The setting for Florida State University Panama City's DGC is a unique combination: it plays through and alongside a small college campus that sits directly on a sliver of beach on a picturesque bay. This brings both campus structures and water hazards into play, an interesting amalgamation of man-made and natural obstacles. Trees are in abundance too, and while the course is far from wooded, there's more than enough of them to direct your shots and force some modest line shaping.

The best holes here combine low ceilings, tighter windows, and incidental water hazards (4,9), more direct water carry and guarded pins (17), multiple small sprawling oaks to navigate under or around (11), or a big shot over trees to reach a pin that is dramatically located in the campus center (18). The focus beyond that is on challenging ace runs and birdie tries at shorter distances; most of the holes are well under 200 ft.

Navigation is easy and the course plays quickly. Concrete tees are nicely done, and the course is well-signed. Parking is ample. There are a few decks overlooking the bay that provide some nice views. Grooming seems great.

This course is one of those instances where I don't understand why the designers would feel the need to put in 18 holes. There's some real potential in the combination of buildings, trees, and water hazards here - in addition to the bay there's a small pond at one end of the course and an avoid-at-all-costs drainage ditch at the other - that could make for a very fine 9 or even 12 holes. But putting in 18 required some shoehorning, leading to a majority of holes that are short, sometimes awkwardly so, and with little to offer beyond the prospect of an ace. Holes like 9, which is imposing up the gut and to the water-bordered left but has an enjoyably-challenging RHBH hyzer route if you can stay low to the ground, demonstrate the potential here, but unfortunately that potential is largely unfulfilled due to the choice to fit in 18 holes. The result severely limits the course's appeal: at present it strikes me as a strickly beginner course with a few longer holes that are suited for experienced players. In an area with few disc golf options, a course with wider appeal to players seems like it would have been the better choice.

This course has significant potential to conflict with non-disc golfers. Much of the back 9 crosses through campus, weaving around buildings and alongside walkways. I imagine it'd be hard to comfortably play the full course on days when class is in session, although perhaps this is not the case given the very small nature of the school. On the overcast Saturday I played my round not a student was in sight, unless that student was playing disc golf.

FSU's course has some nice holes, but so many short ones got repetitive for me. If I was to play here regularly I'd probably camp out at the few holes that I enjoyed the most, such as 4, 9, and 18. The course is worth a visit if you're in the area - it's a well-maintained course in a pretty setting, and it plays quickly if you're time-crunched - but I don't see it as a course I would play on a regular basis.