Victory Park is an interesting course. 40-odd courses played around the state and I can say I've still not run into one with its design philosophy. It's certainly its own entity that toes the line between challenging expectations and an acquired taste.

The front 9 is a fairly standard series of nice park holes. Tall trees generously scattered around a modest hill with a grassy, debris free floor. It's attractive - every person I've brought here so far has mentioned how visually pleasing the park is.

The front 9 holes are fun, almost frustration-free to be honest. They aren't the simplest in the world - they tend to run on the longer side of 300' and you need to navigate many trees. The spacing is generous, however, and many different lines are perfectly viable. If you miss the gaps and kick off a tree, it is very unlikely that you'll be punished with an untenable shot. You simply adjust and pick a new line and try again. There's no brush or brambles to punish you. I would think that a beginner could spend their time running the front 9 over and over to get a feel for shaping shots and airing out controlled distance.

The back 9 becomes a new entity, like gremlins exposed to water. The difficulty ratchets up from a stress-free exercise in gentle shot shaping to a demanding precision landings lest you lose a disc in the water. I believe no less than 5 of the back 9 have water very, very much in play. And not in the avoidable "I'll just throw a few short layups to get past it" sort of in play either. Rather, it's the "my mission in life is to make you go swimming" type of layout. To say these holes have character is quite the understatement.

They are beautiful holes though, and quite achievable. While there are some stagnant pools of typical disc golf run-off reservoirs, several of the hazards cut across and around the Kalamazoo River. They are certainly memorable.

One exceptionally long hole is present - #12 I think. I believe this is the longest hole I've thrown to date, clocking in somewhere around 800-900' or so. When I first played here very early in my disc golf career, I don't think we ever found the basket to this hole - I seem to remember tucking our tails between our legs, finishing 17 and 18, and then going home. We did that because we simply couldn't comprehend having to scout so far ahead to find the basket. We'd thought it had been pulled!

Cement pads of good size are present. Their number is spray-painted in the corner, which is crude but effective. An arrow on the pad will sometimes point you in the direction of the basket. That actually comes in handy on a few holes. Generally the baskets are visible (at least partially) from the tee but they can be hard to spot at a distance.

Modern bathrooms available, though they give off a bit of a prison shower vibe.

Parking is...not great. There's not a ton of it and it seems to be relegated to lining the disc golf fairways. We've had to politely ask people hanging out in their car to please move due to the very, very real possibility of an errant shot hitting them.

Several holes run adjacent to roads. We had several shots go across or into them in fact. They don't appear to be terribly busy, but traffic was certainly existent so they are not unused. I'm never a fan when poor throws can hit things it's not ok to hit. I understand space limitations are what they are, but there's always a rating loss involved.

No tee signs, which is always a bummer. Not much in the way of trash or benches at the tees either, though you can find those wandering a bit into the park.

Speaking of wandering a bit into the park, I would hesitate to call the course a "dedicated disc golf area". Problems with roads and parking coming into play aside, hole 17 literally has picnic tables in the fairway and runs very close to the amphitheater. We watched a young couple scurry away from one such table after noticing another group throwing their discs at them (ok, in their general direction, but still). Not a good look. The river are also frequently has walkers, fisherman, metal detectorists (I'm positive that's a word....ok, maybe not, but I'm using it), and other people enjoying the area.

Hole 12 is a bit silly and strains the flow of the course. The sensible place to put the basket would have been a bit past the water hazard. It looks like at one point it was a swimming area but I doubt it has been used as such for years/decades. Throwing another 200-300 feet past it to get to the basket only to have to walk 600 feet back to get to the next tee pad seems a bit unnecessary.

Hole 12 also abuts next to a private residence. The neighbors there are very good natured - I know because we threw a disc into their yard and they were extremely chill and kind about returning it. They mentioned it happens all the time and that every year they end up selling a stack of discs at their garage sale from what they find in their yard. It's like they have their own disc faerie folk leaving them presents from time to time. Other experiences with the residents of a different house on a different hole were not so pleasant, but no reason to air bad gas out other than to note that your disc retrieval efforts may be met with mixed reactions.

