Pros:
Stop to rest and take in the view at Bayshore Park in the small town of Grand Marais and you will see a large painted sign reading "Disc Golf 4.9 miles". Drive out of town in the direction of the sign, down a two-track the last half mile or so. When you see the course kiosk, pull off the two-track and park.
This course is well off the beaten path. You won't see or hear anyone except perhaps a couple of other disc golfers. The aesthetic is beautiful. The course plays through coniferous forest (the Superior Pines name is appropriate) with berry bushes in the rough on many of the holes. The place has a wild, untamed feel to it making it a very pleasant spot to play a round. The foliage is thin enough however that you aren't likely to lose a disc here.
Despite being in the middle of the woods, the course has been in good shape all four times I visited (over a 3 year period). All 18 Chainstar baskets were in fine condition. The tee signs were painted blue wooden posts with distance and flight path routered on - sufficiently informative and fits the aesthetic of the course (as of 2023, a new coat of paint has covered up the distances and flight paths - hopefully these get re-added soon as there are plenty of blind holes here).
Hole design/pin location is good here. There is pretty good variation in hole lengths (from 183' up to 459') and a good variety of left, right, and straight throws required. This plays as a technical course, with a fair number of pine trees to avoid on each hole.
The rough is thin enough that you won't lose a disc here, unless you toss it into the water. In most places the "rough' is just pine trees spaced together more tightly. If you get lucky, it's possible you'll have a line out of the rough so you can salvage par.
The navigation is pretty good. It consists of blue painted arrows with numbers scrawled on them to point to the next tee. There is also a kiosk at the first tee with a course map posted on it. The cell service is spotty here, so if you are a map person like me take a photo or download the one here before going out.
Several benches spaced at thoughtful intervals throughout the course allow you to relax and enjoy the serene setting,
The holes near the river are memorable. Of those holes, the water comes into play most significantly on #8. On this hole, looking from the tee the river comes in from your right side and curls around back to the right. The bank down to the river is very steep - it would be a challenge to get down the bank to retrieve a disc. However, it's only maybe 200' to clear the river entirely and smaller arms can easily lay up off to the left side to avoid it. Just a very pretty hole with the rust colored river curling through the forest. This is probably my signature hole on the course.
#9 and #16-#18 are also nice holes that play near the river. On #9 the river is behind and to the right of the pin, but it would take an errant shot or unfortunate tree kick to reach it. On #16 the river is lurking about 30'-40' behind the pin. The last hole #18 is a sweeping dogleg right with the river arching to the right of the fairway, and curling around behind the pin again. There is a fairly long walk between #16 and #17 but there is a nice bench in the middle where you can sit and admire the river.
Cons:
The tee pads are just dirt with kick plates.
No practice basket.
There is a long walk back to your car after #18. This walk could use a couple more of the blue arrows to reassure players that they are still heading back towards their cars. The path will take you away from the river, then hit a fork which is the Sucker River loop. Keep right at this fork. Then, keep left at the next fork and you'll come out at an odd chimney looking structure. Keep left again to get back to the kiosk area.
I feel the designers did the best they could with the space available, but the elevation change is pretty minimal here on most holes. It isn't pancake flat, but not enough change to really affect things. As a result, the holes away from the river start to feel similar after a while. It doesn't get boring here for me, but if you're not as in love with the aesthetic as I am you might feel less favorably.
The only trash can present is next to the kiosk. Do the locals a favor and pack out what you pack in.
Other Thoughts:
A couple notes about getting here:
- H-58 is a paved road. If the road turns to dirt at the Alger-Luce county line and you see signs for Luce County Road 407, you have gone about 2 miles too far (I just read in the news that Luce County Road 407 may be getting paved in the near future).
- The correct turn off H-58 is at School Forest Rd, located just after a small bridge (look for guardrails on each side of the road). There is a sign for the school forest but it is parallel to H-58, so difficult to read if you are driving.
- School Forest Rd. is a wide, well-graded dirt road. On Google Maps, the course is pinned (correctly) in the middle of a loop that spurs off this road. This loop is a two-track that winds through the forest. I recommend taking the back entrance to the loop (2nd left off School Forest Rd) as it was clearly more traveled and better maintained than the front half of the loop on all occasions I have visited. After your round, I would recommend driving out the same way you came in.
See "Course Location" under Links/Files for a visual.
This course makes for a very pleasant round. With concrete tee pads and a little more use of the river this course could be even better, but there is something to be said for the deep woods aesthetic and keeping it as is. If you are visiting the Pictured Rocks area, this course is definitely worth a play! We drove out from Munising and hit some points of interest on the Grand Marais side of Pictured Rocks, played the course, grabbed some lunch in the town, then wandered through Seney National Wildlife Refuge before heading back to Munising. Overall it made for a very pleasant day.
UPDATES OCTOBER 2021/SEPTEMBER 2022/AUGUST 2023: I added several more details above, and raised my score from 3.5 to 4.0. I want to encourage you to come play this course if you are in Marquette, Escanaba, or anywhere east of there in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I have now played all of the courses I am aware of across that region, and this one is very clearly the best. I have driven out here from hotels in Marquette and Munising (1-2 hour drive each way), and had the place all to myself on multiple occasions. It was a dream come true. If coming from Munising, I recommend taking H-58 from Munising to Grand Marais to take in the foliage along the road (especially beautiful late September/ early October for fall colors). It's worth the couple extra minutes vs. taking the Seney Stretch on M-28 to M-77. Stop and do some sightseeing in Pictured Rocks and make a day of it!
As of this writing, I am closing in on 200 courses played including five courses in the current DGCR top 10 (Flip City, Rollin Ridge, Maple Hill, Idlewild, and Blue Ribbon Pines). This completely-off-the-radar course is still one of my very, very favorites. It has good disc golf design and just enough amenities to keep me happy, but the aesthetic and overall peaceful experience for me is still almost second to none. I reminisce about my visits to Maple Hill and Rollin Ridge, but I daydream about this course. I can't justify giving it a higher rating than 4.0, but I'm telling you to come play here. You will not regret it.