Grab your compass, course map and walking shoes for your visit to the Andrews University DGC. The college layout offers plenty of hiking across its elegant and mostly open campus, though the directional dilemmas mar the overall score for this course.

The traversability is excellent, mostly due to how flat the course plus the lovely grassy lawns, which appear to be frequently mowed and maintained. The concrete teepads are in good shape and they are conveniently level with the ground.

The main challenge of this course is distance, and you are unlikely to hit many trees, as most of the holes are open.

That openness is a bit repetitive, which means Hole #14 is clearly the best hole on the course. The par-4, 528-foot hole goes through a moderately woodsy shaded area that offers several lines toward the basket. Hole #15 is also in this isolated section of campus, and while these holes require an extra-long walk to reach, I wish there were a few more holes of this style and caliber on the course.

The areas of the course with overgrowth are few.

The distance you will walk between holes is longer than the course itself. Several of the transitions are both lengthy and unclear. By lengthy, I mean ridiculous. And by unclear, I mean a mind-screwing labyrinth of confusion. Even with a map, first-timers can expect to spend a few minutes seeking to locate the next hole in several spots. There are a few bricks in the ground near the baskets to indicate the direction of the next hole. However, the dirt mostly obscures many of these bricks, and even knowing the right direction is only minimally useful sometimes.

Just one of the challenging transitions is for Hole #4 - it's across the street, and I'm sure many first-timers end up on the Hole #5 teepad instead. After Hole #6, there is a lengthy walk across the front entrance of campus to the next basket. Hole #9 is another out-of-the-way hole; it's across the street from Hole #8, then afterward, it's another walk back across one of the main campus roads to the next hole. Another several-minute-walk awaits after Hole #12. Then after Hole #13, you're dropped off in front of a large university building with absolutely no sense of where the next hole might be hidden. Even with a map, it took us probably 10 minutes to orient ourselves and wander our way onto the next teepad. And then finding Hole #17 isn't intuitive as they've hidden the teepad behind some bushes.

If the previous paragraph was difficult to follow, just wait until you play the Andrews University course. There are numerous transitions that require crossing streets, and many times the next teepad isn't visible. In addition, the basket is hidden on several of the holes and the correct direction isn't always intuitive. Of course, this navigational nonsense should only affect first-timers.

The amenities are lacking on this course. The tee signs are plain (just hole number and distance on a wooden post) and there are no benches.

The design is poor on several of the holes. Hole #8 requires throwing through a very narrow gap in a line of trees. Hole #11 goes in a goofy U-shaped pattern. Hole #13 is 327 feet but the teepad is among the evergreens and the ceiling of pine needles and branches limits your distance.

Andrews University is an appealing option for big arms who do not mind commutes between holes, as the average distance per hole is nearly 350 feet. Unfortunately, this style is a poor fit for a college audience that might be checking out the game for the first time. Only a few holes are under 250 feet, and several of the shortest holes are more difficult than they need to be.

The course is not very interesting, and the wide-open design combined with lengthy hikes between holes are not my cup of tea. Plus, the navigation is some of the worst I've experienced.

Andrews University is a Seventh Day Adventist affiliated school which sits on a very large track of land. Much of this land is a lovely green park area. It's almost totally flat except for the area with holes 14 & 15. The disc golf course starts and loops back to the visitor's parking lot. By the time you loop back to your car, you've probably lost 5 pounds or your mind. This course is long (6235') and that's not counting a couple of 500' walkouts. I could have designed three courses on this vast acreage and not infringe on any college activities. There is that much room.

The course has these very cool, pretty green concrete tee pads. Prettiest tee pads anywhere! The tee signs are basic little wooden ones giving the hole #, distance and par. Speaking of par, they're set for advanced players, like # 5's 642' Par 4. I know the par doesn't really matter for some of you. But I'd rather par a hole than bogie it. The baskets are DGA models with the red #'s and they face the correct way.

