The larger course at Clinton State Park, Bob Mowery's offers memorable wooded holes in the heart of the course and solid amenities and upkeep all around.

18 large concrete tees with blocks marking the hole number on the first 11, though they disappear after that.

All kinds of hole shapes in the woods of Holes 3 to 14. Hole 3 starts the wooded section off well. A par 4 with 325ft to a dogleg right. A grove of trees guards the dogleg, and then a further 150 around the corner to the pin. It's possible to eagle, but you'll have to have a lot of power and some nice tree luck. Holes 4 and 5 are hard doglegs left, while 10 is a hard right and 14 a softer right. Others have elevation, 11's basket is set halfway up a steep hill, 7 is a short but very steep jump up to a shelf with a hanging basket 30ft back from the crest, and hole 6 is my favorite. A 280ft downhill to a green sloping to the left with a low ceiling and a tunnel thinning out as you get closer to the green. Accuracy and power control is a huge part of this hole.

The more open holes in the woods are still formidable. 13 is a 30ft wide cleared strip, 320ft wide, and the trees are just open enough for the Kansas winds to remind you of their presence if you got comfortable in the deep woods. The two trees on the fairway are wide and placed in just a way that any line to the pin is going to be far more than a straightforward 320. Hole 9 is pocketed in a direct line from the tee with four or five trees right in the way, leaving a left and right line to choose from.

The creek looming on 8, 9, and 10 is an excellent addition to an already great section of the course. Turning tree kicks into tough par saves and normal putts into risky runs. Hole 5 also has a death putt if you come up short of the pin.

15 has two tees, and there is a practice basket across the parking lot from the first tee.

The holes outside of 3-14 are subpar. Hole 1 is a standard downhill hole that any old city park could pull off, 2's tee is pointed at the tree group you want to avoid, 15 is a lost disc risk with prairie grass, 16's pin is in a clump of six trees nicely guarded, but otherwise open and straight. 17 is bad. An open hole which "doglegs" left to the pin across a gravel road, with prairie grass if you go short or long of the green across the road. 18 is a nice tunnel shot, but the road to get to the parking lot crosses about 50ft in front of the basket. A third of the holes with a noticeable drop in quality is a dour note to start and end on.

Some of the routing is a bit odd. The path to 6 is halfway back around the dogleg of 5, and the path to 7 is a way back up 6's fairway. There's a path leading from 11's basket which doesn't go to the tee, it's off to the left once you get to the top of that shelf. A lot of the paths are intuitive, and the less so ones are mowed well, but some are just glaringly off.

The Mach7 baskets are some of the worst top-end baskets I've played on. The actual catching pocket is far smaller than even a Mach5. Left and right are going to be spit out. I don't like to complain about the baskets, but these felt like they were trying to kick your putt out instead of collecting it and dropping it in the basket.

The parking lot was exceedingly small. Four cars including mine was filling it. It also encroaches on the early fairway of 1. I believe when the construction is finished there will be more spots available.

Bob Mowery's is well taken care of and has extremely high highs, and its lows, while bad, aren't enough to kill off the fun. This is a solid 18-hole in the Lawrence area. There are better options nearby but this is one to either add to a long day or one to play after you've been to the others a few times.

The park itself is a $5 entry fee only payable by card at a machine outside the park office. After that it's a mile down to a right turn then the second right is the course. There's a sign reading "Bob Mowery's Meadows" so you know you're in the right place.

Lots of different shots required here. Starts off flat in the cedars, with interesting lower lines or over-the-top options. Then to the deciduous woods, with low ceilings, elevation changes, and more technical challenge. Lastly, there are 3 open prairie holes returning to the cedars for a straight tunnel shot to hole 18. Practice basket.

There's also a separate 9-hole beginner course on-site. It's a lot less challenging but still worth a play if you're looking for some warm-up. It's flat and mostly open with a couple fun holes.

Baskets could use an upgrade but are OK. Natural tees, although I saw some concrete forms near some tees so it looks like concrete is coming soon. I'd bump it up another 0.5 if it had concrete tees.

