Disc Golf Course Review

Old school course with updated layout for lots of variety, challenging lines and options for all types of players. A hole with multiple fairways/teepads? Elevation changes and risk/reward shots? This course has all those and more. Gorgeous approaches to putting greens, efficient use of every square foot. Honestly I need to play the course again to truly critique it but if you turn at the Subway and park in the neighborhood by the baseball fields, you can avoid the $7 entry.

Older teepads & baskets were a bit of an issue either missing rows of chains or concrete cracking & breaking. I felt accomplished with several pars because a birdie seemed impossible at the tee, even if it had premium baskets it wouldn't have mattered. Next tee directional signage is needed. Bring bug spray, Dawn soap or Zanfel, multiple drinks and pairs of eyes to look for your discs. Our group spent a LOT of time looking in the roughs for our discs in mid-July.

Hidden gem of a course, very challenging and fun if you like to throw a lot. Under par would be an amazing round.

Has baskets in a nice kept park.

No signs most of the tee post are gone. They put the baskets in the open.

I think this park has some protentional. If a player could have them pull the baskets and use the trees along the perimeter more for the baskets. and put up new tee polls. This could become a better course. Having the baskets in the wide open middle is not worth it but they do have some big old trees along the edges that could make it fun.

The front 9 is one of the best around. The layout the pads. The baskets. The trees. The disc shop they have is nice and great. The workers in both the brewery and the shop are nice and top notch. The signs are easy to follow. I even like the system. you pay them $5 to play but if you stick around and drink anything they give you the $5 back. The back gets way more technical and harder. The last 3 holes are long and sunny compared to the rest. They even have a tiny put put at the end of the course. Its fun.

If you are a beginner the back will be hard. Its a very long course.

These people have set up a great course. Everyone around should go out and play it. And support them.

- nice red banded DISCatcher baskets in pristine shape
- mostly wooded with some decent technical challenge
- cool setting along Kishwaukee River with some play near water
- course flow is mostly intuitive and straightforward
- map on each sign shows hole's relative position on course
- some wildness in the rough (pro or con? you decide)
- park seems fairly well maintained
- parking area includes porta potty and garbage cans
- multi use park but area is mostly devoted to disc golf
- a few longer holes to create a mix of lengths
- mosquitoes are surprisingly minimal compared to nearby courses

- natural tees
- tee signs are a bit basic (maps do not show actual hole details)
- mostly flat
- no navigation aids
- some may find the course too short
- a few holes play too close to walking path

River Run DGC in Genoa was a pleasant surprise in an otherwise fairly lackluster area for disc golf. This course is nothing that will blow you away, but I found it relatively quick-moving and fun with a cool setting along the river. While most holes don't interact directly with the river, some do play near it and one of the baskets allows for an overthrow right into the water.

While mostly flat, the wooded nature of this course allows for some decent technical challenge which balances out the relatively short length. This is a nice enough park and while the course equipment and amenities here were just ok overall, the baskets were excellent and very new. The course follows a fairly obvious woodchippy trail through the woods and most of the navigation was intuitive, although some next tee signs would be beneficial at times.

This is a course where you definitely can shoot for some birdies, and while some shot shaping will be required, fairways are far from tight and punishing. The rough is a bit wild with some undergrowth and ferns, but it's not too bad and for me, it added to the rustic feel and appeal of this course. I don't love the natural tees but this also isn't a course where explosive power is needed, so not that big a deal. I can't imagine this course gets too crowded either.

The tee signs were interesting here - they highlighted the hole you were currently on, but every one had a repeat of the same map of the entire course. While this is very nice for situational awareness/navigation, it tells you almost nothing about the hole you are currently on. I like course maps repeated a few times throughout the course where warranted, but having this setup on every hole was a bit odd.

Overall, I really enjoyed my quick round here and would play this course again if I were in the area. The other nearby courses left a bit to be desired, and were insanely thick with mosquitoes on a humid July morning. River Run, despite being near water, was remarkably insect-free which was both surprising and refreshing. This place is worth checking out if you're in the area and want to get a quick run in with a respectable, if moderate at best, degree of challenge.

My Three Pros:

-Decent paver teepads at all holes, large metal tee marker at all holes makes it easy to navigate the course. All 18 baskets are installed.

