1. Variety. From the signature first hole with a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan, the looming reservoir, and a gorgeous downhill bomber shot of 574', you're sucked into this course. The next few holes are a lot of fun, but it wasn't until #B (the sixth hole if you're playing all 24) that I was like, "Wow" again: A blind RHBH anhyzer with an OB parking lot running alongside most of the left fairway to a pin 315' away (I'm glad my wife was with to spot for me and vice versa!). Elevation is present on nearly every hole, and the wind here is no joke! Seriously, when I played it was the type of in-your-face screaming headwind that would take a cocky overconfident nose-down putt from 40', pick it up, and throw it 60' back at you (okay, so that wasn't happening over and over, but it happened to me and my wife on the same uphill putts on #5, and the wind was a HUGE factor on most of the holes). Hole #C was a really cool risk/reward tee shot with some nasty-looking OB in the fenced area. Even the short holes (8 under 250' with 3 of those under 200') each had their own unique challenge, so none of them really seemed like filler; #8 is probably one of the "Top 3 Toughest Holes Under 150'" I've ever played! I found myself forced to throw a variety of distances and angles of RHBH anhyzer shots, which was great as I had been focusing a lot on that shot before my vacation, and was able to continue to work on it here. It feels good to let loose with a driver and a big hyzer on #11 (I think I'd been teeing off primarily with my MVP Axis aside from #1 and #5), taunting the OB road, and #15 presents a pinch point of twin pines about 50' off the tee on a 333' hole favoring a RHBH hyzer. Hole #18 I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with: Gorgeous finishing hole with a demand on precision off the tee to a defined landing area (I got cocky and almost wound up in the T-intersection of the road but was safe just at the corner), and if you pull this off you should have a reasonable chance at your upshot through the paths up to the green to save par; I got extra cocky with my second shot and bombed my Ace Race Hornet up to a blind pin, no one in my group saw it, and it was declared lost after a half-hour of searching; I took a 7 on the hole and left the course upset, but having had a beastly blast of a round (and I was contacted on DGCR by AikoAdam not 2 days later, who offered to send it back; thanks, AikoAdam!!!).
2. Maintenance. The county presumably takes care of a lot of the upkeep here, but the MCDGO is obviously very heavily involved. The entire complex was in top-notch shape for the tourney, but I understand that high level of care is typical on these popular courses. Players seem pretty mindful of using the trash cans, and I'm sure the Michigan bottle deposit plays a role in keeping broken glass and plastic bottle litter to a minimum.
3. Pay to play. All of the Mason County courses, as well as Flip City, are a measly dollar (that's right, $1) per person per round. There's an honor system of "checking in" where you put your money in an envelope and sign it, and then during your round you may be subject to spot checks to verify that you have indeed paid (with the punishment of being kicked off for a year if you're caught sneaking).
4. Multiple courses on site. Two awesome 24-hole layouts (Beauty and Beast), as well as a very challenging reverse course (Goliath, which is Beast played backwards from unique tees), make this a disc golf destination, and with Leviathan a few miles up the road, the fun Scottville course nearby, and Flip City within a half-hour drive, you'd be advised to rent a house or camp somewhere and make a little disc golf vacation here (which is precisely what my wife and I did)!
5. Tee signs. New colorful signs have been added to all of the Ludington courses (including Leviathan). Beast has blue signs, Goliath has black, and Beauty features red. The signs have no depiction of hole layout (which is a con when playing Beast or Goliath and needing to scout ahead), but feature the "mitten" of Michigan with the course name, hole number, and distance. Sufficient enough.
6. Tees. Nice concrete tees on all 24 holes that for the most part were installed properly and level.
7. Baskets. I seem to remember Chainstars out here, although the course page lists DISCatchers (looking at my vacation photos, they certainly LOOK like Chainstars, too!). Whatever they were, they were all installed properly, were in excellent condition, and caught well.
8. Navigation. Aside from a few tricky areas noted below, the paths, signage, and course map (if you have a scorecard) were sufficient in navigating this course.
9. Amenities. This large park is pretty dedicated to disc golf, but there is a playground, some picnic areas, restrooms at the pavilion, multiple parking lots (you may want to utilize different lots as a local depending on when you play, which course you're playing, and where you decide to hop on the course), and I believe dispensers for scorecards/course maps near the check-in. I highly recommend stopping at the Pere Marquette Expeditions supply store on the way in - great microbrew selection, as well as discs or whatever else you might need!