There seemed to be concrete pads on every hole with a trash can on the majority if not all. It felt the majority of the holes were shorter, but there were a few longer shots scattered in to change it up at times. The use of elevation was decent, but not great. The park was clean which is always a plus. I would say the fact that there isn't a lot of obstacles this is a great beginner course or since there are 27 holes it could be nice for a moderate player (if its not busy). We played after a good rain and with the rocky ground the course didn't get muddy or waterlogged like a lot of course would.

The coolest part of the course I thought was the change of pace they had with the tee signs. The had street signs with "Hole 1" marking the pin.

Pretty boring for anyone who has played a higher level course. Every tee shot seemed to have a straight line plan without any need for a hyzer shot even. The weeds on the course were terrible, not sure the last time they ran a mower of it, but it made it difficult to find even a good shot in the middle of the fairway. The tee signs were no where near to what would be acceptable. Not only are they bent up and hard to read, not all the holes had them and it didn't feel like they laid the fairway out correctly. Because of the bad signs, I'm not 100% sure how many holes we played because you could normally see 5+ baskets from each tee shot and even if you played to the right tee, you could see 3 tee pads for a potential next hole. While I did like the tee signs with "Hole 1" they weren't on every hole and some holes (#7 I think particularly) had a another basket 40 ft behind where the hole 7 basket was marked. Don't sit on the benches, while they may have these at every hole the only thing they will hold is a bag. It made the course feel very run down and almost like no one cared for it with the combination of weeds strung throughout the fairways. My group played at 10:00 on a Thursday morning after a good rain, so we were the only ones on the course, but with the number of fairways running throughout and poor signage I feel like this would be a VERY dangerous course. Keep your head on a swivel if you are going to play.

I was excited to play this course as it had almost a 4.0 rating, but I guess I should have read some of the more helpful reviews as it would have definitely set better expectations. McClelland is a course that if you are in Joplin you could 100% play and have a good time and probably not lose any discs, but if you are on a road trip like we were, I would suggest looking for a different course on the route.

In the end it felt like 27 holes were forced on this piece of property. If the current piece of land were to be re-worked and an 18 hole course were put in, I think it would fix what felt like a cluttered course.

In the current layout, I think if the signs were updated and properly hung where they wouldn't be bent up and the fairways mowed a little more this could be a great course with how it is, besides the danger factor.

Well laid out course.
Good baskets.
Signs.
Made good use of elevation.
Variety of holes.

Benches are not to be trusted.
The idiot who put the signs up did so like an idiot.(they are all bent)
If the course is busy watch out for discs from other players.

I like the course, especially the 19 - 27, but I don't think I would like it if it were busy.

> There were mostly level, concrete pads on every hole.

> Good baskets throughout that catch well.

> Moderate elevation changes.

> Good variety of length of holes that fluctuate well.

> Park/course was pretty clean throughout.

> Benches at every tee... but also see cons.

> The rocky ground actually helps to prevent erosion and wear on the course, keeping it from getting run down and muddy.

> A good challenge level for beginners that certainly helps avoid obstacle-frustration and lost discs.

> Some of the baskets have a street sign on top of them with the basket number. Unique and was helpful in determining which basket belonged to which tee... when they were actually there. It seemed like half the holes didn't have this sign though.
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> Very plain design - all the holes are pretty much making a straight run to an open basket.

> Feels repetitive, as the variety is only provided by the elevation and distance changing.

> Because of the above two cons, the course was pretty boring.

> A serious lack of challenging obstacles. Sure, there are 3 - 5 medium to large trees on every hole... but they are really easy to avoid and just don't force anyone to shape their shots to get around. You just throw straight at the basket from the tee and keep on going straight.

> The "grass" (actually, it was almost all weeds) was between 12" to 24" tall over the entire course. Not only was this really annoying for finding most throws, but there were snakes and rodents...

> Except for the baskets themselves, the 'course' seems kind of run down.

> The tee signs are terrible. The most important part, which is the hole number, is the smallest and hardest to read part of the signs and you cannot see what hole a tee belongs to until you are standing 8 feet from the sign. Also, the 'map' on each sign was barely more than a green rectangle with a tee marker centered at the bottom and a basket centered at the top... it did almost nothing to describe the fairway.

> Navigation was pretty bad due to not being able to actually tell which tee was next. You could see several options from each basket... but the lack of being able to see the hole number on the tee signs meant a lot of guess-work and wandering to be certain.

> As part of the above, it was often very difficult to tell which basket belonged to the tee you were standing on.