-Fun playing along side the railroad track and across the lake on the finishing hole. Its always nice to have a signature starting or finishing hole, and hole 18 here is definitely the signature, with a 280ish throw across the corer of the lake (assuming no park goers are in the way)

-Holes were pretty varied and exciting. The holes start off with a couple short 200ish throws, and several 250ish throws throughout, but there are several holes in the 350ish range sprinkled in as well. Most holes are pretty wide open. The nearby lake was very busy on the day I played and the lake-goers only came into play on hole 18. Several holes play near a dirt walking path but there weren't many folks using that the day I played.

My Three Cons:

-the railroad tracks add a cool twist to the course but playing the holes next to the tracks as a train rolls through is super loud. Still cool playing right next to a huge train, but super loud. Also, takin the bridge across the tracks from hole 2 to hole 3 makes for a medium long walk.

-many of the holes are pretty wide open, as typical for the front range prairie courses.

-the finishing hole is really nice but I imagine any swimmers, paddlers and fisherman get in the way here often. There was a group of swimmers fully posted up in front of the teepad, and several folks fishing on the banks near the landing area the 100degree day I played.

I have put off playing here for along time and am disappointed I didnt come play here sooner! The course has been updated in recent years played much more enjoyably than I expected and I would definitely play here again. It seems in those recent updates they installed all the baskets and tees, and navigated the troublesome holes away from the lake patrons. Overall the vibe was very similar to Denver area prairie courses but had enough fun holes to be exciting.
A nice bonus is on a warm day you could easily take a swim in the lake after your round.

* Elevation: there is elevation in play on every hole. Some of the ups and downs are pretty extreme.
* Wooded: you have to hit your lines to score here.
* Views: the course plays along the side of a mountain, giving you an elevated view of the surrounding area and mountains.
* Expanded to 21 holes.

* Tee pads: rubber mats, work decently for the most part.
* Tee signs: most of the holes have basic tee signs with par and distance. Several of the holes are missing tee signs.
* Navigation: while it would probably be possible to find your way just by following the trails, a course map or the other app will be a big help in navigating this course.
* The upkeep is lacking somewhat…some of the holes have knee high in the fairway.
* No top of the world shot due to construction taking out the long pin on hole 21.

Bighorn Ridge is a course playing along a mountain side in Big Sky, Montana. It was my first Montana course and the first mountain course I've played as well. It's one of the closest Montana courses to Yellowstone National Park.

The average hole length is 224'. The shortest hole is hole 21 at 111' almost straight downhill through a tiny window. The longest hole, hole 7, is 394', also downhill. It isn't just a grip and rip hole though…it plays downhill through a power line clearing with the ground sloped to the right. Any forehand that fades out is going to go in the brush waaaaay out downhill to the right.

Three holes have been added between the original holes 14 and 15. Due to being short on time I didn't play those holes, but from what I saw they (especially 15) looked pretty good.

This course is a hike! Pack light and bring plenty of water. Due to rough rough, long pants would be a good idea. For an Easterner, it's twice as bad since we're not used to the elevation and relative lack of air. As a Udisc review said, "Bring oxygen."

Along with the difficult hike, the terrain is pretty rough. A cart is not going to roll very well here (if at all). Be prepared to go up and down grades as steep as stairways (but without stairs).

Overall, my brothers and I really enjoyed this course. Birdie felt easily gettable on most of the shorter holes, while some of the longer and harder holes required more accuracy. While not a destination course, it is one of the best courses in the area and is worth a stop if you are close by.

My Three Pros:

- Nice tees, all large concrete pads in great condition. Small pro shop at the parking area with some discs for sale. The course is fairly easy to follow with directional signs and basic tee signs with hole # and brief hole description.

- Nice views of surrounding mountains, the course itself is set in a pleasant mountain valley. The views are especially nice on the drive in and out, where you can see Pikes Peak off in the distance.

-Nice hole variation with several wide open field holes and several tight wooded holes. Few holes in the mid 300's, several around 200'. Some of the wooded holes are still a little tight and could maybe use trimming out a few trees

My Three Cons:

-Long drive to get here from I-25, with about 5-10 miles of dirt road driving at the end. The dirt roads are rough in places but totally driveable for any car. Once you get near the disc golf property there are signs posted along the dirt road to help direct you to the disc golf course. The drive is very scenic so that helps.

-Hole 17. Heavily wooded hole about 250 ft without any obvious line to the basket. Wasnt a fan of this hole and kind of made the round end on a bad note.

-Baskets are currently all Mach II. They are in good condition but dont catch quite as nicely as the newer model space age baskets available.