Massive alien-pod sized hornet nest on 12. Not sure if it was active or not but it was bigger than a basketball and low to the ground - you could walk into it and smack your forehead if you're the oblivious sort.

I think the back 9 holes are a bit misunderstood when compared to the front 9. Are the back 9 difficult? Yes. Are they intimidating? Yes. Are they unfair? I don't think so.

Hole 10 plays with a small stream in front of the basket and a good sized hillock behind. I suppose you could really air out your drive, overshoot, and throw it in the water but it seems unlikely. If you are unlucky and hit the 3' wide stream retrieval is an easy process - I haven't seen discs start running away with the current.

Hole 11 is probably the most difficult of the course, but is also a risk/reward scenario. You can toss to the island in the middle, throw up the right hand side of the river for a shorter crossing to the basket, or try and land a shot on a 40' strip of land between two bodies of water. Let me tell you, you feel righteous when you make that water carry for a bird. Additionally, if you end up short, the discs are fairly retrievable if you have somebody willing to wade. The water is clear and the discs seem like they sit pretty well as long as you don't end up near the waterfall - even then they tend to catch on rocks on the way downriver. Shooting long into the stagnant pond past the basket is a problem, but it's also at a higher elevation so you won't be rolling into it - again, you need to bust out a pretty healthy overshoot to have that problem.

Hole 12 is the most intimidating hole I've ever seen. It really is a 6' fairway with nasty water directly to the left and more retrievable water maybe 20' to the right (a line of trees and change in elevation separate the "fairway" from the water). Who in god's green earth can land that? Good news, you don't have to! The basket is 240' up and if you clear that water, it's all field and grass behind it to the left. If you can throw that far, it doesn't matter where you land - you're safe. It's not as demanding as it may initially imply.

Hole 13 is the most likely to need layup shots due to the somewhat narrow fairway between the water and the neighboring houses. Not too bad to play safely, but you can also air it out over the water if you're confident in it coming back.

Hole 14 plays snug with the river on the left, but I think the water is all of 6" deep and crystal clear here so you really have to be a quitter to lose your disc.

15 is another intimidating one...but it should not be. It's a short carry over the river for what is essentially an ace run. 120' of openish fairway (there is a tree that provides a ceiling) is not the most demanding hole out there. It's not even the most demanding hold on the course. Unfortunately, the water in this small section of the river is quite deep - unless you land it near the edge your disc is likely to disappear between the depth and the current, at least for a little ways. I strongly suspect they get caught up on rocks a little bit downriver (like 30 feet or so - not far). I'm sure there are some local divers who find a lot there and have figured out what the catch points are.

I guess my point is, it is a very difficult set of holes for a beginner. Lord knows we sacrificed plastic to it when we started. I actually refuse to play the course unless I bring some trash discs just for the water shots just based on prior experiences. Thing is, for an intermediate player they're more intimidating than they are impossible. Sure, you may not bird it if you go safe, but taking some risks does add some spice to the game.

Albion is a fun course to play, and it has that unique "character" attribute that makes it a special course that is worth going out of your way to visit. I hesitate to call it a "destination" course, but it would certainly be worth a stop on a road trip.

I would come prepared with somebody who's dressed to go in the water and/or bring some sacrificial disks.

I would note that the chances of losing a disc would be MUCH higher during a rainy period or after the snow melt and the river is high and moving fast. In late summer my group put 7 in total and got all 7 back through wading and retrievers.

Jumped the shark, you ask? "Jump the shark" is a Hollywood TV term that tells when a TV show (usually but not always, a sitcom) goes so far over the top, that it totally and completely escapes reality. The term was created when "The Fonz, from Happy Days, jumped over a shark on his motorcycle. See, when you read a Valkyrie Kid review, you can learn something new. I think this course definitely jumped the shark starting at # 10.

The front 9 at Victory Park plays up and around this lovely, wooded, hilly area. There are some great throws to be made here. Tee signs would have helped. The concrete pads have a giant arrow pointing the way you're throwing but the hole #'s were mostly faded and I didn't see any distances. I liked the # 9 hole playing 330' across a lawn with the basket set on a little hill with a tiny little creek in front. Adds a little challenge.