> I wonder why there are these huge blue street signs on top of half of the baskets, but not on the rest? Also, why do these signs need to say "HOLE 1", "HOLE 2" instead of just "1" , "2" and so-forth. Eh, that's a nitpick, but it was... odd. It also meant that these signs were as wide as the whole basket and meant a disc that should have missed the basket by going over the top would be stopped dead and knocked back.

> Detracting from the above pro about benches at every hole, most of the benches were in very bad disrepair... some even broken beyond use. I was afraid to sit on any of them, thinking I'd probably end up breaking it. (I only weigh 155 lbs)

> One of the biggest cons at McClelland was SAFETY. My goodness... the tees were so very close to the baskets on almost every hole and the fairways really leave players playing into and onto each others path. I would say the course design is unforgivably thoughtless of the very concept of safety and "heads up!!!" was heard more times in one round than I've heard over the last 6 months combined.
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I find that the further away from popular destinations or major cities one travels, the ratings for courses on dgcoursereview tend to be really high. I go with the presumption that this is because the course is mostly reviewed by locals who may not have much exposure to a lot of other courses. So, a course may seem like a 4 or 5 rating because the only other courses folks have to compare it to are either pretty poor or non-existent.

McClelland is certainly a passable course and totally playable, but I was not expecting to find a course I would consider a 2 where the average rating is 4.

Good, proper signage, navigation markers, maintenance and a big redesign to fix the egregious safety issues could easily bring my score on this up to a 3 or maybe 3.5.

-Well kept course and baskets
-27 holes in total
-Good variety in the holes
-Lots of friendly people on course

-Large hill to walk up and down
-Kinda rocky. Be prepared to have your discs banged up a bit.

With several courses in the Joplin area, this is by far the best one available. This long 27 hole course offers just about everything. On the first 18 holes, about ten of them are long bomb holes, easy for beginners. Other holes are kinda tricky with trees you have to throw through. The last nine holes offer a bit more of a challenge. A few are long shots, but most are more tricky then the first 18.

Another great thing about this course is that you can start at hole 1, 10, or 19 and have a great time. I have done this on different occasions to get a different flow to the day.

My only suggestion is that you wear hiking boots or a really comfortable pair of tennis shoes. The course is a bit rocky in places, so watch out for loose rocks. It can also bang up your discs a bit. I have a couple of discs with some pretty deep gouges from landing on rocks.

My favorite on the course is hole 8 or hole 13. On hole 8, you have to throw through a grove of trees, making a nice setup shot a must. Hole 13 is a par five over a small hill with some trees along the fairway.

UPDATE (5/19/17): Since writing this review, I have played several other courses and found my original rating of a perfect (5) to be vastly over stated. Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent course for the Joplin area, but giving it a five rating was overstating the true value of the course. I have since moved my rating down at a more respectable (3.5), which is more in line of what this course actually is. There are some great holes on this course, and it is truly one of my favorites, but the five rating was just too high.

- the variety is great, I like having to bring a lot of different discs
- you can find some local pros out their on almost any given day and they are always more than willing to help
- not many chances to lose a disc, even though I have lost a couple but not bad since I have played the course probably more than 50 times.
- Some nice long holes that really give someone with distance an advantage but some shorter holes that require very controlled drives
- never too crowed but still gets plenty of use

- some tee pads have big drop offs before and after the pad so if you have a longer run up you may be at a disadvantage and you can't got past the end on some holes.
- Some holes are pretty rocky but thats kind of how Missouri is
- Practice basket could use some mulch or something around the base so we could actually use it with out tearing up discs and it could be better marked for people who have never played the course because it is right beside 18's basket.

Great course that I play multiple times a week, I consider it my home course. League night is on Tuesdays at 5:30 in the spring and fall and 6:30 during the summer, come join us!

Lots of shot variety. Some short holes, some long holes, some doglegs, some straight shots. Bring your whole bag for this one!

Good elevation changes. Long downhill hyzers and anhyzers; long uphill hyzers and anhyzers. Just a very interesting course design.

Pins on a variety of slopes. Depending on where your teeshot is, you may get to be very aggressive or have to play it very safe on your approaches or long putts.

Very well maintained every time I've played it. It was during the 4SO, but it didn't seem like it had been a rush job to get the course ready for the tourney. It seemed to be a long-term maintenance effort.

Signs are pretty good. Present on every hole, and I believe they directed you to the next tee. Benches every once in a while.

