It's just a fun course. Great walk through the woods. We love playing here. Can't wait for another 9 to be added . It's still a work in progress but very thankful for this overall nice course in the area. It was easy for us to find. Smack dab off of highway M-95. Love the choice between red and blue tees.

No porta john. We agree with previous ratings that better type of parking area would be nice but not really a huge concern presently. Had a little trouble locating #8.

Had a scary encounter one time with some folks bringing along their large dog . Lots of growling and snarling as we passed by to the next hole and they let it run loose later across the driving range area after us while we were trying to play the 9th hole forcing us to rush and get to the car. Sure this part of this review may not sit well with pet owners who want to let them run freely but maybe a courtesy sign at the start of the course as a reminder that pets should be on a leash may alleviate any worrisome concerns and be a possible solution.

Don't forget to purchase Boulder Alley merchandise to help support future course development.

Boulder Alley is a new 9-hole course near Republic, MI (about halfway between Marquette and Iron Mountain). The course plays across what looks to be an old ball golf driving range that is no longer in use - and into a forested area around it. There are lots of coniferous trees and exposed rocks in the woods, making for a beautiful aesthetic.

Holes 1, 8, and 9 are mostly open (utilizing the old driving range area). The other six holes range from moderately to very tightly wooded, with a good variety of fairway shapes. There are long Blue tee positions that make for a challenging round, plus shorter Red tee positions that are more approachable for recreational players. I started my round playing the Blue tees, but switched to the Red tees for some of the tight wooded holes.

As Dean said, you'll either love or hate hole 6 - and I'm also putting it in the "memorable" category. From the Blue tee, you have to throw your disc up over a giant rock face that is maybe 20' tall and 200'-250' straight ahead. On top of the rock face you'll find the Red tee and the rest of the fairway, which slopes gently back downward and continues straight for another 300'-350'. The basket is on the right side of the fairway.

The tee signs are apparently brand new as of summer 2023, and they look great. They are color coded blue and red for the two tees, and have all of the required info. The same style signs that Al Quaal in Ishpeming now has.

The baskets are Black Hole Gravity models, other than #1's which is a Chainstar for some reason. One basket per hole. Baskets 3 and 9 are elevated on stacks of large tires, which is definitely a unique look. The parking lot is currently marked out by additional tires that are half embedded into the ground. The closest tire to the first tee was functioning as a makeshift kiosk when I visited, complete with some advertisements for nearby leagues and tournaments. No course map yet though.

I did not like that holes 3 and 4 both play right along the dirt road you drive in on. If this course ever gets popular, this would just become more and more of a safety concern. I would go so far as to say that I hope the designers rethink hole 3 entirely, and clear some more woods out on hole 4 to move the first half of the hole further away from the road.

I'm hoping that more clearing is planned for a few other places too. Hole 2 has a "hallway" approach that seemed way too narrow still. Hole 7 played in a beautiful wooded area but felt like a "poke and hope" kind of throw. The rough is still wild and very thick in places, so I was laying up regularly to avoid having to search too much for discs.

The previous tee signs point towards the next hole, but even if you remember to take in that information it still isn't enough in several spots. No other navigational aids exist yet, so UDisc is an absolute must.

Other than scaling the rock face on hole 6, the elevation changes here are only gentle - not really enough to affect play.

No tee pads, trash cans, or benches yet - it's just the signs staked into the ground. No practice basket or porta potty yet either.

Even by UP standards, the miles leading up to this course coming from either direction on M-95 feel desolate. As I turned in to the course (where there is now a nice painted "Boulder Alley" sign with a disc golf basket) and followed the correct directions posted on the Course Info tab here, I felt like I was out in the middle of nowhere even more than at most other UP courses. But the town of Republic is actually only about a mile away (off of a side road), and I had reliable cell service throughout my round here.

Boulder Alley definitely still has an "under construction" vibe as of now - but it's equally clear that the end product will be pretty solid. There are plans to expand to a full 18 holes, and I definitely plan on returning here once that happens.

- Very picturesque area with big trees and some big ol' rocks. I can definitely see why this is called Boulder Alley. If you decide to come here during the summer, you better bring something strong to keep bugs away because the sweat-proof repellent I was using was not cutting it.

- Some of the baskets are mounted on top of huge monster truck sized tires.. pretty neat.

- It's extremely secluded so you will more than likely have the entire course to yourself which makes for some peaceful discin'.

- The design of some of the holes might be a negative to some, but I thought hole 6 was one of the coolest holes I've ever played. If you choose to play from the long tee, you have to throw about 250 or so feet up onto a giant rock formation and then another 300 or so feet down a tight hallway to a tucked away basket on the right. Even getting par on that one felt nice.

- The baskets were yellow MVP Black Hole Gravity which caught decently and were very visible in the wooded areas.

- Two teepads per hole which definitely offer the player a good challenge or some ace runs/easy birdie opportunities.

- Not easy to find. For some reason, the GPS on Google Maps never takes you to the correct place but when you're coming north towards Marquette, you will see the sign that says Republic Driving Range and you make that immediate right turn on the gravel road until you see the wooden palette sign that has the words Disc Golf spray painted with an arrow pointing to the left.

- Only grass teepads at the moment and no tee signs as of yet. Just some colored flags and wooden posts. If you don't have uDisc, navigation will probably be a huge issue. That being said, with even something like rubber mats and basic signage at least listing the hole # and par would bump this up to a 2.5/3.

- The course is still very new so a few of the areas are pretty rough but over time and with more foot traffic, they will get tamed down. I'm not sure how often the fairways are getting maintained in the summer but it did seem like someone had recently done some work.

- No bathrooms, trashcans, and just a small, tiny dirt parking lot which doesn't offer much room if there's more than 2-3 cars worth of disc golfers there.

Boulder Alley is a brand new 9er right off the highway going up and out of Marquette. If you can find it, it's right off the road and only took me about 45 minutes to play from the longs. And that's even after looking for a few bad shots that got stuck in the fir trees surrounding a few holes.

Most of the course plays around a ball golf driving range which I imagine doesn't get very many people using it. Overall, this area is one of the coolest parts of the UP and I'm pretty glad someone decided to put a DG course here. I really hope this one gets some teepads and signs soon because I'd definitely like to stop here again next summer when I come to check out the two new courses that will be here by then.