Judson Mine is one of the most beautiful courses I've had the pleasure of playing on. The course wraps itself around the old mine, which now is a gorgeous lake with crystal clear water, in a clockwise manner. The course starts and ends right by the parking lot to the east of the mine.

The baskets here are Prodigy T-1's I think. Not too familiar with my Prodigy models. These have a blaze orange band and cage which makes them very easy to spot in the woods. These are all mounted properly and catch pretty well. One basket per hole.

There are 2 tee pads on nearly every hole. I believe hole 3 was the only shared tee pad. The pads are covered in an artificial turf which I personally really enjoy. Probably my second favorite teeing surface besides well done concrete. That being said, it's only been a handful of times I've played on these. Not sure how they handle any rain or snow. But when they're dry I find them hard to beat. The two sets of pads are generally set far away enough and/or at a different angle to make the hole play differently from each one.

The course is mostly wooded but it has it spots where it opens up and gives you a little more for options and airspace. Many shot shapes are needed to score well here. You'll be tested off the tee and definitely if you're out of position after the drive.

The elevation here is used well. There are numerous holes that play up or downhill, but nothing overwhelmingly so. Hole 4 is really the only shot where the lake comes into play, less so on the short tee but it's still there.There's a few other places where the drink can be found but it would require either a shank or some bad luck. Or both.

The tee signs are really well done. These have the hole #, a pretty solid looking hole layout map, both tee and pin locations and distances from each and pars. These are well made, durable looking signs that last a long time in the tough winters up here. Very well done with these.

The flow of the course is laid out superbly. I didn't need to look at the map once, minus the walk to hole 8. There were steps up the hill and also a pretty well traveled looking trail. Both would've probably got me there anyway. Other than that one spot it's pretty seamless from pin to the next pad.

The course was very clean, there were a few benches and trash cans throughout too. No cost to play and the course is permanent. Always a bonus for me.

As I mentioned above, I love the artificial turf pads. But I do have my doubt's about their durability and reliability in adverse weather conditions.

A couple of the holes play a bit close to each other. Nothing egregious really, actually only holes 12 and 13 I think they were. But that would take an absolute shank from the tee of 12 for it to really be an issue.

Hole 1 actually play right down a dirt road. Not normally a con, but that's actually the road Google maps had me take to get there. Literally driving up holes fairway. I'm just glad I didn't take a Destroyer to the windshield.

I'm honestly not able to come up with any other cons right now. Even what I have is kind of minor.

This course lived up to all of my expectations and then some. If I came back up to the Hibbing area I'd absolutely play this one again. This one is hands down the best course in the area, and it's not even that close.

While I can't say that it's a destination course, it is definitely a must play if you're up this way. This course is as solid of a 4 as I've played in a long time. It's just not quite at 4.5 level in my mind. Excellent course on a beautiful piece of land.

+ Beautiful course design, almost every hole feels like it was where is should be.

+ Teesigns give you about all the information you need

+ Prodigy baskets catch well but could be upgraded to Discatchers for a better catching basket.

+ Easy to navigate

+ Multiple tees and multiple pins coming

+ Very technical wooded course with its fair share of distance. Its wooded but no where near too wooded. Every hole but hole 8 is a fair hole.

+ Lots of elevation changes but I wouldnt consider this to be mountain golf. The elevation was used very well.

+ Hole 3 and 4 would be my favorite two holes. The contrast in those two holes made it super fun.

+ Tunnel shot on 14 was really cool and unexpected and was a good example of a fair tunnel shot. Not too wide but not too narrow.

- Teepads. Some of the worst I have every played on. The turf tees are very worn and are very slick. I could not throw over 70%ish power because if I did my foot would slip and I would fall or possibly hurt myself. The tees are all not a uniform size. One tee was built up a bit on the side of a slope using a wooden platform and was super bouncy and not fun or safe to throw off of. More than half of the teepads were also not flat. They were lumpy and not a consistent lumpy that you can work around. Just random potholes. The fronts of most tees are also worn down so that they drop off and make the front foot of the teepad unusable. In the rain these teepads are extremely slick and not safe and should not be played on. A lot of the tees are also in the shade so they do not dry quickly.

- Hole 8 is the only headscratcher on the whole course. I couldn't find a fair line. Its about 400ish with the first 300 being pretty open and then leading to a 100' section with no clear path to the basket. It is a true poke and hope or luck shot.

- I wish the water would have come into play on more than just 1 hole. (Edit, I found the water on two more holes accidently, I had some bad shots)

- Parking lot is a bit small so I could see this being an issue come tournament time. (Edit, played a tournament here. The parking lot seemed almost big enough with just a few cars spilling over to the road and other parking lots.)

