Before I updated it today, the course condition note for Smash Park DGC read "This course shouldn't be played by anyone." Challenge accepted!

When I arrived at Smash Park (otherwise known as Lightning Bend Park) I could immediately see that quite a few people were ignoring the advice quoted above. This place appears to be popular with the locals, and after playing my round it was easy to see why.

Smash Park DGC features 18 wooded holes, many of them fairly tight but none of them absurdly so. All of the holes have trees placed to create obstacles and force you to shape your shots. There is a good mix of left turning, right turning, and straight holes. Some holes play near low-lying wetland areas, but these areas were far enough off the fairway (at least in November) that it would take a very errant throw to lose a disc.

There is a practice basket between the parking lot and hole #1. All of the baskets have clearly seen more than a few discs, but they are in fine condition. Some of the baskets are raised on wood pedestals, which was a nice aesthetic touch as well as added challenge.

A course map is posted on the kiosk near the parking lot, but you probably won't even need it. The paths between holes are well worn, and there are some arrows pointing towards the next tee where needed. There is also nice signage after the fifth basket to indicate where you can cut the course off to only play eight holes, if desired.

Picnic tables and trash cans at many tee pads.

Permanent outhouse on site in the parking lot. It was locked when I played though, so not very helpful.

The tees are less than ideal. The tee pads here are artificial, made of something that looks like astroturf. They were in OK condition but concrete pads would be a nice improvement. The tee signs have seen better days. They looked like they might have been pretty nice at one point, but they have taken a beating over the years and the ink has washed out on some of them, making them illegible.

Most holes are pretty short. There is actually an ace board attached to most of the tee signs, and many of them are full of signatures. The back half of the course does have a few longer holes.

There isn't a ton of variety here. The holes all start to feel the same after a while. There is a little bit of elevation but it isn't enough to really affect play.

I played this course on a warm day in November, and bugs were a non-issue. However, I have been in enough areas like this in the Michigan spring/summer to know that they could be a major nuisance at that time of year (as previous reviewers have discussed at length). At those times of year you would definitely want to wear long sleeves, bring bug spray, and maybe even a bug net.

This course has a few very positive and a few very negative reviews. In reality, I feel it falls solidly between those two extremes - right around the current average of 3.0. Funny how that works out. If I had played in the buggy season I might have given it a 2.5 instead.

In addition to my reviews written here, I have my own rating system and notes to simplify my decision of which courses to return to. It has only Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Level 3 courses are my go-to courses, worth a drive and on my regular circuit. Level 2 courses are decent, not good enough for me to drive out to play all the time but if a friend wanted to play that course I would say "sure!" If that friend wanted to play a Level 1 course I would say "nah" and ask if they wanted to play one of my Level 3 courses instead. Smash Park falls squarely at Level 2 for me. It's about a 45 minute drive for me (from Grand Rapids area), and it's not worth making that drive regularly to play this course. If you're local, it's a nice option - especially in the non-buggy season. If you're looking for the best courses in Michigan, this course is not one of them.

• Scenery: SMASH is laid out through a nice wooded park in Central Michigan. Beautiful walk through the forest with plenty of elevation and wildlife to enjoy.
• Baskets: Arroyo Vortex Baskets. Best of the best. Bright colors for visibility, 20 outer chains, interlaced inner chains, ZERO chance for cut throughs, however they require firm putts.
• Variety: Plenty of elevation, left-to-right holes, right-to-left holes, wooded tight lines, a few more open holes, bunkers, water, only a few repetitive shots.
• Challenge: Pick a line and hit it! This is a densely wooded forest with tight lines. They are most definitely there, but there are several holes that you have to nail a gap or three. Not a poke-and-pray course, but certainly not large openings. Hit your line and be rewarded, get off your line and risk some great punishment and additional strokes.
• Maintenance: Plenty of trash cans, very little garbage on the ground, brush has been cleaned up and tee signs are on point.
• Layout: Several great walking paths that do not at all interfere with the disc golf course! Always great to see. Very easy to follow the course from hole to hole, no confusing "where's the next hole" moments.
• Extras: Nice pavilion and picnic tables at the entrance, plenty of parking even for good sized local tournaments, and a solid practice putting area with a good basket and some small trees/elevation to practice different putts.

