WHAT TO EXPECT: This college campus course set at 7'000 feet of elevation amongst rolling hills, picturesque snow peaks mountains in the distance, surrounded by tall Ponderosa trees is a pleasant surprise. You will get to enjoy a multiple shot shape, medium level difficulty course with several par 4's and a Par 5. The course is practically brush and rock free (the rocks have been moved and line the sides of the walkways and fairways in places giving shape to the holes and helping with navigation.) As with most golf at this elevation, no humidity, no bugs, just the occasional chipmonk or salamander.

AMENITIES: Large parking area (Parking permit required on weekdays). Campus signage says no parking pass required on weekends. Rock bordered walking paths. Stunning mountain views. There is a water spigot near Hole #1 to fill up your water bottles. Practice basket near Hole #1. Catch nets along the sides of the tee pads that are close to the previous hole to provide some safety. Benches and trash cans on most holes. There are a few bookstores nearby that had disc golf displays in the window.

TEES/SIGNAGE/BASKETS: Nice concrete tee pads but are sized a little narrow/awkward and feel cramped in some locations. Tee signs are nice and show the Hole layout, OB, Par, distance, and the multiple pin locations on some holes that have them (no indicator which position the pin is in though). Baskets were Innova Discatchers (maybe not always the case, because this course was set up for use for Masters Worlds and had Discatchers in use on the day I played).

DESIGN: Very surprising how well the course is designed and plays for the property available. Trees are used extensively, mostly Ponderosa Pines that gobble and knock down discs viciously. Each hole that has a chance to take advantage of elevation change does so well. Tree stumps are left in various locations to provide additional challenges, tees are tucked into wooded areas provide more difficulty, and pin locations/greens are left crowded with trees to make putting more of an adventure. Lots of blind pin locations off the tee ( so you may need to walk ahead and check out the lines if it's your first time). Mostly a mix of shorter technical par 3's and some more open bomber par 4's (with some short technical ones sprinkled in) and a nice downhill par 5.

PARKING: You need a parking permit during the week (we didn't as there was a section roped off for worlds competitors) but I've heard of people getting parking tickets for parking without one. And I can see trying to park here during the school year being problematic.

ELEVATION: Not a con that will knock off any rating points, but understand if coming from a lower elevation that the thin air will make your discs much more overstable. Your putters will also drop and you'll miss a bunch of putts low until you get used to the change in disc flight.

DIFFICULTY: This course rides a line between family friendly and intermediate skill level. Probably a little on the weak side for very skilled players and probably a little demanding (but still playable) for the casual golfer. Situated where it is on the difficulty level (verses what other courses there are in town) it doesn't stand out as a well traveled course with a large audience.

SAFETY: Safe course for the most part but Holes #10 and #11 play really close to a housing complex. Errant throws, or tons of students moving about could cause an issue. Hole #16 plays along the track and field area where the hammer throw is done and I can see thrown objects from both activities being an issue.

NAVIGATION: For the better part of the course navigation is easy and intuitive. The rock paths really help with this. But you have to cross a soccer field to get from Hole #9 to Hole #10 that without knowing you must make that trek, you can easily get lost. Finding Hole #7 you have to backtrack Hole #6 and head back toward Hole #5's basket which is kind of strange. And #9's tee pad is beyond Hole #13's tee pad so you have to pay attention to the tee signs and not play the wrong hole.

NOISE POLUTION: The interstate is right next to the course and you will be greeted constantly by the hum of cars flying by which disrupts the serenity of this course.

EROSION/LANDSCAPE: This course, especially the hilly parts, are starting to see some bad erosion. Leading to poor footing and some safety concerns. Though a lot of the rocks have been removed from the course, there is still plenty of pumice style rocks throughout to chew up your discs, even if you are careful. This course is a no go for base plastic.

NAU is a very well designed middle of the road course, made fantastic by its views and environment. One of the better courses in Flagstaff, but not necessarily a destination course on its own. Coupled with a few of the other area courses then it is for sure. The cons hold this course down from being a 4.0 for me, but it is very close. It is extremely well done and beautiful, but has room to grow and improve. If you are in the Flagstaff area, this is definitely a course I would work into my schedule.

