Greenwater's disc golf course is unknown to the thousands of people who drive by it every day. It's hidden on a random property off of a turnoff that nobody even notices. I like that. It feels like a secret, even though it isn't. Is it a good secret? Read on:

Equipment: I played here in the summer, when all of the baskets are up on Crystal Mountain. In the winter they're kept down here. So in the winter, the baskets are higher quality practice baskets that catch well. In the summer? I don't have any equipment pros for the summer.

Navigation: If you stop off at the store noted on this site they'll let you take a picture of a map of the course. Or you can just download one ahead of time. You'll need the map.

Design: Sigh... There's a decent mix of long-ish and short-er, as well as right or left turning shots. There are even a couple of shots that change elevation. As much as the property allows at least. There are only two shots over 400' (which are pretty well identical), but at least this provides variety from the other 280' shots on the course.

Thank goodness. I really struggled with the pros. Now for the easy part:

Equipment: If you're playing in the summer (and let's face it, you're playing in the summer), you're playing to the hula hoops. Making a putt into one of these things is the least fulfilling experience in disc golf. You don't realize how important the sound of a basket or a tone pole is until you drop a disc into complete silence. I can't change my rating based on this alone, but I can base it on the fact that the netting is ripped out of a good number of the hoops and at least three of them were knocked over or awry in some way. One doesn't get the feeling that this course sees much use, and it gets even less in the way of maintenance. The teepads are just two sticks on the ground marking where to throw from. Only one had treacherous footing though.

Navigation: Without the map a visiting player will be 100% lost after hole 7 (if not before). Once upon a time there were handpainted signs at each tee that gave direction and distance. The few that were still readable were not only helpful, but quite pleasant to look at. This tells me that the navigation was wonderful when the place opened. Not so much now. Probably 15 of the signs were unreadable, and at least 3 of them had no paint left at all. Without a map a player will just wind up wandering aimlessly around the field from holes 8-13.

Design: This course kind of feels like the designer got hammered and then threw 40 or so darts at a map. 20 of those darts hit the wall, one hit his girlfriend, one he never found, and the remaining 18 marked where the holes would be on the course. Then when he was sober (and single) he tried to find some way to make them flow together into a cohesive course. The result is a course that throws down a dirt road 5 times, across a field, back across that field, through a lower field, and back down that dirt road 5 more times. It kind of works for the most part, but it's pretty boring. It's not really technical at any point. Sure there are obstacles, but nothing that challenging. And that lower field makes little to no sense at all. You walk past random teepads and hoops that you don't even use on your way to other teepads and hoops that you will. There's not much flow down there either. They just needed 6 more holes to make it 18. I feel like it could have flowed better down there, and maybe even played back toward the start without making us throw back down the same road we started on. Road shots are fun in their own right, but they're repetitive when there are too many and you just get bored. Plus it's kind of dangerous how close many of the baskets are to the returning teepad and vice versa. Not that this place will ever be crowded...

I don't exactly know what to think about this course. It was hot and I'd just been steamrolled by Crystal when I played here, so you can factor that into the lack of fun that I had. I try to keep that out of my review and be objective, but who knows? One thing that I love about it is that it's a course in the middle of nowhere. If I lived out here I'd have to play it all the time. I'd much rather play just about any course in the state, but the fact that an area that is lacking in courses has a course at all gives it at least another half of a disc from me in rating. And yes, I realize that Crystal is just down the road, but even the lower course there will wear you out. Sometimes you just want to get 18 in without straining yourself too much. At least Greenwater offers that...

Located on the outskirts of Mt. Rainier National Park off WA 410, Greenwater DGC is just miles away from Crystal Mountain. This rustic course is a labor of love, with very few players traveling through besides the locals. Because of this, the course uses natural tee pads with pieces of wood outlining the front of the box, hand painted wooden tee signs, and homemade baskets. The baskets, similar to Glacier DGC up in Mount Baker, are made from hula-hoops that sit about two or three feet off the ground with a net attached to the bottom. When putting, players must use a floating putt rather than a spin putt, allowing the disc to drop straight down into the target. These unique baskets although not the best, are fun and different, creating a challenge unto its own.

The layout at Greenwater DGC has players throwing up and down the same dirt road on holes 1-5 and 14-18, with pin positions on both sides of the fairways allowing for some variation. Holes six and seven are isolated from the rest of the course and are the only two holes that reach 400+ feet. They are also two of the better holes on the course due to distance and difficulty. Holes 8-13 are isolated as well, having players play up and down a small valley near the White River. Although the course is short, it's scenic, peaceful and quite enjoyable!

Because of elevation, Greenwater DGC is a seasonal course, allowing for play about four to six months of the year. Its remote location makes it difficult to spot from WA 410 so make sure you drive slowly, once passing Greenwater Outfitters, and be sure to look for the orange tape on the gas marker post where there is a small pullout with room for two cars to park. Make sure you print off a map or grab one from Outfitters before you play as it will be somewhat difficult to navigate the course although not impossible. It will just make your round less confusing and therefore less stressful.

Most people wouldn't like how congested the course feels but with so few people playing the course, it works! It would be nice to see some of the holes that play along the trail/dirt road removed with some additional holes being added near holes 9-13. With so much room for expansion, opportunities are endless. Again, because this course is really only played by the locals, there isn't really the need to do much more. It is what it is...rustic and adventuresome.