• Stumps: The crew did a good job of clearing out lines and making a challenging wooded course, however, there are lots of small stumps left for you to trip over and/or break a toe.
• Short: The dense forest requires you to hit your gaps, however, this is mostly a mid and putter course. Most holes require accuracy over bombers. Not the worst thing in the world, but some long open holes are always fun to air out. There is open land to the west of the main course that could be utilized. (more in the "Other Thoughts")
• Bugs: No surprise in Michigan and not a lot can be done, but be prepared and bring some repellent.
• Tee pads: They aren't horrible, but they are artificial turf. Good grip, but not always smooth and some are a bit short.

While I do greatly enjoy the course, there is room for improvement. With a few stumps trimmed closer to the ground and a few (few, not many at all) trees removed, this would easily bump my rating up. I would love to give this a 4-star or more as it's one of my favorite courses, but it's not quite there.

For a few local tournaments, they have used the very open sandy field area to the west of the main course for alternate holes. There is a GREAT opportunity to add in some more challenging signature holes (super narrow tunnels through low fir trees, downhill sandtrap shots) and also allow for 3-4 bigger air shots without any forest. I would absolutely love to see this area used for some open bombers to make this into a 24-hole course! That would get me up to 4.5 stars and make this my top course in the Grand Rapids area.

Plenty of trash cans and stumps to sit on. Not much trash or vandalism. A couple really good two shot holes on the back nine (13 & 15). Overall good design and flow.

Too many trees. Challenge and hitting lines is a part of a good course, but too many "poke and hope" shots here. Removal of a few trees would bump this course up to 3.5, maybe 4. Carpet teepads are okay, didn't like 'em, didn't hate 'em.

Not sure what I expected at this course. Like a lot of things about it. Baskets look cool, but not thrilled with the way they "catch".

Mix of short and long holes for all skill levels. Clean park with picnic tables! Option for quick 9 holes or full 18!

Few water hazards if that scares you! Bring bug spray and a spotter for some holes! Very wooded for a nice challenge.

Great course! Can't wait to play again.

holes range in difficulty, great pads, amazing scenery, a great course for beginners and for the most avid disc golfers.

only real con (and I know it is not Mr. McCarty's or any of the designers faults) is the vandalism on the picnic tables and trash cans.

this Is the first course I ever played on and I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves the sport of disc golf. my favorite course by far.

Smash is a great switch up to the other courses in the area. It has a great layout, and the up down elevation provides excellent aerobic activity for those looking to shed a few. I encourage others to take advantage of this park before it becomes a popular destination, and all the holes have groups waiting, like the others in the area.

As for any cons i would have to say mosquitoes are an issue, as with most Michigan parks and my backyard. Bring your preferred method of insect control.

Come have a good time and leave your review.

New baskets

Hole 13 is a quality hole

Very little poison ivy (which is unusual based on the handful of Michigan courses I've played).

Course is totally unfinished. Stumps,lumpy faux turf tees, no real line on several holes etc.

As others have said, mosquitoes and horse flies are out in FORCE patrolling the low lying areas.

I played this course in the middle of a 3 ccourse tour east of Grand Rapids (I played Fallasburg first and Bertha Brock last) and it was the most forgettable of the three. The course isn't bad, but there is a lot of work to do. I don't want to add fuel to the fire, but even for a native Texan the bugs were thick. But since that seems to be a sensitive subject, let's talk about improvements totally in the control of the designer.

The tees should be torn out. Natural tees would be an improvement over these. I know concrete isn't in everyone's budget and try to not grade down too much for that, but these are bad.

There is brush everywhere. I almost got the impression some of it was deliberate, but it was never 100% clear.

Clear the stumps, please!

And while y'all are at it there are many holes that need some trimming/clearing to define a line.

The course has the potential (as currently laid out) to be average to good, but doesn't come close to living up to its potential. I'm fairly sure if drive to Fallasburg even if I lived in Belding, and judging by the relative amount of traffic at both courses I'm not alone.

Tight lines, nice baskets, very clean, tee signs, great scenery, friendly locals, always improving, variety of shots

No open holes, stumps in the fairways, bugs,no practice basket

My favorite course. I think this is a hidden gem of west Michigan

SMASH Park, unlike any other park that I have been to, has an incredible following of volunteers who are always willing to put forth their efforts into making this course better. There will be very few times that you will find a piece of trash on the course and odds are that if you do it will be picked up within 24 hours. The course has a nice flow of short, long, backhand/hyzer, and forehand/anhyzer shots. It is very technical and will challenge even the most experienced players. The designers are working on changing a few holes to increase the distance as well as add "placement shot" holes. The astro-turf in the beginning was the only route that we were allowed to go. The city did not want concrete in the park and they accepted the turf. If you read about this kind of material it is easier on the knees, durable, easy to maintain, and is increasing in popularity in courses all over the world and especially in Europe.