I loved the disc golf at Northern Arizona University. It is a nice landscape, and the course has numerous looks of all shapes and sizes. The lines through the pines are switching directions, changing distances, using the slopes to take you up and down and all around the area and leave some tricky pin positions.

There are full size concrete tees, and signs for each hole, although one or two may have been displaced. The baskets are all intact and holding up their end of the bargain. There are bathrooms next to the turf field to the left of hole 9, but I'm not sure they are always unlocked.

The only hole that was flat and open all the way was 16, which has some OB to the left. Everything else uses the trees and subtle contours of the ground to twist interesting routes from tee to basket.

The first hole is slightly uphill, and then down the backside, and requires a drive around many trees with distance and accuracy if you want to be remotely close to the basket. It's a pretty tough starter. 4 is a fun one that's not too long, but the pin is protected by scattered trees that can easily turn into plinko. 5 and 6 both have a wider alley, with drop offs behind the baskets. 5 turns to the left, 6 turns to the right. 7 is a wild uphill shot that turns right and is short, but completely blind and fully wooded. 9 is open most of the way, but there is a line of trees that blocks the direct line to the basket and the right side. You have to go left side and the pin is a little way up the base of a hill. I killed a RHBH anny and hit my first birdie of the day on this hole.

10 is a cool hole. There is a bit of a low area between the tee and the pin, and several trees to get past as you exit one and approach the other. 11 is a simple straight shot with a mid range, but you have to hit the gap that is flanked by stands of pines on either side. This one also has a bit of downhill slope off the tee, and the pin is up the base of the next slope. 12 is long and a little bit downhill, and has it's share of trees too. There is a chance to get there, but you need to nail the drive. I hit it, but missed my birdie putt. 14 has mostly open air to the right side, and the pin sits across a dry ravine. If you throw a 300' drive, you can near the ravine and be looking at an uphill putt like I was. Made that one with my best putt of the day. 15 is the longest hill on the course. It is open down the middle, but if you shank the drive it can really complicate that second shot. A nice long throw on the second shot can get you pin high with a chance for a feel good 3.

There is a massive parking lot next to the course, but signs say you need a parking permit from the school to park there. It had about 15 cars in it and hundreds of open spaces, so I decided to park there and take my chances. Sure enough, there was a ticket under the windshield wiper of my rental car when I was finished. The first offense will only get you a warning, so if you're passing through for a single round you can park there with no consequence or risk of being towed. I'm not sure where you would park if you're a local without a parking permit from the school.

Thin air isn't really a con, but I am not used to it. My discs did not do what I'm used to seeing from them in Kansas. It took me about 24 holes to catch on and make adjustments.

This was a cool course that is not championship level disc golf, but it is fun with a lot of different looks. The one round I played started poorly, with bogeys on four of the first six holes. I finished strong, with 5 birdies on the last 10 holes. Overall I shot a 55, which shows as even par by the hole info on DGCR. I don't think that info is entirely accurate, but par of 55 does feel right.

I visited Flagstaff on Memorial Day weekend, and NAU was the second course I played there. I wanted to hit the Snowbowl, but the mountains were freshly covered with snow so I skipped that. Luckily the snow and rain didn't have too much negative effect on the courses in town. I played McPherson the night before and enjoyed it. NAU has a similar feel to McPherson, but everything is a little more interesting. Lines are tighter, elevation is more pronounced, pin locations have more risk/reward. Glad I chose to get a round in here before leaving town.

Perfect weather, nobody out, nice tee pads, nice baskets, lots of parking

Missing some tee pad marker maps, more trash cans,

Super fun course with some tricky shots, all in all a well rounded course. Look up the map on here you will need it in a few spots playing your first time.

cement tee pads
long holes
short holes
good amount of trees
easy to find basket and tee pad
good baskets
good up and down holes

a few holes it was hard to find your discs
a lot of bushes in the path

really well thought out course

such a fun course! very challenging amount of trees. most of the holes are not super long, which my kids really enjoyed.
fairly intuitive layout.
some serious elevation changes.

probably a tad easy for a top level disc golfer.
some occasional brambles that you will want to stay out of.

is on a college campus, so be aware of college type activity's. for instance we were there on move in day, so there was an inordinate amount of traffic on campus....

