Pros:
Paw Paw High School is located west of Kalamazoo, MI. One edge of the school grounds plays host to nine holes of disc golf.
This course has a decent mix of holes. The first two holes are wide open throws, with #2's basket hiding behind a grass berm (there's a flag on the top of the basket but it's comically small - no chance of seeing it from the tee). The course then moves into the woods for holes 3-5, with all of these holes having 200'ish tight and straight fairways. Then it's back into the open for holes 6-9. The last three holes have some mild elevation changes as well. #7 plays across a valley and stretches the distance out to 430'. The finishing hole was my favorite. It's a wide open 225' throw downhill, but with a large tree right behind the basket to complicate things if you overthrow your tee shot or approach.
The baskets are Chainstars. They are in fine shape, and I appreciated that they were numbered.
Cons:
Hole 8 was also fun, but unsafe. You're throwing 250' downhill at a basket in a grassy square that is maybe 20' across, and surrounded by cement on all four sides. The cement behind the basket is the lot where you parked. You should assume that this course is closed during school hours, and when you do visit keep in mind that this basket is part of the course and not a practice basket! Park well away from it.
The tee pads are natural. The tee signs are only small wooden posts with mailbox numbers nailed to them. Even these were missing for holes 1, 3, and 6 as of my visit. There aren't any navigational aids either, so you'll need UDisc or the map uploaded here to navigate the course and figure out where to tee off from when the posts are missing.
The course was overgrown when I visited. The weeds weren't too thick and weren't too thorny, but I could tell that course maintenance has been zero for some time. I have played worse courses in this regard, but you'll definitely want to keep an eye on your throws.
About half of the holes are wide open with no obstacles in play. And on the flip side of that, holes 4 and 5 honestly might be too tight. I'd also like to see left and right turning fairways in the wooded area - all three of these holes were basically straight. Other than hole 7, all of the holes are more or less within the 200'-300' range so there isn't much variety in terms of distance. That kind of distance is decent for recreational players, but maybe a little long for your average high schooler.
No kiosk, practice basket, porta potty, trash cans, or benches.
The I-94 freeway marks the back of the school property. It's nowhere close to being in play, but you'll hear the road noise throughout your time here.
Other Thoughts:
This was the first of five Kalamazoo area school 9ers that I bagged in a single afternoon. I was originally thinking of giving this one a 1.0 rating, but after experiencing some of the other courses I'm bumping this one up to a 1.5.
In what I can only assume is a staggering coincidence, I ran into a guy in the parking lot after the last hole who claimed to be the father of the person who originally spearheaded the project of putting a course here. He said that with the way the sport has grown regionally and in general over the past few years, they were considering upgrading the course here. I would welcome that news, as there is definitely potential for a decent/average course here. I'm not sure where the property line falls, but there seemed to be room to add a couple more holes in the wooded area - or at least make the existing ones more interesting. As is, I'm feeling generous giving this one the 1.5. It's not worth playing in its current state, unless you're a bagger planning to enroll in Kalamazoo Area School 9 Hole Disc Golf Courses 101. Enrolling in said course allows you to spend a full day bagging all - count 'em - EIGHT 9-hole school courses in the greater Kalamazoo area.