-Concrete Tees
-Good Baskets
-Excellent Signage, including some direction between holes
-Nice views of the lake
-Lots of bathrooms on the route
-Lots of elevation (see cons)
-Good mix of long/short, wooded/open, left/right
-Nice Map

-6917' in length, just as much between holes (2.6 mile total holes + in between)
-Extreme elevation at times
-Map a necessity the first time, even with helpful extra signage
-Punishing Rough, many holes with the lake in play, especially on back 9
-No 9 hole loop
-No benches / trashcans

Lake Iowa DGC is located in Lake Iowa County Park, several miles south of Ladora, IA. A short drive off of I-80 will get you to this park in the middle of nowhere with a good size lake, swimming, hiking, camping and a lodge. The disc golf course starts at the far end of the parking lot for the beach and wraps around the entire lake. A park map says the "disc golf trail" is at 2.6 miles which is almost exactly double the length of the holes for the course. With 5 holes over 500' including the 764' #13, there is really enough room here for another 18 holes comfortably, or a wrap along the north end of the park to come back to the start. The length makes for quite a hike. Lines are OK for most with a few holes having a 15' wide line in the trees. Concern is several holes with access to the lake. #13 plays along the dam with either a right turn to water or a left turn down a pretty good slope. #6 and #7 play along the road and #13 through #17 play right along the Lakeside Trail, so watch for pedestrians. The hole length alone makes this a long course, the walk in between makes it a beast that will discourage the amateurs even though the pars are generous. Signage has been updated recently as has the map (which looks like a few changes on Holes #11 and 12). The length, safety, disc loss issues knock down the rating for me. If you're looking for a workout, this is your course, even a little out the way that it is. I might play this one again, but as an only course of the day, especially if I'm not bagging solo.

Fairways are mowed.
Nice arrange of hole lengths and difficulty.

Too long of walks between holes, wasted space.
Tee signs are ripped up paper.
Foilage makes finding discs hard.

Great view going around the lake.

Good baskets and a nice variety of shots. Overly generous par makes you feel like a champ.

Easy to lose a disc in the prairie grass. Some walks between holes seem longer than the holes themselves. A few tees are pointed in terrible directions. Lack of trash cans.

I want to like the course more, but it is a lot of work to play it. The course is huge and I feel like a re-design would greatly help. There is a ton of potential.

big course
quiet
hidden so not much traffic
the wind increases the difficulty
the course is layed out nicely and will challenge you
well maintained, baskets still shine

lots of walking
rough is crazy, lost 4 discs today due to wind

having played here now I will be better prepared, not a good solo course the first time, would not recommend it for a newbie player

The design could be really good
Has great baskets
Has good signage

The rough on this course is absurd. I am a seasoned player with over 20 years of experience. You simply can't have holes where the fairways are 15' wide and you can't find a disc if it lands in the rough. Don't come play here. Maybe this place is great in the spring or something but it was an absolute disaster when I played.

This course has a lot of variety and some unique holes.

Distance variety: Holes 9, 12, 13 are legit par 4s, plus there are a few other ones (1, 2, 5, 11) that are "tweeners", heroic drives might get in range for a long putt, but most people are looking at an approach shot. There are also a couple short par 3s where elevation changes make it imperative to control distance while driving with a putter (4, 14).

Shot shaping: A couple of holes require left-to-right lines (8, 17), some demand precision straight shots (1, 2, 4), and there are some righty-friendly holes that need straight throw that fades left at the end (3, 6, 7, 11). The rest of the holes usually have some options to think about.

Elevation: There are some holes which have significant elevation change which really makes the course more interesting. Hole 2 is a killer long downhill tunnel shot with thick rough, and very tough to reach because of the tight line. Hole 3 is steep uphill and reachable, but it takes care because there's OB parking lot long (although not well-defined line). Hole 10 is a right-to-left dogleg that goes sharply downhill after the corner. Hole 18 is similar to hole 3 but longer and deceptive, looks like it should be a deuce but the steep uphill makes it hard to reach.