Very good concrete tee pads, tee signs on each hole, good baskets and some benches. This on campus course is set in a largely unused area of the campus, next to rec facilities, track facilities and an apartment complex. Should be very easy to get to for students.

Nice variety of holes, left, right, up, down and some that went up and down. Just right distance wise, a few ace runs (4,10, 11) and a few longer holes (9 and 15).

A lot of nice Ponderosa Pines on the course, especially in the first 4 holes. They only grow at elevation (Flagstaff is at 7300') so I haven't seen these before. I found out early that the Ponderosa's (that drop their lower branches to defend against fires) have pretty thick and sticky needles, if I threw into them, the disc didn't go far.

Some really memorable holes - #7 short, 240', blind tee shot up and over large boulders. The tee is next to sand volleyball courts, unfortunately no co-eds playing when I was there. #9 - long, finishes uphill and to the right. #11 - ace run, basket is 10' from a sound barrier for I-40, yes, the same I40 that starts in Wilmington, NC and goes all the way to Cali. #14 - dogleg left that finishes with the basket just across a ditch that dips six feet. #15 - 535' Par 3 (what ?) that starts with a five foot rise you have to clear then clear and downhill to the basket. Great view of the San Francisco Peaks from the green, including 12,000 foot peak.

No facilities at the start, but a practice basket was there. (There is a building beside #9, that appeared to get a lot of use.)

#10 and #11 did get close to an apartment complex. If there are a lot of kids running around it could get iffy, but probably just student housing.

#18 was kind of a bland finishing hole. 16 and 17 were both fun, 16 is along the hammer throw area for track, with signs reading "Beware of Thrown Objects" and 17 basket is guarded by a large hardwood tree. I was expecting more for the last hole.

Really enjoyed playing this course before our tour of the Grand Canyon. Had planned to play McPherson or Thorpe, but this course was one block from our hotel, couldn't pass it up. This now makes 7 college campus courses I have played, ranked right up there with UNC (tough as that is to say). Right on campus, nice variety, good equipment, these kids are spoiled!
Flagstaff looks like a cool college town, my wife thought this could be nice to retire to and I was fine with that, 4 good 18 hole courses in the area plus a couple of niners. Then she found out they get 100 inches of snow each year, so that idea is out.
Maybe if we come back to visit Sedona or the Grand Canyon again, I'll get to the other courses in town, and a revisit here.

Great course on a college campus. Challenging and short. I played 18 in just over an hour. It rained the night before and the course still played well with little mud due to pine needle ground cover.

Great parking. - Played on the weekend and did not have to pay. Not sure if payment is required during the week or school year.

Need to have sign directing folks to the back nine across the soccer field. Overall the signage is very well placed.

This is a sneaky-difficult course that is challenging for both fore and backhanders. Good mix of par 3's and 4's. Heavily treed. Baskets and concrete tee boxes always in great condition.

At one point, about midway - forget which hole) you have to cross a soccer field which can be confusing if you don't have a map or have never played before.

The layout: good selection of par 3s and par 4s. There's even a nice par 5 (#15) down a hill.

The upkeep: NAU keeps their course very nice - all tee pads are in tact, there is great signage, and the fairways are clear of trash.

The foliage: If it rains consistently, mint leaves will grow in the area near baskets #2 and #4. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

The parking: probably the easiest place to park and play disc golf ever. This is often overlooked for most courses, but NAU makes it great. There are plenty of parking spaces (especially for a university), and the tee pad for #1 is just a short walk from the parking lot.

The challenge: the course is generally easier than most. Additionally, the first few baskets on the back nine are not the most creative. But considering this course is on university property (and universities typically put buildings on all of the land they own), the designers did a great job of making the most out of what they have. Kudos.

