+ Championship caliber course, secluded deep in the woods of Northern Idaho. That alone should get the blood pumping.
+Paul, the owner/designer/grunt laborer seems like an awesome dude. It is definitely worth setting aside some time to chat with him after your round. His current project is working the next 18-hole course adjacent to Caliber, and it is fascinating hearing him talk about the plans and process.
+Tee times are required. Why is this a positive? Because tee times plus the secluded nature of the course will make you feel like you have the place to yourself.
+Good variety of holes. Some are grip-and-rip favoring the big arms, some are tight gaps favoring accuracy. Distances vary significantly also. To score well, you need to throw putters, mids, and drivers equally effectively and also be able to throw both BH and FH.
+Great use of elevation. Perhaps the best example of this is Hole 9, one of the Par 4s. Tee shot is straight uphill, fading left; second shot is back down the hill, also fading left. The hole shape is basically a horseshoe, with thick woods preventing you from cutting the corner. Oh, and the green? Death putt if you don't get your approach pin deep. This was one of many birdie-turned-bogey-three-putt holes for me on the round, largely because of the character on the greens.
+The Back 9 just might be the best nine hole stretch that I've personally played.
+The upkeep is very good, especially considering the sheer magnitude of fairway land that has to be maintained.

-While visually the course looks like it is in the woods, there are quite a few holes that don't *feel* that way. Exhibit A would be the angry sunburn that I got while playing, since many of the fairways are actually very wide and sun exposed. Not the experience I was expecting, especially since all the hiking we did nearby was much more heavily wooded. But perhaps the flipside of this, is that the deceptively open nature of the course allows the big arms to open up the throttle quite a bit.
-The course took a while to hit its stride for me. Hole 4 is great, but other than that the first 8-ish holes weren't particularly memorable. Still a great course, but the holes that really make me reminisce were all stacked in the Hole 9-18 homestretch.

I realize that my 'Cons' may seem excessively nitpicky to some. But really, the difference between 4.5* (phenomenal) and 5.0* (best of the best) is an extremely thin and subjective line. Ultimately, you won't regret playing here.
Other points to consider:
*Lots of elevation change. Bring plenty of water, some snacks, and sunscreen. Plan for a longer than normal round given the physical requirements of walking the course.
*Pay to play. $15 and must call ahead for tee time.

Excellent designed turf tee pads.
Hand-painted, to-scale & accurate tee signs.
Seating at each pad with enough space for the whole card with rock/boulder features here and there.
Progressive manicured 'fair'ways with smooth rolling hills of mowed grass & clover.
I can't stress enough how perfect the fairways are designed, rough is rough, but that's the point, stay on the fairways and you'll score well.
Great use of elevation requiring calculated intentional shots.
A good mix of par 3, 4 & 5's, the longer holes requiring skilled placement shots and attention to tee signs if you plan to score well.
Excellent job making every hole unique.
Picture perfect views and geography, feels like you were transported to Europe.. think Konopiste.
Greens are well manicured... true greens, no gimmicky little sucker trees growing within circle one.
Caliber is by far the best all around course I've played. Paul really created a gem here, course designers please take notes.

A big thanks to the entire Stiller family for creating and sharing this place, you guys are awesome humans!

Could use more wind chimes

- Course is set on a large piece of wooded, hilly private property, so there's no chance of interference with any non-disc golf activities.
- Makes great use of the constant elevation changes here, with very few flat holes to be found anywhere. While it might be classified as moderately hilly, when *every* hole is moderately hilly, it adds up quick.
- Fantastic mix of shorter, reachable par 3's with long, multi-shot Par 4's and 5's that require planned shot placement. The elevation is again used well to make sure there are long/short uphills and long/short downills.
- Some nice risky greens to ensure that the approach and putt take as much thought as the tee shot. Hole #11 is a 776' hole that ends with a raised basket on the fastest green on the course, if I remember correctly, great finish to the Par 5.
- Water comes into play on two holes; both shots have you throw over a small pond/marshed valley. #13 tests accuracy more than distance, while #14 tests distance control more than accuracy. #14 is great because you have to throw far enough to clear the water, but not too straight and far or you miss the bend in the fairway.
- A few longer holes give you the option of going left or right of some forested patches in the fairway; always love to see that in non-wooded courses to allow for some decision making.
- The extra 1,000' added from the long pads is no joke - both long and short holes become much more difficult, not just because of length, but also because of additional gaps and elevation.
- Top-notch tee signs and tee pads. These were obviously built to last, with every hole having perfectly level and groomed teepads sitting atop a mound of compacted gravel.