Overall, I really enjoyed my time at this course and will be going back but the course needs an upgrade on the teepads asap. The course would be a 4.25 if it had concrete teepads and a 4 if it had no teepads, yes a higher rating in my eyes if it didnt have teepads (they are that bad imo). Its really a shame that there is this amazingly designed course on an amazing property and then they put in some of the worst teepads you can think of on it. I would personally donate my time to individually carrying every bag of concrete needed for the tees to each hole. Might take me a week or two but this course deserves it. You should 100% play this course and I would say you should drive out of your way to play it at least once.

The biggest pro for this course is the scenery. When you hear "plays around an abandoned mine" you might have in mind something much more rugged and industrial than what this course actually offers. When you approach this course, it looks like a very typical city park... ball diamonds, skate park, playground equipment. This is also totally deceptive in terms of your eventual experience. Hole 1 plays through a pretty standard woods hole. You then turn a corner and the course opens up onto a basin with a crystal clear, serene, and beautiful lake which you begin weaving around. Holes 2-4 are on a switchback which gets you going back around the circle that you eventually follow around the entire lake. The views were really breathtaking. Some absolutely gorgeous shots of baskets overlooking the natural beauty of this lake and its forested surroundings.
Hole 4 plays over the lake. It requires a big (RHBH) hyzer to get there, but a shorter hyzer can still play safe if you're OK with crashing into the rough short of the landing zone. There is a shorter drop zone, but that doesn't entirely remove the risk of a water landing.
The signs at the teepads are accurate and helpful. I found the movement between holes to be super intuitive. I was there alone (I was the only human being I saw on the entire course, which really contributed to the serene experience), but I did not have trouble navigating the course.
Really challenging elevation changes throughout the course.
Good quality baskets (I believe prodigy). Easy to see yellow bands.
Some really excellent risk/reward calculus on this course. The fairways are all pretty accessible. The shots don't look terribly challenging from the teepad. But if you find yourself even just a short distance off the fairways, you could end up in thick forested rough or 100 feet down a steep hill. The hill is especially in play on #2, the basin hole. I threw what I thought was a very safe shot, but even the slightest roll put me about 50 feet down hill and looking for a disc.
I would describe this course as "mountain-light" golf. The elevation changes reminded me of some of the Colorado mountain courses I've played, but you're not at mile high altitude, so it's much more physically accessible. There's definitely still a high level of physical demand with the elevation. You're going on a good hike no matter what. But I didn't find myself running out of breath on every hole in the same way that I do on tougher mountain courses.
A few makeshift trashcans and boulder benches near a few of the teepads. Quite necessary because I went through a few bottles of water and also needed to sit and rest for a few minutes in the middle of this hike.
Really great hole variety. A few big bombers, but mostly technical wooded holes. You've got one BRP-esque giant tunnel shot through a narrow corridor of trees right toward the end. In terms of difficulty level, I think the course starts pretty easy, then ramps up difficulty in the middle, and then gets easier on the last few holes.
I really can't stress enough how gorgeous this course is. I just kept turning corners and having my jaw drop at how naturally beautiful the surroundings are. This is destination disc golf at its finest. One of the best free courses I've ever played on. If this was a bit closer to major population centers, and had a pro shop and a few more amenities, I could easily see this being a 10$ pay to play course. It's that high of quality. As it stands, if you are anywhere in the area, I totally recommend coming to play some beautiful, challenging, but still accessible, and totally free disc golf.

Not many. And the things that are negative are mostly things that add to the challenge of the course, so hard to really complain about it. Specifically, the rough is, indeed, rough. If you get off the fairway, it is really easy to lose a disc if you're throwing alone. I probably spent 30 minutes on hole 10 looking for discs. I would recommend throwing bright colored (not green) plastic once you get into the woods. But honestly, even this was not intolerable. The rough was hard to find discs, but I never felt like I was going through thorns or tearing my legs up to look. It was simply hard to find discs.
Also plenty of places to have a disc roll down hill. If you're not ready for walking on some uneven terrain, this course might not be for you.
Definitely look at the info on the DGCR front page for this course. If you follow your GPS, it takes your car onto the fairway for hole 1. No bueno. Instead, park right by the skate park and baseball diamond. You should see the sign for the course at the end of that parking lot.
I guess you could complain about the quality of the turf teepads... there was one that was a bit bumpy... but it really wasn't bad.
Would be nice to have a putting basket.
Really stretching for negatives. This was a beautiful, fun, challenging course and I don't have much bad to say about it.

