Spring Valley Park is on the northeast side of Kalamazoo, MI. The park is centered around a long, narrow lake. There are 24 holes of disc golf here that play all around the park in sort of a figure eight shape. A footbridge over an especially narrow part of the lake divides the park, and course, into two sections.

This course is full of quirky, shorter holes that will entertain disc golfers up to intermediate level. I was very impressed by the variety of different challenges present in this urban park. There is everything from tightly wooded sub-200' throws up steep wooded hills, to wide open 400' tosses across open fields, to scary downhill ace runs at the lake.

There are also a few man-made obstacles (the good kind) thrown in to make things more interesting. This is the case on the very first hole, which plays to a slightly raised basket inside what used to be (but is clearly no longer) a tennis court. The designers have taken out one of the large fence panels around the court, and your disc will have to go through or at least land directly in front of that gap if you want an easy birdie.

A selection of later notable holes:
- #4 is a very short, sharp right turning hole playing downhill in the woods. RHBH players will be tempted to ignore the cleared fairway and throw their putters off the tee through a narrow gap in the trees. It didn't work for me.
- #12 starts off playing down a gentle open valley, which then gives way to a more wooded rise up to the basket on the opposite side.
- #24 plays down and up a steeper, narrower valley along a straight fairway. I have seen many holes like this, but what distinguishes this one is the large tree branch that extends horizontally across the line of fire about 50' off the front of the tee. I was surprised that the bark was not completely stripped off this branch.

Elevation changes are in play on maybe 2/3 of the holes here. The lake is lurking behind the basket on holes 6 and 17, and also in play on hole 7. Here it will be on the right side of the fairway if playing the short tees, and you'll have to throw over it (a 200' or so carry) from the long tees.

The baskets are Chainstars. One per hole generally, but a couple of holes also had a second "alternate" basket installed. Many baskets also had white flags on top to help with visibility.

The tee pads are concrete and I believe there were two of them for every hole. A couple of holes use existing pavement for pads, and these were well marked with permanent looking paint. I chose to play the short tees, which are fun for recreational players. The long tees appeared to kick things up to more of an intermediate level challenge, while also offering some different looks at the baskets (a couple of holes have almost completely separate fairways from each tee).

There is a restroom building near holes 10 and 11 if you need a break mid-round. If you don't have time to play all 24 holes, there are various ways to easily play fewer.

This layout does have some safety concerns. A handful of holes play near or across park drives, walking paths, and/or other holes. The worst I think was #18, which has the park drive defining the left side of the fairway throughout the hole. Most of the potential issues are line-of-sight, but definitely still something to keep in mind. I did appreciate the stairs cut into the steepest hillsides to help with footing.

There are no tee signs, at all, at either tee. It's just the concrete pads looking lonely sitting there on the grass, or in the dirt, or next to a tree, or whatever. No trash cans or benches specifically for the course either, although they are scattered around the overall park.

Navigation is difficult without a map/UDisc. They tried with the tape on some basket rungs and a couple of orange arrows nailed to trees, but there are some long walks/awkward transitions between holes where more arrows are definitely needed. I was looking at UDisc a lot. The lack of tee signs didn't help here either, as it's harder to see pads on the ground than sign posts sticking up from a distance.

This course is not as easy as nearby Knollwood Park, but the distances are definitely still on the short side. The average is below 300' even from the long tees.

There was a kiosk and practice basket at the top parking lot (next to the water tower), but they were both not ideal. The kiosk could use a course map on it. The practice basket could use some more open space around it. I don't want to have to dig through brush to retrieve my putter before I even tee off!

I was torn between a 2.5 and 3.0 rating for this one, but decided to round up in the end. The lack of signage bothers me, but generally this is the kind of course that I like a lot. It's no destination for those who live more than an hour or so away, but just a fun course with a wide variety of unique shorter holes. It makes good use of the available space without being too unsafe. If you are in southwestern lower Michigan, this one may be worth a play!

Lots of variety here, with a minority of open holes, several wooded holes, and quite a few fun ace runs. Hole 12 somehow seems longer than its approximate 400' length, but it is one of the only tees one will use full power on if they choose to play the shorts. Some holes have a cheap vibe, but are generally entertaining enough to keep you coming back. A stretch of wooded holes from 2 to 6 have pleasingly-odd throw routes as well as some elevation changes. Hole 6 might be the best hole, with a defined uphill fairway and guarded pin position. Hole 17 has a great shot from the long tee over water that is less nerve-wracking than similar holes at other courses.

