- well maintained park
- excellent views of Lake Michigan
- multiuse park amenities like garbage cans and porta potties, just not on the course itself
- decent tee signs with full color maps (though some are very sun bleached)
- DISCatcher baskets in good shape
- decent concrete tees, though could be larger
- hole numbers on baskets
- a little variety on holes 8-9
- if you want to learn to throw in the wind/play near major water hazards this is the place for you

- tons of backtracking to force shots towards the lake
- entirely flat
- most holes are completely wide open without obstacles
- entire course feels like it is forcing you to throw into the water with no other design elements considered
- wind can make playing at this course unbearable
- insanely long walk from 9 back to the beginning of the course
- need to watch out for pedestrians in multi-use park
- navigation isn't really obvious/intuitive
- park drive is a bit close to throws on hole 6

I'll start by saying I recognize some players enjoyed this course more than me and that's ok. I played on a very windy day which certainly influenced my opinion of the course, but I have plenty of objective complaints about Ludington Links regardless. Some people mentioned playing on a calm day - well that's cool, maybe in early morning that's more common. I can't imagine this place is anything but super windy most days, given all my other lakeshore experiences. This is going to be a challenging place to throw most times despite the almost complete lack of obstacles.

I get what the course designers were trying to do here - force throws towards the waters of Lake Michigan. This is cool in the sense it forces high risk shots, but it's brutal when combined with the wind and just feels a little forced while nothing else was really done to make holes 1-7 interesting. The constant back and forth sawtooth pattern to throw towards the lake does not flow well and gets tedious. The holes feel very repetitive.

As others have mentioned, holes 8-9 are cool shots that have a bit more vegetation in play and while the shortest on the course, add some variety. Unfortunately after hole 9 you end an insane distance from your car which is not fun.

The equipment here was fine; nothing that special but it did not detract from the playability of the course. While this is a multi-use park, the disc golf area is mostly in its own space so hopefully there won't be too many people in the way. With that said, the course is so wide open you can expect some clueless pedestrians to camp out in the middle of it at some point.

There are a few redeeming qualities here. Hole 6 throws over a small water carry despite also having the safety hazard of being near the park drive. Water is in play on almost every hole in some capacity. Ultimately, the repetitive nature of the course and the flow really just made it unenjoyable for me. I would not come back here or really recommend it to anyone. The Gladstone/Escanaba area has a few great courses and while I wanted to hit this one for a quick 9, it did not do much for me.

Ludington Park is a huge multi-use area that is NOT located in the established disc golf destination of Ludington, MI. Instead, it is located about six hour's drive away in the up-and-coming disc golf destination of Escanaba, MI. Ludington Park IS located right on Little Bay de Noc, which is an inlet of the same Lake Michigan that the other Ludington is on. Ludington Links is a 9-hole DGC that plays around the park.

The disc golf course starts in an easy-on-the-eyes grassy area that is right on the water. Holes 1-4 all have baskets near the shoreline, and overthrowing any of these baskets could cause your disc to get wet. After a fifth hole that is set a little further back from the water, the bay is in play again for the remaining four holes. The most memorable hole for many disc golfers will be #6. This one requires perhaps a 175'-200' carry across a channel separating the mainland from an island. The park drive crosses the channel on a bridge to your left, and the channel opens into the bay on your right. I released my RHBH tee shot late, but fortunately my disc had enough stability to fade back to shore. I managed to play all 9 holes and avoid throwing any discs into the water, but if you aren't as lucky it looked like you would be able to wade in and find them pretty easily.

#8 and #9 are nice holes playing out and back on a little wooded spit of land extending into the bay. These holes require a bit of shot shaping and are a nice change of pace after the mostly open 1-7. There are also a pretty good mix of distances here, ranging from 164' up to 413' and averaging about 290'. I imagine wind often adds more challenge here too, although I visited in calm conditions.

The course infrastructure is mostly good. The baskets are yellow banded DISCatchers. The tee pads are concrete. The tee signs are good quality and have all of the required info. All of these items are in fine shape. Trash cans, benches, and restrooms are not installed for the course specifically, but can be found nearby in the park.