Good park facilities. Bathroom on site. Parking near hole 1. A couple of pavilions also.

After the tee shot, the holes get very boring. Other than preventing roll aways (which can be done with positioning the drive more easily than with your approach). There aren't enough trees between the tees and basket. Typically, there are trees to shape your drive, but not to punish a drive that isn't on the fairway. Missing my line by 50' or so didn't change the type of approach I was throwing. Just the potential roll aways.

This course is DANGEROUS! If the course isn't full it wouldn't have been AS bad, but I got hit waiting on the next tee pad, and there were 10+ tees that I was concerned with the drives coming in from the next hole. Most of those tees you could move 100' or less and have a safer tee that doesn't change the hole much. 26 in particular. 21 is the hole I was hit on (3/4 drives could have hit my group) and a tee 100' behind where it was would have been safe.

I really like this course. I feel it's very fair. It's pretty easy to get to.

27 holes, well maintained area, challenging enough to gain new skills and work on existing skills. The area is strictly for Disc Golf so you dont have to worry about pedestrians or vehicles.

There are a few holes that you have to walk to after finish the previous hole. It really isn't an issues, but I could see how people unfamiliar with the course could get a little confused.

I play this course weekly, since I live in the area, so I am a little biased. I really think it's good for players of all skill sets. I believe it is the best course in the area and definitely has the most to offer.

-Beautiful course in a nice park. There was no trash laying around.
-Lots of mature trees to provide plenty of shade.
-Tee signs that don't only show distance and directions to the hole, but have an arrow pointing to where the next tee is in regards to the basket.
-Nice big concrete tee pads that have actually been constructed right, so they are not slick.
-Very large blue signs on all the baskets saying which hole the basket belongs to. They are big enough that you can tell which basket it is from the tee.
-Trash cans and benches at almost every tee.
-Good mix of long and short holes.
-Decent elevation change.

This course isn't close enough to my house for me to play on a regular basis.

I have rated Joplin's course higher than I have any other course because I feel that Joplin has taken the time to work on the things that can make big difference on a course no matter where it is. In most parts of the country you cant do a whole lot about things like elevation change, if there is water in play, the type of vegitation that naturally grows in that area. To try and improve these could cost way to much.
The things that can make for a good course anywhere have been addressed here, like great signs making navigation easier, constructing tee pads that keep you out of danger when throwing, benches throughout, and plenty of trash cans to help keep the park clean
I wish courses in my part of the country would look at Joplin's course and take some pointers from them.
I have g

- Beautiful setting and great views.
- Every hole has a brand-new monkey trap basket.
- Brand-new tee signs
- Long and big concrete teepads.
- Good mix of hole lengths and hole types.
- The course will bring out every throw you have.
- 27 holes! You have multiple choices at this course. You can play all of the holes, the "new" 18 holes which are the maroon and white baskets or you can play just the "old" 9 holes which have green and yellow baskets. The course is broken up to where 18 ends at the parking lot and 19 begins and 27 ends at the parking lot so this is a big pro that you can pick how much youre gonna play on how much time you have.
- Lots of shade from the hot sun
- Benchs and trash cans on almost every hole
- Nice elevation change on some holes.
- No chance of loosing a disc
- The course seems to flow well
- Woodchips by the basket which avoid roll aways and present a putting zone.
- Pins have huge signs on baskets which makes it easy to know which hole it is from far away.
- Secluded disc golf area for the course means that there wont be any people walking or anything.

- Being the only course in the area, it can become very busy on the weekends
- New tee signs didnt help much. They told the length and par but they just showed a tee and a basket straight ahead when on the actual hole there would be one to the left and one to the right so you would have to go and see which one it is.
- Lots of trash around some teepads
- Some tee pads are too close to the previous basket which could be dangerous.
- Most holes are straight so it could be a bit boring on some.
- Terrain. Lots of pot holes and little rocks/sticks to roll an ankle on so watch your step.
- secluded disc golf area for the course means that there wont be any people not paying attention or being in the way or anything.
- Mando on one hole didnt have a drop zone identifyed at all.

Overall, this is a very good course and is only getting better. Last time I played this before today, the baskets were homemade and stunk and the tee signs were just hand-written and the course looked dumpy. Now, you can tell that extreme effort went into this course to make it have its full-potential as a great course. This course is only getting better and trust me, It is worth your time!

Good pins, nice pads to play off of. Also hole 10 is a BLAST! 27 holes? YES!

