The Pittsburgh area is blessed with a number of courses and one benefit of having a multitude is that you can also pretty much choose any course that fits your preferences. In the case of North Boundary, someone very clearly went after creating a championship course that could potentially host a tour event. In that endeavor they mostly succeeded. This is one very challenging course that is as well kept and maintained as almost any in the area. To achieve the challenge that would be needed for a tour style course, they went after both distance and elevation, along with tight throws. You do get a bit of everything here.

The 3rd Hole is a monster straight up a hillside with the electric buzzing of wires cheering you on. It's a shot that plays way further than its' mapped distance. I like the 5th Hole a lot, it's a carry over a low valley and back up onto an elevated green with guardian trees. The 9th Hole may be the best on the course with a fun cruising downhill shot to a basket that isn't all that easy to park. The 17th Hole is interesting with a cart path lane carrying down most of the fairway and then a challenging downhill drop to a slopeside basket. The thought put into creating big holes that each need multiple shape shots is all here. By no means is this a novice course as you'll need to be able to throw just about every disc in your bag well and control the shots.

The amenities here are just as good as the course. There is a water fountain at the first tee with water bottle filler. There is a bathroom in the parking lot with running water and it's usually clean. On summer days there is a swimming pool sharing the parking lot and it has a concession stand. There are three sets of concrete tees and three sets of pins and nice tee signs that the course team keep up with well to notate current pin position.

The natural part of this course isn't without its' virtues either. The first hole has beautiful flowers (tulips?) in the spring. When you get down into the back valley stretching from 12-14 it's a nice wet area that is usually full of mushroom and other cool natural features. There are signs on the walking trails helping identify some of the local flora and fauna. On the 11th Hole, I have seen whole groups of deer running through.

Here's where we get to different opinions. End of the day, my review should be my experience and perception of the course to compare to others, right? If so, then I gotta say this course is just no fun to play. I live close enough by that it should be in my regular rotation but it's not because it's brutal. Let's start with the elevation - 60 floors of it. Now I'm not knocking ratings down for hills, but it certainly doesn't help with the enjoyment level here. You walk huge hills, steep hills and many hills. They do a good job of steps in the right places but you just keep slogging up hills. What bothers me most then is that you never get that real payoff drive. For all the chucking up hills you do, you never get the shot we all want. Yes, the 9th is there, but too much else was relegated to weird woodsy jump putt shots downhill.

It is also a very tree-clogged course. Now I fully understand the design philosophy there. You cannot replace trees. Eventually they clear and the course grows in nicely. It took Moraine a good number of years. While I get that, it doesn't making playing it now any more fun. There are too many holes with too many trees. The aforementioned jump putt shots are just chuck and hope. The 6th Hole is a jumbled mess of trees. The 16th is nothing more than continually hoping you don't hit trees. I know that this many would disagree with me, but for me it's too much right now.

I think it's awesome that we built a course that will challenge the best pros but it is a brutal and punishing course for most of us mere mortals.

You can really punish yourself with 27 holes if you drop down after 6 and do the Learn to Play before you move on to 7.

North Boundary is a very-well used park that has a swimming pool, fields, walking trails, playgrounds, etc... There is also a 6-hole beginners course on the property which is excellent and serves it's purpose well. Bathroom right at the parking lot is large and well-maintained.

The course itself has some of the best tee pads of any course. 3- sets of tees per hole with multiple pin placements that rotate frequently. A lot of work has been done on beautifying the tee and green areas and you'll see a lot of love being given to this course throughout your round.

The hills are no joke, and can definitely wear you out if you aren't prepared for the round. Not the most cart-friendly of courses so I would recommend a bag on this course. There are a few holes throughout the course that lack a definitive fairway. I've seen bad shots get through more than good shots more than a few times on a few of the holes because of this. I do enjoy the fun of the "create your own adventure" feel that these holes bring, but I think they could be better with a more defined fairway.

North Boundary is a truly challenging course. The gold tees are true gold-level tees that will test the best players in the world. The middle tees are a lot of fun and I imagine will be the most-played on the course over the years by the locals. Still extremely challenging. Going a round without a bogey is something to be proud of. Overall it's a great course that is by far the most-challenging and physically demanding course in the area. It will take you 3 hours to play, but you loop back to the parking lot after 9 which gives you a chance to take a break if needed. There is a lot of climbing, a lot of trees, a lot of blind shots and greens. Some beautiful pin placements, some treacherous, some that are quite unique. I feel like it easily could have been the best course in the area with the land that was available, but a few holes keep it from taking that title for me. Hole 1 is absolutely beautiful as are quite a few throughout the course. Hole 10 is another amazing hole in my eyes. 11 might make you feel like you just played 9-holes in one, so be sure to check out the view about 10 feet above the elevated pin before you make the climb up Mt NoBo. You're going to throw a lot of different shots out here and it may or may not be a good time for you? It's been great and horrible for me, yet I'm enjoying it more and more each time I play as they have cleaned it up more and more.