- The location of the course, among towering pines, means there aren't many "wooded" holes with tight fairways carved out of smaller trees. This is more of a personal preference, almost even an aesthetic gripe, then a design issue.
- The terrain here is also very forgiving for errant shots. The rough on the sides of many fairways don't punish mistakes the same as wooded courses. Even on a few shanks, I wasn't punished and had a great look to save par.

- I stumbled upon this course by sheer luck, two nights before when looking at the Farragut courses for the 10th time on the DGCR map browser. Boy, am I glad I did. I was stoked to be able to play the course on such short notice! The highlight of a 10-day, 26-course road trip.
- This is the first review I've written in 6 years, but I promised I would! This course is easily in my personal top 20 for both challenge and enjoyment, a solid 4.5 worth going out of the way for.

Owner Paul is an evil genius only not really evil, you know? He might have hidden sadistic tendencies, too. To carve out this exquisite course on his rugged 68 acres of northern Idaho mountain has been a labor of love and he is now tackling another course, every bit as challenging, second 18. I was fortunate enough to pick his brain while playing a round and well after that. He calls himself a jack of all trades but he is more a master of many. His knowledge/skill of engineering, forest management, heavy equipment operation, botany, golf course design, logging, art design and construction is most impressive. After years spent playing ball golf he incorporates so much of that mental side of both playing and designing courses.

The price to play is $10 per round and punch/family passes are available.

So you take this incredible piece of wooded, mountainous property and add Paul with his knowledge and drive. Throw in a most understanding wife and involved family and you have this challenging championship course. The course information sheet mentions that this will be a 2 1/2 hour affair but it is easily one of the most physically demanding courses anywhere. It's not an extreme course but just 18 holes of up and down and over the mountainous terrain and that's only if you're able to stay on the fairways. The humanitarian Paul brought out a golf cart up to assist me through the final couple of holes.

Everything about out this course has been so well thought out. There are currently two set of tees, the Pro and the high Am's. Easier Am tees are in the works. The tee pads are incredibly level carpet surrounding by a gravel base. His story of tee building could be made into an instruction manual. The hand painted wooden tee signs are a story in themselves. First, everything on the maps is proportionately placed. If it's 150' from the trees on the corner to the basket and the opening is 80' wide, that is accurately noted. The signs also just slip off the poles for removal during stormy or winter conditions. Caliber is shut down for the snow season as the family will then be found on the slopes of nearby Schweitzer Mountains.

There are benches on every hole. They are very practical but the story about them could be another chapter in his disc golf instruction manual. The baskets are Discatchers with the small number.

Caliber (even the name could fill another chapter) plays 7000-8800' and the same amount of thought has gone into the design of each hole. A couple of great multiple fairways. None are flat. None are what that they first appear to be. From the Pro tees, there are five fours and three legitimate par fives. IMO, the signature hole is the 700' # 6 with it's beautiful tiered fairway which slopes downward the entire distance . Honorable mention goes to # 13 which is a fairly tame, but so very interesting, 276' shot over a pond. But it's more complex than I can here describe.

Since the course almost killed me and Paul had to rescue me with the cart, I have to list the course's intense elevation as a con. It's not just a 2 1/2 hour round but a 2 1/2 hour workout, as well.

The DGCR sheet states the course is a championship round from the Pro tees and a very playable round for amateurs and beginners. I'm not really sure about that. I see it being Intermediate/advanced level from current High Am tees. Perhaps, when the Low Am Am tees are put in, I might be able to then call it suitable for beginners and old men.

It's a ways up here to Sandpoint but that's why it can be called a destination course.

To fully describe the whole Caliber experience, you would need one of those late night television pitchmen, the ones usually hawking Ginja knives, boner pills or hemorrhoid relief. The guy who spend 30 minutes straight in a rapid fire delivery extolling the virtues of whatever product he is selling. And always at the end, they offer you two of their products for the low, low price of one plus free shipping if you order in the next 45 seconds. Paul needs to hurry up and finish the second course so his hired pitchman could then offer two courses for the same low, low price. Also because it would take the rapid fire pitchmen delivery thirty minutes to fully describe the Caliber experience.

If you consider yourself a serious disc golfer, you need to experience Caliber.

Lovely scenery. Great quality tee boxes. Varying terrain and thoughtful hole-design makes for many unique shots and a course with character.

None really, just that a few holes off-fairway was pretty deep rough, full of plants that made finding discs a bit tricky.

Paul is obviously passionate about maintaining and improving the course, and it shows. This place is a gem of North Idaho.