Disc Golf Course Review

You may think I hated the course from the title, but it's just warning others who prefer their courses to be a hike. And that's fair, but I think diversity should allow courses of all styles. Here, in stead of elevation, there were a variety of gimmicks I enjoyed and just a pleasant, easy going round for the most part. And after some truly epic courses like Faylor Lake, I just wanted to unwind and not feel like I was traversing yet another section of the Appalachian Trail.

Lime Bluff is very well taken care of, almost resembling a Japanese garden in parts. Very pretty trees, bushes, and sculpted, by mower blade, heavy weeds pepper the course, to obscure baskets and shape disc paths. They also use basket mounds multiple times, even an open fence once to partially block the basket. There is a modest pond that is a factor on three holes but it isn't intimidating in size. The signature is an old farm house partial wall hiding #17's basket, the dolphin/fish on top was a nice touch and typical of the charm of the place.

Two tees and two baskets per hole, with green baskets for the advanced. Lime Bluff is a decent stop if you're around.

#11 thru 14 play into this corner and into themselves. Four that are nearly side-by-side-by-side-by-side in this too-small space. Also by this point in the course, I'm thinking "I've seen this shot here already" and there are suddenly four more like it with the groves of trees and little difference else. It's not a showstopper but it's noticeable.

Navigation to next tees is sometimes abysmal. For much of the course it's pretty apparent, but I had to dig out my phone a lot to see where I'm throwing or where I'm going. On #7's tee, threw it backwards, and from #10, went straight to #13 since the tee was right there while #11 was a walk. The #11-14 corner is a mess of baskets, as one can imagine.

Overall I really enjoyed the aesthetics of this course, the care the designers took in sprucing it up, and the maintenance that goes into it. Easy going rounds help temper with days of hikes some other course are imo.

They took an flat piece of land, a bit on the small side for the purpose, and turned it into a decent 18. That never-the-less limits its appeal to many players who will find the additions gimmicky and caps the ratings potential. I just happen to be someone that enjoys this type of course.

Neffs Valley used to be a community pool, which left its mark by the large, long driveway for a park this size. Now it's almost exclusively a DG park, and although you'll see a few dog walkers and the like, there are no other amenities attracting any other crowd.

I played Neffs Valley back in 2019, when it was more urban exploration than for Disc Golf. The old haunted pool and walled structure surrounded it it are now completely extricated and the little creek running through the park takes centerstage and has been nicely showcased. It also has gained 18 holes proper, rather than the two tees one basket concept it was sporting back then, as a 9er merely masquerading as an 18er.

About a third of the holes will be familiar, some renumbered, mostly up front running along the stream and forest, as well as the two last field throws. A hop into and out of the forest was added, and then it goes into the field and old treed pool area. Area is mostly flat, lightly wooded.

Lost a disc teeing off at #2, griplocking into thick foliage on right, where the stream decided to split into two with no good way to cross it and remain dry. After #3 there are less chances to lose sight of a disc although a retriever might be a plus for those not wanting to get a little wet at points.

There is a bit of normal variety throughout for a flat, mostly open course, with two downills and some minor technicals, one with a mando. It ends with two open field throws.

Much of the course takes place where the pool was and it feels like it plays into itself in this area quite a bit the latter half of the round, it's quite a compact area to a full course in. Navigation became a pain at this part, with a plethora of visible baskets and no next tee indicators, and missing tee signs. Sometimes threw at the wrong basket as not all the tee signs were up, like #11. Udisc was used heavily here.

Beginning tees are very nice, brand new paver stone, then it became carpet at some point. Hope it doesn't mold before it gets the paver treatment, whenever that happens.

The stream jumps #4 and 5 were quick excursions into the woods, I just wished they were a bit longer. They also seemed to be twins in basic shape.

Neffs Valley is a much better course than it used to be, but in light of how much Disc Courses have improved in general since then, I will give it a 2.5 as a typical course. The old Neff was a 1.25 to me personally, somewhere between Passable and Poor, so a big step in improvement.

It's very apparent the removal of the pool gave it just enough land to make a full 18, but just barely.

Overall, it's a perfectly good community course and will make for a fine round if you're just passing by.