Navigation was dicey. There were three long walkouts of about 500 feet. The first 2-3 baskets had a small piece of yellow tape facing the next pads. They helped and after # 3, there were no more of them. I had printed off a map but had trouble deciphering it. I had printed off some navigational instructions but forgot to bring them at first. Duh! I was fine for the first three holes but totally missed # 4. It's across the street by itself and plays out maybe 325'. Then you walk back to play the long' 642', # 5.

I have mixed emotions about this courses. There are enough scattered trees to add challenge. The winds added challenge today. Navigation was a challenge, as well. There were a few holes where there was a small window just in front of the tee box. They probably just get in your head more than actually affecting your drive.

# 8 is interesting. The basket is visible 248' through a small opening in the thick grove of trees/bushes. That opening is tiny, about 150' feet out. Stronger players can probably just go over the top.

Long walkouts.

Very few navigational signs. Navigation is not necessarily intuitive.

Long for a campus course.

No pretty tee pad on # 9.

I see the appeal here. There are some fun lines to hit. Those are not really difficult, usually you just have to avoid that one tree or clump. Rollers can be helpful. The two holes 14 and 15 are fun and interesting in their own little section of park. I also particularly enjoyed the last two holes. They're just fun little tosses.

It's a long walk around. I'm not sure about having a college PE class tackle a course this long? Wouldn't they find more success on a shorter tract? If you can drive 400', I'll think you'd enjoy this course and should get over here and play it. Print the map and the information sheet and good luck. Then ice your arm after playing. And hopefully, whoever placed the yellow tape on the baskets will make the effort to do it once more.

Nice open course, allowing for some nice practice on your drives. It allowed me to try out a few of my new discs, with out the fear of losing them to weeds or drilling a tree.

In great condition, the school takes care of it and players seem to respect the course.

Went on a Friday and we were the only ones on the course, not sure if its because school was out for the summer, or not a busy course, but it was nice to play with out feelings rushed.

Very difficult to navigate to the next hole. Suggest you bring a smart phone with the photos loaded, that way you can pull up the pictures of the tees, so you can know which way to head.

Parking can be confusing. We parked by the music building and walked to hole one located on the other side of the building.

Granted we went in the beginning of the season when bugs were bad, but with in the hour and half it took to play through, we had countless mosquito bites!

BRING BUG SPRAY!
Look at the pictures for tees so you don't get completely lost and spend half your day looking for next hole.
Not a very challenging course but a good time killer.

- There are very nice DGA baskets with large numbers on the tops making them easy to pick out.
- If you have a big arm and are fairly accurate this is the course for you. Not a lot of obstructions and certainly not a lot of heavy underbrush on any of the holes except for the most errant of shots. Even noobish players that can consistently drive 250' will find themselves within putting distance on many of the holes after their second shot.
- All of the holes are on mowed grass. What the course lacks in challenge, hills, water hazards it certainly makes up for in length. Roller throwers rejoice.
- I don't recall seeing any course design no-no's as in fairways crossing each other or crossing busy walkways or roadways. #16 does cross a drive but it does not seem busy. If I wanted to be really picky, the basket for 7 seemed like it was a little close to the line between the 8 tee and basket.
- I also like the hole markers at each of the tee boxes.
- As of the update on this review, there are now CONCRETE tees. This is a fantastic addition over the nonsense that used to be there. Very nicely done with a nicely roughened surface for fantastic grip off the tee.
- To assist in navigation when it isn't obvious on the map, there are bricks at each basket shaped in an arrow to indicate the next tee.
- MAPS! Yes, they now have maps at the first tee...WAHOO!!

- The layout is not the best and VERY spread out. The walk between 13 and 14 is just absurd.
- There are also no typical items that DG'ers love to have on a course; trash cans and benches - or at least there are very few of them. Since smoking and drink are strictly forbidden it certainly isn't necessary to have a can on every hole but it may not be a bad idea to spread out a few throughout.

I would like to mention that I do really appreciate Andrews University making a course that is open to the public just down the road from where I live. In spite of all the walking it was fun and a great place to work on my rather whimpy drives.

