Pros:
- Lots of elevation change
- Lots of tall trees
- Nice variety of holes/shots
- Friendly locals, family atmosphere
- Well kept, clean, beautiful setting
- Restrooms, benches
- Bonus hole #11
Cons:
- Mostly short holes
- Can get very muddy, slippery when wet
- Wicked rolls!
- Chance of hitting pedestrians on some holes.
- Sometimes closed (baskets pulled) for group events in the summer. Watch for a sandwich-board on the sidewalk on the right when you pull in to the dead-end that leads to the park. Sometimes there's info there about closures.
- Trolls. Trolls dwell under ground on Norway Hill and will steal your disks. Holes 5 & 6 are especially dangerous.
Other Thoughts:
Now that I've logged 50+ rounds here I figured I should say something about it. This is my home course, it's where I learned to play 'disk golf' as opposed to 'Frisbee golf'. I actually played a lot of Frisbee golf many years ago but took a long break until one day I noticed: Hey! Blyth Park has a proper course now, with those chain basket things and everything, I should try it! So I did, and had a blast! using my old Frisbee the first few times, even got even par once. But of course, I noticed everyone else using these fancy new discs. So I got a starter pack...
Blyth Park is flat in the main picnic & play areas along the Sammamish river but the course plays along the western base of Norway Hill soaring 450' above the park (takes about 45 minutes to climb to the top, and I can personally attest that there are real Norwegians up there). This is more than a hillside, it's more like playing over and between the feet and toes of a small mountain. You might think you've crossed over to another hill when you get to #4 but it's the same hill, you've just crossed from one appendage to another. The previous few reviews have done a good job summarizing the technical aspects of the course, so read those for a quick summary. I'm going to say something about every hole.
1. This is the only one that's completely flat and not on the hillside. It starts in the woods behind the restrooms. Its distinguishing feature is the curtain of tall trees that cross the fairway about half way down. Lots of gaps to aim for, lots of trees to hit. Since it's the first hole, if there's no one waiting behind me I usually just keep throwing until I get through. It's also the most dangerous hole: wild throw to the right puts you in the parking lot while on the left you have the Burke-Gilman trail to contend with. Fortunately, most errant drives are quickly subdued by one of the many cedar trees lining the fairway.
2. Short blind hyzer shot. Make sure to walk ahead a bit to view the green before throwing to be sure it's clear. I've been on the green a few times when I looked up to see incoming. There's a cluster of tall trunks guarding the green. Stay to the left of them for an easy birdie, or go right and try to fade in for the ace. I was in the parking lot once when someone aced it. I heard the chains, commotion on the tee, a pause, then lots of shouting. Everyone in the park knew about it.
3. Challenging tunnel shot off the tee, OB path along entire right side of fairway. Imagine standing in your dining room and trying to throw through a picture window across the living room, it's kinda like that. If there's a group on the tee, trees will be hit.
4. Throw from elevated tee across open grassy field to elevated green on the next bend of the hillside, guarded by fir trunks. Some tricky trees to miss off the tee. Try not to go left, OB over the fence that way and tough to get a clear shot from the rough.
5. Probably my favorite hole. Highest tee on the course, with a welcome bench (trail continues from here to the top). Throw across a wide shallow ravine to basket on the other side barely visible from the tee. Front of green guarded by two large fir trunks. Slanted green encourages bad rolls.
6. Most ace-able hole on the course. Short, downhill slight hyzer along the hillside. Use a putter. Hit the basket once, still trying for the ace. Beware of extreme rolls on this one. If you lose sight of your shot uphill to the left make sure to wait a good 10 seconds or more to watch for it rolling by. Almost lost my putter here once, came back the next day to find it. It had rolled at least 100' and wedged into a cluster of sword ferns to the right of tee #7. Once saw a guy who did the same thing only his made it to the 7th fairway and rolled all the way down past the 7th green!
7. Perhaps the signature hole of the course. Very steep downhill shot towards basket perched above the river. Two tall trees at the base of the hill frame the shot nicely but are disc magnets. Feels like you're standing on a rooftop trying to hit a fire hydrant across the street below. Fortunately, plenty of trees behind the green to keep long throws from reaching the river and the local 'Blyth Squad' maintains a backstop of logs and sticks along the back of the green to stop most skips.
8. Throw across open field, after avoiding two large cedar trees near the tee, back to the hillside. Basket is about 50' up the hill. Steep green, beware of rolls.
9. Only serious anhyzer/forehand hole on the course. Bit of a tunnel shot with blind green to the right through a line of large cedar trunks at the end of the fairway. Try not to drift to the left or you're going downhill away from the basket. Watch for odd kicks/rolls that can take your disk downhill.
10. Steep, short downhill ace run. Not as easy as it looks. Stay out of the bushes to the left of the green! I've had to tomahawk my way out of there too many times; once found my disk inside a big hollow log in there.
11. The bonus hole! This one isn't on the course map. It reuses basket #3 from the opposite direction. Look for a rubber tee pad at the base of the hill below #9 (I think it came from tee 5). It's about 225' to the basket. You can actually throw at #3 from anywhere at this end of the park, some people throw from the #8 tee for a good long drive, but don't do this if there's anyone in the kids playground.
So that's Howling Coyote. One last piece of advice: wear good traction shoes when it's wet and muddy and you'll have no problem. I wear hiking boots under those conditions.