WHAT TO EXPECT: Extremely beautiful scenic mountain course filled with towering Pines and Ponderosa Trees. Fun course with a very medium difficulty level that will suit a lot of skills of players.

TEES/SIGNAGE/BASKETS: Large textured concrete tee pads that are flat and good shape (there appeared to be some long tee pad locations on a few holes that were rubber mats but we did not play them as we played the Masters Worlds set-up that was installed). Large course Kiosk with all relevant rules and information and a detailed course map. Tee signs (the actual permanent course signs, not the coorigated plastic worlds installed ones) were pretty good, a little small, but had all relevant hole information and a detailed hole map. Baskets were in good shape, dark red/maroon in color and caught well. Practice basket beside Hole #1

DESIGN: Wonderful use of elevation where available. Surprisingly flat for course at this elevation, but the designer utilized slopes and gradients well where they could. Fairways were wide, forgiving, and cleaned out. Course uses a solid mix of distances between the varying holes. There are 4 par 4's, all relatively on the easier side of scoring, bunched together but I could see them all being hard 3's if you wanted to play the course Iron Man Scoring style. Multiple shots required at varying distances, RHBH shot shapes, RHFH shot shapes, gentle turnovers, options for big over the top plays, mix of tight wooded holes and more open bombers.

EXTRAS: The course looks and smells terrific. The views are spectacular at all the Flagstaff area courses so this is no surprise. Has a way of feeling secluded and out in nature despite being in a populated area. As such there will be a few nature loving walkers about, but the course was pretty much empty when we played. There was zero trash or debris throughout the course when we played. This could be a result of worlds coming up, but probably more of the extremely dedicated disc golf community in Flagstaff and the maintainence crew. I'm guessing this course is always immaculate.

TEE SIGNS: Were set up for cotter pins to indicate pin location for the baskets, but most were missing and some were indicating the wrong location. Of course we went by the worlds layout, but they were very inconsistent.

BASKETS: Nothing wrong with the baskets themselves, but the color was a little annoying. They were a dark red/crimson color set against a wooded landscape with rich dark red soil. It made some of them very difficult to locate against the backdrop. Minor con for sure, but added some time and confusion for a first timer.

TEE PADS: Minor con, some are a little short due to how they are shoe horned into some locations and combined with them being elevated a few inches above the ground, make long run ups difficult, especially if you are trying to come in from the side to create an angle.

NAVIGATION: Without much next tee signage it was rather difficult to find where you were going despite the course flow being not that bad. There were a couple tricky transitions #12-#13 for instance.

ROCKY LANDSCAPE: There are a lot of rocks on this course that will beat your discs up, provide uncontrollable kicks and skips, and give you some bad beats on occasion. It's part of disc golf in this area, but it can leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Wonderful course, moreso for its raw beauty than anything, but the design is pretty solid for this rough Arizona landscape. I would definitely play it again myself or recommend people visiting Flagstaff to play it themselves as part of their time there. 3.5 rating might be a little low for this course, but it just doesn't earn a 4.0 in my book. It does have the potential but it just isn't there yet.

-Concrete Tee pads are flat and not in disrepair.
-Signage is pretty good, I like the idea of the cotter pins to indicate what pin position the basket is in, but some are missing and/or removed. It's not consistent across the board. I'll keep this as a pro because it was obviously there to begin with, and just needs updated.
-Good use of elevation. There isn't a whole lot of elevation change on the land, but they made good use of what was there.
-Fairways and course was clean.
-Decent mix of distances for the holes.
-Great scenery, I played at sunset and the views were worth the visit.
-Practice basket at the start, always a plus

-Basket Color. The absolute biggest con for me on this course. I played near dusk with the last 4 holes in the dark, but when I started it was light out and I had a very difficult time seeing the basket. It was my first time playing the course so I didn't know where it was to begin with. It's a dark red color, in a pine forest with red soil.
-Tee pads. Some of them are a little short or lack the run-up space needed on the back side when the pads are slightly too short. I didn't throw every shot from the front middle of the tee, so being able to throw off a side or front side is difficult when you have to step up onto a tee first. With the fairways built the way they are it would help with line shaping on alternate routes.
-Needs better signage to indicate where to go. Luckily with lack of rain and erosion I could follow footpaths relatively easily, but I didn't get it right every time.
-Felt like a lot of the same shots through the woods, and due to the nature of, well, nature in Arizona; there was no real rough. A good tree kick just meant you had an upshot from a different angle.
-Rocky fairways can really beat up your disc, bring your premium plastic.
-Layout is a little weird and not very fluid. Fairways bypass each other too close and end with good chances of hitting the next tee pad.

