use spotter on blind shots, especially Hole 2. Tall grass in spring; Pick a line to the disc.

Good fun! Puts forth a challange. The place is well mapped out.

Pay $5 parking fee.

Worth the drive, make a day out of this place, it's one of the best in the area.

Natural setting, views, length, layout.

Tall, sticky grass.

This was the first course I played in California and it is a whole different game. It's like playing disc golf on the classic Marin/Sonoma county cattle farm, with tall, sticky grass, steep hills, beautiful views from many tees, and a lot of hiking instead of merely walking. This course requires some skills I'm otherwise not usually asked for in my disc golfing experience, especially along the lines of throwing up steep hills or along the sides of steep hills, but I love it anyway.

While Novato seems like a basic suburb, this course is kind of out in the country. You have to park the car and start walking, across two big fields before finding hole #1 many hundreds of yards away from the parking lot (bear left - there's a path there). The first time I played this course, I hiked up the steep hill to find the basket, caught my breath, and proceeded to throw my disc only halfway up because I had no experience throwing up anything like that kind of incline. The first few holes are equally challenging. I tell you though, the view from hole two and onward of Stafford Lake and the surrounding countryside are as cool as anything I've seen on disc golf course. Those first few holes require uphill throws, throws into thick trees, throws along the sides of this steep hill, and #6 is a great hole down a steep hill. 400 feet and I fly the whole way. This course is a whole different challenge, and it is real fun and good exercise too.

You should be able to follow this course without too much trouble. Not wanting to hike uphill needlessly gets me to pay extra close attention to the map. You may have to spend some extra time looking for discs in the tall grass too - I noticed locals using spotters. This course has dirt tee-pads, but they are leveled out and plenty long. This was the first course I played where the legitimate par was higher than 54 - #9 is 1000 ft+ for instance. #6 and #17 are among the coolest holes I've ever played and the rest of the course is pretty crazy too. But it is different - the long grass and uphill shots make it a different game really, than I'm used to, and it's not really fair to compare it to most of the other courses I've played. I can't wait to play it again.

Favorite Hole - #6 - long, long shot down gradual, open hill, with a tremendous view of Stafford Lake from the tee.