Mosquitoes. They are thick as ever, but if you can find a course in Michigan (read up on your history as why it took so long for the settlers to come to Michigan...it's a mitten-shaped swamp) that doesn't have a problem with Mosquitoes I would be glad to visit. There are also several brush piles that need to be moved. Because the construction and maintenance was all done by volunteers there was confusion as what was going to happen to the brush. This problem is being addressed currently and should change by the end of 2015. Other than these two things I think the MDGE club that frequents SMASH is doing an excellent job with the projects that need to be done.

As one of the designers of SMASH Park I want to first take a second to recognize and applaud the few golfers on this site who take time from their day to give some "pros and cons" to the course I feel very attached to. Criticisms and critiques are what will keep the course moving forward and progressing to become one of the best courses in the area and hopefully a "must see" attraction for Michigan and the Midwest. That being said, I do not appreciate reviews like the one that was submitted by "TywinL". This type of person likes to hide behind a screenname and give pointless criticisms to something that is completely unavoidable. If he has played several different courses throughout the United States he would know that trying to treat an area of over 220 acres of public park land that is densely wooded is an impossible and fruitless effort. I can come to some sort of common ground TywinL. The mosquitoes are very thick and sometimes it makes it a little difficult to play. When times like these happen I sit back and think about why the park was built.
Cody "SMASH" Moore (You remember the sign at the beginning) passed away unexpectedly in 2012. He lived down the road and used the area to create his own mini courses. We thought it would be fitting to place a course there in his honor. So I cannot say that I appreciate your comment that this memorial should be "burned to the ground." Many people put in hours, days, and weeks to make this course a reality. You probably wouldn't know anything about that because you're probably the type to not actually help make a course better, but a bystander waiting for the work to be done so you can complain about it. I'm sorry that your experience at SMASH was unpleasant, however, if you ever expect this sport to move forward you have to be productive and not hide behind your keyboard. Have something constructive to say. Players who claim to be experienced should take into account the age of the course and where it will be when it does reach maturity. The courses that are being compared to SMASH are much older and have the luxury of being maintained by local or county government. Here at SMASH we do not have that luxury. I have talked to several professional players and course designers that have some of the problems that other players have had (length and elevation) however, they also comment on the age of the course 100% of the time. Please give us something to work with. If you have things that you think could change then please make them clear and we will discuss and potentially address them. If we want disc golf to move forward and succeed we need to work together.

Nothing at all. This should be burned to the ground and the baskets sacrificed as an apology to the disc golf gods.

Between almost breaking an ankle on the ridiculous Astro-Turf Teepads, never needing anything other than a Judge, and almost being drained of every ounce of blood in my body by the voracious bloodsuckers that inhabit the TWO swamps this course was designed around this was the WORST disc golf experience of my life.

This was the second course I played during a weeklong visit with family in Greenville MI, and after the Greenville course and this hellhole I was ready to write Michigan disc golf off as totally over-rated. Fortunately my cousin took me up to Flip City, Fallasburg, and Mason County Beast a couple days later and changed my mind. I won't bother reviewing most of those courses, as I feel like the reviews are spot on for them. However, I think there is a lot of local bias around this course and wanted to put in my two cents.

Honestly Belding, either fix the mosquito problem by treating the swamps or remove the course and put in a malaria research station. The choice is yours..

Sorry to all the locals who I offended. I realize you all worked hard, and if you think I enjoy tearing down all the work that went into the course you're incorrect. However, I stand by my statement. I've played all over the US, and NEVER had a worse experience on a course. To say you can't treat for mosquitoes is sophistry at best. Major metropolitan areas do it all the time. Simply say you can't raise the funds to do it. In fairness, I agree that there will be bugs at any course you play. It's simply part of being outdoors. However, I've never seen mosquitoes ignore bug repellent and swarm people the way they do at your course.

You claim you can do nothing about the mosquitoes, but I've got an idea. Build the course elsewhere. It's great that a kid from your town used to play jungle golf in those woods. Seriously, it is. But I'm not sure you've done his memory justice with what you've done. Sometimes a measured approach is best. Do 9 holes well (concrete teepads, room for expansion ie second pads someday, clear lines cut, etc) and then add 9 more. SMASH feels like it was hastily thrown together with little foresight for growth or expansion, using the cheapest materials possible, and put in the wrong location. Just one man's opinion of course...

Beautiful scenery in a nice wooded area of the park.