Dirt tees as of May 2018. There are two tees, in most cases marked by green metal posts with white painted tips for the long tee, and yellow tips for the short tees. Some distances can be found on the posts, but not many. At this early stage, navigability is tough. Interchanges such as 12/13, 15/16, 17/18, 6/7 and 9/10 (which requires a walk across a bridge) will confuse first-timers. The cheapest holes include Hole 13, located on a ridge top trail with rough on both sides, and Hole 10, with an odd throw route across an old aluminum bench and back stop. There is no short tee apparent for Hole 17; at one point there were spray-painted hash marks on the cement pathway.

The gates to the parking lots often are closed, with people parked near a large water tower off of Mt. Olivet Rd. Most people start at Hole 12. Cement paths are frequently in play, as well as a few water obstacles. A fairly long walking workout, but the course itself is shorter than average. Free course.

This course is set in a really nice looking park. As you enter the park the landscape really sets the tone for the type of round you are about to embark on. Nice grassy fairways that are pretty well groomed, a large pond that runs through the park that can potentially come into play, heavily wooded and hilly forests. Really everything that I look for in a good technical disc golf course is readily available in the landscape.

Major pros:
-Short and long tee pads (some of these give really different looks and not just the same hole + distance which is nice in terms of being able to play two rounds in a day without complete boredom).
-Brush has been cleared to be reasonable (from what I understand this is still somewhat a work in progress but it is already pretty fair)
-Technical shots that require precise line shaping through fair gaps with good natural ob that can create those great risk/reward situations.
-A nice "open" section in the middle of the round that allows players to really air out a few drives and let loose before heading in to another set of technical holes
-Good use of elevation both going up and down hills as well as a couple situations throwing up hills at an angle which is always a fun challenge.

In terms of course design I don't see many major cons. I will say that the tee pad for 13 is not particularly safe in so much that it is the road and you have to be aware of cars. Other that that I think hole 13 and 14 are a few of the really memorable holes on the course. technical uphill tunnel followed by a technical downhill. Pulled off a 3 on 13 and a 2 on 14 after nearly acing it and felt like a really great section of the course that can reward good plan and punish bad play. 15 could even be included in that as a signature 3 holes.

The other people in the park...in particularly the guy in the car that purposely swerved to run over my Teebird that snuck OB on me...Hopefully that's not how most of
them act but I was a little peeved by that. For the most part other people don't really come in to play but I was had by one of them today (though my disc seems to still be flying the same).

The obvious- natural tee pads, and even worse than the natural tee pads whatever those foam mats they put down are. Those things are worse than teeing off dirt. As this course is new I'm assuming they do plan to get cement tee pads in.

Tee signs - again I assume those are coming as the kinks in the course are ironed out so I can't really fault that at all.

Seeing how big the park is I think it would have been nice to have some even bigger 500-700 foot holes that create honest par 4's. I don't know what restrictions they were under in terms of usable space but I think having 3-4 serious par 4's would really have set this course apart.

This is going to be a really solid addition for the Kalamazoo disc golf community. As others have mentioned, not pouring concrete yet and making good markers could be a sign that they are still hammering out the fine details of course design. I really hope they are able to find a way to incorporate some par 4's because the park is huge and certainly has the land to make some really wonderful signature holes.

With the right modifications to course design and improvement to equipment (ie. tee pads and signs) I think this course could easily be a 4 and possibly almost a 4.5 if some design modifications are made. Serious props to the folks who put this course in and did all the work.

The Spring Valley is new and very much a work in progress. It's evident this course is being constructed in a first class manner by the all the cool extras that are already in place. What I'm referring to would be the well engineered retaining wall that's currently being built behind the basket on 17. This basket sits just a few feet in front the water. Naturally, many shots will miss long and end up in, or near the water's edge. This would eventually cause erosion issues as well as having players fishing their discs out of the water. The retaining wall being cinstructed consists of two levels. When completed, not only will it look amazing but it will greatly prevent erosion here.

The other cool bit of engineering would be the row of short sunken posts set below the # 5 basket. # 5 is a short but very sharp hyser throw from the tee. Not only does this row of posts look great, it will prevent unsightly erosion and also help guide players to the next hole.

The course currently hasn't poured any concrete yet. Right now, you're teeing from natural tees which were very adequate, but it is late AugustI. I'm sure they are coming. The baskets are new Chainstars. There no signs yet. There are two sets of tees often giving you a totally different look, not just a longer throw.

The water carry on 18 is fun. It's 260' to the basket so the carry is probably 200' but there are bigger bushes on the far shore ready to jump up and grab your disc.