Now for the next series of holes. # 10, that some players seem to love is a fairly long carry over the water (and the wind was blowing hard today). One could play safe and lay up on the right but even that shot has water on both sides. I wasn't aware of how easy it is to retrieve your discs.

Then # 11 is a 220' straight throw along a 6' wide fairway with the pond on the right the entire length and the creek is present on the right side. If I emptied my bag on this hole, I'd have to fish every single disc out of the pond. But hey! if you guys like these holes, be my guest. I know I'm a wimp.

There were two tee pads for # 12. I wasn't sure which to use but it didn't matter because I couldn't spot a basket and there is a large, murky swampy water holding area right in front of you. No-one can convince me it easy to dredge your disc out if that. I finally located the basket just under 1000 feet out there. This is a silly hole.

I so agree with reviewer NinaFoFiTre regarding hole 14. She called it one of the best looking holes 225' holes anywhere. It's so pretty it could be at Augusta. But like a Bond girl, it's not just beautiful but also dangerous.

Signage would really help.

Maybe the water holes aren't as scary as I thought. I would love to watch you all throw 10-11-12-14. I think that would be most entertaining.

I never found the # 17 basket but they were getting ready for a concert on the park there. Do they perhaps pull that basket for concerts?

After reading the other reviews, I feel my initial knee jerk reaction to the severity of 10 and 11 may have been overdone but I would still skip those two holes every time. I don't want to go wading in the water. People would think I was a old drunk out there stumbling around in the water or maybe a homeless guy taking a bath. Either way, I'll pass.

And I have upped my rating a little.

good use of little elevation they have
lots of water
enjoyable from the start
900' foot hole
clean park
can retrieve water shots somewhat easy

tee signs are needed
some throws near walking paths

I have been playing disc for about 11 years and this is one of my favorite of all time. The first holes are up and down a nice hill with some accuracy needed. The course completely changes from a hill to flat holes where water is everywhere. some very risky shots that will be greatly awarded if you are accurate. I threw in the water about 3 times and was easily able to get them back. Overall a really nice course that is very interesting and fun to play. I recommend this course and will definitely be back when I can. Give this one a try if you haven't and enjoy it because I loved it.

Great layout, very fun, very scenic for a park course
#14 is one of the best looking holes in the country with the two creeks, stone walls and the small green. Cool bridge, one of the greatest 225ct holes in the country.

No tee signs.... Ugh, very frustrating looking for teenagers. At least paint one of the arms of the basket to point to the next hole.
The arrows on the tee pads to point to the hole are slightly know when wet, annoying.
A few holes play over Park roads which could be hazardous during busy Park hours

I thoroughly enjoyed this course, except for it lacking the tee signs.... Once I figured out where to go each of the holes were great and fun to play. Mosquitos were bad and had some standing water after a few rainy days. Gorgeous waterfall on 10

• The scenery around here is great! Even with the huge storm that hit the day before this place looked amazing. I actually preferred having to play around huge downed trees and other rubbish that was everywhere. Can't dock a course for points when mother nature is a crazy b*tch.

- Course is free to play, huge plus!

- Located in downtown Albion, and comes equipped with a skate rink and playground.

- The cement teepads are in great shape aside from the distance markers having been worn down. Arrows carved in the pads point you in the direction of the basket.

- Good use of elevation, and an awesome variety of shots to cover.

- Hole's #10 and #11 are some of the craziest water holes I've ever seen. apdrvya and I were blown away by the awesome view and overall feel of hole #10's risk/reward layout. The Kalamzaoo river runs right through the fairway. You can lay up midway and then shoot over the next water gap, or go all-in and try to clear the two bodies of water to land under the basket. Then after that, #11 is a crazy tight tunnel shot with a wall of bushes to the right and a pond to the left, and you have about 6' or so of a lane to land on or risk your disc taking a bath.

• This place needs better signage. Yes the teepad arrows and distances carved in is good, but true signs would be great to see.

• Lack of sitting areas and trash bins. Not extremely crucial, but they would definitely help to bump up this course.

