Kalkaska, MI

Log Lake Park

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2.865(based on 14 reviews)
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20 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.2 years 652 played 631 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Wooded Bliss

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 21, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

(3.014 Rating) A beautiful shot shaping par 3 course with recent amenity upgrades.
- FUN FACTOR - I think the best thing going for Log Lake Park, is the fun loving gameplay and atmosphere. First off, Log Lake is almost all short pleasing wooded lines with high birdie and high ace potential. Sure there are woods along the edges on every hole, but it's not oppressive thick like many of the southern courses I've played. So I think searches will be limited and disc loss odds won't be high. Although I didn't experience it, I would guess the vibe here is great. Seeing things like seating at every tee and the fairways were generally clear of downed branches are good indicators.
- RAW BEAUTY - Log Lake is nearly 100 percent heavily wooded golf. Amen. Every line to me looked better than average, although I prefer this style of golf and environment. I would not claim however that any of the lines had a bombshell look to them. I scored this aspect 75 percentile.
- UPGRADES - I'm happy to report that new concrete pads and new tee signs have been installed. I probably would have scored this course more than a quarter point lower without the upgrades.
- SIGNAGE AND NAVIGATION - In addition to the new tee signs, a new course map has been posted. Personally, I thought the navigation was good, but not flawless. There are a couple double back transitions and there is a decent gap between (5) and (6).
- AMENITIES - Much of this has already been noted in my review; concrete tees, signage and benches. The baskets are Chainstars and they were in good condition. Other extras include a practice basket, shelters, and picnic tables. I'm pretty sure there are restrooms in the park as well.
- HOLE VARIETY - About average. Lots of shot shaping to the left, right and thru tight gaps. Water comes into play a couple of times and there is some mild hole length variation from the mid 100s to the mid 300s. Unfortunately, no multi-play holes and its fairly flat.
- QUICK PLAY - I played it in 50 minutes solo and took pictures. It generally flows well and it is mostly easy to follow.

Cons:

Preferential issues
- MILD CHALLENGE - For the Pros and MA1 players out there, this one is not going to be an ideal course. Most of these players will only need a putter or perhaps a putter and a mid. There is very little length here. Only 3 holes are over 300 feet. Although I shot 4 over as an MA2 level player (snow conditions), I'm pretty sure I'd throw 6 to 7 down on average on a summer's day. A few of the holes felt like chip shots, but there is still enough bite I think to appease players at my level. MA3s and MA4 are going to enjoy the challenges here if they like wooded courses.
- IFFY LINES - Hole (16) is a text book poke and hope hole and a few others I thought were borderline. Players that like boring open forgiving landscapes might not like this course.
- WALK BACK TO THE PARKING LOT - It's a plus 400 foot walk back to the parking lot. Not ideal, but not a deal breaker either.

Other Thoughts:

I played Log Lake with 6 inches of snow on the ground. Just prior to playing here, I had learned about putting a 3-foot ribbon on a disc with tape to help from losing it in a snowdrift. It worked! I think this means I'll be getting my snow wings badge in the mail shortly. Anyways, I really enjoyed this shorty technical course. Locally, it reminded me of The Backyard in Traverse City, but without all the spacing issues, and it also reminded me of the woods portions of Almira Township, but a slightly better version of woods golf. I would highly recommend it to MA3s and MA4s that enjoy wooded courses. MA1s that enjoy bomber courses should probably not even bother stopping by.
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6 0
MidwestZest
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 23.8 years 103 played 72 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Thwack! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 27, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

- Definitely a bit of line-choosing to be done here. Lots of tight, tight woods golf. Probably a con for beginners.
- Nice, brand-new looking baskets. No issues.
- Hand-carved signs at each tee with the basics. Distance and general drive-line.
- Navigation is generally not an issue - the next tees are mostly near the previous basket. There are a few "next tee" signs where needed.
- Generally not a lot of tall undergrowth to lose discs in.
- I liked the layout and design of a stretch of holes early - #6 through #9.
- Benches at quite a few of the tees. Some very new looking.
- Very clean and well-kempt course.

