Bogue Chitto State Park's DGC had me grinning at first sight. The course's terrain is perfect for disc golf, with rolling hills and dense stretches of pines, and thankfully this potential has been maximized.

Although only 9 holes at present, Bogue Chitto packs a big punch, with ample challenge and wow factor for both your game and your eyes. The land it sits on is just beautiful, and welcomely isolated. The variety is impressive especially given the reduced hole count. There's a great rhythm of alternately manageable and punishing par 4s and 5s and more restrained par 3s with birdie potential, although even the latter can bite you given the woods and the hills. Elevation is significant, and used in a variety of ways, with downhill, uphill, and cross hill shots along with some pin places that capitalize on it. Precision is paramount: course management is key to shooting well here. At the same time, lines are generally fair enough to not discourage you from going for it. Birdie opportunities are often realistic, so aggressive play can reap rewards, keeping things from getting too conservative. This is a challenging course for sure, but not a beat down for intermediate and advanced players (though if you're off that day you'll surely feel it).

There are very few textbook shots here: wrinkles are quite common. Hole 4 is a perfect example of this. A subtle hyzer through thick woods, the descending slope and pin placement (in the right edge of the landing zone, opposite the hyzer's direction) conspire against you. From the long tees, you have to first worry about making it to the window in the woods before you consider the other challenges. All holes have such multiple factors in play, leading to unique, satisfying shots again and again. Shot variety is excellent, and many holes feature multiple lanes, allowing for a variety of approaches to tackling them. There are tangible differences between short tees and longs beyond simply distance: the design for both is well-conceived and well-integrated.

There are some real signature-quality holes. 6 combines an open clearing (from the longs) with some dense pines and a sloping hill to make a birdieable par 4 that is visually arresting. 8 is meant to be the piece de resistance, especially from the longs, which measure in at 925'. It features a challenging series of tight lanes and must-hit landing zones, and a gorgeous approach to a basket set in a clearing. Shots like these - and there are plenty of them - really stick in your mind's eye.

I find it hard to critique the design itself, probably in part because I'm biased in favor of long, wooded courses. Bogue Chitto's style is in my wheelhouse and I'm thrilled to have such a course in the region, so I'm probably still a bit in the honeymoon phase. But, I like to offer criticism in all my reviews.

I think an argument could be made that some lines could be better defined here, for fear of being too pinbally or too unclear. I'm thinking namely 8 long ,although 6 has some of this as well. The landing zones can be tough to find on such holes, meaning it can take a playthrough or two for the course to start to open up. This is likely in part a product of the course being so new, and associatedly rough around the edges. Still, there are a few shots that seemed less than fully clear to me in how to approach them, due to blind lanes or landing zones, even after having played them a few times. It's not a prevalent issue, but does crop up occasionally.

The course is definitely rough at present. Tees are natural and footing isn't always great. A *ton* of work has gone into clearing the area to be sure, and work is ongoing; it seems like it'll get there. But for the time being it plays rough around the edges.

As stated, I felt like the course's tightness was fair, but it doesn't really relent much. Those who need to air a disc out will need to look elsewhere.

If it isn't already obvious, the course makes for a very poor beginner course. If you can't throw 300' with accuracy (hardly spectacular, but nonetheless requiring some experience) you can't appreciate much of Bogue Chitto's design.

There isn't another course like Bogue Chitto in the greater area, both in terms of terrain and play style. Flanacher has the woods but not the hills, and is a bit more brutal in its execution without allowing for the variety of approaches that Bogue Chitto does. I've been pining for a long, challenging, hilly and wooded course that is comfortably drivable from my home in New Orleans, and I'm pumped to find just that in Bogue Chitto. I will definitely make visiting a habit.

There's word that expanding the course to 18 holes is in the cards; I sure do hope it happens. An 18 hole version of Bogue Chitto would be among the best courses in the Gulf region if not the very top, and amongst the best courses I've played, period. If you like wooded environments, higher pars, and a challenging mental game, then this course is for you.

I'd rate par on the short tees at roughly 900-925, and ~1000 on the longs. You'll certainly earn a good score!

NOTE: This review is written to give other golfers an idea of the current state of this course. This course is still being developed, but is completely playable from start to finish from the Pro Tees. Am Tees were not yet installed on 2 of the 9 holes. I rated this course with that in mind.