NoBo focuses on wooded conditions, dynamic elevation, and multistage holes. The land the course sits on is beautiful and prime for disc golf, providing some interesting interplay between open and wooded shots on some holes. Elevation changes constantly throw wrenches into the mix, especially in the case of the few par 3s like 9, a ~400' downhill shot through some patches of trees that is a true par 3. The course is at its best in the middle stretch, holes 8 - 14 or so, when there's the most variation in hole style and length from one to the next.

As woody as the conditions are, grooming is great and goes a long way to encouraging you to lean towards the aggressive end of the spectrum. The chance to lose discs is definitely mitigated.

Signage, tees, and amenities are great. Small touches like the indicators of pin position are very welcome.

It feels to me as though each hole was rendered with little regard as to what precedes or follows it. As such there is little rhythm or sense of consciously varying the pace. Sure, there's variation, and some of it is significant, but the emphasis on par 4s and 5s for the apparent sake of it became monotonous for me: the final five holes for example all exceed 450' from the middle set of tees. I'm a lover of long and technical courses, but I found this course's length to exceed its offering and start to drag. I rarely if ever feel this way and never to the degree I did here. The fixation on "championship level disc golf" seems to have resulted in an overwrought design that failed to maintain my interest. What's left is challenging, but more pedantically than excitingly so.

In part this is because I think there's a lack of polish in the design that undermines the course's ability to deliver on its high-caliber promise. Landing zones are often rendered irrespective of many reasonable flight paths that would bring your disc there: even killer drives can lead to bad lies that are not simply unlucky. Elsewhere the promise of multiple lanes is often undermined by the lines and gaps in play, often leading to a false appearance of choice in which there is a single clearly best decision that may or may not be flexible depending on your game. I spent more time trying to sight the pin than I did making critical decisions, off the tee or otherwise, as the shots were often straightforward, which absolutely feels out of place on a course with such richly varied terrain and evolving lanes. The terrain is great and really makes this course worth playing, but I find the design to be carried by it rather than equalling it.

While I don't think this course is a monster or anything, it's at the harder end of the spectrum for sure and even the short tees don't fully alleviate this. So consider this if you're trying to determine whether you fit its target audience.

To be perfectly honest, I flat-out disliked this course, which really surprised me because it checks all of my boxes. While writing this review helped me put my finger on some of the reasons why, I more broadly just did not feel as though its length held my interest, and the round dragged. In an area overflowing with noteworthy disc golf destinations, I can't think of anything that would lead me to recommend No Boundaries over not just Moraine or Deer Lakes but also Knob Hill, Two Mile, and Linbrook for starters. Slippery Rock even offers a fundamentally different feel than most of the courses in the area, making it the right choice for a certain kind of player. So it's hard to know where NoBo fits in, for locals and visitors alike. The course is certainly worth playing, but if you're visiting the area I'd emphatically recommend the other courses I mentioned over it, as they are either stalwarts or sleepers.

Every attention to detail was thought out when designing this course. Designing a course this size is an amazing feat in itself. It's easier to list the pros instead of trying to babble on.

Pros
~ Cement tees on all three sets of tee pads throughout all 18.
~ Amazing tee signs with pindicators (best signs I've ever seen)
~ Very visible and abundant next tee signs to hep with navigation.
~ Innova Discatcher 28 baskets.
~ Amazing real stone raised baskets on several holes.
~ Valve boxes to cover all pin anchors.
~ Stainless steel benches throughout

First and foremost this course is as much of a hike as it is a round of golf. I was literally exhausted after playing all 18. Make sure you know what you are getting into before playing. The elevation changes on almost every hole make for a strenuous round. The course is still a little rough around the edges but seasoning in takes time. Other than the couple mentioned above (which are more of warnings not really cons) I really can't think of any.

I will not list hole for hole the details and layout of them all. Just know that every hole however listed is true to its par. No filler holes on this course. I think it's hard to explain in words the sheer magnitude of a course this big. This course is on a level I don't believe any of us are used to. It's something you have to experience yourself. I am at a loss for words to explain it any better than I did. I know in time after this course seasons in it is going to be world class with more things planned in the future to make it even more epic and unforgettable. This will test the best of the best.

So, the rumors were true. North Boundary is one of the most physically demanding courses in PA, and maybe the entire northeast. This wild journey will take you up and down steep hills, through thick woods and open fields. This place is NOT for the lighthearted, as it's nearly 10,000 feet on treacherous terrain!

+ This is a championship level course, and it is advertised as such so there shouldn't be any surprises. It'll test every element of your game from start to finish.