If you're playing in the morning, it might be worth bringing waterproof shoes or a change of socks. After searching up and down the hill on hole 2 for my disc, my feet were soaked in morning dew.
The course is pretty physically demanding. Be prepared for a hike.
After hole 11, go up the hill to throw down at 12. You might be tempted to go to the first visible teepad, but it's actually 13.

Beautiful lake back drop. Feels like you're in the movie Fern Gully at times. Good mix of shots and elevation, mostly in the woods and along what seem like cross country ski trails. Dual turf tee pads in great condition. Very nice brand new baskets.

Hole graphics were great, turf tee pads were nice, and there were a few signature holes (4, 14) that really set the course apart. The flow was pretty good and even though there were no "Next Tee" signs it was still pretty intuitive.

We played Breezy Point this same weekend in similar weather conditions (hot, humid) and the bugs were terrible but here at Judson there were not bad at all, likely due to the lake.

A sign out on the road pointing you in the direction of the course would be nice as it can be hard to find if you just try to follow Google Maps. It could definitely use some benches and the aforementioned "next tee" signs. Also could use several truckloads of wood chips and maybe a little more landscaping around the pins but that is more of a recommendation for improvement than a con.

While the lake was nice it only came into play on one hole and it required a 300+ ft shot over water so I opted for the short tee pad anyway to avoid losing a disc.

Some of the fairways were a little awkward and a couple shots were a little boring. Tree stumps everywhere are not only a clear sign of how new the course is but also a pain in the ass to navigate at times. Definitely needs more play to break in the rough.

With some more play Judson Mine DGC will break in nicely and hopefully turn into one of the top courses in the state. As of now I would put it just outside the Top 10 but it definitely has the potential. Being the only ones there on a nice Sunday afternoon was a sign that this course may not be getting the play it deserves, so if next time you hit the cabin make it a point to swing through Buhl and check out this amazing course!

The first thing to point out is the setting of this course. This is a huge city-owned property that surrounds an old iron-ore mine pit. The pit is now filled with crystal clear water, which only comes into play on one hole. Unlike most other old mine pits on the Iron Range, this land has been reclaimed and has green grass and trees instead of rust-colored tailings.

Layout - The layout of utilizes the woods and elevation very well as it winds around the pit. There are long and short tees on nearly every hole. The holes are fairly balanced, requiring nearly every throw in your arsenal (i.e. long, short, open, tight, up, down, left, right etc.). This course can challenge all skill levels. As stated earlier, there is only one major water-carry from the long tees. Otherwise, the chance of going in the water is minimal, but can happen with unfortunate roll-aways that make it through the trees as all the land slopes downward to the pit. The water is very deep. If your disc ends up 15 feet from the shore, you may see the disc, but it could be 20 feet deep.

Baskets - There are new Prodigy baskets that are orange in color, which makes them highly visible. There are multiple basket positions on most, if not all, holes. Baskets may or may not be visible from the tee, depending on what tee pad is being used and what position the basket is in.

Signage/Navigation - There are beautiful tee signs with accurate footage at every tee box (long and short) as well as a large map at the beginning of the course. This makes it very easy to navigate. Top notch!

Tee boxes - It's hard to put this as a con, but the tee boxes are artificial turf. Most of the tee pads are beautiful, but a couple were a bit lumpy.

Mosquitos may be a problem at certain times of the year, but that's the case with any course in northern Minnesota. Mother nature shouldn't be a con, but for travelers from other parts of the country, this needs to be said.

The hard work of all the people involved in the construction of this course shows. Hats off to everyone involved! It is a great addition to the Iron Range disc golf. This place is beautiful!

There aren't any benches yet, but the course is very new. There are some boulders near the tee pads that can be used as seats.

There are a few garbage cans on this course, but if you can pack it in, you can pack it out! (this should be the same at EVERY park).

There is a donation box near hole one. The City manages the donation lock box.

Be careful if you need to enter the water. Old iron ore mining pits are very deep. If you fall in while trying to retrieve a disc, you need to be able to swim. It looks shallow, but it is not.

There isn't too much other park activity nearby, so disc golfers typically have the course to themselves.

A small city-owned campground is about a block away at Stubler Beach.

Bring good hiking footwear and water. Remember to take breaks, enjoy your surroundings, and maybe take a dip at Stubler Beach after the round.

I'm teetering between a 4.0 and a 4.5 rating. I need to play it a couple more times before I can give it a higher score.