Hart Hydro DGC is located a short drive south of Ludington, MI. It plays near the Hart Lake hydroelectric dam. There are nice views of the lake to be had throughout the course.

The infrastructure here is quite good. The Chainstar baskets are in fine condition. The teepads are flat concrete slabs. The tee signs are adequate - showing the hole number with distance, par, and a line. There are trash cans and benches scattered around. There is a nice map posted at the first tee, and a box next to it with high-quality scorecards and pencils available. There is a porta potty at the parking lot. Clear Next Tee signs are posted throughout the course. My favorite signs, though, are large hole numbers posted on the tee posts, oriented in the direction you are approaching from. For example, between holes 8 and 9 there are the usual Next Tee signs, but there is also a large #9 affixed to the side of that hole's tee sign that you can see as you walk down the steep slope towards the pad, reassuring you that you are headed in the right direction and won't have to backtrack up the hill. This is a really nice touch that I wish more courses had.

As you might expect near a dam, the terrain here is bumpy and there are some significant elevation changes. The number of open downhill tosses is significantly higher than you would find on the average Michigan course. There are a couple of very interesting holes. Hole 12 is one that tees off from the top of a steep hill, and this one next to the dam. The river below the dam is on your right and there is open grass to your left (and on the slope of the hill). About 250' into the 350' hole, the fairway narrows into a smallish path that winds through some bushes to the basket. Big arms might be able to bomb a well-placed tee shot over the bushes and get down for a birdie. Unfortunately, I had to intentionally shank my drive off to the left a bit as there were multiple fisherman at the river bank.

I also liked hole 7 a lot. This one is only 210' and flattish, but it curls sharply left with thick trees on the left side of the fairway. The right side of the fairway is open, but it slopes downward. The tee faces the lake, although that lake is too far away to come into play. The basket is perched on the edge of the hill, with an even steeper slope behind it. When I visited, there was a strong wind blowing off the lake. I had a decent enough tee shot into the wind, but left my approach a little short. I decided to try to throw in from about 20' out for par. The wind gusted just as I threw and my disc sailed past the basket and rolled all the way down the hill. It took me two more throws just to get back within putting range in the wind, then I proceeded to miss again. Yes, I'm not ashamed to say I five-putted the hole! And I still enjoyed it!

Out of almost 100 courses played, this one probably makes it onto DFrah's safety podium of shame. In other words, there are a LOT of serious safety issues here!! As documented by other reviewers, some of the most egregious are:
- Hole 13 and hole 14 play up and down literally the same fairway. And it's blind. And that fairway is a decaying one lane cement road cut into a hillside.
- Holes 10 and 15 have crossing fairways.
- Hole 4's basket is basically in hole 5's fairway.
- Baskets 9 and 17 are easily in play from hole 8's tee.
- Hidden off to the left of hole 5 is a very steep downhill. It's steep enough, and close enough to the fairway, that I think they need to cut some steps in to help people safely retrieve their discs.
- To reach hole 16 from hole 15, you have to walk through hole 8's basket area. In the summer, people at hole 8's tee pad will not be able to see you.

Other holes play over and around a walking path.

Even where the layout is safe, it is convoluted. There are lots of long walks between holes. After playing hole 12 as described above, you have to backtrack and walk all the way back to the tee, up the steep hill, THEN turn left and walk across the dam, to find hole 13, which again is a terrible hole anyway. Kind of negates any fun vibe you got from playing hole 12.

Distances are pretty short (only three holes above 300', and all of those play downhill).

Several holes are wide open with few to no obstacles between tee and basket. And on the flip side, some of the wooded holes are ludicrously tight. It will take more luck than skill to reach the basket on holes 8 and 9.

Between the steep hills and all the long walks between holes, this course is a workout!

As I can personally attest to, wind can be a MAJOR factor here with the course's location right on the lake and many holes directly exposed to it.

This is another one of those 18-hole courses that maybe would have been better as a 9-holer. There is some interesting terrain here, and it could be used to create a safe layout that still retains some challenging holes.

Even with the great infrastructure, there are too many safety/layout issues for me to recommend this one to anyone but the most serious of baggers (I guess I have to count myself as one of those baggers after reading wolfhaley's review - literally titled "Don't Even Bother" - and still, well, bothering). Hopefully, those baggers can visit at a time where few to no other disc golfers are trying to play. I was fortunate to visit at such a time, and have to admit I kind of enjoyed my round here. Sort of. I would love to say I'm planning on returning and redeeming myself from five-putting #7...but it probably isn't going to happen. There are plenty of better courses, and even a few world-class courses, within a short drive.

The course was in pretty good shape.
Short holes for beginners.

Poorly marked
Holes are all pretty boring, no diversity
Course is mostly in the open, very hot
All the holes are very short and easy

It was a good idea to put a course in Hart, but it just doesn't compare to the courses around it. If you're a beginner looking to play a local course, however, this is a pretty good course.