Pros:
- well maintained park setting with another disc golf course on site
- nice shorter, beginner friendly complement to Grey Fox
- mature trees add some obstacles and limited shot shaping
- decent concrete tees
- good quality Innova DISCatcher baskets
- garbage buckets and picnic tables throughout course
- some gently rolling hills add some level of elevation change
- navigation is mostly straightforward
- fun, quick, relaxing round for a change of pace from the other 2 foxes
- park is shared with other activities but no notable safety hazards
- ample parking, course loops back to start
Cons:
- tee "signs" are just posts with numbers - distance is hand written in on some
- long tees (wood chips) may not exist any more - not marked and not obvious
- fairly short
- may not be very exciting for more experienced players
- obstacles, shot shaping, and technical challenge are fairly limited
- while a decent 9 hole course, no exceptional qualities
Other Thoughts:
Red Fox is one of the 3 "foxes" in the Spring Lake, WI area. This one shares a park with Grey Fox, making for a cool destination if you're looking for a more full day of disc golf. Clearly designed for a simpler round and/or for beginners, Red Fox is by far the easiest of the 3 courses. If you expect Red Fox to give you an intense workout or killer difficulty, you will leave disappointed. It's a fun course for a quick, casual round. One thing I like about the course is while it's beginner-friendly, it isn't that boring "wide open and completely flat" municipal park type course. Yes, it is fairly easy, but there are some obstacles and some rolling hills to liven things up.
It was hard to come up with many cons for this course besides "there's nothing particularly unique about it." The biggest one is probably the tee signs, or lack thereof. Despite most of the equipment on this course being pretty nice, the tee signs/posts definitely could be upgraded. It's a shorter, simpler course, but the design is good, safety hazards seem minimal, flow is good, and it's fun and not irritating in any way. I'd almost be tempted to rate it a 2.75 if I could.
I came up for the day to play all 3 foxes and while this one certainly is the least memorable, they're all fun courses. Not sure if the long tees still exist on Red Fox (I didn't notice them but didn't realize they supposedly existed until near the end of my round) - if they do, it could add some challenge for intermediate and above players. However, nothing is going to put this course on par with the heavier elevation change and wooded technical challenge of Grey Fox and Silver Fox. It should be appreciated for what it is, a simpler, more casual course that's fun and doesn't really require a distance driver.
No really exceptional holes here; no water hazards or anything notable for unique obstacles besides a few hillier spots. This is a good area for disc golf; outside of the 3 foxes, the course just a bit south in Antioch, IL seems well regarded - I unfortunately didn't get to it on this trip. If you're within an hour or two, it's worth the trip out to try the foxes.