Overall it was a fun course. I'd definitely play it again. It wasn't an overly difficult course, and I feel there's a lot more potential to the course. I figured I'd start with the highest rated in the area and left feeling kind of, meh. Looking back at other 4 disc ratings I've given, I just can't give it a 4.

cement tee pads
short holes
long holes
good amount of trees
good signs
great baskets
up and down shots

can not see basket from tee pad
need a spotter for about 5 of the holes

sometimes there are too many mosquitoes
bring bug spray
great course

My favorite basket course in Flagstaff. Nice mix of long and short holes with many trees and elevation changes. Baskets are all in good shape, maps available.

Very popular, but I have rarely had to wait. A few holes are very rocky around the basket which can tear up your disc.

-sorter more technical shots on the front 9 and longer more open on the back 9. excellent tee pads, and a good amount of elevation changes.

-Lots of trees and there rocks there destroy disks if you hit the right one.

It is an absolutely beautiful course in the ponderosas and to the north the San Francisco Peaks are absolutely beautiful.

Cement teepads
Bright Red painted baskets
Elevation changes, both up and down
A few holes with multiple settings that are fun and longer

Very rocky so your plastic will be punished
Baskets spit a lot of good putts
Kind of easy, good players will not shoot over par (54)
Not a lot of variety, baskets seldom move (only have one setting for almost all)

If you're in town I would definitely play. Just make sure that it is open. I like to play here for a quicker round (1 hour if you dont have to wait).
Personal favorite holes are 3, 7, 9 long, 10 long, and 17 long.

Fun course to play. Has a lot of trees here. The layout is kind of funky but fairly easy to navigate. The overall distance of the course isn't all the challenging as I think I threw one or two drivers on the whole course.

Lots of rocks to tear up your disc's.

Had a lot of fun playing this course while I was on vacation.

amazing scenery of the san francisco peaks. moderate elevation changes on holes 1-7, 8-13 alot more elevation, 14-18 moderate elevation changes. some short technical holes on the front 9 more longer ones on back 9. very clean fairways with no low hanging branches. large concrete tee pads is a big plus. some holes have multiple pin positions.hole ten is worth multiple throws from the long tee. the tee signs are great, giving you the length of the hole and other pin placements. clean dg course for the most part, you dont see to much trash around at all. very enjoyable to play. favorite holes 3,10,12,15(rubber pad).friendly locals.

alot of trees,but it only makes you better. can be packed in summer. more trash cans needed. the front 9 can get confusing for a first timer. longer pin positions. rocky in places.

must play if you are in town. closed for winter. you are bound to have a great time at this one. Hole 15 has a longer tee pad area,look for the rubber pad way behind the cement tee. when you are walking from 12's basket to 13 pad you walk past it. its on the left ( probably one of the best holes from the rubber pad ).....also 17 has another rubber tee pad area. dont miss out on these two long positions. Mcpherson offers alot of fun for am and pro players. dont miss out

This course a had a good mix of long and short holes, lefts and rights. It's more spread out than Thorpe so it feels less crowded on Saturday afternoon.

I guess the only con is that it's not as fun as Thorpe, I know that's not very subjective but I've always found Thorpe to be a more fun course. I think this course is also a bit harder. It's seems a lot easier to mess up a shot and turn an easy par into a double bogey. Where at Thorpe it seems easier to save yourself from a bad first shot.

It's tough to rate courses in flag as there all so good. Well taken care of and well thought out. If this course was by it's self somewhere, than it would get a higher rating. but since it's one of 5 great courses in Flag it's got a higher standard to live up to.

Balanced design - good mix of left, straight, right holes, variety of lengths, though no really long holes. Good signage and excellent tees. Some terrain variation, but not much seeing that it's in the mountains.

Nothing memorable about the course, which to me is a con. I'd like there to be something that stands out as a signature hole or element to the course.

Another well-maintained, good to play course in Flagstaff. Another reason this is a great town for disc golfers. More oak and other deciduous trees than at NAU or Thorpe. Definitely worth the stop.