There are no navigational signs, but navigation is mostly easy since the course is so open. I could have used a couple arrows between holes 6-7 and 7-8.

Although pretty, the first five holes are kind of boring to be honest. The distances to the basket vary but these holes are all otherwise basically the same - throw across a wide open and flat field, away from the park drive and toward the water. The water is always located behind the basket and to the right as you approach. The only other tiny variations are a couple of small trees in play on a couple of the holes, and the fifth hole being a little further away from the water. Hole 7 is also similar to these first five. That leaves only three holes that have any real technical challenge. Even on these three, a well-angled RHBH hyzer will be just fine. I think I threw the same disc off the tee on all nine holes.

The entire course is quite flat.

There is a huge walk back to the parking area after hole 9. Like, HUGE. The first eight holes basically all play in the same direction, and the ninth hole plays back parallel to hole 8. So after the round (or before the round, depending on where you park) you will need to basically walk back holes 1-7 - a distance that has to be at least 1/3 mile. Because of that, this is definitely not a quick play.

I had a couple of minor safety concerns. The park drive could come into play on hole 6. When I played holes 8 and 9, a couple of people were exploring the wild little peninsula which created a safety hazard as these throws are blind. Pay attention when playing hole 7 so that you can be aware of any people walking into that area.

A couple of benches and trash cans at tees would be nice. A practice basket and kiosk would be nice.

I enjoyed my round at Ludington Links, but most of that came from playing holes 6-9. I got a little bored playing holes 1-5 (and later, walking back through them to get to my car). It also felt like more could have been done here. There appeared to be plenty more open terrain near the current course to add a few more similar holes that play back towards hole 1. Alternatively/also, if the layout could stretch past the beach on the island there are some nice wooded areas where it looked like a few more sandy, technical fairways could be added. Maybe the course could even reach a full 18 holes that way. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad that holes were not added near other park amenities like the playground, basketball court, etc. But it just seemed like there could be an opportunity to introduce a little more variety on the course without sacrificing safety, and also have the layout come closer to being a loop.

As it stands today, Ludington Links is an interesting oddball course in a pretty lakefront setting but I would not go out of my way to play here again.

(2.116 Rating) A links style niner that requires some moderate distance off the tee.
- LOCATION AND BEAUTY - IMO, the best part of this course is its adjacency to Green Bay. Ludington Park is a beautiful large waterfront recreational area. Views of the bay are constant from this layout. Several holes tee off from the north towards the south backdrop of the bay. The scenery for holes (7-9) is flip'n awesome, although one basket is missing over this stretch. See cons. Overall I went with 60 percentile. There are not many trees in play and the course is relatively flat.
- BASICS - The course provides a reasonable disc golf experience. It has concrete tees and tee signage. The baskets are DISCatchers and are in nice shape. IMO the overall experience was better than the average niner, although not by much.
- NAVIGATION AND SIGNAGE - Good enough. No course map, but very respectable tees signs. The tee signs have an artistic description of the line in addition to the number and distance. No next tee direction on them though. What makes the course mostly easy to navigate is the open nature of the course. The course map on DGCR is accurate as of this review.
- QUICK PLAY - I finished my solo round in 23 minutes. Unfortunately however, the course doesn't loop, and it's a 10 minute walk back to tee (1).
- CHALLENGING - Although definitely on the openish side of the spectrum, players are going to need recreational skills to shoot below par. The first hole is the longest par 3 on the course being just over 400 feet long. A couple others are plus 350 feet too. Not much in the way of technical skills are required except towards the end of the layout.