If I'm playing disc golf in Flagstaff (and the Snowbowl course is not an option), NAU is my second choice. Which is good! There are some quality courses in Flagstaff, and NAU is one of them.

-Concrete tee-pads
-Baskets are in good shape and catch well
-Nice tee-signs that show the layout of the hole, the pin position, the distance and the recreational par.
-Multiple pin positions on some holes
-Lots of trees come into play on many of the holes and they will definitely knock down inaccurate shots.
-This course features a lot of nice elevation changes.
-The course is easy to navigate with the exception of three spots (see the cons below).
-Practice basket
-Lots of fun well-designed holes that take advantage of the available elevation changes and trees.
-There are nets near the few tee-pads that tee close to the last hole, which is a nice touch to help prevent safety issues on some holes.

-The course is hard to navigate in three areas. (To find hole 7 you have to go down the hill near hole 6 and then walk back toward hole 5's basket to find the tee-pad for 7. To find the tee-pad for hole 8 you have to walk across the corner of the football field that is closest to hole 7's basket. Finally to get to hole 9 you have to walk past the tee- pad for hole 13 to the tee-pad located in the open area.) Other than these three holes, the course was easy to navigate.
-The course in general plays pretty short (especially holes 7-14). Hole 15 is over 500 feet and hole 16 is about 370 feet, but other than that most of the holes are 300 feet or under.
-Hole 16 plays along a practice baseball field that could lead to safety issues if you throw your disc over the roped off area.
-The concrete tee-pads seemed slightly two short. This was especially noticeable on Hole 12, where the tee-pad is right against a retaining wall, so you have no extra room for your run-up.
-The interstate is right next to this course and constantly hearing cars fly by takes away a little bit of the pleasantness of this course.
-Some of the hills that this course play on are starting to get badly eroded, which could lead to bad footing and injury. (The hill that hole 7 throws up is the worst offender of this).
-The rocks on this course will eat-up and destroy baseline plastic.

Another great course in the Flagstaff area that is a lot of fun to play. It has a few navigation issues and doesn't feature a lot of distance but it is still a great stop if you are in Flagstaff.

- Practice basket
- Water Spigot
- Tree trunk obstacles
- Branch obstacles clear below 15'
- Obstacles near tees
- Obstacles near baskets
- Spectacular Ponderosa pines
- Stunning mountain views
- Blind baskets
- Clever use of elevation
- Couple grip and rip holes
- Great on-line map for smart phone navigation
- Excellent signage
- Decent, but awkwardly sized, concrete tee pads
- Much rock clearing done
- Rock bordered paths made
- No parking pass required on weekends according to campus signage.
- Couple of stores that have a display of discs nearby.

- No bathrooms
- No turnover
- No glide
- Gusts of high wind
- Current pin locations not stickered/noted on permanent signage
- Parking requires pass on weekdays during the peak times
- Couple tricky navigation spots for those first timers not prone to paying attention to the previous tee sign (like myself).

Reviews made it seem like Thorpe was the one to try if you were only in town long enough to try one, so I did. Although a beautiful course, Thorpe was quick to reveal that the hole design lacked creativity, variety or challenge. I noticed the next morning I happened to be staying in walking distance from NAU so I got over there for 8:00 on a Sunday, well before any students were stirring, to give it a try.

The setting: Rolling hills, in view of the snow peaked mountains, laden with tall Ponderosa Pines, occasionally playing tangent to NAU sport and parking facilities. The entire course was brush free and a tremendous amount of effort had been put into clearing loose rock from the playing surface, repurposing it as borders forming walkways to guide to the next hole. No water, no moisture to speak of and no bugs - The tall pines provide intermittent sun coverage.

The Course design was so well done and I was so intrigued after playing it the first time that I skipped some things I had planned before leaving town just to go back and give it a second whirl. What makes this course special is that almost every hole has a reward for a well placed shot. Most holes can be deuced, but none of them easily so you might be ten down one day and even the next - That is what makes a course great. This course uses elevation, near and far obstacles and distance exquisitely to accomplish this. That said, it is a surprisingly open course, easy to pick your lines amongst the obstacles, but you have to execute them precisely over 250'-350' of distance. Add in persistent blasts of wind and some blind targets and you really can see yourself falling in love with the pursuit of a perfect round here.

