Pros:
Spring Park is a smallish, flattish park located in Middleville, MI. It's located right on the M-37 highway, tucked behind a Speedway gas station.
As of this writing, there are five DGA baskets here that are a little old but still in decent working order. There is also some open green space to throw at them, and a trash can and porta potty at the parking lot.
The map uploaded here in 2008 is still correct, for the five playable holes of what was originally a 9-hole course.
Yep, that's it!
Cons:
Baskets for the holes shown as 4, 5, and 8 on the aforementioned map are missing. The area shown as hole 8 is so overgrown that I question whether there was ever actually a disc golf hole there, or if it is even part of the park. Hole 6's basket is technically still there, but it has been pulled out of the ground and the top frame and chains are missing. When I played this course earlier this week, I updated the Course Conditions here for this first time since 2015 or 2016 (can't remember which). That update mentioned several baskets missing, so I think they have never been replaced since that time. I'm pretty sure I actually passed more Speedway gas stations on the way here from Grand Rapids, than there were baskets here!
Even when all nine holes were present, the course would have been very dangerous based on the map. Hole 4 played through a playground structure and a pavilion. There is a shed in what was hole 5's fairway, and a slide and swing set behind it. Hole 7 (one of the holes that is still playable) is the only one here that has a serious natural obstacle to work around (it's a huge left turn with trees blocking you from cutting it off). But this requires throwing blindly toward the parking lot. Hole 9 plays along the park entrance drive.
All holes are pitch and putt distance on flat terrain, with no obstacles other than the man-made ones and a couple of trees.
All other disc golf amenities are missing. The teepads were not even marked by dirt patches, making me think that very few people have attempted to play this course in a long time.
There is constant road noise from the busy M-37 highway.
Other Thoughts:
Is this what a 0.0 rated course looks like?
If a 5.0 rating means that nothing is wrong, does a 0.0 rating mean that nothing is right?
Is there a point at which a course should be re-categorized as a practice area?
If I wouldn't give it a 0.0 rating as a practice area, is a 0.0 rating still appropriate for it as a course?
These are some of the questions that I found myself thinking as I played two "rounds" here. I came to the conclusions that 1) I have to give a rating based on the current categorization as a course and 2) just like the 5.0 ratings, there is a bit of rounding in play here. Meaning that if I could give this a 0.25 rating, I probably would. This course is worse than any of the three that I have previously rated at 0.5.
I doubt that this park ever gets too busy and there are no blind throws except #7, so I guess DG'ers who find themselves travelling along the highway between Grand Rapids and Hastings could stop here to stretch their legs and toss a few discs. Holes 1-3, 7, and 9 can be played as shown on the map for a five hole round, and the park sign could be used as a double mando to make hole 9 more interesting. But even for people driving right by, I'm not sure it would be worth the time.