I liked # 11 which has your throwing toward the old backstop with the basket tucked behind it under a tree. The park road is on your right forcing you try to pinpoint your drive below the road and beyond the backstop. Throwing either long or short will mean trouble. This backstop doesn't look like it's ever used so I don't believe you'll be bothered by any games going on here.

The front nine loops back to the start so you can grab a drink from your car before playing the back nine. Then 18 finished there also.

Simple yellow tape on basket rung points you to next tee. Thank you for that help.

I'm sure the pads and signs are on the way.

Some holes to find water on.

I guess parking could be tight at hole # 1.

My hats off to the Kalamazoo Disc Club. It's obvious that they are serious about making this a first class operation, a course they can be proud of. The engineering projects that are being worked on or finished are especially impressive. The course design incorporates many aspects of disc golf. My playing partner and I were both most impressed and we both had a grand time playing the course. I wish I had plans to get back sometime. Keep up the awesome work here. And I'll be happy to upgrade my 3.0 rating to a 3.5 when concrete and signage is completed.

18 Well-conceived holes that provide tasty buffet of DG variety.

• Variety: Very good. Nice balance of open vs. wooded as well as fairway shapes. Wonderful use of trees to force shot-shaping, guard baskets, and occasionally create low ceilings. Reasonable range of distances.

• Elevation: Very good. Varying topography ranges from relatively flat to quite substantial. Used to great effect in a variety of ways; sloped greens for rollaways, drop-offs behind baskets to punish foolhardy approaches, downhill tee shots, uphills,

• Challenge: Very good. Set up to provide a fun yet reasonably challenging round for most players. The yellow (short) tees are quite suitable for rec players, with the white (long) tees are being a good fit for higher level intermediate/low level advanced players. Playing a mix of yellow and white tees should really suit most intermediate players quite well.

• Routing/Nav: Good - Getting to the next tee is fairly intuitive most of the time, but the way the holes are spread through the park and having to cross the park road /path several times during the round somewhat hampers navigating without the map. I applaud their use of tape on basket spokes to point you toward the next tee - simple yet highly effective. The map will save 1st timers a lot of time, but I wouldn't' say it's a must. #9 comes back to start to form two 9 hole loops.

• Fun Factor: Good - Nothing extraordinary, but Spring Valley has a tasty mix of holes that genuinely satisfies my DG sweet tooth.

• Memorable Holes: Good - The low ceiling and tough line on 3 long, the sharpness of the turn on 5 short, 13 long's humbling uphill,14's downhill Ace run, 17 long's water carry,

• Aesthetics: Good - Every bit a nice, pleasant walk through the park, with some nice touches that add eye appeal as well as functionality (e.g. using logs from downed trees to build a retaining wall around the #5 green; fights erosion, funnels you toward the next tee, looks nice).

• Cart Friendly: Yes. A couple steep slopes, but outside of those, very cart friendly.

Not many.

• Not quite enough to challenge solid AM1 players and above.

• Equipment: AS OF THE TIME I PLAYED; meh - but there's hope. (See Other Thoughts).

New Chainstars, natural tees (still in good shape), metal stakes for tee markers with distance on the longs (no distances on the shorts). Just don't lose your balance when teeing off and impale yourself falling on a metal stake, 'cause that really adds strokes to your game.

Very solid course that left me thinking the designers really put some genuine thought into it.

• Double retaining wall on # 16: 1st layer up top combats erosion on the green. 2nd layer down below stops rollaways from going in the water.
• Love that you can skip the water carry by playing 17 from the short tee.
• I actually like the fact that they haven't poured concrete... yet. See how the course plays before you make relatively permanent decisions about where the tees should be, because sometines a few feet one direction or anther can make a big difference. Once you pour, it's too late to change your mind. Which leads me to...
• Crappy tee markers. I honestly believe they went with what's cheap & available (yet fairly effective) until they finalize things and pour concrete for permanent tees.

• Even though the park road and walking path can come into play a few times during a round, I honestly feel it was done in about as responsible a manner possible; with clear lines of sight so players can't miss if something's heading their way, and wait few seconds if necessary,

Played the longs once and the shorts once, and really enjoyed both layouts.

BASED ON WHAT IT WAS WHEN I PLAYED IT: I'd give it a 3.25 if I could, but with decent concrete tees and, simple posts (with hole # and distance), and a few next tee signs, this course is an easy 3.75.

While I believe these improvements are coming, I don't feel right giving it a higher rating until they're actually installed.