Although it's a mixed use park, and some holes play along clear walking routes, I have yet to run into a problem with other park users.

The par 4s are unfortunately all flat, straight and in the open.

The lake really doesn't come into play all that much except for hole 13 which plays along a dam with water on the right. Hole 15 throws across a small inlet but water is easily avoided. On a windy day, water could come into play with a bad throw on holes 4, 5 and 12. It would be a big improvement to add at least one longer throw over water with a shorter bailout option. For example add a hole 5 long tee just past 4s basket.

Although hole 14 is unique to the course (blind straight putter drive with dropoff behind the basket), this one should be converted to a par 4. There is a lot of potential to use that land before the existing tee for something besides just walking.

It's a single loop design, all 18 holes in a single walk around the whole lake. You won't get to replenishing fluids or snacks for about 2-3 hours (or longer at tournament pace).

Holes 12 and 13 have been changed. Hole 12 now about 600ft instead of the 199ft shown here on DGCR, and substantially different. Hole 13 was extended, it's still similar but now it plays about 800ft instead of 577ft.

This isn't a con for me, because I like the exercise, but be prepared for a lot of walking. It's probably about 3 miles just to walk the shortest path around the lake, so if you spend a lot of time looking for discs, you'll end up getting a good workout. Two rounds here in the heat of summer is a solid challenge. Bring extra water.

Interaction with other park users could be a serious safety hazard on a couple of holes: Hole 7 throws over a small parking area, you have to aim right at it and I've seen people hanging around their vehicles at that spot. Hole 11 plays along a walking path, most of which is not visible from the tee - better send a spotter to make sure it's clear. I would put this in the con section, but it's a little used park so it's easy to avoid by being a little observant.

- Good use of the small amount of elevation available.
- Really good mix of different shots ranging from longer par 4's, tricky shorter par 4's, & fun, challenging short holes.
- Lots of different shots needed.
- Located in a secluded area around a County Lake.

- Some pretty long walks between some holes explained below. Lots of Walking.
- Course is brand new and raw. Needs mowed regularly and there is some super rough in places so stay in the fairway.
- Tee signs are ridiculous when it comes to par on some holes. I'd call it a 59.
- 1, 6, & 7's Fairways are pretty much just Road so pay attention for vehicles.
- A couple of the funner shots (2 & 18) have electrical poles right in the middle of already tight fairways.
- Back 9 especially, but overall the course is rugged. Watch for freshly cut foliage and smaller tree stumps.
- Course could already benefit from a good pruning session in a few spots.

9/28/2015 - I've played 225+ courses over 20 years and have never reviewed but felt the need early on for this Brand New Course.

- I would rate this course better and probably will in the future once it gets broken in. A lot of the fairways on the back nine were clearly just cut out of dense rough and its going to need mowed regularly and trampled down some before it feels like a DG course.

- Wind coming off the Lake will most likely be a factor all the time in some places.

- The water really doesn't come into play. On Holes 5 & 13 where you need a big bomb and the water is to the right I could see the wind turning a big shot over into the water, & you shoot over a small inlet on 15 but neither should really come into play.

- Would be a great place to camp, fish, dg for a weekend!

- My biggest advice would be to pay attention to the tee signs showing where the next tees are located.
- Course could benefit greatly from a few small signs in the ground showing where to walk next.
Holes 1-5 flow easily enough.
After holes 5 and 6 you follow the road and you will eventually get to the next tee's after lengthy walks.
Long walk between 7 & 8.
Lengthy walk after 9 & when you get to the gravel cul-de-sac take the farthest left trail.
After hole 10 the sign says to take the path to the right but that's a mistake, you need to go left on the path after 10
Long walk after 12, go over the little spillway bridge.
Long walk after 13, follow trail right next to the Lake
14-16 flow nice
At 16's basket take a right to the water, path is barely visible, but you need to get to the water path, then lengthy walk to 17
Long walk around the water back to 18's tee