No real rough to speak of. Lots of trees, but the undergrowth around them has been removed so discs are easy to find.

Technicality of the course makes up for it's lack of length

Ability to play 9 or 18 holes easily is a great idea, and should be done by more course designers.

Navigation was flawless and easy!

The bugs! Holy crap! Bug spray won't cut it with these things, take long pants and sleeves and consider a beekeeper's headcovering!

The tees! They're too short, not always level with the ground, and slippery. Carpet turned upside down and staked to the ground is both cheaper and grippier.

The baskets are nice and new, but you'd better hit them dead center. Off center hits spit out due to the design of the Arroyo basket. Not the courses fault, but it did get frustrating.

Short and shorter holes.

Poor signs where present, and frequently missing both times I've played.

SMASH Park has the potential to be a 3.5 to 4 star course, but needs a little work to get there.

First, the good: The course is beautiful, with tons of mature trees, virtually no litter, and thoughtful challenging pin placements that strive to make up for a lack of length with somewhat artificial difficulty. The fact that there is a well marked transition where you can loop back to the parking lot is a nice feature I've not seen anywhere else. There are transitions, but they're usually only known to locals and not this well marked. Well done!

Now the bad. I wish I'd taken the transition the last time I played here. It would have kept me away from the "water hazards" which are actually just low lying stagnant swampy areas that breed an absurd number of mosquitoes. After reading the course conditions on this site I was prepared with 2 different insect repellents in my bag. One with 30% DEET, and the other with pyrethrum as the main active ingredients. Not only that, I'm usually the last person mosquitoes go after. I'll tell you right now, these suckers must be starving to death because they attacked me like a pack of starving hyenas, and went after my wife even worse. I'm really not sure what you could do to avoid them if the precautions I took didn't work. The city of Belding needs to consider treating these low-lying areas with something to kill mosquito larvae. Doing so would improve the course immensely.

One final negative is hole length: I could have played this baby with an Envy and a Zone, and done just fine. There are only 2 holes most players will NEED a driver on, and even those you might be better served to play a more controlled shot. I realize that this is partly a design choice, and partially a constraint enforced by wanting 18 holes on a limited piece of land, but I'd personally rather see 9 really good holes here.

For all the grief I'm giving it, SMASH Park really does have potential. The two longer holes show what the entire course could be if reduced to only 9 holes, and are totally amazing. However, the shorter length and more technical holes are definitely loved by some. Despite the bugs, my wife can't wait to play here again. She feels like this course puts us on much more even footing as it robs me of my major distance advantage over her. Kill the mosquitoes or at least reduce them, and get better signs and teepads and this is an easy 2-2.5 star course. The locals seem committed to making excuses instead of improvements though, so I've moved on to other courses. This will never be anything but short, boring and hazardous to your health.


Played the course again, still not a very good course. Lots of locals have been trying to inflate the reviews, but this simply is not a great or even a very good course. It's better than nothing, but not a course I'd play again.

Well where to start?

The course uses a very technical aproch to the holes with both risk and reward for all but maybe a couple of them. Lines seem to be fair and maybe a little lefty friendly. (Didn't go and check this hole by hole)

Love the cross over so you can play all 18 or a modified 9 holes.

Plenty of benches and trash cans is a plus!!!

Few holes are memorable and couple could be labeled as recycled

My biggest con is the tee pads. I like the idea of the grass pads but first they are a few feet short and elevated. Even tho they are shorter holes it makes for a hard cross step. Biggest problem in my eyes is that they should be at the least be short grass not the long that it is currently. Three out of the four of us slipped on even a slow walk up.

I will definitely be back to play this course again anytime I'm back in Michigan. I would rate it a 3.5 if it was not for the tee pads. Don't let the low rating because of the pads fool you. It's well worst the trip if your in the area. Great fun little course.

- Scenic, well maintained and extremely technical
- Well laid out with minimal backups even on busy days
- Constantly improving and growing.
- Trash cans on every hole
- Amazing up to date baskets
- Great course for experienced players working on accuracy with risk/reward factors based on disc selection. Punishing rough if you miss your line
- Every hole has a line so luck is only a factor if you're counting kicks off trees, avoid them and there is no luck needed
- Teepads (artificial turf, not carpet) could be a pro or con depends on how you look at it. Though relatively short, they've proven to be much easier on my knee/hip than concrete pads at other courses I play. Even on wet days I've yet to slip, ever..
- Hole 18 now has a raise basket on a pyramid shaped structure. neat finish

- Still in infant stages there are pleanty of stumps and small trees that still need to be removed
- Relatively short * (several holes have been lengthened and improved but still needs more)
- Not much for seating * (course now has several picnic tables throughout as well as some large natural seating implemented

This course is quickly growing into one of the better in the area. Friendly locals in a quiet area just outside of town. Course improvements weekly with pleanty of room for expansion.