I played this course with my brother and a few friends this past summer when I was headed to Crystal Mountain to play the summit course. It was a perfect place to warm up the arm and work on some putt and approach shots. Although I didn't use much more than a Buzzz and Aviar for most of the round, I really enjoyed working on controlled fairway and approach shots with my midrange and putting into the unique baskets that I wouldn't necessarily get to play on almost any other course in the state. The locals have done a great job with what little man power they have to keep this course maintained and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to play it. Thank you!

The Greenwater DGC course is located on Washington State Highway 410 on the way to Crystal Mountain and then Yakima and Eastern Washington. For about eight months a year, this highway is closed farther up the road at Chinook Pass making this more or less a dead end road.
The course is currently in it's infancy. I hope they continue to improve it as it's a nice piece of land on which to have a course. There's no shortage of forrest land up here but there also isn't much of a population base to support a course either.

The course currently has natural teepads, some of them are nice and level, others need some work. The targets are black hula hoops with netting hanging down. Your putt must enter them from the top. I sure as hell don't love them but they're not a big distraction either. The signs are hand painted on blocks of woods. There are few unsecured wooden benches.
The course plays up and down some old trails/roads, then across a log strewn field with some scattered trees, and then 9-13 play down through a little wooded, valley closer to the White River. Except for # 6 and 7 which are both over 400', the rest of the course plays under 300' and mostly technical. Maps are available at Greenwater Outfitters less than 1/2 mile up the highway and are essential for the first time player.
The signature hole on the course for me was 8A or 8B. The downhill touch shot to the visible target. Loved it but there are always my favorites.

I'm never a fan of holes that play up and down existing roads/pathways and here 1-4 and then 15-18 all use the same little road. It's not terrible but I didn't find those holes terribly exciting.
I wish the hula hoop targets were made of a brightly colored hoop such as yellow or pink. They would stand out much more in dense NW forrest.
I sincerely hope Greenwater doesn't have a local teenage vandal problem because the targets, signs and tee pad outlines would be easy picking for any vandals wishing to mess them up.

Thanks for all your hard work here guys. It's easy to see that you've done so much. If I lived in Greenwater and was 25 miles from the nearest course, you can bet that I'd be here doing my part and getting my rounds in. I hope you are able to maintain the course to your specifications and maybe make improvements to get it up to my more demanding specs. I'm big on demanding specifications when it's not my time, effort and blood. You guys are my heros. Keep up the good work men!

The Greenwater DGC is a locals course that some people have put in a large amount of work to make it the way it is. You will notice the tee pads which are natural but clear of debri and have fallen logs situated to show you where to throw from. There are also hand made and painted tee signs on the course to indicate each hole. There is a narrow strip of land that the course plays forward and then backward on the way out making use of it with two fairways which doesn't matter much being in such a remote location and that the course doesn't get much play. There is another area after hole seven which goes around to an even more wooded section and involves some up and downhill throws along the way. The holes that are in the beginning and end that share a fairway and more of the open holes but there is a couple of obstacles guarding the objects. I really like the variety in shot selection you have to go through here including some strange holes that most RHBH players aren't to throwing which is a good thing in my mind. This combined with the awesome hula hoop targets make this otherwise short course actually challenging to try and go too far under par. These hula hoop targets are much like the ones at Glacier DGC near Mt. Baker in that they have netting on the bottom of them and some are even situated over stumps for easier grabbing of your disc. Unlike Glacier these seem to be a little smaller which makes them harder to hole out on and they are black so they are harder to spot from the tee pad especially when foliage is involved. One of the neatest things I saw here was in the back nine, hole 11 or 12 I think where there was a journal of the course and a marker so that you could right your name and the date you played the course, this is an excellent idea but I worry how long it will take for this to be vandalized. The interested back and forth style that shares fairways is nice for a course like this that doesn't get play because you don't have to worry about too many other groups and you end up with a good variety of holes and use less space. Holes six and seven are my favorites and they are the two longest holes on the course. They play back and forth against each other like some of the other holes out here so they are mirror images of each other almost with a duel fairway provided for either hole. Both of these holes reach in to the 400+ feet territory and are very challenging technical par three holes. Two thumbs up!

Aside from holes six and seven there isn't any need for a disc other than a putter or a mid range. Holes six and seven have some length but besides these holes the longest one out here is maybe 280 feet or so. I'm not sure I would call this a bad thing, it works with the land and still challenges most golfers. Some people don't like the hula hoop baskets, I love these freaking things! I love interesting targets and unique things while I play and though standard baskets are great it's not everyday that you get to play on hula hoops! Mosquitoes out here are nasty! There isn't a lot of things for them to snack on out here I guess so when they find something they surround it. We were getting upwards of 10 mosquitoes landing on us when we stopped walking, BRING BUG SPRAY!

We actually found out about this course from Ron Werner who runs the Spirit Ridge DGC in Carnation when he told us about this place so props to Ron AGAIN for another great course found! The easiest way to find this course is to go to Greenwater Outfitters in town as one of the guys who created the course owns this place and he has maps and directions for you. It's on your right as you are heading towards Crystal Mountain. Also he has food, drinks and other supplies at the shop for you too. He's a nice guy (didn't catch his name, DOH!) and his food is great. I got what's called a "Fat Tony" on his menu and it's ham and cheese on a bagel with cream cheese which is excellent and under $5! This is a great course to hit if you get tired of the mountain and want something flat and fun to play.