Cons:

- Tee pads have seen better days. Especially on the front 9, many have spalled and are just places to stand, opposed to run up.
- Some holes don't seem to have great lines to get within the putting circle on the drive. There were a few that seemed like getting a 60 ft jump putt was about the best you could possibly, skillfully, achieve for a chance at birdie. #10 comes to mind, if I remember correctly.
- There is a small bit of elevation on this course, but it really only comes into play on a couple of holes.
- It's difficult to put into words, but there are stretches of holes that begin to feel repetitive or cyclical.
- With the amount of trees here, there were plenty of guarded baskets, but hardly any guarded tees, which probably aided my feeling on the previous observation.
- Really a short course in general. I did not find much need to throw more than a fairway driver ever on the course - and even so they were drivers I felt I could really control. Big arms will be brought back down to the rest of the field here.

Other Thoughts:

- I enjoyed my round here, even though I scored horribly from hitting so many trees. Unfortunately, it was a mostly mid-range disc course for me, which just makes me feel like I didn't get to use my full repertoire.
- Something legitimate to consider, I suppose, is that this course is under snow for more of the year than not, I'd imagine, so I'll bet the local club gets more rounds in without leaves than with, which I'm sure makes a difference in how the course plays.
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2 0
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
2.50 star(s)

my parents went to log lake and all I got was this stupid ace run 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 3, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

Aesthetic-- Sign says that the course wraps with a nature trail but I didn't see any markings for a nature trail when I played. Area wraps across the main road into the camp.

Challenge-- the challenge here is in the trees. there are a TON of trees. That said, the trees don't diminish the fact that this course is SHORT and there are a TON of ace runs here.

Signage/routing/nav-- pretty easy. the new teesigns are Logs with a hole map, number and length "etched" into them. they can get dirty with the amount of deadfall here, but just wipe them off with your foot. In the areas where it could be difficult, the same type of signs have "Next Tee" etched into them.

Risk v Reward-- none really to speak of. the rough is pretty easy to move through and find plastic, the tree lined fairways aren't really risk v reward.

Cons:

Teepads-- short and rutted out. they are grippy and all but they are also holey.

Baskets-- probably the biggest downfall here. Single chains that seem to be held together by zip ties and wire. even the baskets with multiple layers of chains are truly only a single layer.

Other Thoughts:

The amount of deadfall here is crazy, but the fairways are clear. It was a VERY quick play. I played all 18 in about 45 minutes. nice little warm up for Hanson Hills.
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2 0
rsr2
Experience: 13.7 years 26 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Do you like trees? 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 27, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The course is now under new management so the course is now getting a few positive changes.

Signs, the signs for each hole are now stumps and they are really neat. I like this new change because they are informative with the distance and also they look nice. There are also new paths so people don't get lost for a couple of the holes.

There are a couple new benches out on the course and they are really cool looking such as hole 3 and hole 7. They make it really nice because people in past destroy the benches for no reason and some of the holes during the fall season had destroyed bench pieces on the ground.

The park now has a garbage can at every hole and it also keeps the park clean which is really nice.

A lot of technical holes make it great. There are a lot of trees so there are some challenging holes which is fun to play.

There are also a couple holes that are really nice looking like scenic.

Cons:

Everything is pretty flat. There are a couple holes with slight elevation but other than that.

A majority of the holes are under 300' so you don't have many shots that are distance.

This place can get packed on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday so be prepared for a little wait.

There have been problems in the past of vandalism but it has changed a little. There were a couple benches vandalized since the opening but nothing really major happened yet. There are also a lot of tress that got vandalized too which makes things look pretty bad.

After hole #11 I felt it was getting a little repetitive.

Other Thoughts:

This was the first course I ever played on and it was really fun.. It's a great course to start out on until you feel confident enough to play Hickory. But if anyone is out there, be prepared for hitting a tree because if you didn't hit one, there is a problem.
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6 0
deBebbler
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 28.8 years 75 played 34 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Where to take new DX Teebirds 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 17, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice cement tees. Fairways are well defined. Well placed benches and trash cans help keep course clean.

EZ On - EZ Off US 131 makes this course nice to hit if you are traveling. Two-man rounds can easily be fit in 90 minutes.

Practice basket near the lot. The path leading back to the lot from 18 dumps you out at the softball field, and gives you a nice place to empty your bag after the round.