- Good looking baskets, easy navigation
- Perfect course for safari or breaking out SuperClass or just putters
- Mix of open shots across a grass field and throwing through and under trees on the outskirts of property
- Hole 4's low ceiling tunnel shot is almost a forced roller through a straight row on trees, very fun and interesting hole
- Hole 5 throws over a large covered seating area to the open grass but then upshot is tucked into the trees

- Aside from hole 4 which is around 400 feet, the rest of the course is short
- No tee pads, more of a throw from the last basket kind of course
- They tried to add tee signs by hammering metal signs into the trees which is bad for the trees and also an eyesore

Really fun one this was, for a 6 hole practice course I actually had a really good time here. I played it in mostly darkness with my glow glitch and set the course record with a 13 (-5). This is the perfect baggers course and I would love to live close by as I would play this all the time. A glowing 1.5 rated review haha!

-- Land is phenomenal. Trees and elevation are abundant. A lake is on property. While you don't have a water carry, you throw toward the lake, and you've got a creek/ditch in play. Only holes 1 and 2 could be described as flat. The other 16 have elevation changes of at least 10 feet and many have elevation changes of at least 50 feet.
-- The best holes are 7 and 8. Seven is 326 feet downhill through trees toward the lake. Eight (412 feet) tees from a small peninsula in the lake. If you try to start two steps behind the tee to get a longer run-up, you might slip into the water. The hole is flat/open for the first 75-100 feet before going uphill into trees. Other good holes are 5, 6 and 15. Five is 321 feet seriously downhill along a gravel driveway with thick trees on both sides. Six is really short but you've got a 10-foot cliff 30 feet in front of you, so you're throwing uphill to a basket on a plateau. Fifteen is a big downhill throw through trees to a basket near a small creek. Ten is a fun putter ace run, about 150-160 feet through trees over a valley.
-- Baskets are numbered, but it's a small tag hanging from the bottom, so you can't see it from more than 20-30 feet away.

-- As with many private courses, infrastructure isn't great. Baskets are cheap (mostly Axiom Pro); tee pads are small rubber mats not in great shape. Signs are large numbers tacked to trees. That makes them easy to find, but there is no other information. Sometimes that means you are not only throwing to a blind basket, you are walking halfway up the fairway to find your line.
-- No map.
-- No restrooms.
-- No seating at tees.

-- Course mostly feels isolated, but hole 3 plays alongside a major 4-lane highway.
-- This is a shorter course. Only one hole is longer than 400 feet and seven are 201 or shorter. Two holes check in shorter than 150 feet. Big-armed players aren't likely to enjoy this course as much as I did.
-- The course is at someone's house. You must contact owners (662-803-5262 or jaytee33@hotmail) ahead of time to schedule a tee time. You'll need to complete a liability waiver once you arrive.
-- The gameplay here is first-rate. With improved infrastructure (baskets, tee pads, signs), this would easily be a 4.0 course. The lack of distance likely keeps it from ever reaching 4.5.

*Scenery - This course is so beautiful! It's situated in a forest with significant elevation changes throughout, producing amazing views of the surrounding area. There is a cool "top of the world" shot at the end of the course that I would've liked to empty my bag on (see caveat in cons).

*Variety - The course has two sets of baskets on most holes. I played the white tees during my visit. The white tees featured some long bombs, tricky finesse shots, and just about everything in between. If I'm seeking even more variety during my next visit I will play the blue pins. Most of the tee shots from both are wooded with some sort of elevation change.

*Challenge - The whites were fairly straightforward, but not without their share of challenging holes. The blues are VERY challenging.

*Navigation is rough throughout the entire course, including some signage that seems to direct players in the completely wrong direction. I suggest having a course map with you ready to go and consulting that instead of the course signage.

*Unfortunately, the quality of the course's signature "top of the world" shot is limited due to extremely tall grass throughout the fairway of the hole. With the extreme elevation change I understand why mowing would be difficult on this fairway, but it still makes it tough to fully enjoy the course's most beautiful hole.

This course is worth traveling well out of your way for. The hike alone is so scenic that you could just walk the fairways and enjoy the place. The fact that there is also an awesome disc golf course onsite is icing on the cake!

Baldwin, MI sits about 45 minutes inland from the better-known Ludington. The local school has recently added nine holes of disc golf that play around the edges of the school grounds.

