a sneak peek at all the best disc golf courses
This is a really nice course in some respects; it has a great location right off of the Lafayette highway, a good mix of open and wooded holes, and some interesting hole layouts. However, the lack of proper sign-age proved incredibly frustrating starting around hole #6. Of course, if you’re familiar with the course this wouldn’t be a problem, but out-of-towners should allot some extra time for wandering. (In pictures for now.)
Hole #1
This is currently my least favorite course. Not because it sucks, but because it is the most technical, most luck-requiring-for-a-good-score course I have ever played. Almost every hole has a 10 by 10 window in which to throw your disc off the tee. Water comes into play on a few holes, and the constant up/down elevation changes challenge you to be at your best. If you’re a righty, I suggest bringing several different types of turnover discs, as this course has more turnover shots than straight shots.
Hole #1
Starts off innocuous enough. The basket is about 260 from the tee, to the left of the plastic-covered tree in the middle of the fairway.
This course is located directly behind the fire station in Oshtemo Township, about 5 miles west of Kalamazoo. There’s 18 holes, and the back 9 was probably twice as difficult as the front, so plan to get all your deuces early. There was a practice basket off to the other side of the parking lot from the first tee, but not a lot of space to throw some practice bombs. Also, it is highly recommended that you don’t bring any alcohol to the course, as it is explicitly forbidden and these West Michigan police folk often suffer from small penis syndrome.
Hole #1
Real straight and fairly tight to start off. Basket up to the left about 325.
Shot from behind the basket back towards the tee.
I’ve been working on this Google Map of disc golf courses for a little while now. I’ve tried to include as much information about the courses as possible on their little placemarks. I will be updating the first two posts with direct links to their spots on the map. The map, as previously explained, is mostly concentrated in Michigan, but does include a number of high quality, out-of-state courses I plan on visiting soon. Also marked on the map are biodiesel fueling stations that might fit into your route
If you haven’t yet seen these Discraft disc golf tips videos, and you’re having trouble with either driving or putting, I highly suggest watching them. The two best are Forehand Drives and Making Long Putts.
This was another beautiful disc golf course closer to downtown Madison, and this one is absolutely free. Maybe not the most difficult course, but definitely a fun one to play. There are lots of birdie opportunities and also a lot of holes where you can pull out the long distance drivers. Elevation changes appear on almost every hole. There are pro and am tees for every hole, too. Glass bottles are technically not allowed on the course, but we didn’t have any problems. The mosquitoes here were pretty ruthless, especially once you get into the woods. Bring bug spray.
Hole #1
A pretty simple, straight uphill shot to open things off. The basket is just to the left at the top of the hill.
I thought this course was awesome. The $5 fee to play seemed a bit steep at first, but it became wildly apparent that the money garnered through this pay-to-play system was put right back into the course. There are dual, concrete tees on every hole, and each hole also has 3 separate pin locations varying in difficulty. They only have one location setup at a time, but playing a tournament here would be very interesting if they kept moving the baskets. There is a practice basket for putting and enough space to get in a good warmup. It wasn’t very crowded, but I was a little surprised to see a lot of beginner golfers. Gotta start somewhere. When reading these posts, keep in mind we are playing from the pro tees.
Hole #1
It was pretty windy while we were out at the course, which made this seemingly easy, straight shot a bit more difficult. There is a lot of space behind the tree if you want to take the hyzer route, which I did.
A tough 35 footer if you end up in the tree.
This blog will hopefully serve as a disc golfer’s guide. My plan is to offer an in-depth look at each disc golf course I play with pictures, descriptions, maps and scorecards in order to give you guys an idea of what to expect. I’m going to try and setup a course ranking system, because the one on the PDGA site is pretty crappy. I currently live in Michigan, so to start the courses will be in the greater Michigan area.
This will be my first real effort at actual, worthwhile blogging, rather than linking to other blog posts, articles, videos, etc. If I suck, I apologize, I’ll hopefully be getting better the more I write. If you have any ideas or suggestions for future content, leave ’em in the comments.
Disc Golf Blog 