Groomed for winter play, where the lack of elevation helps with footing.

Cons:

Most of the baskets are rusted out and single chain design. Tee signs are crude 4x4 posts with length and vector representations of hole only, and a few are missing.

This course is very flat. There is one slight uphill that manages to obscure the basket from the tee, but little more. Although there are a lot of trees, most of the fairways have fat lines to work, and the challenge after a few rounds is pretty low.

Not nearly enough distance. Twelve of the holes are <250' with only one >300'. This is a course that trades lack of distance with an abundance of trees. The course opens up more for the last 4-5 holes, and the average distance of these holes is greater, but not significantly.

Strong RHBH bias, with only one serious dogleg right hole. Most holes are straight finishing slightly left or right. Compounded with the short, flat nature of the course, the repetition is felt quickly.

Other Thoughts:

I have passed this course by to play another more often than I have played it. It isn't that this course is especially bad, it just doesn't offer up much of anything, and the fun factor is pretty low. If I'm in the area (and want to stay out of Traverse City), I'm much more likely to play Kingsley Civic Center or Hanson Hills.

However, I do use this course for two disc rounds. I'm either going to park my drive, or put some much needed gouges in my new DX Teebirds. When I need to break them in, these trees are perfect.
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0 0
1MUTANT1
Experience: 2 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 30, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course is great. Very clean, nice signage. Definitely a challenging course with all the trees, which i prefer more than the open (let em rip) holes. The new manager is a avid disc golfer himself, and it shows. He has really cleaned the place up nicely. Fixed the defaults it had, made custom log benches and new log signage. And there is a garbage can at every hole. It has clean pathways to keep you out of disc traffic. I live a mile from a DG course and I will always drive the 1/2 hr to Log Lake. No doubt you will see me there on any givin day.

Cons:

The only con I can think of is the lack of long holes. But as l said earlier it makes up for it with technical holes.

Other Thoughts:

There is always something going on there as far as tournaments or glow rounds and so on. Joel (the manager) is big into disc golf so this park always has something going on.
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3 0
DJ Merlin
Experience: 15.7 years 1 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

You gotta play this course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 12, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Course was very clean and easy to navigate the first time out. A surprise to me given the earlier reviews. Nice mix of hyzer and anhyzer shots. Simply a fun but somewhat challanging course to play for beginners.

Cons:

Baskets for holes 7 and 8 are close to each other, so after playing 7 you must walk right past basket 8 and walk up the fairway to the tee pad. A little anoying when the park is on the busy side. A couple of tee pads are no more than a 4 X 4 slab. A couple of trash cans along the course would also be a plus. However, IF YOU PACK IT IN....PACK IT OUT.
I can't stand IDIOTS that throw there trash on the ground at our courses, they make us alll look bad.

Other Thoughts:

OK so many may not agree this is a 4.0 course however, don't let a few bad reviews from over a year ago, keep you from checking this course out. The park managment was changed early this season and the course was cleaned up really nice. The last few holes still need new signage at the tee pads, but I understand that is a work in progress. I also learned they play night rounds on Saturday nights. I can't wait to go back and try that. Camping is also available right next to the course.
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2 0
fleeulrich
Experience: 15.7 years 53 played 29 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Loved it 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 18, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course was easy to navigate for the most part. The signs that were there were pretty good, with the hole #, and hole layout. Most of the pads were nice long concrete pads. There is a practice basket near hole 1. There is a beach and there are picinick areas available.

Cons:

The course starts out with good signage, but after a certain point there are no more signs. One pad was half wood and half concrete, which gave me footing problems. There was another pad that couldnt have been more than 3.5 feet long.

Other Thoughts:

This course is worth playing for sure. Most holes have a lot of trees in play. Even with trees in play, most holes are pretty short giving a little wiggle room to savage your par. The more experienced players might think this course is too easy, but the players with lesser ability will love it for its shorter holes.
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0 3
tccrapsdealer
Experience: 7 played 6 reviews
2.00 star(s)

If you threw a disc and DIDN'T hit a tree, you weren't at Log Lake 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 2, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Usually pretty much deserted.