• Bring bug spray in the right months as I can see bugs being an issue here.

• Basket to #12 was missing altogether (apparently has since been replaced)

• A few of the holes play over roads and paths, so paying attention to your surroundings here is very important so you don't injure anyone.

This is easily a new favorite for me as well! The only thing that could have been better here would have been if the downed trees and debris were gone, but I can hardly hold that against the park itself, as a huge storm had rolled through the day before. I will definitely be back to victory park to see how it plays without all the stuff in the way. Don't miss your chance to play this amazing course!

Aesthetic-- plays through TWO very large multi-use parks right in the middle of downtown albion. There are many amenities here including a world class park and playground.

Teepads/signs-- the teepads double as the teesigns, each feature an arrow for the general direction you are throwing, a tee number and a VERY faded distance (distances could easily be fixed).

routing and navigation-- easy with the map. there definitely is some potential for confusion but the map will steer you clear.

Challenge/Variety-- the challenge here lies in the variety. there is a little bit of everything. hugely long holes, short little pitch and putts, water and other obstacles.

Baskets-- all are in great condition. we were unable to find #12 (after 990', it would be nice to have a basket!).

Risk v Reward-- this could be the name of the course. the water holes are phenomenal!

Special mention-- the water holes are amazing! #10 is my new favorite disc golf hole of any I've played. #11 is a nerve wracking little pitch and putt that will test your last nerve. #12 is hugely long with a massive pond directly in your way. #13 plays along a small stream. #14 plays across the stream but under a very low tree branch.

Danger- a couple of fairways are VERY close to the next teepad and/or fairway. plays across paths, roads and sidewalks many many times, we waited for people and cars several times.

Lack of teesigns- the pads were good but the distances were faded.

#12 basket missing- minor detail in the big picture of things I suppose.

Let me just start out by saying, we played this course the day after a major storm came through and knocked down a ton of trees and powerlines in the park. we played very carefully and the whole park was playable. but, it was a massive challenge to get to the park from the Jackson area where we started our day.

This was the last course of four on the day and is a new favorite for sure. I will be back when the park has been cleaned

* Course Map at first tee pad
* First 8 holes are heavily wooded but with NO underbrush, meaning the holes are challenging and filled with obstacles but almost impossible to lose your disc on.
* Free to play course in a lovely public park with playground, pond with beach, band shell, cobblestone, heart shaped arbor, playground, tennis courts, and basketball courts with bathrooms and outdoor roller rink gazebo thing (super fun to skip your discs in there while walking between hole 15 and 16)
* Not very crowed with disc golfers
* Great use of giant hill for hole #1-5
* Best collection of water hazard holes (6 all together) I have ever seen
* Has the two best water holes I've ever seen one with a split in the kalamazoo river you play over with the basket on a peninsula in between where the river splits(14) and another hole (10) shooting over a large pond with an narrow island with bridges in the middle of the pond you can shoot onto (I only did it once because there was a guy fishing with his young son standing in the line I normally take so I tried the island which I was luckily able to land on and make par form but I'm pretty sure it is difficult to do consistently)
* Long concrete tee pads with distance and hole number on front of pad
* Good variety of holes and distances
* Hole 2 is one of my favorite holes to shoot right hand forehand on, look at the pictures under media to see why
* No under brush means that even on this long walk of an 18 hole course you're round will be quick and clean (I wear jeans to go disc diving all summer long and this is one of the few courses I will play in shorts)

*Though course itself is not crowded but the park it is in can be so sometimes if a park goer is unfamiliar with disc golf you may have to wait before teeing off
* The Kalamazoo river is very deep and flows very quickly at hole #14 so you may lose a disc here
* compared to the rest of the course, holes 16-18 are nothing special
* No tee posts makes it difficult to find tee pads first time playing course

This course is so much fun, challenging to master, and easy to play a round on. Did I mention it has the most beautiful and challenging wear holes I've seen this far in disc golf? Tee posts and hole maps would absolutely make this course a 5. If you are ever in south central michigan you NEED to play this course.