I've worked with SDA folks before and regardless of your religious views they are very nice people even though they are strict. Please respect their rules because they did not have to make this course open to everyone. I also want to applaud whoever got this course installed in the first place. Campus politics can be difficult if not impossible to work with. Job well done.

- This course snakes through the college's flat, but attractive campus. Mature trees come into play quite nicely, providing the lion's share of difficulty throughout the 18 holes. Hard doglegs, protected pins, a few blind looks off the tee, a mandatory, and low canopy shots throughout prove to be the main thrills and spills at St. Andrew's. No schule except for in one or two spots on the edges of fairways adjacent to private properties.
- Good mixture of distances. Several longer holes and a few holes where not having a big arm for a hyzer spike up and over small trees will hurt you.
- Decent mixture of shots: left, right, up and over, et al.
- Sufficient signage. The tee signs are nothing more than the hole number and distance, but the yellow tape on each basket points out the next tee location. Pay attention to this or chances are you'll miss at least two or three holes.
- Very little chance to lose a disc. This is a good course for families: enough challenge to keep experienced discers occupied while not terribly difficult or frustrating for younger or novice players. The grassy fairways and shaded walks make this course enjoyable for all.

- The flow is fairly difficult to follow, even with the yellow tape on the baskets pointing out the direction. Trouble first arises after #6 in trying to find #7's tee. Cross the street and just keep walking in the direction indicated by the yellow tape. In one case (#9 to #10), the basket's direction was slightly off, and the walk long enough for one to end up pretty far away from the proper tee. At another juncture (#13 to #14), the walk is an improbable jaunt around a large campus building, across a busy intersection, down a sidewalk (keep your eyes peeled for a sign that says "The Grove"), to the tee located by a pavilionunder
some trees. Several of the walks between holes are on the "long" side of the spectrum.
- Not a whole lot of risk/reward. Trees do provide obstacles, but often not enough to prevent recovery for fairly easy pars. The entirely flat course doesn't get any elevation involved except for errant shots to the left of #14's basket, where a steep ravine leads down to a small stream.
- Many of the holes work through busy sections of the campus, with students often crossing fairways without much thought.
- The tee pads are slitted rubber mats inset, occasionally badly, into the ground. On several holes the tees are buckled, and often the grass beside the tee provides better footing. A couple of tees (#9 and #15) are natural, and look as though the mat has been ripped up; however, all tees are clearly marked with a wooden post and a brick foot fault line.

- Certainly not a destination course, but a solid option if you're in the area. I'd imagine the course is infinitely more playable and enjoyable when school is out...I'd personally avoid this course while the student population is out and about en masse.

The course plays through grassy fields around a college campus with nice mature trees. The layout does a nice job avoiding other campus activities and walking paths, so it would be pretty playable even with school in session. There is a decent mix of hole lengths, with some ace runs and some long bombs. A few holes have enough trees to make you shape some different lines.

There are basic tee signs and tape on the baskets showing direction to the next tee. The course is nicely maintained, with well mowed grass and no trash or vandalism. With how open the land is, I thought the design was pretty creative in how the trees and bushes available were brought into play. I love seeing courses on college campuses, it's a great exposure for the sport.

One place I disagree with the course designers is the length. As an overall course, I have no issue with the hole lengths, so this con doesn't affect my rating, but the course is really long for new players. We saw people skipping several long holes, or getting frustrated on the bomber holes, not a great way to introduce beginners.

The design is creative, but with such a flat and generally open area to work with it's hard to design a course that won't feel at least a little repetitive. There are some really long walks that aren't immediately obvious, the tape on the baskets helps in most cases, but a couple take some wandering to figure out. The tees are very slippery rubber, I almost fell on a dry day so I would imagine that it would be pretty treacherous when wet. It's obvious people tee off in the grass next to a lot of the pads so there's some erosion going on.

Overall, this is a decent course that's not a bad place to stop. Parking on a weekday might be an issue, but it was no problem on a weekend. I would like to see short tees for newer players to make it a little better place to introduce the sport to beginners. More experienced players will get to stretch out their arm, but won't find enough variety to really challenge different parts of their game.