The course is very rocky. I had a brand new disc and took it for a spin on this course. It got quite a bit of damage from just hitting the ground and vaulting off of random rocks. Some holes have some wood chips around the pin, some do not. some holes are far apart from one another, so you occasionally walk to a pin just to find out it is the wrong one.

Great variation of short and long holes
Suits advanced players well as it offers. challenges in distance and with well placed trees.
Has shorter holes which are great for beginners.
My fiance and I went to play this course today. I followed the pro par and she followed the novice par. It was a very nice system to have.
Locals are very friendly in helping you navigate the course.

One could say there isn't a great enough challenge for exceptional players.
It is much improved, but the course can be a bit confusing, especially with multiple baskets near each other.

This was a really fun course to play. The people on the course were very friendly and helpful. I definitely want to go play this again soon.

27 holes means you can have variety in your game while playing at the same park. Recently installed new baskets and hole plaques on all 27 holes. All the greens have wood chips approx 10' around them making approaches a little more friendly, and last time I played it looked like they were extending them another 10-15'. This course is popular, but rarely crowded. Lots of elevation changes make for some fun shots (hole 10).

Not much variety in hole layout other than elevation. Only a couple holes where a RHBH thrower has to change up.

Dogs are allowed in the park, and owners rarely pick up after them so check your shoes before getting in your car.

This course has something for everyone. It is not the longest course or the hardest course but it might be the most fun. There are always people out at the course playing and willing to bet some money. It is pretty well kept and the league does a good job updating things (new baskets soon). There are really shots for everyone here. The old setup can still be played and is quite easier than the new setup. There is some elevation change and enough trees to make it interesting.

This is not a very technical course. It is best suited for people who can bomb a disc down the fairway. The baskets leave a lot to be desired. I have played here many many times over the last couple of years and I would say it is easy to lose 2 or 3 strokes a round from the baskets alone.

We had a vote last week (6-21-11) and we are getting new baskets before the 4 States Open (end of September). They will be Monkey Traps. We have also discussed putting in another 9 on the West side of Hole 1. This would be all in the woods and would give the course an aspect it lacks. We have also talked about getting alternates pins. But to do this we would have to recreate the layout once again so we are still debating this.

Tuesday Night League Doubles at 6:00 pm every Tuesday. $5.00 to play.

The course is very solid. The park it is situated on is beautiful and in a very unexpected part of town. The course is completely a park-like setting style course. There are tons of elevation changes used very well throughout the whole round. The tee pads are in great shape. All 27 holes have concrete tees that are a nice length. There are many opportunities to grip and rip out here if that is your preferred style of play. While some technical shots are required in places, for the most part you can use any style of shot on each hole and be fine. Because of all the elevation changes, wind can play a major factor out there (as it did for us). There is a beautiful scenic view around hole 11 (i think). It is a really awesome downhill tee shot where you can reach back and let it fly. The course was very clean and well maintained. There is no other intended use for that part of the park which is nice. You don't have to worry about walkers or joggers out there. It appears the course is played a lot. Around 2:30 on a Tuesday the course had at least 10-15 cars there.

As seems to be well documented by the other reviewers the baskets are pretty sketchy. I went in open-minded about the homemade baskets, but some of them are pretty rough. Height from the ground (for the baskets) varies widely throughout the round and the cages are different shapes and sizes and depths.
Flow---the signage is quite confusing in the beginning of the round. We got turned around pretty bad around hole #7 ( can't remember for sure, but it was in the general area at the top of the hill). I will give credit to them for the excellent signage on top of the baskets. They are very easy to spot and accurately marked. It is at the tees where we experienced problems.
Other than those things, my biggest gripe is that while the land is great, I didn't feel like the variety of shots required was very overwheling. There multiple ways to attack each pin which is nice for a time, but after 27 holes of the same thing, I was ready for a bit more in the way of shot-shaping requirements.

Great course and lots of fun. I would recommend it to anyone in the area wanting to play. Probably the best course in the Branson/ Springfield/ Joplin area. As a side note, if you don't like getting exercise, stay away because there is a ton of hilly walking.

Ice Bowl 2011~ Considering there was 20"-24" of snow on the ground, it was an exceptional experience for me. Tee pads had been cleared & salted which made for stable footing. Very scenic, with well placed pin locations. Good mix of shots with rolling hills for elevation change. Benches and trash cans placed every few holes. The local club members were very friendly and I was told that most locals would be glad to throw a round.

The baskets were made by the city parks department and I witnessed a higher percentage of spit-out/fly-through than with Mfg baskets. No course maps.