- First 9 holes, and the last few are wide open and fun to throw hard if you want

- Good variety in the middle part of the course with some water hazards and tricky holes

- the park that this course is in has an awesome climber toy for the kids, a small swimming area and lots of other things (tennis, b-ball, hockey etc)

- When we were there, the park was empty on a weekday and we never had to wait for anyone(golfer or otherwise)

- The course is pretty easy to navigate, though take a picture of the course so you can save some time

- Awesome water holes, and a 1000 footer to boot!

- Holy water hazard Batman!! The 4 or 5 holes in the middle of the course play over some wicked water. Rivers, lakes, ponds and more!

- I could see that on the weekends some of the holes play over areas with people in them for the park...so this could be an issue when it's busy

- No signs...if not for this, I would give 4 stars

- Some of the open holes get a little tedious just because they are plentiful...but they are mostly fun in their own way so not a big negative.

They did a great job of cramming 18 holes into this course. And one of the holes is almost 1000 feet! Over a lake!!!

The water holes are tough but soooo worth playing. Most of the water is not too deep. If you're willing to get your feet and legs a bit wet you can save your disc and even find an extra if you're lucky!

I highly recommend checking this course out if you are in the area. Great time, no real chance of losing a disc unless you're careless in the water.

Cement tee pads, Chain baskets, Course Map at hole #1, Pads marked with hole # and Distance.

Located in a beautiful park, this course has some scenic holes, elevation changes, trees and water holes. A nice variety that will challenge most disc golfers.

Hole #10 is stunning, plays over multiple bodies of water, as challenging as it is beautiful. Course is almost evenly broken into two halves, tree filled holes and water holes. Nice blend sure to be a challenge.

Holes #11 and #12 mess up this almost perfect DG course.
Hole 11 feels like it was an after thought, oh shoot we forgot to add hole 11. Short hole with a stagnant pond on the left side and trees and raging river on the right side. Fairway is about 10-12 feet wide, feels like a beaten down bike path. This hole alone kept me from rating this course higher.

#12 isn't much better but opposite of #11. A 990 foot hole that goes over a road, around the swimming pond, over the small beach and back towards the town. People tend to gather near the swim pond so that can be tricky. 990 ft feels like a waste. Should eliminate current #11, cut #12 in half and add in #11 where #12 begins.

#11 and #12 simply muck up the good flow of this amazing course. A darn shame too.

This long course, over 6,000 ft will challenge you with length on some holes, trees on others and water on the rest. Park is pretty well maintained so losing discs really only can happen on water holes. Play this track at least once if just to see how beautiful hole #10 is in person. Good luck!