Needs to loop and needs one basket replacement.
- MISSING BASKET - The basket for hole (8) is missing. Which is a shame as this would likely be the most iconic hole on the course as its supposed location is surrounded by water on three sides. I couldn't help but notice that there was another basket west of tee (1). I assume this is a practice basket, but it may be basket (8) moved over here from a winter season for all I know. Regardless, they should really consider moving this basket back to the course.
- FORGIVENESS - If the waters of the Bay are up, like when I played, water will be in play numerous times. Don't go long on the first four holes as water lurks behind the basket in each case. Hole (6) will probably claim the most discs as the basket is across the water. There were also some very thick overgrown grass areas on the last three holes for my visit.
- NO EXTRAS - The equipment is basically the required basics of tees, signs and baskets. No extra tees or alt basket placements. I saw one bench, which was likely there by happenstance next to tee (4). I got a good chuckle from seeing the life ring buoy mounted to the tee sign on (6). Restrooms are near basket (9).
- HOLE VARIETY - As alluded to under my challenge pro, this course is about length over accuracy. Holes (1 thru 5) basically all felt the same. Hole (6) was a nice change of pace with the water clear, but then (7) felt like the beginning holes. (8) would have been a real unique shot had the basket been there and (9) had a different feel to it.
- WIND - Due to the lack of trees, wind will likely be an issue.
- NO LOOP - It's a 2,500 foot walk back to tee (1) from basket (9).

It's really a shame that perhaps the best hole on the course is not playable as of this review. Considering the missing element, I'm going with a solid 2.0 overall. The course definitely feels like a disc golf course, it's just nothing special when considering just the disc golf aspect. For those that enjoy beautiful settings, I would in fact recommend checking it out if within a half hour to an hour's drive max. Ludington made it into my plans as I was driving across the U.P. this day with my family and I needed a place to stop. It was perfect for me with my family in tote. They liked the views, playground and beach, and I got to play disc golf. Win win. This was officially the first course I played in Michigan, my 19th disc golf state.

Open landscape very few trees. The scenery is amazing.

Over throw the basket and it's in water. Hole 8 we didn't find. You drive a little willy nilly until you find a basket. Parking lot is by hole 7 then you walk all they way around the lake to get to hole 1.

It's good to have courses in towns, but this was great.

Ludington Park is BEAUTIFUL. Not just the disc golf course, but the park as a whole. The city of Escanaba has something special in this mile long lakeside park that easily could have been turned into expensive private lakeshore housing. Instead, this beautiful area is open to the public! When my wife and I first moved to Escanaba this summer, the wonderful park was the first thing we noticed.

This course is mostly open, which is a nice change of pace from other courses in the heavily wooded UP. Due to this openess and the reasonable length of the holes, Ludington Links stands as a great course for beginners. I've tried to take my novice wife to several courses, but she usually gets extremely frustrated and quits when she throws 5 feet into tree throw after throw. However, she'll play Ludington because it's only 9 holes and open.

The water is a challenging obstacle and comes into play, especially on Hole #6, which crosses over the water onto Aronson Island. Having 3 and 1/2 holes on an island is pretty unique and fun.

The cement tee pads are in good shape and are the appropriate length. Example: On 350 ft hole #4 the tee pad is long enough for a good run up.

Most people in the area are good about returning discs from this course. Half the discs I've lost here have been returned to me, and the other ones are probably still at the bottom of the lake. People generally return discs to The Beaten Path, a local store that sells disc golf equipment.

Though some of the holes are under 300ft, I wouldn't call this a pitch and putt course. The shorter holes generally make good use of the environment in order to keep them interesting. #3 stays interesting by throwing towards the lake, and #8, though short requires a hard left turn.

The course flows intuitively other than the jaunt between #6 and #7. I could see players new to the course not knowing where to go between these two holes.

The wind out on the bay can get ridiculous, to the point that sometimes the course becomes unplayable. The wind in conjunction with the course being along the lakeshore leads to many a lost disc. Fortunately, the water is shallow along most of the course, so with some effort discs can be retrieved. Hole #7, however, is a disc eater. The water gets deep in a hurry on that side. The only two discs I've put in the water without me or someone else finding them were on #7.

More trash cans would be nice as well, especially given that the course is on the scenic Little Bay de Noc. I hate how much trash I've seen blowing around in this beautiful park, only for it end up in the lake.