Here's the rub though for you out of towner's like myself. I normally play at sea level, 7000 feet below this course. I thought there was something wrong with me - I was struggling to drive 300 feet and couldn't get the Boss I brought to click at all. I finally realized after my putts kept dropping like bricks in front of the basket that this thin air really does make a difference. There simply isn't any glide and any disc you bring becomes overstable. At times it was like I was throwing a discus and not a disc. You get used to it, but wow, I never thought I would notice the difference, but it hit me like a sack of door knobs.

Not ready to proclaim this a destination course, but I would recommend making time to try this one of you are in town. Much credit to the course designers for making great use of the hand they were dealt.

Interesting course. A wee bit tighter than the nearby McPherson course but not very tight. Have played many courses much tighter than this one. Good layout requiring different throws. Challenging but not overly tough.

Received a parking ticket for parking in the parking lot without a pass. Saw no signs that said a pass was needed. Luckily it was only a warning, so no fine for first time violator. Finding hole #7 and hole #8 was very tough. The map I had was incorrect on several holes.

-great variety
-concrete pads
-signs with maps
-great location for students like me who live on campus at NAU

-rocks, rocks, and more rocks
-parking can be an issue, lot is marked permit only
-can be busy at times

for 5.00 at the parking kiosk you can get a day parking pass or I've heard that you can go to the new Health and Learning Center at NAU to get some kind of disc golf pass, I have not tried that one yet though because i usually walk or ride my bike to the course.

Overall great course!

I work across the street from Hole 3, so it's a nice lunchtime diversion to hop over there and play a round. A variety of holes requiring a variety of shots. Some terrain change, but not too much. Multiple pin placments.

Pins are not switched around very often. Nice to have them moved ocassionally to add variety to the course. Could us some longer holes, but space is limited so they do the best with what they've got.

This is version 3.0 of an NAU course. They keep moving and re-configuring it to accomodate other uses. If you took the top 18 holes from all versions, this could have been a premier course.

Cement pads and signs with basket info and arrow to the next basket. Some challenging lines (some with multiple choice) in a forest of pine trees and bushes. There is elevation that is used, up and down, a couple of long throws down and threading through lots of trees. The longest hole has a wide open fairway.

Lot's of ROCKS, your discs will be beat up even if you play well. Although the course is marked, there are areas with lack of "flow" to the next basket, if you are not paying attention to the signs, you will be adding time to your game by searching for the next tee. There is lot's of riff raff that looks like it is destined to be pulled off the course. Easy to lose discs into, piles of downed cut limbs and such. Did I mention lots of rocks?

Very busy on the weekends during school. Lots of new people learning to play. I dig the lines that are designed into the placement, challenging yet a couple of choices will do. A must play if you are in the area. Walking the course, be careful, lots of rocks.

Finally the new course is in the ground after the construciton is done and the temp course is out. Large cement teepads with great size and excellent shape. Teesigns on all the holes that give all the info you need, including the next tee area. Navigation is very easy with most baskets close to where the next teepad is. Also there are wood chip paths that lead to the next tee. Baskets in great shape. Definately a great variety of shots here, left/right, short/long. Mainly shorter holes, with lots of trees to get in the way. You have to shape your shots more here then the other courses in town. Technical! Elevation changes throughout, especially on hole 7 where you basically throw on top of a steep hill. A couple of longer holes where you can let it rip. Wonderful pine trees throughout the course with awesome views of the mountain.

Nothing too major with the cons here. A couple of holes on the back nine felt repetitive. Sme slight navigation issues on the back nine as well, but easily figured out. Some large trash items on the course, i.e. shopping cart, pallets, cables, old chairs. There are a few trashcans throughout the course as well. Parking could be an issue. The one place I know of to park is in a permit only lot, it wasn't busy and parked there without problem. The first hole is not noticable. I would like to see a sign or something that would easily identify it as the beginning or start.

