PARK DESCRIPTION - Skamania Lodge is a high end exclusive lodge. Their golf course is a lovely nine hole course. It's plenty hilly, beautifully landscaped and mostly empty here in late September. The disc golf course was, until recently, just nine holes. It's just transitioned to 18. The pro shop has more Innova signs and discs than Innova does. It's readily apparent that management is pushing the disc golf agenda and apparently, they are being quite successful, adding some much needed revenue.

VARIETY - The original front nine has two sets of tees, the recreational yellows and the close to intermediate level blues. The new back nine features only white tees and they play at an advanced wilderness level. Actually, I would call it a wildebeest course. So there is a definite variety from the front to back nines.

ELEVATION - The entire course consists of delicious rolling hills, some are a little more than rolling especially on the back nine.

CHALLENGE - Basically rec/maybe low, low intermediate for the front nine and advanced for the back nine.

EQUIPMENT - For the front nine, new yellow Discatchers with small numbers on the yellow bands. You're either teeing off the cart paths or from the grass. There are lots of small signs pointing the way. The small wooden tee poles have the hole number on each of it's four sides.

Back nine. White Discatchers with no numbers. Next tee signs are confusing. Tee pads are mostly grass. Fairways are more field than grass.

AESTHETICS - The front nine is lovely. The back nine is rugged.

FUN FACTOR - Once again, the front nine was great fun. The back nine was about as much fun as your annual Prostate exam, Oh Doctor, once more please!

ROUTING/NAVIGATION - Front nine = good, even with no map.

Back nine = Start with about a 1/2 mile hike to find the # 10 tee. Then you're looking at # 10 being about a 600' uphill all the way. Then I was looking for the oxygen tent. And the navigation went south for me after that.

The wind is always blowing here in the gorge. Today was no different.

And they won't rent you a cart.

$8 is a con to some players including the two guys I talked to who said they always just walk on without paying.

A map would help on the front nine and is essential on the back nine.

Back nine is poorly marked, someone had all these uphill throws and plays partially through an unmaintained section of the course.

I understand the back nine has only recently opened and was a "big hurry up job." It doesn't seem like it was really thought out. The designer was actually here on site when I played. He was doing some surveillance work with a drone. Hopefully, this will lead to having the back nine being mapped out.

After my round, I complained to the lady in the Pro Shop about the back nine and all it's issues. My suggestion to her was not to couple the back nine with the front as an 18 but to consider them as separate courses. Leave the front nine as the rec/maybe intermediate experience that it is and list the back nine as a challenging 9 hole wilderness (wildebeest) experience. They could offer separate 9 fees or one 18 fee. In it's current state, I don't foresee many players repeating the back nine course.

And a special thanks to Travis, a course employee, who found me me, way, way off course, trying to make my way back to the lodge and gave me a lift all the way back in his cart.