This is a nice, typical course in an unlikely location, though not too far north from Lansing. My first impression was that it was too nice for the amount of traffic it seems to get. Which, of course is a good thing. I'm sure the word will get out soon and more people will come to play. There seems to be a great variety of holes. Long bombers become more prevalent towards the latter half, while the first nine are full of dog legs and holes that go from open to wooded with the pin in some tight areas. Lots of blind shots and no water hazards make for an interesting play and may or may not be a "pro" depending on the type of player you are. the designer used the trees very well through out the course, and with a good drive makes for some pretty photo ops. Its also very well maintained as far as trash goes.

Lots of shrubberies! So, bring an offering for the knights who say ni if your shots tend to stray and you want to keep your discs. Again there are no water hazards which may decrease the value in terms of variety. Also, there isn't much in the way of elevation change.

If you get lost and find your self in the little town just north of the park, find the local cop who patrols! He was very helpful and led me right to the first hole. Plus it looks good for us rag tag discers to show that we aren't a bunch of broke hippies. Well... most of us at least.

Both the park amenities and this disc course are fresh and new. Reed Park itself has a small shallow lake, numerous picknic sites connected with new sidewalks and new change house and bathrooms.

The course, while very level offers a bit of variety. Some holes with tree-lined fairways, a couple woods holes, and some open field holes as to air things out. There is also a variety in length. Some short but generally challenging ace prospects with some longer holes with a couple around 400'. Showing the newness are fairways in the wooded and field areas which appear to have been cleared with a dozer. In general these "cleared fairways are approximately 15-20 feet wide.

The hole markers (rocks) work well although some of the markings are already faded or smeared.

Narrow fairways and prickers.! I regularly play a woods course so I don't expect a great expanse for fairways. The middle of this course (holes 6-14) are through old field areas with some scrub wood growth. these old fields through the years have become populated with a tall plant with prickly hard stem that is like a rose stem or raspberry plant on steroids. This grows thickly in almost all areas not in the fairway in this section of the course. Wear long pants!

For being a brand new course Reed Park shows potential.

A couple things course management might consider:

Put locks on your baskets!

Consider periodic brush-hogging the middle section of holes 6-14. Cutting this growth back over time may bring back grass which is a much more tolerable rough. Also through this section which holds the courses longer holes this might open up the fairways a bit.

It will be interesting to see how this course matures. I could see my rating changing as I play this course more and see improvements come.