Locals said, They were working on improving the Baskets and possible future maps. Most definitely will play this course again.

This course has everything you could want. Shade on almost all the holes. Every type of shot is coverd through the 27 holes. You can through back hand or fore hand which ever you decide on most all the holes. This courses grass is very nicely keeped. Not to many trees so you could have a nice line at the basket.It is also layed out well the course seems to flow well. This course play pretty open so not much of a chance of loseing discs. The eleveation changes are really nicely utilised.

Ths first thing i can say about this course is the baskets suck. well at least the chains suck. the first 18 are home make and are not the right shap or size they should be. Not really enough challangeing holes. There is a lot of the same kinda of shot. Lot of small rocks to twist you ankle on and some hidden sink holes that are kind of jarring if you step in to one. The stones are also hard on you discs I have some new dent in my pro plactic I would recomemed throwing champ or star beacuse it is tuffer and not many chances to lose discs.

I did here that new chains are coming. Also that they are going to be fixing the baskets that are not any good. This is a must play course. It is very pretty and has a really nice river that is close to it.

This course has 27 holes. redesigned recently to incorporate the new 9 holes into the regular 18. the old front 9 is now 19-27. pretty good mix of holes on the new layout. the 9 holes that were added recently are very quality holes. i would call them championship level if the baskets were better. short holes and long holes, some technical and some open. something for all levels of player including a very picturesque downhill hole #10, which is over 600ft and still dueceable to the big arms. has quality teepads on all of the holes. the course is for disc golf only, so theres not a lot of pedestrians to look out for. bathrooms nearby except during the winter. benches on most of the holes. practice basket. woodchips near baskets to help avoid roll-aways. plenty of disc golfers around to join you for a round on a nice day.

the signs haven't all been updated yet, but i think that is being done soon. the baskets leave a lot to be desired. they're homemade and probably the worst baskets you've played on, but the course is fun anyway. there are a lot of rocks on most holes, so they can tear up your discs. however, they do a decent job of putting wood chips near the baskets so its not bad if you land close enough or in the grass farther from the baskets.

i've been playing this course for years and its always improving. in a couple years the rating will probably be closer to 4 or 4 1/2. they've been trying to get new baskets and have a fund to raise money for them, so hopefully that will be taken care of before long. if so, i'll play there a lot more often.

Nice challenging with rolling hills and decent technical challenge. This course can push you to use all of the throwing techniques you have, with hyzer, anhyzer, tomahawk, you name it. Nice long holes compliment the short technical holes..have fun on the 600+ hole 10. Another pro is that it is 27 holes so you can add the last nine if you have time, and they are just as good as the initial 18.

The locations of the pins have changed which make the tee pads not always facing them, which means a couple of times playing will get you where you need to be. The home made baskets aren't the best made, and I also have experienced bounce outs, which make for an 'off' day on scoring.

After playing courses in all of the four state region, I would recommend this as the best course with a practice pin, 27 holes, clean restrooms and a clean course that is dedicated to disc golf. If I lived in the area, I would for sure be there for the Four States Open. I strongly suggest if you have time go and throw this course.

27 holes to play here, can be played by anyone from novice to expert. Some holes have pars listed for beginners and experienced players.

Holes have recently been renumbered, so sometimes it's hard to find the next hole. Signs could use updating.

I absolutely loved playing on this course. It's a great place to play if you're ever in Southwest Missouri.

This course is a great course for everyone. Not to hard, but more advanced players will still find a challenge. Moderate elevation changes. Nice variation in hole length. Hole 10 is 671 ft.! Trash cans are scattered around the park and the only litter is by the tee sign where a trash can should be. Benches are at about one in every three holes. Tee pads are textured and generally clear of any debris. Course loops back to the parking lot after 18 and after 27. Restrooms and water fountains in pavilion by the playground.

Baskets are home-made and are prone to bounce outs. Pars on tee signs are ridiculously high, (par 4 on 190ft. hole) but I just play all par 3 and it works out nicely. Most holes favor RHBH. Course info says there's camping nearby, but I never saw it (unless you want to camp on the river). No tight wooded holes. Course can get crowded, but most of the time it plays fast. Lots of poison Ivy in the O.B.

Home-made baskets are VERY annoying. I've broken a putter by hitting the top sign. There are three or four good ace runs. I've heard that the park has some questionable activity at night, and sometimes has "individuality rallies", but I've never experienced this during the day.

**UPDATE**
27 brand new monkey traps in the ground! No more spit-outs!
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