Pine Grove Park is a fun 9-holer that makes good use of the little park's features. The holes play a little longer than your typical small-park course, and they wind they way through a beautiful forest, over a pond, and out through a few open areas. There's plenty of variety in the shots required and plenty of trees to avoid. The tee signs are well done and provide the location of the next tee.

The course's dirt teepads are a little rough in spots and the tee signs, while complete and informative, are installed very close to the front left of the teepad, creating an immediate problem for left handers. You'll throw a few shots over park roads, but the park seems to be pretty quiet, so this may not be a problem very often.

The course is listed as having two sets of tees, but I only saw an alternate tee on one hole and that extra tee didn't seem to alter the required shot much. The beautiful setting and the variety in the layout make this a course I'd visit again.

1) 2 tee locations for each hole.
2) good variety of holes
3) nice baskets
4) tee signs are in great shape
5) usually not too busy, so able to play lots of holes in short amount of time
6) easy to find discs, unless you land in pond

1) signs on holes have a blue/green area. You need to try and figure out which is the front 9 tees vs alternate tees on your first trip or two out there
2) course could use a little more mowing. It wasn't bad, but could be better
3) bring mosquito spray, as they are angry little buggers on some holes
4) sometimes people park right along or in front of tee boxes to picnic

I really enjoy the course. When I hurt my back and couldn't throw sidearm for a while, this course forced me to learn how to throw rhbh. I like many of the holes out there, but a few have really no line towards the hole, so you just chuck it and pray. There is a lot to like though and I recommend you taking the drive to try it out

Some difficulty for the more advanced players. Nice open field shot over the water on hole one. Love the giant dog leg into the enclosure of trees.

Sometimes there isnt a direct line you can take so you almost need to huck and hope. A lot of tight tunnels through the trees. And the fact that the city wont mow the grass on the fairway's of some of the holes.

-Variety of hole layouts (dog-leg left, dog-leg right, and nice mix of short and long holes)
-Very beautiful scenery (the back-drop of Staples' wonderful Pine Grove Park)
-Baskets are excellent (brand new)
-Little traffic (course needs little maintenance)

-Hard to find your way through the first-time
-Difficult course for beginner skill level
-Few available lines to the basket on more wooded holes (low canopy in places)

Pine Grove is, arguably, the best course in the Brainerd Lakes area, because of its diversity, scenery, and for its difficulty... even experienced players will consistently be challenged by this pristine par 68.

Beginner player experience - 0.5/1 for some pesky tree branches and poorly defined lines
Intermediate player experience - 0.8/1 for some interesting hole lay-outs
Advanced player experience - 0.5/1 for being flat, having few open holes in order for the wind to be a factor, and only 9 holes
Setting - 1/1 for natural beauty of old pines
Overall Course Experience - 1/1 for new baskets, hole-to-hole variety/variability, and well-done alternate tees

Total score = 3.8/5

Tee signs with map and distance
Multiple tees for different looks
Variation on distance and lines
Great new baskets (sound awesome)
Technical basket locations
Park seems well kept, open off the fairways
One basket slightly elevated on a hump
Usually more than one line to the basket

Multiple tees not marked as red/white or similar?
Some holes only have 1 tee, somewhat confusing on first trip
No overview course map or directionals off the pins to help new players navigate the course
Yet another 9 hole course in central MN. Oh Joy.
Tough not having elevation
Some fairway canopy needs maintenance

Best course in Staples!
Enjoyed the overall technical layout of the course.
When a tree kicks you off the fairway there is generally a way to get back, not much brush to deal with
Played both sets of tees and that offered a more diverse course
Multiple baskets have very low canopy (5-6') making putts outside of 20' frustrating, but maybe that's on me to play through it
Plays fast with minimal need to look for discs
Great to have park amenities for making an afternoon of the trip - family friendly for having a picnic and playing with a stroller if needed. Also a playground and pavilion so you can take the family.

Minimal traffic, nice new baskets, good mix of shots. Interesting putting greens. Lots of mature pines, very pretty course!

Some questionable fairways/tee locations, cars driving through the course (a small road weaves through it). Limited space, some holes would be better if the course designer would have had more room to work with.

Overall I really enjoy this course, the scenery is beautiful and there are many challenging shots. Some shots leave a bit to be desired, the longest hole is about 400' and it's just kind of a mess, hard to explain, not any real pretty gaps or lines. There are several similar shots where you just don't know what line/disc to use. This course could be alot better if the designer was given more room to work with, very pretty location though.

This course is very fun. It is the most challenging course in Northern MN that I have played that won't eat your disc on errant throws. The holes are not only difficult on the drive but also when you are putting. Mostly mature trees. Only real water hazard is on hole 1. Beautiful park.

There are quite a few dead branches that could be removed to open a lot more flight paths. A lot of tight shots, tunnel shots. Flat with no hills.

Overall I love this course. I have more control throwing my drivers, and mid-range discs. I am still an average player but playing this course has definitely made me better.