# 1 is a killer opening hole, up a steep hill through the oaks.
# 2 is an easy birdie, not!!. Looks simple enough, but with the basket at the edge of the retaining wall and the sidewalk and street just below a lot can happen on this easy looking hole that weren't planning for
# 3 again looks simple enough, except in has a few peaks and valleys within the fairway and the basket plays real close to the road, so OB is a possibility.
# 4 plays back up the hill that you were going up on # 1 but on another side of that hill. Not as steep of a hole as # 1 but steep enough to make it very challenging.
# 5 plays from the top of the sledding hill except one throws in another direction than the sledders use. I've never played this DGC when the trees are in full bloom, thus the airwaves are even tighter than when I have played and makes this hole even tougher than it already is. You shoot down hill and the basket leans to the left side of the fairway with large oaks to shoot through. Fun hole, but not easy by any means.
# 8 is a semi long hole in which you need to wind your disc in between some larger trees in order to set up your putt. I don't see too many players driving this hole, but anything is possible
# 9 is a rather bland hole until you get closer to the basket. There is a marshy area to your right that shouldn't come into play but probally does for some hackers, but the real test on this hole is the basket position. The basket sits just below a small bank in which the river is behind. and then you have a creek in front of the basket. I love it and now the fun is about to start as......
# 10 is one of the greatest holes in the WORLD, IMHO. As you have the the K-zoo river blasting through the fairway with the basket on the other side some 300' away from the teeing area. Well they'res a couple ways one can play this hole. Go for it-------- - + lay up onto the island (which IMO would be as tough as getting it to the other side of the fairway dry) or shoot your drive down the right side of the fairway to avoid the island and to set up your next shot to again cross the river or as many people do....... skip the water holes. But if you do that, your going to miss playing some of the most challeging water holes one plays in concession on any DGC in the WORLD that I know of. Let me put it another way.... heres the opportunity to go down the Colorado river on a raft going through the Grand Canyon, but to settling instead to drive around that section and telling everyone how beautiful the Grand Canyon is. The Grand Canyon is more beautiful going through it than just peering over at it from a rails edge and so is this DGC water holes starting at # 10.
# 11 is even as scary as # 10, especially if your a RHBH player, but i'm not and it's about time there's a DGC that puts the frieght into some of these so called better RHBH players shoes. # 11 has a very narrow fairway, there's a shallow pond to the left side of the fairway and then you have the river to your right and the rightside is also treelined all the way down with the basket on a slopes edge.
# 12 you might need to call the operator as this hole is sriously long distance, and then you have a good sized pond that can be reached on a good drive, so one has to set up their drive in order to navigate the rest of the hole as the left side of the fairway is narrow and has OB with the fence line seperating people's yards and the park. So now your half way through the hole and now you have to shoot another long distance shot to get to the basket that's almost downtown.
# 13 is a short less than 200' hole that you'll be shaking in your boots because of the river to the right of the whole side of the fairway and an OB walking path on the right side of the fairway, yes there is a grass fairway for one to throw down, but you better be accurate or you'll be sorry......
# 14 is another easy duece hole except there's water present, but this time you have 2 rivers meeting at a point and the basket almost right at the end of this point where the 2 rivers meet. AWESOME HOLE !! doesn't favor left or right handed player but favors one that can throw straight. Come and Visit Albion's Victory Park and test your skills and tell me if I'm right or wrong. This DGC rocks and is a must play.
# 15 is not as easy as you think as it doesn't seem that theres any more water around, but the right side of the fairway is all marshy and you don't want to go inthere in shoes. The basket is surrounded by pines and small hills. Very nice position.
# 16 you play over a park road, but it's no big deal as it is just a park road. This hole is easily dueceable and I love the way the mature trees are located on this hole and through of the whole park.
# 17 plays to the other side of the band shell. It's rather long, lots of mature trees to navigate around.
# 18 is a rather bland course ending hole considering what you've played so far. I'd like to see the basket on # 18 to be put on a raised mound with a few steps leading up onto the mound (maybe an area landscape comany could do this project and advertise thier work on a sign somewhere on the mound).
BIG TEE PADS

tee signs--- Let's see you give us directions to visit your course, but you don't give the tourists the benifit of a tee sign. I don't understand. (if the reason is because you can't have an upright sign, then put the tee sign into the BIG tee pads somehow, instead of an arrow and the distance that is already present)

not enough benches or trash cans

IMHO, This DGC is my favorite DGC in Michigan. It has everything (except tee signs and benches).Come and Visit Albion's Victory Park and test your skills and tell me if I'm right or wrong. This DGC rocks and is a must play. Since I found this DGC on 8/18/10 when I'm within 100 I come a pay homage to this GREAT DGC. In fact when I first found this DGC I loved it so much I found a nearby hotel and played it again in the morning before heading home. Wish this was my home DGC or at least a little closer to home. for those people that get to play this DGC on a regular basis, your freaking lucky and I hope you continue to keep this DGC shine amongnst all the other TOP DGC around the WORLD.

The craftmanship that the WPA workers did with the K-zoo river is unmatched. And to allow us DGers to use a park with this kind of craftmanship is an honor and I hope that the city of Albion doesn't let this treasure to crumble due to finacial restraints.

This course is awesome; the first couple holes are deceiving to what the back has in store for you. Start with some wooded shots and progressing to wide open bombs. Then the water holes and massive open arm hole after 8. Park staff is very friendly and actually stopped mowing to wait for us to drive and asked for advice on tree trimming and its impact on the play of the course. If there were tee signs this course would get an A+ from me, add those and I would play it weekly. A few of the holes play over roads, pathways and picnic areas so on a nice day it would be a tad difficult to play and not peg a bystander. Still top notch course for a small town.