It is a great course. The actual play is great with the variety and technical aspects of the shots. However it is located on a college campus, with some holes less then 100 feet from the interstate which takes away from the enjoyment. Put this course in a more isolated area away and I probably would give this a 4/5 disc rating. This could make for a great day of disc golfing if you add Thorpe and MacPherson park which are all within a few miles.

Newest course in Town.
Great mix of shots.
Benches

Gets a little crowded with tee pads being very close to baskets.

Parking is a pain. Unless you have a student pass you can only park after 5:30pm weekdays and all weekend.

I've lived in Flagstaff through 4 courses at NAU and I think this one is the best of them all. In fact I think this is now the best course in Flag. It has more variety of shots then any course in town. Other than the mountain course at snowbowl it has more elevation change than all the other courses as well. They have also installed benches at a few holes which is always nice. So now if I had to recommend a single course to someone coming to Flagstaff it would have to be the NAU course. Oh and if you don't have a parking passI think Walmart would be the closest place that you could park and walk back in.

what a great new addition to flagstaff. Nau dgc will test your accuracy, and if you hit those lines you will be rewarded and if not you will be getting a par. There is a great variety of holes here...hyzers,anhyzers,flip hyzers,a few thumbers if you wanted, barrel shots, and straight shots. also, a few holes have steep drop off's behind the baskets.
Nau has large cement teepads and mach 2 baskets. 3to 6 holes have muliple pin positions. ( i am sure eventually alot more holes will have mulitiple pin positions )
Each hole has tee signs giving you the placement of the hole and the direction to the next hole.
It plays fare for righties and lefties, it provides enough variety for both hands. Alot of ace runs.
Great mountain views throughout the course. trashcans are also a plus.
I would say its mostly a tight wooded course with a few open holes.
the land is used well, there are blind holes and multiple OB's.
Bathrooms and water avaiable by hole #9.
Alot of nice locals who are willing to let you play threw or join.
Nau offers the perfect balance of holes and uses the land perfectly. favorite holes: 3,5,15.

low branches
since nau dgc sits on a college campus its croweded alot.
More trashcans needed ( always full )
Some holes come very close to overlaping. ( Heads up on 4 and 17 ).
shorter then the other courses in flagstaff. ( but it makes it up by the tight fairways )
Mach 2's tend to spit disc out.
Besides that its a great balanced course that is alot of fun to play

Nau is a great new addition to the disc golf community in flagstaff,az.
come on out and breath in the 7,000ft air and enjoy our great dg courses.
thorpe and mcpherson DGC within 3 miles from nau.

Cement teepads
Mulched pathways
Metal Baskets
Great use of elevation creating a variety of uphill and downhill shots
Blind holes and realistic OB
Tight fairways that can punish you if dont hit the gap
Amazing views of the peaks
Trashcans
Hole 3- Great hole with a right to left spike crush or a tight 12ft wide tunnel on the left that cuts off about 75ft of distance to a blind hole with a drop off behind the basket.
Hole 5- Nice tunnel shot that opens to a meadow with an uphill basket placement. (370ft)
Hole 15- 540ft hole downhill blind hole with a clever basket placement on the left edge of a dense pine forest.
Hole 16- 370ft hole that begins in the woods and opens up with OB in play all along the left side.

Water and bathrooms on hole 9

Many short holes
Just installed so it needs some clearing (this wont be a con for long, installed today 10-9)
More benches
Some fairway overlap due to the remodeled design, holes 6 and 7 and holes 16 and 17, can be dangerous on crowded days
Mach 2 baskets tend to spit putts more than any other basket I have used

This is a really fun and challenging course that favors placement and accuracy over power. The fairways are tight and long with baskets in tough placements. The course does not have the WOW factor but is still great nonetheless. Practice basket is coming soon. The course is brand new so check it out. Pictures coming soon.

I have played a lot of courses and am a tough reviewer. In a few months this course will be a 3.5 or better with the OB additions, alternative teepads and multiple settings that will be installed. This course will only be better after time and natural clearing from other discs. A must play if you are in Flagstaff

Course will be open year long