Sugar Bottom Rec. Area DGC was my favorite of the Iowa City area courses. It's a mostly wooded course with a few more open holes sprinkled throughout. There's no point in the round where it gets repetitive due to this design. Very good flow from hole to hole as well. The next tee arrows on the signs were a big help. I had zero issues navigating today.

The baskets are green Prodigy's. These are solid baskets imo. All of them caught good and were mounted level, even on some of the sloped greens. There's at least two pin positions on every hole. At least one hole (14) had four possible pin locations and quite a few had three. Always love to see this.

The tees are solid too. Nicely sized concrete pads. All were poured level and in good condition. One tee per hole. Definitely a pro here, especially on quite a few of the wooded holes that would've had some issues if they were just natural. Especially with how busy the course was on the Tuesday morning I played it.

There's a solid mix of different shot shapes needed out here. I even threw a couple forehands and I pretty much NEVER throw forehands. You can get by with only having one type of shot, but if you want to score well it'll be a challenge. There's a decent mix of distances too. This will vary, of course, depending on which pins where are in play.

The course is free to play and was in great shape. Really pretty piece of land for a course. It's a very serene place just minutes outside the hustle and bustle of Iowa City.

The tee signs are nice. These are mounted on 4"x4"s with white circles with the hole number on them facing the direction you'd be coming from on the prior tee. Don't recall ever seeing this before but it's a pretty simple yet awesome touch. The signs themselves have a pretty nice hole map which does a great job of depicting the hole and all the possible basket positions. It also has the hole #, pars and distances to each pin and best of all there's a roladex looking thing which has a letter indicating what pin is in the ground currently. As if that wasn't enough there's also bag hooks on the posts too. Can't ask for anything else.

There are a couple holes that play a bit close to each other. Basically most of the open holes. It's not really that big of an issue, but is worth noting.

There are a few spots where you could lose a disc out here, That's the case on any wooded course though.

The course seems to be pretty busy, you may want to avoid it during peak hours in the summer if you're looking to play a quick round. Not really a con, just a heads up.

I got nothing else, and even the ones I do have are pretty minor things.

We played 7 courses around Iowa City today and this one was my favorite of the bunch. It is absolutely worth a stop out here if you find yourself in the area or just passing through. I'd definitely recommend this one. Just a bunch of nice courses around this area, but if I could only play one next time, this would be it.

Loved this course for its beauty and scenery.

It is very established so clear fairways

and the rough is not too bad.

Had trouble finding correct lot - follow the sign to the Day Use area. The nice guard at campground helped us.

Great course. I want to go back soon!

- Very nice park, with a great mix of open and wooded holes. And they're not all grouped together either, which is nice. A few open, a few wooded, a few open, a few wooded, etc. Most of the open holes are on undulating fairways, and not at all flat. Very well-manicured.
- Completely dedicated to disc golf in this part of the park. Very close, however, is a beach, bathrooms, and shelters. Also a very extensive biking/hiking trail.
- Trash cans here and there on the course, as well as benches.
- Plenty of parking, easy to find and start. Kiosk at the course start, with a map and scorecard pinned inside. You can take a picture of the course map if you'd like, but it's really not needed. Good signage for navigation, even though the layout is pretty obvious.
- Fantastic concrete tee pads and tee signs. Signs have movable bolts to show pin placement. Each pin has distance listed on the sign as well.
- Multiple pin placements on each hole, most have 3, a few have 2, and a few have more. Definitely adds good variety. For what it's worth, I talked to some of the caretakers in passing on the course. They mentioned that traditionally the pins have been changed 3 - 4 times each year, but they're going to try to be out to change them monthly. A course like this with so many pin options deserves great attention like this.
- I played a mostly longer setup today, and as would be expected it does seem as though it plays 3 or 4 strokes higher on a longer setup.
- #1 is a great opening hole. Plenty of room, but not overly easy.
- #4 is a long, wider tunnel shot that still requires very straight drives and approach shots.
- #6 is really the first encounter of a 'tight' wooded hole. Nice, small gap to hit right off of the tee.
- #10 is a wicked blind shot from the open fairway, hard left into the woods, with the pin 80' back into the woods. Cool design.
- #11 is a great downhill hole through the woods and across a dry creek bed. Not particularly hard to three, but probably decently hard to deuce. Great terrain.
- #18 was in the short position on my play-through, but I do enjoy long finishing holes, especially when they're not completely wide open. As if to say, "Whatcha got left in the tank son?"