This is going to be a beautiful course with tight wooded fairways and plenty of elevation changes. There is tons of shade and protection from the wind with all of the trees. Most holes are freshly cleared providing clean fairways.

This is a very long 9 hole course coming in at 3314 ft. - 4866 ft. depending on tee format totaling up (according to my scorecard) to 2.8 miles. I loved the exercise with the elevation changes.

Memorable Holes:

Hole 2 left me in the brush almost the entire 800'. I couldn't get out of it. I loved this challenge. I spent more time thinking about my shots and studying the layout to try and find my line. I don't always get that with Southeastern Louisiana courses. As a grip it and rip it player, this hole will put you in your place and sets the pace for the rest of the course.

Hole 6 is a little misleading. I drove into the woods from a clearing about 150' from the tree line. Once in the trees I realized I needed to almost turn 75° to the right to start my run at the basket. I didn't grab my Roc until my 3rd throw. There are so many routes to take, but at the same time so many trees to hit. This felt super long, but is dwarfed by holes 2 & 8.

Hole 8 is this course's BEAST. 925' par 5 from the pro tees. None of us parred this hole. This was the most fun. It is great seeing golfers challenged. I recommend this course just for this hole.

Holes you can birdy or CTP:

Really, you could birdy all of them if you can clear the trees. But, the most obvious of holes are 3 & 4.

Hole 3 is uphill and relatively open compared to the rest. This hole is straight uphill, so a nice hyzer can park you within the circle.

Hole 4 is a tunnel shot with a dogleg left before the basket. The hardest part of hole 4 is driving from the pro tees. The tunnel starts about 100' from the tee which can play with your head.

Both of these holes were perfect for making you feel better about yourself after hole 2's 800'.

There are temporary signs with footages and pars at all pro & AM tees. The permanent signs aren't ready yet. Pro tee pads are marked with white bricks and AM pads with red. All baskets are freshly painted with bold black numbers on yellow plates.

Bogue Chitto State Park has a $2 entrance fee. This helps keep the grounds clean and safe. There is ample parking around the meeting center with the first hole viewable from the parking lot. Hole 9's basket is located just 100' from the parking lot allowing you to end your round from where you started.

There are ruts in some fairways from the machines doing clearing so watch your step and be mindful on your walk up. This should clear up in about a year with steady play. For that reason I couldn't really throw any rollers, yet.

The tee pad on hole 7 is pretty short. Maybe the brush behind it can be taken out so we can get a good walk up.

There aren't any trash cans besides outside of the meeting rooms. Please keep trash with you until your round is complete, so we can keep this course nice. I didn't see any bathrooms either. If the meeting center building is left open, which I doubt, there may be some in there.

Be mindful of the horse trails and of the people on the trails. Some fairways are near the trails, so a disc that gets away from you could land in or near the trail. I didn't have any issues and I was throwing all over the place. It was nice to see people on horses while playing too. Just a reminder to be courteous as their trail was there first.

With this course being so new, there will be a breaking in time. Brush will grow back and some changes may occur to layout after it has been played a few times. One concern I have is that the state park will not upkeep the course. Trash could build up or brush with thorns can over run the fairways.

It is highly recommended to wear good pants and long sleeves, even in the summer months, due to the thorns and brush off the fairway. We had a fun time trying to find discs or even throw out of the brush. the guys with pants and sleeves seemed to manage a lot better than us in shorts and a t-shirt.

For some the Mach I baskets are a con, but I found them to be pretty fair. They spit some discs out but overall for their age they are in great shape!

I really didn't have too many cons for the course itself. Mainly just with amenities.

Currently, the course is being sculpted and some clearing is still needed. I think this is going to be a players' course, meaning that the players will be the ones taking care of it more than the park will.

Overall, it was a great workout playing here and I can't wait to get back out there to teach those trees a lesson for getting in the way of 75% of my throws!!!

I have a feeling I will be editing this review when the course gets broken in. I see my cons section getting a lot smaller!

Please be respectful to the course, the sport, and happy throwing!

UPDATE:
ALL TEE PADS (PRO & AM) AND TEMPORARY SIGNS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED!

UPDATE:
I MENTIONED THAT SOME FAIRWAYS CROSS THE HORSE TRAIL. THEY DO NOT. IT WAS JUST A DIRT ROAD FOR GETTING MACHINERY IN AND OUT. DESIGNATED HORSE TRAILS DO NOT CROSS FAIRWAYS.