Derby Disc Golf course is a new addition to the eastern Idaho DG scene. About 25 miles from Yellowstone National Park, Island Park, ID boasts beautiful mountain views across flat, grassland plains and forests. The course is nestled into a small wooded area in the heart of the Island Park area. The manager of the office was engaging and excited to have players come by the course. I appreciate that they offer disc rentals for interested players; I am happy to see anything to grow the game.

Though a fairly short nine-hole course, the design plays beautifully into the woods with well defined lines and fairways. The tee pads are clearly marked with short yellow posts that have the hole numbers on them. Though there are no tee signs yet, the baskets are easy to find, mainly because of the shorter distances. This is clearly a new course designed for beginners, but I still found it a fun challenge.

Hole one starts next to the pasture just to the west of most of the condominiums that makeup the Timbers Condominiums resort. 228 feet into a small green among some trees, it makes for a good starting hole. Not very long, but you will need to be accurate to avoid turning it over into the pasture or hyzering out too quickly into the trees.

The baskets are DISCatcher Pros and fairly new, so I had confidence that my discs would catch, but making sure to get around the lodgepole pine tree limbs is a challenge that makes this more than your ordinary nine-hole course. I really enjoyed hole 8, the longest of the course at 296 feet. It is a fairly straight shot over a field, but landing it into the small green requires touch. I parked it my first play, but missed it entirely my second. Getting a birdie on that hole is quite rewarding.

Being that this is a new course, there are a number of issues that will need to be addressed. Fortunately, the manager of Timbers stated that they are working to improve the course in the future and hope to have a pro shop at some point.

Tee pads are dirt. That is not too bad when they are level, but they weren't. That made walkups tricky and you will want to wear good hiking shoes for it. At the tee, the short posts were easy to see, but only had the hole numbers on them. I would like to see at least the length and par listed on each one. A small map would be nice as well; on hole two, I happened to throw to hole 7's basket without realizing and had to re-tee.

Course maintenance could use a little work. They have done well to remove some unwanted trees, but there are a large dirt mounds on three of the holes that seemed a little out of place. Also, though I doubt losing a disc is a huge concern, the rough was tall and sometimes there were large, dead tree limbs on the edges of the fairway.

As stated above, this is a short course, probably for beginners. They did not have a lot of space to work with, so some of the holes are on top of one another. Hole 8 tee is right next to hole 1's tee, just at a 90 degree angle. And holes 7-9 essentially use the same fairway, just with different baskets in different areas, crossing back and forth. I would love to see them work to avoid that potential interference.

I don't feel right giving a nine-hole course better than a 2.5 since, really, it's half a course. And due to the length and design issues, a 2.0 is not appropriate. Still, I liked the challenge this course offered and it was fun play, which bumps it half a point for me. You may only need a putter (plus a midrange or driver for one hole), but if you are in the area, it makes for a pleasant afternoon.