On paper, there are a decent mix of holes here for rec-level players. There are several tightly wooded holes and a few more open ones. Of the wooded holes, I remember a couple of left turns, a couple of right turns, and a couple of straighter shots. Hole 6 has a low-lying area signed as water on the tee sign. Mild elevation changes make several holes more interesting.

The baskets are Chainstars. The tee pads are concrete and large enough. The tee signs have all of the info you would want. There is a "Next Tee" sign pointing the way at a longer walk between holes 5 and 6. The rest of the transitions were pretty short and apparent, though tape on basket rungs would still be nice.

Some of the usual safety issues here. A baseball diamond and running track both come into play. The first hole has a bus garage building on the right side of the fairway, and hole 8 runs along a tall fence with a playground and building on the other side of it. This latter one actually has no discernable fairway at all - just the fence line with a lawn and the other obstacles on the non-fairway side. Maybe the fence came later, after the course was already installed?

In general, the fairways here need to be mowed wider. The actual tree trunks in the way make for a fine rec-level course, but having fairways that are only one mower width wide plus tall grass with deadwood (tick heaven) on both sides in addition to the larger shot-defining trees, makes finding discs more annoying than it has to be. Especially for a course catering to beginners, these fairways should be widened.

There is nothing memorable or challenging enough here to interest advanced players.

There is a small sign at the first tee displaying the rules of disc golf, but not a course map. No practice basket, porta potty, trash cans, or benches available either.

Like all school courses, don't try to play this one while class is in session.

You can park in the school parking lot near hole 9's basket - but I'd recommend parking outside the bus station near hole 1's tee (a short walk away). There are no signs saying you CAN'T park at the bus station, and there is a fence between hole 9's basket and that school lot with a gate that may or may not be unlocked (was locked when I visited).

This one barely did enough for me to give it a 1.5. It is going to be a significant detour for most travellers, and I don't think it's a good enough course to be worth detouring to. But if "they" just widened the mowed areas, it could be a decent enough school/rec level 9er for players who don't want to drive out to the Ludington area.

L.L. Stub Stewart - Hare's Canyon is the main, 18 hole course in the park and man is it a good one. The terrain is very hilly and it's extremely wooded on each and every hole. One of the single most beautiful courses I've ever had the chance to play. It feels like you're in a different world when you're out here. Stunning doesn't even describe the experience you'll get playing out here.

Single brick tee pads on each hole. These are decent sized and have good grip to them. I liked these and didn't have any issues with them.

The baskets are mostly the orange banded Discatchers like they have on the putter course. There were a couple newer yellow banded ones too. Either way, all were in great shape and caught great. There's two pin positions on every hole. If not every hole, almost every one. There were mixed on the day we played, some in longs, some in shorts.

The elevation is pretty crazy out here. You don't notice it so much toward the beginning but you certainly will by the end. Lots of awesome up and downhill shots to had out here. The course plays pretty evenly between FH and BH favorable shots off the tee. If anything it felt a little more FH friendly. Either way, there's lots of different shot shapes required out here.

This is my favorite kind of golf. Accuracy is your number one asset out here. Being off the fairway can be anywhere from slightly annoying to disastrous. You don't need huge distance to score here, you need precision.

The tee signs are nicely done. All the info you can ask for with these. All the basics like a hole map, hole #, pars and distances to either pin placement. In addition to that have the elevation loss or gain to either pin and a next tee arrow. Excellent job with these things. These are all mounted on a tree stump cut on a sharp angle too, which just looks great and fits the vibe of the course.

My number one con out here is the relentless rough. The fairways are fair for the most part off the ground. The thing is landing in what should be the ideal spot may end up in a lost disc or at the very least lots of wandering around looking for a perfect shot. It's actually borderline incredible that neither me nor my wife lost one today. We only seen two other players out there today, and we caught up to both of them searching for discs in the rough.

A few of the gaps off the tee are almost poke and hope types of holes. A few trees could be removed to open these lines up a little more. Unfortunately it sounds like a LOT more trees are going to be removed in a few weeks. Hopefully this doesn't take this con and flip it around the other way too badly.

The course doesn't loop back to the parking lot at any point so make sure you enough liquids, snacks and anything else you may need.

Not the easiest course to navigate without a map. It's doable but there are a few longer, not so obvious transitions here. Even with a map the reception is pretty bad towards the bottom section and it's a little tricky to find your way around.