About half the holes on this course probably get pounded by heavy wind on a lot of days. It wasn't bad when I was playing.

[Update: just noticed the pictures on here need to be re-done, there has been a redesign from 11 to 18 holes, and some of the pics are of holes that aren't part of the current course.]

Bob Mowery's Meadows was 11 holes until recently. I had visited Clinton State Park before, but had not disc golf there. This new layout is fun and challenging, and should improve as the new lines are established.

Many of the holes are heavily wooded, and have thick rough if you stray from the line. There is also a couple of holes with nice elevation changes, and a bit of water in play along the stream at the bottom. Good mix of shot shaping, and varied distances keep it interesting and fun. There are a few holes with OB lurking.

I thought most of the holes were interesting and have different challenges. The terrain differs quite a bit as you move through the course. Heavy evergreens dot the first few fairways, then into some hardwoods and brushy undergrowth near the creek, and a bit more open and grassy on the last few holes. A couple of par fours, as well as a couple of holes less than 200'.

My favorite holes were probably 6, 9 and 11. Hole 6 is a downhill drive that is lined with trees on both sides. A bit of a tunnel shot, measuring 354'. 9 plays a slight left to right bend over and next to the banks of the creek. It is a kind of tricky line, but I flew most of the way to the pin and bounced off a tree late for a drop in birdie. 11 crosses the stream, and the pin is almost halfway up a fairly steep embankment in a pocket of trees.

The tees are gravel or dirt, but will be upgraded soon if I have heard right. The baskets were mostly Mach III in decent condition. There are arrows to point the way here and there, and paths lined by tree limbs between some holes.

The tees are inconsistent, and not fully marked yet. The first 11 have numbered blocks on either side of the tee, but later holes only have orange flags.

The wind was very strong during my first round here. It affected some throws drastically. There is not as much exposure in the middle section, as hills and trees block the majority of the wind.

A few of the holes have very little airspace to work with. Hole 3 is long, and small gaps as you approach the pin. Hole 8 is an elevated tee for a fairway that turns left pretty quickly, and there are a lot of branches and limbs sticking out, as well as thick underbrush outside of the fairway. There was really gooey mud walking between hole 15 basket to 16 tee.

It is $5 to enter the park. I think annual passes are available at a cost of $25, and might be worth it if you live in the Lawrence area.

Clinton State Park is very nice, and has another 9 hole course in addition to Bob Mowery's Meadows. Bob is really the reason to come and see what it is all about. The new layout has a lot of good things to offer. I look forward to seeing improvements to this course as it is worn in a bit. The tees are being upgraded to concrete and maybe it will get some signs to go with them.

In the beginning I was battered by wind and beaten down by trees, and was 9 over par after 6 holes. The next 12 were far more kind, and I maintained par as I found a groove. I made a couple of birdies with a nice little deflection off a tree next to the basket on 9, and a Destroyer drive that fought the wind all the way to the shadow of the bucket on hole 17.

This course has a good mix of short, moderate, and longer length holes.
There are both L/R dog leg holes here as well.
Some holes are very birdieable, 8 and 10 come to mind.
There are decent lines that need to be shaped on several holes.
Hole 5 has plenty of length so you can air out a driver here.
Fairways were nicely mowed upon our visit.
Protected pins on a few holes, which add to the challenge.
Quiet and dg exclusive course.
Tees are plenty wide and long.
This course uses what elevation is present as best it can.

Baskets are recycled Lightning baskets from Maxx's Mirage and/or Hill-A-Rusa courses that were here previously. They do OK but I could easily see spit outs happening here.
Tees are a bit unique: dirt/chat/asphalt grindings that are built up and elevated slightly. Upon our visit they were holding up. However over time I wonder if rutting will be an issue.
No signage so take the map provided at the kiosk for guidance.
The pond on hole 5 was drained upon our visit, this takes away the water threat here(some will find this to be a pro however).

This course will require you to pay a $5 daily fee to play. It uses a few of the lines from its predecessor Maxx's Mirage.
This course would make a nice place to keep you entertained while staying at the lake. Take a group of friends with you while your staying at the lake and help #growthesport. Not a destination course but worth the play if you are looking for a nice peaceful change of pace.