- Looks like some holes can probably get wet and stay wet after a bit of rain. Was also extremely buggy the day I went. Some other players mentioned that's not uncommon.
- The course did get very busy on the Saturday morning/afternoon that I went. A few very large groups at that (8+).
- Erosion around most tee pads.
- Not particularly impressed with #7 or #8. Fine holes, and not many other choices. Just a nice reprieve I suppose.
- I saw some, but not a lot of poison ivy on this course. The conditions are perfect for it however.
- Graffiti on quite a few signs, including plenty of male genitalia. Boys will be boys I suppose, but it's really quite unfortunate for a course of this caliber.

- Aside from dealing with the bugs (which I assume is mostly seasonal) I really enjoyed my time here. Definitely worth a stop, and I will be returning. Right up there with Shaver Park for my favorite course in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area.
- Great shot lines and unique shots at every turn. Still areas to air it out and let loose too though, which is always great.
- Some easier holes, but none I would call 'gimmes.' Just reprieves.
- Not the most difficult of courses or layouts, but much more enjoyable to play than many, while still offering a solid challenge.

This course is a very well-balanced course, in almost all respects. Densely wooded and scattered trees. Some short some long. Left, right, and straight holes. Uphill, downhill, and flat. Great variety.

Most holes, other than #10, have two or three basket positions and they are frequently moved. Only one set of tees, except for 14 which has a recently installed rubber pad for a long tee. There is OB road which is a factor on holes 17 and 18. A small creek (usually almost dry) can come into play on a couple of holes, and several holes have fairly thick rough so sometimes there is a reasonable penalty for going off the fairways. There are two legit par 4s (14 from the long tee and 18 in the two long basket positions) and two that might be borderline par 4 (9 and 16 in long positions) but its not hard to get 3s on these so some probably would consider them tweeners.

The disc golf area is segregated from the other park uses (which include hiking trails, a beach, a campground and a top-notch mountain biking trail network). Except for league nights or summer weekend afternoons, the course is not heavily used. Great location to get away from the daily stressors.

There is drinking water and bathrooms near hole 1, but they are seasonal.

The road into the course closes during winter. It's possible to hike in during the winter but round trip that adds a couple mile to your walking.

The quality of some baskets is suspect. Hole 3 is frequently wet when the reservoir is high, and sometimes closed due to flooding. Hole 2 has the most horrendous poison ivy patch (behind and left of basket) I have ever seen.

There are a few short holes that are heavily worn and need redesign IMO, but they are locked in by surrounding holes and a neighboring mountain bike trail, so I doubt much can be done about that.

Given the location near a network of coves of a big reservoir, it is regrettable that some of that land could not be used to create some more dramatic OB water hazards, but the water level is always changing and there are other park users in those areas so it is not really feasible.

-Well maintained park
-Good tees and baskets
-Easy to follow, the signage is good.
-Good variety of holes in and out of the woods
-Benches on almost every hole
-Multiple pin locations
-Quite challenging, especially 18

-Seemed like there were a lot of throws that cut hard to the right, but that may have had to do with the pin locations on the day that we played.

This park is worth the trip out there. I very much enjoyed it and would go play again!

A good mixture of partially open and wooded holes. Has a good amount of elevation changes and a healthy amount of variety of shots that make this course one of the better ones in the area. Well mowed fairways, teepads, benches, and flows well.