This course was everything I was hoping for it to be. Just my kind of course. I ended up playing it on the safer side due to not wanting to lose all my discs on day 2 out of 12. If anything I just wish I'd played here right before flying home so I could just let it rip. This course is one of those love it or hate it ones. Personally, I loved it. If heavily wooded, hilly courses are your thing this one will be something out of a dream. If you like throwing far and at nothing, this one will be a nightmare. Just know what you're getting into. Must play course in my mind. Hell the drive in alone is worth it. If you get a chance, do yourself a favor and play this one.

Lil' Stubb is great lil' 9 hole compliment to the Hare's Canyon course that starts right next to the start of this one. Great warm up or cool down course for the big course, but honestly just an all around fun little ace run or putter only course.

The course plays in the same heavily wooded forest as it's neighbor. There's still some elevation involved just on a much tamer scale. The design does a nice job of having both BH and FH favoring shapes off the tee. It's short enough that advanced players will be able to even just jump putt on few.

Very straightforward navigation here. Once you find the first tee the next hole is always very close to the previous basket. The course starts and ends right by the main park road next to the hilltop day use parking lot.

Bright yellow banded Discatchers on each hole. Easy to spot, mounted level and catch great. Zero complaints with these.

The tees are the same brick models that are featured on all three courses here. These are nicely done and work great.

The rough is gnarly off, sometimes even on the fairway in spots. Mostly in way of the ferns, though there are all types of other thick plants. luckily the distances are so short that this shouldn't be too big of an issue. That said it's still very possible to lose a disc, at minimum you'll probably end up searching for awhile.

No marking as to where the course actually starts without a map. If you have Udisc you'll be fine.

$5 for a day pass is steep if you're just playing this one, though I find that it's highly unlikely anyone reading this isn't playing Hare's Canyon too.

Honestly I don't have much else negative to say about this one.

This was a fantastic little heavily wooded putter course in a gorgeous forest. Absolutely worth a visit if you find yourself out here to play the main course or are camping. Probably my all time favorite "putter" course. It shot a -7 on here but I could also just as easily see myself shooting an even par tbh. Very fun little course.

The little putter course at L.L. Stub Stewart is only 3 holes set in the woods between the east and west campgrounds. Contrary to a previous review, the course is actually located south of the "amphitheater", which is a picnic table and some chairs in an open area north of the path between the two campgrounds. Look for the opening in the woods south of that and that's where you'll find hole 1's tee.

The course, as mentioned earlier, does in fact feature one hyzer,
one straight shot and an anny. The course is very short but is pretty wooded. Not a bad little option to have by a campground. If you were to light up the baskets it could be a fun little glow course.

Nice orange banded Discatchers on each hole. These catch great and stand out nicely amongst the woods.

The tee pads are brick and all in great shape. Honestly these are kind of overkill if anything but I'm not complaining.

Wood posts with the hole number serve as the tee signs. Basic as can be but effective.

I honestly don't have much for cons. It's not much to nitpick in the first place anyway. I will say that the course is a little too difficult for little kids to enjoy with the tight gaps and use of three different shot shapes.

There's no signage anywhere that I could see that indicated that there was even a little course there. It took much longer than I wanted to actually find it. We were about to give up and walk back to the car when I noticed the little opening in the brush.

Unless you're camping there it's a bit of a walk to get to, especially for only being three holes.

It's not close to the other two actual courses onsite. You'll have to make a special stop to play this one.

Easy bag. Good for what it is and would be a fun little glow course if you were camping there. I mostly wanted to give an update and point people toward the courses location more than anything with this review.

The orange and blue 9s are marked out super well. Playing as a front 9 or back 9 and combining for full 18. Arrows on the baskets are really helpful for navigation. Tee signs are amazingly done. Mandos and island holes are well marked out. Good shot variety with some elevation change. Good mix of long and short left to right holes. This course offers a lot of variety.

Baskets were in rough shape some of them bent. Some of the baskets shared between Orange and blue. There wasn't a full 18 scorecard I could find just seperate 9s. If you had a busy day fairways and holes could overlap and take awhile. With both 9s setup navigation can be tricky, with couple walkouts

Overall fun course wish they would have used the hill walking up for an epic downhill top of the world type show near the bench. Did great job trying to make 18 with the land they had just hard to compare to full 18s with the extra niceness. Right near Shelton worth the stop but wouldn't just only play here for the day