There really wasn't much positive to be found on this course, other than that it had actual baskets.

The tee pads are problematic, in that the gravel used in filling the form is a mix of sizes and doesn't seem to settle in a uniform fashion. The footing can be uneven; my son almost fell on two of the pads because of the uneven surface.

The rough can be egregiously punishing, so any disc that skips or rolls or gets blown by the wind or carries a bit long or wide--leaves the fairway at all--can get lost easily or simply result in an unplayable lie. The group playing directly ahead of us had a lengthy search for a disc; a bit later I lost a disc that was last seen fading towards the pin among the treetops just beside the green.

It seemed to me that the challenge of the course didn't arise from shaping shots and hitting lines so much as simply trying to make certain that the disc didn't skip or roll under a tree to an unplayable lie.

There wasn't anything interesting or good about the holes to even begin to counterbalance the bad. I've played some rough courses before, including an old one that used hoops for targets, and found this course the least enjoyable I've encountered.

I consider the turnpike tolls, the cost of the day passes for the park, and the time I spent on the course completely wasted.

- Defined tee boxes that actually work well.
- Defined fairways (see Other Thoughts)
- Clean
- Tunnel shots, left, right and straight. Could use various OB's (grass, gravel road) to make it harder.

- Old, worn baskets (old Lightning DB-5's. These things have some years on them).
- Because the basket bases were set in concrete, there could never be multiple pins. (I'm sure this was done to prevent further theft).
- Two more holes (increased to 13) would then qualify for potential PDGA rated rounds. In order for a round to qualify for a permanent rating, the round has to have a minimum of 13 baskets.
- No benches yet
- No trash cans on course
- The rough is very rough. In the summer it will be brutal.

I'm so glad that Clinton Lake State Park put a DGC back in! If you were unfamiliar, there were two separate 9 hole courses that were pulled due to multiple stolen baskets. The old listings are here:

http://www.dgcoursereview.com...3&mode=ci

http://www.dgcoursereview.com...0&mode=ci

Both old courses were 'meh'. I tend to be rough in my ratings. I would have rated them 1-1.5. This new course combines most of the best holes of the previous two and makes it work even better. Solid 2.5 to me, could go up to a 3 or even more if ammenities are put in such as benches, garbage cans, and we'll see how well it is maintained long term.

When I played the previous 2 courses, especially the wooded course, they were not maintained. The fairways were ill-defined. A lot of them did not have an actual route to take other than over the top of spruce trees. This new course has clearly defined fairways. They took the old ones, cleaned up the fairways making them manageable width, yet left some challenges with it.

If you go off the fairways, you will be PUNISHED by the spruce trees that hide discs too well.

When I first saw the tee boxes, I thought, 'this is not going to work'. I was surprised on how well they did work. The footing was solid. It did not feel like I was teeing off on quicksand or awefull wood chips. It did give enough of a movement that I would think it would be easier on the knees, etc. They were plenty long and wide that there should be no fear of falling of the elevated tee pads unless you take ridiculous long run ups. I was pleased with how they work.

I will play this course quite a bit during winter and spring before ticks become a potential problem.

Very nice and well kept course that has a few challenging holes. Hole #5 is the signature hole with a pond shot and sharp left turn after.

Tees are gravel but very level, elevated, and held together with concrete. Each is clearly numbered.

Baskets clearly marked with hole number and fairways are nicely separated. No confusion in the course flow

Not the prettiest part of the park but still nice scenery to play through.

What little elevation that exists is used well and trees provide some difficulty to an otherwise open course.

No trash cans on the course, except in the parking lot.

Baskets are old and chains are not in the best condition.

Tee signs have no info about the hole other than what number it is (grab a course map at the park headquarters when you get your pass).

Could have done with a little more challenge for the course.

Solid course in an awesome state park. Not the hardest course but still enjoyable. Was surprised to find it on my drive through Lawrence, definitely worth a stop!