Big Chuck DGC is located in Stanton, MI near the middle of the state's lower peninsula. The locals have recently installed an 18-hole course in the back of Veterans Memorial Park on the north side of town.

This course offers a nice mix of holes ranging from tightly wooded to moderately open. Nothing is fully open, but there are a couple of holes where most players will be able to air out a tee shot and not really worry about hitting anything. It's a good mix of left turning, right turning, and straight fairways throughout. There is good variety in hole distances too, from a few tricky 150'-200' throws in tight woods to several moderately open holes that eclipse 400'. Six holes are signed as par 4. My favorite hole was #17, which plays down a gentle valley off the tee, across a low-lying area, and up the other side with several tree trunks complicating the final approach to the pin.

The baskets are Gateway Titan models. I don't remember throwing at these before but they seemed fine. Several are hanging or slightly elevated (mounted on rocks). Currently there is one basket per hole, but signage at the course and recent news articles I found online both indicate that a second set of permanent baskets is coming to all holes this year. Based on the tee sign hole maps, it looks like the upcoming second set of pins will provide a round that is both slightly longer AND require different approach shots on many holes.

The tee pads are large, newly poured slabs of concrete. One per hole. I believe there was a bench behind every tee pad. Many of the pads also had brooms and trash cans nearby.

The signage here is perfect. I touched on the tee signs already, but they are high quality and have all of the required info. The navigational signage is some of the best I have ever seen. It appears everywhere it is needed. In most places, it takes the form of metal high-visibility yellow arrows nailed to trees. However, in several places this course has stepped up the game even more with actual artwork! I am talking about what appear to be bona fide signed (and presumably weatherproofed) paintings, that happen to have a hole number and arrow included on them. The artwork is all done in one of two themes: Bigfoot or aliens. One sign located after a particularly tight fairway features an alien sitting in a meditative pose, with the thought bubble "Stupid Tree" and some text beneath that reads "relax...deep breath". The artwork was a fun touch that made the course overall more memorable for me.

There are actually two kiosks. A small one at the parking lot has a small map that indicates how to find the beginning of the course (which is located a short walk away). As you approach the first tee, more artistic signage points towards the front 9 and back 9 (both of which loop back to the same spot). At the first tee is a much larger kiosk including a larger high quality course map. There are also permanent outhouses near the parking lot kiosk.

Lastly, it is rare that I feel compelled to call out course safety as a Pro but here I have to. Even though this is a new course, there is already a mesh fence installed behind hole 2 to prevent possible interference with hole 5 on overthrown approach shots. Same story at hole 8/17. The rest of the course does a good job of avoiding both itself and a nature trail running thru the area. YES!

The elevation changes here are pretty gentle for the most part. There are also no legitimate water hazards - the three holes shown as "water" holes here are really just low-lying areas that will be very swampy in the spring or after a good rain. I'd recommend wearing hiking boots if coming to play here at those times. Along those same lines, these areas could be pretty buggy during the summer months.

Although I feel this course is plenty challenging for recreational to intermediate level players, advanced DGers will likely think it is a bit too short and easy. I did wish that the longer holes and shorter holes were mixed up a bit more (most short holes are on the front 9 and most longer holes are on the back 9). I guess one positive of that is that if you only have time to play 9 holes you can kind of pick a shorter or longer set.

A practice basket is indicated on the kiosk map, but did not actually exist yet as of my early May visit. Probably coming soon!

I didn't really know what to expect from this new course that is well off the beaten path for most travellers - but I thoroughly enjoyed my round here at Big Chuck. The disc golf was fun but I was most impressed by the clear attention to detail that went into every aspect of the course. It's very rare that I do not have any bones to pick regarding course infrastructure or safety - and even rarer on a course this new. Kudos to the Rotary Club of Stanton and others involved for the great work.

I feel like I have been handing out a lot of 3.5 ratings so far this year, but that's firmly where I have this one falling - especially once the second set of baskets and practice basket go in. I might even consider upping this to a 4.0 once everything is complete, which would be the maximum rating that I see as possible on the land available here. This isn't a world class destination course, but if you live anywhere within an hour or two drive it's definitely worth a play. In the nearby area, I still have Tower Park in Greenville a bit higher rated in my book - but this course is definitely more forgiving for those newer to our sport. Why not hit both courses and make it a great afternoon of disc golf?