Seems to be a ton of bad feedback on mosquitos... welcome to Michigan during an extremely wet spring/summer.. downgrading a review because of something completely out of control to the people who maintain it is asinine.

The course seems to be hated by scrubs that like to hide behind screen names. Check out the reviews from real people:

http://www.discgolfscene.com/..._Park/reviews

Updated review to reflect changes to course

UPDATED ON 7/5/2023

Baskets - Nice New baskets that are easy to see from the tee. Green Poles

Park - Has bathroom at entrance, good amount of trash cans and beautiful course that is only used for disc golf in the area

Sings- Has tee signs that show where all the holes are and the distance. (They are small, but I heard they will get new ones)

Routing - easy enough but i noticed on some holes they had the next hole arrow(Not sure if all as some you didn't really need it)

Challenge - I had this as a Con on the 9 hole course, but with the added holes it makes it much harder and actually have to bring your drivers out.

Trees - This is on a tree sanctuary, which adds to the over all beauty of this course, however you can not cut down certain tree which makes some of the lines horrible. I want to let it be known that I think this is a double edged sword of this course, but makes for more of a Con. Maybe with a few more times out this will change, but it seems t be the biggest flaw.

Management - There are a ton of stumps that are being worked on getting removed, I am sure this will change, as this is a new course, but it's still a big flaw as there are a ton of them.

Tee Pads - They are better than Dirt, but the carpet pads are really the reason why this course isn't at a 4 to me.


Hole 6(Shorts) - This one is more of me just nit picking, but Hole 6 on the shorts is my favorite hole from the shorts, and it doesn't play in when you play the 18 longs.

The changes has made it much more than just the Pitch and Putt course that it was. Starts and ends that way, but has some nice length in the middle.

This has become one of my favorite parks in the Grand Rapids area, and is a very fun course. It seems to be getting worked on regularly and things will be changing in time, but still needs a lot of play and some TLC. It has 19 holes, and the pictures here need to be changed in order as they have a short 9 and an 18. This now has 18 holes and is an 18 and a 8 hole course if you play around.

In a way this course kind of reminds me of Bertha Brook Mini.

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If you do not like my review, please give me what I can improve to help. Thanks!

This is a new technical course that is already beat in pretty well for being only a couple months since the installment of the baskets. There is a nice variety of holes on the front nine, all mainly shorter holes. They have nice arroyo baskets that give this course a nice touch as well. There are some holes with elevation change in them and other where you throw blind. The layout of the course has a nice flow and easy to follow. It would be hard to get lost. Instead of dirt tee pads the course has artificial turf for tee pads. Every hole also has a garbage can so you can throw away your garbage instead of littering. Every hole with a sponsor sign has hooks to hang your bag. There is a practice basket next to hole one which is always a plus.

Some holes need some clearing to be done still. Other spots on the course are really thick but do have lines you can hit, i have been able to hit them.

This course is already really popular among the locals. There are about 3 leagues that play out at this course. There will be new permanent tee signs being installed very soon. The course is maintained by a good group of disc-golfers. The course has also been approved for the back nine. So keep an eye out for this course to soon be an 18 hole course.!

Aesthetic-- plays through the east end of a small city park. Other facilities include hiking trails which DO NOT interfere with disc golf. Disc on!

Teesigns--nice for what they are. shows directionality of the hole if not a map along with distance. I like the aesthetic of the small piece missing to symbolize the guy the park is dedicated to? not sure if this is intentional or not.

Baskets-- ARROYOS!!! Super bright and visible in the woods. Love the added confidence of arroyos with regards to bounce outs.

Routing/nav-- easy easy. not a chance of getting lost here. next tee signs on every hole and branches/logs to guide the way

amenities-- garbage cans and "benches" are plentiful. Bathrooms are near the parking lot. though they were locked when we were there.

Challenge-- this course is extremely short. it can be played with one or two discs, no drivers required at all. I threw mostly a gator and a putter.

Variety-- meh, it's pretty bland honestly

Teepads- Honestly they weren't bad, the long turf provided some grip. would strongly prefer concrete in the future.

I am overly impressed with the amount of work that has gone on at this course in the last month or so. The improvements are amazing.

I honestly liked this course, very reminiscent of a longer Rycenga park.