Cons:

Horrible navigation. Especially in the 7-8-9 area. I've played the course 4 times and I don't think I've gone the right way yet. TONS of trees. Hard to make a solid throw without hitting one.
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1 0
rlbontrager
Experience: 18.9 years 13 played 7 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 16, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

A relatively simple and short course that winds through the forest. It feels very tight with trees on all sides, and they do come into play with most shots, adding to the difficulty. However, the short distance of most of the holes adds to the ease of play.

Walks easy and quickly, good course if your close and just looking to spend an hour out.

Cons:

It is not well marked, or even marked at all in most places. Most of the holes are easy enough to find, but the trip from 7 to 8 can be a bit confusing if your new to the course.

If you are skilled or lucky enough to miss the trees, the shortness of the course makes it kind of a push over.

Other Thoughts:

There are two paths from the 7th basket to the 8th tee. One goes out and around in a wide arc to the 8th tee. This path quickly feel into misuse, and, although followable, is obviously rarely used (a small tree is currently hanging over it at chest height). The other path is wide, well walked, and inviting as it travels 30 feet to the 8th hole's basket. This is what most people use, but you'll have to walk backwards through the hole if you go this way, avoiding anyone who may be playing the hole already.
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11 0
volklgirl
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 110 played 56 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great Course for Beginners 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Dec 19, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Log Lake is a pretty course in the woods with only a couple of holes with wide open fairways. Short holes and few real consequences from bad shots make this course a beginner's dream (and a great place to train for more closed-in courses). A nice variety of necessary shots and interesting basket placement keeps things fun. Swampy mud/water in play on 2 holes (#6 and #9).

The putting practice basket located in a wooded copse in the parking lot is a definite bonus for warm-ups.

Cons:

This is a really busy course and back-ups are common. Vandalism has robbed almost every tee of any type of hole identification. This, combined with at least 2 areas where the layout doubles back on itself and a couple of road crossings, can make navigation interesting.

*** UPDATE 4/8/10 ***
A crew has been through with the leaf blowers making nagivagation a breeze! All of the tee pads now have nice engraved 4x4 tee markers with hole number, distance and direction clearly shown. Thumbs up to the maintenance crew here!!!

Other Thoughts:

In areas where navigation gets confusing, next tee numbers and arrows have been drawn on surrounding trees with Sharpies, so keep your eyes open to avoid skipping entire sections of the course. A course map and scorecards are now available in the "Links" tab as well - I highly suggest printing and taking the map for your first couple of rounds (I still get turned around at the 8/10/15 junction!).

The baseball field that the course circles around is a great place to practice distance throws, rollers, and other "trick" shots.

This is one of the best courses to play in the winter, as well. Several people keep the tee pads cleared and there's a guy who packs the fairways down with a snowmobile. Ribbons are needed to keep from losing discs during winter play, and snowshoes are handy for errant shots that end up in "the deep".
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2 2
NEWBY1151
Experience: 19.8 years 100 played 37 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Tight & Technical 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 10, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Course is relatively easy to navigate,challenging for all types of players,practice basket,nice park with beach & picnic area,

Cons:

Most holes have tight tree lined fairways,mostly flat,seemed repetitive to me,could see losing a disc or two if you get off the fairway,

Other Thoughts:

Personally I didn't have much fun playing this course I was traveling and by half way through I was looking forward to the next course,wouldn't go out of my way to play it again.
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7 0
colombo117
Experience: 3 played 3 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Technically Woody 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Pretty course through the woods. Some elavation changes, with shots that have you throwing blind towards the basket. Pine trees tower over has discs fly below.

Cons:

Land shared with campground, busy in the summer with people walking on the course. Not many long holes. Trash is a problem and so are large groups drinking while they play.

Other Thoughts:

Tight holes through the trees will have you throwing with accurate precision. Ace opportunities abound. Most holes are 300 ft. and under
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3 9
FoleyT
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18.8 years 86 played 84 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Into the Woods 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 25, 2006 Played the course:never

Pros:

Scenic but dusty walk through the woods. Some slight elevation challenges here and there, but mostly flat.

Cons:

Rough is fairly unforgiving, lost discs are a problem in the deep woods. A lot of trash around the tee pads.

Other Thoughts:

Like a lot of Michigan courses, this is another 'path through the woods' with disc cages
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