This course is set in a beautiful public park setting. A river/stream along with two ponds make for a beautiful backdrop for several holes. The baskets are in good condition as are most of the tee pads. The grass was cut and well kept when we played. There is a map at hole 1, which we took a picture of as a guide to the course and we were glad we did. You will have to use a variety of shots to score well and not lose discs. Holes 10-14 added extra excitement with the water coming into play.

Signage is non-existent. If you are playing the first time and do not have a map, you will have a very difficult time navigating. Tee pad for hole 2 was being used as a collection area for limbs and debris. Tee pad for hole 3 was covered with sand, making traction terrible. Course was very wet in many areas. Mosquitoes were terrible. A few holes could have been laid out better. A couple of the water holes, though beautiful, were ridicules.

A fun course to play while in the area. This is in a public park and many park users are not familiar with disc golf and had to wait several times, once for several minutes, as not to put anyone in danger. Course could be rated higher by placing a few pins in different positions.

Beautiful course on the edge of Albion, MI. There are two personalities to Victory.

Dr. Jekyll: Civilized, old growth city park setting with good elevation change. No rough or other trouble. Very nice and fun. This is "perfect" disc golf property in the eyes of many. Holes 1-8,16-18.

Mr. Hyde: Water craziness builds slowly on hole 9, then you are hit with it full frontal on hole 10. You think really? when you step up to the teepad. One of the signature holes in all of Michigan, and this course is very young. The next five holes have serious water OB and precarious pin placements.

Only downside to this park is the other non disc golf players sometimes getting in the way. It's happened to me on hole 17 with picnickers and some of the water holes with people fishing.

A lot of water holes which provides a good challenge. A good mix of long and short holes.

Only a couple holes with elevation change.

I really enjoyed hole 10. You can either lay up and shoot for par or try to go the distance and birdie. If you try for birdie, you have to launch it over two sections of the Kalamazoo River. Well, I tried that and it landed a couple feet shy of land. Fortunately I was able to get my disc out of the river.

Fell in love with this course the moment I stepped onto the first tee pad. The park it's in is as vast as it is gorgeous, and this course is layed out to maximize the terrain. Plenty of benches and bins are scattered throughout. Band shell and pavilion add to the mystique. Beautiful bridges over the water in the back nine. No underbrush whatsoever makes for a clean round. Concrete tees with hole number, distance, and an arrow pointing at the tee etched into the pad. Giant course map by hole 1 to gives you an overview of where to go. Long holes are mixed in well with ones of standard length.

You begin your round in a very relaxing atmosphere under a canopy of aged trees (think Riverview Grasslands). Main thing to remember here: keep your drives low. A sled hill offers a great downhill bomb on hole 5. Hole 9 takes you from the east side of the park to the west, over a low-lying soggy area, and into the gauntlet of the back nine.

Say goodbye to the laid-back, comfy shots under the canopy. Hole 10 is a wicked line over two sets of the same raging river. A waterfall to your left makes these waters extremely quick. They also appear very deep. You must also watch out for people fishing here. Holes 9-14 all involve this river and its tributaries, as well as two stagnant ponds. Hole 11 is suicide - The 200-foot long fairway is about twenty feet across, with water on either side. Hole 12 is a whopping 1000 feet, over a LARGE pond teeming with wildlife. 13 plays along one of the banks, and 14 is an aceable gamble on a delta - the ultimate risk/reward!

15 has you shooting back over the soggy ground (tricky) with the pavilion as a backdrop, and the last holes take you past the bandstand and back to where you started - and are a great relief after the raging river. All in all, a superb course that is both awe-inspiring and extremely challenging. Highly recommended.

This course had five stars written all over it. I read the reviews, looked at the pics and was so excited to get out and play it. It did not dissapoint.

It held five stars until hole 11 - the suicide machine. There is a fine line between a challenge and a fool's errand, and this crosses it. Just look at the pic and you'll see what I'm talking about (1/2 star deduction).