Many of the private CO mountain disc golf courses have a similar vibe to this property. Friendly owners, the course is an obvious labor of love, nothing epic but plenty of good holes. I was pleasantly surprised with the nice concrete tees on all holes, they were the nicest Ive seen on one of these private mountain courses. There is camping available on site, you pass through the cabins and camping area passing from hole 7 to hole 8. I was surpised to have good enough service that Udisc worked fine and helped me navigate without issue.

Overall I enjoyed the course but maybe not as much as I expected. The property is a solid course but no epic holes or insane mountain shots. I could imagine staying at the camp and playing a few times would really boost the experience rather than driving out and back in a day.

Ellsworth DGC plays around the south side of Ellsworth Middle school grounds. The first four holes wrap around the south side of the school before crossing the road and playing the final five around the football field south of the school in the opposite direction.

Nice Mach II baskets. These were in decent and caught pretty well. One basket and pin placement per hole.

The grounds were clean and it should always be mowed being on school grounds.

Shorter lengths for the holes which is good for the intended target group, middle school kids. Fun putter or mid type of course for more experienced folks.

No tee pads or signage. This one will tough to figure out without a map, if not outright impossible. There's nothing that tells you where the course starts even. If there was a sign for that at least it'd be much easier. FWIW, start on the western parking lot and play south counterclockwise around the school. After that walk across the street south and the other five play clockwise around the football practice field.

The road comes into play on a bunch of holes. five to be exact with four of them playing really close to the main road. Not too bad if you're careful but probably not the best design for middle schoolers.

The rough off the fairway is thick is the summer months. Very real chance of some lost discs if you're spraying your shots into there.

Not available when school is in session.

Pretty typical WI school course. Nothing to go out of your way for and to be honest most people will never even be passing through close enough to even consider this one. Literally for course baggers and middle schoolers. Neither of which will like it that much anyway.

Mission Park DGC is a very short nine hole course that plays as a mix of wooded and mostly open. The course is very short and would be good for newer players at these distances but not the design (see cons).

Nice baskets. Either Machs or Chainstars. Either way they are all in great shape and catch just fine. These are either new or have aged very well if the course is ten years old. One basket and position per hole.

Free to play and looks to be a very clean park.

The number one con here is the fact that holes 2, 3 and 4 play down the walking path. Terrible idea and makes the fact that this course is a decade old a minor miracle. Not only do these play down a walking path but the basket is blind from the "tee". Just a no go designwise.

No tee pads or signage of any kind. Without some kind of map this course would be a pain to navigate.

Now that I think about it holes 7 and 8 also play over a path. These holes aren't as dangerous since you can see anybody coming but still not a great idea. I only thought of this because of another con actually. Skidding or skipping your discs off of the concrete isn't ideal, especially base plastics. I scuffed a couple putters up in the one round I played here.

I'm glad I got to play this course before it gets pulled I guess. It wasn't really that much fun but I bagged it at least. This kind of setup is what gives the sport a bad reputation. Irresponsible design and no replay value. Should be pulled and the baskets used elsewhere. Not good.

Crosslake Community Center is a multiuse park that features tennis courts, baseball fields and a playground as well as a nine hole disc golf course. The course starts just north of the playground and plays mostly clockwise around the woods along the edge of the park, besides the first two holes which are wide open. Slight amount of elevation on most of the woods holes and enough trees to make things interesting.

Rubber tee pads on each hole. These are all in decent shape and have some good traction to them and they're nicely sized as well. One tee pad per hole.

Mach II baskets on each hole. All are in great shape and catch pretty damn good actually. These are all mounted level too. It says that multiple basket positions will be added soon on the info page. I didn't see any trace of that having happened but I also wasn't looking either. Pretty sure there's only one per hole.

The design is pretty nice here. The woods are used well to make some fun holes. There's not a ton of space available but they did about as well as could be done. Very easy navigation from hole to hole. No long walks and you won't need a map here.

No tee signs. This is a definite con, especially on the woods holes. If it's you first time you'll have to walk the fairway a bit or just guess. We accidentally threw at the wrong basket on hole 8. Hole 3's basket is the first one you see so we threw at that before seeing 8's tucked to the right. Signs would definitely help with this.

The first and last holes are wide open and pretty bland. I get why they're there. Just to get you to the good stuff but still pretty lame holes.

Not necessarily a con but a warning. The mosquitoes get thick out here in the summer. Be sure to have bug spray or you'll get chased out pretty quick.

The tee pads are a bit lumpy in spots on some holes. Nothing too serious but not ideal either.

This was a fun little nine. I'd play this thing quite a bit if it was near me. Nothing amazing but a fun little course where you have to hit some lines. Worth a stop if you find yourself up this way. Fun little nine.