+ Trecherous climbs are usually rewarded with fun downhill shots soonafter. #9 was an awesome, air it out hole after a grueling 8 holes.

+ Three sets of concrete tees that provide unique lines and angles. Short tees are probably intermediate difficulty, middle would be advanced, and long would be championship level.

+ Brand new DISCatcher baskets on every hole, with 3 pin positions. Front 9 loops right back to the parking lot (Restrooms located there as well).

- The course is open to the public, but still under construction. No tee signs are up yet, and there's definitely some rough areas as far as footing is concerned. These issues will obviously be resolved as the course matures.

- A few too many blind approach shots for my taste, but it's really a preference thing. Some will love it, some will hate it. I'm somewhere in the middle.

- I'm warning you ahead of time, this course is exhausting. It's probably only playable for intermediate to advanced level players and higher.

I'm giving my rating based on the assumption that signs will be installed soon and fairways will get cleaned up. In its current state, it's probably around a 3.5. Be prepared to have a map pulled up and a few buddies at the moment but it'll become much easier to navigate as it matures.

North Boundary is a great course that will be suited perfectly for championship-level play soon. While I don't think it will ever be on the level of Moraine and Deer Lakes (Western PA's best), it's going to be a unique staple in the local scene for a very long time.

Very challenging, tests almost all shots in your arsenal. World championship level. If you like the hiking aspect of disc golf, this course is for you!

So I've been playing this course a bit more lately and want to add a few more pros.

Par is a great score. The gold tees are worth the challenge.

There are a ton of blind shots. Almost every par 4 and 5 you will not be able to see the basket until you're close to the pin. Although it's not hard to navigate, locating the pins on each hole will require you to play with a guide until you become familiar with the layout. It takes very long to play this course, our group of 4 with a guide took us 4.5 hours. A lot of walking up and down steep hills. More uphill shots than downhill shots.
One thing I will never get over about this course is you're waiting for that awesome big downhill shot the entire course and when you step on you 18 you think it's about to finally pay off but you're forced to throw a 150 foot layup.
It's the ultimate blue balls. The property begs for this massive downhill fun shot and it just never materialized

My first attempt at playing this course was a bit frustrating. Although we had a guide, almost every shot you throw will be blind. It will take many rounds to figure out the landing areas for each shot on any given hole. If you're looking a workout and for a long day of disc golfing on one course. Look no further.

The course is still technically under construction but even when finished I don't see any of the many blind shots going away. It's extremely challenging. I would not recommend this course for a casual round or for any novices to the sport of disc golf.
Par is a great score!
Gold tees are extremely challenging but worth it. Now that I've become a bit more familiar I'm addicted to the challenge here.
Sometimes bad shots are rewarded and good shots aren't.
A key takeaway I've learned over my last few rounds here are only take what the course gives you!

Perhaps it is too early to review this course, but people need to know about it...I am a huge fan of J. Gary...Deer Lakes and Moraine are my favorite courses (and I live in Buffalo, NY)...had a chance to play with him a few days ago on his newest epic design...

Tee Pads - Great, long, couldn't be better...three sets of them, recently poured on every tee...

Design - Incredible...tons of elevation, more than Deer Lakes or Moraine, really a workout...over 10,000 feet from the back tees...holes 3 and 7 are really steeply uphill...nice mix of par 3,4, and 5 holes...hole 4 reminds me of hole 5 at Deer Lakes..steeply downhill through a maze of trees..

Memorable Holes - Many...let's start with 1, 6, 8, 15 and 16...but many more...there are no filler holes...

Lines - Absolutely perfect and challenging...thoughts put into both lefty and righty backhands...

Scenery - This course is beautiful and mainly wooded...

Epic - This course is a beast and from the first tee you can see that this is a championship level design and course...

It is still quite rough around the edges and there are no tee signs which can make it a very difficult test if you are trying to do a blind round...

I am giving this course a provisional 4 rating but when fully completed and broken in, this will be a 4.5 or 5 star course on par with Deer Lakes and Moraine...

Update (4/13/19) - Just played for the second time today and survived...this course is that hot, psycho chick that you ask out and then wonder a few weeks later how you ever let that insanity in your life... thisr course smacks you in the face and punches you in the gut on the first three holes and then asks if you'd like fifteen more of the same...I wish that I had my hiking GPS with me to track, but the course felt like I walked from Cranberry, PA to Morgantown, WV with the elevation gain and loss of a section hike on the Appalachain trail...the course is half brilliant and half bat shit crazy, hard to imagine any course with a more extreme elevation profile...last track of how many throws I took, but there were only 18 of them that were on anything resembling flat ground (J. Gary did an amazing job with the concrete tees)...

Some amazing progress on the course but it still has a ways to go...some real highlight holes...6, 8, and my personal favorite 16...