Could use a few longer holes and more significant elevation.

Never busy, it is fairly far off of the beaten path, so not many people ever play this course. There are a variety of holes which keeps it interesting.

As, I said before, it's pretty far off of the beaten path. It is about a 20-30 minute drive from Iowa City. Thick woods around some of the holes can come into play and could make finding errant throws almost impossible. Some of the baskets are pretty banged up and need to be replaced.

Overall, this is probably my favorite course in the Iowa City area. If you don't mind a little bit of a drive, you will be rewarded by not having to wait at all during play.

Technical course, with a nice use of elevation. Multiple pin locations, and cement tee pads. In the long position this course is tough and will challenge you. In the shorts it is still no walk in the park, though a couple ace runs exist.

It can get a bit wet after rains, hole 3 will occasionally flood. Some erosion around a few pins, but the local club is continually improving the course condition. Parking lot is in adjacent to hole 18.

It can get spontaneously busy when those beautiful summer days arrive. The club takes good care of the local courses.

*Easy to find, close to Iowa City
*Course is easy to navigate with very good signage; most holes/routes visible off tee
*Quick play - i got in 2 rounds in 3 hours
*Very well maintained course - valid fairways are cut through the woods
*In a beautiful wooded setting next to a resevoir with a swimming beach .... i had no idea iowa had hilly areas with trees; reminiscent of north georgia hill country
*Very fun to play
*Holes have valid routes; good distances that are challenging but fair
*Multiple pin placements
*Cement pads; benches on many holes

*Par 3 recreational course, except for the long position on 18
*Gets really busy in the evening - not a con if you are looking for someone to play with though
*hole #3 floods. When I played, it was a super hard position (right) over water until 15' before the basket because of flood waters .... i parked it with a favorite roc, but chickened out on playing it in round 2

Great, fun to play course, one of the best I played on a recent trip through IL, IA & MO....surprised it isn't rated higher. Really nice setting is icing on the cake -- swimming within walking distance of the course, camping not much further, and Iowa City only 10 minutes away

Well kept course in a Corps of Engineers park alongside Coralville Lake. Numerous pin positions give the course a lot of different looks and can alter your strategy right from the teebox. Very challenging for its short length due to the dense foliage and elevation changes. A good mix of holes, and good transition with regards to elevation and foliage. You don't get all of something at once. Hole #16 is particularly bedazzling, (or aggrivating if you get off in the shule). Unlike its sister course Turkey Creek to the south, this one isn't as overcrowded with locals and casuals, so it is better suited for serious players and people who don't like to wait.

The shule can be unforgiving if you get into it. Baskets on the wooded holes and sometimes on 14 and 15 in the late afternoon can be hard to spot as they tend to blend in to the scenery. Some old school baskets have been retrofitted with an extra set of chains and catch a bit differently. The usual pitfalls of woodsy courses, poison ivy here and there, lots of mosquitos and other insects. Definitely bring bug spray.

Probably my favorite course in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids corridor. Sugar Bottom is almost twenty years old and has kept up well with the times. There's a couple of big arm holes here, but for the most part, control is what is going to net you a good score. Might be a little bit more than some casual players can handle with all the elevation and tons of places to lose a disc. Definitely worth the stop and pairs up well with Turkey Creek or one of the Cedar Rapids courses if you have time to play two.

Awesome 18 hole course the goes in and out of the woods and was very well planned. Great parking facilities and a nice porta-potty right on the grounds after you park. Hilly and nice all around. May be a little long for more social players (bringing girls along) but a great course otherwise. Signage good and proximity to a reservoir make this course one of the best. The 18th is a special one - let 'em boom to try and get close in 3 for a nice birdie on the way out.

Again, a little long for the girls and for novices.

Outstanding course - Turkey Creek is closer to IC and more social, but this makes for a better sober choice if you're playing with bros competitively.