#9 ends a good distance away from #1. I advise parking near the tee pad of #4 or the basket of #5 near the bridge. If playing in a group, leaving a car in the lot behind the beach house makes a lot of sense.

I know some of the other local players have begun playing the course in reverse after hole #9, which is a creative way to add some new shots to an otherwise repetitive course and to make the walk back to the car less tedious.

The park gets a fair amount of traffic, so please represent the disc golf community well by being mindful of pedestrians and cars.

Aesthetic-- plays through a largeish city park on the lake(bay) shore, wraps around the bay and finishes on a small island. Hole 7 plays very close to a road.

Teesigns-- very nice teesigns. I would suggest that maybe next tee signs would be helpful where it's not so obvious. 5 to 6 is a good example.

Baskets-- DisCatchers in great shape. nice and visible.

Basket placement-- creative. The holes that finish very close to the bay are really quite nicely placed. #2 and #8 are very well placed for example.

Variety-- #6-9 are probably the best holes on the course. The island holes hole the vast majority of the variety here. Hole 6 plays over a small channel. the water is deep here so don't get wet. Hole 7 plays across an open field to under a tree, Hole 8 plays through THICK beach grass and trees to a well protected pin and hole 9 literally throws from the edge of the beach back to the field by 7... great!

Tees-- natural. a bit rutted out of the grass. This course would benefit from either rubber tees or concrete (though I'm sure this isn't going to happen)

Walkback-- the walk back to your car after hole 9 is a bit ridiculous. Truly a "links" style course. If you're local and playing in a group, parking in the lot by 7 as well as by 1 might be beneficial.

Uncontrollables-- I'm sure the wind here can be rediculous. When we played there was very little wind which I'm sure is not the normal.

Only 9-- this could be freakin sweet with another 9 holes to loop back to the parking lot.

Variety--1-5 are fairly meh holes playing through a wide open field with light trees. The basket placements do add to the excitement.

This course, along with many in the UP are improving constantly. Excited to see what happens with this park.

This is a fun 9 hole course at our local park located on Little Bay de Noc (Lake Michigan). The course wraps around the shoreline and hole #6 is a shot over the water to Arnson Island. The last 4 holes are all located on the island which is very unique. The park has bathrooms and plenty of water fountains. A nice place to spend an afternoon with the family!

It's not the most challenging course because it is mainly flat with few trees. When the wind is whipping it will knock you putts out of the baskets and if your drives reach the jet stream they are for sure going for a swim on holes 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8. You do have to walk back threw the course to hole 1 when finished.

All the tee boxes and signage are finally installed! Hole #1 is located right after the volleyball courts on the lake side behind the parking lot. If you have any questions stop by The Beaten Path 1015 Ludington St or give us a call 906 789-6220 and I'll be happy to answer any questions. -Jon

7, 8, and 9 are on a small attractive island in the park. Not many courses can say that. The water views are very nice.

I'm from out of town, and I couldn't find hole #1, so I drove until I found basket #7. I played 7, 8, and 9 on the island, but didn't have time to find #1-6.

Driving through town, the course was a real surprise. Wish I would have had time to find #1-6, but I thought #7,#8, and #9 were fun and it was neat to play on an island in the park.

- Course has nice visible DISCatchers
- Has Orange pavers in the ground with number on to mark teepad(some have post next to them, where i assume tee signs will go.)
- Course has a few holes that bring water into play. If you charge that basket on two or get a nasty tree hit you could end up in the water.
- Course flows fairly well after you start playing it.

-Course is mainly wide open on a few holes have trees really in play.
- Hard to find the first tee as it doesn't have a post by it
- Course basically plays along the shoreline and then have to walk all the way back to your car.
- a bad drive from 8 could easily hit anyone tee off on 9.

i found this course rather bland and repetitive for the most part with the exception on 2 and 6. Plus having to play one way out and then walk back at 9 was rather frustrating. I am under the impression that they are going to turn this into an 18 hole course and will be back to check out the course again. If you in the area check out Pioneer Trails just miles away 4.1 miles away combined with this course it made for a fun afternoon