I have been coming to this course for over two decades. Back in the dark days of disc golf, we had to travel (often an hour or two) to find other courses and tournaments to play. This course is a long-standing course that is very much a product of its' era in design. However, there is just so much to love about a trip to Lake Shore Park.

I'll start with the course itself because that's ultimately the major selling point. The first tee sits right off the beach of Lake Erie. On a summer day, the drive in to this park is spectacular and then you pull up to that parking lot and are greeted with a gorgeous view of the lake itself. Exiting your car, the next thing that hits you is the smell of funnel cake as the snack stand sits directly by the first tee, as well. Along the way there are just so many fun and interesting things about this course. The walk from 2 to 3 takes you down some pretty steps through an ornate garden often used for pictures. There are not one, but two duck ponds playing through the course, along with a peacock in a cage. The first pond is a bit dried up as of this writing, but is the only one you actually throw over. The second pond is full of swans, geese and ducks and a pretty fountain. The peacock sits right beside a red tee. The course winds around these so that they become a focal point of the front nine. On the back nine, you walk up a hill and are hit with a spectacular view of the lake. That entire final stretch of 6 holes or so is hard to focus as your eyes are just constantly taken to the view in front of you. The breeze in your face and that smell of funnel cakes. The seagulls over your head and sights of sailboats and swimmers. It's all pretty hard to not find relaxing.

The course is a great example of 90s style park golf. Most everything is a Par 3 played with a fairway driver. You are not going to find anything huge here and nothing over the 400 foot range There actually isn't even rough on most any hole. It's very hard to find big trouble, but that doesn't mean it's an easy course. They make use of a few really tough gaps along the way, forcing you to throw drives between two trees that make it a real challenge to just wind up and chuck it. The biggest challenge of the course, though, is absolutely the greens, combined with the wind. You are always going to have a breeze on this course. It feels like almost every green was designed with a basket sitting on a knoll or ridge of some sort. You are very often left with a big choice to lay it up and take the par, or take the birdie run and risk a bogey on the comeback because if you miss your disc isn't stopping any time soon.

There are three sets of concrete tees here, leaving something to play for almost any skill level. They are a bit narrow, but not so much that I think it's a negative. The amenities are probably better than anything I've played that isn't a private course. There is a large restroom by the 1st tee, complete with dressing rooms. There are at least two other running water bathrooms along the way. There are benches everywhere if you want to stop and take a rest. You have the snack shop mentioned previously and several picnic pavilions including a large public-use one (meaning no reservation needed) down by the shore. For those with family there is a playground and beach here as well. There are also multiple baskets on a handful of tees. For those wanting a bit more of a challenge, the long baskets absolutely make those holes more complicated. The day I was there everything was fresh mown and looking tip top.

I'm from a generation of disc golf players that grew up playing courses like this. I hope to always appreciate our roots because I do genuinely appreciate them. That said, I know that there is a section of players that will find this course boring. If you want 500 foot holes and lazer tight gaps this probably isn't the course for you. They aren't having a pro tour event here any time soon if you know what I mean.

Yes, the tee signs are probably the biggest "weakness" and mostly just because they are also relics of a time gone past. There are only signs on one set of tees and that's not even consistent (sometimes white and sometimes blue). There isn't the greatest navigational signage either, but I find it pretty easy to navigate this course with an app.

I see a lot of complaints about goose droppings and, yes, they are there. This is a park, full of the nature that it's here to help preserve, so I'm not sure why anyone sees that as a negative.

On days when the main lot is getting pretty full, it's easier to park off on the right side lot, in the shade anyways, and just start on Hole 3.