Harmon Hills is one of the most memorable, enjoyable and greatest courses I've ever had the pleasure to play. Even with all the accolades it receives within the disc golf world, because of its relatively remote location, it really feels like a hidden gem.
- This course has a tremendous, challenging layout to it. With 16 par 4s and one par 5, compared to only 10 par 3s, this course is designed for the multi-shot hole format. A solid tee shot on the par 4s puts you in excellent position for birdie putts, while a poor tee shot can still be salvaged with solid recovery shots. I got so accustomed to the par 4 trend that many of the par 3s felt tougher because everything rested on the tee shot.
- This challenging, par 4 style of disc golf was such a refreshing change of pace from the par-54 (18 hole) emphasis. This style of disc golf allows the non-big throwers (present company included) a chance to still see birdie putts, even on challenging holes.
- Within the first three holes, I could tell this course was going to be one of the most special I've played. The next 24 confirmed that notion, FYI. Hole #1 is a fun start to the round, a dogleg right, downhill shot to an opening through the trees. This hole presents a birdie chance, while at least offering a solid, simple par 3 start to the round.
- Hole #3 might have been my favorite hole on the course, or at least one of my favorites. I could nominate several others as well. This is a 505 foot, par 4, that starts open, gets wooded part way through, doglegs slightly left, over a slight dip, back up to the basket. Again, the beauty of being a par 4 is that a great second shot can cover up for a poor tee shot. Would have liked to make a birdie here, settled instead for a solid par 4.
- This course is so spectacular throughout that so many great holes get lost in the shuffle. I thought hole #4 was great. I really liked #6. The same for #5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24 & 26. On many above average courses - say in the 3.0 - 3.5 range - any of these holes could be the course's signature hole, or at least one of the best two or three. At Harmon Hills, one of these holes is only the 13th best on this course. How is that possible???
- Scenic, scenic, scenic. Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. Isolated, isolated, isolated. This land is nothing but disc golf. In the 2 ½ hours I was playing, I only faintly heard one airplane. I heard more tractors than that. Even if you're taking a beating on the course, the walk alone seems like something out of a nature preserve. Now, it might not be that way for a weekend tourney with people camping out, but it still can't be that bad.
- I love having 3 distinct 9-hole loops. In my book, the front 9 is the easiest (relatively) and most scenic; the middle 9 is the most grueling (uphills and downhill layouts) with the trickiest set of pin placements; and the final 9 is the wooded, rocky stretch that puts the most emphasis on accurate tee shots. For people who play this course on a frequent basis, it'd be fun picking two of the three layouts for different 18 hole looks to shorten round times. For anyone making the drive here, play the entire 27 hole layout. Better yet. Play it twice.
- The upkeep here is amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting Aaron, one of the two owners. He and Kyle (the other owner) do an amazing job keeping this entire course in impeccable condition. At points, this looks like you really could be on a ball-golf course, the maintenance is that good. It makes you wonder if two guys can do this much work maintaining a course of this magnitude (granted, some other volunteers help some, but these guys do the majority of the work), how can any local disc golf clubs complain about maintaining their courses because they only have 6, 10, 20, etc. volunteers?