Hole 12 (1000-footer), while unique, completely ruins the flow of the course. I believe this can be corrected by simply placing the basket just on the other side of the big pond. But it is a good 350 feet past the pond (keep in mind it a good 250 just to GET to the pond), which makes it impossible to par, and also takes you to the outskirts of the park, and takes you away from the aura of the park. You have to backtrack 400 feet just to get to the following tee. Placing the basket by the pond would eliminate the unnecessary walk, while still keeping the hole very challenging. I was very out of sorts playing the next two holes (13 and 14) which are very tough, and sucked the fun out of the course for a stretch (1/2 star deduction).

I was also not a fan of the soggy areas, which come into play on 9 and 15. Shoes soaked with mud upon playing. But it is what it is (no deduction).

Many people at the park, but no one golfing! Dog walkers, fishermen, kids on the playground. Two old black guys drinking beer and listening to a soul album from their car's stereo - brilliant. What a great atmosphere. There were even some folks having some pictures taken by a professional photographer down by the river. If I lived any closer to Albion, I would play here at every opportunity.

Great lay out with good use of available elevation, and natural hazards. Mature trees, and a racing river add to the old stonework in this historic park.
Friendly locals.
Great competition course with good risk and reward.

Not for the faint of heart, or valuable plastic.
No directional signs.

Bring water discs. You will have more fun.

Nice distance course.

Good use of natural obstacles.

Placement of first disc is very important - most of the holes cannot be achieved from the tee. You need to make critical decisions as to what disc to throw and where to place it, in order to solidify a second shot for par.

Gorgeous water hazards throughout the back nine.

You will need a map.

The front nine is somewhat monotonous. Random trees.

If you value every single disc in your bag, be prepared to take your shoes off and wade for a moment.

I traveled to Michigan and played 7 courses in a three day span. Of all of them, Victory Park had the most beautiful signature hole. It is a 327 ft. drive directly over a river. If you can't make the drive, you lose your disc. Obviously, some folks don't like this...but I found it exhilarating. I love to feel anxious before a throw - like this throw really matters. To me, that is disc golf! The several "water holes" at this course made the entire course worth playing. Without them, it would just be another typical public park course.

Also, print a course map. Seriously. As long as you have it, the difficulties with the layout will diminish. I had no problem finding the next pad and basket with the map. I found it through the PDGA website links.

Good variety of shots, some elevation change, water hazzards on #9,10,11,12,13,14.. Flush toilets. Nice playground for the little ones. Pavillion and grills for lunch.

Soccer field can come into play on holes #9 and 14. Field is ALWAYS soggy as can be.

If you throw into middle of pond on #12, kiss it goodbye...muck city! Sometimes dude in a kayak will retrieve disc for you. #14 definate ace possibility. Cascarelli's in downtown Albion has great pizza and Bell's on tap.

This course is great. The tee pads are wonderful; even and long. The hole layout is very good, and quite challenging. I love throwing over 300' across water, so sweet.There is also a 990' hole on this course, very cool since there are not many courses in the area with any distances close to this. Hole 12 (990') is awesome, you through out over a field then road, with trees on the left and a large pond in the middle of your 2nd drive. I really enjoy this course and there are plenty of shorter holes to get your birdies to even out the long holes.

No signs, but the course is still new. This problem can easily be avoided by looking up the course on google and printing out a map for yourself before the round. Once you have played it once correctly you will never be lossed in returning rounds.

I would not recommend this course for beginners as there is a lot of water that comes into play and the course is long.

Cement tee pads,front 9 is through mature trees and rolling hills,back 9 steps up the challenge with lots of water and difficult pin placement,once I figured out the course I found it to be challenging and fun,

Very confusing layout,no signs anywhere,I had to track down the only person on the course to find hole #1 and I still threw at the wrong basket,baskets are numbered but not tees I found myself throwing at the wrong basket more than once,a lot of holes border roads/parking lots making a mistake may result in hitting a car,back 9 is flat and course lacks some variety,

Hole #1 is near baseball diamond,tees off next to main road through park,I wish I could give a description of the course layout but it was hard enough when I was there let alone now, Good Luck